which is worse?

Question

to lose faith in one's self or to lose faith in god? all to often i see beggers holding up signs asking for money, usually with some sort of religious sign off, i.e. "god bless" or "jesus loves you". at least by the signs they carry, i would assume they are religious. so i wonder what put them on the streets. was it a losing of their faith in god or in themselves?

Answer 1

Losing faith in yourself is far worse than losing faith in God. I am an atheist, but if I didn't continue to believe I have value -- that I am worth more than the resources it takes to keep me alive -- I would go mad.

Yes, they have apparently lost faith in themselves. But there are soup kitchens and homeless shelters and so on, so that if they wanted to get by without such begging, they could. Of course, there are also bureaucrats whose job it is to get them the help they need, and at least some of them might be able to get a job if they had a chance to shower, maybe wash their clothes. There is usually a day labor pickup spot in most towns, whether formally organized or just informally understood.

But they are doing their religious beliefs no good when they add the "God bless" or "Jesus loves you" lines to a begging sign. They just make it look like they are trying to guilt-trip Christians into helping them.

Since many of the soup kitchens and homeless shelters are run by Christians, it seems if they were sincere in their faith, they would go there. Many of them will even help a person to find a job, at least a part-time one. Or they can volunteer to help cook and serve the food at the soup kitchen in exchange for their help.

Answer 2

What put them out there on the streets was probably a long stream of unfortunate events. Not everyone is lucky to have loving family to take them in when a crisis strikes. I would most definitely say they still have faith in both themselves and God if there standing on a corner with their head held high, humbling themselves, and blessing God at the same time. People who can have nothing yet can still praise God have a lot more than those who have everything but don't even acknowledge their father. The ones who have completely given up on themselves and God are in some dark alley somewhere or maybe even a bed at home thrown not caring if they live or die another day,

Answer 3

That question, I have to admit, is beautiful in its simplicity, and yet it says so much. It will be a question that I think Christians will find utterly revolting. That is probably why I like it so much.

I think, implicit in the question, is the answer. Any belief system that one adheres to should make ones life better, or at least mitigate the probability that your life will turn out worse. Obviously, faith in God, as attested to by the overwhelming religiosity among the homeless, is not a protection against affliction, poverty, or any other injustice.

Clearly, having faith in oneself is far more important in this life, than a belief in God. Mere belief in God hasn’t proven to prevent disease, protect against poverty, or thwart those who seek to do you harm. However, having a good sense of identity and self-worth goes a long way to being self-determined and, as a result, working towards solutions that prevent these circumstances from becoming a reality in ones life. A person with a good self-image will exercise and eat right to prevent disease; he will educate himself and save money so he never would have to worry about begging for food, and such an individual who loves his own life, would do everything in his power to guard himself from others who would seek to destroy that life or its quality. A person of unwavering faith, however, might become complacent, because they will be under the impression that belief in a higher power is all that is needed to achieve success in this life, and that misguided notion could be their undoing.

I don’t intend to be mean spirited, for I know that the reason why people are homeless are varied, and not always necessarily their fault, but I think self-perception and self-worth can be big determiners of how one ends up in life. I am sure that many homeless people are in the predicament that they are in precisely because they don’t have much faith in themselves. Maybe faith in the fictional has, in part, lead to their current circumstances. Maybe a little more faith in hard work and their own inherit talents, instead of a belief in a just God that will remedy all injustices, and provide for their every needs, would have worked out better for them.

It is interesting that the countries that suffer the greatest abject poverty happen to be the most religious. To me, that signifies a symbiotic relationship between religion and poverty. It is no wonder the religious leaders, from all faiths, have a fondness for the third world. I think George H. Smith, author of the book “Atheism: The Case Against God” stated it best: “Christianity has nothing to offer a happy man living in a natural, intelligible universe. If Christianity is to gain a motivational foothold, it must declare war on earthly pleasure and happiness, and this, historically, has been its precise course of action.”

Answer 4

Most of the street people have a lot of problems that have put them on the streets. Bad homes as kids, drugs, alcohol, mental illness. I don't know if better self esteem and faith in themselves would help much. I think we need a society that cares for it's people without judgement. We need to help families stop abuse. We need treatment centres and medical facilities, but no one wants to foot the bill.

Answer 5

Homeless people do not necessarily share a common trend of lacking faith in themselves, most of the homeless are usually suffering some brain disorder or just average people who have hit rough times.

What many of them might be missing is hope..

Answer 6

Lose faith in God.

Answer 7

Loss of faith in one's self is far worse than losing faith in God (if there is one). You can't absolve your self from responsibility by meerly turning to God. You were given freedom to choose your path and that's where the folks you see have a problem...They chose a path that resulted in their poverty. I respect their belief in the higher power assuming there is one...however I have to question if such a power would allow them to live like that regardless of their poor choices. PEACE!

Answer 8

Both.... however... one who is of The True Christian Faith may lose "faith" in themselves...but never in God...

being a True Christian" does not make one immune to the weakness of the flesh... Christians suffer from cancer...and they also may suffer from mental illness... Christians are as mortal as any one else.... demon rum & mary jane can lure even Christians to the depths of dispare,

Answer 9

Losing faith in yourself.

I have no faith in god and I am doing just fine. If I had no faith in myself, I would not be able to do the things I have accomplished.

Answer 10

well I hate to tell you all this but not every one that have sign that say Will work for food or asking for food is homeless.some do it for the money.they make more in one day then most people make and a week.but there are some that are for real.and they would take food over money any day.I never give them money only food