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I know quite a few fundamentalist Christians. They give because they want to help people. As a whole they're very unselfish people. BTW: Fundamentalists don't believe you get "brownie points" because of good works. They are charitable to be a reflection of Christ and His good deeds. No "selfish motivation" involved.
There are a number of points arising here. One is that you cannot know what is their motivation. Perhaps not even they know. It may very well be that their overriding desire is to be on the right side of JesusGod when the ol' trump goes. Being a 'reflection' of Christ isn't just like wearing a Michael Jackson hat by a fan in devoted admiration, it is about obtaining salvation. To say that it isn't is frankly absurd. That is what Christianity is all about.
I am aware of the faith v works argument and I'd say that it is very arguable that your devoted christian is not at all of the view that their charitable work does not please God one way or the other or that stopping doing the donation would not lose them some favour.
Conversely, atheism is not a church or a religion or an organization and really should avoid being coerced into organizing charity drives in response to 'what charitable work do YOU do then?' goading by theists - that is no more their job than it is for the police or medical profession. We are NOT a religion and have no reason to try to rival or imitate religions.
That said, any individual contributions atheists make are without any desire to buy a ticket for an afterlife or appease some vengeful deity. Their giving is untainted by any ulterior motive.
Even if it is true that atheists donate to charity far less than Christians do, what's the point? Even if Christians are more generous, socially active and even socially responsible than you average atheist, what is the point being argued by the OP?
That does not make Christianity true and atheism false. You cannot buy truth with handouts.
I haven't read the whole thread, but one thing atheists do to help others, including the poor, is making scientific advances, new medical discoveries and cures, and countless new inventions.
You did know that most scientists are atheists, right?
I have a list of about seven charities to which I try to make modest yearly donations, here are two favorites: (one's a good golf swing from my backyard)
First a question, what was the impetus for starting this thread? Felt the need to demonstrate your willful ignorance, or just a demonstration of the your hatred caused by willful ignorance?
While she should read this short but informative Reuters article, she won't. Only 30,000 Christians responded with a gift, versus 300,000 atheists, from a recognized atheist-friendly site. Woo-Whoo! How's them apples for statistics, Lucy The-Hateful-Troll?
Your various (but inaccurate...) "supportive numbers" on Christianity are just rubbish, btw. And even so, there's no true value nor improved validity based on "majority", unless you're voting for more taxes! Your mind is permanently wired, and then also corroded, shut!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackmccullough
I haven't read the whole thread, but one thing atheists do to help others, including the poor, is making scientific advances, new medical discoveries and cures, and countless new inventions.
You did know that most scientists are atheists, right?
Good point. I'll be willing to bet that our primo poster here has, in her life, benefited directly from the medical community's deep technical understanding of evolution, complex biochemistry and the inner workings of the human body. Beyond it's spiritual elements I mean: prayer does NOT work in healing anyone!
The church's mindset for centuries was to burn or crucify anyone who disagreed with them. And now, one of it's major functions seems to be molesting the young. So... should we all do that? I mean, it's the majority thing, right Luc????
BTW, your posts are ever more off-kilter and technically and mathematically indefensible. Wow! What a legacy!
Well, you want a recent list of my donations, or you want me to sum up all of 2011 ?
And u want the daily things, like when I bought a donut for a Veteran on 11/11 because I wanted to (and he wanted one) or you want just the big things (Like $$ Figures)?
fact is, I donate a lot to various charities to help people. I donate Scholarship money to a major university, the scholarship is in my uncle's name and goes to a deserving non-jock student. I donate to a nearby chuurch (one town over) To go directly to the free food program. I also doante to Salvation Army (angel tree), Mayor's Feed the hungry campaign, SPCA, Arts, Education.
I donate a Lot to charities....Just that very few of those "charities" are "churches"
I have dropped about $25 into the Sally Ann's buckets in the past two weeks, usually when I'm on my way out of the store and don't have a lot of change left. But then, I also contribute regularly to a veteran's help group out in Montana (they put together some participatory fly-fishing trips for physical and emotional amputees and other psychologically damaged vets coming out of Afghanistan & Iraq...). I took a vet to lunch recently, and I did't even know her.
I also have sent money in to several other worthwhile funds, but mostly to help the endangered animals that our ever-so-arrogant hominid population has nearly obliterated. That Christian "and man shall have dominion over the lesser beasts..." thing is getting pretty old, frankly! Especially since we all evolved from the same proto-stock!
The utter gall, so to speak, of humans; to sacrifice elephants for their ivory, tigers for their testicles, and bears for their paws and gall bladders, all in the name of a better orgasm or a bigger penis?
We really need to rein in some of the hubris-soaked tendencies of "spiritual man", many of whom are driven by truly greedy religious groups.
Their contributions are often quite self-serving, IMHO.
That said, any individual contributions atheists make are without any desire to buy a ticket for an afterlife or appease some vengeful deity. Their giving is untainted by any ulterior motive.
Exactly! A point I have tried to make before, in different words.
I also have sent money in to several other worthwhile funds, but mostly to help the endangered animals that our ever-so-arrogant hominid population has nearly obliterated. That Christian "and man shall have dominion over the lesser beasts..." thing is getting pretty old, frankly! Especially since we all evolved from the same proto-stock!
I do likewise, although I give mostly to the international and local humane societies. Through humans' careless and inhumane actions/inactions, an incredible number of innocent cats and dogs are euthanized every day. Our "dominion" over the beats has shown us to be incompetent caretakers of the world that the alleged Creator has 'given' us.
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She's a real HOOT, I gotta agree!
