Letter to the Editor
Have compassion
Published Tuesday, June 24, 2008
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Stumble It!June 21, 2008
To the editor:
“Herding the Homeless” caught my attention and my heart. I too have been homeless before and it is not the lifestyle I want for others. By many prayers the Lord has blessed my daughter and I with our very own apartment. It did take time and patience but I never gave up. My heart hurts for the people who sleep outside. We need to have COMPASSION on those around us, love them even though they are poor, drunk or homeless.
I mean, look at it this way ... how would you feel if you had no home, no one to turn to? Don’t you think you would desire compassion? Would you want someone to help you? Anybody out there ... bring extra food to these people, show them compassion and love. Jesus said in his word that when we feed the homeless we are feeding him. Jesus had compassion on these people and he loves them just has he loves us. He is no respector of persons.
He doesn’t love us more because we have a lot of money or nice houses ... He loves us because that is his nature. Please, help our people. Thank you, and God bless.
Community Discussion
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way to go cara! you're living proof of what god will do for those who ask. i hope and pray that your blessings multiply.
I have deep compassion for anyone who is down on thier luck, but for most of the chronic inebriates it is hard to have compassion. The shelter is open, but they dont want to go... not because they are too proud to go into a shelter, but because the shelter wont accept them if they are drunk.
And I still have compassion for thier drinking problem, and the fact that there is not much community-based treatment for such, but if you choose drinking over living then there is nothing I can do for you.
The other day I was in Golden Heart Park and I had one very drunk, Mr. "Stickman" come on to me. He was grabbing my wrist and touching my face. I was terrified, whats a young girl to do in asiduation like that?
So, let me get this straight, God came down and found you an apartment? Did he sign the lease for ya? Has he set up some kind of trust fund to pay your rent? How'd the landlord perform the background check?
Can anyone tell me what "He is no respector (sic) of persons" means? Sounds to me like she's saying Jesus has no respect for people?
Also, don't you have compassion FOR someone or something, not ON?
Oh well, once again a wonderful example of "This is your brain on god!"
Even God helps them who help themselves. You MUST want help to ask God for help.
Intoxication and highs can not be ministered to. Yet if people are spoken to in the breif moments of soberism, they do not want help they ask for money and will not accept food.
I have been told "I am an Alaskan"
" I am a veteran on hard times"
" If you give me a dollar I will buy a sandwhich, that I like you wouldn't have what I like"
Why don't you ever see single moms with kids in tent cities in Fairbanks, pushing their carts down town? Because they know the responsibilties they have! The singles desire not to accept any responsibities because it is easier.
Unfortunately, many single mothers are exchanging sex for a roof over their heads. That is what cutting off welfare has done to many. I refrain from placing blame, that is another story, just stating facts.
I'm sure those who seemingly have nothing better to do each day than scrutinize these blogs will discuss at length this issue and come up with many solutions:0)
newsreader, you are the scum of the earth, you hide behind your computer and makes stupid, sarcastic comments. my hats off to Cara for putting her whole real name to her letter, for the whole world to see and stating facts as she has lived them. and yes, praise the Lord for He will give the strength and the answers when we most need them. Cara is right, we need to show compassion, have compassion. this town for sure would be a better place to live if we knew a majority of our neighbors were at least somewhat humane.
Newsreader- while I am not big on revealed religion myself I can understand that it is helpful for some people and that it can aid them in becoming better people. If Cara’s religious beliefs helped her get off the streets then that is a good thing. Would you rather that she was back to being homeless and causing problems? Has her religious beliefs imposed any costs on you? I would focus my attention on the radical religious types that want to impose their wills on others.
"Can anyone tell me what "He is no respector (sic) of persons" means? Sounds to me like she's saying Jesus has no respect for people?"
It means He does not respect the rich and look down on the poor - not showing "respect" or regard for one's status in life. He loves everyone. He also expects us to do the same.
MEL -- I'm willing to admit that faith can be helpful for some and can aid them in becoming better people.
What I can not accept, is someone saying that somehow the Lord was responsible for finding an apartment. I'm sure that if the facts were explained, its was man and not god that found the apartment for this lady.
Also, it sickens me that some people tout the love and compassion angle of Jesus, while others use it to bash gays, liberals, feminists, and just about anyone who isn't the same as themselves.
When you get right down to it and actually READ the bible literally, the central message is to kill all who do not bow and scrape to the great lord almighty.
The cost of religion can be seen in our society on a daily basis - gay bashing, racism, prohibition of numerous activities and substances by the morally righteous and superior, etc etc. Society has removed literally HUNDREDS of death penalties from the books that were placed there by religions and religious fundamentalist ideals. I see the evil of religion all the time. So, yes, these religious beliefs most certainly HAVE imposed many costs on me and the society that I live in.
If having these beliefs makes me the scum of the earth, then what would you call all of the kiddie diddlin' Catholic priests? The Falwell/Prevo types that claim that gays and feminists are the cause of 9/11? The thousands who have beaten, raped, murdered and/or generally suppressed the minorities over time (and still are)? How about the Fundamentalist LDS that they busted with dozens of pregnant young teens? One really doesn't have to look long or far to see examples of the evils of religion.
Finally, for what it is worth, I think what the police did to these homeless is despicable and degrades our community as a whole. On that point, I agree with the author of this letter. What I wholeheartedly disagree with is the method used to present the message and the continual perpetuation of the god myth.
Newsreader, I agree with you that much evil has been done in the name of religion - even in the name of Christianity. But there is a vast difference between the "religion" of Christianity (usually someone trying to do what they see as good in an effort to earn their way to Heaven - a concept that is NOT in the Bible - but not having a true relationship with God) and true Bible Christianity, which is having a personal relationship with God and trying to be a channel of His love and truth to others.
You say, "When you get right down to it and actually READ the bible literally, the central message is to kill all who do not bow and scrape to the great lord almighty."
That is not a true statement. The central message of the Bible is that God is love. (Don't get your tail in a knot - let me finish.) God is also holy. He created mankind with a free will. Mankind chose to disobey his Creator and to do evil. Some people became so evil that, it is true, God commanded them to be destroyed. (Some of these people - who were NOT destroyed as commanded) were the ancestors of the Muslim terrorists that today are threatening to destroy all who do not agree with them.) God knew what would happen, and He tried to keep it from happening. But, since He has chosen to work through human beings, some evil people were not destroyed, and we still have evil people in the world today.
Because God is the very essence of love, He did everything He could, without violating the free will he gave to mankind, to redeem the human race from their own evil and its consequences. A holy God, Creator of the universe (and our human minds cannot begin to comprehend the concept of holiness), took upon Himself human form (Jesus) and suffered and died to redeem fallen mankind.
To accept that sacrifice is an individual choice. Place one's trust in Jesus' payment to redeem us, or reject it, and suffer the consequences. Again, free choice.
Reject it if you will. It's your choice. But allow others to believe what they choose, and please stop making unlearned claims and lumping true believers together with child-abusing Catholic priests and others who do not follow the teachings of the Word of God.
Perhaps we are reading different bibles? Here are some scriptures from the Word of God from a previous post of mine...
"You should not let a sorceress live." (Exodus 22:17 NAB)
"If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives." (Leviticus 20:13 NAB)
"A man or a woman who acts as a medium or fortuneteller shall be put to death by stoning; they have no one but themselves to blame for their death." (Leviticus 20:27 NAB)
"Whoever strikes his father or mother shall be put to death." (Exodus 21:15 NAB)
"All who curse their father or mother must be put to death. They are guilty of a capital offense." (Leviticus 20:9 NLT)
"If a man commits adultery with another man's wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death." (Leviticus 20:10 NLT)
"Whoever sacrifices to any god, except the Lord alone, shall be doomed." (Exodus 22:19 NAB)
"They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; and everyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman." (2 Chronicles 15:12-13 NAB)
"But if this charge is true (that she wasn't a virgin on her wedding night), and evidence of the girls virginity is not found, they shall bring the girl to the entrance of her fathers house and there her townsman shall stone her to death, because she committed a crime against Israel by her unchasteness in her father's house. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst." (Deuteronomy 22:20-21 NAB)
So, tell me, after you get done killing all of these folks, who is left? I'll tell ya -- just the God fearing Christians, that's who
Please, don't try to tell me that I'm "unlearned". I've read the bible. I've also completed more than a bit of higher education.
And, BTW, who gets to decide who is a "true believer" and who is a not a true follower of the Word of God? Seems to me that all of those that I listed above would consider themselves to be true believers, just the same as you do... What makes you right and them wrong?
The sick fact is that given enough blind faith, one can read just about any message they want out of the bible. One can support gay bashing, wife abuse, racism, sexism, child abuse, even genocide if one is so inclined... One can even deny science, the scientific method, and all of the advances that have come about since the church lost control of mankind at the end of the Dark Ages. And that, my friends, is why I so readily speak out against fundamentalist religions AND anyone who would claim that the bible is some sort of "sacred word of god".
I love it when things turn theological.
While I am not so much religious as I am spiritual, you should not judge a religion based on its history or its members. Yes, a LOT of religion has lead to and continues to bring death, discrimination, pain, fear and rejection in the world. No, that doesn't mean it is the message of religion.
For example, nations, even our nation has done horrible things in the name of democracy. Does that mean that the message of democracy is horrible?
there, thats kindling on the fire ;)
If I shouldn't judge a religion based on its history or it members (or apparently it leadership, e.g. Falwell, Prevo, Catholic Priests, Former Mayor Hayes), how, EXACTLY, am I supposed to judge it? What else is left?
If not by how its members act (ie what are the net results of following that religion), then how is one to judge a religion?
I mean, come on, in theory communism is good too!
In theory Jesus taught "love you neighbor as yourself" and "do unto other as you would have done to you", but I don't see a whole lot of his followers doing that...
Instead I see them picking and choosing which scriptures (from both the old and new testament) they want to follow on a cult by cult (or sect by sect) basis and even adding their own in some cases!
Newsreader:
As a pastor, I often hqave told people not to look at me, but to look at Jesus. I agree it is sooo sad that people who claim to be followers of Jesus act deplorable. In fact many time they are swindlers. The problem is that neither you or I really know, we can only look at the external and then make decisions about whether or not we want to spend time being around those folks, and how we want to interact with them.
Personally, I know what the Bible says, I strive to do what the Bible teaches, and as I know what it says more, and become more disciplined in my walk with Jesus (that is daily spending time in the Word and prayer) then I will become more like Him, and for those who don't believe, my hope is that they will see Jesus in me. But in reality, so much of our culture is taken up with selfishness and materialism that the church (that is the group of people who get together, not the building) end up looking like a bunch of hypocrites.
So I guess my advice is to quit judging people in the sense of being the authority of write and wrong. Unfortuanately, because we are prone to sin, most of what you see is sin. If you want to judge a religion - Study the Bible, get to know Jesus Christ. That begins with accepting Him as your personal savior from sin. You see we need to realize as a man or woman that we are sinful and according to God's word, the Bible, we are deserving of eternal punishment as a result of our sin. We are in need of someonw to pay the price for the sin. That is what Jesus came to earth to do. The bible says that if we believe that He (Jesus) payed the penalty of our sin by dying on the cross that we can have eternal life with Him. But that is just the begining. By accepting Him as your saviour, He helps us to be more like Himself, more like the religion we see in scriptures.
Everyone reading this post has a choice. Do we continue in sin, or do we confess to Him that we are sinful and accept Him as our savior.
Once again - You make the choice.
In the meantime - I pray that I, as part of the church will do my best to reflect Him. But please don't look for perfection. I make a lot of mistakes.
Nice speech - you make some good points.
However, I feel we have another choice than the one you listed - the choice that I have personally made.
I choose to be a good person - to treat others as I would like to be treated. To do that, I do not need to accept anyone as my savior - only myself. I do not have to beleive in an invisible man in the sky - only myself.
I choose on a daily basis to not lie, steal, cheat, cause harm to others, and many other GOOD things. I do not choose to devote my life to a multi-millenia old book of myths and legends that can never be proven true (because it is not). I do not choose to accept the dogma of the church that states that I must consider other good people I know, who happen to be homosexuals, as some sort of abomination to God. I choose, rather, to accept people as they are so long as they are not causing a net societal harm (as I see coming from the organized fundamentalist religions of today, and, that includes Christians as well as Muslims or any others).
alaskaflower you have summed up sort of what I feel, no small task with this crowd.
Mr news reader, ever stare death in the face? If you have, did you pray to yourself for help? When you do face death, as we all must, you better be darn sure that you are right about there being no god cause if your wrong you will be wrong for a very long time.
newsreader: I understand your position, and know and are good friends with many who hold to those same beliefs as you. Again, however I would urge you in judging "the dogma of the church" to take your eyes off of the organizations and so-called religions and simply read the Bible for yourself, and examine what it says for yourself (assuming you have not yet already... and of course I could be assuming wrongly)
In any case, you understand that by not following God (not the church) and choosing not to call Christ savior, you reject not only your creator, but you call yourself a god - that is that you (or society... a group of "yous") determine what is right or wrong.
I remember as a flight instructor for a German airline, I was coming home from New Mexico, when I got on this subject with one of my students. After about 3 hours of discussion and philosophising, he was actually able to come to the point where he admitted that he thought himself to be god. Well, a person can go no further. As I ended the previous post. You have a choice to make. Either we are god or He (Jesus) is God.
Just as an aside... somewhat... The Bible does says "A fool has said in his heart there is no God". Guess the Bible (not me, the church or any religion) calls a person who does not believe in the God of the Bible... a fool.
Food for thought ...
Maybe I can come up with the right thing to say to newsreader to convince him that not all Christians are the big,evil "baddies" he paints us to be.....
Or not. I think there's a MUCH better chance that an apartment really will just drop on my head if I pray hard enough instead of go get a job and save up for a deposit and rent.
Bunny - thanks for that, I needed a laugh!
Newsreader, a bit of advice for the future, use the New Testament for your quotes, to attack Christianity; not the Old Testament. It will give your argument more creditability, as that is the part of the Book that Christianity comes from. The Old Testament is a history text, with poetry and songs in it. The manual for instruction for a Christian is the New Testament. Just a thought from an old Sunday School/Bible teacher. MRD
roadtrip - thanks for the threat, appreciate that!
reformer -
So, the bible says that if I don't beleive in the bible I'm a fool and I'm going to hell?
And that's your proof? Because the bible says it is true, it must be true? Are you serious? That's the worst kind of circular logic I've run across.
Well, apparently 2/3 of the world are fools...
Personally, I find that aspect of your beliefs to be a very, very arrogant.
As far as "that you (or society... a group of "yous") determine what is right or wrong", on that point you are absolutely correct. We (as society) have ALWAYS determined what is right or wrong. Those are called laws and they've been around for a LONG LONG time. In fact, the old testament is full of them - laws that were relevant in (nearly) prehistoric times. But, we no longer live in those prehistoric times - thus the world (the people) have developed newer, more relvant laws. Just as they have done for all other aspects of their lives.
newsreader - I'm praying for a new car to drop on my head too while I sit here on the unemployment line reading my Bible. I'll let you know when it works out so you can quit your day job.