In lieu of prayer, humanists raising awareness, funds for victims of famine in East Africa

[cleanhippie]

EVENT DATE: Ongoing

PROJECT LAUNCH: Sept 1, 2011

SUMMARY: The most severe drought in 60 years has created what the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has called the "worst humanitarian crisis" on Earth. The UN has made a formal declaration of famine for southern Somalia (dark red on map), the first such UN declaration in 20 years. Over 11 million people are currently at risk of starvation.

Foundation Beyond Belief has been invited to work in partnership with USAID to raise awareness of this crisis in the humanist community.

The Foundation has selected the International Rescue Committee, one of the most powerful and effective disaster response organizations in the world, as our beneficiary for this crisis. IRC is providing food, water, shelter, and key services both in the refugee camps and for the hundreds of thousands of Somalis and others currently making the dangerous trek to those camps.

http://foundationbeyondbelief.org/crisis

[rug]

1. You can do both.

I suspect Dawkins' foundation contributes a fraction, even pro rata, compared to religious charities.

[David Sky]

2. You "suspect"? Without any data? That's always the pattern

with religious folks, isn't, suspicion of those non-believers not doing enough, not being "good" enough, not"generous" enough, not thoughtful enough of other people.

Only religious people are THAT generous! Sure! No data, but you "suspect". Talk about a PREJUDICE!

TRUE, you CAN do both, but you don't have to!

[rug]

4. I see you leap before you think.

Considering the oft-cited complaint that atheists are a persecuted minority, considering the recency of Dawkins' foundation, considering the size, scope and age of religious charities in comparison, it's a good bet religious charities, both in quantity and percentage, far outsrip this Foundation.

Tell you what. Instead of spouting your canned statements about perceived prejudice, look it up and prove me wrong.

[David Sky]

6. If you get off your high horse you might learn to read more carefully...

The phrase "even pro rata".

Or perhaps you don't understand what that meant but you had NOT PROBLEM WHATSOEVER lecturing someone who DOES understand !

Try some education to go along with our insipid arrogance!

[rug]

7. Your possessive pronoun is rather Freudian.

Perhaps in your hectoring lecture you merely made a typo.

[madmom]

3. Two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer

[rug]

5. True, but you don't need hands to pray.

[darkstar3]

8. Proven every day in some theocracies.

[Thats my opinion]

15. Real prayer is in fact two hands working --and I don't me clasped together with eyes closed.

Prayer without out work is like judgement without understanding

[darkstar3]

16. Then there are literally tens of millions of prayerful people doing it wrong.

[Deep13]

17. Yup, doing little beats doing nothing...

...or worse, defining the problem out of existence by consigning it to god's care.

[cleanhippie]

10. And your point is?

And Foundation Beyond Belief is not Dawkins' foundation.

[rug]

11. Prayer need not be in place of charity.

Religious charities usually do both.

[laconicsax]

12. Prayer need not be at all.

It accomplishes one thing: making the person praying feel good. That doesn't help.

[NMMNG]

9. Good for them

They do excellent work there and elsewhere.

[cleanhippie]

13. Kick

[Thats my opinion]

14. I applaud that effort without qualifications!

[LeftishBrit]

18. Good for them!