Posted on 09/03/2005 1:17:47 PM PDT by nwrep
In a display of blatant left-wing, anti-Christian bias, Yahoo has excluded The Salvation Army from its links of charities helping with rescue efforts.
Here are the organizations Yahoo has provided links for:
* American Red Cross
* Network for Good: Hurricane Katrina
* Habitat for Humanity
* NSALA: Hurricane Katrina Animal Rescue
Not just the Salvation Army. They also omit Catholic Relief Services. Those two are probably the largest of the really efficient and helpful church services, but you could add several Protestant and Jewish groups, which are also missing from the list.
I would never donate to the Red Cross, and I never heard of those other outfits. Heavens knows what percentage of donations go to the victims, but probably not very much.
Sort of like the Truth -- you chase it out the door, it will come in through the window. (Hear that, NO and LA politicians?)
"I gave thru Samaritan's Purse which is run by the Rev. Franklin Graham. You can trust Billy & son!"
I also gave to Lakewood Church in Houston. They already are helping out with the people being sent to the Astrodome. Joel Osteen, the Pastor, has a donation signup on the Lakewood web site.
Absolutely! Almost every WWII or Korean War vet I have ever worked with or known, including 3 uncles and my father in law, had nothing but unprintable language for the Red Cross. They all complained about having to pay for coffee and donuts, even in the rear area of combat zones, while back home the Red Cross posters asking for donations implied that those items were given out free to servicemen.
This is one of the things I have heard, too. I think it's the tip of the iceberg, though. I haven't met many WW2 vets with any affection for Red Cross. Thanks for the info!
However, it seems obvious that the North American Mission Board and the Southern Baptists 1) have the best and most resources already in place and 2) know how best to use them quickly and effectively. Many prayers their way for success.
As a personal opinion, I'll be sending all my donations to the Salvation Army, the NAMB and/or Catholic Charities USA, or any other faith-based organization that can get resources and people where they're needed.
Big reminder: churches of all faiths across the South will need monetary help for several weeks to come, not to mention refilling their pantries afterward. Keep them in mind (and the bigger charities such as NAMB who were on the front lines from the first moment) when Thanksgiving and Christmas come around, and even later. Their members are probably being asked to give and give - and they are probably giving all they can and then some. Remember them later, when the news services move to other stories.
The Salvation Army is a protestant religious denomination. It's actually a church. The Commissioned Officers are ordained ministers. Officers are required if they marry to marry another Salvation Army officer or leave. People who worship at the Salvation Army are referred to as Adherents and have to sign the Articles Of War. They go on to be officers. The Articles of War are at: http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn.nsf/vw-sublinks/85256DDC007274DF85256B8C007F9407?openDocument
From what I hear, an employee sued them when they made the rule that no gays may work for them. And from there, it snowballed into an ACLU cause celebre.
Most people don't realize that. They see the Thrift Store and the soup kitchens as good works; they see the kettles and ringers at Christmas, and associate them loosely with Christianity. But most people don't don't really think of the Salvation Army in quite the same terms as, say, Catholic Charities or other more clearly stated religious charitable organizations.
I'm not personally associated with the Salvation Army. But I think they're good and wonderful people. I donate clothes to their Thift Store (I shop there too), I donate food to their soup kitchens, I've rung bells at the kettles, and I always donate a couple bucks to the other ringers.
But I understand why Yahoo and other sites might not list them. I don't think it's leftist, anti-Christian bias; it's just self-preservation. Placing the Sal in the same donation list as the Red Cross and other secular organizations could confuse donors, and some non-Protestant people might get as upset if they realize they've donated to a strict Protestant religious organization as you or I might be if we realized the charity we just donated to was actually run by, say, the Hare Krishnas or the Moonies.
(Note: I'm NOT saying the Sal folks are weirdos. They're fine folks. It's an analogy about the donation process, not the organization.)
So if Yahoo wanted to do the Right Thing, IMO, they would list the secular outfits in one list, and then have a lot of religious outfits including the Sal in another list for donors who prefer to give to a religious charitable organization. Only problem with that is, where do you draw the line of which religious organizations to include? There are some weirdo "churches" out there doing good works, but with some might strange beliefs...
So maybe leaving out the religious groups is a safer path for Yahoo et al.
BTTT
In promotion and a desire for a broad affiliation with Christ to get churches to ally with them; so it seems from their website.
They came to our town's clergy association a number of years ago looking for support and promotion. They were quizzed about H4H's exact goals, beliefs, and actions. It was determined that evangelization and salvation and the promotion of Christ (save to say "Jesus loves you and this house proves it") were (and later by their own admission) not part of their organization - just build houses for whomever, wherever, whenever, and move on to the next one.
The position of the association was that the Gospel Message is a little bit more than "God wants you to have a house" and declined, as an association, to support them - though the individual organizations were, of course, free to support (or not) as they would. A couple of the more-liberal denominations did eventually support them in some form or another.
fyi: the association consists of Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, Congregational, RC, Evangelical, Lutheran, and (formerly) Judiasm (the now-retired Rabbi was an active member; his successor declined membership). Local Buddhist and Hindu leaders are also friendly with the association; though not members. The local Mosque wanted nothing to do with the association, as did JW's and (surprisingly) CoLDS..
Thanks for that link!
Unbelievable.
The International Red Cross is a different organization than the American Red Cross. In fact, American Red Cross has withheld its "dues" to IRC for a long time for philosophical reasons.
Good to know! That being said, I have seen the venom towards them many times by WW2 Vets. Thanks!
What rules would those be? Homosexual marriage or interracial marriage?
"What rules would those be? Homosexual marriage or interracial marriage?"
Since I posted that I've tried to find the original link without success. My memory was that it had to do with the Salvation Army dividing people into classes and prohibiting marriage between the classes but it wasn't race based.
If it were a real story though, I should have been able to find it by now.
Doesn't look like they have Catholic Charities either.
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