Well it is the latest charity craze that is literally sweeping the world… every one from film stars to your neighbour is participating.
But before we dive headlong into this craze it is worth taking a step back and asking, is this something that we, as Christians ought to be getting behind?
It might seem like a daft question, how can it not be… after all Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a terrible terrible disease which we as Christians ought to be wanting to do all we can to try and aid those who are in the unfortunate situation to be suffering from it.
However, as with most things in life, things might be a more grey then we realise…
The Ice Bucket challenge was started by a group in America called the ALS Association, not really wanting to get drawn into a long discussion on the topic, one of the forms of research that this charity use is Embryonic Stem Cell Research (http://www.nathanaelk.com/2014/08/why-i-cannot-accept-ice-bucket-challenge.html?spref=fb&m=1).
The British equivalent, the MND Association, do not use these cells, although their statement on their website is a little ambiguous as to whether this is simply them following the law or an ethical decision. (You can find out about both of those here: http://www.mndassociation.org/research/MND+research+and+you/Stem+cells)
In light of this some have decided to give to other organisations which are researching MND without using these embryonic stem cells, others are giving to more local charities related to MND or not at all.
At the end of the day it is up to you what you do about it, but here is the main point of the post… please do not fall into a herd mindset of being dragged along by social media which assumes everything that is being promoted is good and positive. This has not been the first charity stunt and it will not be the last. It is likely that there will be plenty of right and good causes, but it is also likely that there may be others which are not so pleasing…
Take seriously the things that are being asked of you, examine thoughtfully who it is you are supporting and if it is something that you feel you can support then jump on board… but if it is not then we ought to express rightful caution and consider other ways in which we could aid others without compromising ourselves.
And if you think that i’ve written this to simply wet out of not getting wet… then have a look at the end video…
Rooted @ St Margaret's Church, Angmering 