[quote]Sri Lanka, Jan. 19 -A dozen Americans walked into a relief camp here, showering bereft parents and traumatized children with gifts, attention and affection. They also quietly offered camp residents something else: Jesus.
The Americans, who all come from one church in Texas, have staged plays detailing the life of Jesus and had children draw pictures of him, camp residents said. They have told parents who lost children that they should still believe in God, and held group prayers where they tried to heal a partly paralyzed man and a deaf 12year-old girl.
The attempts at proselytizing are angering local Christian leaders, who worry that they could provoke a violent backlash against Christians in Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist country that is already a religious tinderbox.
Last year, Buddhist hard-liners attacked the offices of the World Vision Christian aid group and vandalized or threatened churches and pastors 75 times. They accuse Christians of using money and social programs to cajole and coerce conversions.
Most American groups, including those affiliated with religious organizations, strictly avoid mixing aid and missionary work. But scattered reports of proselytizing in Sri Lanka; Indonesia, which is predominantly Muslim; and India, with large Hindu and Muslim populations, are arousing concerns that the good will spread by the American relief efforts may be undermined by resentment. . .
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Here is what the article said again. It raises an interesting question about the sensitivity of some Texan aid workers. However, the extent of their proselyizing is to have the kids draw a few pictures of Jesus and to tell the suffering that God is still with them. The people getting upset are other Christian organizatins, most likely in this case World Vision as they were the ones attached by the Buddhist hardliners.
It is a simple point about the local politics of spreading the Word and living as a Christian in a country where the dominant religion is not yours, but it is not a question about the morality of spreading the Word in a disaster area.
It is also a story about religous bigotry. Not Christian bigotry, but Buddhist bigotry against Christians so CS has a totally valid point to make.
Danimal,
Is it ethical to see a disaster as an opportunity to cajoel and coerce people into your religion? Well they are the words of the Buddhist hardliners as they were attaching the World Vision offices. If they couldn’t see the irony in there some where well God help them 'cause Buddah is clealy sitting this game out. WV is the organization that sits squarely in, “Most American groups, including those affiliated with religious organizations, strictly avoid mixing aid and missionary work.”
In fairness, I know that is not your gripe. You have to answer that question for yourself. I think it is a simple question that draws the distintion between what is moral and what is ethical. It is unethical behaviour that is morally justified by bringing the word of God to the heathens. Since I believe in ethics over morals, I think it is wrong, but not a very big wrong. However, it lies on the path to a very big wrong and that is religous bigotry.
This is an area where ethics are totally forsaken for what people believe to be morally right. Describing the few Texans above as “vultures” seems a little out of kilter with the religous bigotry that otherwise exists in the world.