Earlier this year, the fad of pouring a bucket of ice over one's head has reached the shores of Singapore. Even I was asked by my students to participate in the challenge.
In this post, I want to examine the motivations of this challenge in the light of theology. For other information on the challenge, please go to this site.
What is the Ice Bucket Challenge?
For those not in the know, the Ice Bucket Challenge was designed to raise awareness (and hence funding for treatment) for the neurological disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
As soon as the volunteer dunks the bucket over his/her head, the challengers are obliged to donate money to the relevant organisations.
Sounds like a good idea!
Despite the good intentions, I am generally against the idea of the challenge. None of my challengers could even give a brief description of what ALS is. Thus I just encouraged them to simply donate the money.
Even though some proponents suggest it builds empathy for ALS patients, shoving ice over our heads at best allows us to simulate the disease for minutes. That is nothing compared to the long-term suffering of the ALS patients.
Conclusion
While the Ice Bucket Challenge has allegedly increased the donations to ALS charities, I strongly doubt if this gimmick has increased the awareness of the disease. Similarly, we (Christians) should also be wary of gimmicks we use to promote our faith. Do such methods actually help people understand Christianity better?
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