The Seminarian by Joshua Lim
I’ve always believed that Art is the greatest medium to convey the most important social messages. And nothing is more powerful than a movie. When you’re not merely hearing facts are debates — when you ‘re actually a voyeur to the reality of a gay person struggling between faith, family, morality and love, you begin to lose a sense of what you SHOULD do, to what you WANT to do.
The Seminarian is a story about Ryan, a closeted gay student in his final semester of theological study. Despite the school’s hostile stance towards homosexuality, Ryan has two gay classmates – Gerald and Anthony – in whom he confides in secret. He is also close to his religiously devout mother who, as things stand, is unaware of his sexual orientation.
Ryan needs to complete a solid theological thesis in order to continue doctoral work at the university of his dreams. As he works on his thesis on ‘The Divine Gift of Love,’ Ryan begins a relationship with Bradly – a guy he met on the Internet who seems perpetually unable to commit himself. Ryan confides in Gerald and Anthony, only to learn about their romantic struggles as well. Consequently, Ryan questions his view on God’s gift of love.
During this volatile time, with the pain of unrequited love and the inability to share his fears with his mother deepening, Ryan struggles with finishing his thesis and holding on to his hope for love
Joshua is a graduate from the University of Southern California film school. His first feature-length film, The Olive Depression, is currently in his home country, Singapore. He is now pursuing a Masters in Theology and the Arts at Fuller Theological Seminary. The Seminarian serves as his thesis project
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National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) speaks up at last
| By Zakir Hussain and Wong Kim Hoh
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_370850.html
|
‘Our member churches are not involved in the present saga. In fact, our heads of churches have very recently reiterated to their clergy the standing instruction on the proper use of the pulpit,’ said the statement issued by Archbishop John Chew, president of the NCCS, and Mr Lim K Tham, NCSS general secretary.
The NCCS brings together Christian groups like the Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, Salvation Army and Syrian Orthodox churches, among others. Dr Chew is also the head of the Anglican church in Singapore.
Last week, it emerged that staff and members of the Church of Our Saviour in Margaret Drive, which is under the Anglican communion, were encouraging people to join Aware and support the new team in the society’s leadership dispute.
They said the old team at Aware had been promoting lesbianism and homosexuality, a charge the team has rejected.
In a weekend sermon, Senior Pastor Derek Hong urged the women in his flock to ‘be engaged’ and support new president Josie Lau and ‘her sisters’ at Aware.
The NCCS said it had been following the recent events related to Aware.
‘We are concerned that religion has been dragged into the unfortunate situation. The matters related to Aware should be solved by its own members,’ it said.
Some Christians are however uncomfortable that the saga has thrust their religion in the limelight, for the wrong reasons. In blogs and forums, many Christian netizens said religion has no role in secular organisations.
The meaning of discussion
Read the email carefully. The students were given the material on alternative families for GP and asked to discuss.
It NEVER stated that the teachers even took a moral stand on the issue, or were trying to impart a moral stand
And then, like all GP classes, a discussion ensues where students are encouraged to think and articulate their views — and they have the liberty to argue either for or against it. If i recall my GP lessons, the point was never about Right or Wrong — that’s MORAL education , not GP. The point was that, what ever our views, we need to have a good, rational, well-evidenced basis to it. And that’s a great point to learn.
However it seems many people simply assume that Exposure= Imposing moral values. And so everything should be censored.
========The Email=================================================
Alan Chin is also the husband of new AWARE President Josie Lau.
Note : The authenticity of this email has yet to be independently verified.
Source : http://wayangparty.com/?p=8604
———-Forwarded message———-
From: Alan Chin <alanchinXXX>
Date: Sun, Apr 26, 2009 at 10:10 PM
Subject: GP in JC1 and pink marraige
Forwarded message
Dear praying parents,
For your immediate attention. Fwding some more info that (prayerfully) can help us see the aggresive and thwarted works of the Evil one thru the well meaning but totally brain-washed old guard of AWARE.
I’m extremely saddened and concerned and I felt compelled to share… just last Monday, my son in ACJC had for his GP lesson the topic on alternative family structure frm MOE. They were given notes for discussion on topic of same- sex marriage and same sex parents with adoption of children to form a family unit, with this new terminology PINK PARENTS.
Students were given a worksheet with questions about what is their idea of a nuclear family unit, what are their views about same -sex parents forming family unit and whether the government in S’pore will legalize gay marriages and whether they are for or against it.
During the lesson, they also watched a documentary of “A look into lifestyles of some same- sex marriage or Pink Parent family.”
Notes given were of 2 particular case study of :
1) Molly ( toddler ) with 2 moms.
2) A gay who wanted to have children decided to cohabit with a lesbian couple and between them they bored 2 girls and of course depicted the persons in these situations as happy and adjusted as any normal family.
It scares me to think of how children will be like growing up in such unconventional and dysfunctional family set up. Can you believe this is being taught in public schools, let alone Methodist ones like ACJC?
My son’s immediate response was that of disgust and I was relieved that my son’s lesson was taught by a Christian teacher and thus would be filtered to a certain extent. In my honest opinion, I simply cannot imagine how a
My questions are:
1) Does our mission school have a choice to reject such materials from MOE? and
2) Though discussions on it can be discussed in a healthy and matured way, is it necessary to put our children in such position that they have to choose for or against something that is so obviously wrong – as long as Penal code 377A is still in place?
3) Will the viewing of such images leave our impressionable children in a state of confusion?
In another JC, my friend’s daughter was given a hundred over pages of notes for GP in which there were pictures of lesbians kissing (this is not even allowed by censor boards in worldly magazines. Thankfully ACJC was more careful with this)
The students have to study the notes and sit for a quiz. Included in the notes were links to helpline and counselling from Aware. As you all may know, AWARE has a new exco, in which nine of the twelve are committed, prayerful Christians. However, the old exco (who have a pro-gay agenda) are planning to overthrow the new exco with a call to a vote of no confidence at the next AGM.
As concerned parents, are we going to sit back and not do anything about this? We have been praying for years for our children’s well being, maybe it’s a call now to go beyond just praying. We have to make our stand clearly and firmly for God and our children are watching us.
Mothers/women over the age of 18, please:
1) Consider joining Aware (sign up http://www.aware.org.sg/?page_id=130) and vote in favour of the exco.
2) Pray for the continual victory and the grace of God over this whole situation
Think and pray seriously about it, trust in God’s sovereignity (casting out all fear) in this situation and obey His direction. It really is a spiritual warfare in this day and age.
We do not act as representatives of any prayer group,church or school. We go as God’s children in Jesus’s Name choosing God’s law over others.
My vote to support Aware in its new cause may be most insignificant in this world but God is counting it as His!
In the same way that we could accept a drug addict but we cannot accept the act of taking drugs, we also could accept a homosexual but we should not allow our children to be taught that choosing homosexuality is acceptable. It’s not a civil right but a personal choice that should not be imposed on our society. Let’s protect all the children in S’pore.
Concerned n Prayerful,
2 Thess 4:7, 5: 23,24
A Christian Perspective on AWARE II
But I have also received less appreciative messages. Some of these charged me with having sown discord and embarrassed Christianity in front of non-believers. The irony did not escape me, but then I began to wonder whether I did make one too many assumptions. These comments were probably knee-jerk reactions, meaning that some Christians may actually not have thought it possible that other Christians, a whole lot of us, could be this appalled with the episode.
For this reason, as a brother-in-Christ, I feel that I need to believe that the new ex-co’s sadness over its negative reception and its willingness to heal the social rifts it caused are genuine. There has already been too much distrust, and somewhere trust has to re-begin. My appeal for non-support is not about humiliating or condemning any group of individuals on either side. Those who have hoped that I came out in strong condemnation of one, emailing me links to sex education and “the gay agenda”, or in clear support of the other, initially mistitling my view as “supporting the Old Guard”, know that I won’t.
This is not being wishy-washy; it is staying focussed. The simple disagreement is with a course of action pursued by a group of Christians that has caused suspicion between communities and fear within each. If everyone is to set aside his or her own fixation — gay, anti-gay, faith in practice, fundamentalism, etc. — and trace back to the source of our current unhappiness, he or she will see that it all started with a single fateful decision. One ought not then to doubt that these Christians intend good from their point of view, but one has every reason to doubt that things could be restored and relationships healed by going down the same road.
As the party involved is Christian, the most amicable solution may well also be the most obvious. In fact, how could we not have seen it? We Christians believe in a God who gives every person second chances in life. Every chance after the first two is still the second: that’s how gracious we believe He is! When one makes a mistake or realises that one has followed a bad choice, there is no shame in admitting wrong, so long as one is sincere about changing. The choice to turn back is never a Christian defeat; it is our triumph!
Indeed, paradoxically in this situation, one can also only move on, move forward, by going backwards to the point where the wrong choice was made and choose rightly this time. This is a versatile truth I learnt from C. S. Lewis a long time ago. If the new ex-co will, without contest, give up its seats for a more inclusive shape of leadership in AWARE, it will have regained, I dare say, the faith of many Singaporeans and the admiration and support of every Christian in full measure. These individuals can then go on to pursue in earnest their concern over homosexual teaching in schools and related issues with the right authorities. I want to believe that everyone in that later business will be cooperative and respect the eventual findings, whatever the outcome is.
If the AWARE Christians in current leadership and those gearing up to vote tomorrow will choose this infinitely less harmful route, they will have made us all who are Christians proud of them. Do consider the option seriously: it is as practical and as Christian as it can get. Realise that fellow believers like me who are outraged want peace too and have been praying for it. But, when it comes to making peace a reality, only specific individuals are able to effect it. The ball is in their court alone. We can all avoid a confrontation. We can stun the nation with one simple move that affirms love, faith, and hope, all at once.
Yours Truly,
Gwee Li Sui
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