Christians Against AWARE Takeover

Christians who are against the AWARE takeover have formed a Facebook group called Concerned Christians Against Fundamentalism. There are many non-Christian members in the group who have joined to show support and offer words of encouragement. Also in Facebook, one member, Gwee Li Siu, wrote a note about the saga on 20 April 2009:

CHRISTIANS AGAINST AWARE TAKEOVER!

Christians in Singapore, listen! You should not be this conflicted
about the AWARE debacle. It appears that a few churches have already
taken the opportunity to preach on the issue of homosexuality from the
pulpit. Some Christians have also been rattling on about it being time
to make a stand and be counted for what one truly believes.

So this is me making a stand right here. I have been a Bible-believing
Christian for 25 years now. I want first to acknowledge fellow
believers who, like me, are shocked, angered, and saddened by the
takeover and feel that their faith has been hijacked and their views
ignored. I know that a lot of such affected Christians are out there.
There is also another group which may not agree with the new team's
tactics but admires its fervour or sympathises with it for the heat it
has been getting.

But, most of all, I want to address a crucial third party: Christian
women who have been encouraged to stand up and be counted for their
beliefs. I wish to appeal to their good sense in these last hours. You
may be one of these and have even joined, or are planning to join,
AWARE to help swing the votes in favour of the new ex-co on Saturday.
Especially if I am describing you, please read on!

Yes, there are times when a Christian needs to make a courageous stand
– but, in every event, always ask yourself: For what cause is this?
What context does it serve? The current scenario is not one where we
are being asked what our beliefs on certain issues are or whether
Christianity and homosexuality are compatible or we are being mocked
or discriminated against. It is a simple context where a group of
well-meaning Christians infiltrated a secular organisation in order to
be in a position to dictate their own values in its daily running. In
this light, what a Christian may feel about issues like homosexuality
is besides the point!

As a secular body, AWARE rightly cannot have a vision that treats
women from different backgrounds through the outlook of just one
religious system. Indeed, I dare say that an appropriate Christian
response is to resist the actions of these Christians. Just as God
gave every person free choice and the opportunity to believe, we ought
to support the sanctity of this right for others to make up their own
minds and live their own lives. Just as we do not force the Christian
faith down someone's throat against his or her will, we should not
take over a non-religious organisation for the single purpose of
making others unlike us behave as we believe. To do this would be a
gross misapplication of the message of Jesus.

If you support the new ex-co's actions, be aware that you are sending
a string of possibly irreversible wrong signals to every Singaporean.
Consider carefully whether you are willing to shoulder the
responsibility of damages that would affect the longstanding good work
of Christians in Singapore. Since the government has chosen not to be
involved in the matter so far, whatever happens will be seen clearly
by all as the response of particular sectors of society.

Here is my short list of obvious implications:

[1] Support the new ex-co, and you are effectively saying that you
condone its quasi-corporate act of infiltration, with related
strategies of secrecy, disinformation, moral coercion, and
fear-mongering. You are saying that you support its
less-than-Christian covert moves more than traditionally Christian
ones like dialogue, open engagement, honesty, and clarity.

[2] Support the new ex-co, and we will go down a slippery road with
wide-ranging repercussions for all. Don’t believe for a moment that
the manoeuvring will stop here. What this invites others to see is
that infiltration is the most effective way for small groups of
like-minded individuals to seize power quickly -- and where will this
end? What is to stop any religious or ideological group from doing the
same to any social institution at every level? In the long run, who do
you think loses?

[3] Support the new ex-co, and you potentially make light of the
freedom that is God’s gift to every human being. Against your best
intentions, you may send out instead the message that we Christians
think that we know better than everyone else and that we are willing
to outflank, overpower, and overwhelm if we do not get our way.

[4] Support the new ex-co, and, if they stay and behave as predicted,
you will be directly responsible for undoing the trust that many
Christians have taken years to build with their non-Christian friends.
This is a trust built on mutual respect. You will have made the Gospel
of Christ more difficult to hear for years to come because people will
think that they know what it is about. You will have created a new
generation of Christ-haters.

This matter, in short, is not to be treated lightly. Jesus tells us
all to be "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves". There are times
to be passionate and helpful in a gungho way, but this is not the
time. Christians can be wrong about many things too. So please, by all
means, pray for the AWARE debacle to be resolved amicably and for
Christians in AWARE, but do not, in the name of our common faith, go
in blind support of other Christians because you are Christian!

Yours Truly,

Gwee Li Sui