A few brief observations about World Vision:
i) As I've said on other occasion, there's a sense in which I think this sort of thing is a good development. By that I mean, it's good when nominally Christian institutions tip their hand. That separates the faithful from the faithless.
ii) I expect the World Vision execs are surprised by the extent and intensity of the backlash. Surprised because, unless they were out-of-touch with the Christian community to begin with, they wouldn't change their policy.
iii) What's striking is how they capitulated in the absent of any tangible threat. They didn't have the excuse of a fine or law-suit. They just unilaterally buckled to the new social mores of the cultural elite.
iv) Apropos (iii), big Christian organizations have a special responsibility to resist these encroachments on Christian liberty. That's because, unlike mom-and-pop Christian businesses, they have the financial resources to contest it. They may still lose, but they can at least put up a fight.
v) It's ironic that they justify their capitulation on the grounds that they just want to focus on their mission, for I expect homosexual marriage is a great affront to many Third World cultures. This is a radical chic cause in the West.
vi) Sponsoring children through World Vision isn't all it's cracked up to be. I had a relative who used to sponsor a child in India or Pakistan. She got regular updates which mentioned what a devout Hindu he was. She wrote back to say she wasn't donating to indoctrinate a poor child in Hinduism. Hinduism is a major contributor to poverty in the first place (i.e. the caste system).
This is only one of the first of Christian social justice charities that will fold under the pressure to acquiesce to the elites. For the social justice crowd it is all about their chosen crusade e.g. poverty, obesity, child abuse, wife abuse, sexual trafficking, etc. I have pointed out to Christians who become obsessed with these causes that they are intertwining themselves with the wicked who are going to require compromise in return. However they are like the contestant in a beauty contestant who only can see the world through their social platform prism. They cannot fathom that there are those that will permit them to continue THEIR kingdom work in exchange for, in this case, accepting sodomy. Machen, Schaeffer, McIntire, Pink and many others foresaw this effect of liberalism.
ReplyDeleteDespite WV protestations a 1 billion dollar charity is intertwined with the government elites to get their 174 million in grants, 501(c)(3) status, permits, maintain their property holdings, and all kinds of other matters. This was a preemptive move and other CINO (Christian in Name Only) charities are sure to follow because their income and their livelihood depend on it. Once the elites get the larger organizations to capitulate they will go after the smaller ones eventually coming after your local congregation.
World Vision recently reversed its decision.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it seems they have reversed it.
ReplyDeleteBut the financial damage to them has been done. Many Christians will no longer give to World Vision regardless of their reversal. World Vision didn't learn a lesson from the Duck Dynasty or Chick-fil-A controversy.
Problem is, once you show your cards, you can't make the players forget what they saw.
DeleteIt's one of those gaffes in which they said and did what they really believed the first time around. Now they're sorry–sorry because they thought they could get away with it, and it's too late to take their words back. People remember.
Michael Brown (whom I respect) wrote: "I just read the official statement from World Vision, and it should be welcomed for its expression of real repentance and contrition."
DeleteI think Dr. Brown is too quick to accept the claim of repentance. The repentance of an organization and that of individuals aren't the same. Also, for all we know the reversal was financially motivated out of a desire not to lose contributions.
I didn't realize Steve responded. I agree completely with Steve.
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