The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, January 20, 1996             TAG: 9601190120
SECTION: DAILY BREAK              PAGE: E5   EDITION: FINAL 
COLUMN: Issues of Faith 
SOURCE: Betsy Wright
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   83 lines

READERS RESPOND TO PLIGHT OF POOR, HOMELESS

LAST WEEK'S Issue of Faith: Using recent political rhetoric interspersed with scripture from all the world's great faiths, I tried to show the disparity between what I believe to be this country's current attitude of ``hate'' toward the poor and God's com-mand to love and care for the poor.

This Week's Reader Responses:

From Carolyn Kowalski of Norfolk: ``Anyone who claims to be a Christian and doesn't want to help the poor, or thinks the poor are that way on purpose, or thinks the poor are undeserving, they are not doing God's will . . . God wants us to care for the poor and he wants us to have love and charity . . . ''

From Rob Lauer of Portsmouth: ``I don't hate the poor, but I do hate poverty. I do want individuals to know that being made in God's image with a mind and will of their own, they are able to affect their situation for the better . . . When you preach as morality that the individual's highest responsibility is to serve the welfare of others, you are preaching that slavery and servitude are moral . . . When society, through laws, attempts to force one individual to care for and love another, it is attempting the impossible, and it is committing a crime against nature.''

From Thomas Roper of Virginia Beach: ``. . . The most fundamental biblical principle of charity derives from the belief that human beings are created in God's image. If greater dignity, freedom and uniqueness are among divine attributes each individual should possess, we have the responsibility to provide our fellow men and women with the basic necessities that will allow them to embody those attributes. Unfortunately, the work that religious organizations are doing is not enough. Therefore, governmental help is required . . . The image of human beings as partners with God is a recurring theme of the Bible. As unique and creative beings, men and women must strive to increase human dignity and freedom in the world. The Bible expects us to behave as we would expect God to behave . . . One can cry out against the welfare system, while taking advantage of those privileges that tax money provides, and call it justifiable. One can . . . voice shock at unwed mothers `taking advantage' of the system, while building bigger churches, and then remember to demand the tax benefit that others have to pay.''

From Melissa Green of Chesapeake: `` . . . (I believe) American Christians do more to fight hunger and homelessness than any other organization or religion in the world. (Consider) church food closets from every denomination, the Rescue Missions who feed thousands each year, and the volunteers to the Salvation Army, Operation Blessing, and all those who participate in food drives, as well as caring for elderly or invalid family members who might be hungry or homeless otherwise . . . And this is not to mention every working person in America who makes involuntary donations to the school lunch, welfare and food stamp program as well as housing subsidies for the poor. If we were as reprobate as you say, we probably would revolt and not pay those taxes. They make it harder for the middle class to survive since our income is eaten by taxes, food, shelter and what we need just to be able to work - child care, transportation, clothing. . . You're way off the mark . . . ''

From Pat Stultz of Norfolk: ``We hate the poor and homeless because of greed. The Bible defines the love of money as the root of all evil and says greed is insatiable. We resent any time or pittance spent for the poor. When we ignore the second commandment by refusing to love our neighbors, the poor and homeless, we are unable to love ourselves and allow God's love to nurture our souls. We can only covet more and more defining our worth in dollars and cents, and denying the brotherhood of man.

``A friend once told me, `Give a man a fish, he lives for a day; teach a man to fish, he lives for a lifetime.' I agree. . . but God's love commands that we at least help him purchase a good fishing rod.

``God may indeed `get us' for our denial of love. I pray more that he doesn't say, `Depart from me, you cursed. I never knew you.' ''

From Richard M. Hidreth from Virginia Beach: ``I believe you completely miss the point of what the Republicans are trying to do with regards to the poor in this country. They do not hate the poor any more than you do . . . Can you not see that a lot of the issue surrounding welfare in this country relates back to government's taking the role normally reserved for churches and private organizations . . . The government's involvement has allowed all the systems that used to take care of the poor to abdicate that responsibility citizens. It is thus my belief that it is unfair of you to judge individuals by what they feel their government should or should not be doing.'' by CNB