I've just seen a brief section of a Sunday morning show on BBC1 this morning that offends me ... as a human

The programme was talking about children who had been orphaned due to their parents having the HIV/AIDS virus in Africa. A touching story that grabbed my attention immediately.  Some shots of a couple of littl eboys helping each other to put their shoes on was shown, pulling at the heart strings further.

Then, we cut to a couple sitting on top of a four-wheel drive who were talking about how they came over on a Honeymoon and saw the children and felt they had to help. A beautiful story and a most honourable sentiment, I'm sure. However, they said "As Christians, we had to help".

"As Christians?" what about "As Humans"? So I, who am not a follower of Christianity, would walk on by? You should help as humans, with the assurance of your faith. You do not need faith to experience sympathy, empathy or compassion. Faith may help, but it certainly is not a pre-requisite. It's almost as if these people were justifying their actions, and their faith, in one.

To look at another faith, Buddhism also says that compassion, kindness and respect should be exhibitied at all times, particularly to those in need. But these are based on human nature, not a as a tenat of a particular religion, which infers that other people and faiths would not exhibit those same attitudes.