Depends on how you define "charity." American Christians are alright about giving a little to charity; but only a precious few are actually doing something to help the poor. I have to plead guilty as to not doing enough either.
I've been thinking lately - Christians seem to have retreated to all-white suburbs. We're a group of hemogeneous white, middle-class Republicans. Not a lot of Evangelical Churches meet downtown, but rather on sprawling suburban campuses. I've decided, if I ever get involved in a church plant, it'll meet downtown.
You are a calvinist.
Christians meet where they do because that is where they are.
Am I missing something?
Honestly Jude, does the European Church do a better job at Charity than the American Church? No way. It is the American Church that leads the world in feeding the poor of this earth. While obviously we could do better, the principle problem in getting food to the hungry is not the fact that the American Church is not doing enough, it is because the governments of the countries where people are starving will simply not let the food in without stealing it or killing those who bring it.
And right now nobody in America is starving. If anything poor children in America eat too much. The number of poor children that are overweight is much higher among the poorer classes in America than among the higher classes.
The priniple reason there is starvation in the world is not a lack of Charitable giving by the American Church, but because of the politics of corrupt dictators and corrupt governments and the inability of Christians to go into Muslim countries because they will be killed.
It would take up too much space to list all the American Church charities that are busy caring for the poor of this world. You'd be hard pressed to find any country where the Church is even a fraction as charitable.
Don't project your own guilt on the rest of the Church. If you feel that you are not doing enough, then perhaps you are not doing enough. Your job is to put what is in your heart into the coffers and God will provide the increase. Your job is not to rag on everyone else because they don't do as much as you would like them to do. They don't have to answer to you, they only have to answer to God.
I've been thinking lately - Christians seem to have retreated to all-white suburbs.
I don't know where you get your ideas, jude. Are you saying that blacks are not Christians?
If Christian families can afford to live in peaceful suburbs, it is not because they are greedy, it is because they work hard and God has blessed them. Tell you what jude, when you become a successful attorney, why don't you move to downtown Compton California and and do your part to whiten up the neighborhood.
Sheesh.
BTW my "white suburb" is about 30% Hispanic and 10% to 15% black and about 10% Asian. It is fairly typical for a middle class "white" suburb in California. the fact of the matter is that the higher you go in home prices, the higher the percentage of Asians and Middle Easterners you see. As far as I know there are no more middle class white suburbs in California. None.