Christians are more than twice as likely to blame a persons poverty on lack of effort (WaPo)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Julie Zauzmer August 3

Which is generally more often to blame if a person is poor: lack of effort on their own part, or difficult circumstances beyond their control?

The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation asked 1,686 American adults to answer that question — and found that religion is a significant predictor of how Americans perceive poverty.

Christians, especially white evangelical Christians, are much more likely than non-Christians to view poverty as the result of individual failings.

“There’s a strong Christian impulse to understand poverty as deeply rooted in morality — often, as the Bible makes clear, in unwillingness to work, in bad financial decisions or in broken family structures,” said Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “The Christian worldview is saying that all poverty is due to sin, though that doesn’t necessarily mean the sin of the person in poverty. In the Garden of Eden, there would have been no poverty. In a fallen world, there is poverty.”

[To politicians, it’s all about the middle class. To Jesus, it’s about the poor.]

In the poll, which was conducted from April 13 to May 1 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, 46 percent of all Christians said that a lack of effort is generally to blame for a person’s poverty, compared with 29 percent of all non-Christians. The gulf widens further among specific Christian groups: 53 percent of white evangelical Protestants blamed lack of effort while 41 percent blamed circumstances, and 50 percent of Catholics blamed lack of effort while 45 percent blamed circumstances. In contrast, by more than 2 to 1, Americans who are atheist, agnostic or have no particular affiliation said difficult circumstances are more to blame when a person is poor than lack of effort (65 percent to 31 percent).
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more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/08/03/christians-are-more-than-twice-as-likely-to-blame-a-persons-poverty-on-lack-of-effort/?utm_term=.93bfd4f964c9

[Skittles]

1. Christians like to JUDGE people?

WHO WOULD HAVE KNOWN?

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Judge not, that ye be not judged ...

Matthew 7:1-3
King James Version (KJV)

7 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

I guess that's optional reading for most "Christians".

[DK504]

3. The Christian worldview is saying that all poverty is due to sin, though that doesnt

... necessarily mean the sin of the person in poverty. In the Garden of Eden, there would have been no poverty. In a fallen world, there is poverty.”

Another fine example of the rampant ignorance running amok in this country. I haven't seen attempts to push for better education and a push away from separation from church and state....well except from democrats.

[LakeArenal]

5. That Adam and Eve stuff.....

God is so imperfect, he created imperfect humans and has spent Christian eternity punishing everyone for his imperfection...

[Mariana]

7. Apparently he created imperfect angels, too.

Didn't he evict a bunch of them from Heaven for not being perfect? Now he lets them run around creating havoc everywhere.

[Wellstone ruled]

4. And as the World's Populace awakens to

the harsh reality. That Religion has been the cause of more deaths than any other cause. But,as many know,Ignorance is Bliss. And some of those Blissful folks showed up in Charlottesville yesterday.

[guillaumeb]

6. Many Christians subscribe to the prosperity Gospel

that states that wealth is a sign of God's favor.

But Jesus said give up all that you have and follow me.

[LakeArenal]

8. If they follow the precepts of the Old Testament

instead of the New Testament and Jesus, doesn't that make those Christians Jews, just like Jesus?

[guillaumeb]

11. It might, but Jesus did state that He came to replace the old law with the new.

Suggesting a new covenant between Creator and humans.

[trotsky]

9. Have you given up ALL that you have? n/t

[AtheistCrusader]

10. I just throw it back in their faces.

'When's the last time you reached out and made a material effort to help them find the way?'

Not just some passing comment either; a durable material effort.