In the name of God

Description

"An anonymous caller tells a detective in a small Oregon town that a woman has just bitten off a man's finger. But the man is not the victim, the caller says. The woman is. She's being held against her will by a group of faith-healing fanatics who are trying to cure her depression with violent exorcisms. The detective rescues her, but she is afraid to press charges against the people in her church. Then the detective gets an even more ominous message: Children in the church have been dying mysteriously for years, and now several more are in immediate peril, facing blindness, disability, and death. Unwilling to stand by and allow more children to suffer, the anonymous caller -- a church insider -- risks everything to work with three detectives and a lone prosecutor to fight faith-based child abuse, and to change the laws that protect its perpetrators. They are joined by a mother who'd suffered a faith-healing tragedy herself, and afterwards dedicated her life to saving others from the same fate. Masterfully written by author Cameron Stauth, In the Name of God tells the true story of their heroic mission, which resulted in a historic series of sensational trials that exposed the darkest secret of American fundamentalism, and revealed the shameful political deals that have allowed thousands of children to die at the hands of their own parents -- legally. Though the battle against faith-healing abuse continues around the country, the victory in Oregon has lit the path to a better future, in which no child need die because of a parent's beliefs"-- "In a small Oregon town, American criminal history reached a tipping point when a series of sensational trials exposed the darkest side of American fundamentalism. Over the past decades, thousands of children had died at the hands of their own parents--legally. Local authorities knew why it was happening, and who was responsible--but did nothing--because faith-based neglect was not a crime. In the Name of God tells the story of how police, prosecutors, and a lone church member triumphed over religious zealotry. Though the fight against faith healing continues around the country, the triumph in Oregon shows a path towards a better future, in which no child needs to die for the sake of a parent's faith"--

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