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Which is EXTREMELY weird given that the "red state" people often claims to be Christians. It's literally the core tenant in their religious texts that they shou

Which is EXTREMELY weird given that the "red state" people often claims to be Christians. It's literally the core tenant in their religious texts that they should care about others regardless of circumstances, yet... NOPE.

mensetmanusman 3y ago
The US is confusing because analogously 'most jews are atheists' and 'most christian's are not practicing' It's only like 10% or so that are thriving and practicing core tenants of faith.
brightball 3y ago
What makes you think otherwise? There are so many charities to help with every need out there almost entirely funded by churches. Homeless shelters, home building, bed building, women’s shelters, food pantries, career programs and centers to help you finish your education to get back on your feet, disaster relief and the list goes on for miles. These orgs are funded, run on shoestring budgets and are heavily operated by people freely donating their time. Exactly how does one ignore all that evidence because people favor the effectiveness of these orgs over the bloat of government programs?
- mrweasel 3y ago
  I just find it really weird that you can get together to collect money to help a neighbor get a cancer treatment, which is wonderful, but you're at the same time completely against building a system that would ensure that this wouldn't be a problem for anyone in the future. Or you'll do volunteer work at a soup kitchen, but you refuse to let you tax money fund programs that would ensure that no one will go hungry in the future. All the things you list are wonderful, but the churches can not do it alone nor should they be expected to. I think it weird that the same people (and let's face it, it's not the same people) wouldn't vote for a more careering government.
  - throwawa14223 3y ago
    Can you agree hypothetically, that no matter how much you want anti-hunger programs you wouldn't agree to do it at the expense of putting the Nazi party in charge of it? You might reasonably believe they would use the leverage of having administrative control of that to program to evil ends.
  - brightball 3y ago
    If life experience has taught me anything it’s that government run programs will be expensive, inefficient, ineffective and impossible to remove once in place. We can all freely donate our money and time to organizations that make a difference and we also have the freedom to stop if we don’t believe they are effective anymore. The moment a government program exists, that freedom to choose goes away and you’re stuck with whatever the result happens to be.
    - soco 3y ago
      Here's a challenge: try looking outside the US borders.
ubertaco 3y ago
A growing religious demographic group in the US "self-identified evangelicals who attend religious services fewer than once a month" [1]. "Christian" has, in the US, become increasingly synonymous with "Republican" rather than "follower of Jesus Christ". It's slowly becoming just another label that does the job "Traditional Values" used to do before that one lost its stickiness: it's increasingly just a dogwhistle. As a Christian in a red state, it makes me pretty depressed. I find it hopeful to see trends outside the US political bubble. I hope in the long term it won't be just a political descriptor or a convenient in-group label to wear, but may again be used primarily to describe a set of binding values. [1] https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/august-web-only/church-attendance-sbc-southern-evangelicals-now-lapsed.html https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/august-web-only/ch...
PrimeMcFly 3y ago
If they were good people they wouldn't need an instruction manual on how to be good.

mensetmanusman 3y ago

The US is confusing because analogously 'most jews are atheists' and 'most christian's are not practicing' It's only like 10% or so that are thriving and practicing core tenants of faith.

brightball 3y ago

What makes you think otherwise? There are so many charities to help with every need out there almost entirely funded by churches. Homeless shelters, home building, bed building, women’s shelters, food pantries, career programs and centers to help you finish your education to get back on your feet, disaster relief and the list goes on for miles. These orgs are funded, run on shoestring budgets and are heavily operated by people freely donating their time. Exactly how does one ignore all that evidence because people favor the effectiveness of these orgs over the bloat of government programs?

mrweasel 3y ago
I just find it really weird that you can get together to collect money to help a neighbor get a cancer treatment, which is wonderful, but you're at the same time completely against building a system that would ensure that this wouldn't be a problem for anyone in the future. Or you'll do volunteer work at a soup kitchen, but you refuse to let you tax money fund programs that would ensure that no one will go hungry in the future. All the things you list are wonderful, but the churches can not do it alone nor should they be expected to. I think it weird that the same people (and let's face it, it's not the same people) wouldn't vote for a more careering government.
- throwawa14223 3y ago
  Can you agree hypothetically, that no matter how much you want anti-hunger programs you wouldn't agree to do it at the expense of putting the Nazi party in charge of it? You might reasonably believe they would use the leverage of having administrative control of that to program to evil ends.
- brightball 3y ago
  If life experience has taught me anything it’s that government run programs will be expensive, inefficient, ineffective and impossible to remove once in place. We can all freely donate our money and time to organizations that make a difference and we also have the freedom to stop if we don’t believe they are effective anymore. The moment a government program exists, that freedom to choose goes away and you’re stuck with whatever the result happens to be.
  - soco 3y ago
    Here's a challenge: try looking outside the US borders.

ubertaco 3y ago

A growing religious demographic group in the US "self-identified evangelicals who attend religious services fewer than once a month" [1]. "Christian" has, in the US, become increasingly synonymous with "Republican" rather than "follower of Jesus Christ". It's slowly becoming just another label that does the job "Traditional Values" used to do before that one lost its stickiness: it's increasingly just a dogwhistle. As a Christian in a red state, it makes me pretty depressed. I find it hopeful to see trends outside the US political bubble. I hope in the long term it won't be just a political descriptor or a convenient in-group label to wear, but may again be used primarily to describe a set of binding values. [1] https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/august-web-only/church-attendance-sbc-southern-evangelicals-now-lapsed.html https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/august-web-only/ch...

PrimeMcFly 3y ago

If they were good people they wouldn't need an instruction manual on how to be good.