Both, George

Welcome, Shmedelle. One of my friends is a devout Christian, but he’s the good kind. He believes in accepting everyone, not just believers. His wife is a nurse in an oncology ward, and he once told me they believe in God because his wife could not cope with her job unless she had a belief in an afterlife. This seems like a defense mechanism to help her retain sanity.

Welcome, Shmedelle.  First, ignore the post by that moron, harrissteve.  He only signed on today, and he’ll either leave after being a stupid troll or he’ll be banned soon if he keeps up that kind of dumb posting.

Second, I agree with Macgyver, but to expand, data that is dumped into the minds of very young children, before they develop the ability to reason, is accepted uncritically, and is often in “logic proof compartments” in the mind.  This means people who are in technical fields such as the sciences or medicine but who have been inculcated (brainwashed) as tiny children will reason quite clearly using critical thinking in most areas of their lives, but the god junk is inaccessible to logic so they will still believe no matter how irrational it is.

I certainly agree with your evaluation of the silliness of those who think praying for you will help, however, as was pointed out, that’s there way of trying to be nice.

I wish your daughter well and hope you keep us informed as to her progress.  Welcome again.

Occam

Yes, welcome Schmedelle,
I also went through a similar situation with my wife, who besides being my life partner is also my best friend. We spent many weeks in oncology while she had test after test to determine if she had contracted cervical cancer. We both went through hell concerned about everything, including the kids. Our Christian parents and our friends were kind and caring and put her on several prayer chains. At that time I didn’t care, I just wanted her to be well. She went to the best oncologist in our area and I put my trust in him and the hospital staff. It wasn’t faith, it was trust in his professional skills. He eventually found the problem and fixed it. It wasn’t cancer after all but she had to have several transfusions. Situations like that have a sobering effect on your life. I wish you and your child all the best.

Cap’t Jack

Hehe, you guys know this thread was started in April, 2009, right?

My girlfriend’s dad is a cytologist who studies cells for signs of cancer.
He is also a fundamentalist Christian who wants theocracy in the US.

Damn.  Should have caught that.  Thanks, Domokato.

Occam