Posted on 11/27/2004 2:15:08 PM PST by wagglebee
The red state population has been mocked for years as the moral majority that fails in the mind of most liberals to truly follow the teachings of Jesus. Most notably, adherence to the principles of heterosexuality and the sanctity of life are distorted into labels of intolerance and ignorance.
Based on these two rather narrow aspects of Christianity, libs mock the idea that the Religious Right has a caring or generous bone in their collective narrow-minded body. To the contrary, the libs exclusively claim the compassionate corner on the political market as the only ones concerned with the poor, the needy and the disenfranchised.
But as the saying goes, "Our pocketbooks don't lie."
As it turns out, people from the red states far exceed the blue bloods in charitable giving even though they make less money. (That would be called sacrificial living for the religiously ignorant and chronically self-absorbed.)
In fact, Mississippi, the poorest state in the nation, consistently earns its place as No. 1 in charitable giving. At the other end of the spectrum, Connecticut ranks first in making money but joins New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island at the bottom of the list for charitable giving, according to The Catalogue for Philanthropy's 2004 generosity Index.
So instead of bashing the Christian Right as a bunch of intellectually crippled hate mongers, the libs (who obviously fail to put their money where their mouth is) might consider some of the work we do in the name of Jesus Christ. Then, by the way, tell me if you can about each of the liberal counterparts.
First consider the Mercy Ships filled with dedicated doctors, nurses and support staff following the example of Jesus to help and heal the sick. Mercy Ships operate a growing fleet of hospital ships to serve in poor developing nations. "Since 1978, Mercy Ships has performed more than 2 million services, with a value of 250 million dollars, and impacted over 5.5 million people."
They have performed more than 18,000 operations such as cleft lip and palate, cataract removal, straightening of crossed eyes, orthopedic and facial reconstruction; treated more than 300,000 people in village medical clinics; trained local medical professionals in modern health-care techniques; delivered more than $21 million of medical equipment, hospital supplies and medicines; and completed close to 350 construction and agriculture projects including schools, clinics, orphanages and water wells.
Also motivated by Christ's love, the international partnership of Food for the Hungry exists to meet both physical and spiritual hungers of the poor in 37 countries. Founded in 1971, they are recognized repeatedly as one of the most efficient charitable organizations in America. Their annual budget exceeds $76 million with more than 93 percent of total income dedicated to field programs. Additionally, Food for the Hungry sponsors more than 15,000 children in 13 countries and operates HIV/AIDS programs in five African countries.
Operation Blessing has also demonstrated God's love by touching the lives of more than 175 million people in 96 countries and all 50 states, providing food, medical services and disaster relief valued at more than $750 million since its inception. And Catholic Charities USA, the membership association of one of the nation's largest social service networks spends billions each year to provided services to over 10 million people, including food, community programs, housing and disaster relief.
And did you know that more than 6.6 million gift-filled shoeboxes from Operation Christmas Child sponsored by Samaritan's Purse are being distributed to hurting children in the Sudan, Afghanistan, Liberia, Uganda, Thailand, Honduras, Argentina, Mozambique, Vietnam, Cambodia, Russia and Trinidad? "These shoe boxes filled by Christians are bringing joy, hope, and the true meaning of Christmas – Jesus Christ, God's greatest gift to children around the world."
Speaking of children, the Christian Children's Fund is one of the nation's oldest and most respected child-sponsorship agencies. They currently serve more than 7.6 million children and family members in 30 countries. Over their 65 year history, they have dedicated more than $2.3 billion in services to children.
Of course, the granddaddy of them all, the Salvation Army, is a Christian organization and part of the universal Christian Church. "The Army's doctrine follows the mainstream of Christian belief and its articles of faith emphasize God's saving purposes." The movement, founded in 1865, has spread from London, England, to all parts of the world.
Today, the multi-million dollar annual budget of the Army goes to fund programs including shelter for the homeless, community and childhood education centers, addiction dependency programs, disaster relief, refugee programs, thrift stores, charity shops, hospitals, clinics and convalescent homes.
Now as impressive as this listing is, it is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg in Christian giving. That fact combines dramatically with the knowledge that people from the red states (while making less money) far out give those claiming the compassionate and open-handed high ground of the blue states – to which I can only say, the liberals' hypocrisy is at long last revealed.
As for the Christians, giving of themselves, their time and money, I can only say what we all hope to hear one day from Christ himself: "Well done my good and faithful servants."
its just part of the blue state plan to destroy communities
why give to charity cause the state taxes me so much?
why bother working when workmans comp/ unemployment is so lucrative?
why girlfriend wanted to be a teacher, when the teacher asked the class why they wanted to teach..more than 70% said cause of the BENEFITS...only a couple said they enjoyed teaching.
They want high taxes to expand the government to maintain the plantation for minorities, thereby buying the loyalty of voting blocks that don't see they are being kept back by big government.
Of course liberals like the Kerrys use every available tax dodge to reduce their tax rate FAR below the same percentage paid by other Americans. And then they have the gall to ridicule the Bush tax cut.
"Next time you pass that tractor trailer that says "Feed The Children" on the side, you won't see Hillary Clinton behind the wheel."
i just read a michel malkin column in the jwr where she refers to americans as quickly becoming a nation of clueless ingrates as a result of your politically correct education system...spechter and the rinos in your senate are certainly evidence of the clueless part and they also support the cajoneless theory as well...for this xmas ,this canuck would like to recieve some incontrovertible evidence that americans will clean up your schools,colleges,and universities and disinfect your senate too..who knows.. hoserhead country bumkins,like me, may follow your good example.....bcboy
Some people are humbly and quietly generous with their own money.The second group seriously consider themselves more compassionate.Other's are proudly and loudly "generous" with other people's money.
Well said!
Amen to that! It has always amazed me that liberals think raising taxes on other peoples' incomes is somehow a sign of a charitable heart!
They have also entirely missed the lesson from the second half of Matthew 25 (Parable of the sheep and the goats).
"...the libs exclusively claim the compassionate corner on the political market as the only ones concerned with the poor, the needy and the disenfranchised."
The Liberal Left political leaders use this counterfeit idea to lure followers (voters); however, those same political leaders merely use this idea to amass political power unto themselves. They use promises of "benefits" like the rest of us use currency to buy groceries--except they use them to buy votes.
Political power OVER OTHER PEOPLE's LIVES is what the leadership of the Democratic Party crave, and, in the unenlightened past, they have been able to fool enough people to elect Presidents, hold control of the House and Senate for over 40 years, and the Governorships and Legislatures of many states.
As people have become more informed out in those "red" states, they have seen that the Kennedys, the Kerry-Heinz's, the Edwardses, the Clintons, and the various other wealthy Democrats are not giving of their own money to help "the poor, the needy, the disenfranchised," but they are willing to steal the earnings of the working men and women to get themselves elected and in power. With the availability of ideas on the Internet, in home schools, and private schools, people are beginning to see that the ideas of the welfare state are bankrupt and deceptive, and they don't buy into the "Kool-Aid" leaders any more.
Jesus' words were intended to motivate individuals like you and me to give freely of our OWN earnings to help the poor. In my reading of His words, I have never found where he commanded me to go into my neighbor's house and forcibly take part of his pay check to help anyone!
The Liberals may sound noble in their high-minded claims of "compassion," but, if you think about it, there is nothing very noble about stealing from SOME people in order to give to OTHER people. If a Liberal (like Kerry or Edwards) wants to be truly noble, let them work hard and give of the fruits of their own labor to the poor, etc.
How pathetic ... and they're serious about being more compassionate because of their efforts.
Promotion of every sort of perversion; stealing money from the productive to buy votes from the lazy; sheltering our children from religious symbolism; disposing of unwanted children ...
And those are their "virtues".
While you're in the throes of self righteous congratulation...how many of these groups get government money?
I know that Salvation army and Catholic charities are recipients government funds...and Catholic Charities, btw, is heavily involved in the legalization of illegal immigrants. Be generous with your own money!
Oh, I like the Salvation army and give to them regularly.
I don't agree with any groups getting federal money, I think they should be funded solely by private contributions; however, the powers that be long ago determined that our tax dollars should go to these groups. That being the case, I don't see any problem with religious organizations getting some of the money. The left must realize that, as distorted as it sounds, a group of atheists preaching that God does not exist is as much a "religious" group as the "Christian Right" they resent.
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