You should deploy on a humanitarian mission!

[Joelcool7]

scottie said:
Ok, time for opinions then. They won't be brief I'm afraid :P Enjoy the wall of text.

First, I would like to go into why I am not on a humanitarian mission.

Currently, I am undertaking an honours project doing research into improving the energy efficiency and cost effectiveness of solar cells. I consider this to be important work. I believe that global warming will, if we do not change our ways, have an incredible impact on the world's poorest, including making it much more difficult to feed the world. I could not be doing this research anywhere in the world - it requires very specialised equipment. If I were to now go on a humanitarian aid mission, it would be instead of the work I am currently doing, which I believe to be a poor trade off - as others have pointed out, while curing the symptoms can be important, curing or preventing the causes is more important.

As part of curing the causes, I also undertake some fairly severe personal sacrifices. My household is made up just of university students (all agnostics). We recently chose to pay a significant amount extra per month, to purchase green power. This may not seem like a lot compared to $2700, but keep in mind that after paying rent, for basic foodstuffs and bills, our entire house would not have even close to $2700 in disposable income for a whole year. We have not used the heater or tumble dryer, despite the -5oC temperatures it has reached recently. We ride bikes to and from university instead of driving, whether it's cold, raining, dark or whatever.

I have very much been considering doing something with engineers without borders when I complete my degree. I shall have to, at the time, weigh up the good I can do by staying and by going.

Second, as for why there are no atheist aid organisations, that is simply due to Christians choosing one method of helping people out, whilst atheists generally choose a different way. For example, I would never donate to a charity, or work for a charity, if even a single iota of my money or effort goes into spreading Christianity or any other religion. I don’t care if you spread your religion to anyone who wishes to listen, but I shall have no part of it. This is why you will not see many Atheists in a Christian charity.

As for why you don’t see many atheist charities, there are two reasons for that. The first, is that atheists are not a coherent group, in the sense that Christians are. Secondly, if you desire is 100% to help people, as opposed to mostly desiring to help people and partially desiring to spread your religion (and I do understand that you would probably consider converting someone to be helping them, but by helping people I mean in the food and shelter sense) then it makes sense to donate to charities, to write to your congressman, and to do other anonymous charitable deeds where you never see the people you are helping. I for example have been a doorknocker for the red shield appeal on multiple occasions. One of my housemates (agnostic) is doing a lot with Oaktree (which I think is actually a Christian organisation?). In the case that you also have the aim to convert people, it makes more sense to do aid work as you are doing.


I dispute the assumption that just because you saw more Christians where you were, that Christians are more charitable overall.

Isn't that a great reason for a non-religious or Athiest aid organisation? Now I of course am Christian so I love supporting my Christian organisations. But what about all you non-believers, why isn't their many organisations that you can be involved with that don't have a specific religious viewpoint?

As a Christian I want to see every single person on earth loved and taken care of, your also right that I would love to see everyone on earth know Jesus as their lord and savior. However I would love to see Athiest or non-Christian organisations stepping up to the plate to help people as well. Sure you can write your congressman but what does that accomplish? Honestly I write the Prime Minister and ministers from my ridings all the time. Usually they aren't really able to do anything at all unless it is a Canadian issue that the Government is directly involved in.

Theirs a draught in Africa millions are dying, so you contact a US Congressman to help them? That doesn't make much sense at all.

I understand financially you can't justify going out with Engineers without borders at the moment. Maybe you can in the future. But nobody can honestly say that Christian Charities should be the only ones helping people can they?

I wonder why their is no , non-Christian YWAM. Now of course I would never join or financially support a non-Christian YWAM but I think the existance of one would help make the world a better place. If everyone helped each other as Jesus taught Christian or not then this world would be a far better place to live in. If every person of every belief could donate to an organisation that was in line with their beliefs the world would be a much better place.

As for Athiests not being organised like Christians. Thats sort of funny as their are already Athiest organisation's putting ads on buses around the world that say things like "There probably is no God , so enjoy your life". Then last year the first Church of Darwin oppened in the US. If their are Athiest missionaries (Putting signs up on buses and all over to convert people) and their are Athiest church's I can't see why a few Athiests couldn't get together to help people.

Athiests might not all believe the same things, but they have a common belief "That their is no God" and they obviously are organised much like Christian's if their going to prostylitize on buses and billboards.

 

I just don't buy the argument that Athiests and non-religious people are incapable of creating or maintaining organisations. Doctors without borders and Engineers without borders prove that non-religious organisations can work. Also I wouldn't say that Athiests are less charitable then Christians are that would be impossible to prove. But evidently they aren't as involved in charity as Christians. You yourself said its hard to find a non-Christian charity and you'd never donate to one that was Christian. So why is that? Why isn't their a lot of non-Christian charities out there helping people?