To the Editor:
A letter by Mr. Galen Rose speaks of what makes sense and does not. (“Faith, not ‘sense’,” LCN, 9/15/11, Page 4).
I do not think his thoughts will be very welcome by those who sincerely believe their uncommon senses, in opposition to the reality we all know, are deserving of special privileges in society (as all other religions claim is their right in whatever region of this world they are dominant).
Other letter writers on these pages promote their faith; some condemn others who do not share it. My personal experience has been to run up against an attitude of “my religion, my god, right or wrong.”
It is a surprise to me how much support there is for theology at the expense of humanity. Let me explain:
There is an attitude I find, the claim, that Christians are the most giving in charity and good works. This makes no sense at all. What are the issues that most churchgoers support, except their churches, which use 85 percent of the monies for themselves?
Televangelists become millionaires on donations, and billions are spent on super arenas in which they broadcast to millions of more donors, some of who are on fixed incomes.
In Damariscotta alone, $500,000 went to reconstruct a steeple.
The Moslem religion requires its believers to donate for the welfare of the poor, and yet, tyrants and rulers have been overthrown in the Middle East. Obviously, that money did not go to the people.
What percentage of all monies raised by religious bodies actually goes to helping the least of us, the love we should have for the poor and helpless, and what percentage is used for theology, proselytizing, which is supposedly the reason for religious good-doing?
Here we are in a nation some call Christian, with a Republican party fully supported by the Christian right, calling for the removal of Social Security or the weakening of its structure, from those dependent on it; denying health care for the most needy.
Legislators cannot even be shamed into creating jobs, even knowing job losses cause more than monetary damage, but family and psychological trauma. Where is the charity and what happened to being our brother’s keeper?
Millions of Somalis are fleeing to refugee camps in Kenya, women being raped on their way, children dying of starvation on the way. Millions of children die every year from starvation and preventable diseases, and millions live on less than $2 per day. In the meantime, new churches and mosques are being built, because theology and beliefs are deserving of respect and more important than saving, bettering, human lives?
It just doesn’t make any sense.
Carl Scheiman, Walpole
