1.25.2005
In Tsunami Area, Anger at Evangelists (IHT.com)
By David Rohde
The New York Times
MORAKETIYA, Sri Lanka A dozen Americans walked into a relief camp here, showering bereft parents and traumatized children with gifts, attention and affection. They also quietly offered camp residents something else: Jesus.
The Americans, all of them from one church in Texas, have staged plays detailing the life of Jesus and had children draw pictures of him, camp residents said.
They have told parents who lost children that they should still believe in God and held group prayers where they tried to heal a partly paralyzed man and a deaf 12-year-old girl.
The attempts at proselytizing are angering local Christian leaders, who worry that they could provoke a violent backlash against Christians in Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist country that is already a religious tinderbox.
Last year, Buddhist hard-liners attacked more than 100 churches and the offices of the World Vision Christian aid group, accusing them of using money and social programs to cajole and coerce conversions.
Most U.S.-based aid groups, including those affiliated with religious organizations, strictly avoid mixing aid with missionary work.
(More ... In tsunami area, anger at evangelists) ¶ 15:52
The New York Times
MORAKETIYA, Sri Lanka A dozen Americans walked into a relief camp here, showering bereft parents and traumatized children with gifts, attention and affection. They also quietly offered camp residents something else: Jesus.
The Americans, all of them from one church in Texas, have staged plays detailing the life of Jesus and had children draw pictures of him, camp residents said.
They have told parents who lost children that they should still believe in God and held group prayers where they tried to heal a partly paralyzed man and a deaf 12-year-old girl.
The attempts at proselytizing are angering local Christian leaders, who worry that they could provoke a violent backlash against Christians in Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist country that is already a religious tinderbox.
Last year, Buddhist hard-liners attacked more than 100 churches and the offices of the World Vision Christian aid group, accusing them of using money and social programs to cajole and coerce conversions.
Most U.S.-based aid groups, including those affiliated with religious organizations, strictly avoid mixing aid with missionary work.
(More ... In tsunami area, anger at evangelists) ¶ 15:52
