how can there be so many christians but yet so many starving, homeless, and clotheless people?

Question

i would love for a christian to explain to me why they dont help, even though their religion is all about helping.

jesus said you will always have the poor among you when one of his disciples said to him that he thought instead of having the prostitute rub the fine oil on his feet that they should sell it and give to the poor, he wasnt saying that to make people understand that there will always be poor, but to justify the woman rubbing his feet with expensive oil.

and also to the other person, on thanksgiving i did nothing, treated it like any other day, as a matter of fact i slept most of that day, and on friday we had some scallaped potatoes and ham... lol.
thanksgiving, easter, christmas, even my birthday are mere days to me, they are nothing special.

ray, i am banging down your door because you claim to be christians (maybe not you personally, but you as a christian whole).
i dont bang on the door of non-christians simply because it is not their duty to help, but IT IS the duty of a christian to help.
and if i see a christian that is not doing his duty, i will ask him, "how can you call yourself a christian?".

alexis, LOL, i gave you a thumbs up'!!

thank you brian

thank you bocasbeachbum

im not saying that christians dont help people, but there are just as many christians that help as there are non-christians that help.
im simply saying there ARE NOT enough christians helping.
im saying that there are ALOT of christians who claim to be christians but yet do not help!
and if one is a christian, because he is a christian it is therefore his duty TO HELP!

someone said something about the starving, homeless, clothesless people pretty much all being in a "third world" country like the middle east, in africa and iran.. that is true, there are alot of people over there that need help, but i find it that there are even more americans that dont think its their duty to help others from other countries, and some are christians.

and to that same person, there are, not thousands, but tens of thousands of people left homeless, with no jobs, no food or clothes, and are still waiting for the government to reimberse them (which they have not done) or at least shelter them after the hurricane katrina, which happened how many years ago?
if we are all doing our jobs then explain that one to me!

do you think that by donating money to your church you are helping the helpless? youre not, youre helping your church. (and im not saying thats bad, im just saying thats diferent)

do you think that by donating money to private or public organizations you are helping? maybe a little, but how much money do you think they keep for themselves? you may think it is none, but thats a lie, they all keep a percentage to themselves and usually the percentage is fairly high.

how much is your car worth? how about your house? do you go to payless shoes or do you have to wear name brand items? how many computers do you have? what about t.v.s? how often do you cut your own hair? what about satellite radio? or even taking "vacations"?

now im not saying that none of you help because i know alot of people do.
im simply saying that if you dont help, how can you claim to be christian? im just wondering why we will defend a christian that choses not to help?
its okay though, if you dont help the only person you are hurting is yourself.


i believe that a christian is suppose to care more about what others have then what they have themselves.
a true christian is that person that doesnt have anything new or up to date because he gives to others instead of himself.

i feel bad alot of the times because i have a 6hundred dollar labtop that has such a bad cord that if i move it it will no longer charge and a 5 year old xbox that doesnt even work.
i feel bad because my mom wants to sell old clothes on ebay and wont give them to somebody else.
i feel bad because when i donate 1 thousand dollars to the church i see them get wireless internet or a new front door.

i feel really bad, so bad it makes me cry,

because to be a christian means to NOT WANT anything, except to see others have what they dont have.
and i dont know any christians like this.

how many times do you drive a big nice house and say to yourself, "i wish i had a house that nice"?
how many times do you see a really nice car and say to yourself " i wish i had a car that nice"?
how many times do you throw leftovers in the garbage?
how many times do you eat at mcdonalds?
how many times do you spend more money on shoes or clothes because they are more COMFORTABLE?
how many times have you EVER said to yourself, instead of buying myself a new pair of shoes ill just ducttape up the hole in my other ones and buy some new shoes for somebody else.

how many mp3 players do you have?\
how many pairs of pants?

how many of you buy your children new clothes once a year? sometimes more then once a year. and im not saying im not happy for a child having nice new clean clothes, but i am saying that when a child gets things like this it makes him unthink the important things.

now im not bregging,
but,

i have one pair of shoes that ive had for over 6 years, and if it wasnt for the holes in the front they would be to tight.
i have 3 pair of pants, one pair which i got for my birthday this year, and 2 pair which ive had for about 5 years, i cant even button them up because they are to small, and they have holes that have been sown up so many times that they cant be sown any more.
there is no heat in my house, and i stay warm because of a blanket and a little heater that wouldnt heat up one room by itself if it had to.
i go weeks without even having a glass of milk, and mcdonalds to me is like christmas.

i hate to admit it, but sometimes i do wish for a car, until i wake up.
i even often times wish i had an mp3 player, but know in my heart that if i ever could get one i would probably chose not to.

the only reason i havent sold my house and gave the money to the poor is because its not my house im living in. if it was, i would already have done it.

how many of you are willing to give up everything you have (house, car, clothes, money, computers, tvs, etc) and live on the streets just so you can give something to somebody that doesnt have..

that, to me, is a TRUE christian.

i would be willing to be tortured and killed if it meant that everybody else could have everything they needed and be happy.
would you?

Answer 1

BWAHAHAHA!!!!

I would argue that, if more people were Christians, there would be less starving, homeless, and clothesless people.

Atheists blaming Christians for these conditions is like a drug dealer getting shot then blaming the police because they weren't around. First, you call us idiots then blame us for not helping you even more than we already do.

That makes no sense to me.

Answer 2

Most Christian churches and probably other type of churches, have whats called tithing. From my experience, a lot of that money goes to the helping of those less fortunate than us. It may surprise you to do some research and see just how much money is collected and distributed to those in need not only locally but also overseas. Churches are built, homes rebuilt, education provided and so forth. Christianity has been ridiculed for centuries and is not without some fault. But other factors can't be overlooked either. Some so called christian charities are not what they claim to be. Some governments hoard all that they can before the help is ever able to reach the needy. And then some just refuse to let anyone help their people raise themselves above the poor or poverty level. Is it really only left to the Christians as you claim? Or did you intend your question to be directed to all prosperous people?

Answer 3

Why?
Well actually, we do help. My Church has programs that help feed the poor, such as rescue missions, etc. We also Have a small food bank, that needy people can come and take from.
I am also pretty sure that a lot of Christians help out the poor, and a lot of their churches contribute supplies.

I think your question was a little too focused though. Why are you looking to Christians to solve all problems in society?
I think a better question would be,
How can there be so many human beings that have things good, but yet so many starving, homeless, and clotheless people. Are so many people that indifferent?

Answer 4

I didn't know we weren't helping. I know for a fact that no one in my town went hungry last month because for the last 9 years we have given away food boxes every month. We make sure that if anyone has a need during the month, before we give out the food we take care of that need. I know that there are a lot of people homeless in this world but if you will look a little more closely it is Church's who are sponsoring ministries or have a ministry that help those in need. We also had a clothing ministry, a coat ministry for the kids who didn't have coats. We also buy medicine when we can get it during the winter time for those who can buy it for themselves. (cold and flu meds Aspirin, Tylenol things like that). We also provide Christmas presents for children who live in low income homes. We adopt older folks at the Nursing homes that don't have families and take them things they need. Even though we have found that some people take advantage of kindness, it has never stopped us from giving for those who are truly in need and thankful. So what have you done for the homeless or needy lately.

Answer 5

A good majority of the ones I know DO help. There is simply so much happening in the world that we need MORE help. Are you helping at all? Did you have a comfortable Thanksgiving or did you spend it at a homeless shelter handing out food and providing companionship?

Is it any small wonder that a good majority of the world has turned away from God, and now we are reaping what has been sown? We are a fallen world, and the more people that turn away from God, the more Satan can affect it.

Are you doing anything to help?

Answer 6

I live on an island in the Caribbean and the catholic church built what we call the pope's house. They spent about $400,000 building a home for the bishop where right next door, literally, people are living in thatched roof huts and dirt floors. The average income in that area is about $200 a month. In the last 6 years no one has ever lived in the pope's house. It is a lot like The Shah of iran and Saddam where they had palaces all over the place costing billions, yet they never lived in or even visited them. Your question has been asked since the church started making millions and billions of $ more than 1000 years ago. No one has ever come up with an intelligent answer.

Answer 7

The answer to your question is.......because there is a devil who seeks to kill, steal and destroy. And as long as there is a devil, there will be starving, homeless and clothesless people.

Before He died, Jesus said, "You will always have the poor with you. And whenever you want to, you can give to them. But you won't always have me here with you." (Mark 14:7) Even Jesus knew that the world would bear multitudes of needy people, and there would only be a few who would help to meet their needs.

Christianity is about loving your neighbor.....just because some claim to be Christians, doesn't mean they live by this philosophy. This is unfortunate, but often times all too true.

Myself......I give whenever I can. I was one of those starving, homeless and clothesless people once. I was also helped out of that bondage by a Christian outreach program in my home town.

Answer 8

Not everybody wants help. We have a mentally ill homeless man on our expressway begging for money by an intersection. Some of us called the local church to see if someone could get him help. They were already familiar with him because they were flooded with phone calls. They offered to take him in, give him food, clothes and a place to live, but he refused it because he didn't want to get off the drugs and alcohol. We just give him a few dollars now and then because there is nothing else we can do.

Answer 9

Great Question!!

I am a born again follower of Christ! I have no ability to care about any thing other than my own selfish desires but the Holy Spirit of God has transformed me to a new creation!

The term christian could mean any number of things to people so I usually don't even use it. Some large % of Americans claim to be christian and in the same breath question the authority of the Bible or the divinity of Christ Jesus.

The Bible has something to say about the practice of religion:

James 1:26-27

"Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion the God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Born again followers of Jesus Christ do make it a lifestyle to live reasonably so they can give generously to the needy, sick, and poor. Many devote their time and energy to helping sick and oppressed.

But many professing christians are wearing that label because it is popular to espouse christianity in many parts of America. The church services are full of unsaved people who associate themselves with christianity because it's comfortable, popular, or supportive to them in some way.

Next time you see a professing christian living extravagantly and utterly uninvolved and uninterested in helping meet the needs of others you should ask him to explain why he/she is exempt from the clear instructions of our Savior & Lord Jesus Christ.

Answer 10

How can there be so many altruistic, atheist or non-religious millionaires and billionaires but yet so many starving, homeless, and clotheless people?
I am a Christian and I do help, as does our church. We take food and clothing to the church under the bridge (for the homeless) on a regular basis. We make donations to families in need (monetary or otherwise). We drill water wells in different countries. We do many things to help, so I guess you aren't talking to me. (And, by the way, many of the people in our church live paycheck to paycheck and do without some things so we can help others.)

Answer 11

That is not the fault of Christianity so much as it is the fault of politics and the result of the empire building of the last couple of thousand years.

There are many religions that are ostensibly peaceful and seek to help others, and there are still starving people everywhere.

If you want to help, pointing fingers is not the way to do it. Make a difference where you can, personally. Many Christians, and many others, do exactly that.

I am an atheist, by the way. But certainly not a Christian-basher. :)