The sea of pink filled Hong Lim Park on Sat 15 May 2010, and any Christian Right zealot who walked down the straight path from St Andrews Anglican Cathedral to Chinatown would be well advised to avoid Hong Lim Park. After all who knows what would happen. Surely, some of the rhetoric of gays molesting children and having sex orgies in the Park must be true since the Mega Church Pastors preached about it. Nothing much happened though, the Pink faces was like you and me, normal humanity, the young, old, men, women, and not the foxes portrayed by the mega church pastors. Perhaps, the pastors were confused by the nearby Catholic church where you may have a greater chance of finding immoral priests based on the American and European experience.

Alas, it was a coming out experience, not the strong gay rights rally that the Christian Right were hoping for so that they can criticize, but the subtle and much more effective display of showing to the community at large that the GLBT community have families too, and their faces bears no different than the faces and experiences of humanity in Singapore. The numbers of 4,000 in attendance was twice the previous year which would have raised alarm in the Christian Right circles, for at last Gays are starting to celebrate who they are, and be able to celebrate their existence, family, and unique sexual orientation. There is a time coming, when most gays will be proud to stand-up for themselves, and not ashamed of whom they are.

The Christian Right would try their best to put shame and condemnation of gays, but the Pink Dot started last year, and continued on with a doubling in strength and tenacity will no doubt have a domino effect in years to come. “They are promoting Homosexuality” proclaimed the Christian Right, as if Homosexuality was a disease to be spread and promoted. One doesn’t need to promote being gay because we are born as such just as most are born to be straight. Nor, do we call Geylang, the straight red light district, the “sin” of promoting heterosexuality. However, what you do need promotion week in and out in the Christian churches in Singapore is the anti-gay rhetoric spoken over and over again lest the general populace finds out the truth that all these are just but deception to rationalize their fixed theology. There is little care nor concern of the harm caused nor that the churches may be wrong.

The battle may be getting hot with the Anglican South perturbed by the appointment of a Lesbian Bishop in America. “How they dare?” contended the Bishops of the Anglican Global South (now HQ in Singapore?). However, the Americans have waiting long enough for 7 years under gracious restraint, whilst in Anglican South despite their claim of morality and righteousness showed no constraint whatsoever in forming the Global South grouping, and then organizing for Conservative Anglicans to break away from the Episcopal Church breaking the most fundamental rule of church.

What can the Anglican South and their Methodist Partners in Singapore do? Much it seems. Their counterparts in predominantly Christian Malawi have sentenced a gay couple to 14 years of hard labor just because they loved each other. Homosexuality must never corrupt Africa they claimed, when in “Straight” Africa extreme violence, diseases, corruption, poverty, crime, killings, military dictatorship, and sufferings reigns. If John Newton, the song writer of Amazing Grace had known that the African Slaves would one day showed even much less mercy to those weaker than them, perhaps, he would not have let them out of the ship until Grace was taught. Modern Christianity in Africa is nothing much ado but cheap Grace leveraging on a mob and tribal mentality of fear.

(Rom 4:14 NKJV) For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect,
(Rom 4:15 NKJV) because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.
(Rom 4:16 NKJV) Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

We enter into cheap grace, when we have fear instead of having faith. The Africans were so fearful of God’s judgment, that they would like to blame gays for bringing them into God’s wrath. Instead of a sacrifice of praise for God’s redemption, they are sacrificing the poor gay lamb. The reason why Christians are law based is not that they want certainty of precise rules of what is right and wrong, but there is a fear that they may disobey God. This fear ironically leads to more sin, just as the Jews even though so law abiding ended up in worshiping idols, for they feared the other gods as well. The bible warns us that the Law leads to wrath from God because we will be judged by God, and this is the judgment we fear. If we live under grace, we cannot be faulted for breaking the law, because the payment for sins have been paid when we have faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is no fear in Christ, but the assurance of Salvation.

We are reminded that the famous British Monarch King Henry the Eight (and the protector of Anglican Faith) first established the death penalty against gays after his many affairs of adultery and killing his wives. Likewise, the African Christians are so legalistic and outwardly religious because the grave sins they carry. The more skeletons they have, the grander white wash tombs they build to hide it. There is so much darkness in Africa. Southern Africa has a significant majority being Christians yet no peace, but only pain and suffering. Their persecution and blame against gays is not addressing the real issue of their own iniquities and the dire need for God’s grace and mercy, but will bring them to a point of no return.

Singaporean Christians are no different than African Christians fearing that events like Pink Dot would bring Singapore to cross the line ordained by God as if people celebrating at the park their love for each other and unity as a family would bring wrath. They somehow walk past the prostitute dens at Geylang and Chinatown, the big hospitals performing thousands of abortions each year, the Christian Catholic Church with their idol worship, walking towards Hong Lim Park and then point the finger of condemnation that all this must be the fault of gays because they were the greatest of “sinners”.

The Pink Dot starting at the heart of Singapore, will grow as each one of us becomes a pink dot ourselves as we wear pink to proclaim that we are proud and out no longer contented to be in the closets nor lived under the condemnation of the religious fundamentalists. We are waiting for the day when Christian Right retreat to their Cathedral fortress surrounding by a sea of pink, a sea of love for one another that is above all else. One Pink Dot would not make much of a difference, but thousands will. Perhaps, Gays are God’s grace to the nations.