Well, both studies are about as credible as another? What to believe?

The one you can use to support your point of view

nor do you need to believe that praying works at all.

Well, I'm fairly certain that praying to God and going to church is a fundamental Christian pilar, but otherwise you're right. There's an upsettingly large group of radical fundamentalists who take everything literally, believe the Bible is WRITTEN BY GOD, and take every word literally. If you took every world of the Bible literally, having slaves would be OK, women would have no power and would not be allowed to leave the home, the persecution of homosexual would be acceptable, and women wearing jeans would be a sin.

Catholicism is based upon pedagogy - God revealing himself to people who then learn from events in history - and based on this premise fundamentalists (who think they are being the PUREST and CLOSEST TO GOD) are actually the least faithful because they take everything as literal and true instead of actually having "faith."

I don't know where in the timeline of Christianity it was decided that doctors are tools of the devil, but I'm sure if I look hard enough at a certain passage I can find my "proof" that medicine is bullshit ONLY GOD SAVES

On the other hand, if there were more people like this we'd have an easy cure
for over-population. Natural selection has uses.

Of course, in this time and age, that's out of the question. These people are lunatics.

Overpopulation can be reduced by decreasing food supply

Also yeah this is horrible.  I don't think I was alive yet, but my mom told me a story of this lady living on our street who was a Christian Scientist and she was so sick she wouldn't get help she just prayed until her husband finally gave in.

yeah you have no room to talk, life force boy.

yeah you have no room to talk, life force boy.

That's off topic and besides what about the numerous vegan parents that raise healthy kids? [/off topic]

Also ASE said going to church was a fundamental pillar in Christianity but I don't recall hearing anywhere that says you have to go to church.  Unless I misunderstood you.

That's off topic and besides what about the numerous vegan parents that raise healthy kids? [/off topic]

what about the numerous Christian Scientist parents who raise their children right? or the person in this topic who said they knew a Christian Scientist who never got sick?

I guess believing in a lifeforce strong enough to kill your child is excusable but not believing in God, w00t.

Also ASE said going to church was a fundamental pillar in Christianity but I don't recall hearing anywhere that says you have to go to church.  Unless I misunderstood you.

going to church isn't necessarily a core pillar but worship with other Christians generally is, but it doesn't really need to be at a church.

honestly while i am catholic, and believe in jesus christ, one son of god blah blah blah

90% of the fellow christians i have met in my life are considerably bad people even if they don't think so.

christ never taught hatred of your fellow man, he never taught IT'S COOL TO BE RICH, he never taught any of this repugnant shit that is spewed from the religious right. almost everything BAD interpreted from scripture is from the old testament, which was written almost 6 thousand years ago and is by most (sane) lay people's opinion (the vast minority) hugely exaggerated except for the basic fundamental stuff.

also if you believe the earth is 6 thousand years old please jump off a fucking building ok

ps the best thing that ever happened was when i didn't know what creationists were, and thought it just meant you thought god created life. steel explained to me THEY THINK THE EARTH IS 6,000 YEARS OLD AND DON'T BELIEVE IN EVOLTUION and i said "nobody actually thinks that right"

that was the most fun time ever

There's a kind of Christianity that's gaining some ground as of late.  These "Christians" take the idea of the Christian faith (God, Jesus, death and ressurection, etc.) and they strip all the extra crap away.  All they believe is the existence of God, the existence of Christ, and the death of Christ, followed by an "ascension".  They see God and Jesus as a higher power that they can look up to, and they believe that this power guides them through their own conscience.  They believe that their own ability to determine right from wrong is fueled by their belief in God and Jesus.  They also believe that in their faith, they will probably go on in some way that would be more desirable that oblivion.

They basically ignore the bible, and exclusively trust their own conscience, which is the very voice of God.

Unfortunately, this probably doesn't work for the INSANE. (IE: the aforementioned "parents.")  This, however, can be rationalized by simply stating that such a person is blinded to the voice of god by their own mental illness or stupidity.

That's off topic and besides what about the numerous vegan parents that raise healthy kids? [/off topic]

I don't doubt it.  But I can't help but shake an image from my head:

I was working at Wal-Mart in the electronics department.  It was halloween, and we had candy.  A woman with her two kids, a girl and a boy were purchasing a movie.  I held out the candy bucket, and the mother put her hand up. "Oh, no.  I raise "organic" kids.  No sugar."

"No sugar?" I think.  "Those poor kids.  Sugar is a STAPLE of childhood!"  That's when I got a good look at them.

The kids were very pale and thin.  Their eyes appeared sunken and had dark rings around them.  They looked dead.

Of course, it was halloween, and they could have been wearing zombie makeup. (Unlikely.)  They could also have been anemic, and thus would require a controlled diet.  I still can't shake the image from my mind.

but i think the worst part is that even after this, they're somehow completely unshaken in their faith. 

actually, thats the most beautiful part

Nothing quite as beautiful as saying WE'RE STILL RIGHT over your baby's corpse whose death could have been prevented by taking a simple dose of pulling one's head out of one's arse