(11-25-2021 08:47 PM)TigerBlue4Ever Wrote:  

(11-25-2021 08:13 PM)Todor Wrote:  I never give to the salvation army, because I'm not a part of their church. Same reason I don't give to St Jude-- I'm not a catholic and its a charity based on Catholicism. My own church does its own work with virtually no overhead.

If you give to lots of these charities that can afford to advertise on TV constantly, the people they help are last in line for the money. First comes more advertising, then comes the HQ/CEO/home Office/Administration, then comes money set aside for the future to invest, eventually comes the patients, but they are dead last on the list.

Same with Shriners. What started out as a personal or organizational project, evolves into something that ends up the thing that brings the organization its money instead of vice versa. And they evolve from being the ones providing the help, to asking for the money from others, but doing the work in their name.

big Charity is a very bad industry overall. I know some are better than others, but its an industry I shy away from. Finding people in need to help is the easiest thing in the world, at least in my location. I don't need tens of millions of dollars going to tv networks to tell me where they are.

You have a completely wrong view of St. Jude. They are the only charity I regularly support. They produce results each and every day in their battle against childhood diseases. No child is ever turned away and no parent ever has to worry about a bill. The theology behind their organization never entered my mind until just now when you mentioned it. I wouldn't care if they were Rastafarians.

Edit: However, I fully respect your right to donate to whichever charity you feel deserves it best. I applaud you for donating to any worthy cause.

They aren't turned away for lack of ability to pay, but they are turned away for other reasons. The theology behind an organization is the primary method I use to choose who NOT to give to, but there are so many churches and organizations clamoring for money, my options are many.

Catholics have what they claim is the body of Jude buried under St Peter's Basilica Rome. St Jude is a saint that Catholics pray to desperate and hopeless times. The entire nature of praying to a human who cannot help is not something I believe in. I know, I may be a stickler to some people, but I don't pray to humans or ask them for help, so its tough for me to use my money to encourage others to do so.

http://www.stjudeshrine.org/sj/prayers_to_st_jude/