"OCC brings the gift of Jesus to children. How can anyone object to that!"
I often recieve emails such as the following:
I pray that one day someone will give to you to meet some need of yours, and that in doing so, they will tell you that they have done this because of the love they have in their hearts for even you- that this love they have for you comes from Jesus, and that Jesus love you very much. Jesus died FOR YOU!!!! HE LOVES YOU!!!
My response:
It is not just me. Numerous individuals, schools and organisations have objected to and withdrawn support from OCC once they learnt of their nature. The most vigorous opponents of OCC have actually been Christian ministers (see the Guardian articles via my website and this thoughtful document by a Christian group - ChristmasGiftProjectkit.pdf).
OCC has been criticised by the Charities Commission, and schools in the UK have been alerted to check out them out carefully before deciding to take part by the Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education. OXFAM, DHL, the South Wales fire Service, the Inland Revenue and the Co-Op have all also withdrawn their support. I am not aware of any other evangelical organisation or charities that have received such criticism. This should set up alarm bells for you that there is something wrong with OCC that other religious charitable organisations are not being criticised for.
...regardless of their faith (or none), all children receiving shoeboxes are intended to be registered in advance, attend a Christian rally, and receive Christian literature again wherever the government allows it (http://www.pursestrings.ca/shoebox.htm ). There are also evangelical follow up meetings subsequent to the distributions.
...besides being given biblical literature translated into their native language, each child wishing to receive a box will attend a mandatory Christian 'rally' in which the word of the Lord is proclaimed, in every country where it is legal. Further, a majority of the boxes are distributed in communities that have a resident evangelical Christian pastor who can provide 'follow-up' ministering. This is gift-giving with strings attached."
"These gift filled shoeboxes provide powerful tools the local churches can use to evangelise people in its own community
There was tremendous pressure placed on children who received the shoeboxes (and their families) to convert to Christianity.
So we have sinners prayers of conversion, pledge cards to evangelise friends, mandatory evangelical rallies, evangelical follow up and well organised local evangelism in conjunction with OCC.
Remember that these are just children, often as young as 4, and poorly educated with little opportunity of evaluating the evangelical claims and pressure put upon them. Such heavy handed evangelism of vulnerable children really should disturb everyone who is not an evangelical fundamentalist and strike even fundamentalists as overly overt. An acquaintance of mine who used to live in Africa and has witnessed the OCC distribution has even described the heavy handed evangelism as "sickening."
If you were unknowingly supporting a well organised Islamic evangelical mission would you want to know?
Samaritan's Purse are also well aware that there are people who criticise their activities in the press and on the Internet. (See the exchanges in the press available via my site). Indeed it was the standard "playing down the evangelism" letters on the Internet and in the national press (and in my local press during my exchanges) that got me even more concerned about the dishonest nature of OCC and the lack of understanding many supporters have about its nature, which led to me putting up my website. The fact that I have received letters such as these:
I am so pleased I checked the internet for information before I sent the two boxes I had packed and ready to go! I would have been horrified to think that I had unknowingly (and with good will) contributed to an indoctrination I do not agree with. Thank you!
shows that I am helping people pick a charity that accords with their conscience.
In summary, the point of my website is that many people and organisations, like myself, think that heavy pressure to be evangelised into fundamentalism is not worth a box of toys no matter how poor people are. That is a value judgement so we may just have to disagree. Are you an evangelical fundamentalist Christian? Is that why you are so keen on OCC? You can still give gifts (and more) to needy children without OCC - e.g. UNICEF and Save the Children. Your charitable efforts would be more effective there if you are worried about poor children.