What a tragedy indeed! This child might still be alive today if her parents
had used a little more common sense. I can really identify with this
incident, because my child was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the very
same age, and we have dealt with it ever since.

As a Bible-believing Christian, I obviously believe that God has the power
to heal. I also believe in the importance of prayer. However, what is really
at issue in cases like this is faith; that is, personal faith. Do we REALLY
have the faith for a miracle to be performed, or do we merely THINK that we
have the faith for a miracle, or are we simply HOPING that we have the faith
for a miracle?

Again, I do not believe that God lacks the ability to heal, but quite often
-- according to the examples that are found in the Bible -- He limits
Himself to work according to our own faith. The Gospels bear out that Jesus
operated in this very same fashion. For example, in the Gospel of Matthew,
we find this example:

"And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and
saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. And when he was come into the
house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that
I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their
eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were
opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it."
Matthew 9:27-30, KJV

To think that we have faith when we really don't, amounts to spiritual
pride. Also, a distinction needs to be made between having faith for our own
healing, and having faith for another person to be healed. In other words,
for me to be willing to go to my grave believing that God can heal me of
some life-threatening illness is one thing, but we simply cannot expect or
force other people -- such as our own children -- to go to their graves for
our faith, or lack thereof. After all, if we really had the faith, they
wouldn't be going to their graves, now would they?

In short, while it may wound our pride as a Christian, or dampen our own
image of ourselves as someone spiritual, it is better to call the doctor, or
visit the ER, rather than allow a loved one to die as a result of our lack
of faith for healing.

And one final point -- which I discuss in my articles -- is that according
to almost every incident of healing that is found in the New Testament, the
person was healed immediately. There was no waiting days or weeks or months,
just hoping that prayers had been heard, and that a miracle was on its way.
When Jesus and His Apostles healed, it was instantaneous. If you want clear
Scriptural proof of this, please consider visiting this page:

http://www.endtimeprophecy.net/EPN-1/VerseLists/verse037.html

Following is the NYT article which inspired the previous comments:


Wisconsin Couple Sentenced in Death of Their Sick Child

By EMMA GRAVES FITZSIMMONS

October 7, 2009


CHICAGO -- A Wisconsin couple were sentenced to jail time on Tuesday for
failing to seek medical attention for their ill daughter, renewing a debate
in some circles over whether states should allow parents to practice
spiritual treatments.

The parents, Dale and Leilani Neumann, were ordered to spend 30 days in jail
each year for the next six years and were placed on 10 years' probation. Mr.
Neumann, 47, and Ms. Neumann, 41, who live in Weston, in central Wisconsin,
had been convicted of second-degree reckless homicide in August.

Their daughter, Madeline Kara Neumann, 11, died from untreated diabetes on
March 23, 2008, the authorities said. When the girl became ill and could no
longer walk or talk, her parents prayed for her instead of taking her to a
doctor, prosecutors said.

Her parents could have faced as much as 25 years in prison. While on
probation, the Neumanns must take the two surviving children who live with
them to the doctor if they are seriously injured or sick, said Judge Vincent
K. Howard of Marathon County Circuit Court, and the children must undergo
periodic health checks.

Defense lawyers for the Neumanns said they planned to appeal the conviction
because state law is not clear on the issue of spiritual treatment.

Prosecutors had asked for a three-year sentence. "I would have liked to have
heard from both the defendants that they were sorry for what occurred and
heard them accept some measure of responsibility," said LaMont Jacobson, an
assistant district attorney.

Several state lawmakers, meanwhile, have said they plan to introduce
legislation to settle the issue. One bill, for instance, would remove
religious exemptions for charges of neglect and abuse, while another would
broaden the religious exemption to apply to other types of cases.

Shawn Peters, a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin at Madison who has
studied the nexus of religion and the law, said the Neumanns' sentencing was
not unusual.

Experts said there had been at least 50 convictions in the United States
since 1982 in cases where medical treatment was withheld from a child for
religious reasons.

"The sentences tend to be halfway punishments where you have relatively mild
penalties imposed on parents who are found to be legally guilty of having
caused a child's death," Mr. Peters said. "It underscores how uneasy we are
both politically and culturally when it comes to regulating religious
conduct even when the consequences are disastrous."

Mr. Peters said the case also pointed out the ambiguities of state laws
regarding such matters.

"Wisconsin is not unique," Mr. Peters said. "Lots of states
have similarly
murky laws in this area that need to be clarified."



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