The Catholic Defender: The Salvation Army is asking donors to apologize for being white
Ethics in Religion is very central in our personal walk living our Catholic faith. On one occasion when I was Basic Training 1985, my platoon were shown a video of how the Russian Soldiers trained. This was while the “Cold War” was still in effect, at the end of the video, the Drill Sergeant invited us to ask questions from what we saw. After a number of troops asked their questions, I raised my hand to make a statement.
The Drill Sergeant gave me permission to speak. I then stood up and said, “Drill Sergeant, we have been watching how our counterparts train. One major reason why I prefer this uniform that I’m wearing now is because it protects our right to worship God in freedom and preserves our liberty to do so. On the other hand, these Russian Soldiers do not mind taking clubs and beating old men, women, and children because they were hiding in a barn to worship God. These people have to worship God in secret”.
At that point an immediate round of applause and cheering followed my words which surprised the Drill Sergeants. They was taken off guard with what I said and the response it got. This went on for another 30-40 seconds until the one Drill Sergeant regained his composure.
When he gave that look everyone went back to their sitting at attention leaving me standing their alone. The Drill Sergeant looked at me for a moment and said, “That’s all Private” and I sat back down.
Recently, my wife and I was watching the news when a caption came across our TV screen that the Salvation Army was calling all their donors to "apologize" for being white? Talk about our initial reaction to that message, my wife called their number and left a not too complimentary response to them. I too wanted to call them myself as well as I am proud of my heritage and I am not supportive to any of this “critical race theory” (CRT) garbage.
As Catholics, we have been victimized by Anti-Catholics who willingly love to lie about the Catholic Faith making false misrepresentations such as; "Catholics worship Mary, Catholics worship the Pope, Catholics worship idols, Catholics worship a dead Christ," just to name a few. As a Catholic Apologist, I do not play that game, if I am going to speak about any group, out of charity, it is right to speak the truth about their positions. Otherwise, I would not be any better than these Anti-Catholics. So, after looking at the above information that the Salvation Army is calling for white people to apologize for being white, I will take their word for it.
The following is taken from the "The Salvation Army Mission Statement".
The Salvation Army's Response to False Claims on the Topic of Racism
"As the country celebrates Thanksgiving today, it is a welcome reminder of the things we are grateful for—and for the power of service on behalf of those who are less fortunate.
The Salvation Army mission statement clearly outlines our service: to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination. That service, and our beliefs, are based solely on the Bible and that has not, and will not, change.
Though we remain committed to serving everyone in need—regardless of their beliefs, their backgrounds, or their lifestyle—recently some individuals and groups have attempted to mislabel our organization to serve their own agenda(s). They have made outrageous claims that we believe our donors should apologize for their own racism, that The Salvation Army believes America is an inherently racist society, and that our organization has abandoned its beliefs for one ideology or another. In fact, an online petition is asking supporters to “stand against the insertion of politically charged racial ideologies into The Salvation Army’s good work.”
Those claims are false, and they distort the very goal of our work.
The truth is that The Salvation Army believes that racism is fundamentally incompatible with Christianity, and we are called to work toward a world where all people are loved, accepted, and valued. Our positional statement on racism makes this clear. These beliefs are important because we know that racism exists, and we are therefore determined to do everything the Bible asks us to do to overcome it.
The Salvation Army has occasionally published study guides on various complex topics, including race, to help foster positive conversations and reflection among Salvationists. The hope is that by openly discussing these issues, we can encourage a more thoughtful organization that is better positioned to serve those in need. These guides are solely designed for internal use. No one is being told how to think. Period.
The very purpose of conversation is to share differing points of view and to hear from people with different experiences. Discussion is not indoctrination. It’s what reasonable people do. It’s how we learn and we grow. Thankfully, not everyone thinks the same way – it’s what makes us unique in the eyes of our Creator. Yet some have taken the fact that we have invited such conversations about race among our members as an opportunity to push their own agenda. In doing so, they have sought to shut down conversation, not foster it.
We at The Salvation Army remain undeterred in our mission because we are confident in the power of the gospel, and because millions of vulnerable Americans need our help. We remain deeply grateful for the support of a generous public—people from all walks of life and from all parts of the country—who help us meet human need wherever it exists. Ours is a message of love, even for those who disagree or attack us. That is the model set by Christ that we strive to follow every day. God bless you, and happy Thanksgiving."
At Christmas time the Salvation Army will post members at different places to collect charity as people goes in and out of these store front establishments. I will usually pitch in a few dollars here and there when I can. If it was true that the Salvation Army was calling for white people to apologize for being white, I would not give them a penny. But, unless I'm proven otherwise, I will not mind giving a dollar or two when I meet them raising money to help others with Christmas.
Doctrinally speaking, the Salvation Army professes their interpretation of the Catholic Gospel, which is the true Gospel. They are another Protestant organization and so their "gospel" is a new one. They were founded in England, East London on July 2, 1865 by William Booth (1829 - 1912), a Methodist Minister. So when you see their statement talking about the "gospel" of Jesus Christ, they will have a Methodist flavor to it. Much like the "Church of the Nazarene" who was founded in Pilot Point Texas on Oct 13, 1908 by Phineas F. Bresee (1838 - 1915) who also was founded with a Methodist flavor. BTW, the Methodist were founded by John Wesley (1703 - 1791) literally in 1791 after his death. Today, there are over 100 different Methodist denominations in the world today. The Salvation Army first came to America in 1880 when member George Scott Railton arrived making their first presence in New York.
In stark contrast to the Methodist, the Catholic Faith was founded by Christ historically on 5 April, 33 A.D. with Jesus Resurrection. Jesus prepared His Apostles for three years as they would spread the Catholic Faith until He returns at the end of this age. Pope Francis is the 266th successor of St. Peter the Apostle who was crucified upside down at Vatican Hill in 67 A.D. by order of the Roman Emperor Nero.
