The news of Pastor Lawrence Khong of the mega church Faith Baptise Community Church (aka FCBC) dismissing a woman for adultery came to light when she complained to the Ministry of Manpower as she was pregnant. At the time, she was in the midst of divorce proceedings.

 Once she was pregnant, and being a church staff there would be no hiding with questions asked, who was the father! A uproar would ensue when they found out the "father" was another church worker, a divorsee.

FCBC is well within her rights to dismiss the woman in adultery.

However, as FCBC and NCCS is the lead in the moral crusade against gays, a strict srutiny and measurement line should be applied:-

1) Why was the church staff allowed to divorce?

2) Why was an ex-divorcee employed in the church?

3) What teachings in the churches led to such behaviours?

4) Is heterosexuality the cause? and the tip of the iceberg with abortions and adultery common in the churches in Singapore?

Surely we are too harsh, but often the same measure we judge could be measured back to us, ie the same measurement line.

The woman in John 8:1-11 was a Jewish citizen caught by the Pharisees for adultery. She was not related to the pharisees, ie not within the church if we translate it to the modern context. Hence, John 8:7 does not apply strictly to FCBC, which has a right to terminate the woman's employment as a matter within their own faith community and not a public issue. At least they did not stone her.

Yet, it was not Christian like.

The Pharisees went out of their way into the public to demand adherence to their religious morality whilst they themselves were the greatest sinners. Jesus was perturbed by their hypocrisy calling for capital punishment whilst negating their own more dire skeletons. Hence John 8:7, let those without sin throw the first stone ....

Who was the man involved in the adultery? no mention of it. Did the Pharisees had many wives and divorced at will their wives? (Mat 19:1-8).

Did the woman have a choice to be in adultery, probably not as the men had many wives and once divorced, thrown out in the streets to survive by herself. Hence, how could we judge her background. Jesus touched the woman first, the Hand of God touching the bewildered woman offering God's grace and mercy when no mercy was given by the pharisees.

Hence, Pastor Lawrence Khong is the religious pharisee whom we have many in Singapore so conscious about the sins of others, but failed to see the Heart of God, of Love, Grace and mercy. This was exemplified by his “moral crusade” against gays even though they were outside of his churches jurisdiction.

When Jesus touched her, He connected with her humanity, and her brokenness. They were under the dispensation of the law, and so Jesus bidst her to sin no more, for there was no exception under the law. But without the touch from God, the favor of God to escape her financial and emotional void, she could not escape from adultery. Without God's grace, she could not sin no more.

And Jesus touched each one of us where we are, and it is His touch and presence that released us and gives us hope, purpose and meaning, and not the merciless judgement of cruel hearted pharisees - the religious law minded people of faith.

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