Slog Comments
Abandonment of Children in the Heyday of Christian Europe
1
Apparently, having fewer children provided those Europeans with a survival advantage for the children they actually kept. (their favorites? the men?)
2
What do the Africans do with their excess children, Mr. Mudede? Make them fight wars against each other?
What do the Indians do? (tech support, not casino)
What do the Indians do? (tech support, not casino)
4
To me, that represents the very reason religion exists in the first place (well, one of the primary reasons, at least).
The world is a brutal, unforgiving place. Good people suffer and die. Innocent people suffer and die. Seemingly for no sensible reason. That terrifies people. So they invent magical paradises where everyone goes after death, where there's no suffering, no injustice, and everyone is blissful and satisfied.
Then, of course, powerful people take control of those fantasies and convince followers that, no, not everyone goes to paradise after they die. Only the holy and righteous go there. Everyone else goes to another hell, but this one lasts forever. And how to ensure you get to be one of those who goes to paradise? Well, just drop a few coins in the offering tray, pledge your eternal devotion to the church, and we'll teach you how...
Religion was invented by people to imagine they'd escape their suffering eventually. Now it's been twisted to convince people they're in danger of suffering eternally, unless they submit to even greater suffering than they're already experiencing. Quite a scam the churches have pulled off, I'd say.
The world is a brutal, unforgiving place. Good people suffer and die. Innocent people suffer and die. Seemingly for no sensible reason. That terrifies people. So they invent magical paradises where everyone goes after death, where there's no suffering, no injustice, and everyone is blissful and satisfied.
Then, of course, powerful people take control of those fantasies and convince followers that, no, not everyone goes to paradise after they die. Only the holy and righteous go there. Everyone else goes to another hell, but this one lasts forever. And how to ensure you get to be one of those who goes to paradise? Well, just drop a few coins in the offering tray, pledge your eternal devotion to the church, and we'll teach you how...
Religion was invented by people to imagine they'd escape their suffering eventually. Now it's been twisted to convince people they're in danger of suffering eternally, unless they submit to even greater suffering than they're already experiencing. Quite a scam the churches have pulled off, I'd say.
5
When President Santorum gets done banning abortion and contraception, cutting all forms of public assistance to single mothers, and doing away with internet porn, then we can have foundling homes w/ rotating barrels in front right here in the US of A!
6
It wasn't that different than other forms of child sacrifice practiced throughout the ages. By giving a child up to the spirits/gods/God/Church, whatever, the parents hoped their survival through hard times, and that of their other children, would be smiled upon.
The Eskimo/Inuit peoples are said to have put the children they couldn't care for, wrapped in furs, adrift on an ice floe, with presumably all the reverence, hopes and fears with which those Europeans stuffed their children in the ruotas.
The Eskimo/Inuit peoples are said to have put the children they couldn't care for, wrapped in furs, adrift on an ice floe, with presumably all the reverence, hopes and fears with which those Europeans stuffed their children in the ruotas.
7
Good Morning Charles,
You seem to quote Sarah Hrdy alot. Are you using just this one scholar and/or book for some (most?) of your conclusions on nature, reproduction and human development? Is Ms. Hardy peer reviewed? It is a widely varied field/discipline and also very contested. I'm noticing that you reference her work often.
You seem to quote Sarah Hrdy alot. Are you using just this one scholar and/or book for some (most?) of your conclusions on nature, reproduction and human development? Is Ms. Hardy peer reviewed? It is a widely varied field/discipline and also very contested. I'm noticing that you reference her work often.
10
Orphanages were popularly called "angel hospitals" because of the low survival rates.
After the fact, "birth control."
After the fact, "birth control."
11
For a major study of this subject, see:
"The Kindness of Strangers: The Abandonment of Children in Western Europe from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance" by John Boswell (1988).
"The Kindness of Strangers: The Abandonment of Children in Western Europe from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance" by John Boswell (1988).
12
This is really no different from how unwanted children were treated in the atheist-run states of Russia and China. The argument you are making is the reverse of the old chestnut: "Stalin killed millions so atheists are immoral," and just as fallacious.
13
Back in the old days in China (when they were religious, before the commies came and provided lots of birth control and made women get abortions) it was common to abandon unwanted newborns in the graveyard. They'd usually get eaten by wild dogs unless someone came along and rescued them.
@12- The argument is: Why should we think the Church has special moral authority?
@12- The argument is: Why should we think the Church has special moral authority?
14
Charles- will you do a post on some of the fb comments Africans are posting regarding the shooting of French children this morning? You did a post recently about how 2 Isrealis posted on fb comments insensitive about Palestinian kids who died in a bus crash. On BBC world news fb page there are hundreds of comments, mostly from Africans, praising the murder of Jewish children. I commented about this before, with a link, but it was not posted. Here is one example
Anas Musa Nice killi i,m vry vry hpy 4dis killing devils jewsh bcos it was just last week israel kill 30 palastin are they not a human beings & d real devils of d world are israel,USA,FRANCE,ENGLAND&GERMANY.
4 hours ago · Like · 3
Anas Musa Nice killi i,m vry vry hpy 4dis killing devils jewsh bcos it was just last week israel kill 30 palastin are they not a human beings & d real devils of d world are israel,USA,FRANCE,ENGLAND&GERMANY.
4 hours ago · Like · 3
15
@ 7: Yes, she has published a lot of peer-reviewed articles (http://www.citrona.com/hrdy/documents/CV…). Now, the peer-review process is not flawless, as we all know, but she is definitely a recognized figure in her field, not some crackpot.
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