Many of us are puzzled about a strange phenomenon we have been observing of late: the baffling choice that so many evangelical Christian voters in this country are making to support a man who in many ways violates the very principles these Christians claim to hold dear.
I have heard some say they don't really like the man, and they don't agree with many things he says, or the way he says them, and yet they intend to vote for him next month.
I expect conservative Christians would say that this is a case where the end justifies the means. The end being, "Anyone other than his opponent will do". The end being, "We must make sure that our judges are chosen for the Supreme Court". I know you have heard these arguments, and others.
Some of us are wondering how it is that the passionate pursuit of end results can cloud people's reasoning so significantly. The end goal leads people to rationalize and compromise and disregard their standards to the extent that they eventually put their trust in someone who has spent his entire life exemplifying the polar opposite of everything Christians claim to believe and follow.
The similarities between this current phenomenon and what we've been discussing here on Fanda Eagles for years is hard to ignore. "The end justifies the means." How many times have we pointed out that this has become the operating philosophy of a once-great mission? Those of us who were raised in NTM, or who trained or served in the mission in the later decades of the last century, knew NTM to be an organization that prided itself in holding fast to Biblical principles like honesty, integrity, and purity of heart. Biblical Ethics was a required course in the Bible Institute curriculum.
In recent years, it would appear that the end goal of maintaining the organization has become a higher priority than living by the ethics we were taught. The end justifies the means.
When the end justifies the means, it does not bother your conscience when you mislead MK abuse survivors, your mission members and your supporters, with a word like "independent". As recently as July 24, 2014, this message was posted here, from Pat Hendrix, the first coordinator of IHART: "I want to state categorically IHART is not controlled by NTM. We are an independent group of investigators that NTM has contracted with to conduct the investigations." viewtopic.php?f=5&t=610&start=700
Four months later, Pat was fired. New Tribes Mission replaced her with Theresa Sidebotham, an attorney who is a good friend of Scott Ross. So much for the independence of IHART. It was now being described as a "process of NTM". But from the founding of IHART in April, 2011 until the end of 2014, many, many had the impression that IHART was an independent company or group, in the way that GRACE is. This misconception was widespread, both in and outside the mission. The end justifies the means.
When the end justifies the means, you can rationalize the protection of an evil man like Gary Earl, because of his many connections with important people in NTM. To the few people who saw the report produced by Professional Investigators International, I know that you know in your heart that this man sexually abused at least one of the girls in his boarding home. And yet you again manipulated words and technicalities, thereby skirting around your own mission policies for such a crime, and in the end, the only consequence this man received was that he was "required to resign" from the mission. The end justifies the means.
When the end justifies the means, you can still sleep at night, even after being dishonest with thousands of generous donors who donated to a fund you set up for relief for the victims of the terrible Typhoon Haiyan that ripped through a portion of the Philippine Islands in Nov., 2013. On your mission website, you promised, "Any funds collected in excess of the needs of NTM's direct involvement in relief efforts will be forwarded in their entirety to reputable relief organizations that NTM has verified are doing relief work in the wake of the typhoon." Good people with generous hearts donated at least $250,000, and probably much more, expecting that their money would go to help the devastated people and communities they saw on the evening news, around the Tacloban area. Since I have a keen personal interest in the Philippines, I tried to follow this situation and the relief work being done by NTM as closely as I could. NTM Aviation did bring in some extra aircraft, and relief work was done in the Palawan area where there was moderate damage, but the Philippine government said "no thanks" to the offer NTM made to help the people in the Tacloban area.
One would assume that NTM would follow through on their promise to forward any excess funds raised (the goal gradually increased, as the money kept pouring in, till the last goal set was $500,000, but I do not know if that goal was actually reached) to reputable relief organizations. I was shocked to learn that in Dec., 2014, NTM leaders in the Philippines instead handed over the remainder of their fund to the mayor of a small island in the Palawan area, where NTM has a fledgling work, for the purpose of constructing an airport! 12,000,000 pesos was given to this community - over $250,000! viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1334&start=30 As far as I can tell, currently there is one NTM missionary family living on this island of Agutaya. That particular mayor is no longer in power, and the airport has never been finished. But the end justifies the means.
When the end justifies the means, you can promote the practice of sending your missionaries into areas of the world where mission work or proselytizing is illegal. In their home countries, these clandestine members do their deputation as missionaries, raising support from churches and donors who trust they are going abroad to spread the gospel. And yet, these missionaries do not appear on NTM's website, and they slip into "closed countries" as English teachers, or medical workers, or university students. I have grave concerns about how this dual identity and the secrecy and deception that surrounds it affects the children in these families. I have other concerns as well, and these are described well in this article, authored by a Christian who makes a great deal of sense: http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/17/opinions/ ... index.html
But the end justifies the means.
Does the end really justify the means??
Think about it, Christian. Someday you will be answering to God for these choices you are making, choosing the end goal of protecting your job, your financial security, your retirement future, your legacy, your institution .... choosing those over God's command: "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8
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