<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Aug 18, 2009
REACTIONS TO NATIONAL DAY RALLY SPEECH
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Timely reminder
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong's wide-ranging National Day Rally speech was illuminating and timely because it did not shy away from sensitive issues. I applaud him for emphasising the importance of religious harmony and, among other things, highlighting the problem of aggressive proselytisation.
Over the years, I have heard of more incidents of teachers, nurses and doctors who proselytise.
I vividly remember that 25 years ago, when I was in Primary 3, I had an English teacher who would often 'share' Bible stories in class and teach the pupils, who were multiracial, to sing Christian songs.
When I was in junior college, I had classmates who persistently invited me to their churches, even after I told them I was a Buddhist. Such encounters with evangelists continued unabated right through my undergraduate days in university.
In recent years, I have also come across Christian forums where people who identified themselves as teachers proudly wrote about sharing the Gospel with their students.
My anecdotal account suggests that people who proselytise often do so by taking advantage of their relatively high position of power - for example, teachers, doctors and employers - and the kindly tolerance of others.
While such evangelists may think they are 'helping' others, I would like to remind them of the old adage: 'Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.' What would they think if others told them they were praying to the wrong god, living life the wrong way and would never find redemption?
It is imperative that proselytising in public spaces, particularly schools, hospitals, libraries and workplaces, be prohibited or at least strongly and explicitly discouraged.
Whether one is a Buddhist, a Christian or an atheist, it is not an open invitation for evangelists to prey aggressively on one. Rather, the multi-religious society here should be seen as an opportunity for everyone to learn from one another the core principles of all humane beliefs, such as love, empathy, tolerance and kindliness.
Harvey Neo
http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapore/Story/STIStory_418075.html
REACTIONS TO NATIONAL DAY RALLY SPEECH
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Timely reminder
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong's wide-ranging National Day Rally speech was illuminating and timely because it did not shy away from sensitive issues. I applaud him for emphasising the importance of religious harmony and, among other things, highlighting the problem of aggressive proselytisation.
Over the years, I have heard of more incidents of teachers, nurses and doctors who proselytise.
I vividly remember that 25 years ago, when I was in Primary 3, I had an English teacher who would often 'share' Bible stories in class and teach the pupils, who were multiracial, to sing Christian songs.
When I was in junior college, I had classmates who persistently invited me to their churches, even after I told them I was a Buddhist. Such encounters with evangelists continued unabated right through my undergraduate days in university.
In recent years, I have also come across Christian forums where people who identified themselves as teachers proudly wrote about sharing the Gospel with their students.
My anecdotal account suggests that people who proselytise often do so by taking advantage of their relatively high position of power - for example, teachers, doctors and employers - and the kindly tolerance of others.
While such evangelists may think they are 'helping' others, I would like to remind them of the old adage: 'Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.' What would they think if others told them they were praying to the wrong god, living life the wrong way and would never find redemption?
It is imperative that proselytising in public spaces, particularly schools, hospitals, libraries and workplaces, be prohibited or at least strongly and explicitly discouraged.
Whether one is a Buddhist, a Christian or an atheist, it is not an open invitation for evangelists to prey aggressively on one. Rather, the multi-religious society here should be seen as an opportunity for everyone to learn from one another the core principles of all humane beliefs, such as love, empathy, tolerance and kindliness.
Harvey Neo
http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapore/Story/STIStory_418075.html
