- Moved closer to work so I bike every day unless it rains
- Stopped buying clothes and many things in general. Buy/sell used as needed
- Eating less meat
- Reuse everything until they fail
An 11 and 14 year old were both recently murdered (probably gang related) at the school our church partners with. We've helped beautify the school, donated bikes, glasses, school materials, other basic needs to the underprivileged.
Haha that's really good. In addition to my under desk treadmill, I also brought some resistant bands so my neighbors and I can occasionally do curls, shoulder presses, etc.
For a long time my church community (mostly in their 20's-40's w/ some folks 60+) frequently worked w/ our local volunteer organizations that specifically reach out to the elderly, disabled, impoverished, etc. This included yard work, resume/career support, counseling, making care packages and so on
I posted elsewhere that my first date with my now wife was volunteering at a hospice care center to provide some company to an elderly lady; she ended up dying before our eyes within a few hours. We spent another hour comforting her husband.
Sidebar - sometimes it makes me sad to see people stereotype people so easily online. Kind of feels like I have to carry the weight of and associated judgment of all those who did bad things in God's name or whatever. This is probably how good police officer, teachers, oft criticized good public servants feel.
Oh well, we all do what we can do. Thanks to all who continue to serve.
You have a good heart - I hope you keep at it, even if it means just keeping the elderly company or helping with simple tasks; they and the senior center staff will certainly appreciate it.
My wife and I did this as our first date when we first started dating; we're both Christian if you're wondering why someone would do this on a first date. Unexpectedly, the lady we were to visit literally lived her last hour before she passed away before our eyes. We listened and comforted her husband for the next hour or so. We also listened to the CNA make the difficult calls to her children, some of which were out of state. It was a somber and humbling experience. Our seniors need love just as much as we do.
It's certainly worth knowing that Christianity, like most religious beliefs or philosophies, does not have a monopoly on empathy, kindness, or service, nor is its profession a guarantee that someone makes those things a studied part of their practice.
But the commentor's claims seem limited to Christianity as a motivator for their behavior, which is hardly objectionable and a very different thing from your challenge-reading of their words.
> There's a pernicious narrative the United States that christianity has a monopoly on positive, moral behavior /.../ it doesn't take long to find examples of christianity creating atrocious behavior
Sure. These are not the commenter's claims, though, so it's odd that they're what you're litigating.
"We did a charitable thing as an expression of / motivated by our faith" is orthogonal to whether some portion of US Christians are either parochial in their moral philosophy or even not particularly good people.
Claiming otherwise doesn't make it look like the they're the one with a hobby horse or over-evangelical approach.
These are not the commenter's claims, though, so it's odd that they're what you're litigating.
It's sure implied by that wording. I think the term that's en vogue these days is microaggression. The exact words "because only christians would do something empathetic on a first date" weren't used, but the implication is there.
Really? It's no longer OK to identify as a Christian? It seems to me that in 2019 the only group that believes it has a monopoly on positive moral behavior are the new church ladies of the far left.
While I'm sure a study conducted by the "Institute on Faith & Giving" and published by a Moonie paper is objective it misses quite a bit by assuming that donating to charity is the only measure of empathy or generosity.
Take a look a the states that rank towards the bottom of the list (mostly New England) and those that rank at the top (e.g. Alabama). Or take a look at how empathy is framed as a McCain vs Obama thing. What's missing from that sort of narrative is that Obama pushed government welfare where McCain fought it, that Massachusetts will have far more mature safety nets than Alabama. Supporting universal access to health care is no less empathetic than donating to a religious charity, the only difference is in who you trust to dole out the resources.
Another difference would be that the kind of redistribution Obama favors is compelled for one side of the equation while charity is more or less voluntary depending upon your vision of what the divine requires.
As others have pointed out, I mainly mentioned our faith as the reason that drives us to serve the greater community such as the seniors at the hospice care center we visited; I almost didn't but i thought it was worthwhile given it's probably an uncommon first date.
I have and love many family members and friends who aren't Christian who of course have done similarly empathetic things out of the goodness of their heart; I'm sure we can all name such people in our lives - we should share their stories too.
I really appreciate the author and in light of this story, all the health care employees who work tirelessly to support and care for the ailing and downtrodden. This is what "loving your neighbor as you would love yourself" means.
