White Horse said:
Oh, no. I never meant to suggest we shouldn't help. That's why I included the "
whenever ye may will ye are able to do them good" part of the verse. I'm just saying it's something that isn't going to be corrected by secular means. The best way to wipe out poverty, or any of the world's problems, for that matter, is by sharing Christ. He is, after all, the only answer to any of our problems. Everytime man tries to make something good without Him, we just make things worse eventually. Many times it seems good for a little while, but it's just tares looking like wheat.
Well, seeing as how Africa probably has more Christians and a more vibrant church than all the G8 countries put together how can you say it is a lack of faith. George Bush is supposedly a Christian man, yet he is having to be pushed and dragged all the way on these issues. Christianity is NOT supposed to make your life easier. It will NOT protect you from problems. However we as Christians have a duty to stop the abuse of the Third World which takes place in our name.
White Horse said:
I also think those performers with a gozillion dollars could do a lot more than dedicate an hour or two of their time to put on a concert if they were really concerned.

And that's not to say some of them aren't, but I can just about guarantee you some of them are feeling real good about themselves because they sang a few songs. That ain't gonna cut it when our Lord confronts them about the stewardship of their possessions.
Thats between them and the Lord. Right now we can each look at our own behaviour and ask are we part of this problem. If our leaders think they can get away with it they will continue making money at the expense of lives in the third world, so we need to send the message that we will NOT tolerate this, 30,000 deaths a day in Africa alone is unacceptable. All the nice promises made by our leaders at the turn of the new century which they pledged to achieve by 2015:
1. Tackle extreme poverty - halve the number of people who live on less than a dollar a day. (basic healthcare and nutrition would cost $13 billion a year Europe and the US spend $17 billion a year on petfood)
2. Achieve universal primary education - ensure all boys and girls complete primary schooling. (This would cost only $10 billion a year - less than is spent on ice cream in the US)
3. Promote Gender equality - make sure there are the same numbers of boys and girls in primary and secondary education, preferrably by 2005.
4. Reduce child mortality - cut the death rate among children under 5 by 2/3.
5. Improve maternal health - reduce maternal deaths by 3/4. (this would cost $12 billion a year - less than Europe and the US spend on perfume every year)
6. Combat Hiv/Aids malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability - reduce by half the number of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation; reverse the loss of environmental resources and significantly improving the lives of 100 million slum dwellers.
8. Develop a global partnership for develpment - working together on debt, trade, public health, aid and technology issues to promote economic growth and poverty reduction.
In 2000 every cow in the EU recieved $913 in subsidy, while every sub saharan African recieved $8 in EU aid.
In contrast poor countries like Malawi are NOT allowed to subsidize seeds for their farmers which would make it easier for them to grow food. This is because of the current 'Free Trade' rules.
Christians are at the heart of this movement and have been for a decade. At the march yesterday I carried Christian aid banners, others carried banners from Tearfund and Sciaff, I would say roughly every 4th placard was from a Christian organisation. Churches across the UK are foundation members in the Make Poverty History campaign, working alongside secular organisations to bring pressure to bear on those who can achieve their targets.
In the same way that Christians were at the heart of the campaigns to outlaw slavery in the 19th century, we can also achieve this goal if we want to.