Can Christians Help Support the Salvation Army?<\/a> Do you think it is proper to support a religion that teaches beliefs that you do not agree with?<\/p>\nThen there is the assumption that an institution, such as the Salvation Army, is the only way to do good for others. There are other institutions that do similar work and don’t blend their religious beliefs with their actions.<\/p>\n
But then, for that matter, you quoted a verse about how we are to individually do good deeds for our fellow Christians and then assume that funding an institution is what Jesus was talking about. When Jesus said, “For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me<\/em>” (Matthew 25:35-36), notice the use of the word “visited”. Visiting doesn’t mean stopping by for a brief chat or sending a check.\u00a0 “Visited” is translating the Greek word episkeptomai. <\/i>Thayer defines this word as: “to look upon or after, to inspect, examine with the eyes; . . . in order to see how he is, i.e. to visit, go see one. . . . to look upon in order to help or benefit; e.g. to look after, have a care for, provide for . . .” Vine defines it as: “to look upon, care for, exercise oversight.” Here the destitute are being helped by individuals overseeing their needs.<\/p>\nJames takes up the same point, using the same Greek word\u00a0episkeptomai<\/em>. “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world<\/em>” (James 1:27). Vincent’s Word Studies states: “James strikes a downright blow here at ministry by proxy, or by mere gifts of money. Pure and undefiled religion demands personal contact with the world’s sorrow: to visit the afflicted, and to visit them in their affliction.”<\/p>\nYou can’t fix all the world’s problems, but you can ease a person’s pain by helping as opportunities arise. “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith<\/em>” (Galatians 6:9-10). When you do good because you are a follower of Christ, then the Lord receives the glory. When you give at the office, the institution that does the actual work is the one that gets the glory.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Question: Dear Sir: I have been reading your website for a long time and gaining much knowledge from it. I am puzzled though about how we as Christians are to meet the expectations of Matthew 25:31-46. If we are not to support organizations, such as the Salvation Army, is there a recommended method to contribute…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[194,1543,1508],"class_list":["post-59727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-benevolence","tag-good-works","tag-institutionalism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17066,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-christians-help-support-the-salvation-army\/","url_meta":{"origin":59727,"position":0},"title":"Can Christians Help Support the Salvation Army?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Danny Pettus Christians are at liberty to support many things other than the church of our Lord, but false doctrine is not one of those things. You may have had someone come to your door selling this or that for a certain denomination. You might go to a store\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/bellringer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17063,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/arent-your-warnings-against-the-salvation-army-going-to-cause-more-harm-than-good\/","url_meta":{"origin":59727,"position":1},"title":"Aren’t your warnings against the Salvation Army going to cause more harm than good?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: After reading your article posted on your web site entitled \"Can Christians help support The Salvation Army\" I was very sad. I am a Salvation Army Officer (ordained minister) and I have worked for The Salvation Army for 8 years. I have many conflicting opinions regarding your comments made,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63534,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-christians-support-the-salvation-army\/","url_meta":{"origin":59727,"position":2},"title":"Should Christians Support the Salvation Army?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 22, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II John 5-11 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Would you consider it right to drop money in a Catholic church\u2019s collection box? Would you send monthly tithes to a Methodist church? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For Christians following the New Testament, the answer is a strong \u201cNo.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We don\u2019t agree with the teachings\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57050,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-salvation-army\/","url_meta":{"origin":59727,"position":3},"title":"The Salvation Army","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Weaks I wonder how many people know that the Salvation Army is a church. The only time you see them is at Christmas time when the red kettles and bell ringers show up at entrances to shopping malls. How many times have people tossed money into the kettle,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/the-new-york-public-library-MNs3KvP5mAA-unsplash-238x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24650,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-dont-mind-that-you-disagree-with-the-salvation-army-just-dont-write-about-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":59727,"position":4},"title":"I don’t mind that you disagree with the Salvation Army, just don’t write about it","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 27, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I love the Lord with all my heart.\u00a0 In my life, I have been on an adventure with Jesus. I am not perfect (who is?), but I try every day to live a life as a servant of Jesus.\u00a0 I am really hurt that you would advise Christians not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21774,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/its-obvious-you-have-little-to-do-but-bash-other-religions\/","url_meta":{"origin":59727,"position":5},"title":"It’s obvious you have little to do but bash other religions","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Regarding \"Should Christians Help Support the Salvation Army?\" It is obvious that you have very little to do but bash other religions. Maybe I should do one about yours. No, that would make me just as un-Christian as you! Answer: Quite a broad generalization based on one sermon outline.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59727\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}