Amie

And that can happen to almost anyone...
I think it is important to care about oneself as well however I do not think a life of service is meaningless.
I disagree completely. He is a different person, no more, no less, no worse. no better.

Bree

:notworthy :notworthy :notworthy

A life of service is much better than a life spent in prayer.

beyelzu

not really amie, homelessness takes some getting into to. lets see for family i have my brother, my mother and my sister. as i would rather be homeless then live with either my mother or sister that would leave my brother. i could probably live with him for about 3-4 months before he would want me to move out and i would get a new place unless i was just to lazy to go out and get a job, in which case i would have to move on to my friends, i have about 3 friends that i could stay with for at least a couple of weeks and one who i know i could stay with for 2 months or so, so in conclusion i have to be so sorry as to not get a job for 6 months. thats a very long time.

bill gates had a desire to make money, he recognized this desire, made a fairly decent product which people liked and bought and made lots of money. from a second hander look, think about how many thousands of jobs he created personally and how many thousands of more he created by doing business with other companies. so he is better because he wants things and knows this and actively acheives it (being true to self) and from an altruistic standpoint he supports tens of thousands of families for years. and in the other corner is mother theresa who helpe some sick kids.

seebs

Actually, I would guess that, had Gates never come along, many *MORE* jobs would have been created, because almost everyone else had better technology; he brought marketing and monopolistic abuses to the game, and wrecked it for everybody.

However, either way, I take issue with trying to call him better or worse than Mother Teresa, or anyone else, really. He had different opportunities, different talents, and so on. I don't think we have the information to judge him a "better" or "worse" person - but mostly, I'm not sure I accept the idea of evaluation in such terms.

Amie

thats your situation though. Not everyone has the same circumstances.
and so did Mother Theresa. In the way she thought was best. She did not only help kids. One of the first people she helped in India was a woman lying in the street who was so sick and weak and near death she was being eaten by rats. Mother Theresa brought her to the hospital to try to help her. Both of them have helped people but in very different ways. Neither one is any better than the other in my opinion.

beyelzu

how about sisqo systems then or turner broadcasting?


or henry ford or edison. or nikolai tesla. all these people rate hire than mother theresa in terms of effectiveness in improving the human condition. but she is special cuz she didnt seek to make a profit. which is actually my point.

Amie

So basically you believe some are "better" than others because they improve the human condition in ways that others do not?

beyelzu

yes, i am pointing out that christians dont consider people based on effectiveness. instead they use this system where you get extra points if you help the really poor or diseased and you get lots of extra points if you dont make a profit. preferably you charge nothing. i actually think that the captains of industry are better people regardless of how they help of others. but my point is addressing christianity's ideas about altruism. if they didnt exist then the world would be even better as more poeple attempt to become capians of industry or great inventors and thus help more people then mother theresa ever did.

beyelzu

please excuse my spelling, i think that i am getting tired.

Amie

Not another generalization...
I want to help people I feel need the help. People who are dealing with unfortunate circumstances, added difficulties in their lives and what not...This is most certainly not about getting points. Points for what?