If I offered to pay a young member of your family all their tuition fees, but only if I could drown their cat, would you take it? It’s only a moggie. Got him from a rescue centre didn’t you? He’d have been put down if you hadn’t stepped in. He owes you; time for him to pay back his dues –help little Sarah through her BA at Lancaster. And he’s 4 years old – that’s 193 in cat years. He’s had a good life.
There’s a chance you’d take it. Especially now Universities are allowed to charge what they want for admission. Next open day you attend there’ll be a price list handed out at the start:
1 year before quitting £4,500
2:2 £22,000
2:1 £35,000
First class £1,000,000 or suck off the Dean
It might seem a strange offer, but the world is full of people hiding bad things in good offers. Take Operation Christmas Child. On the surface they look great. They send presents out to poor children. Like modern day Robin Hoods, but the rich are consenting because they feel terribly guilty.
What’s not to love? Well the service is provided by Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical Christian group, whose leader, Franklin Graham has said that Islam is an evil and wicked religion. They’re also rather homophobic with their ex leader, and current leader’s father Billy Graham saying that all homosexuals should be castrated. Not sure what happens to lesbians. Maybe he doesn’t mind them as long as they film it.
The shoe boxes are targeted at Muslim countries, and are asked to not be sealed as they are checked before sending out. There have been a number of reports of evangelical literature being put in the boxes, and children being made to hold prayer groups before being given their gifts.
The majority of receiving children don’t celebrate Christmas. I wonder if the poverty stricken children of Aboriginal Australians will be receiving toy trucks and a card saying ‘Happy Hanukkah’ any time soon.
Does it even matter? When I was a child if somebody told me I could have a box of toys, but I had to renounce Satan first I’d be up dancing his evil spirit out of my soul. I’d say anything you like.
‘Monkeys and carrots are evil and must be stoned to death with marmite pebbles. Now give me the Xbox.’
Doesn’t mean I’ll be picketing abortion centres any time soon.
I can’t help thinking they’re targeting the wrong audience. Going to the furthest flung parts of the world to tell impoverished children who don’t speak English and don’t celebrate Christmas that homosexuality is a sin seems a lot of effort for little reward. It’s hardly as if they can donate back to Samaritan’s Purse.
People across Europe despise Franklin Graham and reject his views. That’s the target audience. European students. You can convince a student of anything, and they’re suckers for free gifts. Go to a University, start offering free toasters and novelty underpants and within minutes you’ll have an army marching round chanting ISLAM SUCKS, DOWN WITH GAYS.
Now if you'll excuse me. I'm volunteering for a charity that puts hand grenades in Easter Eggs.
If you would like to make a donation to Lewis’ angry students campaign, just leave a comment at the end of your article with your bank details.
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Hey Lewis,
ReplyDeleteMan, you're way off in what you've written here. It's a little like a daily mail shock article.
I think it’s important when linking quotes to people, that the primary source is cited. It may or may not be that those things have been said – though I suspect not, and not as implied – but citation would add credibility.
Operations Christmas Child is a great project. It is run by Samaritan’s purse – Christian organisation. The idea is to distribute gifts to children that have nothing – to share happiness with children stricken by poverty, to show them that people love them, and that God loves them.
A quick visit to the FAQ of operation Christmas Child would clear up many of your rumours. Having had the benefit of working in the warehouses in England that collect and distribute the boxes, I thought I could also shed some light:
Boxes are asked to not be sealed. This is not so Christian literature can be put in – there isn’t any at the warehouse. Instead, it is so that every box can be checked by volunteers. Some items are not allowed into specific countries (chocolate, for example, has to be removed from boxes going to certain destinations as (I think) it incurs tax as it passes through). Other items that will be removed are things relating to war (toy guns/soldiers etc) as many of the children that receive the boxes will have experienced the horrors of such things first hand. Religious items are also removed to ‘be sensitive to the indigenous cultures’ in which the boxes will be distributed (see the FAQ page http://www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk/faqs).
There is no requirement for children to be Christians to receive a gift. No-one has to renounce satan – there is no Jesus test. Christian literature may be handed out with (not in) the boxes if requested, but this is without obligation.
It may be that exceptions to these rules have occurred. If so, these will be down to the indigenous partner organisations, and not according to the wishes of Samaritan’s Purse. If one group down the chain does it wrong, does that mean the whole system is wrong?
Continued....
....(cont)...
ReplyDeleteAs to the religious affiliation of destination countries, in 2009, they were as follows:
Kosovo – Secular state, main religions Muslim / Catholic
Belarus – Secular state, main religion Orthodox Christianity
Bosnia – Muslim 45% / orthodox 36% / Catholic 15%
Kenya – Christian (protestant and catholic) 78%, Muslim 10%
Azerbaijan – Secular state – most identify as Muslim, but 50% state little or no importance of religion in life.
Kyrgysztan – 80% Muslim, 17% Orthodox
Liberia – 40% Christian 40% indigenous beliefs 10% Muslim
Mozambique – Over half Christian, about a quarter Muslim.
Romania – Christian/catholic with a small muslim minority.
Serbia – 80% Christian, 4% Muslim
Montenegro – 74% Christian, 18% Muslim
Swaziland – 83% Christian, Muslim 0.95%
Ukraine – pretty much Christian – split between catholic and orthodox etc
Zimbabwe – 85% Christian.
(Forgive the use of Wikipedia – it will do for now, unless you dispute the figures).
Doesn’t really seem like a majority muslim target, does it?
But in truth, those figures are pointless – the countries that are ‘targeted’ are those that suffer from poverty, war etc. As there is no requirement to be a Christian to receive the presents, the religion of those children receiving is irrelevant.
Aside from all that, disregarding the false claims of proselytising etc – It’s strange that you think Christians would just keep to themselves. Would you not expect a Christian to want to tell others (muslim or not) about the God they believe became human like them and died to save them? Regardless of whether you think they are right or wrong, it would surely not be expected that if they believed it that they would keep it to themselves. Speak to a Muslim person – they will tell you that their desire is that non-Muslims would become muslim – because they believe that what they hold to is the truth.
It may be that you disagree with the organisation and it’s beliefs, but the responsibility for journalistic integrity and fidelity in what you report lies with you.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/nov/10/religion.society
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2003/nov/29/voluntarysector.usnews
http://www.religioustolerance.org/homquote.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/relsalary.htm
http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=2050
http://www.covenantnews.com/graham.htm
("in recent years we have provided more relief to Muslim people than to any other group in the world" Graham, F)
http://www.humanism.org.uk/humanism/humanism-today/humanists-doing/charities/samaritans-purse
http://www.worldmag.com/webextra/16003
As requested - all sources cited above.
Good to see debate.