Spiritual Forum. Org

Save money by stoping uncessary rituals to help poor

 In all the temples, churches, mosques and prayer halls of other religions, remember that only the inert representative models of God exist and all your services to such models are not received by God in any way except that they are meant to improve your devotion. Of course, all these places are necessary to develop your devotion to God. You can develop your devotion without wasting money in all these unnecessary ignorant practices.
The same money can be spent to save the life of a hungry person and to improve the facilities of poor people so that they can have peaceful life and turn to God. God will be pleased by such activity and not by these foolish practices of blind tradition. As Buddha told, you must analyze every action before implementing it and you should not do it blindly based on tradition.
www.universal-spirituality.org
Universal Spirituality for World Peace

Anyone who says they religious, but does not give to the poor or care for the widows and orphans, has a useless religion. We must understand that the purpose of religion is to make us better people. What does it matter to waste money on symbolic events, when we fail in real events. Caring for what we are given, goes without saying. Our planet, its creatures, neighbours and loved ones, are what God has given.

I don't actually agree with your views. Help should be given out to the poor. No problem with that. But stopping many centuries old rituals in temples and other places of worship will gradually kill the faith.

With government shutdowns and economic issues hitting more and more people (ie the current debt issues in the US) the need for religious organizations and non-profit organizations to reach out to the less fortunate is growing. It's wonderful to help your own with your own group, however, there are so many people in need right now that turn them away because they are not a member of your church or organization is not religious or faith based at all. I think more churches should do community outreach and more spiritual organizations should also offer outreach. I heard a friend state the other day that her group (primarily Wiccan) would not do community outreach for fear of the backlash due to their religion. This to me was appalling. Jesus, Buddha, and others did not stop being charitable because of the view of others. Homeless, less fortunate, and those in poverty need help regardless of what others think.

Helping the poor should definitely be a priority. In relation to the poor, I'm not talking about people who are able to work, but are too lazy to work. I'm talking about the people who are truly in need of help. Those who are hungry aren't just in foreign lands, but also in the United States. It might be your neighbor or the person walking down the street.

What blows my mind--and I'm a Christian--is churches that only help those who go to their church. I know a woman who had children and asked for help from a church. She was told she would need to start coming to their church in order to receive help. Now I understand that any church loves to see new faces, but I don't feel it is right to turn those in need away because they don't go to your church. Helping the poor, without conditions, might be the very thing that draws them to God and to a church.

Surely the cornerstone of any religion or belief system is charity - or active and practical help for those who most need it? That is not accomplished by rituals, but by rolling up your sleeves and doing something, or donating money to those who can best make use of it.

However, rituals have a valuable place in people's beliefs and the practice of their religion, therefore nobody has the right to tell others what they should and should not do. That is tantamount to criticism of the faith of others, and it's not something anyone should do. Once again, this poster has made a sweeping statement that means very little to those of us who like to think for ourselves rather than copy and paste from other websites.

It's disgusting to see all those cold castles of religous pride being built everywhere, countless millions wasted on both the construction and the upkeep of all the churches, while children are dying out of hunger somewhere every second, even though a few $ could save them from this fate. It's sick and immoral, I will not consider Christianity or other religions as good until they burn all the churches to the ground, sell all the gold and land, and actually help to save the children. When I had a job, I was personally helping such poor people in another country, by sharing over half of my small salary. If religion can't do the same, it's worthless.

This post touches on an issue that has been of interest to me for quite some time.  However, I think that it's conclusion is rather brash and somewhat untenable in practice.  Churches and the religious rituals that are conducted inside of them do not necessarily draw money away from disenfranchised members of society.  They also inspire people to hope for a better future, to socialize with others who may provide meaningful support, and even to engage in bold, collective acts of philanthropy.  I appreciate the poster's view, but I suggest that it is not enough simply divert funds away from churches or ritual practices.  We must also broaden our own hearts, and to learn to release demands over our finances.