“We’ve talked long enough about faith healing in Oregon. We’ve shared countless earnest conversations about religious liberty and parental rights.
The time for words is over. Now it’s time for pictures.
Another couple from the Followers of Christ church in Oregon City stand accused of criminal mistreatment for deliberately withholding medical care from their child. Timothy and Rebecca Wyland of Beavercreek believe in treating sickness with prayer rather than medicine, even when prayer doesn’t work.
Their infant daughter, Alayna, has a serious eye problem, which they chose not to treat. Someone notified authorities and the state intervened, and now the Wylands are trying to regain custody of their daughter.
Those are the words, wholly inadequate.
Only the pictures do the story justice.”
Read more at Oregon Live
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This makes me sick. Not only should they be punished, the poor child should have intensive medical care, NOW! Just sad…
This is one of the most upsetting horrible things I’ve seen. If you choose to have faith, that’s your choice, but you need to open your eyes! If God is up there he isn’t gonna solve everyone’s problems. To forsake medicine for prayer is stupid, they don’t deserve that child if you ask me!
These people need a good talking too but I fear that they are not open to reason.
I can’t believe anybody could do this to their child.
I can’t understand why anyone takes prayer to this level.
I’m a Christian myself, but I would never drop all rational thought and means of help, just to exercise “strong faith”.
It seems ludicrous, and very, very sad.
Sick, absolutely sick. Authorities need to keep a much closer watch on these “faith healers”, too many people have needlessly suffered.
That the MOST DISTURBING, most sick and most sad thing I’ve ever seen… these people have to be arrested for child abuse if they haven’t been already. They must have serious mental issues to let it get this far.
I hope the child can be treated and the parents get the justice they deserve.
If they have faith in God, then why don’t they believe that God gave us medicine to treat the sick?
This is why i’m an atheist because God is not among us and cannot treat us magically. Maybe if there was a God, then surely he would have looked at a bigger picture and made sure that objects in the world could become medicine to treat people, but the church is too dim witted to see this.
i dont unnerstand why they would continue to use any kinda treatment which clearly isnt working. would they do the same if it were a drug? obviously not!
That couple should be beaten with an oar.
Why on earth do they imagine that God is not at work in the hands of nurses, surgeones & physicians? How has Christianity sunk into this depraved mire of hedge-priests & witch doctors?
That neither churches nor politicians are working to remove religious status from such parasitic “pastors” & “healers” shows a lamentable & culpable lack of moral fibre. Had this young couple allowed their child’s health to so deteriorate as a result of their recreational drug use, you can be sure that clerics, Congressmen & Senators of every stripe & hue would be queueing up to lambast the Wylands in every medium.
These young people did not invent their perverse doctrine all alone – why is religion a get out of jail free card for abuse?
what’s wrong with hedge-priests? scammers are found in every religion.
Let’s be cynical for a bit: As a control group, these guys do a great favour to medicine. Scientists call it placebo, they call it prayer. Result? Well, we see it. Bring more of these “control subjects” to the front page.
What century are these people living in?
As a parent, that just breaks my heart – these people should not be allowed to have children.
What a surprise….prayer didn’t work. Poor child
People annoy the heck out of me.
Unfortunately some people think the power of prayer is stronger than the power of rational thinking. That poor child. I dread to think what other ailments this child would needlessly suffer if it had stayed with its parents. Makes me so mad.
LC x
If God had meant for people to rely solely on prayer then why did he put on earth medicines and means of treating illnesses such as these? people need to open their eyes and see.
If god had meant people to rely on prayer then why did he make it completely ineffective?
it seems many readers here are very quick to judge.
the medical industry have themselves been the cause of far worse suffering and deformities. the fact is, that things happen, and choosing to consult the medical industry, or not, is a personal choice, and the consequences, either way, cannot be predicted.. I feel it likely the parents are suffering enough in their own way without the proposed beatings or imprisonments..
it is of course unfortunate that the child is suffering, but it will not help anything by rubbing the parents face in it.
I am not stating my opinion as to what I personally might do in any given situation, but merely expressing sympathy for all parties concerned.
I have been to churchie parts of the states and holy shit….it really is this bad. People are so brainwashed. 50% of the billboards I saw in Texas were for churches!
melika says:
people need to open their eyes and see.
Interesting choice of phrase.
But… Jesus can raise the dead! Of course faith can miraculously heal everything!
Mango: Refusing treatment was NOT the baby’s personal choice though, was it?
This article kind of makes Oregon out as a bit of a crazy place. I lived there for five years and never came across any faith healing of any kind, though it might be more prominent in the smaller towns, I’m not sure. I’m really glad someone was able to intervene and get the authorities involved though. I really hope she gets better soon.
I grew up in Oregon City, and have heard about this church for years…children have died because they did not obtain necessary medical attention for them…court cases, the works. My great-grandmother used to talk about this particular sect. Apparently, they believe that when the end comes, God is going to send them a ‘space ship’ and whisk them (and only them) away to safety….a small sect, but very strange. In school, we used to refer to our classmates from this church as ‘kissers’, because they often married cousins….no joke.
Im a christian i have a relationship with God…i fully believe that god can heal but this is just stupid. No other way to describe it. People like this are just nuts
I don’t see anything wrong with doctors attempting to treat an external physical problem, but it is also important to understand medicine and science isn’t addressing or healing the underlying cause of any disease really. The real cause stems from a more subtle level of Spirit, mind, emotions then effecting the physical.
The parents should have sought help, but it is concerning that a state can hold the power to forcefully remove children from their parents. Where there can be help given to someone it should be – but where do you draw the line? Children being removed from parents because they won’t teach them evolution and atheism is the true world view? Children removed from parents because they disagree with homosexuality? next stage in secular social brainwashing…