THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 10, 1996 TAG: 9602090052
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Issues of Faith
SOURCE: Betsy Wright
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
CALL THIS A ``what-I-learned'' column, for all the following conclusions have come from pondering the approximately 80 responses received on the important - yet highly divisive - issue of ``How should people of faith - and their government - care for the poor?''
Many people of faith want organized religion to take a more active role in helping the poor. Almost all believe organized religion does a better job at taking care of the poor than government, mainly because organized religion can require character changes of its recipients. Government cannot.
I agree, but believe that while government cannot require character changes, it can give incentives for positive behavior, behavior that is beneficial to self and community: education, employment, marriage and responsible parenthood. Negative behavior - behavior that is harmful to self and community, such as drug abuse, teen pregnancy, domestic violence and child abuse - should always be discouraged, treated and, when necessary, punished.
People of faith cannot agree on how much organized religion should, or can, do to help the poor. About 35 percent of those who responded expressed great faith in organized religion's ability to completely ``take over'' the welfare system from the government. A small few want the churches and synagogues, and all other houses of faith, to sell all their belongings and devote themselves completely to the poor, the sick and the imprisoned. Another small group said they felt organized religion is already overwhelmed by the numbers of people needing assistance and can do little more.
The largest group, a little more than half, believe as I do: Organized religion can do more, but it can't do it all. Poverty is not just a problem of people of faith. It is a problem for all people. Poverty creates an atmosphere of despair, that in turn becomes fertile ground for crime, drug and alcohol abuse, child neglect and domestic violence. These things are bad for any community.
People of faith are angry about welfare abuse. Many told stories of seeing people buy steaks with food stamps and cash welfare checks at the bank while driving fancy cars. I have no patience for these stories. While some may be true, study after study has proven false the stereotype of the welfare-fat-cat.
Besides, all systems have abuse. It is simply not logical to judge a system by that abuse. If the non-Christian world judged all Christians by Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, would that be an accurate portrayal? Absolutely not. Abuse happens. It should be stopped whenever possible. No system can ever be entirely rid of it and no system should ever be judged entirely by it.
People of faith are angry about unwed welfare moms. By far the most venom displayed has been for one particular group: unwed welfare moms. Many quoted scriptures about the sin of fornication. Regarding the illegitimate children, these people of faith basically said, ``I didn't breed them and I don't want to feed them.''
I believe this kind of thinking is just plain wrong. Yes, it is harmful to self and community to be young, unmarried and pregnant. Yes, it is most often the result of sin. No, we do not solve the problem by hurling verbal abuse at the sinner and making innocent children suffer for that sin.
How should we care for the poor? This is a deeply divisive question. At the heart of the debate are questions about personal responsibility, charity and tough love. I do not know how this should be resolved, but perhaps David L. Hoover, executive director of Norfolk's Urban Interfaith Services Association has the best answer.
``The most important response to poverty for the people of faith,'' Hoover writes, ``is for us to finally shed out `handout' mentality, and to become extremely sensitive to the things of God with regard to the poor.
``All over the place, congregations are operating soup kitchens and clothes closets. While these ministries are good and needed, the God of all faiths is calling adherents to something deeper and broader. God calls us to relationships, to consider the poor, not as an issue or a cause or a blight with which to be reckoned, but to come to know and understand not just their needs, but the individuals.
``He calls us to relationships, to a commitment to individuals with real names and real histories and real personalities, and real problems and hopes and dreams; to an investment in the involvement in the lives of specific persons; and to treat them the way they believe that God treats them.
``God does not treat us with handouts. He gives us himself.''
One last thing: If people of faith are ever to find common ground on this issue, it is important that we read books that reflect viewpoints different from our own. I have promised my more conservative friends-in-faith that I will read University of Texas professor Marvin Olasky's book, ``The Tragedy of American Compassion.'' It is my hope, and strong suggestion, that they would read Jonathan Kozol's book, ``Amazing Grace: The lives of children and the conscience of a nation.'' by CNB