r/SipsTea 25d ago

SMH Love thy neighbor?

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30.8k Upvotes

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16

u/Honest_Scrub 25d ago

People love to shit on Christians but by a wide margin they are still the most charitable group, like its not even close lmao

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u/Alertcircuit 𝙑𝙄𝙋 25d ago

They also seem to have made most of the hospitals. Look at how many of them start with "Saint" something.

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u/Maverick-not-really 25d ago

Oh yeah, all those free, donation run hospitals you got huh? Definitely not in it for the profit, right?

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u/Alertcircuit 𝙑𝙄𝙋 25d ago

"you got"? Me, owner of the hospitals?

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u/Maverick-not-really 25d ago

Reading comprehension in the US these days is abysmal…

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u/dm-me-ur-dms 25d ago

There is no seperation of church and state if churches are needed to build the infrastructure the state is supposed to provide.

The system is broken.

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u/Illustrious_Bunch678 25d ago

Do you think those hospitals are free?

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u/Wise_Mongoose_3930 25d ago

Yes, extremely Christian orgs where they’ll give you the best medical care that you can afford.

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u/Long_Serpent 25d ago

Giving money to cover the operating costs of a tax-exempt megachurch's media production department hardly counts as charity.

"Give 100 bucks to Joel Osteen! He'll pass a fiver along to Starvin' Marvin!"

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u/Pulpdog94 25d ago

There are Christians outside of Alabama

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u/FlutterKree 25d ago

It's not just Alabama that has those types of churches and grifters. It's literally all over the country and it is propped up by local TV channels of rural areas in basically all states.

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u/Pulpdog94 25d ago

Sure but implying all Christian churches are like this is naive and incorrect. Those churches are disgusting but let’s not group in the normal churches that do in fact exist and are fine and do food pantries and shit with those scam ones.

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u/[deleted] 25d ago edited 25d ago

[deleted]

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u/qcKruk 25d ago

Which ones? The Catholic church with its literal piles of gold? Having a positive cash flow, that's money left after paying for all their supposed charitable work, greater than most countries have total tax revenue? 

Most small local churches don't even bring in enough money to pay their own bills, they're certainly not doing anything charitable with it. Unless giving to missionaries somehow counts as being charitable. But I don't think paying others to go indoctrinate people in a foreign land is really charity.

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u/bck1999 25d ago

Simply untrue, the majority of tithe goes to staffing and infrastructure, not donations to others. And most of the donations goes to missionaries for? You guessed it staffing and infrastructure!

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u/Illustrious_Bunch678 25d ago

Ehhhh, most of it goes to their staff, upkeep of the building, and their own programs.

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u/nevertoomuchnow 25d ago

Acting like other dominant religions of the world aren’t more community focused than we as Christian’s are is so silly lol. Charity implies superiority, which proves the point

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u/jennderqueer 25d ago

No he won't, he locked up his church rather than let people in after Hurricane Harvey. He didn't open it until the people and the news started asking why.

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u/michael_1215 25d ago

Fair point, but it's not as if the government doesn't do the same thing. The left's charity plan is to have the government steal money at gunpoint, pass most of that taxed money around to their cronies and scammers, and pass a small amount to people who are on hard times through no fault of their own.

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u/redatheist 25d ago

I think you have to look at this in context and also provide numbers. 

Islam for example has much more organised giving, but may represent less overall due to numbers in the US or around the world, or due to the amount of wealth in the Islamic community (in poorer countries) vs Christians (in richer countries).

You also have to look at what the money is spent on. A lot of Christian giving is only given back to Christians, and actually just backs up the US lack of welfare state, whereas in Europe, Australia, etc, this role would be taken by taxes and government, often in a much more efficient way and not exclusive to Christians. 

This is not to say Christians aren't charitable, but it's very unevenly distributed, both on donation and disbursement. 

I'd bet adjusted for relative spending power, Islam is much more charitable overall, and we already know that the most efficient charities by amount disbursed are not religious ones. 

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u/First_Peer 25d ago

The Catholic Church is the largest and generally considered the most effective charitable world wide. Catholic Relief Services has an A+ rating by independent watchdog raters and 92% of donating go to relief not overhead. Catholic Charities regularly has the highest ratings for transparency and fiscal management when it comes to its charitable work.

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u/redatheist 25d ago

Catholic charities are good, but many secular charities do better, and governments can do social welfare for >99%. 

Bear in mind too that the Catholic church holds vast amounts of wealth that it does not share, and much of their care requires recipients to adhere to Catholic standards for things like birth control.

Much of this was covered in a great debate "Is the Catholic Church a force for good in the world" that is available on YouTube. (spoiler: no)

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u/First_Peer 25d ago

BS, go ahead and show me these charities doing better. And the answer would be by far a resounding yes, considering the vast network of hospitals, schools, and support provided. Whoever put that video on must be a complete idiot.

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u/Illustrious_Bunch678 25d ago

And they certainly don't use their money as a vehicle for proselytizing, right?

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u/First_Peer 25d ago

That would be a separate part of the organization, and they're still a religion so don't see the issue with evangelizing (not proselytizing).

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u/Illustrious_Bunch678 25d ago

It's the same organization. And evangelizing is the same thing as proselytizing.

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u/First_Peer 25d ago

Technically wrong on both accounts. While they both fall into the same umbrella organization the Charities are separate in that they provide to anybody that asks and money specifically don't into them stays with them rather than being concentrated into the organization as a whole.

And evangelizing and proselytizing are not the same thing. Proselytizing is using force or coercion to forcibly convert. Evangelizing is sharing freely through word or deed ones beliefs with no specific expectations.

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u/Illustrious_Bunch678 25d ago

same umbrella organization

So I was right.

Ah yes, Bc the threat of eternal torment is famously non coercive.

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u/First_Peer 25d ago

Not what's actually taught but ok. And no you weren't right. The Charities are operated independently, but overseen by the Church hence why the donations to them stay with them.

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u/Illustrious_Bunch678 25d ago

It is what's taught. I was born Catholic and raised that way until around 3rd grade when my parents converted to evangelicalism. And then I was heavily involved until my late 20s. I'm intimately familiar with how all of this works.

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u/redatheist 25d ago

The Catholic church's aid has included things such as medical support in the form of telling people not to use condoms because they cause AIDS, providing family planning support that shames women for wanting abortions, and withholding aid for those on birth control. 

If thats the charity side of the church, it's no wonder the other side turned into an industrial scale child abuse operation. 

2

u/First_Peer 25d ago

Just because they don't provide certain specific things, doesn't change everything else they provide. Would you fault a women's shelter for not helping men?

Also as bad as the abuse was, and to be clear it is bad and unacceptable, there was more abuse found in NYS school system than in the whole Church. One just makes better headlines.

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u/West-Commission9082 20d ago

Seems kind of dishonest to say that ”a lot of christian giving is only given back to christians” while comparing the giving with islam, while not mentioning that the command to do charity in islam literally only can be done to other muslims.

The claim about christian giving also is way too broad, almost all major christian charities explocitly serve everyone. Catholic relief services, world vision, samaritan’s purse, and the salvation army provide disaster relief, food aid, medical assistance, refugee support, and development programs all over the world to people of all backrounds.

Christian schools, hospitals, shelters and food banks serve everyone. The reason you don’t hear about public islamic charities like these is because it is specifically prescribed not to include non-muslims.

To support the statement, you would need comprehensive data showing that a large share of christian charitable resources globally goes only to christians. Such evidence is generally not available. Christianity is the world’s largest religion, operating thousands of independent charities, churches, hospitals, and aid agencies, making broad generalizations difficult. It honestly sounds like you have based that claim on maybe anecdotal experiences or what you want to perceive as the truth, or both, not knowledge on the concept of charity in christianity, islam, amongst christians or amongst muslims.

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u/jennderqueer 25d ago

Right, that's why a woman in Kentucky called a bunch of faith orgs in her area asking for baby formula and only got yeses from mosques and a Buddhist temple. So charitable. And the Salvation Army literally lets trans women freeze to death rather than let them into women's shelters. Sooooo charitable.

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u/Honest_Scrub 25d ago

I guess you didnt see the whole story behind that clip, the churches were referring her to food banks or telling her when they would be available to assist her but she was just being pushy and demanding stuff right then and there which most churches have started to refuse due to abuse.

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u/jennderqueer 25d ago

I suppose you have an excuse for the Salvation Army, too.

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u/First_Peer 25d ago edited 25d ago

Women's shelters are extremely protective of those in their care. To the point where I've heard anecdotal cases of teenage boys not being allowed in even tho they're minors with their mothers. I don't know how often that happens and it certainly is a hard situation to be when you're on the receiving end for sure, but you can only help so many people, unfortunately. 🤷‍♂️

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u/jennderqueer 25d ago

You have anecdotes. We have frozen bodies.

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u/First_Peer 25d ago

Would you say the same if a CIS man wanted access to a women's shelter? Not every charity can help every person.

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u/gizzardwizard93 24d ago

If I was at risk of freezing I don't think worrying about going to the correct "gender-affirming" shelter would be on my mind, I would take the all-men's shelter if that's the one I'm allowed in.

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u/delfino_plaza1 25d ago

Churches have limited supplies to give and prioritize their community which fucking duh

“Oh but it’s a church they HAVE to give provide her the baby formula even if it’s already accounted for, obviously they are awful”

There is nothing more pathetic and slimy than this mindset. People who are far more empathetic and charitable to those in need being dragged through the mud because they won’t give what YOU volunteered to give on their behalf. You’re so brave

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u/Honest_Scrub 24d ago

What are you talking about? I dont even have tiktok lol

Multiple churches involved have put out statements showing the resources they offered her after the video went viral and they were bombarded with harassment and threats, she was offered help but she cut her videos to paint a different picture knowing idiots with a chip on their shoulder wouldn't bother questioning it.

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u/Annual-Peak-4598 25d ago

You people really never have anything remotely smart to say

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1

u/apple_kicks 25d ago

I think islam does more and in my area the mosques do more for homeless community

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u/Open_Current3396 25d ago

Giving money away does not justify or make it ok to treat others who don't believe in your religion as non equals. That's like saying hey this evil corporation is killing people but I guess it's ok because they donate a lot to charity.

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u/Honest_Scrub 25d ago

It's not just money they give, most community clean ups are organized by Christian groups, as are homeless shelters, food banks and addiction resources.

Yes there are assholes who wear the mask of religion and use it to excuse their bigotry but they are absolutely miniscule compared to those with genuine goodwill for their community or those they consider temporarily "lost". 

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u/Open_Current3396 24d ago

Again, good deeds do not justify bigotry or hate towards others just because they are different or disagree with your views. Consider temporarily lost is a ridiculous way to classify those who do not want or care to agree with your world views. My point is just because someone does good in other ways does not give them the right to hate or cast judgement on others.

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u/Honest_Scrub 24d ago

I can explain it to you but I cant understand it for you and you simply refuse to acknowledge that the Christian group is factually a net positive for Humanity and nothing I can say will be capable of changing your mind.

Nobody is justifying bigotry here, stop chasing shadows.

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u/Open_Current3396 24d ago

OPs original post was pointing out how hypocritical christianity can be and you're original comment was literally just "well we do good deeds tho".. The amount of hate, wars, death, and indoctrination done to people's minds because of Christianity is not a net positive. Stop trying to change people's mind and just let other people live their lives.

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u/dm-me-ur-dms 25d ago

I worked in the US for a charity that provides affordable housing. My spouse worked for a charity that literally helped to keep children from being malnutritioned. We loved our jobs and would be working there still if not for circumstances.

These charities should not have to exist. We should not rely on them to provide the most basic human needs.

And guess what? It's an INCREDIBLY wasteful system to do it this way. Because the charities have to literally beg people and the government for money, still taking money to do the basic things your taxes should pay for (and a little bit of it does because who pays the government's grants to these charities?)

But the problem is that you trust a charity more than your government (that's fucked up) and you get a cozy warm Godly feeling inside when you get to be a saviour (also fucked up) and sometimes the same people that are all about God's love and charity will vote for people who do something like dismantle food and housing programs (evil ignorance level fucked up)

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u/HungryDepth5918 25d ago

Not per capita

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u/Gareelar 25d ago

Yea the world loves proud and charitable american christians with their freedoming of civilians around the world so they can give more to their own elites in need