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From declining clergy salaries to reductions in collection plates, many churches and places of worship are having to operate with less. This recessionary belt-tightening comes at a time when people are experiencing greater worldly needs and leaning on their spiritual communities for support.
It seems increased financial strain is making it hard for some people to keep the faith. Across the country, congregations are shrinking as their members move away in search of work or stop attending because they can no longer afford to tithe. At the same time, other places of worship are dealing with increased need in the recession by forging new ties with community organizations and fellow faith communities to share resources. They're seeking not just strength in numbers but in spiritual solidarity.
How has your faith been affected by hard economic times? Have you leaned on your religion or spirituality for strength and guidance? Or have you lost your faith because of losing money or your job? Are you "good without God," or is your faith a pillar of stability in an uncertain world?
Photo credit: Malu Green! / Creative Commons
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Faith and the recession should not go hand in hand. The ones who find ways to make it through the hard time ALWAYS come out stronger in the the end. I have to start potty training my children to cut down on diaper costs.
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Throughout this recession, I have seen my income reduced, been laid off, liquidated my savings, and liquidated what I had in my 401K account...all to keep my home, to keep from filing bankruptcy, and to allow me some more time to find another job. In the end I lost my home and declared Bankruptcy.
It is important to note that a good portion of the firm that I worked for went to a very well known church in the Portland Vancouver....throughout this ordeal, I kept praying for a job...I could see what was happening and I was begging for help from my congregation....
I tithed regularly with notes on each gift that I really needed to find a job...you would think in a congregation that boasts itself of over 5000 people that there would be some type of breakthrough.....
Not once did I hear from my pastor, my associate pastor, no calls, no emails, nothing...one day I received an email from the church about financial giving....
I answered back...where were you when I needed help? I got an email back from one of the parishiners wanting to know who did not contact me....I answered back that at this time it did not matter...the person that was writing the email did not even offer to help me....even then. Keep in mind that I was not asking for money..just someone to talk to, to pray with me...
I realized that the pastor...whose income was over $100,000 a year and the vested interersts of the associate staff was all about the income derived from tithing and had nothing to do with me as a parishiner and what my needs were.
What I have learned from all this...you really need to have faith in yourself...how strong is the God in you...forget about the sermons and the speeches..in the end it is you and your God...not the building or the people who are in it. Not the big productions or the grand oratory....just you and the God in you. In the end you and your God are the only two entities weathering the storms...together.
Thank you..Alice Sturgill
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I get the impression that everyone is anonymous in a mega-church. I wonder, do you think it would have been different had you been involved in a much smaller church where you knew everyone?
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Economic disasters and natural disasters tell me the same thing:
There is no god. Were on our own. The only way we will make it out of any problem is to help each other.
Two hands working do more than a thousand hands praying.
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Well said. As an atheist, I consider myself very fortunate that I am not burdened by unrealistic faith in an non-existent 'god', nor having to pay for that faith. Surely if there was a god, he would have prevented all this pain and suffering?
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Maybe it is better to think there is a god, but he is just a real meany! It might help reduce market share. Or maybe he has been texting and missed the Suffering Airport, hopefully he will turn the plane around soon and make a smooth landing.
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I've been laid off, and have been on unemployment since June; additionally, because I was working (though drastically reduced hours), I was NOT eligible for the 65% premium reduction for COBRA. I am fortunate - I have sufficient, liquid cash and equity assets such that I am able to ride this out for a short while - which many people do not. I've been sending out resumes and applications, nationwide, since April (I knew in advance that lay off was pending), but have heard essentially nothing, in response.
I am spiritual, but think religion is a joke - a man made construct that ridiculously attempts to define the infinite as something finite, which is impossible. I do not believe in a personal god that answers our individual prayers.
I believe in the strength and critical thinking ability that my parents and peers taught me, and the lessons I have learned, along the way. I am capable, and will find a way to survive, as me.
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Last week while I was searching the internet for information On an entirely unrelated subject, I stumbled upon a really interesting article by Lorna Dueck about faith and the recession. Entitled "Where is the church-led recovery?", The article outlines the faith-based social movements That Have grown out of times of economic hardship.
"In the Great Depression," she begins, "Were there pockets of faith-based activists who Launched on social change Such A Scale That much of it is still with us today." She goes on to cite a number of examples, "including the creation or co-operative services in Atlantic Canada by the Catholic Church, the growth of Alberta's Social Credit Party, out of the Christian Baptist tradition, and the Pioneers of Medicare by Saskatchewan Premier Tommy Douglas and Baptist preacher.
So what is the role of churches and communities of faith in this current recession?
Church attendance dwindling for decades Has Been, and a growing percentage of the Canadian population Does Not Have Any religious affiliation. While religious observation in mainstream society HAS lessened, Religious Fundamentalism and Extremism HAS grown. This HAS to negative perceptions Contributed in mainstream society or religion in general.
Also there is a disconnect between faith communities much Greater and politics in Canadian society now in the past. This HAS Contributed To The Fact That, as Dueck describes, there are now "high walls around Faith in Public Life," an observation made in That CPJ HAS Discussions on pluralism.
This makes me wonder how the church differential role in this recession Will Be. Will there be Any social movements grow out of That Church Communities that Have a significant impact on mainstream society?
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If one mistakenly adopts Christianity as a means of escaping the trials of life ( a thing never offered in this faith), it will quickly lead to a dependence on the "church" instead of a dependence on God. He will fail you consistently if you expect him to deliver you, though he did not deliver Christ. Then the church, inevitably, will fail you because humans just do that.
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My faith in American Express has definitely been affected by the recession, when they/it decided to reduce my credit limits. Anyway...
This topic is a real killjoy (though I still like it), it is like being in cosmetics at Nordstrom when they ask 'what can I help you with today?' and I am like 'um, nothing.' I don't need help, and if I did, I am old enough to know how to ask for it, and anyway I'm not sure if I would ask you. Well, I don't have faith and I don't need it, so I don't have much to say about it, other then it is a bad idea.
Good without god? I'm bad without god, but I'd be the same bad with him/her/it, except maybe it would be easier to deceive myself into thinking there was some kind of finale of salvation at the end of the symphony. Is false hope bad? I don't know, probably. And, why save the best till last? Can't I hope for something here and now? Good without god, was a campaign of too much credit---to me it seemed to implicitly say people with god were automatically good, but if you don't have god you could still make-do and get by, rather then thrive.
For people who do believe, I have to say, if it all took was a recession to lose faith, I am not exactly sure how much faith you had in the first place. Nor, can I imagine how you would have survived the Holocaust with your faith intact. Gosh, imagine if we would have had a full on depression, a blockbuster for the atheist organizations.
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It is surprising how little it takes to ruin a person's faith. I had great faith in the American judicial system. Freedom and justice for all! The policeman is your friend!
Then I got a $35 traffic citation in a little rural town. I attended their traffic court and watched what happened there. In a dozen cases no one was ever found not guilty. At my hearing the judge said "I find you guilty because you did not prove your innocence." So much for innocent til proven guilty.
Now I'm afraid of cops.
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I think the recession offers us a wonderful opportunity to help each other and to reconsider what's really important in our lives. When times are good we get to thinking that we're great because look at all the stuff we can afford to buy; we become self sufficient.
When times are bad we remember the importance of community and we re-evaluate our internal values and change them to be more in line with our stated values. We realize that stuff isn't important at all. We realize that people are important.
When you talk to people who survived the Great Depression one of the things they often mention was how it drew the community together to help each other out. So it seems that bad economic times can actually help us if we let them.
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Good that you're discussing 'faith' on your show. Why however do your have to tie it to the recession? It would be nice for you to provide a program on this issue without linking it to anything other issue than the reasons for why people in large numbers are becoming more reality and less faith based.
Thanks,
Fred Strong
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I agree Fred Strong. Its interesting to hear how people justify a belief in a benevolent deity, while admitting that life on earth can be hard and brutish irregardless of your belief.
I would like to hear a show on why people are leaving faith so much today. I grew up secular, so the idea of having something you consider 'truth' and then loosing it is quite foreign to me.
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I have a problem with the contrast of Church and a "I have to rely on myself" mentality. At its heart, church membership is about giving of ourselves and participating in what God is doing in the world. Too many folks see Church in society's "What is in it for me, what can I get out of it" sense.
The value for people, particularly men, in economic hard times is the belief that God loves us despite outward appearances. We are worth more than our net worth. Christ died for us. Belief in God gives us hope and new life in the face of all kinds of death, even death of expectations.
Rev. Chris Grewe, Presbyterian
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So, help me understand your first guest...
- She and her fellow parishioners help each other.
- She believes her relationship with God is personal.
- She believes God wants her to be self-sufficient.
So, what is the church for? Where does the guilt over not tithing come from?
Why not just dump the middle man of religion and be a good human by helping others when you can? Why not seek strength in your family and/or friends instead of an idea?
Why pay a tax to be with a ready-made group of like-minded people and to listen to a person telling you what you already know: just be a good person.
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Great comment. Don't these folks realize that giving money to their church is just making things worse? And having faith in something that doesn't exist will prvent them from making things happen.
It saddens me to hear these poor misguided folks have faith in something that has no power or influence.
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Throughout human history religions have been saying that god loves us. And yet the same rules have remained since the beginning of life: the strong eat the weak.
I grew up in the church. I continued trying to be religious thru high school and college and years of working life, with various churches.
Now I regard religions as just more corporations trying to maximize profit.
I am very discouraged. -
Don't get discouraged. Seek out a secular group to join. Were fun, charitable, and help each other. Its just like a church without the fear, dogma or guilt.
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To those people who say that they could not cope without their faith and God, I wonder how many have tried to do just that? Those who believed as a youngster, have not really had the opportunity as an adult.
As a former evangelical of 46 years, with a bachelor of theology and years serving as a missionary in Europe, I am now an agnostic. I have experienced no more difficulty coping with life's curveballs now, than I did as an evangelical. In fact, I feel that since there is no personal god solving my problems, there is more personal responsibility in examining and solving my problems. I am just as content now as I was before.
Having said that, I think that religious communities provide an embrace of support that is hard to find elsewhere. But that is the intrinsic nature of communities, not an evidence of divine intervention.
Wes Mahan
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Getting back to the "simple things" because of the recession doesn't sound like faith to me. If God wanted you to really pay attention to the things that matter that would have been the center piece of faith in the first place. Saying that God wanted to guide you to simplicity sounds like a coping mechanism for this recession, not like faith.
I know plenty of people who have chosen to live simply for many years preceding this recession who do not have an organized faith. It is possible to live this lifestyle even without a recession nipping on your heals.
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My church, Unity Church, has made a substantial response to the economic situation. First and foremost, at church we discuss the meaning of "economy" in its most basic form. We openly discuss what we believe to be the myths surrounding money. Most strongly we've all been asked to consider the myth of "not enough." In the same vein of the law of attraction, we are asked to rethink, rework, and meditation on: abundance, prosperity, love and happiness.
Our church specifically offers classes on Prosperity, the Economy, and guiding your spiritual thoughts regarding these big thoughts.
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It all boils down to one simple question:
Does god have power?
If so, he should use it to stop the pain and suffering, financial or otherwise.
If not, why bother giving time, money, faith and love to him?
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Epicurus, kicking theologies butt since 300bce.
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Does your wife have money and power? then why bother giving your life to her. God doesn't offer himself for sale. In fact, he said, Love me, if I'm worthy of it. If not, don't worry about it.
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Wait! Wait! They have an answer to that---it is going to happen in the future. The free-will-y-ness of Adam and Eve caused sin (suffering) to enter the world. And, life on earth is all one big SAT. College is the afterlife!
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I don't know why I'm commenting again, but for what it's worth: the question of suffering, pain, evil, etc. has been THE dilemma for all humans everywhere and anywhere. It seems to present an unanswerable evidence against a loving God. On the other hand, life holds so many good and sweet things: flowers, natural splendours, babies, puppies, satisfying labour, love, and so much more. All honest souls have had to confess themselves confused. There is a whole book in the Bible about this, and probably one in every treatise of every faith.
I, and you, and most every other person, has asked him/herself this question seriously, and moved in whatever direction they settled upon. My own history covers both paths. All I can say from the experience of my life: abused as child, left home at 15, lost 4year regent's scholarship due to stupid procrastination, three bad marriages, hit with life-threatening genetic illness while volunteering oversees resulting in years in hospital and complete disability ending in a life of hopeless poverty ---
on one path I became dogmatic, selfish, survivalistic and bitter. On the other, I think of others, respect what I do not know, and am free from the biting resentment so natural. I see some of the same trends in the other comments.
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I believe that everything in this life is a test: wealth in how it is spent, poverty in how it is borne. I also believe that after suffering comes easing. These are from the authentic narrations of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
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The guest from the CFI brought up an excellent point. I might have never had a belief in god, but I did grow up believing that the free market would always solve its own problems.
This recession did change that 'belief'. Ive now gone and read Keynes and studied other economic models. I now have less faith in open free markets. Economies should be managed, not let run wild
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Religion is child abuse.
It is like chopping off a babies legs at birth and then giving it a wheelchair out of "charity".
It undercuts a persons personal power, her belief in herself.
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I, like Paul K. live in Vancouver. I am 62, retired and disabled I attended UU Vancouver for over 2 years. After I was stricken with colon cancer and surviving in 2004 I realized I needed afaith network to put me through difficult times. I studied religeons in college, and all my life I refused faiths that believed in prime dieties and my impression of God in the bible is as some jealous deity that thrives upon subjugating man. I enjoy serving my fellow men and woman, and hate myself everytime I sense that I am overpowering weaker people.Because I have faith in humanity I don't need faith in God. I also hate being dependent on others. I have believed all my life this principle:
"Anwer other peoples' prayers and your prayers will be answered."
Giving away my surplus resourses to volunteers is better than giving away money. I have no money and a resourceful mind. I was not hired recently by a faith based organization. I found out that various charities gave to me generously in clothes, food and household goods. If I were working this season, I would have been worse off because this job would have put a great tool on my fragile gastric system and arthritis. Volunteering to earn food and household goods sometimes pays better than money.
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As a member of the Bahá'í Faith and the worldwide Baha'í Community, I feel that the worldwide recession is just another sign of the times. Humanity (collectively) is being challenged about its core values and believes, and since humankind has turned away from God and attached itself to material goods for happiness, this is another of the trials and tests to bring us back to our true spiritual nature. Bahá'ís are working worldwide to bring all the diverse peoples of world into one common family and one common faith.
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People have been saying that forever haven't they? Signs of the times...! What was the Holocaust for? Who needed to be challenged at that point in materialistic history? The Jews?
How powerful could our 'spiritual nature' be if it is so easy to turn away from?
Do keep in mind that when people didn't have the capacity for so many material possessions, they where murdering and slaughtering each other like there was no tomorrow. Just, ask any credible anthropologist.
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Do keep in mind that when people didn't have the capacity for so many material possessions, they where murdering and slaughtering each other like there was no tomorrow. Just, ask any credible anthropologist.
Why ask an anthropologist when you can watch it happen on CNN daily?
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I prayed to a milk jug when I was in college. I needed to find a job in Gainesville before transferring in order to sustain myself over the summer.
I found a great job, a job I still have today.
So, is that milk jug God? Or did the "real" God break all of his rules to help me? I mean, I'm atheist, I was praying to an idol, and I have been told many times I am going to Hell.
Or maybe it was Allah, or The Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Or, maybe it was my software engineering skills, my self-confidence in those skills, the help my parents gave me by making sure I had the tools to learn those skills, the way my parents taught me conduct myself, the experiences I gained at the small jobs my mom helped me find just after high school, and a lot of good luck.
I think I'm going with the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Surely it was his will that I pray to him indirectly through a milk jug.
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Did you buy the milk jug at your favorite Florida store Publix?---'Where shopping is a pleasure.' Maybe that is why it worked?
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Huh, I never considered that. It's a definite possibility. It could also have been that I bought spaghetti during the same trip. God only knows.
I miss Publix... Publix chicken tenders... Publix subs... Publix steaks... Publix spaghetti... Publix pre-made dinners...
That was basically my diet while my girlfriend was away doing research for her PhD. Ah, memories...
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Sounds like your Publix outdid my Publix by a long shot. The one in the Florida neighborhood I grew up in, was pretty threadbare, but it was an old store, and I was a child at the time---oh, yes, this is the mature me! Couldn't tell?
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Not sure when you moved out of Florida, but they went on a blitz starting in the mid-90s or so to renovate and expand. They have been tearing down old stores and completely rebuilding them. They are really nice stores now.
Milk Jugs: universal segue from religious discussions to grocery store discussions.
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Paul wrote that "We must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God." For me, spiritual growth comes in times of stress and hardship. When things are good and comfortable, my faith can become stagnant, or even worse, arrogant. Hardships teach humility.
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Rich, in your second sentence, I removed the word "spiritual". In the next sentence, I replaced "faith" with "life".
I am left with a life principle that applies to any human being, and it doesn't require faith in god.
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"Faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to." - from Miracle on 34th Street
I am a beliver, attend church regularly, and serve on the Board of my church. I believe in the direction that is set in scripture.This is my moral compass and the standard I choose to hold my self to. Yes, I tithe 10% of my income (before taxes, then I render unto Caesar). Do I feel the need to belittle those who do not believe? No. I try to love all my neighbors as I love myself. In other words, I try to walk the walk. Another favorite quote: "He preferred to witness his faith by living an upright life rather then spending overmuch time on his knees on Sunday whining about his piety."
Judeo-Christian scripture is the basis for accepted morality and legality in this country. Those who don't believe: Why is theft wrong? In the absence of spiritual decree, there is no absolute to appeal to.
Yes, there are churches that have evolved into money machines for a pastor or a church administration. Ours operates on shoestring, with an underpaid pastor (he needs another job to make ends meet) and no other paid positions. I know that there are those who fail to meet our human standard for faitfulness (Swaggert, Bakker), and these will always exist.
In this economy, I derive comfort from my faith, although I have been unaffected by job loss or declining salary. I derive comfort from my faith even when what happens is not pleasant (cancer diagnosis, nephew killed in Kabul, cousin dying of AIDS, car crashes). I accept that bad things happen to good people (and vice versa), and that I may not see a reason for it. But to say that God should fix everything because he assuredly can skips an important point. What do you learn from being protected from your own lapses and mistakes? Nothing!
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And please don't condescend to non-theists by implying that, because we don't believe in god, that we have no moral anchor or compass!
If your belief was true, then our prison populations would be primarily composed of agnostics and atheists. In actual fact, the proportion of non-theists in prison is far smaller than in the general non-prison population. This is just another example of christians believing they are morally superior to everyone else, and there is just no evidence to support such a view.
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Judeo-Christian scripture is the basis for accepted morality and legality in this country. Those who don't believe: Why is theft wrong? In the absence of spiritual decree, there is no absolute to appeal to.
Absolutely, 100% incorrect. This country is not founded on Judeo-Christian scripture, and those scriptures are not the basis of our laws.
You can't steal, murder, or purger yourself because you can't have a functioning, just and equitable society where those are legal.
Those are not Judeo-Christian morals. They are, in fact, very secular absolutes; they need no spiritual decree. I am an atheist, and I do not run around lying, stealing, and murdering people because I know that rule of law is necessary.
Not coveting your neighbors wife, not committing adultery, honoring your father and mother, not worshipping idols, etc. are morals and are not codified in law for good reason. Think about the countries that do codify things like idol worship, adultery, coveting, etc. in law and ask yourself if you really want to live there.
The rest of your post is well addressed by other posts in the forums. Your preface indicates that logic is of no meaning, so asking why you need the middle man to help you share strength with your friends and family and help each other deal with hardships is pointless exercise.
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shallowend,
Most faiths and religions serve as the outsourcing of belittlement. Who needs to belittle if god will literally kill, murder or torture the unbelievers in the end. Organized faith is belittling by proxy. It is fantastic to take a measured tone, being charmingly gracious and polite, what a luxury it must be to have heaven await you. Perhaps, certainty in your future ennobles a superficial sense of love and politeness in the now, when you know god will get rid of the wicked (me) in the end.
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As a credit union professional, United Way board member, and active lay leader in several parishes, I've been seeing many sides of the economic impact. Without a doubt, people are hurting, and I doubt there is anyone who has not been directlly impacted by the economy. Church budgets are flat or down, but I'm not seeing people leaving congregations. Smaller churches operating close to the line are really feeling the pressure, though. Attendance actually seems to be increasing as people refocus of what matters in their lives. Individuals, families, and communities seem to be having fundamental conversations about the role of money and material blessing in their lives. In the long run, I think that's a very healthy thing. In the FI world, saving has increased dramatically and demand for borrowing is down as people back away from consumerism. That, too is healthy in the long term. In terms of giving, both in church and in workplace campaigns, it appears that the number of folks contributing is down slightly, but levels are flat or even increasing. In other words - those who still have the resources are stepping up and giving more, likely due to sensitivity for those they see around them who are so negatively impacted. I can't shake the feeling that we're in the birth pangs of a new way of building economies, markets, and community.
In January there is an international theological conference focusing on Building an Ethical Economy, hosted by Trinity Institute of New York. Seems to relate directly to this question / thread.
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Listened to your show on the way to work. Very well handled. But I am puzzeled by the use of the terms "non-believer and people of non-faith. Consider--Every philosophy has a foundational point of origin that is based on Faith. i.e. "there is either something more than us, something beyond the now and ourselves, OR this is all there is. Either position is based on a decision by an individual that is purrely based on FAITH. You can not prove there is nothing outside of ourselves. Every person's phylosopy and world view is based on one of the two positions. Without exception. For anyone to say they are not BELIEVERS is intellctually dishonest. One must be able to posit their statement both positively as well as negatively or it is not a true, tested statement. ie. I do not believe inanything more than this is all there is vs. I believe this is all their is. Once a person owns up to the positive statement of their position, they have jsut owned up to their FAITH.
Respectfully, Wayne Lund
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So, if I don't believe in unicorns that 'alleged non-belief' is equal in merit to the believers (or faith) in unicorns. And, that non-belief or disbelief in unicorns is intellectually dishonest? And, is at the same time commensurate to belief in unicorns? Just apples and apples. With no assessment of general credibility. That is a total load of middle-class, middlebrow, semantic, awkward, claptrap.
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Every person's phylosopy and world view is based on one of the two positions. Without exception. For anyone to say they are not BELIEVERS is intellctually dishonest.
This misconception is a primary reason that many non-theists avoid identifying with terms like "atheist", which is confused when it is defined alternately (and incompatibly) as "no belief in a god" or "a belief that there is no god". Substituting terms like "agnostic" seems to just prolong the agony of the ensuing debate: "oh, well if you don't know if there's a God, let me convince you that there is!" Many of us instead use terms like "humanist" or "apatheist", which could be defined as "I find more important uses for my time/resources than betting on the existence of a god, or ruminating over whether there's a god or not". (By some definitions of God, this "lack of fear" could only come from believe God does not exist, but by others, it could embody the very essence of using the "gifts God gave us". We don't really don't care how believers might explain our motives, actions, or beliefs.)
Really, you do NOT have to pretend you know the answer to the god question to have a very workable, positive, productive philosophy based on the very concrete things around us, one which does NOT rely on having faith that there are hidden and unknowable forces which may help or harm us, either by some big guy's whimsy or as the result of being "naughty or nice". Regarding a rough economy or any other hardship, it shouldn't be too amazing that being able to sense our environment clearly and react to it rationally might be the very good way to get through, with as much confidence as is warranted by the situation.
-Dave
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Mr. Lund, you are so confused.
The fact that one is skeptical, that one does not believe in what cannot be proved, is the very basis of intellectual honesty. I do not believe in god. My nonbelief in god, however, does not equate to an absolute belief in the nonexistence of god.
I do not believe in god because there is not sufficient evidence in my experience for me to conclude that god exists. Can I prove that god does not exist? No I cannot. There is no need for disproof of something for me to not believe it. Such a position would be logically bizarre.
For a variety of reasons, I think that the existence of god, at least as described in the texts of popular religions, is highly unlikely. I see much more likely explanations for the things often attributed to god. I see that the descriptions of god in the holy texts of many religions served the purposes of those who wrote them down very, very well.
Could I be wrong? Of course I could. It is absolutely possible that the Christian bible, or the Koran, or the Torah, is literally and absolutely true. It's possible that a non-corporeal, omniscient and omnipotent being created the universe in seven days a little over 6,000 years ago and then planted countless pieces of evidence in his creation pointing away from this fact. It's possible that this god then spoke directly and often to certain men several thousand years ago and then chose to forego direct contact with humanity ever since. I cannot disprove these things. But my inability to disprove them is IN NO WAY evidence that they are, in fact, true.
My beliefs and nonbeliefs have nothing whatsoever to do with your notion of faith. Your insistence otherwise is evidence of nothing other than your lack of understanding of basic logic.
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I have very mixed emotions about whether or not govt. should ask religious groups to help, because as we just saw in Washington, D.C.; "The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday [Nov. 11, 2009] that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn't change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care" from Catholic Church gives D.C. Ultimatum http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR2009111116943.html
These are exactly the kinds of hostage situations we can expect with faith based funding that we don't get from secular welfare programs. When conservatives call for smaller govt. (and less welfare programs), but more faith based initiatives, this is what will continue to happen more and more. Religious charity is great on its own dime and they should be able to do what they want on their dime... but not on mine. Secular welfare does not discriminate and that makes it BETTER. I encourage everyone to seek out non-religious, non-partisan charities, like Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, The Humane Society, or S.H.A.R.E. (Secular Humanist Aid and Relief Effort).
“When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it so that its professors are obliged to call for help of the civil power, 'tis a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one.” (Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Richard Price, 10/9/1790)
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2012 - Jesus is coming to save us all. Wish I could hear more about this thought amongst religious people. Non-religious myself, more a spiritual realist.
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I do understand that as the economy become worst everyone seems to lose hope but you have to understand if you will keep the negative mentality it won’t help you. Be optimistic despite of the uncertainties that we had. You get a wage unreflective of the success you provide by your labor to your "superiors" – maybe you could get some small business ideas of your own. You could start making the furniture you've always dreamt about, start a travel agency or something along those lines. That's how the biggest success stories started – they started off small with an idea, and grew from there – Microsoft started in Bill Gates' garage, and now people line up a payday loan every time a new version of Windows gets released
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It is a total load of middle-class, middlebrow, semantic, awkward, claptrap. tiffany jewellery
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That is to cool.
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Honesty, trust, getting by with only necessities, are things that would be harder if I was trying to do windows 7 key it without faith in God.
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This recessionary belt-tightening comes at a time when people are experiencing greater worldly needs and leaning on their spiritual communities for support.
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My faith has given me a hope that would not be possible if I did not believe I have been saved for a reason. Tough times bring out the person you really are inside. Honesty, trust, getting by with only necessities, are things that would be harder if I was trying to do it without faith in God.