Comments | anthropologist: Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith

nirvana_project in anthropologist

Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith

Aug 27, 2007 12:40

Long term, Bill Gates has probably done more for India's poor (outsourcing, etc.) than Mother Teresa, who also spawned a whole industry sponging off the Western largesse. We know little about her personal history and her childhood. I suspect, her inability to connect to Christ in a feeling way had something to do not only with her perfectionism but ( Read more... )

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starlit_woods August 27 2007, 06:33:49 UTC

Long term, Bill Gates has probably done more for India's poor (outsourcing, etc.) than Mother Teresa

I find that comment offensive. There is more to helping people than throwing money at them, money can never buy the gentle hand of a caring person or a drink of water given to a dying man. Mother Teresa spent decades helping to ease the physical and emotional pain of the people around her, Bill Gates as far as I know hasn't had to look one dying person in the eye or risk catching leprosy. He gives money that's it.

Bill Gates and M Teresa nirvana_project August 27 2007, 08:19:01 UTC

Well, no offence meant... Bill Gates has spent billions on fighting AIDS and malaria and TB around the world. His technology has given EMPLOYMENT or additional employment to millions of people around the world. Remember the adage about giving people the fish or the hook to catch the fish... We need both Bill Gates and MT. They are complementary. And I said "long-term...."

Re: Bill Gates and M Teresa starlit_woods August 27 2007, 09:10:22 UTC

I agree completely that financial donations and employment play a very big part in making the poor better off. And I'm very thankful that Bill Gates has started donating and helping in that area. He didn't start his foundation until the year 2000, despite being the richest man in the world, a billionaire, for a long time.

Mother Teresa helped the poorest of the poor, those who were dying and starving for 40 years of her life, living in poverty herself while doing it and giving the people something money can never buy, the love of another human being.

The quote I remember the most from her is this:

The poor are very great people. They can teach us so many beautiful things. These poor people maybe have nothing to eat, maybe they have not a home to live in, but they can still be great people when they are spiritually rich. Those who are materially poor can be wonderful people. One evening we went out and we picked up four people from the street. And one of them was in a most terrible condition. I told the Sisters: "You take care of ( ... )

Re: Bill Gates and M Teresa thehielencoo August 27 2007, 20:48:21 UTC

She did revel in the beauty of the human soul, which for her, seemed to be best expressed or experienced in the poor and suffering. There was something creepy and not right about how she believed that suffering brought people closer to God. A lot of people don't just see that as a coping with the horrors of poverty that she saw everyday, but kept her from doing many things that would have helped them. I don't have specific instances on me, but I encourage you to watch an episode of Penn & Teller's Bullshit called "Holier Than Thou" which shows (although not really in a polite and unemotional manner) why Mother Teresa isn't so "saintly". You can find it on youtube.

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vequira August 28 2007, 04:10:09 UTC

You are comparing 2 different things; Bill Gates has money and does do a lot of humanitarian things with it. Mother Teresa gave her time and her life, and within that teh values of her beliefs (regasrdless of the damages caused, hollowman, which I also strongly disagree with.). Each was giving what they had to give and hoping for the best possible outcome.

Bill Gates and MT nirvana_project August 28 2007, 04:37:31 UTC

Well, the original article in the TIME magazine was about MT's suffering and her inner torment and doubts about her spirituality and her public persona, not about the value of her contribution to the world. However, I think there is a value in looking at the person and learning from it, to see how WE can better serve the world. Otherwise it is all just idle curiously and chatter and intellectual gossip.

Re: Bill Gates and MT starlit_woods August 28 2007, 05:16:06 UTC

Yes the TIME article was about her religious beliefs and suffering, you were the one who brought up the 'worth' of her actions against those of financial philanthropists like Bill Gates.

Re: Bill Gates and MT nirvana_project August 28 2007, 05:26:27 UTC

And why not?

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