Ebook Bad Faith : When Religious Belief Undermines Modern Medicine DJV, PDF, FB2
9780465082964 English 0465082963 In recent years, there have been major outbreaks of whooping cough among children in California, mumps in New York, and measles in Ohio's Amish country-despite the fact that these are all vaccine-preventable diseases. Although America is the most medically advanced place in the world, many people disregard modern medicine in favor of using their faith to fight life threatening illnesses. Christian Scientists pray for healing instead of going to the doctor, Jehovah's Witnesses refuse blood transfusions, and ultra-Orthodox Jewish mohels spread herpes by using contaminated circumcision tools. Tragically, children suffer and die every year from treatable diseases, and in most states it is legal for parents to deny their children care for religious reasons. In twenty-first century America, how could this be happening?In Bad Faith, acclaimed physician and author Dr. Paul Offit gives readers a never-before-seen look into the minds of those who choose to medically martyr themselves, or their children, in the name of religion. Offit chronicles the stories of these faithful and their children, whose devastating experiences highlight the tangled relationship between religion and medicine in America. Religious or not, this issue reaches everyone-whether you are seeking treatment at a Catholic hospital or trying to keep your kids safe from diseases spread by their unvaccinated peers.Replete with vivid storytelling and complex, compelling characters, Bad Faith makes a strenuous case that denying medicine to children in the name of religion isn't just unwise and immoral, but a rejection of the very best aspects of what belief itself has to offer., The Hebrew and Christian Bibles were written millennia before the invention of modern medicine, but still many people turn to them for medical advice, using their faith to fight life-threatening diseases. Though America is the most medically advanced place in the world, throughout the country Christian Scientists pray for healing instead of going to the doctor, Jehovah's Witnesses refuse blood transfusions, and ultra-Orthodox Jewish mohels use contaminated circumcision tools. Children die every year from treatable diseases, and in most states it is legal for parents to deny their children care for religious reasons. In twenty-first century America, how could this be happening? In Bad Faith , acclaimed physician and author Paul Offit gives readers a never-before-seen look into the minds of those who choose to medically martyr themselves, or their children, in the name of religion. Never afraid of controversy, Offit takes a stark and disturbing look at our surprising capacity to risk the health and safety of children in service of our beliefs. He tells the story of two devoted Christian Scientists who are shocked and heartbroken when their infant dies of a treatable disease; of orthodox Jewish parents who risk infecting their babies with herpes during an unsterile circumcision ritual; and of a man who believes his faith can cure his son's diabetes and, when that tragically fails, tries to raise him from the dead. The tangled relationship between religion and medicine may appear to afflict only certain pockets of America, but this phenomenon reaches much further--whether you are seeking treatment at a Catholic hospital or trying to keep your kids safe from diseases spread by their unvaccinated peers, you'll likely encounter these issues. Through vivid storytelling and complex, compelling characters, Bad Faith makes a strenuous case that denying medicine to children in the name of religion isn't just stupid and immoral, but a rejection of the very best aspects of what belief itself has to offer., Though the United States is the most medically advanced country in the world, the miracles of modern medicine are useless for the surprisingly large number of religious fundamentalists who rely instead on the healing power of their faith. From Orthodox Jews spreading herpes to children at circumcisions, to Christian Scientists and members of many other sects watching their children die of untreated diseases, to people who treat autism and other mental conditions as calls for exorcism that sometimes turn deadly, many American children suffer and die needlessly every year because their parents' religion favors medically dangerous practices. In "Bad Faith," Dr. Paul Offit chronicles the stories of these faithful and their children, whose devastating experiences highlight the uneasy relationship between religion and medicine in America. Replete with vivid storytelling and complex, compelling characters, Bad Faith makes a strenuous case that denying medicine to children in the name of religion isn't just unwise and immoral, but a rejection of the very best aspects of what belief itself has to offer.
9780465082964 English 0465082963 In recent years, there have been major outbreaks of whooping cough among children in California, mumps in New York, and measles in Ohio's Amish country-despite the fact that these are all vaccine-preventable diseases. Although America is the most medically advanced place in the world, many people disregard modern medicine in favor of using their faith to fight life threatening illnesses. Christian Scientists pray for healing instead of going to the doctor, Jehovah's Witnesses refuse blood transfusions, and ultra-Orthodox Jewish mohels spread herpes by using contaminated circumcision tools. Tragically, children suffer and die every year from treatable diseases, and in most states it is legal for parents to deny their children care for religious reasons. In twenty-first century America, how could this be happening?In Bad Faith, acclaimed physician and author Dr. Paul Offit gives readers a never-before-seen look into the minds of those who choose to medically martyr themselves, or their children, in the name of religion. Offit chronicles the stories of these faithful and their children, whose devastating experiences highlight the tangled relationship between religion and medicine in America. Religious or not, this issue reaches everyone-whether you are seeking treatment at a Catholic hospital or trying to keep your kids safe from diseases spread by their unvaccinated peers.Replete with vivid storytelling and complex, compelling characters, Bad Faith makes a strenuous case that denying medicine to children in the name of religion isn't just unwise and immoral, but a rejection of the very best aspects of what belief itself has to offer., The Hebrew and Christian Bibles were written millennia before the invention of modern medicine, but still many people turn to them for medical advice, using their faith to fight life-threatening diseases. Though America is the most medically advanced place in the world, throughout the country Christian Scientists pray for healing instead of going to the doctor, Jehovah's Witnesses refuse blood transfusions, and ultra-Orthodox Jewish mohels use contaminated circumcision tools. Children die every year from treatable diseases, and in most states it is legal for parents to deny their children care for religious reasons. In twenty-first century America, how could this be happening? In Bad Faith , acclaimed physician and author Paul Offit gives readers a never-before-seen look into the minds of those who choose to medically martyr themselves, or their children, in the name of religion. Never afraid of controversy, Offit takes a stark and disturbing look at our surprising capacity to risk the health and safety of children in service of our beliefs. He tells the story of two devoted Christian Scientists who are shocked and heartbroken when their infant dies of a treatable disease; of orthodox Jewish parents who risk infecting their babies with herpes during an unsterile circumcision ritual; and of a man who believes his faith can cure his son's diabetes and, when that tragically fails, tries to raise him from the dead. The tangled relationship between religion and medicine may appear to afflict only certain pockets of America, but this phenomenon reaches much further--whether you are seeking treatment at a Catholic hospital or trying to keep your kids safe from diseases spread by their unvaccinated peers, you'll likely encounter these issues. Through vivid storytelling and complex, compelling characters, Bad Faith makes a strenuous case that denying medicine to children in the name of religion isn't just stupid and immoral, but a rejection of the very best aspects of what belief itself has to offer., Though the United States is the most medically advanced country in the world, the miracles of modern medicine are useless for the surprisingly large number of religious fundamentalists who rely instead on the healing power of their faith. From Orthodox Jews spreading herpes to children at circumcisions, to Christian Scientists and members of many other sects watching their children die of untreated diseases, to people who treat autism and other mental conditions as calls for exorcism that sometimes turn deadly, many American children suffer and die needlessly every year because their parents' religion favors medically dangerous practices. In "Bad Faith," Dr. Paul Offit chronicles the stories of these faithful and their children, whose devastating experiences highlight the uneasy relationship between religion and medicine in America. Replete with vivid storytelling and complex, compelling characters, Bad Faith makes a strenuous case that denying medicine to children in the name of religion isn't just unwise and immoral, but a rejection of the very best aspects of what belief itself has to offer.