Most charities, religious or not, do a fair amount of good work on the planet Earth. But sometimes the inner workings of charities and organisations go awry or completely barking mad. You see, Mercy Ministries, an evangelical christian group, have been doing their “best” to help poor women who suffer from mental health problems. The ministry works in conjunction with another well known christian group called Hillsong Church as well as coffee chain Gloria Jean’s. On the Mercy Ministry website they claim to be

“providing homes and care for young women suffering the effects of eating disorders, self harm, abuse, depression, unplanned pregnancies and other life controlling issues.”

A noble pursuit one would say, that is until you remember that these people believe in a literal heaven and hell, demons and angels and are probably the last people you should go to to help with mental health issues, let alone unplanned pregnancies. You see, three young women who broke away from the group have claimed that Mercy Ministries have been blaming their problems on “demonic possession” and even performed exorcisms that allegedly left the young women suicidal. Of course, Mercy Ministries have been quick to combat these claims in a letter that can be found on their website, here. Notice that none of the claims have actually been addressed in the letter which is written in a very loose manner and seems to dodge the main issue, that the organisation performs exorcisms.

This is another great example of religious-based “healing” having an ill effect rather than a positive one. What is the point of going to a form of “healing” that is considered alternative when you can take advantage of a science-based treatment that is demonstrably effective? Remember that there is medicine and then there is the rest, the alternative really isn’t an alternative. So next time a person walks towards you in a time of hardship with a Gloria Jean’s coffee in one hand and a cross in the other, punch them in the face*.

For further reading check out these links:-

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/17/2191256.htm

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/03/16/1205602228832.html

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/they-prayed-to-cast-satan-from-my-body/2008/03/16/1205602228826.html

http://www.mercyministries.com.au

http://www2.hillsong.com/pages/default.asp?pid=170

P.s. Now for something completely different (kind of). Check out this site (link sent in by Leopold). It’s by a guy named TED! who claims he is the second coming of Jesus or some crap. Anyway, I got over it in the first couple of sentences and you will see why when you check it out. Give it a read and see if you can get further than me!

* (Disclaimer: Do not punch people in the face. It hurts them and you might go to gaol where worse things will happen to parts of you that you don’t want them to happen to. )