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As the holiday season peaks, atheist and humanist groups around the country have seen their charitable impulses rebuffed by both Christian and secular organizations. Recent incidents of “thanks, but no thanks,” include:
A group of Kansas City, Mo., nonbelievers was told their help was not needed after they volunteered to help a local Christian group distribute Thanksgiving meals.
A $3,000 donation to a Morton Grove, Ill., park, collected by a local atheist group, was returned. Park officials said they did not wish to “become embroiled in a First Amendment dispute.”
A group of Spartanburg, S.C., atheists was denied the opportunity to help at a Christian-run soup kitchen. The soup kitchen’s executive director told local press she would resign before accepting the atheists’ help and asked, “Why are they targeting us?”
And in what is perhaps the biggest rejection, the American Cancer Society, in 2011, turned away $250,000 from the Stiefel Freethought Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to humanist causes. Though the society never cited atheism as the reason, many atheists drew that conclusion.
Dale McGowan, executive director of Foundation Beyond Belief, a humanist nonprofit, said his group’s grants have been rejected at least eight times. The foundation, which has given away $1.4 million, does not proselytize for nonbelief and requires that its beneficiaries — some with religious roots — do the same.
Helping other human beings should transcend nationality, religion and politics. I think this is kind of sad really it shouldn't matter what their beliefs for nonbelief is what matters is they want to help. It seems to me the people that are really going to be hurt by this are the ones who those services would go to benefit.
pstrron
Helping other human beings should transcend nationality, religion and politics. I think this is kind of sad really it shouldn't matter what their beliefs for nonbelief is what matters is they want to help. It seems to me the people that are really going to be hurt by this are the ones who those services would go to benefit.
Correct on both accounts. However, the reason for the rejection is that the atheist/non-believer will demand that religion be removed from the church or religious organization in which they have donated too. Should a Christian organization allow an atheist/non-believer to volunteer their service, the first time Jesus is mentioned, they will scream that they were offended. They are wise to not allow them within their organization/church to volunteer their help.
They (atheist/non-believers) purposely target Christianity while at the same time leaving Islam, Buddhism and other religious belief alone. Why is this, simple, because Jesus offends them by pointing out their and everyone else errors. They will place restrictions on their donations as the one foundation does but stipulating that if the religious organization/church accepts the donation they can not apostatize. This is clear proof they have an agenda to stop religious activities spreading their message. It matters not to them that this is what religious organizations/churches do while helping others.
If you are going to donate to a religious organization/church, be fully aware that they will spread their message and that you have no right to interfere with their doing so just because you donated.
spartacus699
you don't allow a blind man to help out as an ushure at a concert.
spartacus699
you don't allow a blind man to help out as an ushure at a concert.
Try opening a pagan/New Age center in the middle of the bible belt, and you'll see real persecution. It happened to a lady I knew. The area we lived in, while mostly Christians, had a large community of Neo Pagans/Non-Abrahamic paths, most of whom were underground, since the Christians were completely intolerant of other beliefs. She opened up a center for them to gather and practice their religion. The local Christians welcomed her by picketing the place on opening day, throwing bricks through her windows, slashing her tires, vandalizing her car and store front, harassing and threatening notes and phone calls left for her, and her kids were picked on so much in school that she had to pull them out and home school them.