Why you should donate directly to a secular charity
If this Pagan Prattle story is actually true, I think that the advice of giving solely to secular charities is well taken.
India: A beautiful example of self-styled Christians completely ignoring the reported words of Jesus has come out of a tiny village in Tamil Nadu which was badly affected by the recent tsunami:
Jubilant at seeing the relief trucks loaded with food, clothes and the much-needed medicines the villagers, many of who have not had a square meal in days, were shocked when the nuns asked them to convert before distributing biscuits and water.Heated arguments broke out as the locals forcibly tried to stop the relief trucks from leaving. The missionaries, who rushed into their cars on seeing television reporters and the cameras refusing to comment on the incident and managed to leave the village.
Note that if you donate to the Tsunami fund run by the Disasters Emergency Committee in the UK, your money is divided up between the participating charities, including a number of Christian ones who, while probably not engaging in this kind of behaviour, are definitely hypocrites who ignore the reported words of Jesus in Matthew 6:1-4.
Villagers furious with Christian Missionaries - Yahoo News (via Pharyngula), 16th January 2004.