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LINKS Compassionate Conservatism: or How to Donate $100,000 Without Spending a Dime, Compassionate Conservatism, by Marvin Olasky, reviewed by Miss Poppy Dixon The Thumb Trick,  |
Miss Poppy Dixon, 06.01
And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.A recent report titled "The State of Church Giving" was published by a Christian research group, empty tomb, inc. After reviewing the giving of 10 mainline protestant churches, and the Southern Baptist Convention it was found that the average church member donated just 2.6% of their income. This percentage is lower than the 1933 percentage, during the darkest hour of the depression. The report states that if a full tithe of after-tax* income were given, the churches would have had at their disposal an additional $131 BILLION dollars for 1998 alone. This figure dwarfs the yearly allowance proposed by Bush's faith-based programs. empty tomb states that "...$30-$50 billion would impact the worst of world poverty and $2.5 billion could end most of the 11 million under-5, global, annual child deaths." It is a shame that Christians who talk the talk, will not walk the walk. Instead of fully following the commandments of their faith, they line up at the government teat, asking for a handout. The study pointed out a long-known fact, that "Giving to charitable causes in general and religious causes in particular is inversely proportional to income." In other words, in the world of charity, the poor carry the lion's share of the burden, while the rich tighten their purse strings. Can we afford to entrust our system of welfare to people who won't give more than the price of two movies and a bucket of popcorn each week? If our commitment to ending poverty does not exceed our commitment to entertaining ourselves, then we do not deserve, nor should we be entrusted with government money.
empty tomb NOTE: My figures were from "Falling Far Short of a Tithe," by Larry B. Stammer, Los Angeles Times, January 6, 2001. His figures are based on the empty tomb's "The State of Church Giving." ADDENDUM One out of every six adults (17%) claims to tithe, but a comparison of the amount that people gave to churches and their household income revealed that just 6% actually donated one-tenth of their income (pre-tax or post-tax) to churches. The level of misreporting among born again Christians was just as prolific: 32% reported tithing, yet only 12% actually did so in 2000.American Christians are quick to SAY they promote the President's views regarding faith-based charities. Yet not only do they not follow through on their own purported beliefs; they have gone so far as to lie about their actual giving to themselves, or others, or both. We are indebted to a vanity that makes them eager to answer questions about themselves. |
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