Further to Faith
Community Baptist Church (FCBC) reluctantly compensating the preganant
former employee sacked for adultery to comply with a Ministry of
Manpower (MOM) ruling, Pastor Lawrence Khong of FCBC has escalated the
matter to the Supreme Court in Singapore for a judicial review.
In the greatest of
irony, the adulteror worked in the Marriage Department of FCBC, and the
man in the affair was also a church worker. But was it really adultery
if there was an ongoing divorce proceedings.
As religious faiths can
have many different values and even contradicting beliefs, a common
basic set of rules and legal morality is required to protect the basic
rights of the employee. Otherwise, it will be required to be specified
in the work contract to include the Ten Commandments!.
Apparently such
comprehensive bible based do and don'ts were not fully stated in the
work contracts. It could also never cover all possibilities as the Jews
found out creating many hundreds of new laws to add to the Ten
Commanments.
If they were biblical,
they should also include the punishments eg stoning etc. But alas, that
would contradict the Singapore's laws on capital punishment which is not
mandated for adultery or divorce.
In the Construction
industry, we are usually vary and repectful of the MOM who could order a
stop work order or issue out fines for safety violation. But it appears
that FCBC has taken a more firm approach being a mega church of 10,000
strong. We could hear them declaring "This is our religious right!", and
"We demand respect".
Indeed, it is about The
Religious Right. Pastor Khong is an Apostle of the New Apostolic
Reformation (NAR) movement. Instead, of staying closeted in the monastry
and doing religious good works of helping the poor and the sick, a
more aggressive church movement into the market place with generals or
Apostles was embraced.
The market place is
defined as in Love Singapore's Transformation 2009 where Khong is the
chairman, as transforming the religion, government, Business, Family,
Education, Media, and Entertainment. This is also referred to as the
seven mountains theology, a coming out of the church from the religious
mountain to engage other mountains.
When the Government
gave space to Love Singapore and former NMP Thio to pursue their
anti-gay aggenda to put gays in jail at Parliament and even recently to
meet up with the Minister of Law against 377a, it is apparent that gays
are being used as the wedge issue and entry point to extend the churches
influence using a hot button issue.
Once space is given (to
the detriment of the much weaker gay community), they will expect much
more. The challenge to the MOM secular laws by FCBC, and by extension
Love Singapore (a large grouping of 100 big churches) where Pastor
Lawrence Khong is the chairman sends a strong signal.
In essence, the
church is demanding to be respected and given special rights. Perhaps,
this is the actual gay aggenda where the church has influence over the
mountains of the nations.
Why was there so much
angst by FCBC against MOM? when they had clearly made their strong
stance against adultery known!. Apparently, it appears that they felt
little respect was given especially when the "unrelated" incident of
Pastor Lawrence Khong's daughter having a baby in wedlock was mentioned!
The
judicial review at the Supreme Court is ongoing but certainly many will
be vary of giving too much space to these churches beyond their right to
practise their faith. They thought that the moral defenders of Singapore
will be satisfied with locking up gays, but they are now after bigger
mountains.
Is this more about
power and pride? the temptation that Satan offered to Jesus in the
desert.
But Jesus chose the way
of humility and emptiness, that we might be full and be blessed to show
that God is a good God.
When we emphasised
Christianity as a law minded religion, we are protraying Jesus of
Nazareth as the Pharisees of Jerusalem! who were His greatest enemies,
for one is of the Law and the other of Grace.
It is time for the
church in Singapore, to rise up and let the message of God's grace in
Jesus arise rather than becoming moral defenders when we ourselves may
be the greatest sinners.
It is all by Grace
through our Lord Jesus and nothing of ourselves.
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PDF.
Seven Mountains theology
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