Are people still this stupid?

[d0nk`]

An 11-year-old girl died after her parents prayed for healing rather than seek medical help for a treatable form of diabetes, police said Tuesday.


Full Article (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,341574,00.html).

This is just stupid. Haven't we progressed enough to realize that praying for someone to get better won't do the trick? If prayer was a (working and) reliable way to cure disease, why would we have medications, treatments, etc, that are capable of treating disease. It seems it would be a waste of time to develop such things.

The comments from the parents are really wacko too. The Dad was convinced that more people praying was the key. The mom is convinced prayer can resurrect the girl.

Are we still living in the middle ages?

[RahX]

No, we have progressed beyond natural selection to ... well ... natural de-selection? The stupid are more prone to survive simply because all the smart people waste their time catering to them, helping them survive. Thus warning labels on thing such as knives and guns that tell people they can cause serious injury or death. I think we should remove warning labels from things that are blatantly obvious and reserve them for things that truly need them. That should take care of overpopulation and a majority of the stupid people.

[Veritas]

No, we have progressed beyond natural selection to ... well ... natural de-selection? The stupid are more prone to survive simply because all the smart people waste their time catering to them, helping them survive. Thus warning labels on thing such as knives and guns that tell people they can cause serious injury or death. I think we should remove warning labels from things that are blatantly obvious and reserve them for things that truly need them. That should take care of overpopulation and a majority of the stupid people.

...it's a shame that there isn't a button on this forum for *standing ovation*.

How stupid can people really be? I mean, sure, there are religious stories suggesting that the power of prayer really can cause miracles, but those stories are quite old, and you don't hear about them happening recently. That's not to downplay the power of religion, but more to say that medicine is also quite powerful.

If someone is going to die, and you don't want them to die, why not use all possible means to keep it? If your answer is religion, then I pity you. Sorry, all things have their limitations.

[Tobalaz]

You ever see the movie Idiocracy?
I feel THAT is the direction we're heading.
Yes, it's sad and the parents are going to be brought up on and given a nice long sentence for voluntary manslaughter and willful neglect of a minor.
I'd link to it but the article isn't there anymore.
Basicly a few days back a guy went to rob a repair shop, they told him they couldn't open the safe without the manager there, then he left TWO phone numbers for the guys to call once the manager got in so he could come back and rob the manager.
Christ this world is full of f'n idiots.

[tiamat]

What gets me is that the remaining siblings haven't been removed from the home; its quite clear these people are unfuckingstable - get the other kids out pronto.

[Tanaban]

You ever see the movie Idiocracy?
I feel THAT is the direction we're heading.

I wish I could laugh at that but its so damn true. Idiocracy was an alright comedy but had such a sharp wit, or at the very least a really simple and scary idea about where society could be heading in many respects not just intelligence.

As for the child, it really sickens me as a bit of an atheist or at the least a firm believer in science. I was raised Roman Catholic, so I still fear killing myself and going to hell and all, but the point being even if it was out of basic fear for not doing everything in ones power for a child wouldn't a god kind of frown upon that too?

Oh and this:
The family does not attend an organized church or participate in an organized religion, Vergin said. "They have a little Bible study of a few people."
So would this still be some quasi hate crime against religion if I went and knocked some common sense into them? :irked:

[tonymark01]

Gods don't kill people. People with Gods kill people.

imo

[Tobalaz]

More people have died in the name of gods than anything else.
Religion is a tool that can be used for good or evil, just as a gun is a tool which can be used the same way. Just as religion can teach life lessons and instill values making the spirit grow and providing sustenance for our minds, guns can be used to protect people from harm and hunting, providing sustenance for our bodies.
The only times we complain about religion is when people let only it fill their lives and follow it blindly while passing on common sense.
To me a suicide bomber and a parent that refuses to give a child medical care are no different. Both did what they did on faith that what they were doing was the right thing to do and both are monstrous acts that deserve an eternity in hell.

[SupermanJnk]

Praying for healing is great and all, but I guess they never stopped to think that the answer to those prayers was probably professional medical attention.

[RahX]

Prayer brings hope I guess you could say. Hope helps healing but only when you can heal. That deal with being in an upbeat state of mind promotes healing and all that.

[JC Denton]

Religion is a tool that can be used for good or evil, just as a gun is a tool which can be used the same way.
Everything is a tool. It's like the argument I get in with people who insist the world should be free of guns. If we didn't have guns, we'd just kill each other with something else.