In the latest letter to his congregants, Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong of Cornerstone Community Church (remember him?) says nothing about Rony Tan’s odious lies that gay people are paedophiles and zoophiles. Instead he urges his church members to “not dilute, adulterate or compromise” the Truth. Belittling other people’s religions is not kosher, he says, but apparently demonising gay people the way Rony Tan has requires no censure. Here’s what he said:
A THORNY ISSUE
The recent big blow up about Pastor Rony Tan’s highly-publicised sermon on Buddhism and Taoism, and the most recent attack[1] on his statements on homosexuals is a reminder of the continual scrutiny and the pressure that the Church will face in the coming years. Having watched the video myself, I thought that the reaction from the public was a little excessive. But still nonetheless, we live in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society and the need to be careful and vigilant with our words is vital. I’ve been in touch with Pastor Rony via his personal assistant and Pator Rony has requested for our prayer support, for which we’re more than happy to oblige.
There are a few things we can learn from this painful ordeal. Firstly, in Acts 19, we’ve a record of a riot in the city of Ephesus. The whole city was filled with confusion against Paul and his traveling companions and they had already seized several of Paul’s companions, threatening to injure them. When the riot threatened to get out of hand, the town clerk got up to silence the crowd and look at what he said in verse 37: “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess.” This is an amazing statement because Paul, in all his preaching, did not attack or belittle any other religion. All he did was preach the everlasting Gospel because the Gospel alone is the power of God unto salvation. And that’s exactly what we need to be doing: we need to preach the unadulterated Word of God and let the Word transform lives.
There’s of course another side to this as well: When preaching the Gospel, we must not dilute, adulterate or compromise on the potency of the Word; because it’s Truth. And truth spoken in love is a very powerful weapon in God’s Hand. When Paul was in a Roman dungeon, he said something very precious; he said that while he may be in chains, God’s word cannot be chained. And that is the truth. In Acts 4, we find the disciples being hauled in for preaching the Gospel and they were threatened by the religious order of their day to cease preaching. Peter, with unusual boldness said: “Whether it is right to listen to you more than God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” Such boldness is contagious and God-breathed. After that, we’ve an account of a prayer meeting the disciples had and as they prayed for boldness to speak the word of God, God answered by shaking the place they were gathered in and the disciples were all filled with uncommon valor. What’s the conclusion then? Let’s be sensitive; let’s be careful; but let’s not compromise on the truth.
Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong
20 Feb 2010
Well of course I am not surprised by Pastor Yang’s message. I’ve heard him preach hell fire and brimstone since I was a little kid back in the day when his church was still called Bedok Christian Centre. But I’ve got news for you, Pastor Yang, if you’re reading this. The public would not be on Rony Tan’s back so much if he had not said such stupendiferous things to begin with.
As for your remarks about “truth spoken in love”? The Buddhists and Taoists sure ain’t feeling the “love”. And neither are the gays.
Hear, hear, from the man who proclaimed that Cyclone Nargis, which devastated Myanmar in 2008, was the “hand of God” teaching the nations righteousness. I wonder if the Burmese felt his love?
Footnotes:
1. Notice how he made the hunted the hunter? Tsk. Tags: Bedok Christian Centre, Christianism, Christianity, Cornerstone Community Church, Lighthouse Evangelism, Rony Tan, Singapore, Yang Tuck Yoong
sometimes i wonder where they did their theological studies.
I often wonder what do they to get Charismatic churches registered?
Is there any regulating body to monitor them?
What’s the different say between Jehovah Witness and or more ‘progressive’ churches?
[...] Part [1] [2] - Kennethism: Tan Tarn How: The churches are silent [Thanks Kenneth] - Kennethism: Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong of Cornerstone Community Church agrees with Rony Tan that gays are paedophile… [Thanks Kenneth] - The Sketch Times: To Err is Human, To Say Sorry is [...]
In reply to Paul KC:
People are alway ready to quote the old testament on man lying with man, but ignore a lot of the other inconvenient stuff. In the new testament, Jesus never mentioned the subject, nor did any of the four gospels. In fact in gospel of John, he has a male disciple , “the one that he loved” lying on his breast at the last supper, that he asks his mother to accept as her son when he’s dying on the cross. Paul has been shown to be talking about something other than what we understand as homosexuality, and he was no Jesus by a long chalk in any event. So it is not “fact” that the Bible condemns homosexuality, just someone’s opinion or interpretation, as with so much else in this book.
By the way, Paul said preferably EVERYONE should be single and never have sex (How natural is that? And how long before extinction?) but that if Bishops feel they absolutely have to, they should limit themselves to one wife.
Personally I find Jesus himself a far more inspiring source of love and wisdom than anything Paul wrote, or any of these modern day theatrical so-called pastors who take large amounts of money from the gullible. And on this subject of gay love and sex there is not one condemnation, or even mention by Jesus. So why are some Christians so obsessed with lying about and condemning gays? It’s just their own prejudice coming out.
On the causes of sexual orientation, for your information, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK, states:
“ Despite almost a century of psychoanalytic and psychological speculation, there is no substantive evidence to support the suggestion that the nature of parenting or early childhood experiences play any role in the formation of a person’s fundamental heterosexual or homosexual orientation. It would appear that sexual orientation is biological in nature, determined by a complex interplay of genetic factors and the early uterine environment. Sexual orientation is therefore not a choice. ”
Submission to the Church of England’s Listening Exercise on Human Sexuality, Oct.2007.
In other word, the cause of homo- or hetero- sexual orientation is genetic and/or hormone levels in the womb during pregnancy.
The position of these pastors would deny all gay people the opportunity to have a happy, fulfilling physical and emotional relationship with the person they love. Doesn’t sound like a very loving (or Christian, as I understand it) position to me.
I can’t help but double over in laughter when I was reading the wiki on cornerstone church and the exploits of their fabled pastor.
Singapore to get cast into the abyss like Sodom because of rampant homosexuality?
Cyclone Nargis being the hand of God to teach nations righteousness?
Our pastor here seems to be real pally with his god (well only he knew his god’s intent of unleashing the cyclone on Burma).
He might as well do the world a favour and ask upon his god to hurl a meteorite upon the city with the highest population of homosexuals. When that place has been obliterated, I’ll bet all the homosexuals in the world will turn straight real quick.
You knew this guy? As in when you were young?
Indeed, it is a small world.
Check out the history of the Wiki page. The author was fighting really hard to prevent Cornerstone supporters from wiping out his words.
And there were people who went in and just erased everything.
So much for the truth.
@Rex: Nopes I don’t know him personally.
But yes, that’s when I was young.
As I’m sure you know, very similar quack psychology and lies of pastors is being used to justify the proposed death penalty against gays (and their friends and supporters - yes, you don’t even have to have gay sex or be gay to get hanged)in Uganda. The Psychological Society of South Africa has come out fighting and issued a statement:
An Open Statement from the Psychological Society of South Africa
to the People and Leaders of Uganda Concerning
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009
And addressed to:
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
aak@statehouse.go.ug
Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Edward Ssekandi Kiwanuka
dnuwamanya@parliament.go.ug
Introduction
On the occasion of the proposed legislation in Uganda to greatly expand your country’s existing criminalisation of homosexual behaviour, as well as to criminalise those who fail to report even suspicion of it including family members, colleagues and health care professionals;
And given arguments made in the bill itself and from its proponents in numerous public statements that it is intended to achieve the laudable goal of protecting youth, families and communities;
And given that there has been ample critique by civil society including human rights, public health and faith communities addressing a range of serious concerns from those perspectives;
And given that it is good practice that legislation is based not on unsubstantiated opinions, but rather on recognised research findings;
And given that there has not yet been a scientific analysis of the core assumptions and arguments being made to justify the legislation;
And given that the considerable body of relevant international scientific research provides a context in which to assess the assumptions and issues presented by The Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009;
It is therefore incumbent on representatives of organised psychology, as leaders in the field of mental health and well-being, to offer such an analysis and recommendations as follows[1]:
The Nature of Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation refers to one’s emotional, romantic and sexual attraction to men, women, or both sexes. It can also refer to a person’s core sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviours, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions.
Research and clinical experience have found no relationship between sexual orientation and someone’s ability to contribute to the community and to influence children to become responsible members of society.
Research and clinical experience further concludes that for most people sexual orientation is not “a choice” or “voluntary.” The core aspects of sexual orientation, whether heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual, typically emerge by early adolescence, even though the individual may not yet have become sexually active.
While “causes” for any of these sexual orientations remain unclear, they are highly resistant to change. Further, there is no reliable evidence that sexual orientation is subject to redirection, “conversion” or any significant influence from efforts by psychological or other interventions.
Research and clinical experience concludes that homosexual or bisexual orientations are naturally occurring minority variations of normal human sexuality. They are also documented widely throughout nature.
The Sexual Orientation of Adults Does Not Adversely Affect Children in Their Care
A common manifestation of prejudice against homosexual people has been the allegation that gay men in particular pose a danger to children. Yet, all available reliable research data and clinical experience concludes that gay men are not more likely than heterosexual men to sexually exploit and abuse children. Claims to the contrary seriously mischaracterise the research and rely on suspect sources. The presumption that homosexual men are paedophiles also is not supported by respected, peer reviewed research.
South African-based as well as other international research has found that there is no difference between children who are raised by homosexual versus heterosexual parents regarding matters such as sexual orientation, gender identity, sex-role behaviour, likelihood of being sexually abused, self-concept, intelligence, personality characteristics, behaviour problems, peer relations, parental separation and divorce, general adjustment and accomplishment of developmental tasks.
Effects of Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation
Both international and South African research has found significant negative effects of exclusion and other forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation. Sexual orientation-based discrimination presents the same risks of psychological and other harms as discrimination on the basis of race, religion or gender.
Notably, among youth who identify as homosexual or bisexual or who think they may be, research concludes that family rejection and exclusion, as well as bullying by peers, correlates highly with a range of high risk behaviours and outcomes ranging from truancy to substance abuse to attempts at suicide.
In much of sub-Saharan Africa, homosexuality is firstly interpreted as “foreign,” portrayed as “un-African” and a “white import.” In some traditional African beliefs, those of a same-sex sexual orientation are considered cursed or bewitched; that is, damned by the forefathers and the gods. In primarily Christian and Muslim African countries alike, gay men and lesbian women are confronted with religious condemnation.
Much evidence points to this stigmatisation leading to deep-seated and widespread prejudice, discrimination and violence toward those who are not heterosexual. A session on homosexuality at the 2ndAfrica Conference on Sexual Health and Rights, hosted in Kenya in 2006, noted that fear, hatred and abuse at the hands of largely intolerant and unsympathetic peers and elders hampers the personal growth and well-being of African homosexuals.
Also widely documented among the outcomes of prejudice and discrimination are consistently high rates of anti-homosexual harassment and violence, both state sanctioned and extrajudicial. Furthermore, criminalisation on the basis of sexual orientation has been found to exacerbate social discrimination and, in particular, leads service providers to discount, ignore and neglect the needs of lesbian, gay and bisexual people, thus compounding their vulnerability.
Conclusion
The scientific fields devoted to mental health and well-being, including psychiatry, psychology and sociology, do not consider homosexual orientation to be a disorder, but rather view it as a naturally occurring variation of normal human sexuality. Research and clinical practice indicates that homosexual people have an overall potential to contribute to society similar to that of heterosexual people and that they pose no greater risk to children than do heterosexual people.
While the proposed bill cites “…the need to protect the children and youths of Uganda…” as justification, there is no credible, reliable evidence that the measures contained in the bill will achieve that outcome. Research and clinical practice instead indicates that the abuse of human rights and fundamental freedoms embodied in the bill, and the state sponsored discrimination and affronts to basic human dignity it mandates, would instead result in profound physical and psychological harms to the already vulnerable lesbian, gay and bisexual youth in the very population the legislation claims to protect.
On the grounds outlined in this statement, the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) therefore joins the international community in strongly opposing the proposed anti-homosexuality legislation. The PsySSA joins in the call for Ugandan leaders to abandon or defeat the bill, and instead to join the trend in the international community of decriminalising homosexuality.
Call to Action
The Psychological Society of South Africa invites other organisations and professionals dedicated to mental health and well-being, particularly throughout the African continent, to join us by endorsing this statement and forwarding notification of endorsement to the President of the Republic of Uganda and the Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament at the addresses above as we will do upon release of this statement. We further ask that organisations and individuals so doing also kindly copy their endorsement to PsySSA so that we can monitor the response.
* Psychological Society of South Africa notification address: nelja@unisa.ac.za
The Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) is the professional body representing psychologists in South Africa. PsySSA has since its inception been dedicated to making a significant contribution to solving the pressing human development problems in South Africa. PsySSA is committed to the transformation and development of South African Psychology to serve the needs and interests of all South Africa’s people. PsySSA advances psychology as a science, profession and as a means of promoting human well-being.
The Psychological Society of South Africa is a member of The International Network on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns and Transgender Issues in Psychology.
Perhaps Kennethism has lost himself, not just losing religion. Perhaps disappointments have far exceeded your expectations to have such biased views on life.