Letter to Globe Dec 6th re editorial re charity

Editorial Tithe Better

Giving to the needy- charitable donations - have always been an integral part of Judeo-Christian morality. This moral requirement, emphasized weekly in our churches and synagogues, has gone the way of religion. Slowly, slowly, we assume that religious social beliefs, morals, and ethics are something that is innate and exists whether or not the church is still part of our lives. But it is not so. As we get rid of the church, we slowly get rid of the moral standards that it encompasses and promotes. The first to go are the simple things – like donating to charity or caring for your neighbour. When canvassing for the Heart and stroke foundation, I noticed that the main donors were not the well-heeled young in their brand new houses, but the elderly and the ones with Christmas wreaths on their doors. These are the ones still holding on to their Judeo-Christian values of charity. The young have lost this sense of morality with their loss of respect for their religion. Morality is not a question of equivalency. There are universal good values. Charity is one of them.