CHRISTIANS AGAINST AWARE TAKEOVER
So this is me making a stand right here. I have been a Bible-believing Christian for 25 years now. I want first to acknowledge fellow believers who, like me, are shocked, angered, and saddened by the takeover and feel that their faith has been hijacked and their views ignored. I know that a lot of such affected Christians are out there. There is also another group which may not agree with the new team’s tactics but admires its fervour or sympathises with it for the heat it has been getting.
But, most of all, I want to address a crucial third party: Christian women who have been encouraged to stand up and be counted for their beliefs. I wish to appeal to their good sense in these last hours. You may be one of these and have even joined, or are planning to join, AWARE to help swing the votes in favour of the new ex-co on Saturday. Especially if I am describing you, please read on!
Yes, there are times when a Christian needs to make a courageous stand – but, in every event, always ask yourself: For what cause is this? What context does it serve? The current scenario is not one where we are being asked what our beliefs on certain issues are or whether Christianity and homosexuality are compatible or we are being mocked or discriminated against. It is a simple context where a group of well-meaning Christians infiltrated a secular organisation in order to be in a position to dictate their own values in its daily running. In this light, what a Christian may feel about issues like homosexuality is besides the point!
As a secular body, AWARE rightly cannot have a vision that treats women from different backgrounds through the outlook of just one religious system. Indeed, I dare say that an appropriate Christian response is to resist the actions of these Christians. Just as God gave every person free choice and the opportunity to believe, we ought to support the sanctity of this right for others to make up their own minds and live their own lives. Just as we do not force the Christian faith down someone’s throat against his or her will, we should not take over a non-religious organisation for the single purpose of making others unlike us behave as we believe. To do this would be a gross misapplication of the message of Jesus.
If you support the new ex-co’s actions, be aware that you are sending a string of possibly irreversible wrong signals to every Singaporean. Consider carefully whether you are willing to shoulder the responsibility of damages that would affect the longstanding good work of Christians in Singapore. Since the government has chosen not to be involved in the matter so far, whatever happens will be seen clearly by all as the response of particular sectors of society.
Here is my short list of obvious implications:
[1] Support the new ex-co, and you are effectively saying that you condone its quasi-corporate act of infiltration, with related strategies of secrecy, disinformation, moral coercion, and fear-mongering. You are saying that you support its less-than-Christian covert moves more than traditionally Christian ones like dialogue, open engagement, honesty, and clarity.
[2] Support the new ex-co, and we will go down a slippery road with wide-ranging repercussions for all. Don’t believe for a moment that the manoeuvring will stop here. What this invites others to see is that infiltration is the most effective way for small groups of like-minded individuals to seize power quickly — and where will this end? What is to stop any religious or ideological group from doing the same to any social institution at every level? In the long run, who do you think loses?
[3] Support the new ex-co, and you potentially make light of the freedom that is God’s gift to every human being. Against your best intentions, you may send out instead the message that we Christians think that we know better than everyone else and that we are willing to outflank, overpower, and overwhelm if we do not get our way.
[4] Support the new ex-co, and, if they stay and behave as predicted, you will be directly responsible for undoing the trust that many Christians have taken years to build with their non-Christian friends. This is a trust built on mutual respect. You will have made the Gospel of Christ more difficult to hear for years to come because people will think that they know what it is about. You will have created a new generation of Christ-haters.
This matter, in short, is not to be treated lightly. Jesus tells us all to be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves”. There are times to be passionate and helpful in a gungho way, but this is not the time. Christians can be wrong about many things too. So please, by all means, pray for the AWARE debacle to be resolved amicably and for Christians in AWARE, but do not, in the name of our common faith, go in blind support of other Christians because you are Christian!
Yours Truly,
Gwee Li Sui
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This article cannot have been better written by a true believer in Christ… many of us who are Christians cannot but look in disgust at what is apparently happening with JL and the COOS, in the manner that this whole saga with AWARE has been handled.
As Christians, we should not go forward so blindly to support JL and her exco, who claims to be “true” Christians, only to continue to lie, and permeate falshoods in the name of Christ.. how blasphemous they are.. taking the name of the Lord in vain.
AWARE is a secular organisation and so unbelievable that JL and her gang.. is bent on turning this into a non secular one by imposing their views on morality and what they claim to understand their interpretation of the word of God is, when they have lost their intergrity and moral values in the lies that they perpetuated from the start.
I will really like to see them at the Throne of God on judgement day… when they account for their lies, scheme… to the Lord.
Gwee Li Sui is a fake. The real one is here:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=75793889673
Dear Fakegwee
As a Christian, as a human, I feel so so sad that the “Christian” view has to be spread here through a lie.
NOT A SINGLE other view here on my blog was sprea this way you know?
Why do you have to do it this way?
There is a lot of discussion of this note: http://bit.ly/PRFOr
You should just ignore trolls like Fakegwee. They just post this kind of stuff for the reaction. They do it for the lulz.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lulz
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A story i read from a website:
In our modern world, there existed a forgotten but quiet and peaceful village and therein dwelled a humble and kind hearted mother and her beloved daughter. Not too far from the village is a huge mountain with a small cave housed a wicked witch, who has been eyeing at other family daughter’s movements for a long time. Though nobody knows much about the witch and chose not to disturb her territory in the high mountain lest they get haunted by her.
Surrounding the village & mountain, are city full of distraught people who entered the village frequently, to seek solace and soak in tranquility, before returning to the city and work their life away again..
One fine day, a lesbian was lost and came knocking at the villager’s door, the mother saw the troubled girl and sheltered her to cope with discrimination in the city. Few days later, another girl knocked at the mother’s door, she was pregnant and in tears with no place for shelter. Again, the kind hearted woman took her in and offered her assistance throughout her pregnancy. The daughter now has two new friends whom her mother has offered to counsel and help. However, the witch, who has been spying at night, was enraged because she strongly believed that the two new unwelcomed guests are devil in disguise and tried to disturb the peace in the village. As usual, both the mother and daughter continue to live happily and peacefully not knowing the witch has started to cast her hatred eyes on them.
Many days have passed while the dark clouds were looming above the mountain, there was sudden knocking on the door again. This time, it was a gay boy who has no family to turn to. The mother was hesitant at first and asked the boy to seek shelter elsewhere because she can only accommodate female into the family. The boy, who looks kind and sincere, seeked not to be discriminated like what others did to him in the city and offered the woman a basket of fruits and flowers which he picked from the wild garden. This gesture touched the woman who offered him a place to stay, on conditions that he might be needed in house chores to lighten the family workloads. Ever since the mother has received 3 additional children, there were enough manpower resources to help the needy folks who came from the city seeking calm and peace in this quiet place. The family soon became much livelier now and their laughter’s echoed into the cave where the witch was trembling with disgust and anguish.
Finally, the witch could no longer hide her anger and disguised herself as a poor old woman knocking on the family door seeking help. The moment she stepped into the house, offered for her to stay, the gay boy was quick to sense wickedness hidden under the filthy gown and was wary. He could not sleep peacefully that night and was the first to jump into action when they heard the daughter screaming next door. The witch unveiled her identity too soon and tried to snatch the daughter away. The mother and the other children were too powerless to stop her because of the strong spell she possessed. The mother begged to know the motive of the witch for exploiting her kindness and seek to know the daughter’s fate. The witch gave out an evil sneer that the mother has sinned for harboring 3 young devils into her house and is no longer fit as mother to the daughter. But the wtich promised that her daughter will be in good hands and made perfect before she hastily flew into the mountain with the daughter held captive.
Soon, the whole village came to know about the news and everyone tried to seek the witch out for an answer but she cleverly disguised herself in many forms to deceive the public. Nobody knows what has happened to the daughter. Desperate, the news spread into the city and some people blamed the mother for being too trusty and kindhearted to strangers, However, everyone was curious and no less concerned too. Thus the witch was forced out of her quiet cave once more by presence of overwhelming crowds that annoyed her. Unable to conceal herself any further, she casted her spell at the crowds by making false allegation about the mother’s sins and how the daughter has suffered after that and the witch claimed she has finally save the daughter from further sufferings. The spell seemed to work on somebut not all.
Unfortunately bade news were getting worst by the passing days. Mountaineers came with bad news that the daughter’s hands were found severed along the mountain range and it was rumored that they were replaced with beautiful doll-hands made by the witch. Few days later, another news broke again that a pair of the daughter’s ears was replaced too. The mother was traumatized by continuous inflow of bad news happened to her daughter and urged everyone to help rescue her beloved daughter before she became a fake doll under the scheming witch.
They thronged the mountain but were obstructed by huge boulder outside the cave rendered entry impossible. The police was called and the ministers were concerned about the safety of the village’s daughter.
Troops were soon deployed into the mountain to blow up the boulder but the wicked witch who can disguised in many forms has also bred a group of lethal creatures like snakes, poisonous toads, widowed spider and many other crows waiting on the offensive.
to prevent people from saving the daughter.
Rescue operations have just begun. Who will win in this battle? It is not about the battle for numbers but the battle of the heart and soul and graciousness of mankind that now is the time to repay their kindness to the woman. Such favor must be returned to the selfless mother who has showered her selfless love to the needy over the past 25 years. Though the rescued daughter may no longer be the same again, nevertheless let’s pray in the name of love for the mother and her daughter to be united again.
WAH Trev long story = )
Yesterday i heard someone tell me another story :http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Courtyard/1652/GirlAcrossRiver.html
One day, a Buddhist Monk named I-hsiu (literary, “One Rest”) took his young student to go to town to do some business. As they approached a small river, they saw a very pretty girl walking back and forth looking very concerned.
“Lady”, asked I-hsiu, “you look very concerned. What is troubling you?”
“I want to cross the river to visit my dad who is very sick, but the bridge had fallen. Where is the next nearest bridge?”
“The next closest one is many miles away. But, don’t worry, I will carry you across the river.”
So I-hsiu carried the girl on his back and walked across the river stream. Once they reached the other side, he put her down and, saying farewell to each other, went on their ways separately.
Observing the whole thing, the young student was rather uneasy. He thought, “the Master taught us that women are man-eating tigers yet today he carried a pretty girl on his back across a river! That does not make any sense. Isn’t the Lord Buddha teach us to keep a distance from a stranger girl?”
Over the next couple of month, the whole thing was still bothering him in his mind. Finally, the student could not stand it any longer and raised the issue with I-hsiu.
Upon hearing this, I-hsiu bursted into laughter: “I had put down the girl ever since I had crossed the river. You must be very tired carrying her around for the last two months!”
It’s “better” for the Christians to take over Aware as
others will be Aware of their motives and aggenda.
Mathia, everyone have their views.. and is expected that trolls from JL and the pussycats.. will obviously have people trolling your site.
Sure as Gentle Lamb says “..better for Christians to take over Aware..” and sure with lies and deceit as part of their Christian values..
Hi Thanks everyone for your comments!
I might be irritated on one level, but on another level I’m glad to see dissenting views from all camps — the internet is a platform for the Freedom of Expression that liberal society champions for, and ironically, the platform that certain groups make use of to try to remove this Freedom. And I do applaud people who make their stand heard, even though we disagree — its better than apathy I think!
But personal Freedom of Expression is very different from institutional discrimination and oppression. It’s fine for a single individual to say “I disagree with XXX and hate YYY ” —- I’ll fight to defend your right to say that even though i may think you’re an idiot!
But it’s not fine with an organisation / institution starts to say “we disagree with XXX , hate YYY and we want to IMPOSE that on everyone else” or worse, “we will use our power and influence to actively discriminate and oppress”. That’s what we, as civil society must stand up against. And that’s why both Christians, conservatives, liberals, gays etc etc can stand together on this AWARE issue because that’s really what’s at stake — not Christianity and not homosexuality.
And we have to watch ourselves, who are in organisations, very closely to make sure we do not overstep the boundary between personal opinion and institutional discrimination/oppression. Organisations and institutions always have a tendency to go down that road, be they State , Religious, Non-govt, etc etc organisations/institutions. Which is why, the various parties in society have to check on each other, make a stand and do something when this boundary is violated.
I laughed out loud when I found out one of my church members, male, was rallying support for the new exco at aware, to the discomfit of his wife. Apparently what galvanised him into action was the lie that the old AWARE was promoting the LGBT lifestyle. Since we have been in the same church for more than 20 years, I corrected him as best I could. And for good measure, I bought him a DVD of the Spider Lilies movie – see, “those people” aren’t that bad. Their pain, the Taiwan earthquake of 1999, deserves love and sympathy, not hate and derison.
David:
It’s really sad when people make their stand based on lies.
I applaud you for not just keeping quiet, but actually doing something to address his misconception — and allowing him to decide for himself, based on his values, and based on truth.
Too many judgements rendered… by people… This is my second pathetic attempt to preach! Haha!
Before the conversion of Paul the Apostle, he was violently persecuting the Church and possibly trying his very best to destroy it. And he was authorized to do so!
He believed he was doing the right thing.
Afterall, he self-decribed himself as a “Hebrew born of Hebrews”, “a Pharisee”, and “blameless as to the righteousness under the law”.
At that time, what were Christians’ opinion of Paul?
At that time, what was God’s opinion of Paul?
How can we absolutely know that the right we pursue today is really the right way to go?
Isn’t everyone pushing for what seems to be right according to their own interpretation?
How do we know that what Thio and company needs is a “public defeat” so that they would change their mindset and make even bigger contributions to society?
And how do we know that AWARE will not shine brighter under Josie and company?
Yes, I think the only way to get through to people who have the ‘new comm mindset’ is to raise the issue through the Biblical framework. Gwee’s 4th point is so right. It’s not just about homosexuality I think. Christianity (as lived by NewComm) is on the line as well for disinterested observers… Of course, the diehards will say ‘it’s as expected, we are always going to be persecuted for our beliefs.’ Arrgghh! just wrote an entry about this…
http://dogemperor.newsvine.com/_news/2009/04/24/2729992-a-steeplejacking-of-a-womens-ngo-in-singapore-a-rare-glimpse-at-how-joels-army-groups-work-in-practice
A very interesting and detailed insight into the politics of Christian denominations
[...] CHRISTIANS AGAINST AWARE TAKEOVER This post was written by Pussycat on June 2, 2009 Posted Under: Uncategorized CHRISTIANS AGAINST AWARE TAKEOVER [...]
[...] PLURAL, and Singapore Daily as well as blogs such as God in Cyberspace, Scholar at Large, Mathia Lee: Plans and Preoccupations, Garry Blogs, and Choosing My Own Adventure. It was also reported in The Straits Times. On [...]
[...] PLURAL, and Singapore Daily and numerous blogs: God in Cyberspace, Scholar at Large, Mathia Lee ~ Plans and Preoccupations, Garry Blogs, and Choosing My Own Adventure, to name a few. It was also cited in The Straits Times [...]
To Whom It May concern,
This is Rev. Robert Wright, Editor for http://www.Christian.com which is a social network made specifically for Christians, by Christians, to directly fulfill Christian’s needs. Christian.com has many great features aside from the obvious like christian TV, prayer request or even find a church/receive advice and to offer the ENTIRE christian community an outlet to join together. We have emailed you because we have interest in collaborating with you and your blog to help us spread the good word. I look forward for your response regarding the matter,
Thanks!
God Bless
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