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Nearly half of all Christians in the United States think that a person's poverty is due to lack of effort.
A poll by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 46 percent of Christians see poverty as the result of individual failings.
"There's a strong Christian impulse to understand poverty as deeply rooted in morality — often, as the bible makes clear, in unwillingness to work, in bad financial decisions or in broken family structures," Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, told the Washington Post. "The Christian worldview is saying that all poverty is due to sin, though that doesn't necessarily mean the sin of the person in poverty. In the Garden of Eden, there would have been no poverty. In a fallen world, there is poverty."
Those who are atheist, agnostic or unaffiliated were more than twice as likely than Christians to claim that difficult circumstances are more to blame for a person's poverty than lack of effort (65 percent to 31 percent).
In the poll, 29 percent of all non-Christians said that a lack of effort is generally to blame for a person's poverty, compared with 46 percent of all Christians.
https://ffrf.org/publications/freethought-today/item/30451-christians-are-more-likely-to-blame-poverty-on-effort
Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-dukeI've met some wealthy conservative American tourists over the years who have started blabbering on after a few beers about how their wealth was God's direct reward for being virtuous and for their strong faith. And then a beer or two later... blabbering on about how poverty is caused by a lack of virtue and faith. Interesting people to talk to, for sure.
Nearly half of all Christians in the United States think that a person's poverty is due to lack of effort.
A poll by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 46 percent of Christians see poverty as the result of individual failings.
"There's a strong Christian impulse to understand poverty as deeply rooted in morality — ...[text shortened]... /publications/freethought-today/item/30451-christians-are-more-likely-to-blame-poverty-on-effort
Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-dukeFor the Christian I cannot see the point in trying to determine what was the cause of poverty. There is no requirement to find that out. Of course there are many factors .. but who cares. .. leave that to the analysts. The job of the Christian if they understand Christ is to assist those in need, not judge why they are in that needy position in the first place. The Good Samaritan did not care why the man was in trouble .. he just helped because he was compassionate and caring. The Rich Man probably was like some Christians of today. They decided that Lazarus was a lazy bum who just wanted some free food. The Good Samaritan will enter the Kingdom of God and the RIch man will be cast out.
Nearly half of all Christians in the United States think that a person's poverty is due to lack of effort.
A poll by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 46 percent of Christians see poverty as the result of individual failings.
"There's a strong Christian impulse to understand poverty as deeply rooted in morality — ...[text shortened]... /publications/freethought-today/item/30451-christians-are-more-likely-to-blame-poverty-on-effort
Originally posted by @fmfThe prosperity gospel in action.
I've met some wealthy conservative American tourists over the years who have started blabbering on after a few beers about how their wealth was God's direct reward for being virtuous and for their strong faith. And then a beer or two later... blabbering on about how poverty is caused by a lack of virtue and faith. Interesting people to talk to, for sure.
The gospel of Satan.
In the same boat like the osas gospel
Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-dukeFunny stuff.
Nearly half of all Christians in the United States think that a person's poverty is due to lack of effort.
A poll by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 46 percent of Christians see poverty as the result of individual failings.
"There's a strong Christian impulse to understand poverty as deeply rooted in morality — ...[text shortened]... /publications/freethought-today/item/30451-christians-are-more-likely-to-blame-poverty-on-effort
I don't know of anyone who does not agree that poverty is a result of human failings.
Who or what then should we blame?
Originally posted by @whodeyBlame? One answer is that poverty can be structural, where wealthy parties use their power to amass even more wealth, and an even greater proportion of the wealth, while both political mechanisms and the "free" market, a.k.a. the 'violence of poverty' in this case, assist them in doing this. The solution in the face of such power lies partly in collective action, I am sure you will agree.
I don't know of anyone who does not agree that poverty is a result of human failings.
Who or what then should we blame?
Do you believe that "prosperity theology" ~ as defined in the link above - is heresy?
Originally posted by @romans1009OSAS is nice but who gets to judge their own salvation?
Prosperity gospel isn’t Biblical. OSAS has Biblical support.
As for the poor...Christians are to feed the poor.
Does poverty perpetuate itself by its cultural values? Definitely.
Originally posted by @fmfSo we have established that poverty is a result of human failure.
Blame? One answer is that poverty can be structural, where wealthy parties use their power to amass even more wealth, and an even greater proportion of the wealth, while both political mechanisms and the "free" market, a.k.a. the 'violence of poverty' in this case, assist them in doing this. The solution in the face of such power lies partly in collective actio ...[text shortened]... agree.
Do you believe that "prosperity theology" ~ as defined in the link above - is heresy?
Yay!
Now we must establish a solution cuz everything has a solution that only a collectivist secular state can created.
Tell that to the Amish.