Question to Atheists: Why do you help people in need?

[curiosityandthecat]

Great way to start Memorial Day, hm?

[Whitney]

AntiAtheist is a sockpuppet to pj's ...both are now banned.[/color]

Well....poooh. All that trouble for nothing...

Think of it as a post for all the lurking christians who are like pj and needed to see why pj was out of line.

[KDbeads]

I am so freaking glad I did not get up early enough to read this crap before butthead was banned.  :mad:

[Squid]

A lot of you Atheists love to say that you care about human problems here and now, when us Christians are only concern about the after life. If that is the case, where are the atheist-run Rescue Missions, soup kitchens, Medical ships, after-school programs, Third World assistance organizations, and alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs? There are a number of godless secular programs (mostly run by tax dollars) and private programs, but where is the privately funded atheist equivalent of the Salvation Army, the world's 2nd largest welfare organization, second only to the United Nations?

You Atheists love to pull out the example of Bill Gates and his now full-time dedication to philanthropy, but that appears to be the exception more than the rule. In fact, according to a study by the Barna Group, charitable giving by atheists and agnostics in America is significantly less than by theists.

Since atheistic evolutionary thinking leads to  Social Darwinism and that you atheists have no 'rational' basis for morality in their ideology, the immoral views that atheists often hold and the low per capita giving of American atheists is not unpredictable.

As the bible informs us: Ps 14:1-3 1 "The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they do those things that I hate, there is none that does good." Atheists devote their time not to helping anyone out but rather bring hell to Earth. Just look at 'logical' and 'rational' atheistic countries like the Soviet Union and North Korea.

Being an atheist and having worked in the several fields including research and social services, I think I'm qualified to answer these ridiculous claims even though pj cannot retort - I shall provide this information for the benefit of others here.

First thing to realize is the disparity in number - to put it bluntly, there are way more Christians/religious folk than atheists.  Secondly, atheist organizations are very small and relatively new - it's difficult to organize a diverse set of people who only really have one single belief in common as well - the lack of belief in god(s).  There is no outlined central doctrine which we follow or attempt or at least pretend we adhere to like religions thus making it more difficult to organize.  Another large barrier to organization is social stigma - I've personally seen organizations turn down aid from atheist groups simply because they did not want to be affiliated with atheists.  To circumvent this problem many organizations do not utilize the terms "atheist" or "freethinker" or the like and simply declare themselves "secular".

As for your support from the Barna Group - you do realize that the Barna Group is a religiously based?  But the website you got the info from seemed legit right? Yeah sure.  From their own website they state:

Barna Research Group provides primary research services to organizations focused on enhancing people’s spiritual lives.

I severely doubt their research can be without bias when it comes to the possibility of portraying atheists in a decent light.  But let's examine their "research details" relating to one article about atheists.  It states:

Research Details

This report is based upon a series of nationwide telephone surveys conducted by The Barna Group with random samples of adults, age 18 and older. These surveys were conducted from January 2005 through January 2007. In total, those studies included 1055 adults who identified themselves as atheists or agnostics. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample of atheists and agnostics is ±3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The cumulative sample of active-faith adults was 3011 interviews, accurate to within +1.8 percentage points. The minimum number of active-faith adults interviewed in each study was 250 individuals (+6.5 percentage points), while each study included a minimum of 100 atheists and agnostics (+10.0 percentage points). Statistical weighting was used to calibrate the sample to known population percentages in relation to demographic variables.

Seems scientific enough right?  Not exactly - this information really doesn't mean much at all.  We have no idea what statistics they utilize or even how their surveys were constructed - did they adhere to measurement theory when constructing these surveys?  What model(s) did they use - IRT? SES?  What was the wording?  What did the correlational matrix used for the construction of the survey look like?  Or did they just throw together some questions without considering any of this?  This is the type of information that would be included in a scientific publication.

It's easy to dazzle the average person with bullshit dressed up like research.

[Sophus]

Umm.... I gave to Haiti. Does that count? Or did they "deserve" that earthquake for their "pact with the devil"?

Btw, this troll's username looks very familiar.

[Kylyssa]

Of course this is by no means a complete list as there are hundreds of atheist run and secular charities but check out Atheist Charities anyway.  Make special note of the Atheist Centre of India, it's old, it's huge, and it has saved uncounted lives, probably millions because of its dogged opposition to deadly religious practices such as Sati and female infanticide since the 1940s.

Personally, I've spent about 15 years working in soup kitchens and homeless shelters and I've taken 17 homeless teens and young adults into my home over the years.  I've also taught skills to developmentally disabled adults, participated in literacy programs, and brought food to hungry people with money from my own pocket and with my own hands.   I do none of this to please a deity but to please myself, to better love the woman in the mirror, but most of all because I know that human beings are the only ones that can help each other.  It's a natural part of human nature when it isn't clouded by hateful indoctrination.  If you and I don't act as good and loving members of the human family, who will?  

How many years of your life have you dedicated to actual, real charity and not just laying money in the basket they pass around at church?  

Have you seen the ministers' cars and pastors' homes your "charity" has bought?  Wouldn't it make you feel better to feed a starving child or to let a homeless person sleep on your couch?  Isn't that better than just paying so some person can lead a life of wealth better than your own just for giving a speech once a week to remind you that you are a sinner and then to pass around the plate again?

[philosoraptor]

There aren't enough eye rolling emoticons in the world for this post.

I regularly donate blood to the Red Cross.
I often take homeless people off the street and take them to get food, which I pay for with my own money.
I have volunteered with the Special Olympics.
I sponsored a child in need from Colombia at a time when I was working for $5.15 an hour, which can't even be considered a living wage.
Almost every year, I do give money to the bell ringers from the Salvation Army.
I frequently make monetary or food donations to various good will charities.
I have worked thankless jobs caring for the developmentally disabled for little pay, because I care more about helping other people than making a buck.

But who cares, because I'm an atheist.  Better to line the pockets of the church than to participate in charities that actually do help people.  

I LOLed when I saw pj had to bring in a sock puppet for reinforcements, though.  Point proven.  If what you have to say is actually of value, then you don't need to create fake personas to agree with you.

[Albino_Raptor]

Awr, I am too late, he is already banned.  

[JillSwift]

Atheist Charities

A fabulous lens, and I got so lost in exploring your other lenses. Great stuff!  

[thelittlefinch]

Umm.... I gave to Haiti. Does that count? Or did they "deserve" that earthquake for their "pact with the devil"?

Btw, this troll's username looks very familiar.

Ha! I forgot all about the pact!

[Whitney]

Awr, I am too late, he is already banned.  
Well, I am sure he will be back again when he finds a few minutes to spare talking when his mouth is not occupied with sucking Jesus' dong.  

I think you were just trying to be cute and take a crack at people like pj...but just a reminder that talking about Christians sucking Jesus dong isn't really in line with a civil atmosphere.

[Albino_Raptor]

Awr, I am too late, he is already banned.  
Well, I am sure he will be back again when he finds a few minutes to spare talking when his mouth is not occupied with sucking Jesus' dong.  

I think you were just trying to be cute and take a crack at people like pj...but just a reminder that talking about Christians sucking Jesus dong isn't really in line with a civil atmosphere.

People like him? I have no respect for whatsoever indeed and will make that clearly known with choice words.
I will make sure to keep my mouth more in check in the future then.
Which will not be easy because that was pretty harmless for me... but I am sure I will manage.

[McQ]

Awr, I am too late, he is already banned.  
Well, I am sure he will be back again when he finds a few minutes to spare talking when his mouth is not occupied with sucking Jesus' dong.  

I think you were just trying to be cute and take a crack at people like pj...but just a reminder that talking about Christians sucking Jesus dong isn't really in line with a civil atmosphere.

People like him? I have no respect for whatsoever indeed and will make that clearly known with choice words.
I will make sure to keep my mouth more in check in the future then.
Which will not be easy because that was pretty harmless for me... but I am sure I will manage.

Thanks. Keep in mind the name of the forum you are on. We aim to be different than the thousands of "flame war" sites out there. If you would rather use choice words and do that sort of thing, you have you pick of those sites to do so. We ask that you keep it in check here.

[Killa_Kron]

I hope i'm not repeating someone...but on the countries that are "rational" and "logical" that have atheist leaders...religion has Hitler...he was Roman Catholic and he says in some of his speeches "For the Fatherland in the name of God". You also have Sultan Saladin...Saddam Hussein...Richard the Lionheart....etc. They as a whole dwarf the "evil" done by Stalin (who was just messed in the head) and North Korea (inspired by a man messed in the head)
Btw...not talking about Karl Marx

[dogsmycopilot]

Awr, I am too late, he is already banned.  
Well, I am sure he will be back again when he finds a few minutes to spare talking when his mouth is not occupied with sucking Jesus' dong.  

I think you were just trying to be cute and take a crack at people like pj...but just a reminder that talking about Christians sucking Jesus dong isn't really in line with a civil atmosphere.

People like him? I have no respect for whatsoever indeed and will make that clearly known with choice words.
I will make sure to keep my mouth more in check in the future then.
Which will not be easy because that was pretty harmless for me... but I am sure I will manage.

I couldn't hack it either, Albino. The rules here make the place really dry compared to what I'm used to. (Compared to what I'm used to- to offense intended at all.)  That's ok, to each his own. Everyone is comfortable with something different. I recommend Happy Atheist to friends who find other places too confrontational so I will recommend Debate Unlimited to you. They would have enjoyed your jesus dong comment as much as I did.