Fridae

The mainstream National Council of Churches of Singapore has issued its statement on Tuesday following an anti-gay campaign organised by several churches objecting the change of a governmental policy that now employs gays in the civil service.

The council, which represents Anglicans, Methodists and Presbyterians, among others, called for gays to be "regarded and treated no less as persons of worth and dignity" but said that "the practice of homosexuality is clearly incompatible with the teachings of the Christian faith."

In its statement, although the council said that homosexuals should not be discriminated against in areas such as employment, it urged the Singapore Government to maintain "its current legislation concerning homosexuality", "its policy of not permitting the registration of homosexual societies or clubs" and "its policy of not allowing the promotion of homosexual lifestyle and activities."

It urged Christians not to reject gay people or be homophobic or to despise them although it maintains that a gay lifestyle is "sinful and unacceptable."

In a press release issued by Eileena Lee and Kelvin Wong, President and Vice-President of People Like Us' pro-tem committee respectively, and Alex Au in their personal capacities, they questioned the sincerity of the council's call to treat gays as persons of worth and dignity as the statement called for the continued criminalisation of gay sex.

"The call on Christians to treat homosexual persons as persons of worth and dignity is meaningless when read in conjunction with paragraph 5. The effect of that paragraph's call is to continue criminalising homosexual persons, thereby perpetuating stigma, to deny us the constitutional right to free association and to continue a censorship policy that renders us invisible and negatively stereotyped."

The council's statement added, that for Christians, "the only sexual relationship sanctioned by God and given as a gift from God, is between a male and female within the bounds of a monogamous marriage."

In mid July, Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong from the Cornerstone Community Church started an online campaign urged Christians to make a stand against homosexuality. In a message titled 'Don't keep silent,' which can found on his church's website, he said: "We cannot stand idly by. Homosexuality is a sin and it is far more rampant, militant and organised then most of us actually believe it to be. The influence that the gay and lesbian bloc wields is formidable indeed. The battle lines are now drawn and it is time for the Church in Singapore to rise up and make a stand."

Their statement claims that the council's call on the government to maintain its current legislation criminalising gay sex among other recommendations is an attempt to impose Christian values upon non-Christians, breaches the separation of Church and State and interferes in politics which the government had previously warned against.