Religious Group Starves Toddler for Not Saying "Amen"
Photo © istockphoto/Jason Major
Poster © Austin Cline
For religious groups, though, authoritarian structures can be almost expected and are sometimes an important part of the attraction for certain people. Religious groups also typically have the ultimate authority to back up whatever the human leaders say: the Will of God. It's always humans doing the talking and of course humans who have to endure the suffering, but the responsibility is shifted back to an alleged "god" who can't be disobeyed or even questioned. How convenient.
Ramkissoon and four others identified by police as members of a cult called 1 Mind Ministries are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Javon Thompson. Members did not seek medical care for Javon when he stopped breathing, and the boy died in his mother's arms, according to court documents that described police interviews with a confidential informant and two children. He would have been about 19 months old when police say adults stopped feeding him in December 2006. ...Another unnamed informant told police that after Javon died, Antoinette left the boy's body in a room for more than a week, claiming "God was going to raise Javon from the dead," the documents show.
Source: CNN
It might sound absurd to say that God would raise this child from the dead, but it's no more absurd than believing that Jesus rose from the dead. The traditional Christian belief in Jesus' resurrection simply prepares the ground for beliefs like Antoinette's, but how many Christians read this story and shook their heads in the comfortable certainty that they were reasonable but there was something wrong with Antoinette?
I think that her belief was absurd and sad, but I can't say that it's any more absurd and sad than most of the supernatural and superstitious doctrines of traditional, orthodox Christianity. If I'm going to be honest and fair, I have to conclude that her position was not only on the same level as so many traditional religious beliefs, but surely derives from those beliefs — and therefore that traditional religion is partially responsible for her believing such nonsense.
This doesn’t even begin to touch about the far worse beliefs and doctrines of the group she got involved with. There, too, we have to consider the degree to which not only traditional religion paved the way, but how the prejudice in favor of religion and belonging to religious groups puts pressure on people to join some group, whatever they believe.
“The child was abused because Javon was noncompliant with the existing rules of the ‘cult,’ ” the records state. “The child was also viewed as a ‘demon.’ ” ...
A witness told homicide detectives Javon was “beaten, physically abused [and] deprived of food and water, which led to the child’s death,” according to Khadan-Newton and records obtained by The Examiner.
Khadan-Newton said investigators told her cult members grew angry after Javon would not say “amen” at mealtime, even though the baby was just learning to say basic words.
Source: The Examiner
How many people have died because they, too, failed to comply with the rules of faith — but the rules established by dominant Christian institutions, not small cults? How many people have been declared "demons" by priests, ministers, bishops, and popes? How many people have been abused, tortured, and deprived of basic human needs because religious leaders have decided the fate of their souls (or the souls of others in the community) are more important? How often have religious communities risen up in anger because someone failed or refused to abide by religious traditions?
Javon's story is terrible, but even more terrible is the fact that it's just a short and recent chapter in a much longer tale of religious authoritarianism, persecution, and violence.
Comments
That is one of the saddest stories I’ve ever heard about a mother and her child. A smidgen of doubt could have saved this baby’s life.
It’s not only a smidgen of doubt that’s needed. A little education would have helped. It’s not reasonable to expect kids under 2 years to behave according to such rules. But reason is always lacking in such cases.
They obviously never heard of the “terrible two’s”. Let’s hope the feds nail these bastards and they don’t slip away like that polygamist pedophile cult did…
Unfortunately this sort of thing is all too common. The parents or people who participate are mentally ill. We have had our cases here in New Zealand. A couple who were convinced their 13 year old son was possessed kept hitting him on the head with a slab of concrete until he died of injuries. In another case a water exorcism was carried out on two women claimed to be possessed. Water was poured down their throats through a tube. One of them drowned, the other nearly drowned but was pumped out and saved. The people involved have been charged with murder.
In another case a large family were living in an isolated area having no contact with other people. They were under the influence of the husband’s father who was a fanatical fundamentalist Christian, He wouldn’t allow the family to visit doctors claiming prayer would heal. Then one child became sick and died. The police charged the couple with failing to provide necessary medical treatment. They got out of it because it was unclear whether the parents realised how serious the condition was. The next thing we heard was that another child became sick. This time the father in law took the child to hospital after all the publicity and warnings from the police.
It is bad enough when people hurt themselves but tragic when the innocent are caught up in dangerous beliefs.
This is a very sad and horrible story. Religion is man-made when it distorts true Christianity. It only proves that all people are religious in nature. There are only a few that takes it to the extreme and makes it terrible. Their day of reckoning is coming.
Religion is man-made when it distorts true Christianity.
This is an example of the No True Scotsman fallacy. You’re seeking to absolve Christianity of the blame for ghastly deeds that it has motivated by implicitly suggesting that the perpetrators are not ‘true’ Christians. This is dishonest. In identifying yourself as a Christian you are responsible for and complicit in any horrible acts that are motivated by and committed in the name of your religion, whether you like it or not.
It only proves that all people are religious in nature.
How, exactly?
Their day of reckoning is coming.
In a sense, I agree with you, or at least I hope you’re correct. Hopefully, every religious extremist nutcase responsible for barbaric and appalling acts of violence, degradation and abuse will sooner or later be brought to justice via a court of law.
However, you probably mean ‘a day of reckoning’ in a theological sense (i.e. Jehova’s final judgement upon humankind). I, as an atheist, do not believe that there exist any gods. (Note: this is not synonymous with denying the existence of all gods. This is limited to positive atheism. I am a negative atheist, by the way.) Therefore, I do not believe that there will be divinely sanctioned judgement upon humankind, though I don’t deny it.
This is a very sad and horrible story. Religion is man-made when it distorts true Christianity. It only proves that all people are religious in nature. There are only a few that takes it to the extreme and makes it terrible. Their day of reckoning is coming.
WTF? Why on earth has comment #5 been replicated?
At the bottom of the comments page when I viewed it was an advertisement for an anger-free child disciplining program I’ve used with my kids, and adapted to teaching teens. Acting out of desired results instead of anger helps a parent accomplish those results.
It doesn’t take much reason, just a little, to be able to focus on the result we want, and therefore avoid tragedies small and, in this case, great.
If the result the cult members wanted was the salvation of the toddler’s soul, they were adults playing at imaginary friends, in a deadly way.
If their goal was the compliance of the toddler, they were inept and ignorant, in a deadly way.
If the result had been the well-being and full development of the toddler into adulthood, they could have done any one of a number of things, including many examples of “bad” parenting, that would have been more effective and nonlethal.
But at least they’re “faithful,” and we should respect that, right?
The abuse that Javon Thompson suffered is obscene, infuriating. It is nauseating to contemplate.
If there existed any sort of god that matters, what could stay his hand from rescuing a child suffering such ghastly torture?
That is a sad commentary on cultic religiousity. It is strange that the fools don’t realize that they are taking the name of the most powerful of the ancient gods and use it to end their prayers. Some spell and prounce it Amoon to separate it from pagan religion. Amen was the most powerful of the ancient gods and every prayer began with and ended with his name. The Jews also prayed to him and I guess they bever lost the habit, the Christian Jews just picked it up to continue the prayer. If Amen were true he must be happy hearing his name constantly being used for the last few thousand years.
I think it’s a sad fact of the world as it is currently arranged that cults will think it justified to mistreat children in this way.The big question is whether these beliefs are an aberration or are rooted in religious belief.The answer is,I’m afraid a resounding”yes”.They are rooted in traditional beliefs about possession ,exorcism and the all -knowing nature of “God.”I think absorbtion of secular/humanist beliefs explains a lot of why all religious people don’t behave the same-rather than it being their god-given goodness.If an atheist family did something similar,people would accuse us all of being totally unethical.As it is,mainstream religious people can get away with saying,”It’s just religion taken to ridiculous extremes”-and deny all connection with their own beliefs.”Maybe,but I think all religions can very easily be taken to these extremes.
I thought Amen meant “So be it” or something like that. I never heard of Amen being a god…I thought that story was sad. I was abused myself but at least my parents never starved me. They threatened to but never followed through with it…I agree that religion is man-made but I don’t agree that we are naturally religious. I’m naturally secular. I tried different religions but atheism/humanism worked best for me.
hey, let’s not be unfair and just blame religious nuts of the Christian persuasion for putting non-compliant folks in harms way…lots of people of the Islamic persuasion have put members of their community in harms way (things like burying girls alive, who want to marry boys their own age of their own choice, for example). Well, at least Christians don’t try to weasle their way out of responsibility for such atrocities by claiming it’s just some “tribal” custom that got out of control when they starve a child to death for not saying “amen”. The Christians would be loathe to deny that “god” demands the sacrifice.
I’d like to go to the trial just so I can say, “Amen” when the judge sends them to prison.