Source:
http://leonalo.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/i-condemn-the-anglican-archbishops-inflammatory-remarks/In today’s Straits Times, Archbishop John Chew, Head of the Anglican Church in Singapore and President of the National Council of Churches of Singapore was reported as saying that mainstream culture is being undermined by “alternative”, “fringe” and “fundamentalistic” values, namely, homosexuality, rampant materialism and religious extremism. The Straits Times then quotes him as saying that “the West has had to face the consequences of the rise of non-traditional family structures and ‘alternative’ cultures.” These “alternative” cultures are allegedly responsible for Singapore’s “low fertility rate”, and “the danger is that the mainstream population, its socio-cultural norms and ethos, will dwindle and diminish down the generations.”
He added: ‘The breaking down of families, and the changing of classical family norms, makes all this more aggravated.’
The Straits Times says Dr Chew’s address to his flock comes at a time when Christians at home and abroad, facing rising divorce figures, increasingly outspoken gays and pervasive pop culture influences, are turning to the church for guidance.
I condemn Archbishop Chew’s inflammatory remarks. They give the erroneous impression that homosexuals have a mysterious set of “alternative” values that are intrinsically “wrong” and that are responsible for the breakdown of the “traditional” family structure. Here’s why Archbishop Chew’s remarks threaten the moral fibre of our society:
- He adopts the populist stance of demonising homosexuals and blaming them for the evils of our society, without actually defining what the so-called “alternative” values are. Do homosexuals commit more adultery than the average “traditional” Chinese man with a mainland Chinese mistress? Do homosexuals abuse their domestic helps with irons? Do homosexuals refuse to give up their seats to pregnant women on MRT trains? It appears to me that the Anglican church is trying to make homosexuals the scapegoats for the “mainstream” empire. Please check your facts before ascribing blame
- What’s more preposterous and non-scientific is the suggestion that Singapore’s low birth rate is partly the result of the homosexual-driven “alternative” agenda. What??? Under Khmer Rouge rule in Cambodia, homosexuals and transsexuals (M to F) were forced to have sex with women to prove their sexual orientation. They were also the first to be persecuted by the Nazis. It should be considered a crime against humanity to link homosexuality to Singapore’s low birth rate. Such simplistic assumptions merely serve to stir mass hysteria, which, if Singapore were a theocracy like Iran, would probably lead to genocide
- “Religious fundamentalism” is cited as another factor undermining mainstream culture. Again, there is no attempt to define “mainstream”. A lot of my homosexual friends are mainstream. The ones who are not have been deployed by our government to orchestrate elaborate productions for visiting APEC ministers. May I suggest that the pot is calling the kettle black? Making inflammatory remarks about homosexuals is also a form of religious fundamentalism – in fact, I would argue that it is the fuel and life source of religious fundamentalism in Singapore.
I have written before that religious authority does not equate with moral authority. I shudder to think that many in Singapore still think it does.