12.17.23 Willisburg Bulletin
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army started in 1852 when William Booth abandoned the concept of the traditional church pulpit in favor of taking the gospel of Jesus Christ directly to the people. Walking the streets of London, he preached to the poor, the homeless, the hungry, and the destitute. When fellow clergymen disagreed with Booth’s unconventional approach, he and his wife Catherine withdrew from the church to train evangelists throughout England. The couple returned to the East End of London in 1865, where many followers joined their fight for the souls of lost men and women. Within 10 years, their organization, operating under the name The Christian Mission, had over 1,000 volunteers and evangelists. The Red bell ringer kettle came into affect in 1891 by Captain Joseph McFee, as a way to cover the cost of the community Christmas meal. The Salvation Army is “an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.” “Their focus at the time were the social outcasts, alcoholics, drug addicts and prostitutes — populations which were not ministered to by London’s formal churches. By 1903 this sometimes meant locking people in to a compound and forcing them to listen to sermons, thus preventing them looking for work.”
Fast forward to today, the Salvation Army is in 133 countries and claims to “offering the message of God’s healing and hope to all those in need.”
It is Not a Charity
The Salvation Army is not exactly a charity, as many people assume. It is a religious sect, and a fundamentalist one at that. It is part of the Religious Right and it has an agenda. Given the broad spectrum of religious groups seeking converts today, we should exercise good discernment and ask, “Just what kind of religion is the Salvation Army?” It is actually a Protestant sect of the church.
Salvation Army branches have programs such as the Backpack Program, which provides meals for children on the weekends, operates temporary group homes and permanent resident facilities, serves meals, and “Lodgings Supplied.”
The Problem With The Salvation Army
They have become so widely accepted in society because of their “charity” work, yet they represent something greater that is completely wrong in their beliefs. Honestly, they are a religious organization and have underlying values that don’t line up with the true church. It is a tiered organization with officers, which are ordained ministers, only allowed to marry other Salvation Army members, and have gone through a course by the TSA. Therefore, participating by volunteering, ringing the bell, or even giving them your money is essentially giving money and time to a denominational church. I’m not here to beat them down, but most people don’t know this and they should! The whole point of this article is to inform Christians on The Salvation Army and what the few cents people give them actual means. It’s not a charity and they have coaxed society into seeing only the bell ringing aspect as a good thing. and they are doing good for the community, yet they aren’t telling people what it represents. “Even during a very COVID 2020, the Salvation Army brought in $4.2 billion ($1 billion more than in 2019), of which $2.3 billion came from the public. Serving in 133 countries and in so many ways, the Salvation Army is known for meeting human needs. But failing to distinguish between needs and wants has been leading the Salvation Army astray,” was said in an article. So, the few cents people chip in, turns into a salary for a commissioner of the organization that says she is “inspired by the belief that God has a new truth to reveal to her daily and compelled by the promise that he is continuing to grow and stretch her.” And the few cents people chip in and the time they volunteer makes you a supporter of their who organization and everything it represents. so next time you see a bell ringer, remember it’s not a charity and it is not just for “good things”, it represents so much more! It represents an organization proudly promoting wrongful beliefs.