As has been glaringly obvious in recent years, it would appear that Jesus, who supposedly taught tolerance, really just hates everyone who does not believe in him. If he doesn't, then the faithful are misinterpreting his teachings, and what else is new.

This is a follow-up on Troutbend’s remark about how religious groups have been so forthcoming in helping the devastated areas following the floods, and she is inclined to think better of them and I am too. But then she asked “Where are the atheists?” which made a sort of sense because there weren’t any helping. But being very helpful myself, and being a non-faithful sort, I suspected I couldn’t be the only one on the planet.

I had to know more, so I Googled “Do Atheists Groups Help the needy? So “where they are” appears to be as follows: Denied, dismissed, prevented from helping, offers rejected. It would appear that religious groups want to be THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN, and they are perfectly happy to turn away assistance and money when they don’t approve of those who are offering it.

I got a ton of information about organized atheist groups offering money collected, personal time, personal effort, to help those in need, those victimized by tragedy, rejected because religious groups do not want to be associated with those they assume have a lesser moral compass. Personally, I think a belief system that assumes people are morally suspect because they do not believe as you do, is deeply flawed and actually contributes to the harm of innocents.
From one site:

(2013 Christmas period)
The holiday season peaks, atheist and humanist groups around the country have seen their charitable impulses rebuffed by both Christian and secular organizations. Recent incidents of “thanks, but no thanks,” include:
• A group of Kansas City, Mo., nonbelievers was told their help was not needed after they volunteered to help a local Christian group distribute Thanksgiving meals.
• A $3,000 donation to a Morton Grove, Ill., park, collected by a local atheist group, was returned. Park officials said they did not wish to “become embroiled in a First Amendment dispute.” (Apples and oranges, but who’s keeping score?)
• A group of Spartanburg, S.C., atheists was denied the opportunity to help at a Christian-run soup kitchen. The soup kitchen’s executive director told local press she would resign before accepting the atheists’ help and asked, “Why are they targeting us?” (Is this parnoia typical? Is the sky blue?)

And in what is perhaps the biggest rejection, the American Cancer Society, in 2011, turned away $250,000 from the Stiefel Freethought Foundation,a nonprofit dedicated to humanist causes. The Society never cited atheism as the reason. So? What was the reason? Bad breath?

Dale McGowan, executive director of Foundation Beyond Belief, a humanist nonprofit, said his group’s grants have been rejected at least eight times. The foundation, which has given away $1.4 million, does not proselytize for nonbelief and requires that its beneficiaries — some with religious roots — do not do so with their message.

McGowan thinks those who reject FBB’s grants — usually $10,000 each — worry about the perception of being associated with atheists.

Finally, the following persons of supposedly low moral character donated as noted.

The current most charitable individuals in the United States, based on “Estimated Lifetime Giving,” are:

1) Warren Buffett (atheist, donated $40.785 billion to “health, education, humanitarian causes”)

2) Bill & Melinda Gates (atheists, donated $27.602 billion to “global health and development, education”)

3) George Soros (atheist, donated $6.936 billion to “open and democratic societies”)

"Note all this is being done simply because they WANT TO donate, not because this gets them "brownie" points with a supposed lord."

The devout have their good points no doubt, since they do organize to help. But in rejecting help from those not just like them, they deny vital resources to those they are helping. But that’s okay so long as they can stick it to people of whom they do not approve.

This kind of “righteousness” reeks of self-aggrandizement. We are the *f*a*i*t*h*f*u*l* -- rejoice in our perfection. We are special, we believe. Hats and horns. Joy in the streets. Nyah, nyah, nyah, we believe and you don’t and you don’t get to play in our yard. Infantile? Self-important? Bigoted? All of the above.

Despite what I think of them, I welcome their efforts to help because I don’t care where good works come from. If help is needed, anyone willing to help should be welcomed. Would that they could do the same.

xx, Teal