Atheists and Christians answer these questions?

Question

Atheist or Christian?
How much $ do you give to charity, non profit org's and outreach annually?
How much time do you volunteer to non profit org's or charity work?

No one knows who you are. You can toot your horn a little. My goal is to help people realize that we can all do good in the world.
I commend the Atheists that give. They have to find a purpose greater than themselves. I hope it's God and they just don't know it.

Answer 1

I usually give away 10 percent or more of my resources. Many times if I feel I am "too broke" to help anyone that makes me do something drastic and give away even more. God has always provided for me whether it was just preserving what I have and making it last longer than it should, (cars, clothes, etc) or he just comes through in a variety of ways. Money not blessed by God just goes through your hands like sand. It truly is more blessed to give than to receive. Will give you one example of thousands. I hired a motel housekeeper at the motel I managed one time. She had no car. I started to go get her and give her rides out of my own expense/pocket. It got really expensive but she was a good housekeeper, trying to take care of her sister who had to wait 2 years for disability and so on. One month I was really struggling and said "God you have to help me I can't afford this".........my boss found out what I was doing and reimbursed me the ENTIRE amount. He asked me to estimate my gas costs and just handed me the money. and he was not normally a generous man. It was astounding. I could tell you many such stories about my Faithful Father in heaven. As one person above me said Charity does not toot it's own horn. However. If a person gives and expects that person to give back to them it's not true charity. True Charity is helping those who can never pay you back and trusting God to REPLENTISH your ability to give. I don't believe in Giving to GET Rich from God either. Some preachers go way too far with the reaping and sowing concept and make the whole thing sound like a spiritual slot machine. That really bugs me.

Answer 2

Atheist, I usually donate material goods (toys, food, etc) vice money, because I can't be sure where all the money is going... although I do donate about $50 to $100 cash per year as well to various organizations. Material goods total to about a few hundred a year or so. I donate blood every three months, and I occasionally take part in a "Clean up the Bay Day" or a repair project at a local school. Honestly, I've been slacking a bit since I got out of the navy. I used to be a lot more "community service" oriented. Now, I am more "spend time with the wife and kids" oriented...

Answer 3

Committed Atheist

giving to charity should be a private thing. I agree with previous commenters that charity is not just about money donations - how you treat and respect others is very important too.

I have standing orders each month for Amnesty, NSPCC, Save the Children, Unicef, Lifeboat Fund and 2 local funds.

I do regular voluntary work at my local hospice and do phone helpline work with a charity organisation concerned with adults who have been abused during their childhood.

My financial donations probably average out at about £2500 per year - not very much now I've stopped to work it out, I'm embarrassed to say.

My community charity work averages at around 20 hours per month. I couldn't put a monetary value on it - but it is some of the most rewarding work I've ever done and I would be loathe to give it up.

Answer 4

I don't as a Christian feel its appropriate to
"toot my horn", but thankyou anyway.

I pay the correct tithe and I pay it to the place where I am spiritually fed the meat of Gods Word.
In addition, whatever other means of help
I give or works I do are offerings; that includes money, time, shelter to a homeless one, food to someone hungry, clothing to
people for a cold winter coming -
there are countless ways that we offer ourselves to others - what do you want, a list or something? I really don't think thats
appropriate at all; maybe for an athiest, but a Christian is to give without acknowledgment of it; only God needs to know this information. Tooting one's horn
will only do one thing: it will be your reward for what you do; don't look for the blessings of God in your good works if you choose to toot your horn, because that will be your
reward, period. I would rather keep my
works private between God and myself, and receive those blessings of God that makes my cup runneth over, sorta speak.

Answer 5

As much as possible. The company I work for supports a number of charities both with direct donations and by encouraging its employees to give generously of our time, money, and skills. We even have an annual Impact Day: The firm pays a full day's salary to anyone who spends the day outside the office, feeding the homeless and painting community centers and planting trees and more. We had about 80% participation in this year's event.

Answer 6

True charity doesn't toot its own horn, my friend.

I think I do my share. There are a million circumstances that explain how much or little a person will pay, so if you're looking for a statistical correspondence, i doubt you'll find one.

It's interesting to note, however, that Scandinavia has some of the world's highest rates of charity and some of the world's lowest rates of theistic belief.

Answer 7

Atheist.

I don't have enough money to be able to afford to give anything to charity (most of the time--I'll occasionally give to the Humane Society if I can spare something) but I volunteer once a week in an elementary school. What do I get for that?

Answer 8

LOL@Mooney! He/she is right. You should worry about what you contribute to society and stop wasting time worrying about anyone else. Giving money or doing charity work doesn't automatically mean that someone is such a great person. Did you know that quite a number of people do it because they feel that it will make them LOOK like a good person? Other people do it to have something good to put on their resumes. I learned that in my career management class. Having a good heart and doing things from your heart instead of your wallet or own self-righteousness is what counts. So anyway, what was your point again?

Answer 9

As a empathetic human being (has nothing to do with my religious belief or lack their of) I volunteer time where I can. I choose not to give money, simply because I don't have it to give. I volunteer 2-3 evenings a week as a Parent Helpline contact. They call me for any number of questions they may have. Unfortunately some of my calls include "I'd like to report a case of abuse". But mostly, my calls are from parents who are stressed beyond belief who just need someone to talk to for a few minutes because they need to know they are not alone and there are other people having the same problems raising their children.

Answer 10

1. Agnostic
2. I donate time, so it's hard to say how much that is worth.
3. I'm a volunteer EMT with the local fire/ems department. Have been for 5 years now and I participate in all of the fund-raising events, including donating blood several times a year.