Economy
Teen Challenge Tasmania’s acceptance of donation from ALH Group …
In an intriguing display of spiritual gymnastics, Teen Challenge Tasmania has accepted a $20,000 donation from the Australian Leisure and Hospitality (ALH) Group to assist with the Home of Hope take-over of the Meander Primary School site.
The ALH Group is one of Australia’s biggest owners and operators of pubs, liquor outlets, nightclubs and gambling facilities. Its activities are completely contrary to the doctrinal basis of Teen Challenge which is a ministry of the Assemblies of God Church in the USA. This Church preaches abstinence from drinking, gambling and social dancing ( http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/topic_index.cfm ).
The Australian Christian Churches oversee Teen Challenge centres locally and are allied to the Australian Christian Lobby. They now appear allied to the liquor and gaming industry as well.
Happy Hour indeed.
In this case, interpretations of the Bible proved flexible enough and the ensuing backflip, magnificent, to enable the donation to be swiftly pocketed. The champagne – non-alcoholic, I trust – must have spilled over. And ALH can relax, knowing that they’ve helped just a few carefully chosen women addicts convert to this style of Christianity.
To assist missionary work in the future, it looks like some kind of flexible faith training might become a necessary part of the transformation program at the school. Perhaps there’ll be a new verbal gymnastic move called the ‘donor dazzler’ consisting of an appropriate about-face and cap-offering, finishing with classic cork-popping.
I wonder from where the next donation will surface? If donations from alcohol providers are allowable … It wasn’t so long ago that alcohol was prohibited, too. And after all, it could be viewed as a sensible business decision.
Just a caution to would-be benefactors, however. Make absolutely sure Teen Challenge Tasmania know who is providing the donation. The $20,000 mentioned was publically first attributed to the Tasmanian Hospitality Association rather than the Australian Leisure and Hospitality (ALH) Group, due to a ‘typo’. Ooops.
Maybe the champagne was ‘accidentally’ alcoholic which made the keyboard blurry. In which case perhaps donors should suggest ‘type first, celebrate later’.
“Cheers !”
*Brian Hillman “brought my well-baked hide over from Western Australia about 3 years ago with the now-evaporated idea of retirement. In WA, I was a full-time agricultural adviser before becoming a full-time father. I do not like being forced into any religious organisation or lied to by them, any Council or political party but I confess to being impressed by Jesus’ example. Unfortunately, most of what I see is Krystyanity – something barely recognisable and of little connection to Christianity.”
• MARRA: Teen Challenge, Meander: No place for dangerous social experiments, not even once!