I’m still mulling over the “Imagine no Religion” billboards by the Freedom from Religion organization.
So imagine no Religion. Just imagine all the people who would no longer benefit from the money raised by Christian Aid Ministries ($211 million), Samaritan’s Purse ($237 million), Food for the Poor ($643 million), WorldVision ($804 million), Habitat for Humanity ($902 million) Feed the Children, ($958 million), Salvation Army ($3.1 billion), Catholic Charities ($3.1 billion, and, yes, the last two were billion with a B). And this doesn't count the the hundreds, if not thousands, of other smaller ministries, like homeless shelters, pregnancy centers and all the mission agencies which help the poor and sick.
I heard an atheist recently state that if we just gave up the idea of God, everyone would still give money to all these charities anyway. Unfortunatly, he demonstrates a profound misunderstanding of genuine Christianity. People who are truly Christian, don’t give money to charity because we think we are such good people.
On the contrary, we know we are not good people and that it is only because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we are accepted by God. The good that we do is out of gratitude for the grace God has shown to us. Without God, there is no guarantee at all that Christians would continue to give so generaously to strangers.
So go ahead. Imagine a world without religion. It's easy if you try. Just imagine what would happen to all the homeless, sick, poor, even starving people in the world if all the billions of dollars in Christian giving suddenly dried up.
So imagine no Religion. Just imagine all the people who would no longer benefit from the money raised by Christian Aid Ministries ($211 million), Samaritan’s Purse ($237 million), Food for the Poor ($643 million), WorldVision ($804 million), Habitat for Humanity ($902 million) Feed the Children, ($958 million), Salvation Army ($3.1 billion), Catholic Charities ($3.1 billion, and, yes, the last two were billion with a B). And this doesn't count the the hundreds, if not thousands, of other smaller ministries, like homeless shelters, pregnancy centers and all the mission agencies which help the poor and sick.
I heard an atheist recently state that if we just gave up the idea of God, everyone would still give money to all these charities anyway. Unfortunatly, he demonstrates a profound misunderstanding of genuine Christianity. People who are truly Christian, don’t give money to charity because we think we are such good people.
On the contrary, we know we are not good people and that it is only because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we are accepted by God. The good that we do is out of gratitude for the grace God has shown to us. Without God, there is no guarantee at all that Christians would continue to give so generaously to strangers.
So go ahead. Imagine a world without religion. It's easy if you try. Just imagine what would happen to all the homeless, sick, poor, even starving people in the world if all the billions of dollars in Christian giving suddenly dried up.
