(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Thermal Thursday: Christianity and Poverty [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-02 Today’s Topic: We do not believe in the “Prosperity Gospel” and think that it is basically a swindle. My parents, for example, donated to their Church most of their lives because they recognised that all organisations need income to survive, and they were active members so gave both time and money to help keep them going. That’s quite different from “prosperity” churches whose members are told that donations will bring them their own financial prosperity. Such churches also often ask for higher and higher levels of donations, even whilst the preachers are living richly and the congregations are struggling to pay bills. “Prosperity gospel,” though, has not taken over so much of American imagination whilst existing in a vacuum; it has roots in everything from puritans to pentecostals to psychotherapy. See this Vox article on “The long, strange history of a quintessentially American theology”. How convenient for the preachers if they can convince you that donating every dollar you possibly can will make your life better! And how convenient for the wealthy to convince themselves that they are fortunate because they deserve to be! Then everybody is responsible for their own financial state and nobody deserves any help. No, life does not actually work that way. Research has shown that for the most part, we will have the lifestyle of our parents. Yet the myth of upward mobility is part of the rhetoric that keeps us from demanding changes to the system. And of course during times of stress, such as our current society with increasing income and wealth inequality, downward mobility is more likely than upward. However, much of the Bible does not support “prosperity gospel” either, and progressive Christians and even some fairly conservative Christians are much more focused on the injustices of poverty and work to alleviate them. Even the horrendous Old Testament book of Leviticus recommends help for the poor: Leviticus 25:35 If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. As for the Gospels, three out of four of the books tell of the rich man who asks Jesus how he can be saved: Matthew 19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Mark 10:21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” Luke 18:22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when he was told this, the rich man left and was sad, rather than actually giving away his riches! Fortunately, many Christians have decided that they will dedicate themselves to helping and caring for the poor. One such organisation is Food for the Hungry, which has been combating poverty around the world for the last 50+ years. Their approach: We believe that poverty is complex and ever-changing. We believe that ending poverty requires more than just providing raw resources. Our approach is holistic, meaning that we seek to end ALL forms of human poverty by addressing a person’s entire life. Our solutions for programmatic development address the physical, spiritual and relational needs of vulnerable people. We work towards a world without poverty through intentional and purposeful community development. Our approach allows us to partner with local leaders to develop transformative solutions, which are both sustainable and implemented at the hands of the communities themselves. We have four phases for community development that we believe create a foundation for resilience and self-sufficiency. We enter communities with the intention of graduating them in approximately 10-12 years. Our goal is to walk alongside communities so that they’re able to thrive once we leave. It is difficult to judge the effectiveness and sincerity of such organisations from the outside, but note that Food for the Hungry has a “Good” rating from Charity Navigator (and I see “full credit” check marks on every measure I see there, so am not sure why they aren’t “Great”). They also state that they abide by the Red Cross Code of Conduct, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, and their Safeguarding policy. Note also that they have open job positions! If you feel that fighting global poverty is your calling, you might check out those. Food for the Hungry is one of many such organisations trying to help alleviate poverty around the world, motivated by Christian beliefs. I hope this deep dive into one of them increases understanding that there is a Christian spirit of generosity and support for “the least of these”. We have a responsibility to the starving! Finally as always, let’s elevate our Community Cred and repost The Needs List! From Aashirs nani (with permission) on Helping Humpday: PLEASE NOTE: When sending via PayPal, be sure to select “Send to family/friend” to avoid fees on either end. Be aware, both donor and recipient, that GFM not only charges fees, but also money received through that platform is treated as taxable income. If you are requesting help through GFM, also be aware that there can be delays in accessing the money. COMMUNITY NEEDS LIST AS OF 2/01/23: [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/2/2150744/-Thermal-Thursday-Christianity-and-Poverty Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/