So you are always going on and on about the Christian lifestyle you strive to live, about the charitable example that Jesus provided, yet when it comes to helping the less fortunate with something like their healthcare or education, you refuse to part with your "hard earned money"...I believe you are not truly a Christian and most likely you are an idiot.
Agreed. I work at a church in West Texas and this is the f-ing disease here. I hate that liberals are the proverbial devil and conservatives are the only spawn of Jesus. Yet most "Christian Patriots" here refuse to work in the trenches of the homeless or give a hand to a neighbor/government assisted person or even cross paths with the "tax collectors" of our day. It is mindblowing that our pastor this weekend called us out on all of this stuff and reminded us that Jesus was harshly ridiculed by the Jews of the day for eating and drinking with the sinners and furthermore stated that even foxes have holes, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head... so in other words, the people I live around here would refuse to help homeless Jesus. It is a travesty what Christians are living for these days = bigger churches, indoor coffee shops in the church and slick services and have denied the less fortunate by voting against healthcare or educational reforms to just name a few things.
Jesus ask the rich young ruler to part with his "hard earned money" and the dude walked away. These are sad times....
But I know that there are real Christians out there... I live among a small few of them everyday and there is some hope.
What about all of the hard-working Latino families that are in most cases Catholic and not fitting your dsescription of West Texas Christians at all?
I am actually sitting right next to a friend of mine that fits your description exactly- female/Christian/Latino/ and Catholic and her response is exactly the same as mine on this... The Latino community here in Lubbock is much more empathetic towards the homeless/poor because they are more often closer to the situation. i.e.- they are poor or have friends that are poor or in deep need so they see it and respond naturally to it. The white majority here has much less first hand knowledge and life experience around it so they don't have anything to do with it and treat it as an annoyance or as people that are not working hard enough. Definitely the Christian Latinos are doing a better job with it here but they are the not the majority of Christians here. The majority here in Lubbock are caucasian white Christians and they tend to neglect the homeless and look at them as someone else's problem and would rather just find easier ways to "clean up the streets" than caring tangibly about this part of society.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
Dude, Lubbock isn't West Texas. You got me thinking El Paso and you're over there talking about bumfuck Lubbock.
Dude, Lubbock isn't West Texas. You got me thinking El Paso and you're over there talking about bumfuck Lubbock.
Man, I had hoped for a more productive comment than that. Just a bit of info that Lubbock is in West Texas.
Wikipedia states: "Major West Texas cities and metropolitan areas include: Abilene, Amarillo, El Paso, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, and San Angelo."
So on a more conversational tone (no sarcasm at all), could you respond to my comment? Thanks bro!
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
InnerSpace said:
HarveyCanal said:
Dude, Lubbock isn't West Texas. You got me thinking El Paso and you're over there talking about bumfuck Lubbock.
Man, I had hoped for a more productive comment than that. Just a bit of info that Lubbock is in West Texas.
Wikipedia states: "Major West Texas cities and metropolitan areas include: Abilene, Amarillo, El Paso, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, and San Angelo."
So on a more conversational tone (no sarcasm at all), could you respond to my comment? Thanks bro!
My comment above actually was a response. One, Lubbock is more Panhandle than it is West Texas. And with that, as you said...it is whiter. So yeah, it doesn't surprise me one bit that Christians there (in the Panhandle) are less grounded than Christians in El Paso (West Texas)...for the exact reasons you specified (their different background and upbringing).
Alright. So we will agree to disagree on what actually is West Texas.
But, point is that you and I are on the same page that this region's response to the homeless from Christians is not right, unless it is from the Latino community.
I hope that things change on the homeless front along with the rest of you. It is a complicated situation that needs a lot more constructive conversation and actual action from not just Christians but from everyone despite beliefs.
Christians are people, there are bad people & good people, hence bad christians & good christians. It is not rocket science. Just get on with setting a good example yourself. If you are doing good by yourself & others it doesn't matter if you take your example from christianity or not.
ie: the people who choose* to live on the street, refuse to work (unless you consider panhandling "work") and generally make themselves a nuisance to the rest of society.
(*excluding minors who have been kicked out of their homes by their parents or who have had to flee parental abuse and excluding people who suffer from advanced and extreme, clinically recognized forms of mental illness, who are not responsible for their condition and should be taken off the street and placed into state funded institutional care facilities... a worthwhile use of taxpayer funds that you will find virtually no self-identified conservatives objecting to.)
There is a world of difference between providing subsidy and assistance (both privately donated and via state collected taxation) to those who, generally speaking, can not help themselves (the mentally ill and the extremely physically crippled) vs. providing subsidies (ie: "free money" taken from myself and others who work for a living and pay state and federal taxes) to able bodied deadbeats who most certainly are capable of advancing their station in life if they choose to make the effort to do so.
I was thinking about this post today.
If the mere mention of America's homeless and destitute compels you to point out how lazy and useless they are, you must be so utterly lacking in empathy that I have to wonder what goes on in your head. All kinds of people have gotten screwed over by circumstance, or by their employers, or their family or their government. I guess you think your little paragraph of compassionate exceptions is enough to distinguish who's worthy, and who's gaming the system?
The truth is that you're willing to deny assistance to people that are genuinely needy but don't meet your narrow standards, all so you can save a percentage point or two on your taxes. It must be nice to feel so confident you'll never be one of "them".
Maybe you should have posted something that would have moved it in what you'd consider a "good" direction, instead of just posting a worthless complaint.
ie: the people who choose* to live on the street, refuse to work (unless you consider panhandling "work") and generally make themselves a nuisance to the rest of society.
(*excluding minors who have been kicked out of their homes by their parents or who have had to flee parental abuse and excluding people who suffer from advanced and extreme, clinically recognized forms of mental illness, who are not responsible for their condition and should be taken off the street and placed into state funded institutional care facilities... a worthwhile use of taxpayer funds that you will find virtually no self-identified conservatives objecting to.)
There is a world of difference between providing subsidy and assistance (both privately donated and via state collected taxation) to those who, generally speaking, can not help themselves (the mentally ill and the extremely physically crippled) vs. providing subsidies (ie: "free money" taken from myself and others who work for a living and pay state and federal taxes) to able bodied deadbeats who most certainly are capable of advancing their station in life if they choose to make the effort to do so.
I was thinking about this post today.
If the mere mention of America's homeless and destitute compels you to point out how lazy and useless they are, you must be so utterly lacking in empathy that I have to wonder what goes on in your head. All kinds of people have gotten screwed over by circumstance, or by their employers, or their family or their government. I guess you think your little paragraph of compassionate exceptions is enough to distinguish who's worthy, and who's gaming the system?
The truth is that you're willing to deny assistance to people that are genuinely needy but don't meet your narrow standards, all so you can save a percentage point or two on your taxes. It must be nice to feel so confident you'll never be one of "them".
Exactly.
Ronald Reagan cashed in every one of his Social Security checks.
People should be charitable if they want but should not be forced. It is YOUR right to deny assistance to whoever you want, providing you earned your money and didn't get it from the government. If you aren't the best judge of character in charitable actions, then who is? "Blind" donations and giving whenever you can to whoever has his hand out is the equivalent of letting anyone into your house to take anything they want.
If you earn a living and feel that strongly about helping the small percentage of truly helpless and homeless, you should start or find a private charity and donate a substantial portion of your wages to encourage others to match you. If you don't make enough to do this and not go homeless yourself, then the best thing you can do in the meantime is to make more money.
@Unherd - Please clarify how all kinds of people have been screwed over by their employer and circumstance?
Comments
I am actually sitting right next to a friend of mine that fits your description exactly- female/Christian/Latino/ and Catholic and her response is exactly the same as mine on this... The Latino community here in Lubbock is much more empathetic towards the homeless/poor because they are more often closer to the situation. i.e.- they are poor or have friends that are poor or in deep need so they see it and respond naturally to it. The white majority here has much less first hand knowledge and life experience around it so they don't have anything to do with it and treat it as an annoyance or as people that are not working hard enough. Definitely the Christian Latinos are doing a better job with it here but they are the not the majority of Christians here. The majority here in Lubbock are caucasian white Christians and they tend to neglect the homeless and look at them as someone else's problem and would rather just find easier ways to "clean up the streets" than caring tangibly about this part of society.
Cool - I first heard of them a few years back through the NFB and a documentary someone was proposing to do. I think it may have happened?
Man, I had hoped for a more productive comment than that. Just a bit of info that Lubbock is in West Texas.
Wikipedia states: "Major West Texas cities and metropolitan areas include: Abilene, Amarillo, El Paso, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, and San Angelo."
So on a more conversational tone (no sarcasm at all), could you respond to my comment? Thanks bro!
My comment above actually was a response. One, Lubbock is more Panhandle than it is West Texas. And with that, as you said...it is whiter. So yeah, it doesn't surprise me one bit that Christians there (in the Panhandle) are less grounded than Christians in El Paso (West Texas)...for the exact reasons you specified (their different background and upbringing).
But, point is that you and I are on the same page that this region's response to the homeless from Christians is not right, unless it is from the Latino community.
I hope that things change on the homeless front along with the rest of you. It is a complicated situation that needs a lot more constructive conversation and actual action from not just Christians but from everyone despite beliefs.
I've never heard of one, but it could exist!
I was thinking about this post today.
If the mere mention of America's homeless and destitute compels you to point out how lazy and useless they are, you must be so utterly lacking in empathy that I have to wonder what goes on in your head. All kinds of people have gotten screwed over by circumstance, or by their employers, or their family or their government. I guess you think your little paragraph of compassionate exceptions is enough to distinguish who's worthy, and who's gaming the system?
The truth is that you're willing to deny assistance to people that are genuinely needy but don't meet your narrow standards, all so you can save a percentage point or two on your taxes. It must be nice to feel so confident you'll never be one of "them".
Maybe you should have posted something that would have moved it in what you'd consider a "good" direction, instead of just posting a worthless complaint.
Just a suggestion.
Exactly.
Ronald Reagan cashed in every one of his Social Security checks.
If you earn a living and feel that strongly about helping the small percentage of truly helpless and homeless, you should start or find a private charity and donate a substantial portion of your wages to encourage others to match you. If you don't make enough to do this and not go homeless yourself, then the best thing you can do in the meantime is to make more money.
@Unherd - Please clarify how all kinds of people have been screwed over by their employer and circumstance?
Exhibit #1 in the Did You Just Land On This Planet file.