i would be surprised if there were not large numbers of people who believed they were healed thru prayer
and Lazarus is a name, if you insist on having one
but it is. you raise your children up in your own beliefs
one cannot do that, subscribe to a belief in healing prayer, and then also appeal for medical help you do not believe is the answer. that would undermine your religious teachings to your children
and we all have a right to our personal religious beliefs (or disbeliefs)
there is nothing which indicates these parents acted other than in a consistent way with their personal religious beliefs
we must accept that not only are they are entitled to have their own religious beliefs, they also have the right to act on those beliefs
just as we must accept your own religious beliefs/non-beliefs, no matter how farfetched they seem to us
we must practice tolerance of these religious views and actions of others
while that would not be my choice, i must recognize that these parents are entitled to act on THEIR religious beliefs, no matter how different, or odd they may seem
this is not the same thing
there are many, MANY parents who feed their children crap that is unhealthy for them. look around. but we still recognize that it's the parents' call. they can choose to feed their children unnourishing foods. even worse, those kids are often being fed that crap at taxpayer expense; but that's for another thread discussion
and i would submit that there are parents who are feeding their childrens' minds inane bull ****; much of it religious. but that is the parents' right. the bill or rights says so. for them, and for these parents who tried but were unable to pray away the sickness that afflicted their children