No Salvation from the Salvation Army

There are always those silly stories around this time of year, and I read on the internet somewhere (I think it was cracked.com, those people are fantastic) that the song Silver Bells was written by a Jewish person.  Then I read or heard elsewhere that the bells referenced in Silver Bells are the bell ringers of the Salvation Army.

Everyone sees them in front of the major stores, ringing the bells for the spare change you give out of guilt after purchasing the $300 worth of stuff that no one needs but wants.  It feels good, knowing that people in need are going to get help because of the money you dropped in that little red bucket.  I even saw on tumblr.com that someone would give all his leftover budget from buying gifts to them.  I've dropped a few bills in myself over the years, mostly to see if it would make them stop ringing their annoying bell for just a minute so my migraine could feel better.

Then I saw (on tumblr again) that The Salvation Army was against pretty much anything that wasn't Christian.  I knew they were a Christian organization, but I didn't realize that they would kick people out on the streets if they seemed gay, or only help Jewish people in need if they agreed to go to church.

I wish I was making this up.  I really do.  Please, I don't want you to think this is doctored, so I'm not going to provide a link but instead ask you to go to their website, and click on "About Us" in the top bar.  Then go to the link on that page stating "Position Statements."

It runs the gamut from Abortion and Alcoholism to Homosexuality and Suicide.  And these aren't just atrocious statements they place on their blog, they practice them daily.  I posted an article to my Facebook fan page that is brilliant, and please take the time to read it.

On their page they say "Doing the Most Good," but they are limiting who they decide to help.  People in need are people in need, and I wouldn't stop helping someone because they were gay.  I'm not Christian, but I always thought that Christ was about helping everyone no matter what they were.  Maybe someone should remind them of that.