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Indonesian official calls World Help plan "a serious violation"
The front page of today's Washington Post has a story that's sure to get much follow-up attention over the next few days, and is already reprinted in at least a dozen other papers around the world (and IslamOnline.net) today. World Help, a large missions agency based in Forest, Virginia, has taken 300 Muslim "tsunami orphans" under age 12 from Banda Aceh to Jakarta, where they'll be raised in a Christian children's home (which has yet to be built).

"These children are homeless, destitute, traumatized, orphaned, with nowhere to go, nowhere to sleep and nothing to eat," an appeal on the World Help website said yesterday. "If we can place them in a Christian children's home, their faith in Christ could become the foothold to reach the Aceh people."

World Help president Vernon Brewer said he received permission from the Indonesian government, but Indonesia Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa denied it.

"If confirmed, this would constitute a serious violation of the standing ban by the Indonesian government on the adoption of Acehnese children affected by the tsunami disaster, and appropriate steps would be taken accordingly," he said.

That's where the he said/he said part of the story ends for now. The Post story doesn't have any further details from Brewer on where the permission came from, and whether it was written down.

But that's because the heart of the Post's story isn't on what to do with tsunami orphans; it's on the nefarious plot to convert Muslims.

"Most of the religious charities [involved in tsunami relief work] do not attach any conditions to their aid, and many of the larger ones — such as WorldVision, Catholic Relief Services and Church World Service — have policies against proselytizing. But a few of the smaller groups have been raising money among evangelical Christians by presenting the tsunami emergency effort as a rare opportunity to make converts in hard-to-reach areas." In addition to World Help, the Post names Advancing Native Missions and Operation Mobilization USA as "proselytizing" groups.

Wait a second, says Brewer. We're helping people, not oppressing them. "These are children who are unclaimed or unwanted," he explains. "We are not trying to rip them apart from any existing family members and change their culture and change their customs. These children are going to be raised in a Christian environment. That's no guarantee they will choose to be Christians … First and foremost, our intention is not to evangelize but to show the love of Jesus Christ through our acts of compassion. We are not using this open window of disaster to move in and set up a beachhead for evangelism. That's not the spirit of what we're trying to accomplish."

The Post suggests that this may be at odds with the organization's online marketing. "Normally, Banda Aceh is closed to foreigners and closed to the gospel," said World Help's site. "But, because of this catastrophe, our partners there are earning the right to be heard and providing entrance for the gospel."

Lutheran task force: Keep status quo on gays
Your denomination is being torn apart on the issues of whether to bless same-sex unions and ordain actively gay clergy. At least 14 of your congregations have hired homosexual pastors involved in same-sex relationships. One of them had its membership stripped merely a month ago, and another received a letter of censure. The debate is getting hotter, and you've been charged with coming up with recommendations to settle the disputes. What do you do?

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January (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49