This article by Cracked was interesting. The comments even more so. A lot of the comments were written to make points along the lines of “what are we to do about this?”
Fact is, there is nothing you can do, in a free society, besides ensure that these folks aren’t breaking the law, and coming down on them like a ton of bricks if they do.
Child endangerment is child endangerment, regardless of whether it is done in the guise of religion or anything else.
Furthermore, I don’t think we solve this problem by lampooning or denigrating the members of the church. If you create an “us vs. them” dynamic, it will only reinforce their delusions of persecution and drive them deeper underground; away from non-church society. I think we solve this problem by outreach to the people inside the church, so that they will feel like they’ll have a support group outside. If they see something that they cannot live with, they can then blow the whistle without the fear of alienating the only people on Earth who accept him.
A man who thinks that his choice is to stay in a church of people that accept him, but abuse children, or to leave that church and enter a society of people who hate him and will lampoon, denigrate, and shun him, may choose to stay in the church, given no other alternative.
A man given an alternative might blow the whistle and put a stop to the abuse.
And yes, purposefully denying your children needed medical treatment is abuse, regardless of your religion.
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