Gwee finds silver lining
Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 1:00AM One year after the AWARE power tussle, Gwee Li Sui looks back to find his fellow Christians more willing to speak out against the more hardline members of their congregation after the saga caused them so much "sudden hurt and distrust" among non-Christian Singaporeans.
There are now more ordinary Christians who, having experienced first-hand the cost of sudden hurt and distrust, feel unafraid to express their disagreements with ideas that threaten a common space of citizenry. I am heartened to hear the occasional reassurance from fellow believers that, should another unchristianly act be mounted in the future, they can be counted on to protect the rights of others swiftly.
I have always maintained that the best way to counter hate-mongering is to have members from their own community reject them publicly, to say that this is not what they stand for, and to protect that common space just as much as they would their own. Crisis does indeed bring clarity, and though the culture wars rage on, the increased debate and reasoned engagements brought about by ordinary Christians among their communities is perhaps one of the best things that have resulted from the drama.
Now if only we could get the leaders to do the same...
Gwee Li Sui, dissent is not disloyalty in AWARE, Religion, Singapore
Reader Comments (9)
I don't think the leaders will do the same. Their members yes, but the leaders? Nope. Christian leaders prefer to stay out of the spotlight. Because whenever they open their mouth, the shit hits the fan. Thanks to the mainstream media.
That's just shunting responsibility. I've written about this just yesterday. There's always an excuse around the corner: the atheists are baying for blood, the media wants their heads, etc. It only hits the fan because what they say is worth attacking. And why would that be if the message is tolerance, understanding and engagement with people of other faiths or atheists?
The answer: it won't be. I would like them to stop using these excuses, because every time they do, I see it as dereliction of responsibility and fostering a state of denial, as well as a siege mentality among the followers.
Yes, I do find this silver lining when eg. Christians expressed shock and ready apologies during the Rony Tan affair and even City Harvest members called for clarification over church investment. The sharing in public anxiety feels a bit healthier than what we got a year back, and it is a move in the right direction. Every Christian -- or person with a faith, for that matter -- must learn to do this: it's a responsibility that just can't be passed on or put on hold, pending permission. Nobody else owns your voice of conscience.
The real problem, for me, lies not in religion but in its system of organisation. Anything that gets institutionalised and bureaucratised -- even faith -- starts to lose its own sense of self-awareness. It is really up to religious leaders to recognise the weakness and look for ways to factor in checks and balances. They shouldn't be content with listening to people who agree with them that the world is flat as proof that the world is indeed flat. Having the wrong eyes and ears is the sure route to saying funny things or the wrong things or thinking that doing nothing makes problems go away.
@Gwee: Again, I agree wholeheartedly. Since that episode I have a renewed respect for Christians such as yourself, for that courage to speak up when your leaders wouldn't for whatever reason. Even though I am continually disappointed by the deafening silence from religious leaders, I'm encouraged that reasoned voices have emerged.
Also, I'm gonna put part of your comment as quote of the day, which is the blogger's easy way for bumping post counts :P
@Gwee: Amen!
PS( Hey Callan, just a suggestion. Is it possible to include a subscription button for comments on your blog? Abit hard to track the comments lah. Thanks!)
And to the question "Why do leaders keep silent?", there's a whole range of reasons -- anything from disinterest and a view of non-obligation to actual complicity in the acts! Someone should do a survey on this.
@Shawn: It's right below the link for the posts RSS feed. http://callantham.org/blog/rss-comments.xml
@Gwee: A survey would be great, but I am skeptical of the accuracy and honesty of the answers. Hmm.
Well, one way is to isolate clusters of views on social accountability as expressed by different preachers in their sermons, interviews, and writings.
Oh. I see it. Very old school, but it will do :)