On 9/6/2013 6:26 AM, Paul Braun wrote:
> On Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 6:03 AM, Andrew Fildes <afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> I just watched a video on the Salvation Army's desperate work with
>> homeless and rather hopeless kids in Sydney - along with a class of ninth
>> grade students - so I found this rather...obnoxious. Yes there's a bloody
>> good chance that they really are, if you can't tell the difference you
>> aren't looking very closely and....just and.
> I'm not saying that I don't help. I'm just saying that I've seen ones that
> were not-so-obvious scams. There's a little newspaper called StreetWise
> that's published for the homeless and disadvantaged to sell - I'll usually
> buy a copy of that from a vendor, and don't have a problem with doing what
> Ken suggested - donating to an organization that verifies who they're
> helping. It just gets a bit scary at times - I'm not really sure how to
> tell the ones who are simply homeless from the ones who also have
> potentially violent mental illnesses.
I imagine it's a problem for may Christians. Jesus is so uncompromising about
giving more than is asked, without any
concern for judging need. In leading practical lives where we are concerned
about providing food, shelter, etc. for
ourselves or our loved ones, and about making sure our charity goes to those
most in need (by our standards), it doesn't
seem so simple.
It's hard to believe one will really be provided for, like the lilies of the
field, the birds of the air, and so on, if
one simply abandons any attachment or claim to the things of the material world.
Much easier for the atheist, thoroughly pragmatic Christian, etc. to make a
reasonable decision about how much they can
help others, some reasonable guesses about where and when that help will do the
most good, act, and get on. Personally,
in the moment of seeing someone looking for a handout, I simply rely on
intuition. I've given to those my mind thinks
aren't deserving and not given to those who 'look' deserving.
You can never really know.
Giving Pragmatism Moose
--
What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
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