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I think they're saying the wrong prayer. LOL
It is ok to be thankful for what you have even if others don't have it. I think the point being made here is not about the family but about the god they are praying to. Why would he feed one family but not another if he is good and great? If I do not feed my children when I have the resources to, there would be no reason to think I was a good or great father. Realistically what can that family do to help all the starving children in the world, but their god can feed them all if he wants to.What do you think about this image?
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Yes, apathy can be a bad thing.I see quite a bit of danger in people with means writing off suffering of others as "things they can't control."
Tell me about it..I'm not sure what saying grace before eating would have to do with finding inner peace.
You couldn't swing a cat on RF without hitting a dozen people who probably say grace before meals but are far from peaceful.
Take the argument in mind of what I said before about the difference between individual opinions and divinity.What does that have to with something being fair or just?
The meme insinuates an irony and/or hypocrisy in such a practice.Oh, I agree. I think most people who say grace before eating don't put much thought into it - it's just a habit that they were trained to do.
... but the meme invites us to reflect a bit on the actual meaning behind the practice.
Do you ever ask yourself, What am I doing, to address the injustice in the world? Or do you just point the finger at others?
How do you know?
Do you think that it is the Christians that are causing the suffering and not other people or organizations? why?
Above, the fault was the Christians. Now it is God. Where are you in the picture?
Neither…
Mankind
I tend to compare it more as to why people often say that forgiving someone can be for the benefit of the one you forgive, but is mostly for the benefit of yourself.
It makes it easier to find peace in yourself and to better deal with the things you can't control.
Saying grace can have a similar effect.
Finding inner peace tends to make people more empathetic and altruistic IME.
Right.
We're not allowed to be thankful for anything in our lives if all other humans don't have what we have. We should all be miserable ingrates, apparently. Never give thanks, never celebrate anything, never take stock of our blessings, ever, under any circumstances. Joy is BANNED.
You tell non believers that god is the way. If this is true then I think western Christians should wear the inequalities of the world more than non believers because they believe in god.
And this meme demonstrates that western Christians think that a prayer for their abundance helps, when in reality, all it does, is make them feel good. There is no direct positive result from a thankful prayer, maybe except to help with their guilt?
And what is it that I do? And, also, what is it that you do since in the measure that you judge you shall be judged (according to my signature)Do something more purposeful, more than what you're doing now. Wouldn't god want that?
Accurately, IMO.The meme insinuates an irony and/or hypocrisy in such a practice.
Maybe. Does that make it false?I think such memes tend to appeal to those who already have an ax to grind with religion and therefore have more of an effect of complementing one's own perceived superiority and to preach to the choir rather that it encourages people to be more reflective and less apathetic.
I do not believe such things are helpful in bringing out the best in people when such memes are taken seriously.
And if you don’t see it as useful, does that make it true?Accurately, IMO.
Maybe. Does that make it false?
It seems to me that encouraging someone with hypocritical beliefs to engage in self-reflection has pretty good odds of leading to some good.
And again: even if you don't personally see it as useful, does that make it false?
What do you think about this image?
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And if you don’t see it as useful, does that make it true?
I saw it as useful because, as I viewed it, I see the family with a Compassion International pictures of children they are helping and I see their giving towards the homeless, and their support for “Feed the World” Ministries even as they are giving thanks and praying for those who are hungry
I think that is a good analysis and exposition, but I think the meme itself is a pot shot at Christians who match up with the culture of the top picture.I think a lot of this represents the profound disconnect between the opulent, insular West and the far less affluent developing world. We're disconnected by distance, geography, and geopolitics - among other things.
Whether or not people are "doing enough to solve the problem" is itself a difficult question to resolve.
The Christian family in the picture thanking God for a nice meal is thousands of miles away from where those starving children might happen to be. If those starving kids were right outside their front door, I'm sure they probably would have taken them in and fed them. But since they're so far away, what can they do, realistically?
These are issues that have to be decided by governments, and in the case of the Western democracies, "not doing enough" could be defined as not supporting the politicians who have political views directed towards solving these and many other such problems facing our world.
I would defer the question of "who" is to blame. I would say we're seeing the consequences of conflicting values and various forms of ideological intransigence where people become somewhat arrogant and overconfident into believing that their way of thinking and their ideological faction is better than others.
So, rather than make any honest effort to reach a solution, many people choose to fight whatever they see as "enemies," "unbelievers," "deplorables," etc. This is especially true in many parts of the world which have been heavily exploited and political unstable, susceptible to civil war, outside agitation, and/or military coups. It's in those kinds of situations where we see most of these horrific, tragic pictures of starving children.
If there is a God who created all of this, then one might observe some design flaws which, hypothetically, could be blamed on the "designer," if there is a designer. Barring that, then, yes, it is a human problem that has to be resolved by humans.
I think you mixed up me and the poster I replied to. I think the meme both speaks to a true point and is useful, but I don't think that it's true because it's useful.
I didn’t look at race - I only saw Christians… why did you?So... you imagine that the white Christian family donates to a Christian charity (hopefully not a "Rice Christianity" organization), so this makes them not hypocritical?
That's kinda what I was thinking.Right.
We're not allowed to be thankful for anything in our lives if all other humans don't have what we have. We should all be miserable ingrates, apparently. Never give thanks, never celebrate anything, never take stock of our blessings, ever, under any circumstances. Joy is BANNED.
That's kinda what I was thinking.
Don't be thankful you can walk because some can't walk.
Don't be thankful you woke up this morning because some didn't wake up.
Don't be thankful etc etc.
It's more "if you're thankful that you can walk, thanking the entity who decided someone else shouldn't walk is pretty self-serving."