Operation Christmas Child Oddly Criticized for 'Proselytizing'

Samaritan’s Purse dissed again Parents in the Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta, want the Samaritan’s Purse program Operation Christmas Child banned from public schools, reports the CBC. The program, which is in 1,100 Canadian schools and thousands of other sites in the U.S., U.K., Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, and Finland, asks students to pack a shoebox full of gifts for kids in developing countries. But some parents say it’s all just a ploy for proselytizing.

“They’re not just flying into a country and dropping boxes to whatever little child is standing there wanting this box,” Rita Sirignano told the radio network (audio). They’re really pressuring the children into conversion. “If I wanted my child to be proselytizing … I would send him to a Christian school,” she said.

Samaritan’s Purse spokesman Ivan Giesbrecht says Sirignano is missing the point. “In countries that we have been given permission to do so, we do tell these children we are Christians and that we are compelled by the love of God to do this and we want to bless these children,” he said. About 6 million shoeboxes will be distributed in 100 countries on six continents.

We’ve been here before. In March 2001, The New York Timesinaccurately criticized Samaritan’s Purse, saying that while workers aided earthquake victims in El Salvador with government funds, they found time to “preach, pray, and seek converts among people desperate for help.”

Call the hate crime police. Between this and the coverage of slain missionary Bonnie Penner Witherall, it’s clear that many people see aid and relief work motivated by Christian mission as a force for evil, not good.

GOP agenda: Abortions, faith-based initiative, abstinence, and fatherhood “With Democrats no longer blocking their way in the Senate, President Bush and Republican congressional leaders plan a more vigorous push on their social policy agenda by trying to limit abortions, provide greater support to religious groups, and increase funding for sexual abstinence and fatherhood programs, according to White House officials and key lawmakers,” The Washington Post reported on Monday’s front page.

“The only places where these ideas are considered bad are on the two coasts,” says Senate Majority Leader-elect Trent Lott. “Where the meat is in the sandwich, the rest of America, these are pretty mainstream ideas.”

Happy Thanksgiving, AmericansWeblog will be on vacation Thursday and Friday for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. We’ll be back Monday.

Bioethics:

‘Human clone’ unlikely say experts | But controversial Italian doctor Severino Antinori has announced that the first human baby clone will be born in January 2003 (BBC)
huMouse™ | A design for creatures that are half man, half animal has raised fundamental questions about what it means to be human. Two critics of biotechnology want the U.S. Patent Office to answer them (Legal Affairs)
Australia’s Dr. Death | Spreading the assisted-suicide gospel (Wesley J. Smith, National Review Online)
Deadlock over bill on female feticide continues | The main objection to the bill is the provision which requires mandatory registration of all ultrasound clinics, irrespective of whether they were used for diagnosis for gynecological purposes or for other purposes such as kidney and liver disorders (The Hindu, India)

Abortion:

In deeply personal stories, the human face of the abortion debate | We hope that our series of articles moves away from the strict black-and-white outlines of the abortion battle into the more nuanced gray area: women’s lives (Margaret Sullivan, The Buffalo News)
Attitude becomes more negative on abortion | More than one-fifth of Americans surveyed say they’re less in favor of abortion today than they were a decade ago—and that’s nearly twice the number who say they’ve become more pro-choice (The Buffalo News)
‘I was doing something illegal’ | Hedria Lunken was married and already had two children when she came down with German measles while pregnant. She had an abortion in 1964, before it was legal (The Buffalo News)
‘I’m pregnant. And I’ve made an appointment for an abortion’ | Two women – seven years and 1,200 miles apart – swallow deeply, summon their courage, and make the phone calls that will change their lives (The Buffalo News)
Public debate, private lives | For three decades, Buffalo at center of national battle (The Buffalo News)
Rhetoric from both sides muddles decision process | If a woman seeks reliable information about abortion, what she finds—regardless of its source—will often be riddled with distortions, inconsistencies and outright untruths (The Buffalo News)
Plenty of money spent and made on abortions | Local women spent $2.2 million – likely much more – for abortions in just one year, not counting follow-up care and related expenses (The Buffalo News)
Suffering, pain in the days of ‘back-alley abortions’ | The last woman to die in Buffalo after an illegal abortion was barely a woman (The Buffalo News)
Anti-abortion group can air ads | federal judge cleared the way for a Hawaii anti-abortion group to begin airing its ads in a special election this week, handing a setback to the government’s early efforts to enforce the nation’s new campaign finance law (Associated Press)
Earlier: Isle Right to Life fights political ad restrictions | The legal battle revolves around new campaign laws (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Abortion foes angry over holiday card | Planned Parenthood holiday greeting reads `Choice on Earth’ (The Charlotte Observer)
Abortion procedure back on Utah political radar | Residual emotion from the campaign debate could lead to a change in Utah’s abortion law (The Salt Lake Tribune)

Islam:

Robertson: Jihad at heart of Islam | Koran promotes violence, says broadcaster (CNN)
Robertson pleads for scrutiny of Koran | Bush “is not elected as chief theologian,” says broadcaster (The Washington Times)
Falwell bearing false witness | Media should deny him an electronic pulpit (David Corn, WorkingForChange.com)
This war we’re in | Taking extremist Islam seriously (Paul Marshall, National Review Online)
Islam takes root among Mexico’s poor | Religion finding fertile ground among Mayans (The Boston Globe)
A Christian boom | Which of the world’s largest faiths, Christianity or Islam, is experiencing the greater ideological reassertion and demographic surge? (Daniel Pipes, New York Post)

Christians and Israel:

Christian Coalition embraces Jewish state (The Washington Times)
In defense of Christian allies | Why Evangelicals support Israel (Nissan Ratzlav-Katz, National Review Online)

Persecution and violence:

Religious violence in Nigeria drives out Miss World event | Organizers announced that the Miss World beauty competition would be moved to London after violence in Nigeria was linked to the pageant (The New York Times)
Nigeria buries its dead | More than 200 killed in Muslim riots in Nigeria (BBC)
Liberia’s outspoken bishop | Bishop Francis has said that the killings, 10 years ago, of five Catholic nuns in Monrovia, were by elements of the former National Patriotic Front of Liberia (BBC)
Colombia’s paramilitaries agree to cease-fire | Roman Catholic Church mediated secret meetings (Reuters)
These victims are people, too | What hate crimes have wrought (Rod Dreher, National Review Online)
Hate crimes against Muslims soar, report says | After 9/11, the number of assaults and other incidents increased 1,600%, FBI says (Los Angeles Times)
God and China | In China, it’s easy to be dazzled by the cellphones and skyscrapers. But alongside all that sparkles is the old police state (Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times)
An assault on secularism | The Tamil Nadu government’s bill against religious conversions is an assault on secularism, a basic feature of the Constitution, which was championed by the pioneers of the Dravidian movement. (Aladi Aruna, Frontline, India)
Also: Extremists try to crush untouchable leap of faith | Conversion will not immediately guarantee a better life but that does not seem to worry the dalits of Gurgaon, who are more concerned about leaving a system they see as oppressive (The Scotsman)
New Belarus law codifies rising religious repression | The new law outlaws regular meetings of worshipers of any faith not registered with the state, and strictly limits the places where even registered faiths can hold services (The New York Times)

Crime:

Vandals smash 24 cathedral windows at Gloucester Cathedral | Dean describes damage as worst since Reformation (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Also: Vandals smash cathedral’s ‘Harry Potter’ windows (The Times, London)
Some say gay teen should face hate charge in slaying | Critics of the homosexual movement said yesterday the case should be treated as a hate crime against Christians because Nicholas Gutierrez killed Mary Stachowicz after she shared her religious beliefs with him (The Washington Times)
Gunfire erupts at church scrimmage | A basketball scrimmage among teenagers at a church recreation center turned violent when one boy shot another after a dispute over a foul, police said (Associated Press)

Church and state:

Religious leaders call for summit on public display of Ten Commandments | Suit follows judge’s order (The Troy [Ala.] Messenger)
Davidson County approves “In God We Trust” for county government building | Private funds will pay for the 18-inch letters (Associated Press)
The sign police are going too far, some groups say | City considers easing restrictions for churches, nonprofits (The Indianapolis Star)
In Toronto, Christmas is out, ‘holiday tree’ is in | Christmas is becoming an endangered word in parts of Canada in a rash of politically correct behavior that even non-Christians dismiss as silly (Reuters)
Judge lived by his own set of `commandments’ | It was never about the Ten Commandments. It was always about Roy Moore (Elaine Witt, The Miami Herald)
Ten Commandments dispute continues | Conflicting rulings across the South and Midwest have added fuel to an already heated debate over whether such displays violate the Constitution’s ban on government endorsement of religion (Associated Press)
Ohio union agrees to honor religious objections | Facing religious discrimination charges, an Ohio teachers union has agreed to send a member’s dues to a charity because the union’s social advocacy violates her religious beliefs (The Washington Times)

What Would Jesus Drive? campaign

Jesus at the wheel? Clergy muse on question | Some say he’d walk, others say he’d ride a bike or take the bus (The Ann Arbor [Mich.] News)
Jesus you can drive my car | This isn’t the first appearance of What Would Jesus Drive (Alex Beam, The Boston Globe)
Would Jesus take the bus? | Attach Jesus’ name to a liberal cause, and all the social taboo-carving fades (L. Brent Bozell III)
What Would Jesus Drive? | What kind of silly question is that? (Brendan Miniter, The Wall Street Journal)
The devil is in the SUVs | It is a real blessing that the clergy is making us think about such unpleasantries (Lenore Skenazy, New York Daily News)
What would Jesus drive? A disciple carrier, of course | The Christian Coalition has already fired back at Jim Ball on its website home page, with a connecting article arguing that the fuel economy proposals would threaten road safety (The Observer, London)
Green group trivializes Jesus Christ | Exploiting Jesus for political or commercial gain isn’t a new trend. It’s been around since the Crucifixion (Editorial, The Oklahoman)
Holy Rollers | Does God hate sport utility vehicles? (Gersh Kuntzman, Newsweek Online)
New campaign looks at cars as a moral issue | A spiritual spin on the environment (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Now, add God to the list of enemies of the S.U.V. | A coalition of Christian and Jewish religious leaders came to Detroit to press automakers for more fuel-efficient vehicles (The New York Times)
Introspection behind the wheel | A group of religious leaders is trying to get Americans to give up their gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles – and they are not alone (The Christian Science Monitor)
Religion can run off road | Deep down, liberal Christianity doesn’t like capitalism or capitalists (William Murchison, The Dallas Morning News)
Hey, there’s room in my SUV for all opinions | Several readers wrote in response to Friday’s column on an evangelical-environmental ad campaign asking “What Would Jesus Drive?” (Susan Paynter, Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Sunday drivers | Evangelical theology placed in the service of the liberal agenda earns ink and airtime for anti-SUV campaign (Timothy Lamer, World)

Sexual ethics:

Campus crusade | When an Iowa student body president comes out, his church group ousts him, and a college-wide debate on antigay discrimination ensues (The Advocate)
The coming battle | Gay marriage set to become an issue like never before (Stanley Kurtz, National Review Online)
Seminary ouster of outspoken gay points up issues | Focus put on orientation (The Boston Globe)
Teacher battles union over published views | Faces suspension over calling homosexuality immoral (The National Post, Canada)
Desert pastor resigns over accusations of infidelity, misconduct | Resignation letter by Pastor David Moore was read aloud Saturday to 1,800 parishioners gathered at Southwest Community Church (Associated Press)
Also: Where is David Moore’s accuser? | We’ve talked to a number of parishioners who have said it’s not fair that Curtis Pickering can throw out allegations essentially ruining a man’s reputation and bringing a church to it’s knees, and then just disappear (KESQ, Palm Springs, Calif.)
Also: Tax officials to examine Moore books | Probe of ministry latest blow to pastor who quit after nude photos surfaced (The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, Calif.)
Also: Church staff says process of healing has begun | Southwest programs intact in wake of pastor’s resignation (The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, Calif.)

Sex abuse scandals:

Sex abuse is just an excuse to attack the Church | The Roman Catholic Church is backward, superstitious, morally conservative and bigoted. Yet it needs defending in the face of a barrage of accusations, on both sides of the Atlantic, of pedophilia among the priesthood (Claire Fox, The Times, London)
Pressure for cardinal to resign | The director of a children’s charity has called for the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales to resign over allegations of abuse involving a priest (BBC)
More named in church abuse inquiry | Australian Anglicans focus of inquiry (The Courier-Mail, Australia)
Mass. parish welcomes cleared priest | Monsignor Michael Smith Foster received spontaneous applause as he walked toward the altar, shaking hands and greeting the Sacred Heart parishioners during Sunday Mass (Associated Press)
Also: Reinstated priest: ‘Yes, I am angry’ (The Boston Globe)
In his first meeting with Voice of Faithful, Law seeks answers | Cardinal did not respond to either of the group’s central requests – that he accept financial contributions raised by the group, and that he lift his prohibition against new chapters of the group meeting on church property (The Boston Globe)
God need not look after his own | The clergy may still receive heavenly guidance but they also deserve terrestrial protection (The Journal, Newcastle, England)
Judge denies church’s bid to seal records on priests | Accusing the Archdiocese of Boston of toying with the court, a judge on Monday ordered the release of documents concerning Roman Catholic priests accused of abuse (The New York Times)

Church life:

The Lord helps gain approval for church | County commission cites God in building dispute (The Daily Commercial, Leesburg, Fla.)
Church pomp ‘un-Christian’ says Williams | The new Archbishop of Canterbury has condemned the trappings of power and status in the Anglican Church as “profoundly anti-Christian” (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Church is facing yet another crisis | New group claims its old building (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
In time of crisis, Ivorians turn their eyes toward heaven | Church attendance is up in Ivory Coast, a nation facing civil war (The Christian Science Monitor)
Bill would restrict who is able to nominate churches as historic | Only owners of structures, not any city resident, would have nomination power (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Religious wrongs | Don’t give churches blanket exemptions (Editorial, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Religions stress unity | More than 150 people braved freezing temperatures and approaching wintry weather Sunday to offer prayers, express thanks and stress unity at the 13th annual Interfaith Thanksgiving service in downtown Salt Lake City (The Salt Lake Tribune)
Lightning kills Zimbabwe worshippers | Members of the “Vapostori” sect do not worship in churches (BBC)
Sydney’s vitality offers Anglicans a way to retrieve their lost souls | Ever since his appointment as Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen has come under fire from some quarters for his bible-thumping brand of Christianity, his old-style revivalist approach to spreading the Gospel, and, more recently, the appointment of family members to positions of considerable influence within the diocese (Chris McGillion, The Sydney Morning Herald)

Missions and ministry:

Truckstop ministries bring church to those on the road | One man has made it his mission to help truckers go to church while they’re on the road (Voice of America)
Teen preacher displays winning ways | It was the first time he’d preached at what has been his family’s place of worship for seven years, but it was not the first time Theon Hill has preached before a largely white audience (Chicago Sun-Times)
Good deed called into question | He’s not stealing that shopping cart. It’s his ministry (The Troy [Ala.] Messenger)
The children’s crusade | Hotel Chaplaincy Australia (HCA), a 500-strong team of young Bible-literalist Jesus-freaks, is out to temper the savage heart of the annual schoolies bacchanal on the Gold Coast (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Pentecostal pastors float new Christian association | A new Christian body, Pentecostal Christian Association of Nigeria (PCAN) has been inaugurated to unite Christians and address what the leaders call the problem of confusion, disillusionment, loss of faith and exploitation in churches in the country (This Day, Lagos)
Solomon Islands Health Ministry rejects religious criticism | Rejects calls to ban campaigns promoting the use of condoms as a means to avoid sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies (Radio Australia)

Money and business:

Ky. sex shop switches to selling Bibles | Neighbors have embraced the change, helping Braithwaite restock his 5-year-old store with Christian merchandise and buying groceries for him, his wife and daughter until his new business begins to turn a profit (Associated Press)
Publishers agree that Jesus saves their own hefty profit margins | You’ve heard that Jesus saves? Apparently he sells, too. And boosts circulation (Michael Heaton, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)

Education:

Challenge emerges to home schooling | Officials accused of intimidation in western Illinois (Chicago Tribune)
God and woman at Harvard | At a religion conference, the feminist faithful tread carefully (Mark Oppenheimer, The Boston Globe)

Bible:

Bible society marks 50 years for Revised Standard Version | Current disputes over the bewildering variety for consumers and the rise of Bibles that neutralize many masculine pronouns and nouns could make the RSV debate of 1952 pale by comparison (The Washington Times)
Software whiz merges data with the divine for BibleWorks | Michael Bushell went into business as BibleWorks in the early ’90s, even before quitting his defense job in 1995 when the government downsized that program (The Virginian-Pilot)

Pop culture and music:

‘VeggieTales’ to sprout another movie | Unlike “Jonah,” “Bob and “Larry” won’t feature an overtly religious yarn (Reuters)
Give him credit for the covers, but the best song is all Cash | He is, at age 70, the Man in Gray (The Boston Globe)
Church faces £2.6m music bill | The Church of England faces a bill of £2.6 million a year under the Government’s proposed changes to the music licensing laws, the Bishop of London warned the House of Lords yesterday (The Times, London)
Also: Churches must pay fees for fund-raising events | Church leaders fear that new legislation, introduced in last week’s Queen’s Speech, will prove so onerous that parishes will have to cancel vital fund-raising events (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Also: Bill ‘will damage music in churches’ (The Times, London)
Engaging God with music | In a curious way, many American Protestants are in the process of going back in liturgical history to pre-Reformation times, becoming increasingly passive in worship where their forebears had been active (Uwe Siemon-Netto, UPI)
Hymns’ role after 9/11 disasters | “Hymns of Hope and Healing” is based on the 11 September terror atrocities and tells the story behind a number of timeless hymns which have provided hope and inspiration to people working at Ground Zero (BBC)

Other articles of interest:

An equal place for all beliefs | To impugn the patriotism and good citizenship of people with the “wrong” beliefs is a repugnant form of bigotry (Cathy Young, The Boston Globe)
What is driving evangelical growth? | Preaching, approach, location are all cited as reasons (The Toledo Blade)