What the 'Aware Saga' really is (and what it is not)

Friday, May. 1, 2009 Posted: 7:24:01PM HKT

A group of girls stand in line Aug. 20 during their lunch break as they wait their turn in a skipping rope exercise at their school in Singapore. More than a decade ago, this tiny but modern city-state's leaders decided that the best way to fight the war on expanding waistlines, and ballooning health care costs, was to begin with the youngest generation. (Photo: AP / Wong Maye-e)

Thirty-five days on and the 'Aware Saga' appears to have reached a logical conclusion: the head of the official council of Protestant churches in Singapore has issued a statement to the effect that it does not condone churches getting 'involved' in the ‘saga’.

“In fact, our heads of churches have very recently reiterated to their clergy the standing instruction on the proper use of the pulpit,” read the National Council of Churches of Singapore statement signed by the president, Anglican Archbishop John Chew, and general secretary, Lim K Tham.

A brilliant ‘saga’ of an ‘anti-homosexual’ church ‘motivating’ a group of women to use ‘storm-trooper tactics’ to take over a secular non-governmental organisation so as to promote ‘parochial’ and ‘exclusivist’ interests of Christians and their faith has come to a head. But instead of accepting the media reports hook, line and sinker, it is necessary to reflect on what the ‘Aware Saga’ really is – and what it is not but has been made out to be.

It is a group of concerned women that have come together to restore an influential women’s rights organisation to its original, noble mandate of advancing female rights in society

Get it from the horse’s mouth. Rather than believing rumours and speculations that while sounding good to our itching ears are anything but the truth, the Christian public should take the four women leaders at their words.

“It has now become a single-objective organisation. So that’s what the new team is here to do: we want to bring Aware back to its original, very noble objective, which is to represent all women, to advance their cause, all women whatever race and religion in areas such as professional development, their private life, their health… We need to look at ageism, all the problems… So we should be pushing those cause,” stated Aware president Josie Lau last Thursday.

Why were they not upfront and direct about the evils that were taking place with Aware as a platform?

If previous leaders of Aware had indeed been up to no good and in a clandestine way as report after report has revealed, what gives them the right to remain as leaders? Aware may be a non-discriminatory and inclusive organisation, but there is a world of difference between discrimination and moral discernment. The former case has to do with amoral issues while the latter has to do with moral issues. Besides, the leaders were democratically elected into the exco.

It is not a conflict between homosexuals and Christian fundamentalists

Rather, it is a conflict between a liberal and conservative worldview and those who hold the mutually opposing views. One group believes that there are no absolute morals and that every view is and has been socially-constructed and socially-determined. The other side maintains that moral absolutes exist; that there is such a thing as right and wrong, virtue and vice, decency and decadence.

Unfortunately, instead of recognising the difference in viewpoint the liberal proponents accuse the conservatives, targeting evangelical Christians, of ostracising and persecuting them. They use terms like ‘homophobic’ to describe well-meaning and sincere people who may have no hatred for homosexuals per se but simply consider homosexuality a sin.

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The Christian Post (Singapore)