The Nesting Instinct
Oct. 25, 2007
Christians are Unique when it comes to Charity

Posted in Homeschooling Trends

It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Christians seem to be unique when it comes to charitable giving. A blog post relates the impact of the lack of charity in nations with no Christian past. He says:

The New York Times ran a front-page story recently about an elderly man who starved to death in Japan, having been denied help by the welfare bureaucracy.  The man kept a diary as he died: heartbreaking to read.  The Japanese welfare bureaucracy seems to have been notably heartless, and not only in this case.  There are other, similar cases of starvation in the past year or two in Japan, according to the Times.

There is this brief throwaway in the lengthy Times story:

With no religious tradition of charity, Japan has few soup kitchens or other places for the indigent. Those that exist — run frequently by Christian missionaries from South Korea or Japan’s tiny Christian population — cater mostly to the homeless.

Say what you will about the "Abrahamic" religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - can there be any doubt that they have brought an ethic of charity into a world that would otherwise be a crueler place? 

One of the things I appreciate about homeschooling is the time that it does give you to help others. We spent several weeks at an African orphanage this year, and I'm teaching my girls that we need to be giving a lot of our time every week to help out some single mother families that we know. But in truth, a lot of people just don't act that way in our society.

I think homeschooling gives us a unique chance to volunteer with our kids and make it a habit of theirs. And that is how we change the world. So let's get to it!


Post A Comment! Send to a Friend!


Comments

Oct. 25, 2007 - So true

Posted by 4HimOnly


We often give of our money but so often forget how important time is! Thanks for the reminder!


Permanent Link