re: #164 EmmmieG

It depends on what you consider charitable causes.

I met a woman, now LDS, from Nigeria. She told us her story—after her father’s death, her brother had inherited the house, and she had hated going there because her brother was an alcoholic, and she hated to see her father’s house made a house of drunkenness. (Her words.)

One Sunday morning they asked her to come over, and so she did, intending just to drop in briefly. She expected to find the usual. Her brother was clean and sober and the house was orderly and calm.

Her brother and his family had joined the LDS church, which necessitated getting rid of the alcohol.

Religious benefits are intangible, but they can be good. Frequently, I admit, religion gets misapplied, but when religion is used in an introspective way meant to improve who you are, it is good.

I knew that “charitable” would illicit some reaction. Listen, IMHO, religious giving is religious giving. It does some good. There is no question. Some people benefit directly from Missionaries work. I get it. At the same time, we should be honest and transparent about it. Religious institutions take on a life of their own, and to be honest, on the law of averages, if we took all the money given to synagogues,church’s and mosques and directed it instead into charities that do nothing other than provide aid etc…we would get a lot more bang for the buck. My guess is close to 80% more.