#Laying on of hands

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Wendy Glauser

Published: Aug 9, 2011

Two parents in Oregon who refused to seek treatment for their infant daughter’s tumour on religious grounds were recently sentenced to jail time, but advocates for children’s medical rights remain concerned about the leniency the justice system shows to “faith healing” families in some areas of the United States.

Timothy Wyland, 44, and Rebecca Wyland, 23, of Oregon City were found guilty of criminal mistreatment for allowing their 18-month-old daughter’s hemangioma, an abnormal proliferation of blood vessels, to grow into a golf ball-sized tumour that covered one eye. They were sentenced to three months in jail on June 24. Rather than seek medical care for their daughter, the Wylands, members of the Followers of Christ Church, relied on prayer, oil anointment and the “laying on of hands.”

Dr. Seth Asser, a Rhode Island pediatrician, argues that lawmakers and judges often fail to recognize the dangers of faith healing. “Children who have died in these cases suffer seizures, vomiting,” he says. “Their deaths are agonizing, slow and extremely painful.”

An investigation led by Asser published in Pediatrics found that between 1975 and 1995, 172 children died following faith healing, 140 from easily curable or treatable medical conditions (Pediatrics 1998;101:625–9). In one case, a two-year-old girl choked on a banana and showed signs of life for an hour before dying, while her parents and other adults simply prayed.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, most states had faith healing exemptions in their child abuse and neglect laws. Nineteen states still allow religious defences for felony crimes against children.

Canada, by contrast, does not have religious exemptions to criminal charges such as neglect. However, while children of Jehovah’s Witnesses have died as a result of parents’ refusals to approve blood transfusions, the deaths often occur during the time it takes doctors to prove to the courts that transfusions are medically necessary.

Still, despite the leniency toward faith healing shown by US courts, the number of children dying from medical neglect because of religious beliefs appears to be “going down gradually,” says Asser. This is partly due to Children’s Healthcare is a Legal Duty (CHILD), an organization that lobbies states to repeal protections in criminal codes that implicitly condone faith healing.

In May, Oregon’s senate passed a law repealing exemptions in its criminal code that allowed faith healing to be used as a defence in crimes such as homicide and neglect.

John Clague, a spokesman for the Christian Science church in Oregon, said he supported the new law because of the high number of child deaths in the Followers of Christ Church. When asked about the 28 deceased Christian Science children in the Pediatrics investigation, he lamented their deaths, saying that “unlike some other churches, we don’t say these deaths are God’s will.” He claimed his church leaders expect their followers to seek medical care for their children when faith healing “isn’t working” or in situations where a child may die for lack of care.

But the Christian Science church “continues to support religious accommodations for the responsible practice of spiritual healing,” says Adam Scherr, the church’s national media coordinator.

None of the parents implicated in recent Followers of Christ Church faith healing deaths in Oregon were reachable for comment and defence attorneys for the Wylands did not respond to repeated phone messages. However, a man who answered the phone at the Followers of Christ Church in Oregon City said he staunchly believed faith healing works, in part because “my mother is going on 95 and my grandparents lived well into their eighties.”

While arguing deaths of children in his community were “the divine will of God” and saying “one just died the other day, from sepsis, I think,” the man, who refused to give his name, also wanted to make it clear that his church does not force parents to avoid doctors. “That’s up to them if they want to take their children to a doctor.”

But some leaders of religious sects tend to have different messaging for the general public than for members, according to CHILD founder Rita Swan, who lost her 16-month-old son to spinal meningitis in 1977 after being pressured by fellow members of a Christian Science church to eschew medical care for faith. Horror stories are often spread about medical treatment, she says, while faith healing miracles receive much attention.

Given this context, lawmakers in favour of religious defences argue that parents making what they believe are the best decisions for their children’s health shouldn’t be treated as criminals. Swan argues, however, that when criminal laws apply to everyone equally, parents in churches practising faith healing have an “excuse” to visit doctors. “If the law plainly tells them that they must get children to a doctor, I think that’s much easier, and on one level they’re relieved,” says Swan.

According to Dr. Jim Lace, an Oregon pediatrician who lobbied against legal exemptions for faith healing, medical neglect is more likely to be reported when there are no religious exceptions. Some citizens erroneously think that child protection services can’t intervene in faith healing cases because of “confusion around the laws,” he says.

Likewise, Asser argues that faith healing parents should be treated the same way as anyone else who neglects a child. “If you or I get drunk and pass out and a child dies as a result, we go to jail, but if a child dies of a preventable medical issue because of these parents’ own form of being stoned on religion, they’re not held liable.”

#Rita Swan #faith healing #victims of faith healing #faith healing victims #religion #anti science #antiscience #anoint with oil #laying on of hands #prayer #prayers #pray #praying #child abuse #child abusers #medical neglect #religion is a mental illness

[quotesfromscripture]

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.

2 Timothy 1:6-8 NIV (2011)

#bible verse #christianity #flames #courage #God's gifts #Holy Spirit #laying on of hands #bravery #fear #power #self discipline #love #fruit of the spirit #testimony #suffering #times of trouble #persecution #2 timothy 1 #new international version

[iterumvivere]

Holding Hands

When did you last touch someone? How did it make you feel? There has been articles in the news about touching, around the time I write this post, most of it negative. It has usually been about touching of an inappropriate nature, sometimes verging on sexual assault, or groping. It sometimes suggests that all touching is bad. It is not. Sometimes touching is unavoidable, like passing a small…

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#Healing #Holding Hands #laying on of hands #touch #touching

[bookymcbookface]

‘The Laying On of Hands’ by Alan Bennett

#reading #books #alan bennett #laying on of hands #short story

[nipuni]

Archangel Aziraphale and Archdemon Crowley 😌

A step by step process of this will be available at my Patreon on october 1st!

#good omens #aziraphale #anthony j crowley #crowley #ineffable husbands #my art #I will level up every character I lay my hands on I can't help it #I blame my mmorpg history

[bereavedmum]

Maybe deep down inside we somehow knew this little one would only be with us for a season

“This won’t affect your fertility” I was still groggy from the anaesthetic and doped from morphine but these were very welcome words from Dr Martin, our consultant gynaecologist. He had just removed a gangrenous ovary and fallopian tube from my left side. Rachel, our only child at the time, was 18 months old. By the time Rachel was 2 years old there was still no sign of a brother or sister for…

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#bereavement #gangrenous ovary #Laying on of hands #Poor Clare nuns #Presbyterian deaconess #Secondary infertility #Treasure the moment

[sheilamurrey]

Book review and narration test of: How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years

Often I used to read books before going to sleep. What follows is from one of those times. I’m thinking about potentially narrating books when I retire, or starting a podcast. Let me know what you think in the comments. There’s more on the audio as the point to this post was to test out the narration. Here’s the audio: Okay, I think what I’m going to do is a little test. And let’s see how this…

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#allergy skin testing #allergy testing #barefoot #chiropractic #eat greens #grow garden #help body heal #holistic health book #kaleidoscope #laying on of hands #natural fiber clothes #natural fiber shoes #natural healing #salads #stay healthy

[myrkulitescourge]

the way that one line from the new epilogue in an astarion romance is going to HAUNT me

just. what a profoundly intense thing to confess to someone.

like, just these six months of newfound happiness with you exerts a force on his heart equal and in direct opposition to two centuries of endless torment, the gnawing hunger and exploitation. this flashbulb-bright fraction of his long life holds the same gravity to him as years upon years of darkness and suffering.

in all likelihood, he hasn’t even known his lover for as long as his worst memory lasted, that year sealed away to go mad from starvation and sensory deprivation, yet he still tells them this brief time has been so fundamentally and powerfully important that the weight of even that unimaginable hell is vanishingly small compared to this present he has now and the future ahead of them both.

how am i supposed to act normal about this.

#i need to lay down #just drop this in there right at the beginning why not! #that’s INTENSE. and completely sincere considering his demeanor at the party. god #he’s so… nice. in the romanced epilogue. i expected him to be a little smug and jokey #if tav told him the others weren’t doing so hot without the two of them around #but he takes it so genuinely and with visible disappointment?? literally shocked me #i thought he would say oh of course their lives have taken a turn without our impressive leadership lol! #and then redirect into something a little less flippant #but man. he just gets sad. astarion six months into a loving relationship is like a stray cat that instantly gets cuddly when you adopt it #dude went cotton candy marshmallow saccharine sweet in a HEARTBEAT #bless the others with your presence he says. i’ll always be here he says. we have forever after all he says. #head in my hands. how could they do this to me #astarion ancunin #astarion bg3 #astarion #bg3 epilogue spoilers #bg3 spoilers #baldur’s gate 3 spoilers #bg3

[voltaical-art]

they are makng me insane, theres something so gay abt lay on hands

#bg3 #wyll ravengard #tav x wyll #tav #paladin #voltaical ocs #bishop #AGGHHHHHHHHHH #why r u as a man laying ur hands on another man 🤨

[hideawayfairy]

*Ozzie hearing that the contract was gonna give Crimson all of his factory assets*

Ozzie: *Mildly Annoyed*

*Ozzie hearing that Crimson was gonna use Fizz as a wall decoration*

Ozzie: *Actually angered and ready to kill*

#helluva boss #helluva asmodeus #fizzarolli #helluva fizzarolli #helluva crimson #crimson #helluva stolas #ozzie #fizzmodeus #fizzarozzie #silly #ozzie can excuse his money being taken away #but he's ready to fight if someone lays a hand on fizz

[radiance1]

The Justice League have a problem, one that needs some level of knowledge and expertise of a being from the Infinite Realms to give them a better chance of actually solving this problem.

However.

Every ghost they have summoned, without fail, took one look at Constantine. Squinted (yes, squinted). Then decided to go back to where they came without a word.

This. Would have been useful, nice even. If it was a situation where they needed the summoned being of a cult to head back to where they came without a fight.

But alas, that is not what is happening.

The Justice League, obviously, ask him why the ghosts keep fleeing back to their Realm at the sight of him, but Constantine can't answer because he genuinely has no idea why they keep leaving when getting a proper look at him.

So they keep trying and they do find some success in it. They summoned a boy, most likely older than he physically looks yet it still puts some of them off because of, well.

You know.

A boy with white hair and toxic green eyes. The boy stops short, as if not expecting to be randomly transported to somewhere else, takes a look around the room, then the Justice League. His eyes settle on one person.

Constantine, in particular.

He squints (Why do all of them squint? Nobody knows) and then a sudden looking of realization passes on his face. Different from the looks of vague fear and genuinely want to not involve themselves any further, his face held slight disgust and a heavy amount of disappointment.

Thankfully, he didn't leave immediately after that.

Constantine asks what's with the look on the ghost boy's face, the ghost boy in question squints even further. Stares at Constantine for a moment or two, buries his face in his hands and brings his knees to his hand and groans out.

"He could've done so much better."

#dc x dp #dp x dc #dpxdc #dp x dc crossover #dcxdp #dc x dp crossover #Yes this is vaguely tied to that other post about Vlad turning good and taking Constantine as his crush and boyfriend while Danny is like: #“Dude you exchanged THAT for my MOTHER?” #And tells Vlad he could do so #So #Much better #But Vlad is smitten #Anyways #The ghosts just leave after seeing Constantine because of Vlad #Like he may or may not have threatened a high number of them at the same time to not lay a hand on him #The ghosts #For their part #Don't want to involve themselves with the reclusive one #The outgoing one (Danny) is cool but the reclusive one (Vlad) kinda scary #Has generally bad vibes #And is ruthless #So they'll avoid incurring his wrath for this random human who they most likely won't ever meet again thank you very much #Right I just thought of this but #His Vulture underlings are also like: #“Boss please you could do so much better.” #While Vlad is making cheese

[thedreadvampy]

Losing my shit about this article in which a transphobic Tory was so busy panicking about existing in the vicinity of a Trans that she almost certainly misheard "jeans" as "penis" and decided that not only was this a problem with the other woman, but also that the world must be informed of this pressing danger.

"a trans woman! I had to stand directly behind her....I thought, 'this is going well', I'm handling The Situation fine'..."

translated: I saw a tall woman with broad shoulders. How would I get out of this alive? I thought. she has a PENIS. PENIS PENIS PENIS. through some force of PENIS I mean will I managed to PENIS behave normally towards her. My hands were PENIS PENIS PENIS shaking as I tried to dry them. summoning up all my PENIS courage I said 'dryer's crap innit'. she turned to me and said " yeah I'm just goiPENIS PENIS PENIS"

It's been a week and I'm still shaking. This proves trans women are the problem and I'm not weird. I'm fine. It's fine. If you think about it I'm the hero hePENIS!!!!!

very this

#red said #it's just. I'm obsessed. #everyone on Twitter is saying 'never happened' and i think they're wrong #this absolutely did happen and she's been obsessing over how vindicated it made her feel enough to WRITE AN ARTICLE ABOUT IT #because she MISHEARD SOMEONE IN A CASUAL CONVERSATION #i lay out my reasoning thusly: if you were INVENTING a scary trans woman in bathroom story out of nothing. why would it be this? #why would you go with 'we had a banal conversation until she said a sentence that makes no sense and that no human has ever uttered #but which does coincidentally sounds almost exactly like a mishearing of a very NORMAL thing to say in the circumstances #then she left and nothing else occurred' #if you were going to INVENT a story you would probably make it MAKE SENSE or SOUND THREATENING #i truly believe this is a very authentically told account of what she thinks happened #because who would. by means other than mishearing. think 'I'm going to wipe my hands on my penis' makes any sense at all. #a) 'I'm going to dry my hands on my genitals' says the presumably fully clothed woman #b) who then proceeds to leave without doing anything threatening #c) WHO SAYS PENIS THREATENINGLY? sorry it's writing out 'penis' repeatedly that made this jump out to me but like. who says that? #you might hear someone talk casually about their dick or cock but i stg it's only doctors and TERFs who casually use the word penis much #it's so. clinically descriptive. it's a weird use of language. but it IS. something you could plausibly mishear from 'pants' or 'trousers'

[rosymushrooms]

embroidered felt earrings + antique lace handkerchief 🤍☁️🩸

etsy // patreon

#the daggers aren’t in the shop yet but will be available later today!! #mine #my art #art #embroidery #textile art #fiber art #hand embroidery #needlework #textiles #trinkets #earrings #jewelry #fashion #heartcore #lovecore #heart shaped #flat lay #antique #vintage #artists on tumblr #heart aesthetic

[puppetmaster13u]

Y'know sometimes I wonder what Ras reaction was to the Justice League. Like he practically offered Bruce the chance to be one of his generals, straight up offered for him to be his heir, and was turned down.

Do you think he's offended. Because oh, so his organization isn't good enough, but that merry band of idiots is?!

#batman #headcanon #mini ramble #dc #dcu #Ras is frothing at the mouth #Ras: Is it because they have a space station?! IS THAT IT?! #justice league #league of assassins #league of shadows #ras al ghul #Talia with tiny baby Damian: Father you are over reacting- #Talia looking at the league: .... #Talia: Father you are not overreacting I am going to snap the aliens neck if he so much as lays a hand on my beloved-

[blueballsracing]

Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen | 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 🎥: F1 TV (November 26th, 2023) for @souvenir116 ❤️

#charles leclerc #max verstappen #lestappen #f1 #formula 1 #f1 gifs #caro gif #abu dhabi gp 2023 #abu dhabi 2023 #can we talk about the moment charles lays eyes on max. #and then immediately goes in for the HAND GRASP. #lestappen gifs #caro edit

[slytherinslut0]

canon fact: slytherin boys don’t fight women.

#we don’t stan violence on women #there is no justifiable au for a scenario like this #doesn’t matter what the cause is men don’t lay hands on women #thanks for coming to my ted talk #mattheo riddle #mattheoriddle #mattheo riddle x reader #slytherin boys #slytherinboys