Those Blue-State Grinches
Those blue-state grinches
Posted: November 27, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Dr. Kelly Hollowell
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
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 â?? 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 â?? 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."
Those Blue-State Grinches
Torog, I can't refute anything this article claims, but I feel the need to make this statement.
Why do Americans see everything as being so black and white? There's more than just left and right, republican and democrat, religious and liberal, us and them. There's infinite shades of grey in between, and from what I can see Americans ignore that.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, that's just what I see in the media. Do you not think that it's possible to be religiously minded and be a Democrat? Do you not think that a person of Middle-Eastern descent can be just as appalled at Islamic fanaticism as anyone else? No one expressed this as clearly as Bush, in one his most infamous, and frankly frightening, statements: "Either you're with us or you're against us."
Those Blue-State Grinches
Quote:
Originally Posted by F L E S H
Torog, I can't refute anything this article claims, but I feel the need to make this statement.
Why do Americans see everything as being so black and white? There's more than just left and right, republican and democrat, religious and liberal, us and them. There's infinite shades of grey in between, and from what I can see Americans ignore that.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, that's just what I see in the media. Do you not think that it's possible to be religiously minded and be a Democrat? Do you not think that a person of Middle-Eastern descent can be just as appalled at Islamic fanaticism as anyone else? No one expressed this as clearly as Bush, in one his most infamous, and frankly frightening, statements: "Either you're with us or you're against us."
Howdy FLESH,
Actually,those Americans who see everything in terms of black and white,are more likely to be a smaller number,than those who do not think in such terms..those who think in such simple terms,tend to be on the extreme end of their spectrum.
I happen to believe,that there should be no compromise with Evil,no negotiation permissible..to do so,is weakness in the face of Evil..and Evil will always seek to exploit such weakness-just ask the priests who are authorized to perform exorcism's. I do agree,that great latitude should be given to humans,but only if they repent of their sins,if they are un-repentant..then they are deserving of whatever justice is meted out by God and society and karma. There are those humans,who despite our tolerance and forgiveness,that will continue to murder,torture,rape and molest.
There is a distinct difference between a liberal mind-set and a conservative mind-set. Both mind-sets affect the way each lives their lives,both instinctively and by reason. I have come to these conclusions,by way of 45 years of life experience,yet I must always leave the question on the table-What if I'm wrong ? In order to be true to myself,I have to keep an open mind.
When it comes to terrorism and anarchy,I believe that we must all stand up and shout-Either you're with us(humanity)..or you're against us ! There comes a time-when all doubt(infinite shades of grey)..must be cast aside-in order to directly confront and defeat Evil,in such times..there can be no compromise or negotiation,no weaking of resolve and will- with the dilution of such..with infinite shades of grey.
Have a good one...Torog
Those Blue-State Grinches
Quote:
Originally Posted by Torog
There is a distinct difference between a liberal mind-set and a conservative mind-set. Both mind-sets affect the way each lives their lives,both instinctively and by reason. I have come to these conclusions,by way of 45 years of life experience,yet I must always leave the question on the table-What if I'm wrong ? In order to be true to myself,I have to keep an open mind.
there is a distinct difference, but my point is that there many more mindsets than just those 2.
When I cited Bush saying "you're eith with us or you're against us," I wasn't talking about specifically the war on terrorism, I was just making an example to prove my claim that some people only think in 2's, when in fact there's millions. Millions of what? of everything and anything. In any issue, there isn't only Pro and Con, there's more in between.
The war on terrorism is probably one of the very few issues where indeed everyone should be on the same page, because it is so abhorrent. But apart from that, there aren't many more issues where 'Yes or No' is appropriate.
