Riding on the wave of criticisms against Pastor Rony Tan, Gays have started to realised that they too have been victimized and made a joke by Pastor Rony in a video testimony concerning a lesbian albeit being 12 months late. In a recent interview with Straitstimes, Pastor Rony remains adamant that he did no wrong, despite calls for him to apologize to gays as well as what he had done with the Buddhists.
Rony Tan on Gays
In this case however, Pastor Rony said “I’ve said nothing wrong, you know. Like I said, my stand is with the average person and the Government,” This statement is not insightful as the Government's stance is to "live and let live" contrary to Pastor Rony's Tan assertions that gays are peodopiles. When has Pastor Rony been in agreement with the average person in Singapore who is secular or non Christian? only when it suits him it seems.
Pastor Rony has much weaker blibical support for his condemnation against gays than against Buddhists. He has said that gays are like that because they are sexually abused as children, and will sexually abuse other children making them gays as well. This is an American Christian Right import, which has no biblical basis. Therefore, the Pastor tried to link this opinion to the "average" person and the Government rather than the bible. It could be argued conversely that by the same logic, since the "average person" is not Christian, Christianity is wrong as well, which is an illogical argument.
Why apologize to the Buddhists and Taoists but not gays? because Gays are less than 5% of the population compared to 50%. It appears that the apologies and show of repentance is only outward. If there is no show of concern by the gay community, we will be continuously made a joke.
Despite the claims by the Christian Rights, Gays are profoundly unfocused, disunited on the issue of taking their accusers to tasks. Many Gay Christians are still attending the mega churches and indirectly contributing the resources for the NCCS to come against gays. Perhaps, the basic neccesities of survival prevails in the Gay community of having a job, a place to stay, and to live life as best we could under the circumstances rather than being an "activists" coming against the stone wall. For many well to do and succesful gays, why rock the boat!
Perhaps there will be no change until the Gay community develops a sense of dignity and pride, and not to let them be taken advantage of so easily by the Christian Right in Singapore motivated by their American Christian backers. If one doesn't stand up for themselves, then we can't expect the Government, the average person in the street to defend us.
We were hoping for a healing miracle that Pastor Rony would be healed of his prejudice and homophobia as well, however, this is far too great a miracle to expect.
By perpetuating and propagating a lie about gays, the Pastor Rony Tan is undermining the Christian Faith as the truth, the life, and the way to God. He wanted to "evangelise" the entire Singapore, but the Gospel message never included a message against gays. It is the label that we put on gays that they were sinners, that will distort the concept of sin when the innocent is being accused wrongly. This may be worst that his video against the Buddhists for in this case he will have to answer to a heavenly Authority.
The message of Christianity is ultimately about the innocent, the sinless, ie Jesus Christ dying and suffering on the Cross for us. The religious zealots and fundemantalists have had no qualms of putting the innocent to death, but surely as Christians having been reminded weekly of the Cross and the injustice of all, should not be the very people persecuting the weak, the outcasts and the innocent. For when the innocent is resurrected, their deaths, and sufferings and loss will form the very basis of their redemption.
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