There is a phrase from a blog post last week that I simply can not get out of my head. I know people get tired of those bloggers who simply copy and paste from larger blogs but I honestly am not trying to do that. There is just one sentence that this atheist guy wrote about this Christian guy.
…he seems to do what few Christians do these days, that is to say a lot of good.
I don’t have an issue with giving..most of the time…so I wasn’t really convicted that I wasn’t. It’s just, I don’t know. I want to be MORE giving. There is a quote I have on my desktop by Helen Keller that says “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” And that’s what I want to do. Sort of like Palin said in her recent speech at the RNC…just because it doesn’t fix all the problems, it doesn’t give us an excuse to do nothing. I will do what I can to make a difference. And really, I’d like to inspire others to change that viewpoint that non-Christians have…that we don’t do a whole lot of good.
Acts says the church, that is to say CHRISTIANS should be taking care of others. I may not ever say it again, but the atheist was right…we should be doing better jobs.
And I really couldn’t believe the first Sunday of my our Sunday School class yesterday talked a lot about making a difference in our community. And then just last night and this morning I was presented with at least three CONCRETE ways we can help.
- This is from a local source: I am part of a fundraising organization called Team Bellenger which was put together to raise money for a brother and sister pair both with Stage IV kidney disease and both active on the transplant list. Their names are Stephanie and Matthew. Long story short we have several things going on that we are trying to promote locally. We are selling t-shirts for $10 and rubber bracelets for $3. We are having a Christian Concert on Oct. 4 by The Ladd Family.Concert Info:The Ladd Family
October 4, 2008 7:00pm
Palmetto Room at Historic Old Town
150 E. White Street
Rock Hill, SC 29730Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. To support Stephanie or Matthew: Make checks payable to: NTAF South-Atlantic Kidney Transplant Fund Note in the memo section: In honor of Stephanie Bellenger or Matthew Bellenger Please mail to: National Transplant Assistance Fund 150 N. Radnor Chester Road, Suite F-120 Radnor, PA 19087 To make a credit card donation call 800-642-8339 or visit www.transplantfund.org
- That Christian guy I mentioned above posted this today:
My boy LV asked Pastor Dino what he needed to help the victims…“As of Friday, Sept. 5th, power is expected to be out in parts of southern Louisiana for 4-6 weeks; homes are destroyed, and many people in “the bayou” have yet to be reached. They need help!
We asked Dino what they need and how the Catalyst audience might be able to help.”
The answer… Blue Tarps.Blue Tarps.Blue Tarps.Blue Tarps.Blue Tarps.Blue Tarps.Order your blue tarps at this link and have it shipped hereONE (1) BLUE TARP
Healing Place Church
19202 Highland Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
225.753.2273 - Hurricane Ike devastated Haiti. I know I’ve mentioned helping the Haiti Rescue Center before and they had extensive damage. Check for information on their blog and there is a donation link on their site.
I am working to give to all of these in one way or another. Please join me in doing some good today.
Hey Amy. You are amazing.
Thanks for sharing that story.
Your efforts are for the Kingdom
Los
The Christian Guy’s last blog post..I’m A Size 35 After Lunch
I’m with The Christian Guy…you are amazing. Thank you for giving me some simple ideas as to how we can help. I’ll be talking to our school tomorrow about where I think the next fundraiser should go and it is always better to go in prepared.
Atheist Guy here, on my better days people call me Andrew. In any case, I always feel like I should clear up my atheism and what I meant with this quote in particular, that seems to have gotten me a lot of attention.
I think faith, or atheism, or agnosticism, of any sort is something that you have to come to honestly, and come to without bias. There’s wisdom to be found everywhere in this world, every religion, every philosophy has its bits of wisdom you can take. The problem with them is that too many people take sides and forget things that truly would make the world a better place. I live in Washington D.C. where everything takes an “Us vs. Them” connotation. I’d go as far as to say its culturally poisonous. I know I’m never going to agree with anyone on everything, let alone everyone on everything, so I don’t try. I try to do good.
I respect and love anyone else who doesn’t fall into that “Us vs. Them” trap and does something good for their fellow man, no matter who they are, what god they pray to at night, or if they pray to one at all. I don’t want to live in a world where its “Us vs. Them” and while that is the ultimate of idealism, its also the ultimate ideal espoused by every major faith, that in the final analysis we ought to be able to find a way to live in peace despite our differences, because we’re all human, we’re all in this together.
For my part, I’d like to change the opinions of many religious people, opinions far too often inflamed by atheistic pundits who dismiss all religion as a force of evil. Opinions that equate atheism with amorality. The world’s seen enough bad people of every brand name. I just want the good people to agree to be good.
The Atheist Guy’s last blog post..Exhaustion