Posted by Lunatic on April 19, 2000, at 2:26:27
In reply to THE MIDDLE AGES/REMOVING THE DEMONS, posted by kellyR. on April 18, 2000, at 17:35:07
People are still practicing exorcisms. At the Church I go to, we believe demons exist. What exactly they are is not clearly defined. Some people may think the idea of demons is ridiculous and only dull witted people would believe such things. The Priest of our church also has a PhD in physics. I don't think we have a complete grasp of the totality of reality. An id impulse and a demon are equally abstract ideas. What exactly they are and where they come from is unknown.
In our state, there seems to be a trend towards closing down state hospitals and moving the residents to group homes. I am unaware of anybody being dumped on the street. I think this trend is in part being driven by the HMO's and cost control. I am not sure this is a good thing. Sometimes patients are bounced back and forth between short term hospitals and group homes with no real improvement.
I think the medications available now, although there has been some improvement, leave a lot to be desired. Some of the social movements, for lack of a better term, seem somewhat counterproductive. For example, parents can get in a lot of hot water for physical disipline of their children. Concurrently you have tragedies like the one at Columbine. I think it is a mistake to take the parents right to punish their children, within reason, by order of the benevolence of the state. The rights of the family and the individual should not be unnecessarily encumbered by the state, especially if it has a net negative effect.
poster:Lunatic
thread:30376
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000411/msgs/30546.html