Larry Hollon blogs about something I believe gives Christianity and Evangelism a bad name, and cites several of the reasons he has and I have about why:
A report from Sri Lanka in this morning’s New York Times about Christians from the U.S. proselytizing while offering humanitarian aid concerns me deeply. In my opinion this is not acceptable for many reasons.
Dropping into a crisis area, sharing faith in a way that is upsetting to local sensitivities, bundling faith with humanitarian aid, and flying out in a week or two is, to put it bluntly and as kindly as I am able, a bad idea. You can read into this language that I feel a bit more strongly than just “a bad idea,” but I’m trying to remain charitable here.
Here’s why: It’s insensitive to the religious sensibilities of people who are already faithfully practicing Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other religions at a time of great vulnerability.
Whether intentional or not, such behavior connects humanitarian aid to a particular religious perspective and can leave the appearance of coercion