Belief Kills, Yet Again
Posted by skeptologic on April 9, 2010
Belief in the supernatural has claimed yet another young victim. A 14 year old girl named Sangeeta Persaud died in Guyana last week after having convulsions during breakfast at her grandmother’s home. According to the article, a local pastor convinced her grandmother and neighbors that the girl was possessed by a demon. The pastor tried to “cast out the demon” at her home, and when that did not work she was taken to a chuch, where people pounded on her stomach and made her drink lime juice. After all that wasted time, she was finally taken to a hospital, and then she died.
I can’t say that things like this surprise me anymore. After all, it happens a lot. This particular article caught my eye because of one line, the fourth paragraph in the article says:
“It was not clear why the girl was not taken to a doctor earlier.”
Are they kidding? Did the person who wrote the article not understand what they had just written in the first three paragraphs? It’s so obvious why this poor kid was not taken to the hospital right away. It’s because of a ridiculous, irrational belief in supernatural for which there is absolutely no evidence. It’s 2010 and adults still believe in demons, ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night. This type of belief in the supernatural is not harmless. If these people did not belief in such things, then perhaps this girl would have been rushed to a hospital right away and had a chance to survive with proper medical care.
Zev said
I agree; first, the girl should’ve been taken to a hospital. And only after then, if the medical staff was unsuccessful in finding a cause-effect relationship, should the girl have been taken to the church to be stomped on.
Zev said
Yes, beliefs do kill..and please let us not forget the words of Frank Zappa: don’t trust your governemnt, they will kill you.
Believer said
I would agree with the statement that most ritual exorcisms performed on people (depending on who conducts it) are nothing but ineffective and, unfortunately, extremely dangerous practices. In fact, we’ve all heard stories about exorcisms that have lead to death for some unfotunate human being. But that is not to say that all exorcisms are ineffective, or for that matter, not real. Now, we enter in the realm of faith, not science, and given that, many are unwilling or unable to invest in any belief about things that they cannot see, touch, or feel. Exorcism is not only a dark and murky subject, but it is also one that deals with a world that is not well understood–the spirit world. The story about the little girl who died becaue she was denied immediate medical attention is indeed sad, but let this example not discredit those instances were exorcisms were effective and successful. If you are interested in reading about those examples, just respond and let me know.
DiscordianStooge said
Well sure, in this case it was a medical condition. But what about the times a demon is involved, and the parents foolishly go to a medical doctor? What can an MD do to fight a demon?
Paul Zapata said
Skeptologic person – Yes the story sounds suspicious but you or I were not there. The ‘supernatural’ has nothing to do with religion. Religion is simply a for-profit institution designed to perpetuate a set of belief systems for the benefit of a few, much like political structures and educational systems. Yes you too, skeptologic, are confined by your own set of belief systems integrated from your total experiences starting the day you were conscious.
What logic is there to the existence of life? The universe cannot operate from laws foreign to it.