"Hopefully one day the issues raised by the Pastor Rony Tan’s webcast on Buddhism and homosexuality can be intellectually dissected and discussed and everybody, Christians and Buddhists and gays, can get enlightened in the process, or at least have their say." Blog Pastor

“If you allow [homosexuality], next time people will want to get married to monkeys. And they will want rights. They’ll want to apply for HDB. With a donkey or a monkey or a dog and so on. It’s very pathetic.” Pastor Rony Tan.

The call by seemingly fair minded Christians such as Blog Pastor to consider Pastor Rony Tan's comments on Gays as a serious forum for an intellectual discussion shows how delusional Christians can be. Pastor Rony had likened gays and their relationships to monkeys, donkeys and dogs. Such public statements to the laughter of tens of thousands are of the worst kind and should never be protected under the guise of the freedom of religion. Freedom comes with responsibility and descency especially for a church leader of incredible public stature and influence. Declaring such terrible curses in public is unbecoming of a major Christian leader, and the fact that the Christian community does not think it being any wrong is a sad day for Christianity in Singapore. We have discarded self reflection and have lost a heart of humanity and compassion.

The statements by Pastor Rony Tan does not need any enlightenement or dissection, to realise that it is rethoric and prejudice of the worst kind. In many fair minded countries, they would lock him up and throw the keys away. That said, we should never do that lest we make him a martyr for the Christian Right to claim that they were being persecuted despite they themselves being perpetrators of the most disgusting and unfounded statements on another group of people.It is impossible to intellectually dissect Pastor Tan's comments as hoped for by Blog Pastor because there is nothing intellectual about it, but only pure hate and insult.

If and as the National Council of Churches is silent on this issue, it is tantamount to supporting Pastor Rony, and any Gay Christian who remains worshipping in the mega churches, the Anglican and Methodist churches, should reconsider their support in view of what they consider Gays as - donkeys, monkeys and dogs. Perhaps, it is slightly better than the Jews who considered the Samaritans as pigs. I suppose even pigs eat the crumbs under the table.

As Pastor Rony Tan has insisted that he has done nothing wrong, he has opened the doors for a spiritual and moral acceptance for intellectual discussions on Christianity from its harshes critics such as Richard Dawkins. Sadly, the statements by Pastor Rony Tan actually legitimises such negative criticisms of Christianity and gives the church less credibility.

The bible reminds us, to be careful in our speech.

(James 3:6 NKJV) And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.

(James 3:9 NKJV) With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.

We may ignore Pastor Tan's comments as being one off but as a major church leader, his tongue can set fire, not only to his own church but to the body of Christ. His curses on the gay community as dogs and monkeys defiles the church as a genuine messenger of God's love, grace and mercy. It would be difficult for others to see how we worship God but yet see us curse the Gay community when gays are no different than us and made in the image of God. To call Gays and demean them so much lower than humanity, reduces their dignity and sacred worth as people created by God as well. We have indeed poured scorn on God's creation.

The tongue is a fire that cannot be easily controlled. The lack of self control will result in iniquity, in us sinning against God and man.

(James 3:17,18 NKJV) But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

The church should return to Wisdom that is pure before God, its purity being found by walking in the ways of Jesus who never said such nasty comments about gay people. Instead of being so offensive, God calls us to pursue peace, to be gentle in our speech, to be full of mercy ie not giving others what they deserved, and to act with fairness and not out of hyprocrisy or prejudice/homophobia. The fruit of our righteousness in Christ is to be in peace and not go out to cause resentment and fights. May Christians in Singapore pursue peace, not hate, for when we use our freedom of religion against the weakess and most defenseless group, surely God Himself would be their defence, and what we say will be returned to us 10 fold.

Perhaps it is far too late to pursue peace, when we use our religious rights to deny gays their basic rights and demean them, we will ultimately suffer the same fate and much worst. Nobody is above the law, God's moral law, even Christians.

Let us return to God, and Pursue peace with all in the name of our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ.