The "Hole" in World Vision's Gospel Remains: A Response to Their Response

World Vision’s full response is posted in the “comments” section of my original post (“The Hole in World Vision’s Gospel”).  Here I will endeavor to respond to their response.

Dear World Vision,

Thank you for responding so quickly to my original letter. Sadly, your response only confirms my decision to withdraw my support from your organization. 

You said:

 “In many countries in which we serve it is often against the law to speak openly about the Christian faith, or even to convert. In some places, initiating a religious conversation could cause us to be expelled from the country. Yet if we are questioned concerning our faith, we are allowed to reply. In countries where there are few, if any, Christians, World Vision workers show their faith, hope, and Christian values through Christlike living and caring actions, as they work with the children and their families.”

“India is identified by World Vision as one of the countries in which we ask sponsors to refrain from referring to Jesus or Christianity, using evangelistic language, or making comparisons between religions when sending packages, writing letters, or sending emails.”

Does India censor its outgoing mail? This was not a card from me to my sponsored child. It was a card from him to me. I have a hard time believing it is against India’s law to speak openly about the Christian faith. My place of employment has people from all around the world. I asked a colleague who grew up in India if there was religious persecution there. He said the country is 81% Hindu. There are scuffles between the Hindu and Muslims, but for the most part, Christians (with a few exceptions) are not a part of these scuffles. Perhaps my colleague is from a different part of India than my sponsored child, but he told me he grew up in a poor area where he had no running water and a dirt floor in his house. And I believe that World Vision is ministering in poor areas, so his comments appear to be applicable. If this is the case, it appears that World Vision could be more than a bit bolder here.

You said:

“World Vision is grateful to be allowed to work in countries where culture and religious beliefs prevent many other organizations from reaching out to hurting children and families. Our concern for the safety and well-being of the children and families we serve may prevent us from sharing the gospel outright; however, as we work alongside people of different faiths, we strive to reflect the compassion and care of Christ. That unconditional care, along with our staff's commitment, competence, and character, are tangible witnesses to Christ. The loving commitment of our donors also serves as a powerful demonstration of God's love.”

Am I to understand correctly that I have been sponsoring a child through your CHRISTIAN organization for years, and it is possible that he has not heard the Gospel? “Faith comes by HEARING [not eating], and hearing by the word of God.” What shall it profit a man if he gains a full belly but loses his soul? Christ was not interested in just feeding people. Merely feeding people perishable food is not “Christlike”. Consider John 6:26-27: “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.’”

Judas was similarly focused on the temporal. To quote my husband, Bill Ward:

The "Hole in the Gospel" is the same hole that Judas Iscariot saw in his dealings with Jesus.  He became frustrated.  Judas' dream was to unify Israel and defeat the Romans.  While traveling with Jesus he saw people being fed and the lame being healed.  Jesus could do all these wonderful things and the people loved Him for it.  But he couldn't seem to make Jesus aware of the wondrous potential that he possessed.   Judas could see in Jesus the power to unify, end world hunger, heal the brokenhearted, and the ensure world peace derived after obtaining freedom from Roman tyranny.   Judas truly had a world vision that Jesus couldn't seem to grasp.  Jesus kept speaking about Himself, as if He were more important than all these good works: “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters (Luke 11:23).” But Judas could see that these divisive words kept marginalizing Jesus from the good people he was trying help. Judas thought:  "The poor must matter more than Your feet and hair…" 

 But Judas, as all left-leaning social gospel Christians do, missed the point.  Jesus did not come to perform good works, heal the sick and feed the poor, but Jesus did these things to testify about Himself.  Christ is what is important, not the works.  It's all about Christ, but ministries like World vision have made it all about their good works.  And this in turn leads to all the other silly things that they believe (e.g., global warming).  Once you've become accepting of the first lie, you'll believe any other lie.  This leads to the inability to discern good from evil, truth from lies, and God from the devil.

 World Vision's gospel is as shallow as a bowl of rice and as deep as a cup of water.  Once the bowl and cup are consumed, hunger and thirst soon return.  The true gospel and water that Christ gives is one of which when drank from, one will never thirst again. 

 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven (Matthew 10:32-33).”

I will move on now to your defense of global warming and of Rich Stearns’ book, “The Hole in Our Gospel”.

You said:

"World Vision has seen the growing and destructive impact of climate change on the impoverished children and families we are privileged to serve."

Even scientists with highly sensitive instruments cannot "see" global warming with any certitude (though many of the dishonest ones cooked their data to prove that they could – remember Climategate?), so how can World Vision see it? This is nothing but propaganda, and a thinly veiled disdain for and envy of industrialized countries, the biggest and most productive of which most of your donations come from - those poor people, so dumped upon by America who has caused the global temperature to rise. (Lest you misunderstand, there is again, no credible evidence that global warming is anthropogenic, unless of course, you are Al Gore).

Finally, your defense of Rich Stearns' "The Hole in Our Gospel” is just too much to take. He foolishly believes the amount of wealth in the world if fixed, so that if a person or country is wealthy they must have stolen from a poor person or country. That is again, a thinly veiled hatred of America and all that is exceptional about her. We have been so God-blessed because we were founded by the blood of Christian patriots who understood the value of diligence, hard work, reward for one’s labor, and who loved God’s most fundamental value – liberty (“for when He gave us life, He gave us liberty at the same time”).  And America sends more humanitarian aid, missionaries, etc. around the world than any other nation on earth.  It’s not even close.

In conclusion, your reply to my original letter only indicates that you are recalcitrant in your propagation of leftism in place of the Gospel.  World Vision, the Kingdom does not bring in the King. THE KING BRINGS THE KINGDOM.  You have not changed my mind; you have only steeled my intention to sound the alarm concerning your apostasy far and wide, lest others be ensnared by it.

Jeanette Ward