Kiva.org is a website that enables people to make micro-loans (usually in the amount of 25 dollars) to others in countries such as Kenya, Colombia, and Armenia, to name a few, so that the borrowers may finance such things as sending their children to school, buying agricultural supplies, or starting a business. Charities and NGOs on the ground in these countries work with the clients on applying for a micro-loan and repaying it.
The Atheists, Agnostics, Skeptics, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists and the Non-Religious team, which as of this writing is 21,690 strong, is to date THE all-time biggest lending team on Kiva, having supplied $7,788,275 in micro-loans. The team’s motto is “We care about the suffering of human beings”. Not only is the team more than twice as big as the next biggest team, Kiva Christians, it has provided about 3 million more dollars in loans than Kiva Christians (both teams were began in August 2008).
As of right now, Kiva is offering a trial to new members, who get $25 free to donate as a micro-loan.
Now that’s constructive. Going out and actually doing something for people instead of arguing about the reason behind doing something for people. Help is help whether you’re doing it because God said so, or because logic dictates a system of ethics, or for that matter because of an acid-induced vision of a purple three-headed goat that wants you to save the world from the cosmic forces of jellyfish. If theists and atheists stopped bickering about why, the world might be in a better shape.
I add a bit to my Kiva account each month and reloan funds as they are repaid.
I don’t do it to be a part of a group. Don’t do it to promote my religious beliefs.
I do it because I can and it helps.
I’ve only been at it a few months but it is something I enjoy and it is easy to see how it grows every month.
Not sure if you need an invite or not to participate in the Free Trials. If you do need an invite you can send a PM to me, or I’m sure anyone else on Kiva. (Mod: If this isn’t ok per the SDMB rules then please delete this.)
This is a potentially sketchy comparison because you’re talking about the ratio of members and the absolute difference between the amount loaned. Let’s take a look at the actual numbers. A quick search gives me these statistics:
[ul]
[li]Atheists & Agnostics: 21,693 members have lent $7,790,250 in 263,427 loans[/li][li]Christians: 9,684 members have lent $4,650,150 in 137,843 loans[/li][/ul]
So the atheists and agnostics have loaned out about $360 each, whereas the Christians have loaned out about $480 each. The average loan from the atheists and agnostics is about $30, whereas the average loan from the Christians is almost $34. The average atheist or agnostic has made a little more than twelve loans, whereas the average Christian has made a little more than 14 loans.
I don’t want to discount the good that either group is doing–after all, the people receiving the loans benefit equally well no matter who lends them money. I just want to make sure that the comparisons between the two groups are done honestly, and it looks like the Christians are slightly more generous by any metric you can get from the numbers that are given.
(And yes, I will be signing up and making some loans when I get back to the computer later tonight. Again, this is good work no matter who does it.)
A lending team is just a way to use a bit of friendly social pressure to spur people to make loans. You can organize a team around any theme you want.
So you could, for example, form a team of Boston Red Sox fans who might challenge a team of New York Yankees fans to see which group could attract more members and make more loans. And if your team wins, you get nothing more than the pride of knowing that all of you together helped a lot of people.
Christians who say that need to study their theology more. The common Prodestant view is Common grace. Of course an atheist/agnostic can be good. The difference is how one grounds what “good” is.
That’s not what I read in the OP. I saw a “Look, the Athiests are donating MORE than the religious folk. Boo yah!” message. Seemed a bit too ‘braggy’ to me.
Still, I would agree that you’re not all JUST selfish, hedonistic bastards.
(The above line was a joke. I am not calling all atheists such, please don’t flame. Afterall, some of my best friends are atheists!)
Edit: Oh yeah, and good cause…donate money…go people.
The OP was a comparison between the first and second largest lending teams on Kiva. Do you deny that the Atheists and Agnostics, Etc. group is the largest, and that Kiva Christians is the second largest? If you acknowledge this, do you believe I should have picked the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, or lower-ranked lending group to compare the Atheists and Agnostics, Etc. lending team to, instead of Kiva Christians? If so, why? Are you aware that 'Athiest" means “the most athy”?
However, if you wish to see some bragging, here’s some bragging.
Glad to know about this org.
I don’t have a dog in this fight, but just want to remind folks inclined to compare, that most religious and/or spiritually based groups have their own organizations through which they make charitable donations or do good works. Many folks make many charitable donations through many organizations that don’t ask if one has a spiritual or religious organization, or what it is, and good it is. So any comparisons are quite invalid.
