A Christian group from Albuquerque, having witnessed the devasation in Haiti, has decided to send six hundred solar powered Bibles to the destroyed nation.
Over a million people are homeless, people need food, and these people are sending…solar Bibles.
Thanks for digging deep, guys.
(h/t Pharyngula)
What were they thinking? Haiti was just rocked by a big earthquake and the best they could come up with was solar powered Bibles? What good is that going to do? You can’t eat them…you can’t quench your thirst with them…I don’t know, can you use them for bandages? And for the most part, I don’t think Haitians are going to even have TIME to sit down and read a Bible because they will be too busy trying to survive!
What is a “solar powered bible” anyway?
That is a really good question.
But, to tell you the truth, I’m waiting for the windmill powered one. Or, the I-Bible, to keep things compatible with my laptop.
In case the Australian news article vanishes, here is the Christian group’s blog article about this project.
Apparently their web site doesn’t receive enough solar power to support comments.
This reminds me of a line from poet Steve Scott:
“We cannot eat trousers / But that is all the missionary has brought us.”
Evan-
The Convoy of Hope folks are also helping distribute food, clothing and supplies through people already in place in Haiti. They mention the audio Bibles because those are part of their ministry.
After a while, the anti-Christian rants sound more hysterical than thoughtful.
Their website says this:
“We already have 600 Proclaimers [audio Bibles in Haitian Creole] on their way through our ministry partner, Convoy of Hope,” said Jon Wilke, Faith Comes By Hearing’s spokesperson.
“These portable, solar-powered Audio Bibles will be given to local pastors so people can hear God’s Word in their own language‚ÄîHaitian Creole.”
Convoy of Hope has people positioned on the ground to receive containers of food, clothing and supplies that are being sent to Haiti.
They are partnering with churches in Haiti that are ministering to those left in the aftermath of this deadly earthquake.
Pastors will receive the Proclaimer units and will use them to minister to groups of hurting and wounded people who need the Word of God in their heart language.”
Right, but those people don’t need the Word of God, they need people spending more time handling their medical issues, their homelessness, their hunger, and not wasting it with preaching. And it’s a fact that far too many of these groups do the feeding and clothing only as a way to prey on the people spiritually, and that’s why they’ve, in the past, been asked to leave disaster situations.
If they do some legitimate good, then fine. But I’ll continue to point out when these groups use these situations as excuses to proselytize when false hope is the last thing these people need.
Hear hear, Evan
[...] Christian ministry from New Mexico is sending Go-Go-Gadget Bibles to Haiti, so, not to be outdone in the “absolutely useless” department, John Travolta and the [...]
Rich Brentlinger, will you therefore also credit Hamas, or Maqtada al Sadr’s Mehdi Army? Both of these are responsible for so much charitable work for the poor and dispossessed in Gaza and Baghdad respectively, as well as murder and massacre. Both of these organizations build support, through their charity, for a hardline theocratic regime. The godliest people you can imagine. Why all the effort to partner exclusively with churches? Distributing food effectively, providing shelter, restoring law and order and rebuilding society requires no belief in miracles in bronze age Palestine.
Evan-
The audio Bibles are being given to Haitian pastors. What right do you have to determine whether or not Haitian pastors preach to Haitians in Haiti?
adrianT-
Comparing a Christian ministry giving audio Bibles to Haitian pastors with Hamas and Mehdi army terrorists is too silly for words.
Under the guise of concern for suffering Haitians, some of you seem to be taking cheap shots at Christians. That makes me sad.
They’re not cheap shots. Unfortunately it’s pretty much just the same.
Christianity is the bloodiest religion in human history, and the only reason you don’t see it is that the forces of modernity have forced it into a sort of submission. But give it half a chance (Uganda), and certain Christians will go right back into that medieval mindset.
I, personally, am tired of Christians complaining that every time a Christian does something they don’t like, that that’s somehow the exception. I’d argue that, over the course of its history, predatory behavior has been a hallmark of Christianity.
And Rick, it’s not about what RIGHT I have.
I have every right to speak up and criticize religion and religious behavior when it hurts people or is counterproductive. I don’t quite understand why some people seem to think religion should be above criticism. The last thing on anyone’s minds, with 2,000,000 people homeless, should be sending people religious texts to give them false hope.
It’s ridiculous.
Rick, the point is that when people are homeless and in need of medical care the money spent on solar bibles would be better spent providing shelter, food, and medical care. In the absense of full safety and health for everyone any money spent on bibles is immoral.
Priya Lynn-
The Link Evan provided in his original post points out that:
“Convoy of Hope has people positioned on the ground to receive containers of food, clothing and supplies that are being sent to Haiti.”
The audio Bibles are being sent to Haitian pastors who will be ministering to the spiritual needs as well as the physical and medical needs of their people.
Somehow, Christians supporting Haitian pastors and people by sending food, clothing, supplies AND audio Bibles is seen as a bad thing by some here, so bad apparently that it is called idiocy by Evan and compared to murderous terrorism by adrianT.
Very strange.
Convoy of Hope is a Christian organization which supports disaster relief, having provided help in 112 countries.
I had never heard of them until Evan posted about the audio Bibles but they seem to be doing some good work.
To date, they’ve given over $150 million dollars in aid to folks in need, both in the U.S. and around the world.
“Convoy of Hope places water filtration systems in communities without access to clean drinking water and encourages agriculture by donating vegetable seeds to rural communities.”
The audio Bibles are from a different group, which works with Convoy of Hope.
Through these two organizations, food, water and disaster relief supplies are en route to Haiti.
I appreciate their efforts.
Phone number (found on their “Job Opportunities” page): (800) 545-6552. Maybe we should tell them what we think of them.
TRiG.
I make no apology for stating that violent thuggish religious organizations can also be driven to do good, charitable deeds. The Mehdi Army built its powerbase among disaffected Shias in Baghdad this way.
The key question is, what motivates you to do good? Is it to help the country get back on its feet, or is it a more sinister motive – to win souls? Or is it entirely selfish, to expect rewards one day in heaven? Are recipients of food and water under compulsion to accept Jesus as saviour, too? I note the organization is active in countries which are mainly muslim, for instance.
What do you want them to do with their complementary bible? What advice for example, should this impoverished, overpopulated country take from it on family planning? IN Africa, we know the disastrous consequences of biblically sound abstinence only campaigns, for example. We also know that wherever religion mixes with politics, we have violence, disease, ignorance, oppression.
I was reading the link to C.O.H. – its founder was motivated to do great works after a family tragedy and the community rallied round. “Those generous acts gave the Donaldson kids a sense of hope and also a determination to one day help others who were in need.”
This altruism is noble and entirely secular. Would he do this without knowledge of the bible? I’m pretty sure he would have been equally motivated.
Contrary to evangelical prejudice, Haiti is already a predominantly Christian and Catholic nation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Haiti
Furthermore, adult literacy is 62 percent — not sensational, but better than some evangelicals would have us believe.
The notion that Catholics require high-tech, breakable evangelical Bibles made with toxic materials to supplement churches and pastors is a bit naive at best. Who will maintain and repair these Bibles? How will their parts be disposed of?
And in this time of catastrophe, the last thing that Haitians want to hear is a robot or tape recording reminding them that church and state have both failed to teach them how to read. They want food, water, shelter, and an end to corruption and commercial exploitation so that they can earn a fair wage doing useful work.
They don’t want more surplus retail junk, more naive missionaries, or more gadgets that that no one can afford to maintain.
Convoy of Hope does some good work, but its Assemblies of God background and its naivete are cause for concern.
However, this hullabaloo is about just 600 Bibles. There are far bigger scandals occurring in Haiti right now, than this one.
If Haitians could in fact benefit from high-tech breakable gadgets that require expensive and toxic replacement parts, then it would be far more beneficial to give them (or their churches) cheap netbooks so that they could run Bible software, educational software, church bookkeeping software, and so much more.
But again, I don’t think even that would be a good idea — especially under the present circumstances.
People familiar with foreign aid and international development know that some types of donations cause much more harm than benefit.
Rick there is a limited pipeline that allows goods and people to flow into Haiti. The solar powererd bibles are taking up space in that pipeline that would be better used by medical supplies, food, and so on. If the people sending the solar powered bibles were interested in maximizing the good they were doing for Haitians the bibles would be the last thing they’d send. The money they spent on bibles would have been far better spent on food and medical supplies. Anyway you slice it sending bibles is counter-productive.
I’ve seen numerous stories — written by pro-faith journalists — noting that the U.S. Air Force is helping roving evangelists who are displacing medical aid.
The Air Force delayed deployment of a Doctors Without Borders hospital for two days — forcing the charity to deliver half the hospital over ruined roads from the Dominican Republic — while evangelists enjoy priority access.
How many Haitians are dying because evangelicals with few ties to Haiti are more interested in praying over Haitians than saving their lives?
Priya Lynn-
The Proclaimer Solar Bible is pretty small. I do not understand the antipathy toward Haitians who need spiritual comfort as well as ministry to their physical needs.
Small enough for a child to swallow?
You stated yourself, Rick, that these are being sent to Haitian pastors, and that presumably money was spent on them. By that logic, the people already have the pastors for spiritual nourishment, and the money could have been better spent on medical supplies or maybe food and clothing.
Not space Bibles.
Mike-
The way you wrote your post makes it appear that Doctors Without Borders medical help was diverted “while evangelists enjoy priority access.”
No Doctors Without Borders news report that I’ve seen makes the dubious allegations you make, including DemocraticUnderground.
Doctors Without Borders Press Release online.
“23:46 NYT: I have a couple of questions on the airport and on security. I ran your complaints by [indecipherable], who’ the head of logistics for peacekeeping. She said it’ just too small of an airport to handle the number of flights that come flooding in from all over the world, and they had to come up with a list of priorities, so they said water, food, and then medical equipment. While she conceded that your hospital is important, she said 24 hours to get to Santo Domingo, given the size of the airport, is not a terrible delay. I would wonder how you would react to that.” – Transcript from a Doctors Without Borders Press Conference online.
“The relief effort at the Haiti Airport is in full swing, with over 600 takeoffs and landings since Wednesday evening when US forces from Florida first landed. The loading equipment was damaged meaning cargo was mostly unloaded by hand in the beginning. There was no electricity and no communication when forces landed. Colonel Elton said that within 28 minutes, they had controlled the airspace and were “sequencing in the arriving aircraft that night”. On Thursday, a response group from the Air Force brought in construction material and handling equipment.
“It gets better every day,” said Colonel Elton, “Initially we went from an airfield that had no control or prioritization and it was everyone — everyone was filing their flight plans and arriving unannounced, and we didn’t know that they were there until they were approximately 20 miles from the field.”
“The overwhelming international support to bring humanitarian assistance and disaster relief into this airfield exceeded the capacity of us to get them in and out… The first couple days it was all very important cargo and it was a challenge to turn away any aircraft for an open parking slot. But when we had all of the parking spots occupied, more important cargo would show up. And if they didn’t have enough holding fuel to be able to orbit and wait to come in, they would have to fuel-divert.” – from DemocraticUnderground
Evan-
The Solar Bible is about 12″ long by 6″ wide by 2″ thick. No worries about a child swallowing it but your compassion for children is duly noted.
Rick as your quotes pointed out there is a limited pipeline into Haiti. A shipment of 600 of those solar powered bibles is taking the place of things like anti-biotics and food and people are starving and dying because of it. The last thing Haitians need at this point is spiritual “comfort” which is a code phrase for proselytization. A solar powered bible is cold comfort to someone who’s dying of infection or starving and that people like you prioritize pushing your religion ahead of humanitarian needs is shameful.
So adults could still choke on it.
Rick said “The Solar Bible is about 12‚Ä? long by 6‚Ä? wide by 2‚Ä? thick.”
A bottle of anti-biotics is about 2″ long by 1″ by 1″. Every one of those solar bibles is taking the place of 72 bottles of anti-biotics, something that will save lives rather than provide false hope and cold comfort.
Good point. We’re dealing with one major airport to get much of the immediate relief in…and bear in mind, they had another 6.1 magnitude quake today. The airport itself is damaged. Every inch of space counts.
Rick if your god had any concern for the people of Haiti he’d have prevented this from happening in the first place. His inaction can only be excused by his non-existance.
Priya Lynn-
“A solar powered bible is cold comfort to someone who’ dying of infection or starving”
Are you imagining cold-hearted evangelicals crawling under ruined buildings and playing Bible recordings to dying Haitians?
That’s a bit creepy.
Your statement that “you prioritize pushing your religion ahead of humanitarian needs” has no basis in fact.
What compels you to make a false allegation like that against me?
Rick there is a finite capacity to get goods and services into Haiti. The shipment of solar powered bibles displaces humanitarian aid and means an increase in death and suffering. It is a fact that you prioritize pushing religion ahead of humanitarian needs.
Quote from the press release that Rick cited:
“they had to come up with a list of priorities, so they said water, food, and then medical equipment.”
I don’t see evangelists or Bibles on that list.
Thanks for your thoughts on the solar-powered audio Bibles.
I can see where you may think this is not a good approach nor good timing.
We agree that food, water, medical attention are essential and take first priority. These audio Bibles are still in the United States enroute to dozens of relief groups who have called ASKING for them (and these won’t arrive for until early Feb).
So, these are NOT displacing ANY aid to the victims of this terrible tragedy. They aren’t clogging up any airport or sitting in a cargo hold taking up precious space for essentials.
The Haitians have been preyed upon for a long-time by those interested in exploiting their natural resources and incarcerating and impoverishing their people. Faith Comes By Hearing believes the people of Haiti are that nation’s most precious resource, and we desire to empower them with the Scriptures (which they believe) in a format they can use–audio.
Roughly half the nation is unable to read and predominantly Christian, so giving them the Bible in a format they can use–audio, is completely reasonable. Many of their spiritual leaders are unable to read as well.
All the Haitian leaders we’ve talked with have said, “Thank you for the Bibles, send more.” We’ve been serving them since 1986, so this is a continuation of our connection with these people who have lost and suffered so much.
Rick, thanks for your support and encouragement.