Horrific News

In today's Washington Post is a horrific story about the actions of a small religious group named One Mind Ministries. The full story can be found at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/28/AR2009032801936.html.

A young mother and her infant son became part of the group. The boy refused to say "Amen" at mealtimes. The leader of the group ordered that he be denied food and water as punishment, since his refusal was a sign of demonic possession. Ultimately and tragically, of course, the boy died. The leader then proclaimed that the boy would be resurrected if the group prayed and believed. When he wasn't, they said that there was a lack of faith in the group and packed his body in a suitcase, filled it with moth balls, and left it in a storage space in Philadelphia. Now, the leader of the group and four others, including the boy's mother, are on trial.

The mother was found to be competent to stand trial - and not criminally insane - since she was following the orders of her religious authority. She found it difficult to watch what was happening to her son, but she acquiesced because of her beliefs and the beliefs of the group.

One telling quote in the story is this:
"At times there can be an overlap between extreme religious conviction and delusion," said Robert Jay Lifton, a cult expert and psychiatrist who lectures at Harvard Medical School. "It's a difficult area for psychiatry and the legal system."

Certainly, all of us would affirm that we would never kill our child or any other child merely because some religious authority told us to do so. Yet, are there things we believe about others that are more destructive or hateful than loving? Are these things supported by or even commanded by what we see as our religious understandings?