Christians Decline Help from
Atheists to Feed the Poor and Other Atrocities
It was brought to my attention by an atheist friend that Christian
ministries have been turning down the offers of atheists to help feed
the poor. One group in South Carolina recently turned down the
offer to help according to The Blaze.
"After the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen in Spartanburg, S.C.,
turned atheists away last spring when non-believers approached the
group and offered to help feed the poor, secularists are hitting back
with an outreach plan of their own.
Upstate Atheists, a local cohort of non-believers, said that they
were just trying to help and that the ban truly surprised them. And
activist Hemant Mehta, a well-known secular blogger, was so
stunned that he quipped that “Jesus would be so pissed off”
as a result of the decision."
In another article The Blaze reports another Christian
organization turning away the help of atheists.
"A Missouri Christian organization has
turned down a local atheist group’s offer to help distribute
Thanksgiving meals to the poor because the faith group says the two
wouldn’t be a “good fit.”
Volunteers with the Kansas City Atheist Coalition have worked with
the Kansas City Rescue Mission over the holidays for two years, but
this year the Christian group has decided to include religious
materials with each of the 500 meals that will be delivered,
The
Kansas City Star reported."
Such activity by Christians is unwarranted, cruel, and unjust.
These atheists wanted nothing more than to help feed the poor and
these Christian groups said that they didn't want “their kind”
there. Landrum in South Carolina even said, “They can set up
across the street from the Soup Kitchen. They can have the devil
there with them, but they better not come across the street.”
Christians are not only to minister to the poor but to atheists as
well. They also are not supposed to turn away those who are trying
to help them. Here's a biblical passage to back that up.
Mark 9:38-41
New International Version (NIV)
Whoever Is Not Against
Us Is for Us
38 “Teacher,”
said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we
told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a
miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me,
40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell
you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you
belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.
It is repeated here in Luke.
Luke 9:49-50
New International Version (NIV)
49 “Master,”
said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we
tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”
50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus
said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
If you don't like the New International Version, feel free to look
it up in the King James Version or whatever version you prefer. The
verses will tell you the same thing. Jesus didn't tell us to turn
away help from atheists or anyone else. By doing so, you are being a
bad example to those you are trying to “save.” How do you expect
them to even listen to a word you have to say after you've treated
them in such a manner? How would you feel if you offered to help and
organization and they said you couldn't help because you weren't a
member of that organization and told you that you could have the
devil with YOU across the street? Would you want to listen to
anything else they had to say?
The same happened at a Sparanburg kitchen even after the atheist
leader told the Christian Organization, Eve Brannon, president of
Upstate Atheists told this to the organization.
"'I told them we wouldn't wear our T-shirts. We wouldn't tell
anyone who we are with. We just want to help out,' Brannon said. 'And they told us that we were not allowed.'"
This kind of behavior is not only detrimental to their particular
church organization but to Christians everywhere. They make people
who don't believe or who are of other religions thing all Christians
are like them. Since some of them are not familiar with Christianity
or the works and teachings of Jesus, they are driving them away by
doing the opposite of what Jesus taught.
At this time of year especially, we need all the hands we can get
to help feed the poor. Due to the economic climate there are more
people than ever before homeless and out on the streets. The banks
which the taxpayers bailed out turned around and foreclosed on as
many of those taxpayers as they could. It's not because they were
lazy or didn't have a job. It was because of the greed of bankers
who would make Ebeneezer Scrooge blush. Why would a Christian
organization turn away help from anyone, especially if all they want
to do is help to do good? It makes no sense and it certainly isn't
the way people who claim to follow Christ should behave. Perhaps
these organizations need to get a Red Letter Edition of the bible so
they can re-read the words of Jesus? They should certainly quit
making it so hard for those of us who do follow Christ to live as
Jesus taught us around people of all faiths. Perhaps then the
non-believers wouldn't be so critical of all Christians. What are
your thoughts?
Sources:
The Blaze, ‘Jesus Would Be So Pissed Off’: Soup Kitchen’s
Atheist Ban Sparks Controversy, Oct. 24, 2013 5:05pm,
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/10/24/jesus-would-be-so-pissed-off-soup-kitchens-atheist-ban-sparks-controversy/
The Blaze, Christian Org. Declines Atheists’ Help in Feeding the
Poor for Thanksgiving, Nov. 12, 2013 1:11pm,
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/12/christian-org-declines-atheists-help-in-feeding-the-poor-for-thanksgiving/
Goupstate.com, Spartanburg Soup Kitchen turns away atheist
volunteers, Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at 4:45 p.m.,
http://www.goupstate.com/article/20131023/ARTICLES/131029846/1083/ARTICLES?p=1&tc=pg&tc=ar
