'Tis the Season (repost from Dec. 17, 2007)

How many times have you walked in or out of your local grocery store and felt pressured to give a handful of change to the Salvation Army volunteer, ringing his little bell? I think we've all probably dug into our pockets, at one point or another, and pulled out a crumpled dollar bill, proudly exchanged merry, merries and then dropped the cash into the little red kettle. It is after all Christmas-time, and the Salvation Army is out in full force.

They do good things with the money, right? Well, I hate to be the Grinch, but the answer is yes and no. According to the official website of the Salvation Army, 83 cents of every dollar collected goes directly to client service. Sounds impressive. The Salvation Army delivers aid to 36 million people through a national network of soup kitchens, drug-treatment centers, hospitals, shelters for battered women, nursing care and day-care centers run by low-paid workers or volunteers. The Army even does great work for AIDS care. That's the good.

The Salvation Army boasts that it does its unique service to all people in the name of Christ. Well, with that mission, who wouldn't give? The answer is -- me. And here's why. The Salvation Army is a homophobic organization; they actively speak out against homosexuality, have anti-gay employment practices and even lobby Congress in an effort against gay rights. All of this is justified in the name of religion and with the use of the Bible, oh and your money.

According to their website: "The Salvation Army recognizes that same-sex friendships can be enriching, Christ-honouring relationships, bringing joy through mutual companionship and sharing. However, same-sex relationships which are genitally expressed are unacceptable according to the teaching of scripture. Attempts to establish or promote such relationships as viable alternatives to a heterosexually-based family life do not conform to God's will for society

For this reason, and in obedience to the example of Jesus whose compassionate love was all-embracing, Salvationists seek to understand and sensitively to accept and help those of a homosexual disposition and those who express that disposition in sexual acts. The Army is opposed to the victimisation of persons on the grounds of sexual orientation and recognizes the social and emotional stress and the loneliness borne by many who are homosexual.

The Salvation Army regards the origins of a homosexual orientation as a mystery and does not regard a homosexual disposition as blameworthy in itself or rectifiable at will. Nevertheless, while we are not responsible for what we are, we are accountable for what we do; and homosexual conduct, like heterosexual conduct, is controllable and may be morally evaluated therefore in the light of scriptural teaching.

For this reason such practices, if unrenounced, render a person ineligible for Salvation Army soldiership, in the same way that unrenounced heterosexual misconduct is a bar to soldiership. The Army recognizes the strength of feeling about sexual identity, and the difficulty many find in expressing this identity in keeping with scriptural standards."

Please choose your charities cautiously and wisely. If you do some light homework, you can quickly discover which organizations have your best interests at heart and which organizations use the name of Christ to work against you. So the next time you hear that little bell ringing, I hope you'll think of your gay friends and family and keep walking with your change or cash firmly stuffed in your pocket. After all, 'tis the season.