Here is Where Religion Harms People



Several years ago there was a beautiful young woman who co-hosted Pat Robertson's 700 Club. Her personality and singing voice were great.  Then she disappeared for a long time. I happened to catch her return as a guest. She said she suffered from depression and had to leave for treatment. She recommended all those with depression go to a doctor for the medication that is available.

I can't remember if Pat Robertson, her former boss, treats mental illness as the work of the Devil or not. But, plenty of Christians do. The "treatment" recommended from that branch of the faith is prayer. They go to doctors for physical illnesses and broken bones but not for mental problems. Now available are the testimonies of 40,000 people from Christian homes whose church kept them from medical treatment of mental illness. It is a story of cruelty.

Whenever the question, "What good has Christianity done?" comes up, the answer from the faithful is about all the hospitals and schools churches have started. It has, indeed, done these things and more. That has to be balanced against the harm it has done.

Treating mental illness as a religious issue is but one. They are many recent stories of women being admitted to Catholic hospitals with complications of pregnancy and learning only after this admission the hospital would not perform the surgery needed because of a religious hang up.

Divorced and remarried Catholics have been shunned by the church for a long time. Gay couples who would like to marry and feel a strong affection for the church have been told they are sinners.

When the faithful claim the church has brought them great happiness it means they were not part of the population it has harmed.

https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2019/02/28/ex-christians-say-their-churches-made-their-struggles-with-mental-illness-worse/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maybe the "Original Sin" Should be Reassigned

Image
We can all agree most Catholic priests are fine people and not guilty of sexual abuse. What Catholics must face, however, it that their church harbors executives who are dishonest . There is an incredible story about the Argentine Bishop Zanchetta. The Pope worked with him in Argentina and they are considered friends. Around 2015 Zanchetta sent nude pictures of himself and they began circulating world wide. He also was too friendly with young seminarians and some left because of him.  Three different officials say they made formal complaints to the Vatican about Zanchetta between 2015 and 2017. Yet, in 2018, the Vatican claimed it was unaware of any complaints about Zanchetta. This might be a good time to repeat the Catholic hierarchy claims to have the sole authority handed down from Jesus to what the faith stands for. It condemns as sinners those who practice birth control, have abortions and gay sexual relationships. Handing the hierarchy this responsibility would make som
Read more

The Religious Capitol Invaders May Yet Win

Image
So much about U.S. society and religion can be learned from the Civil War and what happened afterwards. After its defeat, the South started a myth about the unethical soldiers from the North. The South fought for principles of God and states rights. The North did not. It was the South, this propaganda told the country, that had the high moral ground.  The Capitol invaders, encouraged by Trump, swallowed the myth that Biden's election was stolen. Thus, they think they held and still hold the high moral ground. This was reinforced by the cross and prayers during the invasion. Even with Trump is gone, we will see political opportunists like Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley stroking crowds and feeding the same lies as Trump. Like "the South will rise again" these gullible followers will talk of victory over the unclean. After the Civil War the South rallied around the phrase, Lost Cause. For decades, and maybe to this day, there are ceremonies remembering fallen martyrs, Re
Read more

Father Frank Pavone, the Ultimate Crook

Image
Recently, the Vatican defrocked Frank Pavone. His diehard fans are outraged. This is because he cleverly manipulated his fans and the press all the while living well from donations and, apparently, abusing some women. By making abortion the "sin" of the century, and himself the main opposition to this one sin, he himself could get away with any sin he pleased.  As the link points out, Pavone was the perfect priest for the Trump era. Trump is so self-important laws have no role in his life. He felt accountable to no one. Women were there to be had. Pavone and Trump are interchangeable.  Pavone was very successful raising money. In his mind, abortion was so important in Catholic beliefs and he was so important in anti-abortion the money he raised opposing it was his to do with what he liked. The Catholic Church, the brand name he used to raise this money, thought the money belonged to it. When he gave the Vatican the bird, it gave him walking papers. With polls showing the majo
Read more