Rep. Ocasio-Cortez: "What Good Are Your Thoughts & Prayers" After a Tragedy?

[Igel]

8. Same for denunciations of the killer.

Or saying, "Well, I really don't care."

They all rise to the same level of "nothing's done," whether expressions of good will and sympathy, encouragement, etc.

Which puts James' letter in context. Because elsewhere, encouragement itself is a good work; but if somebody's starving, it doesn't matter. So for the dead, it doesn't matter if we say, "I'll pray for you," "Your killer's a bad person," or "Really, he's killed? Why should I care? Maybe he's better off feeding some root system!"

If, however, you look to the living, will they each have the same result? If you have no way to help a person, is there a difference between telling a person "FOAD" and "you have my deepest sympathy"?

Faith alone isn't even up to the standard of encouragement.