(January 23, 2015 at 7:30 am)Brian37 Wrote: But the time is getting late and the world is too wrapped up with the distraction of religion when we should be tackling pollution and poverty worldwide.
I wonder if this is a pond thing.
I get the impression that large numbers of Tea Party types subscribe to the view that the important thing is savin' souls for tha Laurd fer eternity amen; that the environmental message is a fraud, and helping the poor overseas un-American.
However that's certainly not true in the UK. I could go link crazy, but one example will do as a taste- the Archbishop of Canterbury during his enthronement sermon: "The present challenges of environment and economy, of human development and global poverty, can only be faced with extraordinary Christ-liberated courage."
Xians have been in the lead in the UK environmental movement (the Quakers particularly strong here). Xians of all types have been massive supporters of organisations such as Make Poverty History and the Fairtrade movement. Anecdotally, I've been doing this sort of stuff for a while now, and none of the local groups I've been involved with would have been remotely close to viable without their Xian members.
Now there are 'Save a soul first' types here, just as there are many, many socially conscious Xians in the U.S. The latter don't tend to make as much noise as the Tea Partygoers, and because they're not newsworthy just don't get the airtime.
All of which has, I believe, created a very false impression of where the worldwide Church is at.
Quote:To say one voice does not matter is absurd. It does add up.
Agree completely with this. On this and similar issues, Xians and atheists should be
working together .
