Fallen Angels mistaken as gays

Jude 1:6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;

Jude 1:7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Gen 6:2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.

Gen 6:4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

It is astounding that Christians fear that gays will bring judgement and condemnation upon the nation hence deserving to be put to jail or even killed as in Uganda.

There must be a basis, a half-truths for this fear, not that gays are any more immoral than straight people, or that homosexual sex was a sin so great to warrant special judgement.

If homosexuality was such a great sin, it would surely be mentioned in the Ten Commandments, but it wasn’t. When apparently referred to as abomination in Leviticus, it was related to pagan idol worship where the temple priests has anal sex with men as part of their faith worship.

There seem to be a great fear of what the sex meant! Perhaps, when the men had sex with the priests, the demonic spirit possesses the men. Hence, they became one spirit with the fallen angels which were the demons.

The Ten Commandments were prefixed by loving God, not worshiping other Gods apart from the God of Israel including pagan gods and created beings. Surely Christians don’t go out of their way in the streets to condemn other faiths and insist on long jail terms! Hence, why do we insist on 2 year jail terms for gays in Singapore?

Looking within history from Genesis, it appears than sex did result in a grave sin, not homosexual sex, not even consensual sex not by gays but based on faith practices, but it was sex between women and demons or the fallen angels.

In Gen 6:2 and Gen 6:4, the seed of man was corrupted by the demonic angels who intermarried with the women hence producing supernatural beings and beasts. That meant that the angels took the appearance of men. Hence, there was great evil that was innate because of these half breeds resulting in the flood. How could Christians be confused between angels having sex with women and gay sex? Except for a satanic inspired deception.

As a result, in Jude 1:6, these angels who had sex with women, was put into judgement, in everlasting chains even before end of times.

In Jude 1:7, the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah becomes very clear that warranted their destruction. Their woman too had sex with the demonic angels hence producing strange flesh.

Therefore, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah not because of homosexuality, but because of inherent evil of powerful strange beings with supernatural powers created by the unholy union between demons and women.

Why are Christians confused? because the stigma and sin is so grave that they would paste it on the heads of gay gentle lambs! when it was after all straight marriage with the demonic fallen angels and women that caused the great flood. 

When God is rejected and evil exalted in Movie Noah

Gen 6:13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.

Gen 7:16 The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.

The greatest deception are often in the midst of truth and light, and it is subtle. For example, we talk about God as the higher power, the divine, all true, but missed out God as Saviour full of Grace, mercy, and love personified in Jesus Christ. In the movie Noah, God is mocked.

The occult Gnostic is ingenuously weaved into the narrative of the movie Noah, to subtly bring down God, and exalt mankind and their special gnostic seed of knowledge and power as their own saviour.

The movie Noah is a Gnostic faith which replaces God with “Creator”, and makes the demons look like angels of Light, and humans divine with special powers/knowledge of Eden in the Gnostic faith tradition under the guise of Christianity. It contradicts the saving grace and power of Jesus Christ represented by the Ark.

• a)      Noah never mentioned God because the underlying gnostic faith separates between a higher unknowable God versus a creator of material or earth called the Demiurgic. Similarly, some Christians call God a mystery, creating distance when God is about friendship and relationship in the biblical Noah.
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• b)      God is portrayed as the “Creator” who was selfish and blood thirsty, first for kicking mankind out of the garden, denying the access to the tree of knowledge, and then wanting the destruction of the grandchildren of Noah. This is consistent with the Gnostic occult faith. Hence, wrapped around Noah’s hand is the skin of the snake, signifying special knowledge or powers which is actually a demonic manifestation of Satan residing with mankind. After, the fall, mankind is owned by the snake. In the bible, God is merciful even giving up His Son.
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• c)       In the Bible, the entire planet was filled with trees, and fruits, but in the movie, outside the Garden of Eden was totally barren. The seed from the Garden given to Noah was thus the Gnostic special knowledge and powers of creation giving rise to the vast forests and springs of water of life helping in the construction of the Ark. Hence, it was Gnostic special knowledge/power by the Creator that created the Earth, and not God. Biblically, God is all powerful and mighty, and created the entire earth full of abundance, trees and fruits.
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• d)      In the bible, it was the fallen angels that had deceived mankind and became the serpent of old. But now in the Gnostic occult faith, evil becomes good. In the movie Noah, the dark angels became angels of light giving special knowledge to mankind for them to survive on barren earth, and then helped Noah to build the Ark.
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• e)      In the movie Noah, the dark angels were punished by the creator and became giants, whilst in the bible, the giants came into existence because the angel of darkness had sex with the daughters of mankind producing angels thus corrupting the seed of mankind. Hence, evil becomes good.

The scene of Methuselah searching for the berry (the “seed of knowledge”) whilst the storm came killing him portrayed God as selfish in destroying mankind just because he sought after the fruit of knowledge. Biblically, only after Methuselah died, then came the flood and not before, for his name was a warning to the rest for it meant "his death shall bring judgment". He was the oldest living man at 969 years old symbolizing God’s enduring grace.

At the end, there was one door in the Ark, and it was God who shut them in, closing the door. It was God who protected Noah, and the Ark represented Jesus Christ. Despite the violent storms outside, inside the Ark, there is rest and safety. In the movie, even the Ark was corrupted with a stowaway, representing sin. In the bible, Jesus was sinless, and there was no hole in the Ark.

The occult underpinning of religious faith is so disingenuous that even thinking people of faith might been inadvertently practising the occult. The angel of darkness is often disguised as light and good just as in the movie Noah. The term “people of faith” are often used even for Christians taking away the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the way and the truth to God, rather than just another faith.

The main purpose of the occult is to distort the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the message of salvation through the Good News. This deception is so deep that Christians put their attention on gays as the greatest threat, when the war is actually for lost souls.

Therefore, in all things we do, let Jesus Christ have the pre-eminence, glory and honour, the true Ark of our Salvation.

Catholic Liberation theology and the charismatic evangelicals

I was eating at the Food court at Funan IT Centre in Singapore. The person serving the food from China was so adamant to give me more rice and vegetables as I repeated "Enough Lah...". There must be many hungry ghosts in China.

With a large bowl of rice and three large servings of vegetables, I lamented for I have plentiful as a blessing from God even though I kept asking for less, whilst those who have none were suffering. How do we do Christian theology in a midst of a suffering and hurting world.

Growing up in the 80s, Christianity seemed so liberal then but not liberal enough to relate and accept some people in the authentic manner who were gays. The 90s, and 00s have seen a strong shift towards the evangelicals. The freedom of the Holy Spirit in the Charismatic movement should have made us different from the evangelicals giving us more freedom to move where God leads us rather than bounded by many non essential Orthodoxy and traditions.

Many talked about how the few Social Justice workers in 1987 who were put in jail for a few years had suffered, but the GLBT community also suffered in their many thousands and in those days, decades in the closet and not just a few years in jail. Many took their lives and suffered alone with their relationships and love denied. No one remembers them and they are still sinners in the eyes of the church and with no letters of support from the Archbishop.

I often imagine that with Catholic Jesuit Liberation theology we would end up having Jesus becoming Rambo liberating the poor villagers from the oppressive land owners. Whereas, in the Prosperity Theology, everyone becomes rich and blessed from God's blessings in Christ especially the mega church pastors. Jesus becomes the mega rich Messiah as Pastor Kong Hee of City Harvest so eloquently preached!

Liberation theology was about empowering the masses and providing the Catholic theological framework for the people to believe in themselves and their dignity and common humanity to rise up against the rich and powerful. It was not meant to motivate the the rich to help the poor.

Preaching Liberation Theology in middle class multi-religious Singapore would be very difficult because it is a liberal Christian theology of the very poor as a class solidarity political/moral movement. It just doesn't work in a wealthy conservative Methodist or an Anglican church in Singapore.

With the Catholic hierarchy in Europe turning right as part of the Opus Dei influence, the Liberation theology ended up in the margins of Christianity especially with a major charismatic evangelical revival in South and Latin America.

Where Catholic Jesuit Liberation theology ended, the Charismatic evangelicals took over with their prosperity theology. The concept of Base Communities of liberation theology became a cell group concept of the charismatic evangelicals.

In the Seven mountains Dominion theology of the evangelicals, Christians ended up ruling as the head over all the mountains (including business and the Government). In Liberation theology, there are no mountains for everything is flattened by one class in society. For the Charismatic Evangelicals, we are the head and not the tail, the top and not the bottom.

The anti-thesis of the Jesuit Liberation theology is not Prosperity theology but the Opus Dei ultra conservative theology within the Catholic church itself of the recently anointed Saint José María Escrivá. Opus Dei or the "Work of God" is fundamentally opposed to any Liberal humanistic inclination of the Catholic faith.

In Singapore, in the 1987, the late Minister, Mr S. Rajaratnam gave a speech on the Liberation theology which he associated with Marxism. This theology made famous by a Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutierrez in 1971 was essentially a theology of people power rising up against oppressive institutions and power structures which ironically the church hierarchal is a prime example.

Many aspects of Jesuit Liberation theology portrayed Jesus as a revolutionary Messiah of the poor bearing arms to liberate the common masses. The Vatican in the 80s has a strong anti-communist leaning against the Marxist and liberation theology and there would be little external support from Pope John Paul II for the Catholic Archbishop in Singapore.

Twenty five years later when Archbishop Nicholas Chia tried to show support to the liberal social justice dissidents, he wouldn't have the backing of the Catholic Opus Dei nor Pope Benedict XVI (Cardinal Ratzinger). Like the evil emperor of Star Wars there may even be lightning strikes all the way from the Vatican and not just a lunch appointment.

In the 50s to 80s, Liberation theology was being debated as it gained popularity in South and Latin America providing a solidarity amongst the Catholic poor. Many of the left leaning social justice workers advocated a classless christian base communities. At the same time, the Charismatic Evangelicals were having their Jesus movement which fed into the charismatic revivals in the US.

Liberation theology was however part of the Catholic faith rather than within the Protestant and evangelical churches. It gained mileage in Latin America because it had a large Catholic Faith community.

Together with a large majority of society being very poor, there was a strong identification of being unfairly treated by the ruling political and financial elites. Liberation theology was how the masses saw their lives and doing faith as a daily struggle for justice and freedom from oppression against the evil elites.

Ironically, although preached and accepted often in the elite American theological colleges, the implementation was only successful in the poor Latin American slumps of the common masses to make sense of their faith and of God in a suffering world. Liberation becomes a matter of faith, developed ground up from the masses against the small minority of elites who held on the power and wealth.

Yet, the core idea of making sense of faith from the common masses was contradictory to the church hierarchal when the Saints and Mary are above, followed by the Pope, the Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, the men, and lastly the women. It was all about class and power structures and positions of privilege.

Salvation was considered not as an individual salvation for our sins, rather a corporate salvation from injustice and oppression. The evil one was seen as the dictators rather than Satan.

Salvation was seen as from the oppressive governments rather than atonement in Christ. God was a god of love rather than judgement for our individual sins.

The Kingdom of God with Christ Jesus as the King became the kindom of god of relationships and mutual kinship based on the love commandments with no head for all are equal. Christ is discovered in relationships with "the other" rather than direct revelation from above. Theology is worked out from the "bottom" upwards rather than prescribed down from the top.

The common good of the masses and their humanity and its pureness was emphasised, versus the generalised evil, greed and cruelty of the rulers and also the former colonial masters.

Their theology was humanistic and deconstructed Christianity to being "bottoms up" from "top down". God and truth and Jesus was with people and the masses rather than the few chosen messiahs who handed down the papal decrees.

The people movement to get rid of the distinct classes and power structures within society were strongly Marxist in Latin America. The movement did not fare well in America in a cold war anti-Communist environment where a classless society ended up far worst, more oppressive and poorer than a capitalist society.

The Eastern European Catholic churches also became highly antagonistic towards liberation theology due to the persecution by the Communist. As a result, strong right wing groups such as Opus Dei grew in strength supported by the Pope John Paul II who was anti-communist.

The 1983 photo of Pope John Paul II castigating and scolding Father Ernesto Cardenal, who was a strong advocate of Liberation Theology and a Marxist supporter remains an iconic scene. Alas, the Liberation theology only found support in the Catholic poor in central America but losing support rapidly as Latin America turns to the Charismatic Evangelicals.

Queer theology was motivated by liberation theology. Arising from the struggle by gay Christians in the 80s was an attempt to work out a frame work of GLBT theology in the midst of persecution by the Christian institutions.

Here, the oppressed class were the GLBT peoples whilst the oppressor, the church hierarchal who maintains her power, wealth, dogmatic traditions, and moral/religious standing as if from God.

Then came the Charismatic evangelical movement which is top down with its emphasis on the centrality, power and redemption in Christ Jesus and the move of the Holy Spirit quickly filling a void of the Liberation theology which is bottoms up.

In 1970, the Pentecostals and Charismatics had 12.6 million members in Latin America. By 2005, there were 156 million members (data from the Pew Forum) and rising rapidly. The fire of the revolution was replaced by the fire from above.

As liberation, Queer and Progressive theology are becoming increasingly historical and academic, how could we develop an alternative social justice engagement based on the rising charismatic evangelical movement?.

In the US, the excesses of the 50s, resulted in an evangelical charismatic movement from the 50s to the 70s which focused on faith in Jesus Christ, simplicity and worship. Many in the Youth With a Mission (YWAM) youth groups survived on a day to day basis as they spread the Gospel in the inner cities in America. The Jesus People lived in communes where everything was shared.

YWAM was founded by Loren Cunningham of the Assembly of God Churches. YWAM has a strong evangelical message and today operates over 180 countries with over 16,000 full-time volunteer workers and trains 25,000 short-term missionaries yearly doing evangelism works.

The Faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for our daily needs was slowly replaced starting in the 70s by the get rich televangelist who soon got into the action by stirring up an anti-gay movement. In their self-righteousness, they created a self-centred faith based on wealth and condemning others of sin especially gays.

The Charismatic Evangelical movement was a faith movement where instead of looking at the world in terms of human power structures, the emphasis is on spiritual power structures where faith in Jesus is required for a heavenly breakthrough and surviving on earth. It is by faith in Christ, that God provides our daily bread.

The Evangelical movement is often about the power of atonement through Jesus Christ, The way, The truth and The life. Liberation is through a spiritual redemption in Jesus Christ.

Hence, in middle class Singapore, where most Christians come from a wealthy background, the danger is to become more centred on our righteousness, prosperity, and redemption rather than our common humanity.

How do we frame a Christian theological approach that is Christ and Gospel centred on a personal redemption in Jesus Christ, on the individual responsibility for our own actions of righteousness by faith in Jesus, and yet extend God's love, mercy, grace and compassion to another world where poverty, lack and suffering predominates.

How do we construct our own theology from an Evangelical charismatic perspective to be a church without walls, to cross over not to only to Hollywood but to the slumps of Kuala Lumpur and Batam, a cross over to the GLBT community so antagonistic towards the Christian faith who has been hypocritical and judged them wrongly as sinners.

City Harvest has a Cross Over mandate to the Market place of the rich and the powerful. How do we cross over to the marginalised? from a charismatic Christian perspectives?

When Jesus died at the Cross, He was naked and had nothing. The common poor masses on the left were shouting "crucify Him". The religious and wealthy elites on the right were also shouting "crucify Him". Both sides hated Jesus because He claimed to be God incarnate. They wanted to but can't be god themselves!

Perhaps both liberation and prosperity theology are idols for we have made god in our own image, hopes and aspirations.

I like the song, "Let the Weak say ....", for "What the Lord has done in me". It is Christ in us, the Hope of Glory that works miracles for our redemption rather than our human effort against injustice or to become rich. Christ is the center of our faith, hope and redemption.

The Full Gospel and the mega churches of the 80s, 90s went beyond an evangelical Gospel message to one of charismatic gifts and the spiritual/supernatural power and annointing for healings, revival and blessings. Perhaps the Full Gospel should also cross over to the poor, the rejected, and the outcasts including GLBT. Perhaps we should return to the Jesus movement of faith and simplicity.

What The Lord Has Done In Me Lyrics (Hillsongs)

Let The Weak Say, 'i Am Strong'
let The Poor Say, 'i Am Rich'
let The Blind Say, 'i Can See'
it's What The Lord Has Done In Me (x2)

Chorus

Hosanna, Hosanna to The Lamb That Was Slain
hosanna, Hosanna jesus Died And Rose Again (x2)

to The River I Will Wade
there My Sins Are Washed Away
from The Heavens' Mercy Streams
of The Savior's Love For Me

Chorus

i Will Rise From Waters Deep
into The Saving Arms Of God
i Will Sing Salvation Songs
Jesus Christ Has Set Me Free

let The Weak Say, 'i Am Strong'
let The Poor Say, 'i Am Rich'
let The Blind Say, 'i Can See'
it's What The Lord Has Done In Me 

Antinomianism - the seduction of lawlessness

For the last several weeks, there was a permanent article in the Singapore Christian Post by the Rev. Kong Hee of City Harvest Church at Expo concerning "Antinomianism - the seduction of lawlessness" with a part 1 and a part 2. I know I should not be, but I am happy that Law is strongly preached in that church because they are setting the stage, the perfect storm of judgement. We have here a very great evangelist perhaps distracted by his "bathsheba" against a church at Suntec who preaches the grace of God in Christ Jesus.The Word of God is powerful, for good and for harm, ie if used wrongly it can caused great harm, just as if one would dare open the Ark of the Covenant.

Yes, the church have been seduced but not by lawlessness but by the religious self righteous legalist now championing the anti-gay movement at GAFCON and if they continue would bring down the spiritual and moral standing of the church. I have a worker whom after so much grace given to him (and he is a christian) still never changed and considers his actions and work as normal despite being extremely poor. He still considers himself doing well. Therefore, the "Law" or a list of explicit rules would be clearly handed down of things that must be done and the consequences of failure.

The reason for having the law is simple, not that it might or will likely stop his lawlessness, but so that we can have very specific and clear reasons or a basis to judge him guilty. His greatest failure was perhaps not realising the grace of God in His life, and taking it for granted by continuinally living in this life of "sin". The Law is not to make people law abiding but to penalize them and to justify that they are sinners and lawless. It is the grace of God, the understanding that the judgement is forgiven by so great a God that makes us realized what a sinner we are and to change our ways.

The church is under so much grace concerning how it had dealt badly against gays, but the time is coming when judgement comes and our lawlessness that was under grace will come to light for all to you and can no longer be hidden. We have continued to preach Law when it cannot change people inwardly (perhaps outwardly through penalties), and attracts only judgement. Some have argued that we will be in danger of antinomianism, where there is no need to follow strictly by the laws as a demand. In essence, we all live as though there is no law although outwardly clinging to the delusion that we are religious and law minded (John 7:19).

Jesus defines disobedience to the law as extending to the thoughts of the heart, truly condemning us as law breakers despite our self-righteous claim that we are able to abide by the law. We are no different than people who claimed that there is no need for the law, at least they are being honest and recognize that they are intrinsically lawless. Irrespective whether one claims the need for law or otherwise, we are all condemned as sinners in the sight of God (Rom 3:23). We could not save ourselves through the law because we are intrinsically unrighteous and produce sinful actions despite all our efforts. The Law just makes it clearly obvious and without doubt because it is so well defined. It is a very good teacher to lead us to frustration and see that we are sinners. Christianity is about Christ being our righteousness through His death and resurrection (Rom 1:17).

The Laws does not define us anymore. We naturally produce good works if we are indeed born of God. (Mat 5:13,14 NIV) "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. The bible reminds us in Mat 5:13,14, that the Christian Church is to show a much better lifestyle of humility, love, generosity and grace because of Jesus Christ as compared to the rest of the community. If there is no difference with the same self centered aspirations and even worst because they blame minority groups for the caused of their own failings, then what is the purpose of the Christian Church? What is it good for if it does not achieve its purpose and be a light of the world, the light to Christ, God's salvation to mankind. Indeed, when religious law so much expounded by the churches in Singapore controls us, we come into its curse and reveal our true nature of carnality. Instead of focusing on Christ and be renewed inwardly, we exhibit a lifestyle of sin though we deny it.

The Religious Fundamentalist are also keen to confuse with terms such as "antinomianism" claiming that this is the beliefs by those who consider themselves not under law and that this will lead to lawlessness. The truth however is that, antinomianism as practiced by the Gnostics in the first 500 years of Christendom was without Grace or truth concerning Jesus Christ. Antinomianism was a perversion in that despite not believing that Christ physically died and resurrected for our salvation, the Gnostics STILL claimed that they were not under the Mosaic Law. Jesus did not come to take away the legal demands of the law but to satisfy its requirements so that as Christians we are not bound by the condemnation of the law giving us the victory and strength to overcome our sin consciousness. We can only be truly free when we are changed inwardly by being conscious of God's grace and Mercy and be surrounded by His Love.

 The time of judgement is coming in Singapore for the Christian Church, not because we have continually refused to repent of our homophobia, discrimination, and persecution of the gay community but because we have been the stumbling block between Gays and their God who created them. Judgement would not have come, if we have sought out the grace of God, the covering of the blood of the lamb because Jesus would have bored the judgement due to us at the cross of calvary. However, we have sought the Law, and hence we will be judged by the Law, and our judgement would go far far beyond the Gay issue. We prophesied that there will be tribulation upon America because of the Christian Right in America (Bush elected and 11 states banned gay marriage) where Bush won the electing using the gay community as a scapegoat to galvanised the Christian Right Support. It has indeed beginning come:-

 a) After 4 years of a Bush initiated rule by the Christian Right, we have an Opinion Research Business (ORB) survey conducted August 12-19, 2007 estimated 1,220,580 violent deaths due to the Iraq War. The financial cost of the war has been more than £4.5 billion ($9 billion) to the UK, and over $845 billion to the U.S., with the total cost to the U.S. economy estimated at $3 trillion. No weapons of mass destruction have been found and the Iraq war has been used by the terrorist to fight against America using their proxies. As a result the economy of USA is weak and in large debts.

 b) Aftre 4 years of the support for big business and the Christian Right with their prosperity theology, the greed was personified in the sub prime saga. The subprime lending is lending at a higher rate than the prime rate to loans that do not meet credit status of the borrower. Beginning in late 2006, the U.S. subprime mortgage industry entered to a meltdown. A steep rise in the rate of subprime mortgage defaults and foreclosures has caused more than 100 subprime mortgage lenders to fail or file for bankruptcy causong prices in the $6.5 trillion mortgage backed securities market to collapse. As these loans are repackaged into attractive investments, all round the world, it has resulted in world wide exposure undermining the banking system even shaking the foundation of Fannie May and Freddia Mac, morgage giants which controls 50% of the US homeloans. .

 c) Oil prices has arisen from USD 40 in 2004 to USD 140 in July 2008, more than 300% increases caused by the fears of middle east conflicts fanned by the Iraq War. This is further caused by the linkage to the devaluation of the US currency as oil is traded in USD. The rise in Oil has a major impact causing inflation to rise significantly not only in America but in the rest of the world forcing many governments to reduce the oil subsidies causing widespread protests and large rises in food costs which impacts mostly the poor..

The above defines the Gospel of the Christian Right - the Gospel of wealth, power, and of the sword. As we live by the sword, scheming and planning eg in the Glenferry protocol to start war against the very small gay minorities through deception and fear, we may die by the sword but worst than death is to see the true Gospel message being scorned on our account. The churches will still be there, praises will heard, there will be great preaching, but the mighty move of the Holy Spirit may be seemingly absent and what we do each week at church may sound like a hollow gong long after gays are happily married and not surprisingly the straight marriages will not be impacted.. The greatest judgement is the silence of God and the lifting of His Grace and Mercy. We have made the grace of God so cheap and realised it not but instead boast of the Law. The Christian Right has the power and the money to go much unopposed to do what they liked but at the end, they have God to answer to. May God have mercy on us.

377a - silence from christians

Even a remote possibility of 377a being considered unconstitutional by the courts in Singapore, say, 5 years ago, would have caused a real storm, letters to the editors from christians, and complaints to the MPs and PMs. What a difference, 5 years have made from Oct 2007 when NMP Thio launched an attack in Parliament on gays with the moral support of the Anglican and mega churches who followed suit in their Sunday sermons.

 For many Christians, the line in the sand stops at keeping 377a lest Singapore falls into the downward slope of immorality (never mind adultery, abortions, immoral takeovers, making fun of other faiths, financial irregularities against charities act). Soon after, Singapore became the leader of the Anglican South a group of 70 million christians determined to enshrine their anti-gay aggenda in the Jerusalem Conference in June 2008.

They had reached Jerusalem the epi-center of the Christian Faith and put up their anti-gay rethoric at the gates of the city of God. Gays were to be shut out from Christendom. But I believe that God had other ideas. What happened thereafter was totally unscripted. In Singapore, the high mountain of Christian moral and righteous religious indignation was chipped away in large chunks by one major public and humiliating event after another. Gays were coming out of the closets becoming pink dot(s) linking them together in love with increasing support from the wider community.

In the US, gay marriages were starting to be mainstream in a wave of increasing support for basic gay rights in the western world.

 Year 1 June 2008 - Same-sex marriage starts in California. Sept 2008 - Rules changed on the speakers corner at Hong Lim Park allowing legal mass gatherings. Nov 2008 - S'pore DBS Bank's charity links to Focus on the Family, a Christian anti-gay organization in the States was exposed. FOTF was in the forefront of the anti-gay religious movement in the states which seeks to deny gays of any rights. Due to the outcry from gays and the general public threatening to withdraw their accounts, DBS have had to back down. The tide has started to turn.

 Year 2 Apr 2009 - Aware Saga - when anti-gay Christians from the Anglican/ Mega Churches tried to take over a secular organization in the guise of coming against homosexuality. Pastor Hong of Church of Our Saviour, a leader of the churches anti-gay movement was implicated. The general public and gays rallied to help the Old Guard of Aware and in a miracle, the churches were forced to back out for invading the secular space and playing gutter take over politics. April 2009 - same-sex marriage passes the US New Hampshire Senate. May 2009 - Pink Dot attended by 2,500. The headline reads "Singaporeans don pink to support gay rights". A new dawn emerges for the support of the general public for gays.

 Year 3 Feb 2010 - Pastor Rony Tan, of Lighthouse Evangelism, a strong anti-gay Christian preacher having to bow down to ask forgiveness in the traditional manner for mocking a major faith. March 2010 - Same-sex marriage starts in Washington, D.C in the US. May 2010 - City Harvest Church under investigation by Singapore's Commissioner of Charities (COC) and the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) May 2010 - Pink Dot attended by 4,000 June 2010 - Pastor Mark Ng of New Creation Church (a church that often joked about gays) had to apologize when they joked about the religious deities of the 7th month hungry ghost festival.

 Year 4 June 2011 - Pink Dot attended by 10,000 July 2011 - Same-sex marriages legalised in New York 2011 - City Harvest continued to be under scrunity with some pastors leaving.

 Year 5 Feb 2012 - Campus for Crusade in the National University drawn strong public condemnation for a seemingly innocent outreach poster for mission applicants to Thailand. It shows increasing antagonism against the churches activities whence once the general public had even supported their anti-gay push. The entire faith message was now impacted. May 2012 - President Barack Obama becomes the first sitting U.S. president to support same-sex marriage. June 2012 - Pink Dot attended by 15,000 June 2012 - Senior leaders of City Harvest church, the largest mega churches were charged for mis-use of millions in church funds. It placed the moral and righteous standing of the entire Evangelical Christian faith to major exposure before the general public. Aug 2012 - The Festival of Praise, a mega gathering of Christians to listen to some of the most anti-gay pastors such as Pastor Mike Connell was cancelled due to the CHC issues. 

Therefore in just 5 years, the thumping support against gays by the religious Christian conservations has been replaced by the color of pink to support gay rights, the winds of change for gay rights coming in an increasingly faster pace in the US, and the major Christian leaders who could/would have come against any gay rights finding themselves in a morally exposed and isolated position. The blazing loudness of the Christian Right has been replaced by an odd silence.

It was a Moses like experience of God dispensing judgement after judgement on Pharoah to let my people go free. It can only be God causing a shaking, and opening the doors out of the closets for the GLBT community. The news in Singapore that the 377a court case is to go ahead has become a non-issue for gays have come out in the open to become real, whilst many Christian religious leaders who had wanted to jail all gays and throw the keys away from the jail closets finding themselves at risks of going into their own closets. It would be a non issue when they finally repeal 377a.

 Deut 27: 19 “Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” Gal 3:10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”[

 The church had condemned gays under the works of the ancient Jewish religious laws, and had insisted on it to the full measure for gays even though the ancient context did not apply. At the end its not about 377a, it's about the church witholding justice against a defenceless group being brought down to their knees.

 When NMP Thio stood in Parliament in 2007 to insist that injustice be maintained through 377a, it became a curse on the church. When the church insisted that gays be denied of all rights, they were also under the curse of the law to be severely exposed if they were not 101% righteous and holy. The last 5 years has been a coming out for gays, but an unholy exposure/scrutiny for the churches forcing them to go into their own closets where even the biggest public praise festival/ evangelical outreach was cancelled.

 The curse of the 377a upon the church will continue on with an increasing severity if there is no repentance. The white washed tombs will be exposed of their skeletons. In 2003, a group of Christian leaders led by Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong decided on an anti-gay campaign or a "Gay backlash" in response to the hiring policies to include gays.

Not satisfied with keeping 377A, in Feb 2008, Pastor Yang preached on "The Sin of Sodom" and asked his Cornerstone church to stand firm against gays lest Singapore be destroyed like Sodom. Instead, 377A has become a slippery slope for the Antioch church, not Singapore. In 2012, for the majority, the sinful abomination of Sodom becomes the misappropriations of the millions of charity funds by the major church leaders.

 They didn't know what they had started in 2003 and the battle lines drawn on the ground would release judgement. For the curse was already in the ground, for the thousands of gays who died denied of the basic rights to live and to love. Their blood cries out for justice.... ... that was denied even when their freedom was enshrined in the constitution.

Obama the first gay president

^{Judges 6: 28} And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down; and the wooden image that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was being offered on the altar which had been built. ²⁹ So they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And when they had inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.”

At the deepest time of darkness, the time for change is often around the corner. Even when gay marriage was already banned in North Carolina, they wanted to engrave into all eternity by amending the very constitution which supposed to protect the basic rights of the US Citizen. The very next day after the passing of the anti-gay amendment when we seemingly were heading back to days of hostility against gays, a new glimmer of hope rose from the east in Washington DC when Obama finally announced that he supports Gay marriage after a decade of ambiguity.

Obama has torn down the American Idol, our Baal, where we worship our religious self righteousness based on a religious cultural hierachal structure of male supremacy.  It is a brave stance against the church hierachal.

Some criticised the Obama administration from diverting the attention from Job creation which is strange since they have been using Gays as a battle cry for support with anti-gay article a common feature in each daily publication of Christian Post. What is conservative in America is now no longer defined in the belief that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, rather what two men does in private. Jesus is no longer important for even Romney, who claims to be Christian yet who worships the angel Moroni lifted high above Salt Lake City is considered righteous and holy just because he was anti-gay and pro-family whatever that means.

Some Christians have been fighting a seemingly losing war with the increasing losses in California and New York, and needed to stem the tide of defeat where even the ex-gay conferences by Exodus have had to be cancelled due to poor attendance. They have used rhetoric, theology inconsistent with the religious/cultural history, and even portrayed trans-genders (such as Sy Rogers) as gay men in order to extract the maximum repulsion and confusion. Alas with the coming out of gay men and women, their rhetoric could no longer hold.    

On 08 May 12, the North Carolina voted 61% to 39% to amend the constitution to state "marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State". The confusing language of the Amendment One vote meant that few realised that it would not only have banned Gay marriage but also civil unions. It was meant to deceive, to make a strong political statement when gay marriage was already effectively banned. It was draconian.

Being a very conservative state, the results were never in doubt, an attempt at a symbolic victory to gain the “moral victory” of claiming overwhelming public support when the percentage of overall support for gay marriage for the entire US nation has gained majority support for the first time in history.  North Carolina was also an attempt to use gays as a wedge issue to undermine Obama’s support by Blacks as the anti-gay fervour was driven in part by the black churches there. However, with Obama’s support for gay marriages, the Black churches are now compelled to re-evaluate their religious stance to remember that hitherto they too had suffered discrimination.

The victory parade of Amendment One against gays was thus over shadowed by the announcement that Obama has reached enlightenment. Using his faith based experiences of Jesus’ love commandments, he became the first sitting President to support gay marriage. It was a calculated risk for surely the black community will continue to support Obama, the hard liners will be against Obama anyway, but it would gain the increasing support of the younger generation for which the future holds.  

Obama’s opponent Romney is in a bind, eager to confirmed his conservative credentials by ramping up an anti-gay rethoric, but mindful of losing support by the younger voters or of distracting from a sure win platform of the poor economy. By entering into a debate on gay marriage, it will make it an election issue energizing the gay and younger voters to affirm again a real tangible change they can believe in. The GOP will find it hard to claim a moral high ground when their conservative candidate calls himself a Christian but worships the angel Moroni. It also turns the attention to Obama when the focus had been Mitt Romney gaining the GOP nomination.

Obama is facing a tough re-election. The gay marriage proclamation gives him a rare chance for victory to gain back a moral high ground when much hope has been lost. It is a victory for Liberal theology which has been facing increasing sharp falls in attendance of mainline churches supporting this theological approach. Obama talks about his faith, his family and the critical Christian reflection to come to a position on Gay marriage. Surely if we were pro-family, we will support Gay marriage for gay families matter too. It is the Harvard intellectuals that gave hope again to the outcasts of society - the other end of the scale.

We have reached the cross roads in history where there is no turning back in giving gays equality. Obama has given a Presidential stamp that “it gets better” for the hundreds of thousands of gay youths. At the end, it is a question raised by the Gallop Poll about “nature or nurture”. In 1977, it was said that 13% believed that Gays were born as such, with 56% believed that it is due to upbringing/nurturing. In 2012, this changed totally to 40% believing that gays are innate, and 35% due to upbringing. We go back to the biblical question of the Jewish Rabbi who called gays as the natural Eunuch (not man made Eunuchs) and as Jesus said born as such from their mother’s womb without attraction to the opposite sex in relation to the question on heterosexual adultery.

Judges 6:30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the wooden image that was beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar has been torn down!” 32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal,[e] saying, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has torn down his altar.”

We have made traditional marriage an idol which we worship by day but violate by night. If "traditional marriage" is deemed to be undermined by gays, let it defend herself. Let Baal defend her self. It doesn't change straight people going for abortions, and being involved in adultery. It doesn't change the divorce rates which has been rampant with the religious faith communities. Gays being 1/20 of the population a'int never going to impact the institution of marriage which have been made dysfunctional by people of faith when they go after gays instead of looking themselves in the mirror.

The idol is down, the idol is down, never again shall we come under her oppression. There is a spiritual power, an evil behind the opression of the outcasts, the weak and the defenceless. Just as a bull offering to God replaced the worship of Baal, the worship of carnal man,  may God show kindness and grace to Obama, the unlikely mighty man of valour who could have played it safe.    The Newsweek wanted to annoint Obama as the first "Gay President", for surely Obama has come out of his closet. He has led the way that we too may come out of our closets and begin to live again.

God is a good God. Jesus is good. He didn't leave the Gay community alone but He came back for His lost sheep. We will not be alone again - for He gave us our partners to share our lives with.

Palestinian Statehood

(Psa 89:2 NKJV) For I have said, "Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens."

(Psa 89:3 NKJV) "I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David:

(Psa 89:4 NKJV) 'Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations.' " Selah

On Aug 7, 2011, the New York Times had an editorial on "Palestinians and the UN" giving an update of the attempt to get a vote at the United Nations for Palestinian statehood. It is expected that US will veto any attempt for UN membership without a negotiated settlement of land swaps. East Jerusalem where the ancient Jerusalem of the bible resides remains the biggest issue of contention - a too difficult issue where negotiations haven't even started in earnest which has been stiffled by the issue of new Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The nation of Israel and the proposed Palestinian state consisting of West Bank and Gaza is very small and crowded with over 9 million population. From the coast of the Mediterranean sea to Jerusalem is only 50 km. Hence, there is literally very little room for compromise. The city of Jerusalem has a historical and religious influence manifold its size.

It's a terrible predicament for those in Gaza and West Bank in their tiny walled off communities without jobs and hope. The unemployment rate in Gaza is 44% and in West Bank 25%. Foreign aid is the main driver of economic growth and employment in Palestine. Surprisingly, the majority of the 1.8 billion aid in 2009 came from the US/EU (80%), and only a small percentage from the Arab nations.

The situation is set to get worst in Palestine as the aid from US/EU starts to be scaled back due to the severe financial crisis in these countries.

With the financial crisis in US and Europe casting a dark shadow, the attention will not be on the Palestinian aspirations. The vote at the UN is a desperate attempt by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to gain credibility as his Fatah movement now controls only the Israeli occupied West Bank whereas his nemesis Hamas has full control of Gaza. The increasing construction of Jewish homes in the West Bank erodes his control.

In a pre-emptive move, the Israeli Interior Ministry has given approval for the new projects of 1600 homes in East Jerusalem at Ramat Shiomo, and an expected additional 2700 homes in the near future at Givat Hamatos and Pisgat Zeev. Last week, the final approval for construction to start was given for 900 homes at Har Homa in East Jerusalem.

This comes in the light of demonstration by the Jews of the high cost of living and availability of housing. In Tel Aviv alone more than 200,000 took part in the social justice movement protest.

Condemnation came from the Europeans including what was called by Jerusalem Post as the "porgressive elite" in Norway whilst "soft" on religiously motivated terrorism against Israel. However, the response by Israel to the constant rockets attacks by a blockade of Gaza is not morally justifiable. Hamas who controlled Gaza and backed by religious Mullahs in Iran is a major issue of authority and legitimacy for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who controls Palestinian West Bank.

We must recognise the suffering of the 3 million Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank who has been displaced as a result of the war and became a pawn for the Arab nations to come against Israel. However, in their pain they have become cruel and religious expecially towards the minority groups such as gays and Christians.

“Being gay in the P.A. is, quite simply, deadly,” Shaul Gonen of Agudah

“I escaped from Gaza and came to Israel to live…not to be returned to be killed. Please…where is someone to help me?” Tarek who faces deportation from Israel

In West Bank and Gaza, gays are being tortured and killed by the Palestinian Authorities and fellow kinsmen in the name of religion. Sodomy carries a jail sentence of upto 10 years. The runaway gays frequently escape to Tel Aviv. If Palatestine become a nation, gays will be handed from the streets just as they are doing in Iran.

The failure of people of faith in organizations such as Sojourners is to paint a rosy picture of the people on the ground in Gaza and Afganistan not seeing awful genocide of the GLBT peoples. They can't see lest it deconstucts their notion of some religion and people of faith.

In West Bank, when Hamas took control in 2007 of Gaza, they started killing Christians there, and banning Christianity. Before the British mandate ended in 1948, there were 20% Christians in Gaza, now there are far less than 2.5% with many fleeing for their lives. These people of faith are not that nice nor moral.

Is Israel occupying the West Bank?, when they had strong historical claims over the land. Furthermore, they didn't invade West bank, it was the trophy of 1967 war when the Arabs tried to push Israel back to the swim in the sea. The Romans (their descendants being the Europeans and the US) pushed Israel out of their land in a diaspora to Europe, Asia Minor, and Arabia. The Jews there suffered for more than 1900 years culminating with the Holocaust in Germany where 6 million died in the hands mostly of people of faith. They are now returning to homeland Israel which they owned previously, and now morally won back through the 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973 wars.

God had hardened the hearts of the Arab nations to attack Israel in the 1967 whose war victory resulted in re-occupying Jerusalem and the West Bank. As a result, the Palestinian nation is split with 1 million in Gaza, 2 million in West Bank, and another 750K in Israel itself. There are also 100,000 Christians amongst the 750K Arab population in Israel who would never want the harsh religious rule in Palestine.

The Arabs didn't want to give Israel any part of Judea, and they raged wars against Israel in 1948, 56, 67, and 73. Each time they lost despite having far larger armed forces and were squeezed out. If they had allowed Israel to exist in 1948 and go into wars, the Palestinians would have certaintly obtain nationhood.

Israel became a nation in 1948. The Palestinians was never a nation because Gaza was owned by Egypt, and West Bank by Jordon. In order to claim West Bank after 50 years of rule by Israel, the Palestinians had to seek nationhood with Gaza and West Bank as its territorry.

At the key of the quest for nationhood by Palestine is the claim old city of Jerusalem. This is the ancient and the most holiest site site of pilgrimage for Christians and Jews. When the Arabs conquered and invaded in 637 CE, they deliberately built a giant dome mosque at the most holiest Jewish site - the Second Temple of Jerusalem which has been destroyed earlier by the Romans in 70 CE.

Islam has their most holiest site in Mecca, and in the greatest irony they took over the most holiest Christian/Jewish site in 637 which has resulted in wars and tension with millions killed. The claim for nationhood by Palestine will fail because they have included of the Old City of Jeusalem. The same players are there 1400 years later, the European Union/ Rusia (Romans), and Arabs. But the time of Gentiles in Jerusalem is over.

(Luke 21:24 NKJV) "And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The moment the Palestinians present their claim of East Jerusalem to the United Nations for nationhood, will be the very day when the day of the Gentiles in Jerusalem will be over. By this audacious claim, they will loose their own rights for this city and for West Bank. Security guarantees are quite meaningless after 4 wars and the extremist religious people of faith in Gaza.

Queer Christianity

“Queer” is the term used to describe the GLBT community. Hitherto, theologians from gay affirmative churches have spent much effort to provide a theological construction to explain the clobber verses and to emphasis that homosexuality is not a sin, but a given, and a gift from God. Queer theology is a further development which extends beyond the GLBT community to cover those that are outside societal norms and constructions to the entire society both straights and gays. It is an emphasis on the expression of uniqueness of the individual/minority groups rather than its suppression based on class/societal/religious structures and power hierarchies (gender/religious/political/racial).

The GLBT persons often lose their individuality in a homophobic and patriarchal world, conforming to the aspirations of their families, society, law and religion to hide their self. Our core individuality and freedom is suppressed and harmed.

Often we unknowingly support the perpetuation of these religious oppressive class structures against gays by attending the mega churches and supporting them financially when these churches in-turn (eg the Methodist Church, the National Council of Churches, the Anglican Church Global South) lead an anti-gay crusade causing much harm to the GLBT community even suicides due to the condemnation put on us.

The fear of God is to worship Christ rather than worshiping the bible as an “idol” for a theological construction to explain everything. We are all created as unique individuals beautifully created by God, yet the identity of Gays are often suppressed by the Christian Right. They are constructing an anti-gay “god” because they could not understand why God create gays at the same time seemingly condemned gays from the bible. They are afraid that once the bible is undermined, the message of the Gospel is compromised. However, their reading of the bible is erroneous because they have superimposed their own history, culture and religion into the bible which distorts its meaning. Making a major dogma from the bible much beyond the centrality of the message of God’s love and redemption undermines the Gospel message of Christ.

It is interesting to note that whilst the struggle for social and wealth equality gains mileage in Latin America via the Liberation theology, the same struggle for prosperity gains following in Africa via the Prosperity theology, and the struggle for bible inerrancy as if our salvation depends on it gains a following the States via the anti-gay theology of the Christian Right.
In a very broad sense, Queer theology in its aspirations for the realization of the individual identity is a branch of Liberation Theology in Latin America which gave a theological construction for freedom of the oppressed starting in the 50s. However, Liberation Theology has been marked by its association with strong leftist and Universalist inclinations and is a mass grass roots movement. This theology is a Latin American Catholic construction made known by the likes Guitierrez, a Catholic Priests and theology processor. It fills an important void that Jesus also came to satisfy our physical needs in the light of the poverty and oppression in Latin America. There is however a tendency to under emphasis the message of the Gospel of spiritual redemption, the issue of sin, and to over emphasize the rights of the individuality and the physical redemption on earth.

The construction of liberation theology gives them a sense of backing from the bible and from God for the strong stance taken against injustice. However, they have rationalized the violence and the harm they caused in the name of justice, and the Leftist theology often integrated with socialist ideals becomes another idol and god with a non-hierarchical power structure only a dream. Nevertheless, Liberation Theology gives us reason to fight for justice and equality lest we take injustice for granted. Liberation theology alone is however limited when compared to the issues faced by GLBT Christians because Gays are condemned on three very different counts:-

a) By Society at large (whereas the Liberation Theology is a mass grass roots movement, and not a movement of a few percentage of society),

b) By the Law. Homosexuality is illegal in many countries and there are long jail terms whereas one would not be jailed for being poor.

c) By the Church. Homosexuality is considered a sin in most mainstream Christian Churches whereas being poor or a racial minority is not a sin. Instead the Liberation theology is a mass movement by the Catholic Church in Latin America whereas Queer theology is against the mis-interpretation of the bible and homophobia by the Catholic Church even in Latin America where they are leading antagonist against gay rights.

Whilst there are similarities eg straight people also suffers from constructions of societal norms such as women, and minorities, we tend to under emphasize that the gay community is thrice condemned and are far more despised than any other groupings. It is one thing to specify what you can and cannot do because of societal norms, but very different to say that one is innately a sinner or to end up in jail just because you were gay.

The paradox in Christianity is that

a) We are all different, yet one in Christ and both are to be celebrated. We lose the freedom to be a new creation to change from glory to glory if we hold on to our old self – our sins, our imperfections, our anger, hatred, causing harm to others etc. Whilst we all have a unique character, God wants to mold it to become Christ like - kindness, gentleness, longsuffering, etc. We become one in Christ when we addressed the issue of sin and redemption through Christ.
The denial of one’s innate character on account of social, legal and religious norms is equally destructive because we become no longer people of innate worth and beauty, beautifully created by God, rather becoming the robots to fit into societal constructions. We are alive physically but dead as an individual unique person even though Christ came to save and redeemed the real us that resides within.

b) We create many “gods” (aka theological constructions) in our own lives, yet united in worshiping one true God in Jesus Christ if the fear of God and the revelation of Christ as the Messiah constraints us.

We tend to make sense of life and salvation, especially our pains, sufferings, and longings through our theological construction. If we are not careful, we become gods molding god with our own hands. Theological constructions should be balanced by the fear of God, for God exists and have its being, character, and righteousness in-spite of how we construct God.
We are queer Christians not in the sense of creating a new “Christ less” or Universalist religion where we create a tent where everyone fit in thus making ineffective the uniqueness of Christ and the message of the Gospel, but to respect the different Christian faith journeys of each and the different Christian theological worlds that one comes from as equally valid perspective of Christ working in our lives within the boundaries of the Gospel message and centrality of Christ which unites us into the ministry of Christ.

(Luke 6:20 NKJV) Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: "Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.
(Luke 6:21 NKJV) Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.

Whilst Queer and Liberation theology are genuine stance against the violent oppression and structures in society, as much as we want to change the outside world, and to correct the injustices within, true freedom and revelation comes within – from a change and molding of character into the righteousness of Christ and to walk by the leading of the Holy Spirit in the faith journey and appointment that God has for us.

Jesus declared that we are blessed because we are poor, because the rich could not see God in their self righteousness and self sufficiency whereas we the poor understands our humanity and dependency on Christ longing for the rule of the Kingdom of Heaven, the coming rule of Christ where all injustice and sufferings will be of the past.

We hunger for the realization of self, to be free from the structures that define us by our families, the church, society and by the law, yet it must start with Christ who fills and accepts us within. We love because Christ first loved us. We can love and accept ourselves as GLBT people, because Christ first loved us.

Jesus Christ didn’t call for a class struggle against the injustice in society, against the structures oppressing the poor and the minorities by the Roman rulers. He did not call for an external revolution against the Romans and the Jewish religious rulers that defines much of today’s liberation theology. He definitely did not call for an anti-gay crusade which defines much of the church today.

Jesus calls for an internal revolution, a change of character, a change of allegiance and faith in Christ, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we may know how ourselves, to love others, to love God, and to resist perpetuating the existing oppressive class structures. Jesus was indeed Queer, a total exception to the religious norms. We too can be queer, not only because we are gay, but being led and guided by the Holy Spirit which makes the beautiful rainbow in the sky.
There is a calling for Queer Christianity, a recognition that we are beautiful and unique as individuals and to love and accept ourselves as Jesus has loved us, and to find freedom in coming out from the closet of the structures that our families, our society, the law, and the church has set us in, to be free in a Queer Christ.

Freedom in first loving yourself

Freedom in first Loving yourself

(Mat 22:37 NKJV) Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'(Mat 22:38 NKJV) "This is the first and great commandment.(Mat 22:39 NKJV) "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
What they don't tell you at many churches in Singapore is that their fight against gays through their proxies such as the Church of Saviour, Exodus, Focus on the Family are heading for a dead end. Desperate measures have been used such as outrageous rethoric from the pulpit, and pseudo science as the acceptance of gays becomes more widespread in the US with the fear that Singapore could follow suit. Their message is being drowned by the increasing world wide acceptance of gays coupled by an uneasy conscience that perhaps they may have been wrong.

The Christian Right groups are calling for dialogue trying to convince themselves that they were the victims rather than the perpetrators much alike a robber coming to your house and asking you to give reasons why you should keep your own belongings! It could never be about dialogue on equal terms as they were debating about your rights and not theirs. Gays should never need to justify for basic human rights and dignity. Freedom of religion does not give us special rights to impose our own theological construction to bind the lives of others unless our faith is so weak that it requires gays as the scapegoat for our own immorality.

The theological construction of condemnation against gays has meant that even the best of Christian writers and thinkers such as Henri Nouwen was never able to reconcile his sexuality and come out in public as a gay person. As a result, he suffered so much emotional toil that had contributed to his early death in 1996. Only a deep revelation that our love for God is intertwined with first loving ourselves would set us free from our theological bondage. Nouwen grew up 50 years ago in a hostile environment very much different from today where we now know that we are not alone and that there are many Gay Christians just like us. Can we go further to love ourselves and have pride.

In the US, even with the advent of the mega churches in the last 20 years, there has been a massive shift in public opinion:-
a) Gay marriage is supported by 42% in 2010, versus just 27% in 1996.
b) Gays serving in the army is supported by 60% in 2010, versus 52% in 1994.
c) To-date, 53% of those born after 1981 supports gay marriage, versus 29% born prior to 1928. ie the acceptance of gay marriage by the younger generations will soon surpass the negative opinion of the older generations with the passing of time.

The profound change may be hastened by more gays coming out, loving and accepting themselves and be "out" to friends and family at a much younger age, thus effectively negating the vicious rethoric of the Christian Right. It is much harder to believe their half truths if gays were not much different from the straight people and are our friends and family. We are becoming proud and coming out as never before:-

a) According to Stonewall report in Nov 2010, the average age of coming out for over-60s was 37; for people in their 30s it was 21; and for those now aged 18-24 was 17.
b) In Asia, the first Taipei Pride was held in 2003 with many gays wearing masks. In 2010, the Pride grew to 30,000 attendance and not a mask was to be seen.
c) India's first gay pride was held in Nov 2010 with 2,000 in attendance, made possible, by the legalization of gay relationships in 2009.

The legalization of gay relationships and same sex marriage are only a matter of time as more gays begin to accept and love themselves instead of carrying a baggage of self denial. As we begin to take the journey of loving ourselves, we start the journey of having the self confidence to be how God has created us, and begin to relate to people as who we are authentically rather than hiding behind a mask.

Loving ourselves comes so naturally to straight people, but for many gay christians, the negative construction by society and by the church has bound us in a theological construct to hate ourselves. We must consciously "consume" Jesus as one preacher has said, not to deny ourselves and put on Christ as he had proposed, rather to see and visualise Christ acceptance and love for us as a special and unique queer people of faith.

The recent strong reaction to Rev Ou Young of MCCNY in Malaysiakini highlighting the existence of gays in the community shows that Malaysia even more than Singapore are far behind. Some in the Gay Christian community seemed perturbed by Rev Ou Young stirring the issue even though he was not outing them in any way. It showed a deep seated self loathing instead of pride, of how God has created us wonderfully as a gay person. We were not rejecting Rev Ou Young, rather rejecting ourselves. The key to coming out of the closet is not only about coming out to family and friends, but whether we could love and accept ourselves as who we are.

The mere mention of the gay issue seems to cause a Holy indignation amongst many gay christians who instead prefer to focus on being Christians who happens to be gay. However, if we cannot fully love ourselves, how can we say we love God, or worship Him fully in Spirit and in truth. We can preach and worship God from the pulpit and in public within the safe space of a "gay church" yet when our worship to God is broadcasted in the Youtube we become defensive and ashamed of worshiping God as a Gay Christian.

There is a strong calling of God for gays to love and accept themselves. When we love ourselves, we have the freedom to love others and to love God. Being free is not only first realising that all are equal in God's eyes, but to realise that we are equal ourselves. There is little point to see others as equal without the basis of loving ourselves first. We are able to love ourselves especially our sexual orientation, when we see the love and acceptance of God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

Freedom is seeing yourself in the mirror and loving yourself because you are beloved in Christ Jesus. It doesn't really matter when Singapore eventually decriminalises Homosexuality, for we must first be decriminalised it in our own hearts and mind, in the deepest recess of our sub-conscious. Only the Holy Spirit can do this work of revelation in our lives to love and accept ourselves first, so that the Love of God can come into our hearts.

We can't worship and praise God effectively, unless we are bold enough to yearn for freedom. The Holy Spirit is put in a box when we praise God with our face in the ground, afraid to see God as a Gay Christian community, afraid to raise our hands to worship God in the World Wide Web lest others see us and question whether we were gay!.

It is time for us to start loving ourselves first, and to live with oneself.

Anglican Africans

(1 Cor 9:16 NKJV) For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!

The Christian Post article “Anglican Bishops Resolve to Tackle Africa's Social Ills” dated 31 Aug 2010 reported that the African Anglican Bishops from 400 diocese after a weeklong conference in Uganda issued a strong statement against gays. It was stated in the article that “in their communiqué that "in order to keep the ethos and tradition of the Anglican Communion in a credible way, it is obligatory" of all provinces in the global Anglican Communion to continue to observe and honor the moratoria on the ordination of partnered homosexuals, the blessing of same-sex unions, and cross-border interventions.”

The African Bishops in the “2nd All African Bishop Conference” had also invited their American Anglican schism partner, the “Anglican Church in North America” including Archbishop Robert Duncan, Bishop Martyn Minns, Bishop John Guernsey and Bishop Bill Atwood. The Anglican South represented by Archbishop John Chew of Southeast Asia, have also been invited to join with the primates of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA). The conference was also attended by Prime Minister of Uganda, Apollo Nsibambi.

With such a strong focus on gays, even interfering with the sovereignty of the Episcopal Church in the United States by the cross border attempts to steal the American conservative diocese, and hunting down gays in the streets within their cities, speaks of a continents deep in grave “social ills” of rampant violence, poverty, injustice, corruption, military dictatorship, infant mortality, abortions, and disease pandemic. It is a horror of a dark continent where the Bishops closed their eyes on the desperate issues and sum them us as a Gay issue. There are no easy answers or solutions except it seems to blame gays.

Whilst the religious leaders put gays on the altar of sacrifice for all the “sins” of the deep dark African Continent, NGOs are calling for a doubling of the 50 Billion dollar AID that goes to Africa each year. This AID should actually be reduced significantly since obviously from the communication of the African Bishops, the main problem or social ill they have is gays and not poverty. So, the solution is obviously simple, the AID money to be used to emigrate the gays from Africa to Europe/USA/Canada/South America. Surely, it would overnight resolve all the social ills and bring prosperity to Africa where 350 million of the population lives below USD 1 per day.

The Conference was hosted by Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi, head of Uganda's Anglican church. According to CNN, “Bishops from Singapore, Southeast Asia and Africa told Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams in closed-door sessions Tuesday and Wednesday that there should be no more diplomacy on homosexuality ….. However, Williams preached tolerance in a sermon after the meetings, reminding African bishops that a good leader does not abandon his flock. He did not bring up the issue of homosexuality”.

The Rev Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke that the 21st Century may well be the “African Century.” Archbishop Orombi quoting from 1 Cor 9:16, exalted the crowd that the time has come for ‘fresh wine’ from ‘new wine skins” from what the conference website advocated as “represented by the potentials in the conference to go to Europe and America to bring fresh life in the ailing global Anglicanism”, ie for the voice of the African Anglicans to spread their hate of gays to Europe and America.

Africa is a continent of Population of 1 Billion (2005 census) with 45% Muslim, and 40% Christian. It will be an African Century as said by Rowan Williams, but a century in the news front page of continued economic, social strive and famines, wars, coups, and with the growing Christian Fundamentalism demonstrated at the Bishops’ conference, the religious confrontation between the Muslim North and the Christian South will represent further tragedies. Whether the Christians will march out of the Middle Kingdom to hunt gays all over the world is yet to be seen, but the battle remains up North where the desert of the Sahara is ever expanding to make the land desolate and religious based warfare now starting to dominate the scene, AIDS/HIV threatened as a grim reaper to bring millions of death even bringing down the life expectancy to below 50 years. Africa is indeed a tragedy, so rich in human and natural resources, yet doomed to fail because the real issues have not been addressed by going after a non issue such as gays.

The Gospel is not about making gays a scapegoat, but preaching Christ instead, His love, Grace, and mercy to the lost, the poor, and the outcasts. We are indeed truly lost when we could not see ourselves and how sinful we are but to see the spec in others eyes.

The trees of the field shall clap their hands

(Isa 55:11 NKJV) So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
(Isa 55:12 NKJV) "For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
(Isa 55:13 NKJV) Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the LORD for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

I realised than these past 15 years have been such a struggle health, financially, spiritually,. I had asked God to bring me into deeper revelation of His love and grace, and understanding of the Word of God, but did not realise that such can only come in a journey, in a walk of life - clinging on to Christ, our hope and redeemer.

I have changed so much - much more capable, yet hardened through life circumstances. It is time to come back to the simple faith, and rejoicing that I had 15 years ago.

A time to Rest

(1 Chr 27:1 NKJV) And the children of Israel, according to their number, the heads of fathers' houses, the captains of thousands and hundreds and their officers, served the king in every matter of the military divisions. These divisions came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, each division having twenty-four thousand.

Each month, a different division of the army came and went to serve the king. It was not a permanent army with all the 12 divisions of 24,000 men being available, but they took turns. They served only once every 12 months.

I believe that there are many seasons in life, and God is saying that this season is a season
to draw back, to start enjoying the fellowship with Him, to read the bible as a matter
of communion with God rather than to study the bible.

It is also a season, to be myself. I have spend a long time to find out who I am, but this is
the season to be how Christ created me as.

There is no rush in this season, no datelines, no vision and mission, rather, to rest and be still
in His presence. I have been so busy, doing work for God, rather than having that time
with Him.

It is time to put myself and my work, my ministry, in 2nd gear, and to start enjoying life and praising God each day and to dwell in His Grace and Mercy. There is no need to hurry for God is not in a hurry.

The greatest is love

(1 Cor 13:13 NKJV) And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I always wondered why the greatest is love. Some of my friends would say that faith in God, and Hope for eternity is important but not as important as loving others. Hence, their motto is loving others as yourself.

But as I become older, I realise the meaning of this verse. We abide in faith, hope and love, but our faith in God, in Christ, do fall in the time of great stress and temptation. It may not be something that we have done, it may be how others have stumbled us, even pastors and the church. We may loose hope in our situation, in terms of financials, relationships, health and family, resulting in loosing hope that God will provide a break through. There come a point of grace, when asked we would say that we have some but not much of faith, and hope that Christ will pull through for us.

The early Christians had the same problem. Booted our of Jerusalem in AD70 where they were not only displaced but had many of their family killed, they were now living in despair in Asia Minor, where in fact most of the bible was actually written and documented as they reflected upon God. The last book, the Gospel of John happened well after the fall of Jerusalem, when another crisis loom, the persecution of Christians in Rome after they lost the official status as a religion that was allowed in the Roman empire under the notion of a sect of Judaism.

That is when Love comes in. It is not just our love for others, but abiding in the Love of God for us. Yes, in response we are to love others, but it is out of God's love for us. Therefore, when our faith and hope in Christ seemingly fail under extreme stress and pressure, all that we have to fall back upon is God's grace and mercy in His unmerited Love for us.

I love the song "First Love" , the lyrics which read -

Rekindle your first love in my heart
I never inteded to depart
From the trusting child I was
Simply knowing that because
You are my Father, I am Your child
I am acceptable

You've never changed
and You've never will
I open my heart to embrace Your will
I love You I trust You my dear Father
rekindle Your first love in me.

Love is the greatest, because it is the love of God, through His Son Jesus Christ,
not our love for Him. Through His love, our own love will be rekindled, giving us
the measure of faith in the risen Lord and hope that He will pull through for us when there is little oil left in our lamp of life. Even when our eyes grow dimm with no salvation in sight in this part of life, we remain abiding in God's love, looking foward with faith and Hope for eternal life to come when there will be no more sorrows, nor suffering.

God's grace and mercy be with You always.

Blessings

I woke up with a strong word spinning in my head - the word "blessings".

Are we to seek after God's blessings? to pray earnestly that God will blessed us in our work,
family, and financially, and that this blessing is unmerited and not dependent for what we
have done and will do for God. ie this blessing is by Grace alone.

(Gen 27:27 NKJV) And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: "Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the LORD has blessed.
(Gen 27:28 NKJV) Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine.
(Gen 27:29 NKJV) Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!"

I am not that well off, so it would be a great blessing if just like Jacob obtained from Isaac I can be blessed by

a) Dew of heaven - Blessings from heaven itself - the best of heaven's offering - It is like the morning dew, it just comes and falls down from heaven at night - it is underserved, unmerited and by God's grace alone. The dew brings a "new thing", a sense of freshness in the air, a new move of God, a calmness in the air/ a stillness in the early morning. Dew is formed in the presence of a thick mist, a covering of moisture, a deep presence of God that brings preace, calmness, a time of refreshing and rest. It is dwelling with God in the midst of His heavenly presence resting on us, upon our hearts.

b) Fatness of Earth - prosper in my harvest ie in my workplace, and in ministry of what I have sowed in.

c) Plenty of grain and wine - have more than enough to live comfortably - financially secured to take care of myself.

Be Blessed by God's grace.