Religious Extremism In Australia
It is shocking that in the 21C there are still innocent children dying due to religious extremism in Australia. The case of Elizabeth Struhs an 8 YO who died as a result of having her diabetic medication denied her in favour of enforced prayer clearly shows the dangers of religious extremism. Queensland is, unfortunately, home to Christian sects full of their own conceited behaviour who revel in their ideas of how special they are.
“Fourteen members of the group, known as the Saints, knew she was a type 1 diabetic, who required insulin to live, the court heard, but it was deliberately withdrawn as a result of their religious faith.”
Science Denial By Religious Sect Murders 8 YO Child
“God helps those who help themselves.” Not those who take the egotistical path toward miracles in search of their own glory.
Turning your back on science and risking the life of a child to prove your own bloated conception of the power of prayer is God awful behaviour. The fact that 14 of these ‘so-called’ Saints have been convicted of manslaughter in the court is little comfort for Elizabeth who died as a result of being denied life-saving insulin. The fucking stupidity of such people having charge of a child is reprehensible. The trouble in Australia is that it is more onerous, in the licencing sense, to own a dog or cat than to have a child.
Dangerous Christian Cults In Queensland
I would remind people everywhere that you do not own your children, rather, you are responsible for their care. We are all part of a greater community and this community is governed by the laws of the state in which you reside. Whether you agree with every law and guideline matters not, as you are still a part of this broader community. Your religious beliefs do not supersede the laws of the land despite what you may wish or think.
This is the real danger of religion, when a person’s conception of their special god grants them in their mind’s eye and that of their group some sort of overweening divine righteousness. That their beliefs can flout the laws and culture established over generations within the community in which we live.
Made Up Religions Killing People
The trouble with religion is that it is made up. There are no hard and fast rules. Each individual imagines their own God or deity. They may superficially try to fit that conception into an ideal that fits with that of others within their brethren or cult but at the core it is their own special imagining. We could celebrate the human creativity involved in such inventions but these folk, generally, claim everything is divinely inspired. This is done for a reason, which is to imbue such stuff with a higher authority. This power game has been played since the very beginning of religion.
“One of its tenets of the sect, the court heard, was that “God heals” and that medicine should not be used to treat illness.
They repeatedly told the court and police that they believe she would be raised from the dead and is “only sleeping”.
The Saints were alleged to have prayed and sang for her as she slowly died at her home in Rangeville, Toowoomba, over the course of a week.”
- (Andrew Messenger, The Guardian Australia, 29 Jan)
The Christian Bible is made up of a selection of texts from different authors and from a variety of times. It is a canon of acceptable writings chosen by bishops in the early church. It is not the word of God, as in the real sense every text was written by someone very human. Split into two testaments, an old and new, these represent the Jewish (old) ancestry of the religion and the Christian (new) vision inspired by the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, as are Judaism and Islam. Many unquestioning folk who know little about the actual history of these religions often accept stuff at face value. Lots of people think if something is relatively old and written down in an old book then it must be true – this is far from the case when it comes to religions. A fiction or a lie is a lie no matter the age of it. Old fictions purport to carry gravitas on the basis of their longevity, but we humans were even more gullible in times gone by than we are today.
Religious Extremism Never Far Away From Belief
Many of us are tolerant of religious beliefs around us, as long as they don’t bother us unnecessarily. However, religious extremism is never really far away because of the nature of religious belief itself. Believing in fictions means that stretching the truth doesn’t really come into it. Individuals wanting to feel a special closeness to their imagined creator will embark upon crazy ideas and behaviours eventually. The Train brothers and wife in another vile act of Christian extremist terrorism murdered 2 innocent young police officers and their neighbour Alan Dare. Once again, Queensland was the site of this mass murder committed under the aegis of an extreme conception of God and paranoia.
“The police officers were responding to a missing person’s report, but walked into an ambush.
Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train waited, concealed in “hideouts” and heavily armed.”
Old Testament God No Humanist
The God in the Old Testament is no cuddly character, but rather a brutal and ruthless divine dictator calling upon the chosen ones to deliver death to all his enemies. The Old Testament is favoured by many Christian extremists and their cults and sects. America is full of guns and has plenty of these extreme Christian groups. Keeping such stuff out of Australia is harder these days thanks to the Internet and social media.
The Attraction Of Faith
Individuals want to be charged up with the holy spirit, they want a cause to fight for, and the rest of us may fall victim to their special needs in this regard. Righteousness is a very dangerous quality. Somewhat like salt, fat and sugar it is Ok in small doses but a diet too rich in righteousness is deadly for more than just the crusader.
The Saints religious sect leader Brendan Stevens was unrepentant.
“He later told police, in interviews, that he would do it again.
“To all of you, it looks like God has failed, but I know Elizabeth is only sleeping, and I will see her again, because God has promised and she is healed. Amen,” he told the court, at the end of his closing statement in his own defence.
Other defendants echoed him: “Amen.” “
- (The Guardian Australia)
When human beings live in an imaginary world, as indicated by the reported words above, it is not only troublesome for them but, also, for the vulnerable around them like Elizabeth Struhs. The conceit contained within this bloated self-belief in their imaginary supernatural entity is sickening. It is mental illness but continues to exist because of our historical tolerance for religious belief. Is it time to uphold some sort of standards in this regard? Or do we just sit back and observe further acts of murder?
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.
©HouseTherapy
