Badly Burned Child Returns Home, family blames-oops, I mean thanks God.

[beam me up scottie]

Badly Burned Child Returns Home To Celebration

Dylan was badly burned in a bonfire accident last December. He caught fire in his yard before being rushed into his room. Still engulfed, the boy's bed also caught fire. Dylan was airlifted to the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, where doctors were sure he'd die.

***

"We just put in it in God's hands," said Kellum. "He made this happen and we feel like God will open the door for us in the future."

Doctors in Nashville had to remove Dylan's small intestines before he was transported to Shriners. His family will monitor the young boy from Spring Hill, but his aunt said they are considering surgery to replace his intestines.

***

"I look back and I don't understand how we made it. I didn't know we were that strong," said Kellum. "We're a strong family. Dylan's a strong child, and I guess God was with us every step of the way. Dylan's a miracle."

Full story http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=12115840">here

So basically they left gasoline near a hot bonfire pit with a five year old running around; a kid who was probably fascinated by the pretty flames he watched the night before.

And gee golly, what a surprise, the boy grabs the gas and tries to start his own fire, only he burns himself almost to death because his mother and stepfather are where exactly?

Watch the video, I dare anyone to defend the parents' criminal neglect or their god's complicity.

So this kid will be fucked up for the rest of his life because of god?

Really?

Yep, it was god, that merry prankster, ha ha, the adults bear no responsibility, it was obviously out of their hands.

And now it's a MIRACLE !

GAWD saved him! WOO HOO! :party: How wonderful! What a lucky little dude, he only lost some intestines and will likely be disfigured and in pain for the rest of his life but hey - he's a strong kid from a strong family!

Besides, it's what god wanted.

Right?


FUCK that.


I live in the bible belt and do my best to ignore the daily lunacy but this story seriously pissed me the fuck off. I mean blood pounding, ranting and raving, frothing at the mouth ANGRY at the smugness of the stepfather. I have an aversion to violence but I would happily throw this asshole out of a moving vehicle.

How can anyone justify worshiping an all powerful and loving god who wanted this to happen, or even just stood by and let it happen?


Note: This is NOT a christian bashing thread, my liberal christian friends and family and my seriously-lapsed catholic boyfriend can't explain this level of delusion either.






edited for errors, posted too soon

[Jamastiene]

1. Another fellow Bible Belt torturous purgatory sufferer here.

I couldn't agree with you more. It makes me absolutely furious.

[beam me up scottie]

4. The level of rage caught me off guard, I'm usually better insulated. Maybe 'cuz it's a kid.

Kids and animals, no excuse for hurting them.

[abelenkpe]

2. That is messed up.

This story and so many others of innocent children harmed reminds me that if and when I ever meet "God" the first thing I plan to do is slap his face as hard as I can.

[beam me up scottie]

5. If their god exists he's on my shit list too.

Hell would be preferable, at least you'd know what's coming.

[elocs]

3. Let's face it, God has a sweet deal. All the credit for the good,

none of the blame for the bad. I wish I could break me off a piece of that.

[beam me up scottie]

6. It's his PR firm, thousands of years and billions of dollars can get anyone that kind of cred.

It helps that they indoctrinate their followers when they're just babies, too.

[katandmoon]

7. Thank you. I can't tell you how many articles about horrible tragedies

I've read that end with the survivors and/or victims thanking god, sometimes even having a thanksgiving service.

For what? Not making the disaster even worse? Yes, I suppose he could, if he wanted, so by all means, try to appease his vengeful ass so he doesn't.

Yup, that's some god I want to believe in all right.

[beam me up scottie]

8. Tornadoes.

Down here it's tornadoes, love love love how one family can slobber all over the reporters claiming their god was looking out for them because everyone survived while across the street a grandmother grieves the loss of her loved ones in silence.

:mad:

[hex29a]

9. It smacks of hypocrisy and arrogance, doesn't it.

grrrrrr

[beam me up scottie]

10. Exactly!!!

I am so angry I have trouble expressing how I feel but you nailed it, the family that was saved is obviously superior and therefore worth saving - at least according to their god.


*Edit to welcome you to DU, that was rude of me.

[JoeyT]

16. It's really common with hurricanes too.

"God loved us so he saved our house and our family!"
"What about those people across the street who lost family members, pets, and everything they owned."
You get one of two answers to that question:
Some variant on "Their faith wasn't strong enough and/or some nonsense about sin." (aka God was punishing them and they deserve what they got.) or some variant on "It isn't our place to judge and/or mysterious ways." (aka I'm trying to feel special and you're not helping.) Either amounts to "The supreme creator of the universe thinks I'm special and those people suck."

[beam me up scottie]

26. Yep, the "It isn't our place, gawd moves in mysterious blah blah blah" excuse is perfect.

How convenient, they're not questioning their god so it gets them off the hook with him, and it's supposed to satisfy infidels who ask too many questions.

[AlecBGreen]

19. I thank God for everything

the good and the bad.

My life has had some real low points but if they hadnt happened I wouldnt be in the position I am today. A couple spring to mind:

I was kicked out of college for drinking. That was a real low point but good things came of it and now I thank God for allowing that to happen. I was cut off from my family, forced to get a job, work very long hours for low pay, pay my own way through life. I came back and rededicated myself to school and made deans list for the first and only time (I only had 1 semester left when I was booted). I recognized my tendency for addiction and have addressed that.

I moved to China to teach for a year. My first day there I was fired, or rather, told there was no job for me. THAT was a low point. I was in a train station at 4am with all my stuff in foreign country, knew no one, didnt speak the language, had little/no money in my pocket and found out I had no job. I wanted to puke and scream at the same time. I stuck it out and after some hard work I landed a job. I ended up staying 2 years, met my wife and fell in love with teaching. We're still married 5 years later, Im still a teacher, and I thank God for what, at the time, seemed like an awful situation.

Its an awful, shitty thing that happened to this poor child. But I like to think about that scene from Charlie Wilson's war:

Gust: Did I ever tell you the story of the Zen master and the little boy? On his 16th birthday, a boy gets a horse as a present. All the villagers say, "How wonderful!" The Zen master says, "We'll see." One day, the boy is thrown from the horse and is hurt and can no longer walk. All the villagers say, "How terrible!" The Zen master says, "We'll see." A short time later, war begins, and all the young men of the village are taken away to be soldiers, but this boy can't fight, so he is spared, and all the villagers say, "How wonderful!"

Charlie: And the Zen master says, "We'll see..."

[beam me up scottie]

27. Bully for you.

If a human being intentionally did this to a child, he'd get the death penalty, but since your god is responsible we're supposed to thank the sadistic abusive psychopath?

Does not compute.

[Jokerman]

11. "before being rushed into his room"??

Am I reading this right? Did he run or was he taken to his room "still engulfed"?

This story stinks, and not just from the stupidity and hypocrisy.

[beam me up scottie]

12. From earlier reports it appears he ran around outside screaming and then

finally ran inside to his bedroom - the one place a five-year-old thought he would be safe. His older brother then extinguished the flames.

I wonder how long you have to be on fire before the damage is so severe they have to take out your intestines?

[laconicsax]

13. The Abrahamic god sure has a sweet deal

Boy has a go at self-immolation and survives.

Had he died before getting to the hospital, old smites-a-lot would be praised because the boy was 'in a better place.' If he died at the hospital, I'm sure the doctors would have gotten whatever blame went around.

Since the kid survived though, the sockpuppet gets all the credit for the work of others.

[beam me up scottie]

14. Not ONE freakin' word of thanks to the hundreds of medical professionals who saved him.

And why are they asking for cash, shouldn't their god pick up the tab, too?

[laconicsax]

15. Oh, he will...through people who donate.

They'll give the Sockpuppet credit for the monetary donations made by other people.

[DeSwiss]

17. K&R

- So for those of you playing at home, please add "Pyromania" to your Yahweh Skills scorecards.

[charlie]

18. They have a journal

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/Dylansnider/journal

It's pretty thick with the grovelling/glorifying, almost manic.

Some pics.

When public attention fades and there's few left to hear about miracles and God's plans, I hope they can keep it together enough to do the hard work of seeing this kid through the rest of his life. He has no fingers on his right hand. He's encased in the tight, shiny skin of grafts. He can't eat (but can still smell french fries and burgers). Just keeping him hydrated and his gut flora from going out of whack will probably take regular attention. I have a sister whose son is developmentally stunted, severely so. He's fed through a stoma. She and he are an inseparable pair 24/7, because he'd die otherwise.

(Hey. Hello again!)

[beam me up scottie]

20. Thank you for posting that link, I can only take it in small doses.

It's heartbreaking. I wonder how they'll explain to him just how "lucky" he is when he starts asking questions.

Your sister must be a very special person, I can't even imagine...



Hi to you, my friend, I missed you :)

[Dorian Gray]

21. I'm glad the boy is okay

I hope he doesn't suffer too much throughout his life.

[aerie]

22. The kid is not ok.

I would rather be dead & in oblivion than to have to live that way. I sure as HELL wouldn't let my child live with such a lifetime of pain and disfigurement with complete and utter disruption to the entire family. If that sounds horrible, sorry. To me, it's self-less empathy. It would be selfish of me to prolong death & suffering in order to save myself the heartbreak.

I wonder if at some point the family was urged to let him pass. It's always the Christians who let loved ones linger on life support way past what is humane even to the point of increased suffering. Proof they really do doubt their Heaven.

That said, I know it's a kid...who am I to judge?

[laconicsax]

23. Welcome to DU

You're right. It's the 'compassion' crowd that prefers to keep suffering people on life support and prolong their suffering.

Kids are people too.

[aerie]

24. Thanks for the welcome!

And whew, I thought even the freethinking crowd might flame me that comment.

[beam me up scottie]

25. Before Medevac he wouldn't have survived. And I agree, I think that would have been more merciful.

But what do I know? The dude isn't my savior. Maybe their all knowing/all loving god gets his jollies off watching little kids suffer.
I'd be careful about using a broad brush, though, christians aren't the only people who keep their loved ones alive for purely selfish reasons, it's just a lot easier to justify with magical thinking.

Welcome to DU. If this is your first post, you've got some stones, doubting the dogma isn't very popular, even on DU. :thumbsup:

[aerie]

28. Thanks for the heads up!