Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Freethinker

Home
Nonreligious
School stopped from engaging with Operation Christmas Child

School stopped from engaging with Operation Christmas Child

Last updated on: November 15, 2020 at 9:53 pm by Barry Duke

School stopped from engaging with Operation Christmas Child 2020-11-15T21:53:56+02:00 Barry Duke

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

mage via YouTube/Samaritan’s Purse

A KANSAS school only woke up to the fact that Operation Christmas Child, run by evangelist Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse, was a shameless exercise in proselytising after it received a warning letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF).

According to The Christian Post, Tony Helfrich, Superintendent of Pratt School District, said in a reply to the FFRF:

Regarding our students’ participation in ‘Operation Christmas Child,’ we are discontinuing that effort upon learning that its mission is more sectarian in nature than we realized.

The FFRF complaint concerned the distribution of shoe boxes filled with gifts, including Christian “literature”, by Liberty Middle School.

FFRF said the school:

Must cease participation in Operation Christmas Child or taking any other actions promoting Christianity like including religious references over morning announcements … many egregious constitutional violations are occurring at the school.

Operation Cristmas Child ensures the propaganda boxes filled are sent to children in more than 160 nations.

FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said:

A lot of these groups rely on school authorities being ignorant about their mission. We appreciate how swiftly the district discontinued the fundraising after our alert.

Image via YouTube/Samaritan’s Purse

In a recent interview with The Christian Post, Billy Graham’s grandson, Edward Graham, above, said shoe boxes filled with gifts were reaching more children and “unreached people” with the Gospel than the massive global evangelistic events his grandfather held over decades.

More kids have heard about Christ through these shoebox distributions than ever heard about Christ in stadiums with my grandfather.

The FFRF called Samaritan’s Purse:

A pervasively sectarian religious organization.

And it argued that the use of:

School staff and resources to convert people to Christianity violates basic constitutional principles. While it is laudable for a public school to promote student involvement in the community by volunteering and donating to charitable organizations, the school cannot use that goal as an avenue to fund a religious organization with a religious mission.

Certainly, there are other secular nonprofit organizations that offer charitable opportunities.

Samaritan’s Purse says it has for over 40 years:

Done our utmost to follow Christ’s command by going to the aid of the world’s poor, sick, and suffering. We are an effective means of reaching hurting people in countries around the world with food, medicine, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ. This, in turn, earns us a hearing for the Gospel, the Good News of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

In the spring of 2016, Samaritan’s Purse held an outreach event for the Himba people, an “unreached” group in the village of Opuwo, which sits on the border of Angola and Namibia in Africa.

The Himba tribe consists of 50,000 semi-nomadic people who live in a region across Southern Angola to Northern Namibia. Before the shoe box distribution, the people of Ombaka mostly practiced ancestral worship and were “resistant” to the Gospel message, with less than 3 percent of people professing to be Christian.

Following an Operation Christmas Child outreach event that hosted 130 children in the village, 46 children and six young adults wanted to continue to learn more about Jesus.

There’s a bit of a ding-dong going on in The Christian Post‘s comment section. Someone called John Whittle asked:

Why should an atheist group poke their nose into other peoples’ affairs who are doing a lot of good for society thinking they have the right to oppose the good work? Who do they think they are? It’s none of their business what anyone else is doing?

Brian Westley replied:

A public school violating the religious rights of students is NOT ‘poking their nose into other peoples’ affairs’, it’s stopping the government from ignoring the constitution, which is EVERYONE’S business. They are opposed to the government unlawfully using schoolchildren to proselytize Christianity.

And I said:

If anyone is poking its nose into other’s affairs it’s Samaritan’s Purse. The report even gives an example of how native beliefs and culture in Namibia had been wrecked by this foul outfit, reporting it as if it were a Good Thing.

• Please report any typos/errors to [email protected]

If you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee – and boy, do I get through a LOT of coffee keeping this site active – please click the link below.

I’d love a cup of coffee

Freedom From Religion Foundation

Kansas

Operation Christmas Child

Pratt School District

Previous Post

November 15, 2020

Appalling: Brits don't give a damn about COVID-19 church closures

Next Post

November 16, 2020 'Hostility to religion' and secularism is driving down birth rates

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Archive My Atheism News Opinion Reviews Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 March 2007 April 2006 February 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Where does Scripture say, "do not let the sun go down on your anger"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Luke Genesis Proverbs Ephesians

Books by This Author Books by The Freethinker

See All Titles »