Letter to the Australian

[Freedee]

Thought I'd post my letter to the Australian newspaper here for interest. It is in response to the Week End Aust article by Rowan Callick on p.24 of the Inquirer section. See if it gets published. Sorry I don't know how to download the article.

What the Anglican bishop, Philip Huggins saw at work in the Victorian bushfires was definitely not the ‘essence of Christianity’ (Inquirer, Feb 21-22), but more importantly for our survival, it was ethical humanity at its primitive. Religion does not have a monopoly on good deeds, nor does it have any right to hi-jack the essence of what it is to be human. Love and generosity of spirit has been plagiarised by religion to the extreme where Huggins only sees these qualities as stemming from the gospel. Médecins Sans Frontiéres do not treat patients because of any hidden agenda. On the contrary they deliver medical relief ‘in the name of universal medical ethics.’ Humans have lived together long before Christianity. If they had not treated each other with respect and love then there would not be anyone left today to preach to. Peter Singer says, ‘Our everyday observation of our fellow human beings clearly shows that ethical behaviour does not require belief in heaven and hell.’ To live a life without religion does not mean one ceases to possess the richness of love and compassion, nor does it mean one ends up in hell.

[Duffy]

Well done. Balance the books. Hooray for you :)

[SchizoDeluxe]

Nice one and reiterates the idea that there is something wrong about people only doing good deeds in return for a reward which is essentially what a lot of religions preach about. To say that people don't do good things because there is nothing in it for them is beyong ignorant. I guess all those non-religious charities are a paradox to them.

[alanqui]

Does anybody know how and when the 100+ million dollars donated by all Australians gets to the people who need it and is it properly audited? Also how much of it goes towards administration costs for the charities involved? Did not our generosity towards the Tsunami victims end up in controversy? I feel a touch jaded after some "rumours" abound.

[Vonnie]

The Victorian Red Cross has promised that ALL donated monies will go directly to victims.

I don't know the ins and outs of the audit process, but there's definitely something in place as a woman has already been charged with fraudulently obtaining $15,000 because she falsely stated that her father was killed in the bush fires.

With the Tsunami, there wasn't one main central place to donate. Hundreds of different organisations had their fingers in the pie.

Entities like Coles, and other big businesses who have donated to the Vic Bushfires Appeal, have all gone through the Vic Red Cross. So, hopefully, it will all go where needed, as planned.

Vonnie

PS: Excellent letter, FreeDee. I hope it gets published.