The guy who wrote this article must be living under a rock somewhere.  Billy Graham started Samaritan’s Purse who runs OCC.  SP is an evangelical Christian organization.  Somebody please explain to this clown what EVANGELIZE means!  Does he think Billy Graham is a secular philanthropist?  There's no hiding the fact that SP and OCC are both Christian organizations and as Christians we are called to spread God's message.  Plus, it's called Operation CHRISTMAS child.  Not operation "Happy Holiday's" child or operation "Gee it's cold outside" child.  I personally think it would be a shame that the if people receiving the box at the end of the line were missing the message of Christ, God, giving and love.  My family is sending 16 boxes this year, we are sending them with the Spirit of love and giving in our hearts.  We pray that God finds the children that need these boxes and fills their hearts with His love.  I hope that everybody that participates gives with the love of Jesus in their heart.  If you have decided to not participate now knowing that OCC has the word Christmas in it which does mean it is a Christ based organization you may want to forward your boxes to Tom Cruise, Bono, Madonna or even Bin Laden and let them distribute them.

In reply to the previous posts, I agree that, of course, if we do not support this organization and its activities, we should naturally turn to another organization. However, the purpose of this website, from what I have read, was to inform other people on the nature of the organization and the programme, or at least, the writer's opinion on it.

It is not as though the writer is making random accusations out of thin air. The arguments were, from my point of view, were delivered in a logical manner, in a manner that was probably not aimed at inciting hate, and for that I applaud the writer. The writer actually supported his/her arguments - they all make sense to me. As for the Muslim example, it does not seem to mean that the writer hates Muslims. True, it could be seen as such. But think about it. Right now, there is a lot of prejudice against Muslims, by Christians and non-Christians alike. No, this does not mean that Muslims deserve it nor does it mean that they do not deserve it. That is another issue altogether. It is simply a fact, and  it has been one ever since the various bombings and this "war on terror" by many Western countries. It seemed to me that the purpose of it was to use an example to which Christians can relate. There are many, many people, particularly, but not limited to, non-Christians, who would be horrified by this idea of using the disguise of charity (please read further before protesting against this idea of a disguise) for evangelical purposes. The key word here is non-Christians. However, Christians might not be able to see why others should have such a reaction and so another example is used, an example, which they would most likely be able to relate to, considering present circumstances.

Just take a look at the OCC website - personally, I was convinced by the evangelical nature of the OCC. Take note, in particular, of the section about the impacts of OCC, as well as the report on the programme.

 http://www.samaritanspurse.org/OCC_Impact.asp?OCCPath=1

Read the responses of the children - Muslims being converted to Christians, families being converted to Christians, everyone claiming that these gifts were gifts from the Christian God or Jesus. I quote from their report, "Through the Operation Christmas Child follow-up discipleship program, millions of children like Chimwemwe are being introduced to the Lord Jesus Christ, and hundreds of thousands have committed their lives to Him."

More significantly, however, I was not aware of this until today, when I happened to access their website. Until now, I have simply read through the pamphlet handed out to students like me, which gives no indication whatsoever.  Yes, the pamphlet did mention God, but the emphasis placed on it pales in comparison to what I have read today, both on this website and on the OCC website. I am sure that many of my friends, and perhaps even the teachers who proposed the idea of participating in this programme, have thought that the focus here was on charity and not on converting people to Christianity.

I do not oppose Christianity, I am strictly a free-thinker, which means that I like to think of myself as impartial. However, I do not support it either, meaning that I do not consider myself Christian. We need to understand that there are many people like myself who are also non-Christians and yet have not been aware of these hidden purposes behind the programme. There might be some people who would be unwiling to support the programme if they only knew of this hidden motif. It is unfair to take advantage of other people's generosity by misleading them in such a way - not providing them with adequate information.