Test 2

Please select your preferred language.

請選擇你慣用的語言。

请选择你惯用的语言。

English
中文简体
台灣繁體
香港繁體

登入

记住我

初到 Fridae?

Fridae Mobile

Advertisement
Highlights

More About Us

新闻&特写

« 较新的 | 较旧的 »
26 Apr 2010

Singapore homophobia takes world stage

The Anglican Global South, which John Chew, head of the Anglican Church in Singapore, now also leads has basically just one raison d'etre: to stoke the fire of intolerance against gay people. And why is the Singapore Anglican Church even in the Global South network?

The Straits Times story made it sound like another feather in Singapore's cap, with the headline reading "S'pore archbishop elected to lead global church body". 

We should be utterly embarrassed, as we would be if a Singaporean rose to lead a multinational league whose aim was to persecute minorities. 

The Anglican Global South, which John Chew, head of the Anglican Church in Singapore, now also leads has basically just one raison d'etre: to stoke the fire of intolerance against gay people. 


Left: Gene Robinson (left) was the first openly gay man
to be consecrated as a bishop in 2003;
Right: Mary Glasspool has been elected Bishop of Los Angeles

It sprang to life around 2002 when The Episcopal Church in the United States which is the American branch of the Anglican Church, ordained Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire. Several members of the Anglican Communion were aghast that Robinson, an openly gay man, was not discriminated against and barred from a church position. Most of these angry churches were from non-white countries and they banded together to form the Anglican Global South to press for the disciplining or ejection of The Episcopal Church. 

This was resisted by other members of the Anglican Communion including the Anglican Church in Canada and large sections of the Church of England, branches that saw the communion as a broad tent that could embrace different interpretations of Anglicanism. 

More recently, The Episcopal Church, which last year formalised its policy that ordination should be open to gay persons in committed same-sex relationships the same way that it is open to heterosexual persons in committed relationships, elected Mary Glasspool as Bishop of Los Angeles. Glasspool is a partnered lesbian. Naturally, this move has incensed the dinosaurs in the Anglican Global South even more. 

While, technically, the issues motivating the Anglican Global South relate to who is qualified to take church positions, it is undergirded by their doctrinal belief that homosexuality is a terrible abomination. It shows in the way member churches rave and rant about homosexuality generally, and push for the criminalisation of gay people at every opportunity. It is nothing short of a campaign to persecute people different from themselves. That is why we should be ashamed that a Singaporean now leads such a global league.



Archbishop John Chew (left) succeeds Peter Akinola 
of Nigeria
 as head of the Anglican Global South. 

It is all the more reprehensible that John Chew succeeds Peter Akinola, the Archbishop of Nigeria as head of the Anglican Global South. Akinola's bigotry is second to none. For example, as reported in Andrew Brown's Blog, the Nigerian Church under Akinola has been pressing for more laws against gay people even though the equivalent of our Section 377A (Singapore's anti-gay law) is already on the country's books, and used. Brown highlighted how the Nigerian Church wants the government to punish anyone involved in a same-sex marriage with three years in jail for the participants and five years in jail for witnesses.

In fire-and-brimstone language, the position paper issued by Akinola and his church opened with these words:

Same sex marriage, apart from being ungodly, is unscriptural, unnatural, unprofitable, unhealthy, un-cultural, un-African and un-Nigerian. It is a perversion, a deviation and an aberration that is capable of engendering moral and social holocaust in this country.

You would have noticed the blame being cast on gay people for creating a new "holocaust". 

What is even more chilling is the possibility that Akinola's position is not just the result of his own irrational homophobia, murderous though that can potentially be. It is also the result of a very canny political calculation in the interest of worldly gains, as argued in the PJA Blog

The gist is this: Nigeria is a country that has slightly more Muslims than Christians. Adherents of these two religions have often engaged in butchery against each other, as frequent stories of religious riots testify. Akinola is battling to maintain or grow the Christian share of power in the country. He cannot afford to lose adherents -- it's a numbers game. Since homophobia is widespread among Nigerians, and especially since Islam too preaches homophobia, Akinola and his church have to play the "holier-than-thou" card, pandering to the basest instincts of the masses, to avoid losing out to Islam.

In other words, he is more than happy to lead the persecution of gay people in his quest for worldly power. But aren't religious leaders supposed to be focussed on matters of conscience, compassion and enlightenment instead of politics and the spoils of power? 

One might argue that just because John Chew succeeds Akinola, it doesn't mean that he and other leaders of the Anglican Church in Singapore share the Nigerian's views. But why is the Singapore Anglican Church even in the Global South network? As the Straits Times story noted, only about half the Anglican churches worldwide have chosen to be involved, where involvement means signing up to an anti-gay platform.

In any case, the reactionary nature of the Singapore Church has been well known for years.

For example, you could refer to an article right here in Yawning Bread (Insurrection in St Andrew's Cathedral) from ten years ago that described how St Andrew's Cathedral itself was the place where, defying Anglican traditions, the then-Archbishop of Singapore attempted to consecrate ultra-conservative bishops to serve in America as part of an attempt to displace The Episcopal Church. This combative move was carried out in association with a number of antediluvian African bishops, earning the whole lot a reprimand from the Archbishop of Canterbury. 

Uganda

Last year, Christian leaders in Uganda campaigned loudly for a new law that would make homosexual sex punishable by death. It would also impose an obligation on everybody to report others whom they suspect of being homosexual, on pain of imprisonment. It would have meant that neighbours would have to spy on each other, and teachers would have to send their pupils to the police. Fortunately, after intense pressure form Western governments and Western churches, the proposal was put on ice.

The Anglican Church in Uganda is also prominent in the activities of the Anglican Global South. It is shameful that the Singapore church chooses such allies.

You might also refer to the call by the National Council of Churches (NCCS), during the 2007 debate on Section 377A, for the law to be expanded to criminalise lesbians as well. The reason offered was that lesbian sex was as "sinful, abhorrent and deviant" as gay male sex. It is shocking that they expected a secular state to pay to heed to what are really scriptural or subjective judgements. (Actually, whether it is even scriptural is subject to debate.) The Anglican Church is a member of the NCCS. 

Apparently, this church's understanding of equality is that if gay males are criminalised, so should gay females. Not once does it seem to occur to them that equality should mean this: If heterosex is legal, so should homosex. 

And not least, readers will recall what Singaporeans refer to as the "AWARE saga", when a group of women associated with an Anglican parish church, urged on by their pastor Derek Hong, surreptitiously seized control of a women's rights non-governmental organisation (NGO) in 2009, all the while denying that their religious beliefs had anything to do with it. It was finally revealed that their chief motive for doing so was their homophobia, wanting to purge the NGO of its progressive attitude to sexual equality.

It is tempting to think that that was a move by a bunch of crazy cowboys and cowgirls shooting from the hip, but it is probably wrong. The move was no isolated one. It sprang from a culture of militant homophobia spawned and cultivated by the very top leadership of the Anglican Church in Singapore. There is no better evidence for that than this church's participation in the Anglican Global South conference and the fact that John Chew now leads it.

Alex Au has been a gay activist and social commentator for over 10 years and is the co-founder of People Like Us, Singapore. Alex is the author of the well-known Yawning Bread web site.

读者回应

1. 2010-04-26 19:39  
Again, another coup d'éclat of the churches. Will it ever stop?
2. 2010-04-26 20:24  
Disinto@1: Was the anti-gay sentiment a seemingly spontaneous development or was it always "in plain sight"? How did this "coup d'éclat of the churches" begin so one can have better insights as to when it might stop? What was the first "coup d'éclat" of the churches"?
修改於2010-04-26 20:31:09
3. 2010-04-26 22:06  
As a Mainland Chinese gay graduate of a university in Singapore, I don't think Christians are holding the gay community back. I am sorry to say this and upset some people there, but Alex Au gets no respect and his voice is not that of most gay people. He often writes articles on changing the age of consent to 15 for sex for gay boys. He likes to write about sex tours in Thailand. He likes to defend gay sauna owners. He is sleazy and keeps gay men from achieve success. He always likes to fight with Christians and other religious figures. He is polarizing and would rather score cheap political points than help gay men. I think he is just an embarassment for Singapore as much as Mr. Chew. No wonder everything is still the same every year I go back. Time for new leaders. When did being gay become so political? I think he has as much respect as Michael Jackson's doctor. We need gay leaders who can show tolerance and get along with religious people, even though we don't agree. This is just my opinion from my heart. Chew and Alex deserve each other.
4. 2010-04-26 23:02  
Did you ever notice, that it's ALWAYS these "famous-church-wannabe-but-can-never-be" that seeks attention from the public through their "anti-LGBT campaigns"?
Christianity is supposed to be a faith of love, forgiving and benevolence, not persecution, oppression, and intolerance.

I PITY these people who goes around telling others that they're "God's messengers, and are only carrying out God's will and missions."

To me, it'll be a total insult to all the vulgarities and animals if we were to use the vulgarities and animals to scold these low-class attention seekers.

I mis-quote from an anonymous psychology professor who's a devoted Catholic herself:

"We should PITY these attention seekers. It's mainly because something went wrong with their upbringing, especially due to lack of parental love, care & discipline, that's why these grown-up kids have to seek attention through such disgraceful methods."
5. 2010-04-26 23:08  
I love this: "Same sex marriage, apart from being ungodly, is ... unprofitable"

Clearly I have been missing something all these years ........
6. 2010-04-26 23:25  
@2 - Not sure what you're implying here. Churches are well known to be hostile to gay communities, and they never fail to demonstrate how fierce they can be in fighting LGBTs. Of course I generalize a tad, but the big picture is here.
7. 2010-04-26 23:32  
who gives a flying fuck?!!
8. 2010-04-26 23:45  
@victorwang88 - as a mainland chinese who is studying whichever university in spore. u may like to understand our longstanding oppression by the infamous mainstream religious group before broadcasting your one-sided views. begging ur pardon, but i find ur strongly word comments contradicting and disrespectful to Alex Au. it is easy to sit down and criticize. if u have no other contributions to the struggles of PLUs who are passed over in job promotions or simply discriminated just walking along the streets everyday for being themselves. I will value ur silence because it may be more constructive that way. Cheers to peace and harmony! keep writing, Alex!
9. 2010-04-27 00:10  
well lets face it they got nothing else going for them they are all very unattractive men, no self respecting homosexual would look at the once let alone twice, may be thats why they are so bitter, Gay men are notorious for only paying attention to the handsome ones there aren't very many cute sexy christians in that little denomination, they give them selves alsorts of self instated titles to puff up their self importance and to seem like they are relevant on the world stage, but really they just represent a break away faction of an illegitimate religion which is a spent force any way, as the new energetic Pagan renaissance further takes hold they will be swept away to the dust bin of his/hertory to which they belong we will reclaim our former lands and push them into the sea, by by dead beat christians (;-))
10. 2010-04-27 00:19  
OH yes I agree with.. victorwang..I go further to say most of the present homosexual global leadership are in terminal philosophical decay and need replacing they are largely unrepresentative swill who merely have appointed them selves as our spokes people by stealth, their 'skanky queering agenda' is a total failure and plays into the hands of right wing religious extremists, they do us as much favour for us as the religious fundies do, one dimensional professional queers are just total losers and drag the rest of us down with them.
11. 2010-04-27 00:46  
faith, religion of any kind or churches have nothing to do with sexual orientation, messages they spread should be ignored especially when the message is wrong and contains negative content.

the fact that religion tried to tell us how we should live our lifes is back to the medieval ages, its history and thus belongs in history books.
12. 2010-04-27 00:47  
Oh well just another religion marketing strategy, more free publicity more profit. One thing curious me, I wonder other straight publications care abt this sort of news?

I wish someone can write some great/inspired gay people, like scientist, artist, blah blah who contributed not just for the gay community but as "people for people" documentary type
修改於2010-04-27 00:53:57
13. 2010-04-27 06:44  
Who are these people to judge others? Why don't they judge and condemn the Pedophilia priest of the Catholic church? Why are these so called "holy" people encouraging hatred?
14. 2010-04-27 07:08  
Like I said months ago, banning religions would be a great start!
15. 2010-04-27 09:30  
This preference for the third world version of Anglicanism shows once again that Singapore is not ready for the first world status it aspires to. But it is kind of ridiculous to see this Chew guy searching for some sort of validation by hanging around with a bunch of nutso African bishops. Maybe next we can expect to see him offering honorary sainthood to Robert Mugabe. Sure, sure... "Saint" Mugabe was once named the world's worst dictator but, damn, he hates fags. And for the Chews of this world, that's enough to get you into heaven! Bloody idiot!
16. 2010-04-27 10:18  
Basically there are two reasons for homophobia: the first is an abysmal level of ignorance and an inability to learn, the second is that of gay men with a level of self hatred that it has become pathological

Take your pick John Chew
17. 2010-04-27 10:56  
These people don't really care about that the issues are ... they are just on a power trip. If the world were against heterosexuals, they'd be on the other side pointing fingers at them.
18. 2010-04-27 13:00  
The church and its theology is not anti-gay, it is anti-sin. The church condemns all types of sin because it believes this is what keeps people from God. If you want to argue with Christians about gay issues you have to argue about what sin is and why a monogamous homosexual relationship is or is not sin.
19. 2010-04-27 14:52  
it is so ironic that we all know from European history many popes were gay or bi...

how can people be like this in the 21st century? talk about tolerance, understanding & acceptance...
20. 2010-04-27 15:10  
gwm26@18: I don't know about other Christian faiths, but according to Catholic teachings, homosexuality is not in and of itself a sin; however, non-procreative sex is, and that includes homosexual sex and contraception. So theoretically a monogamous homosexual relationship even inside a monastery is not a sin so long as no sex is involved.

Yes, Catholicism is not anti-gay, just anti-gay sex.

So if you are a horny Catholic and like gay sex, there is always Purgatory if Hell is not where you care to end up :)
修改於2010-04-27 16:07:11
21. 2010-04-27 18:34  
What do you expect out of a Church borne out of Henry VIII's tyrannical & megalomaniacal desires to spawn a male heir - at all costs? It cost 2 wives out of his 6(?) wives to lose their heads, Thomas More, and thousands of others who refused to acknowledge his supreme role as head of the Church of England, to lose their lives as well. At least the progressives within the Anglican communion are making efforts to redeem their sordid past by being inclusive.

As for VICTORWANG88's comment: "We need gay leaders who can show tolerance and get along with religious people, even though we don't agree."

I see shudderingly similar parallels in that remark, to Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of the Nazi's which contributed to the Nazi aggression during WW2. 6 million Jews died in the gas chambers during that era.. And sadly, so did homosexuals labelled with the ignominy of the Pink Triangle, as well.
22. 2010-04-27 22:26  
@18; I know what you mean, but GAFCON are very much anti-gay, not simply anti "sin". Before all the hoo ha about Gene Robinson, there was a bishop appointed in the UK who happened to be gay, was in a civil partnership, but was celibate, and willing to vow to continue be celibate. This was not enough for the GAFCON people who made threats, and the poor guy withdrew rather than cause a schism. Not long after that, Gene Robinson was elected in America anyway, so the guy may as well have kept his job.
23. 2010-04-28 05:55  
It's disgusting. WHEN will religions and churches LEARN to STOP pointing fingers at other groups! Oh yes, we all know their response, "God loves ALL His children...we just want to lead you onto the true path of GOD."

Let me tell you something. My name is Bob Ketler and my grandfather wrote a book in 1902 entitled, "The Tragedy of Paotingfu." It was the story of a group of missionaries, my grandmother's cousins among them, who went to China to "spread the gospel." (Better they should have been spreading sperm instead!) They were massacred in the Boxer Rebellion. While I'm sorry ANYONE died....they had NO business....NONE....spreading anything in China. I have NEVER felt one ounce of pity for them because they were MEDDLING where they should not have gone.

When will religious freaks learn that whatever THEY wish to believe WITHIN themselves is fine....but NOT to spread hate (and THAT, folks is EXACTLY what religion does) from one group to another. Osama Bin-laden and his GANG of Religioso freaks are no different from John Chew or the Nazi POPE we now have. It's all an evil, rotten pony and dog show that squeezes money out of poor people, inflames and plays to their prejudices and condemns honest hardworking people who just want to be allowed to love. HOW IRONIC!!!

I happen to personally believe in God....but I don't have a CLUE as to WHAT he is (Maybe a far venturing astronaut from another star system long ago) or WHO he is or WHERE he is. I LIKE believing in the traditional idea of God (in many religions) but it may, in fact, all be just a fantasy. I also think it is just as likely that there were or ARE MANY gods. Maybe the ancient societies who, it turns out, were pretty smart and right about a lot of things, had it right in the first place. Hail Jupiter!

However...for ANY religion to condemn ANOTHER religion or those believers OR the sex or sexual orientation of those believers...is hypocrisy of the highest order. How does John Chew defend the bible condemning women who wear red? How does he defend the commandment to kill your neighbor's son if he offends you and all the rest of those kinds of diatribes locked in a book that men wrote.

Half of the wars of the world would NEVER have occurred (and thus BILLIONS of people would have lived out their lives) were it not for religion....from ancient times of battling gods of different cultures....to the crusades.....to the very present, religion has marched a bloody, rotten road and left the corpses of innocent people in its wake.

I am SICK to death of priests who decry homosexuality and then when murders of young gays take place, perpetrated by the hatred-infused scum who listen to the priests, they absolve themselves of ALL responsibility by saying, "I didn't mean they should KILL them....only SAVE them. It is WRONG to kill." Such hypocritical denial of responsibility makes me sick to my soul.

In the brilliant play and movie, BECKET, Henry wails at one point, "Will no one rid me of this priest?" Maybe ALL societies need to rid themselves of ALL priests and let people find GOD in nature and within themselves.

Too many gays have died at the hands of men like John Chew.

And for those who think I am atheist......think again. I'm NOT! But if I were God and 2012 was fixed in the minds of many people as the end of the Mayan calendar, I might take this opportunity to announce in the skies above ALL lands, in ALL languages at the same moment....that ALL the priests who have preached this kind of smuttish hate....were forever barred from my kingdom.

Thus may speaketh the Lord, if we are lucky!
24. 2010-04-28 09:23  
The established church squeaks. Why take any notice? They are a declining force. The right wing evangelicals are in the ascendency and they are the ones who have the hearts and minds of the non thinkers who flock to them for certainty and guidance as to how to think and what to do. We can bleat all we like about rights and understanding. Sadly, we will be doing that for as long as we live.
25. 2010-04-28 10:32  
#3 Clearly your poison spiel is more personal against Alex than anything. Please refrain from sounding like an old bitter armchair troll, regardless of how you desperately try to distract a lack of credibility by claiming your residence in some dubious country or university. Zzz.

I may not know Alex personally but as an gay activist, political or not, he has more contributions & balls than the number of "made in china" fish balls you have for a brain, or lack thereof.

How can anyone with the smallest instant noodle for a brain advocate getting along with a group of supposed men of god, that is behind the support for "Kill the Gays and their friends" in Uganda??? It defies every logic and basic survival instincts. It's akin to preaching- " C'mon now boys and girls, Smile with Love and Understanding!", when Hitler is about to gas your Jewish gay ass in chambers. Therefore You & Akinola are a match made in deluded heaven.
修改於2010-04-28 13:05:03
26. 2010-04-28 13:02  
One just does NOT exercise tolerance with extreme religious fundies aimed at exterminating LGBT and everything positive about living one's own lives without fear nor persecution. So much good of the usual cowardly tolerance it did the gay population when the Singapore government blatantly LEGALISED oral/anal sex for STRAIGHT people but kept it still ILLEGAL for LGBT. That's oppression! That's discrimination! That's persecution!

These power hungry churches are only in it for power and control. In Singapore, from all the past recent debacles, from S377a, AWARE saga to the Ronny Tan incident, it speaks volume of how these wolves intend to take over secular governments and administrations to rule and then take over the world. It's always about conquest.

Just like now, City Harvest mega church now owns a part of Suntec. Well done. One small step for X-tians, 3 giant steps backward for humanity.
27. 2010-04-29 12:55  
gmw 26, post 18

The bottom line is that religions are about control... wrapped up in the cotton wool of salvation for the insecure. Their followers, having first been rendered insecure by the power mongers of religion itself

The sins of religion (esp Islam) are the fabrications of men designed to strike fear and submission in their followers. There is nothing inherently wrong with any of the sins that do not relate to the violation of the person or his/her property. Yet, many religions will turn a blind eye to the 'real' sins while fanatically pursuing their own agenda of made-up sins... homosexuality, sex outside of marriage, pigs, dogs, ratio and tv. And so the list goes on
28. 2010-04-29 13:50  
People should be free to believe in anything they want - as long they don't hurt other people. These power hungry xtians have made it their mission to demonise and criminalise a minority. They decide their was is the only way and seek to impose it on everyone else. Is it any surprise people hate them in return? If they seek to condemn us, we shall condemn them in return. If they can dish it out, they can very well take it in turn.

It is very tempting and easy to say "so what?" And "who cares". It's a form of denial. Remember this: when they come for you, who will save you if not other people like you?

@#3 - you are merely exhibiting another form of intolerance. Why can't some people choose to enjoy sleaze, or multiple partners, or operate saunas? As long as no one gets hurt, we should be free to be who we are and do what we want. Surely that is the essence of human rights and freedom? The very same things we all want. The things that people like Alex is writing about and giving an indispensable voice to.

Maybe it isn't naatural to you to speak up against injustices and discrimination. I for one am glas Alex is on the job.
29. 2010-04-30 00:21  
30. 2010-04-30 00:28  
Seems that the Anglican Church in Singapore is even more reactionary than the Roman Catholic Church. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the Anglican "Church" is not a unified body. Hence, it has no unified doctrine of belief or practice. In any event, it is clear to me that Singapore in general --- and its Anglican Church in particular --- are at least 50 years behind the times. Here in New York: all the major politicians march in the annual Gay Pride Parade. I don't think you even have a Gay Pride Parade in Singapore --- let alone any politicians marching in it! I suggest that the Singapore gay community organize a protest outside St. Andrew's Cathedral on a Sunday morning. You can't disrupt the service inside, but you surely can makes plenty of noise outside! By the way: I noticed (May 2007) that many of the altar boys at the R.C. Cathedral of the Good Shepherd are gay!
31. 2010-04-30 10:24  
@7 Ditto !!!
32. 2010-05-02 11:57  
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN HAVEING A GOOD TIME, DO CONTACT ME, MY SERVICE ARE THE BEST
33. 2010-05-03 19:36  
Euan,

Points WELL taken.
Thank you.

JPS

34. 2010-05-03 21:48  
John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world, that WHOSOEVER believes in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life". Did I misunderstand it or is there a clause in this verse that says "Whosoever except homosexuals"?

And is there a measurement for sin? So if a man fools around with other women, does it make him less of a sinner than a man who sleeps with another man? A murderer is less a sinner than a gay man?

If the church continues this way, it will just ostracize more gay people when Christianity is a religion of love. Jesus' first command is to "Love one another". Aren't these straight priests just following their own agenda?

The famous Billy Graham, when asked what happens if he has a gay son replied that he will love him even more for God says to love the marginalized. That is what I call "True Christianity".
35. 2010-05-04 13:50  
I for one am heartily tired of hearing Christianity and anti gay stance. *YAWNS*

Yes you hate us we know. Can you hate something else new for a change?

36. 2010-05-05 20:20  
In a world where ALL major problems are caused by over population by human beings it is such a nonsense that the very people who do not breed are hated so much. All religions are just one step up from voodoo and their leaders wallow in self importance. Religions are only designed to control people and make money. I wonder what Jesus would actually think of these so called "followers"

请先登入再使用此功能。

Social


请选择新闻及专栏版本

精选个人档案

Now ALL members can view unlimited profiles!

Languages

View this page in a different language:

赞好

合作伙伴

 ILGA Asia - Fridae partner for LGBT rights in Asia IGLHRC - Fridae Partner for LGBT rights in Asia

Advertisement