Christian Services: Service or Using Others?
Here in America, religious institutions have always had a profound impact on the social and cultural landscape. From providing food for the hungry, to orphanages for abandoned children and hospitals for those who are physically wounded, churches have made a tremendous difference in this world. However, recent years has seen an increased number of people questioning whether or not they should continue to support these organizations and their efforts. The questions being asked are often whether or not these organizations should be classified as "charity" groups or if they are just using others to get what they want.
It has become a controversial topic, with some arguing for the benefits of using people to get what they want and others arguing that it is wrong to use people without giving anything in return. From this debate, "Are Christian Organizations Using Others?" is brought to you. We will look at both sides of the argument and hopefully draw some conclusions from each.
First up is a quote from an article by Robert Oscar Lopez titled "Jesus is Classist." In his article he takes specific verses from Scripture that are commonly used by Christians as justification for using people without giving anything in return, and shows how those verses cannot be used to make this case.
Next is a quote from the Bible, verse Genesis 3:16. This verse reads, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel." Many Christians see this as a warning that God is always striving against men to keep them in check and keep them from oppressing others. The Bible also says in other passages such as Matthew 5:39-40 that Jesus was telling people to not even think of harming each other so they aren't tempted to do such things. Because the Bible says to be so forgiving and loving, they read this verse as a warning against using people.
The next quote comes from the book by Dr. Richard Carrier titled, "Sense and Goodness without God." In his book, he tells a story about a woman who was raped as a child. She made it through with the help of her faith in God and her church community, but when she got older she began thinking about all of the children who weren't so lucky and didn't have that strong faith in God to help them through the tragedy. She started a group that helps these children by providing warm clothing for them when it gets cold outside which helped keep them warm.