40 Bicycles

It is sad to see a Christian charity being attacked in such a manner. I'm not entirely sure if American readers will be able to access the article. It is a vitriolic attack on Operation Christmas Child and its associate agency, Samaritan's Purse. It is titled: 'The evangelicals who like to giftwrap Islamophobia' and 'The world's largest children's Christmas project has a toxic agenda.' The author is angry that charity should be used as a means of evangelism. According to the author of the article, the vicar of Putney and a lecturer in philosophy at Wadham College, Oxford, the message of the parable of the Good Samaritan is that we should overcome religious bigotry. Whilst I would not condone everything that is done by such groups, or the beliefs that are held by all their members, I feel that such an approach is terrible. Apart from anything else, Christians should not be airing their grievances with each other in the public media. Like the author of the article, I am no supporter of many of the forms of American fundamentalism. However, I recognize the great value of the work of fundamentalist groups, no matter how misguided they may be in certain theological areas. The author may also be right to identify the danger of associating evangelical charities with the neo-colonialism of the American superstate (sorry folks, but that's really how the rest of the world sees it), but Operation Christmas Child has done a very significant work and deserves to be recognized and applauded, not castigated in the press (which merely uses such attacks to justify itself). I hope that this latest attack upon the work of this agency will backfire and prompt many more Christians to support their valuable efforts.