Personal Dark Night Of The Soul

[mgf50]

[u In my own case I give what I can and usually to the Red Cross, Catholic Charities, Islamic Relief, the Salvation Army, and some others less often. It isn't much, but I was raised to believe that faith, hope, and charity are the foundations of society. Without these three we are surely all lost. It's not up to the Democrats or any other institutional power, but it is up to us and our collective will to help make life better for those who do not have the power or resources to. And through our collective will to urge those with greater access to resources to provide all of the help that they can afford.

 

Flow

 

I struggle with this. Perhaps there is a better word then charity. I experience charity as people doing things for me without respect for me as a person or respect for my wishes, to enhance their own ego. I am dependent on the charity of the March of Dimes which sets policies to meet the needs of the charity rather then my needs. For example I am forced to sign a waiver against any loss or damge to property or personal injury, yet they hire people who rush to finish the booking often hurting me and damaging my property.

 

I do believe in supportijng people on an individual basis and also based on relationships. However, when I look at New Orleans this doesn't seem to be working. People have been left to depend on charity and as a consequence they have not been able to put their lives back together. I understand that since the US government has become more dependent on charity poverty and homeless has greatly increased in the States. I believe that all people have a right to food, shelter, clothing, medical treatment and a job that gives the a living wage regardless of how competive they are. These should be a right not a charity.

[SoLovedTheWorld]

Hi flatliner

 

I'm coming from a slightly different perspective, one who has always believed but who has great difficulty reconciling what Christ taught with what I see out in the world disguised as being about and from Him, ie organised religion, churches and the vast majority of other Christians. Growing up, I was brought up to believe in a loving, caring, compassionate, all-encompassing and inclusive God and everything was fine until I got into my late teens and twenties and became more conscious of what Churchinaity was about and what it was about was very little of those things He was about or what I was led to believe He was about. I can't speak for you and wouldn't wish to but for me, I keep hold of the fact I do believe in Him and it's to Him I turn, no one else. I don't confuse what goes on out there anymore with what He is all about.

 

God Bless,

 

Jonathan.

[mystictrek]

I just read through this string for the first time and I am so impressed by both the courage of FlatLiner and the sensitivity and compassion of the responses. Progressive Christianity rocks! It's the "real thing."