Ending of Prop 8 trial - crossing the line of In-justice and oppression

 

16 June 2010, San Francisco. The lawyers made their closing arguments in a trial over the legality of California’s ban of Gay marriage in light of Proposition 8. Ironically, this was the very day two years ago in 2008 when Gay marriage was legalized in California before being subsequently repealed by a narrow vote in the public referendum. The lawyer’s arguments made clear the vile positions by the Christian Right to now insist that even the existing marriages be annulled! Can we ever talk or be in conversation with people who can’t accept your legal right even to exist, and want to take all your basic rights away?  Blaspheming the name of Jesus Christ in vain to justify their harmful actions.

We are often reminded that we are part of the body of Christ, shared together with the likes of the Fundamentalist Christians in America, Asia, and Africa. Yet, I often wondered, how one could be part of the body of Christ without displaying God’s grace, love, and mercy, and instead practices hate, discrimination and homophobia. Perhaps, it is an impaired communion as the Anglicans would say. To claim that Christ alone is basis of our communion without love, mutual respect, acceptance, and common decency is contradictory.

It is difficult to be in conversation with people who so blatantly misused God’s grace. For example during the Proposition 8 debate, the Christian supporters to ban gay marriage promised that they would not nullify the marriages already performed. After the victory however, they went to court to urge the state to nullify even the existing gay marriages. In order words, they are insisting to destroy the marriages and relationships of 18,000, forced them by decree to divorce and be separated, even though gay marriages had nothing whatsoever to do with their straight marriages. The only reason given is the will of the people, as if the narrow victory gives them the right to take away the unalienable rights of gay people.

The Christian Right in America, lied, cheat and steal, to obtain victory in proposition 8 with misleading advertisements and false testimony. Now in the display of heartless cruelty, they are even after the existing gay marriages, asking the state not to recognize it (in Perry v. Schwarzenegger). It is good that the true colors are now being revealed in all the twists and turns of the truth. Yet God is not mocked, and we have crossed beyond the line of injustice and oppression. Not only were they not accepting gays as equal, they all out to take away your basic rights, even your existing rights. Hence, being in conversation with these multi faced gang robbers may achieve little.

Another example is the Christian Right though Exodus (called “Choices” in Singapore which is part of Church of Our Saviour)playing a pivotal role in drumming up anti-gay sentiments in Uganda to the extent that the new laws are being proposed that would send gays to death. They have absolutely no conscience at all, to lie blatantly, cause harm and then disown all responsibility. Dark indeed is the body of Christ when we exchange darkness and call it light and vice-versa. Everything is legal and approved by their parliament they say, in the same way as Christians are persecuted in many other countries legally. Does it make it right simply because it was legal!

In Singapore last year, when the Christian Right took over the secular organization “Aware”, it was said that their motive was correct but the execution wrong. Ie, they did not see anything wrong with taking over an organization on the sole basis that they disagreed with their perceived pro-gay policies. For the Christian Right, anything that is not explicitly anti-gay or neutral, must be pro-gay and had to be challenged. What happens when the Government legalized homosexuality in Singapore? Or any other policy the Christian Right disagrees with? Would they try to take over a few seats in Parliament? For the Christian Right there is nothing such as morally correct as long as it is “legal” ie it is OK to swamp the AGM of organizations with hundreds of new members to vote in a new council thus in fact having a legalized coup de-tat.  Conversation with those who are without conscience, nor reflection, justifying their harm in the guise of religious freedom may be rather meaningless.

We are setting a spiritual and biblical precedence of judgment that one day the freedom we have to worship God will be limited and constrained by the narrow vote of the majority. What we sow is what we reap four times over, and it may be all legal. We are so insistent of our right to hate and to discriminate but have forgotten that the majority argument is a two edged sword and a narrow majority may likewise take away certain Christian rights that we have. Laws also can be changed so that our Christian organizations become illegal overnight in some form yet we would have no right to complaint since it is legal. Taking a highly legalistic approach is risky when the public opinion changes on the gay marriage issue.   

The Christian Right would often repeat that everything is morally right on the basis that it is legal even cheating, lying, stealing, jailing people because they were gay and executing people because they have gay sex. They are so Law minded, influencing Governments to create evil laws in some countries to suit their agenda and then call it legal and moral. Their hypocrisy is so ingrained that they perceived evil for good and tries to rationalize and justifies it by the letter of the law and through the bible. But by the Spirit of the Law, judgment is coming on the Christian Right for the injustice and oppression they have committed.   Any conversations may be awkward without a sense of trust worthiness, mutual respect and acceptance, and good reputation. Some are calling for the right and freedom to disagree on the non essentials and still be in a Christian communion, yet it makes no sense because they are questioning your very right to exist and be in relationship which is an essential non negotiable foundation.

(2 Sam 12:7 NKJV)  Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

(2 Sam 12:8 NKJV)  'I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!

(2 Sam 12:9 NKJV)  'Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.

Yet, talk we must with all peoples, to be in conversation even with those who has done much harm in the name of Christianity. Did God not send prophet Nathan to speak to King David? We are the trumpet bearer at the heavenly gates asking and pleading for the Christians to reconsider their actions, pleading for them to remember God’s grace and mercy, to remember righteousness and love, to ask them to flee from causing harm and not to do evil deeds lest the name and reputation of Christ be forever tarnished. We are not free to do anything we like just because it is legal for surely the fear of God must be in our hearts and minds. Yet, we take our freedom in Christ for granted and use it as a license for sin against the outcasts and the weak. We have blood on our hands which cries out to God for justice. It is a cry that gets louder and louder each day.

It is not about “Gay Rights” but about oppression and injustice done in God’s name and contrary to the fear of God and reverence for the message of God’s love through the Gospel of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. We have sinned against the Lord. If we keep quiet, even the rocks will cry out.


 

 

 

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