Why Does Samaritan’s Purse Spend More Gov’t Monies on “evangelising” Than Actual Aid in Disaster Relief?
Question by : Why does Samaritan’s Purse spend more gov’t monies on “evangelising” than actual aid in disaster relief?
good article, most of it is pasted below
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/05/world/05SALV.html
U.S. Aids Conversion-Minded Quake Relief in El Salvador
By DAVID GONZALEZ
Published: March 5, 2001
GUADALUPE, El Salvador, March 3 — An American evangelical relief group that is using private donations and United States government money to help victims of two earthquakes has blurred the line between church and state as its volunteers preach, pray and seek converts among people desperate for help.
Residents of several villages said volunteers from Samaritan’s Purse, which has received more than $ 200,000 from the United States Agency for International Development and is to receive a second similar amount, has held half-hour prayer meetings before showing them how to build temporary homes of metal and plastic provided by the American government.
According to interviews with numerous villagers here and elsewhere in this predominantly Roman Catholic country, volunteers of the Protestant group have distributed religious tracts and asked them to accept Jesus Christ as their savior.
“They said a lot, but the principal thing was God and that earthly things do not matter,” said Óscar Romero, a villager putting finishing touches on his house.
Officials of Samaritan’s Purse note that the group does not condition its help on acceptance of specific religious belief, adding that it has brought considerable private resources here, which they may use in any manner. The message it spreads is not seen as unusual in this deeply religious country, but it is spread in a society where Catholics and evangelical sects have long been at odds.
The group’s use of federal financing has troubled aid officials and relief workers, who said the mixing of relief and religion could possibly conflict with contract guidelines. That issue comes as federal agencies are trying to adapt to President Bush’s plan to provide government aid to religious groups involved in social services.
“It may very well be that this is a very fuzzy area right now,” said Kenneth Ellis, the director of the Agency for International Development mission in El Salvador. “I know our legal office in Washington is struggling with how do we deal with faith-based organizations.”
Government money cannot be used to overtly finance religious activities or to provide selective help based on political or religious beliefs, said Kim Walz, a spokeswoman for the agency in Washington.
The agency’s federal counsel has also written that religious groups should not “promote religion at the public expense by using U.S. government funds or U.S. government-financed goods or services to promote sectarian purposes.”
Dr. Paul Chiles, the country director for Samaritan’s Purse, said the group neither discriminates nor proselytizes aggressively. At the same time, he said that its mission was understood and accepted by the federal government, which is helping it build more than 2,000 homes.
“We are first a Christian organization and second an aid organization,” he said. “We can’t really separate the two. We really believe Jesus Christ told us to do relief work.”
He said that although the group did not rely on prayer meetings when delivering aid, he did not think it was inappropriate to deliver a message of hope to people for whom religion is part of daily life.
“We definitely don’t ever use the gifts that we bring as a means to change people,” he said. “We distribute it to people in need. At the same time, we bring the message of the Gospel.”
That message is central to its relief work, according to the group’s Web page, which quotes its president and chairman, Franklin Graham, son of the evangelist Billy Graham. The Web page notes that in one village where the group provided supplies, 150 Salvadorans converted after watching a movie about Jesus.
“When we go into these villages and help people get back into their homes, we hope we’ll be able to plant new churches all over this country,” Franklin Graham said on the Web page.
Unlike other religiously affiliated relief groups, who try to team up with local groups expert in housing or community development, Samaritan’s Purse has drawn volunteers from local evangelical congregations. “When we build things, we say we build it with the love of Jesus, because that’s why we are here,” Dr. Chiles said. “If we worked with the Peace Corps or the Red Cross, I don’t think they would be comfortable doing this.”
Such statements have raised suspicion among many relief workers here, who noted that other religiously affiliated relief groups had spun off their relief work into separate entities that received federal financing.
The 31-year-old group is a newcomer to housing work in El Salvador, but it has worked in more than 100 countries, including Honduras
Best answer:
Answer by Jesus loves atheists too
Why has the Jerry Lewis telethon raised over 2 billion dollars for muscular dystrophy yet nothing has been accomplished with that money??
Answer by Tony
Didn’t get that from the article…
Give your answer to this question below!
Tags: united states, united states agency for international development, franklin graham, roman catholic, el salvador, muscular dystrophy, jesus christ