From: kragen@pobox.com
Date: Mon Feb 05 2001 - 08:43:28 PST
[re-sent because kragen.dnaco.net is down]
"...Ross..." <rosso@bad-seed.org> writes:
> gg wrote:
> >i think federal funding of tried-and-true faith-based programs in
> >churches, mosques, synagogues and agencies is a GREAT idea - many of
> >these have been in place for decades doing a phenominal job.
>
> It's great for those who are faith-based people. However it doesn't
> exactly do much for many who are outside of the Christian church.
I'm not sure if I'm a "faith-based person" --- I've never joined a
church (except for founding a cult when I was ten, but that's another
story), have rarely attended them, and don't think I'm a theist in any
sense most theists would recognize. And I'm a long way from being a
libertarian.
But when it comes to social programs, I'm with GG; whether it's the
Socrates-based recidivism reduction program I read about last year in
the Humanist, a fundamentalist Christian social program like
Ms. Fletcher's miracle house in Dayton, any of the various Quaker
programs I've seen, or Alcoholics Anonymous, I tend to approve of
faith-based social programs.
Partly, I think this is because a lot of our social problems are, at
their roots, problems of conscience, will, and virtue; also, though,
helping someone without hurting them requires the kinds of virtues
religions are supposed to inculcate, things like humility.
Not, of course, that all religious people or even all religious
organizations are like this, or that nonreligious people and
organizations can't be.
FWIW, I've volunteered for several of the faith-based social programs
listed above.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Feb 12 2001 - 14:33:12 PST