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Today is Blog Action Day, where bloggers everywhere are discussing the issue of poverty. This is a topic that I am passionate about, though I have not yet posted anything about it here on the site (but be sure to check out my article, 5 Ways the Web Can Help Us Eliminate Poverty, on my business blog). I think poverty is a serious ethical issue, and as such we have a strong obligation to fight against this problem. Extreme poverty is not only disastrous but also solvable- God has provided the resources we need to eliminate it. Yet, in our consumerist culture, we have turned a blind eye to our neighbors and have indulged in unneeded luxury. Even the Church has fallen into this trap- spending millions on fancy church buildings. Moreover, Christians hardly stand out from the crowd when it comes to consumerism- Christians with money are just about as likely as anybody to spend that money on unneeded luxuries while children around the world literally starve to death.

I think Christ called us to a higher standard. His care and concern for the poor and marginalized comes through on every page of the Gospels. Consider Luke 12:33-

“Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”

Whether you are a follower of Christ or not, however, the ethical consequences of extreme poverty should be clear. I wrote an article on this issue a year ago, so for my contribution to blog action day, I’d like to repost that here. Unfortunately, I was limited to 1,500 words, so I was not able to fully develop all of my arguments. I will try to offer a more comprehensive review of this argument in the Ethics section at a later date. But without further ado, here is my essay on A Poverty of Benevolence: The Moral Obligations of the Affluent:

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Many people are probably already aware of the controversial documentary, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Starring Ben Stein, this film takes a look at the theory of Intelligent Design. It actually covers a variety of topics; including discrimination of ID theorists in the scientific community, criticisms of Darwinian evolution, and the supposed link between Darwinism and Nazism/eugenics.

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Pope Benedict has recently released a statement which is causing quite a stir in the Christian community. See the news story here.

According to the article, the Pope released a document reaffirming his position that Protestant churches are only ecclesial communities that do not have the means of salvation.

For my reactions, read on…

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In a recent article in Time Magazine, also posted on the Internet and becoming a front page news story at Digg.com, Steven Pinker argues that consciousness is merely activity in the brain. In the article, Pinker denies the existence of a soul and the possibility of an afterlife. However, Pinker’s case is remarkably weak once analyzed with a marginal degree of philosophical rigor.

Read on for my response….

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The notion that Christianity is based on a “leap of faith” rather than an intellectual commitment of mind and soul to God is widespread in today’s culture. Christians are unable to provide a rational defense of their faith, and nonbelievers are convinced that religion is something only for the gullible and weak-minded. At The Skeptical Christian, these problems are addressed head on. Christianity is NOT a worldview for the weak-minded and it is NOT based on a blind leap of faith.

The Skeptical Christian was designed with discussion in mind. Any article on this site can be commented on, and any suggestions, critiques, or alternative perspectives on any of the writings are welcomed and encouraged. Feel free to participate in the discussion of these important topics.

For an entire site outline, read on.

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