City Harvest Church member Simon Teoh, an investment banker, is critical of where the $310 million investment by City Harvest Church into Suntec will go.
He wants to know how much would be spent on the lease and how long it would last.
Troubled by the church’s response not to answer such questions on the grounds of a non-disclosure agreement with the consortium. Mr Teoh has called for more accountability and transparency from the Church.
He wrote in to the Commissioner of Charities asking for the confidentiality clauses to be rescinded and that City Harvest Church would amend its Constitution so major business deals can be put to a vote among ordinary church members.
We publish the entire letter from Mr Simon Teoh to the Commissioner of Charities here.
Dear Commissioner,
I am writing with respect to the City Harvest Church investment and expenditure of $310 million for the purchase of shares in a company which owns 80% of Suntec Convention Centre and the rental of exclusive areas of the same (plus related moving and renovation costs). This was reported in the Straits Times twice over the last two weeks, including the recent queries raised by your good office.
As a member of the public and the church, I like to highlight to the Commission that todate, members (both non voting and voting) of the church have not been apprised by the Management Board of the church (“the Board”) of the salient terms of the $310m planned expenditure/investment.
Instead, the Board is pressing ahead with utilising the church’s Building Fund (totalling $65 million as end Oct 2009) and committing the church to large future liabilities ($245 million, being the difference of $310m and $65m in the Building Fund) without consulting the members/executive members at the recent AGM. No EGM has been scheduled and I am led to believe that the deal is closed.
In addition, over the last two weeks, the Board has been seeking financial commitments/pledges from its 30,000+ members to raise monies to meet the said liabilities. I do not think this is ethical, especially considering the large number of minors and vulnerable members (eg old, uneducated) in the church.
The excuse given at the recent AGM and in the public sphere for the lack of disclosure is that the Board is bound by confidentiality clauses in an agreement with the Sellers and / or Suntec management. I believe that as a large, public organisation, the Board should not have agreed to such clauses in the first place.
Although the Board is authorized as per the church’s constitution (which I only recently learnt) to commit to any expenditure it deems fit, I believe this “carte blanche” authority and the Board’s poor judgement in agreeing to the confidentiality terms with the Seller runs counter to best practice standards of disclosure and transparency as per the Commission’s code of governance for charities and IPCs (Code).
I quote section 1.3 and 8 of the Code (emphasis made are mine):
Section 1.3: Accountability to Donors
“General Principle: The charity and its fund raisers should be accountable to their donors for the donations received
1.3.1 The Charity and its fund raisers should ensure that donors received informed and ethical advice about the charity, intended use of donation, value and tax implications of potential donations”
Section 8: Disclosure and Transparency
“General Principle: As the charity operates with public support through both donations and the use of volunteers, it should be transparent in its operations to maintain the integrity of serving for public trust and community good instead of personal gain. As such, the charity should demonstrate its openness to the public by providing the public with information about its mission, structure, programmes, activities, performance and finances.”
I love my church but am puzzled by the lack of transparency and accountability by the Board who is tasked to look after the members’ collective interest. I am not suggesting any impropriety but I believe in transparency and accountability, which protects and promotes public confidence.
I humbly urge the Commission to balance the impact on public interest and the public’s confidence in Singaporean charities verses the Board’s desire to complete the deal and require the church’s Board to seek the approval from the deal’s counterparties to mutually rescind the confidentiality clauses so salient terms can be disclosed.
Secondly, I hope that the Commission will also request the church’s Board to undertake a review of its Constitution to find ways to promote more accountability and transparency to its members. For example, to make it a requirement for material proposals such as material investments and expenditure (say for sums greater than $0.5 million or $1 million) and detailed historical financial accounts be disclosed and be put to a vote by its ordinary members.
I am confident that you and members of the public will agree that $310 million investment/expenditure affecting 30,000+ members of the public are significant numbers/figures that need to be protected through appropriate disclosure and joint decision making.
I look forward to your action in the name of public interest.
Best regards
Simon Teoh
___________________________________________________
If anyone cares about my different thinking, my issue is not with the NDA, neither is it with CHC members being ‘represented’ by their Board in the decision. No way one could make decision by balloting 30,000 voter’s choices. You will need another EXPO for voters to vote for every other major decisions, that is by no means being efficient.
My issue, or rather preference, is that the Executive Members or the Board, or whoever were making decisions over this deal possibly weren’t assembled as much for making business decisions as it is for church management, ministry and related matters.
Given that many of the Executive Members may be reputed business people and professionals, however, in order not to distract the ’apostles or prophets or ….’ from their ministries, and also possibly to avoid group think, and also for independent accountibility, an independent body should be appointed for business decisions, ownership and management, with the trends of churches going more and more into muitiple channels of investment.
Let’s not argue the fact that God is almighty and he can use anyone, then why not anyone of us here, just in case God might be using us to tell? :)
Let’s not also argue that all things are or predominantly spiritual in nature, and that once a matter is correct spiritually, it will be correct in other realms. Seriously, there’s nothing spiritual about how I brush my teeth, even though I might have a spiritual motivation for doing it correctly.
I have no qualms about a church, being constituted as a charity or society or private company because there’s no one secular law that is custom made for churches, neither do I have trouble with churches opting to invest their funds instead of earning low interest.
“Render ministry to the pastors and render business to the business people” is my proposition. For a deal that involves 310 million, even a secular property development and investment enterprise would need experienced independent directors on their board to advise.
I don’t even presume or assume that the Board of CHC is doing it for the best interests of their own, they simply have to! No questions on their integrity, at least not in this context.
My point is no harm seeking conventional wisdom or even best market practice on how to make business decisions like this, and where on-going management of such assets are necessary, thorough thinking needs to be in place, and, that shouldn’t distract the pastors or spiritual leaders away from their primary calling!
When such independent business decision making and ownership and management body has been assembled and appointed to act on behalf of the CHC Board, when proposals are submitted for approval, the CHC Board just need to pray and see if the proposals falls within conventional wisdom and if there are any other special prompting for the Holy Spirit, if not, they could pass it for implementation.
Just a few cents’ worth.
hi ho :), I guess you missed the point. Its not just uncredited quotations. It about lifting whole articles and misrepresenting them as your own by printing them in a book authored by you and selling @$14. Furthermore, inside his own book the pastor has written “No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher…” He can tell others to ask permission before they reproduce his work. Surely he can also ask for permission? Even after he get the permission he should not claim he is “sharing his insights from the Bible” because if the whole article is copied, it can no longer be ‘his insight’, right?
Dear Tee,While admiring your tenacity, and with due respect, I think this thread of discussion has no relevance on the post “Church member critical of City Harvest Church’s investment in Suntec”. You might wish to address this issue some place else, like Kong Hee’s blog, for example.
Hey jurong,
I do not think you have read my response to your comment in entirety,dated 7 April.Let me repeat that to you again;I AM NOT AND NEVER HAVE BEEN A MEMBER OF CHC.PERIOD. I am just an outsider like many of you,getting a piece of facts here and there.If you were a father to a son and he is falsely accused or he has some serious misgivings,would you not build a fire wall around him until all the air are cleared.You and I have a choice to make.Either by following Christ’s teachings or you see as the world sees.Remember the story of the adulterous woman who was to be stoned or that lady at the well?What can i say when you have so much mistrusts about the business deal btw. STC and CHC and in what i say.Have a nice day.
My previous comment was too long and still awaits moderation. I will post in parts then.
“A different thinking” – Part 1
If anyone cares about my different thinking, my issue is not with the NDA, neither is it with CHC members being ‘represented’ by their Board in the decision.
My issue rather, is with the fact that the Board, or whoever were making decisions over this deal possibly weren’t assembled as much for making business decisions as it is for church management, ministry and related matters.
Given that many of the Board may be reputed business people and professionals, however, in order not to distract the ’apostles or prophets or ….’ from their ministries, and also possibly to avoid group think, and also for independent accountibility, an independent body should be appointed for business decisions, ownership and management, with the trends of churches going more and more into muitiple channels of investment.
hmmmm… looks like the awaiting moderation isn’t about the length of the comment.
I’ll leave it with the TOC Team to decide what to do.
Hi ho, everything is connected. Money, integrity and character all go together like milk and honey, sheep and fleece :)
lol looks like CHC had ’nuff troubles with plagiarism, money and sex scandal lately. I personally am not sure what is appropriate for the rest of us… outside the boundaries of CHC…
hohoho,
i think there’s a difference between polling 30000 people to get ideas and ractification by 30000 members of major decisions made by the Board. if public companies with thousands can do so, why can’t a church? just hold a meeting. bet you that >50% members will “delegate” the decision to those who attend the meeting to vote. but the key principle is: they have a choice to vote if they so will.
I like your idea of having independent members on the Board. Let me think aloud. Independent = non members? Or Independent = members who are not in leadership/full time ministry? I don’t know the constitution of the Board currently but I would assume not all 12 are “pastors” or full time staff.
Good point that business decisions should be made by business acquainted Board members and not by those who should be 100% focussed on spiritual one.
Reading through the discussion threads, I was thinking about the motivation behind the critics of the Suntec deal and for that matter Pastor Kong’s teaching.
Is the motivation to make this world a better place by feeding the hungry and helping the poor, and most importantly bringing the good news of hope and salvation to the lost?
Or is the motivation to disrupt one church’s progression in its calling and to tarnish the credibility of their senior pastor, and thereby impeding the good works and works of salvation.
To the hungry, the poor and the hopeless, is it essential to know if Pastor Kong’s message has excerpts from other sources? I would like to believe that what is essential to them is that they are fed and help and many given a new hope in Christ.
So I would implore each individual to expense your time, resources, energy and inteligence into helping those who have much lesser than what you have, be it tangible or otherwise. Do your part in whatever capacity you can and which ever faith that you believe in if you are not a Christian, to make the world a better place to live in.
A kingdom that is divided against itself cannot stand, and like wise a house that is divided against itself cannot stand.
Jenaline,
You have characterise the debate inaccurately.
The debate is about the merit of some members asking for transparency and accountability.
Did Ps Kong preach or teach that transparency and accountability is wrong?
If he didn’t, then how is the request for more accountability and transparency against Ps Kong’s teaching?
There is no division here. It’s not a situation of you verses him/her. The decision to be transparent and accountable, and doing the deal are not mutually exclusive.
Dear Jenaline
I remember your fellow followers telling me to judge not lest I be judged. But yet here you are judging the motivation of people who do not agree with your ilk as having “the motivation to disrupt one church’s progression in its calling and to tarnish the credibility of their senior pastor, and thereby impeding the good works and works of salvation.” Please don’t resort to sanctimony and self-righteousness and be so proud as to think you are the only Christians (??) doing the work of saving others.
You accuse people of a smear campaign? All that has been done is to offer objective evidence of how your pastor has copied the work of others. Can you answer this question without being sanctimonius? Inside his own book the pastor has written “No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher…” He can tell others to ask permission before they reproduce his work. Surely he can also ask for permission if he copied from others? Even after he get the permission he should not claim he is “sharing his insights from the Bible” because if the whole article is copied, it can no longer be ‘his insight’, right? Is there misrepresentation here?
Dear Jenaline
You said “To the hungry, the poor and the hopeless, is it essential to know if Pastor Kong’s message has excerpts from other sources? I would like to believe that what is essential to them is that they are fed and help and many given a new hope in Christ.”
Are you telling us and God that the ends justify the means? That it is Ok, if your pastor copies and profits from the work of others as long as he uses the money for the hungry and the poor? This is pure legalism, thinking you just doing good works is enought to earn God’s favour. In the secular world, maybe results are the only thing that matters. But in the Christian world, a God-glorifying process is just as important to God as the results. I am sure you have read many examples in the Bible sacrifices have been rejected because of the unclean way it has been offered.
Try to be a better apologist for your senior pastor by not assuming you are talking to people of the same unthinking mind as many of your fellow followers. You call it an ‘excerpt from other sources’? So you do admit he copied from other sources? But whole articles are hardly mere excerpts are they? So it does not look good for you to minimise/deny your pastor’s deeds. By your reasoning then, its Ok to copy articles from Readers’ Digest and sell them at $14 (which your pastor did) since they are just ‘excerpts’?. By your reasoning, its ok to take one song from each Hillsong album and then sell as your own because each song is still an excerpt? Your senior pastor talks about having a cultural mandate? IN what way is copying the work of others engaging the culture?
I believe we all want to make the world a better place. But the important thing is to ensure God is glorified in ALL we do. IN what way does copying the work of others, misrepresenting them as your own and profiting from them glorifying to God? ‘NUFF SAID
Hi Jenaline, I relooked at my words and I would like to apologise for using such insensitive words. You may be just a young Christian so such remarks I made are really uncalled-for. I stand by the content of what I had said but regret the way I have said it as I could have phrased it in a more edifying manner :(
I do not take offence of words in general as it is one’s opinion of a situation, and some are more expressive than others :-).
Also, I do not judge anyone by their works or their words, especially men and women of God, for it is God and the Word of God that judges.
As for accoutability and transparency, first and foremost, we are accountable to God, then to the government of the country, then to the authority that God has placed above us and last but not least to the stakeholders whom we serve.
CHC leadership has demonstrated accountability to the above mentioned, and there is no need for the church to be accoutable to others outside the above mentioned, should they choose not to disclose any further information.
As for the point of the motivation, it is to get us all thinking about what we hope to achieve in this discussion and how are we spending our precious time and energy, in a world that is so short of time.
From being a young leader to a cell group of 20 members some 20 years ago, Rev Dr Kong Hee, by the grace of God has built a church together with the pioneering members, a congregation of 30,000 members and impacting lives all around the world.
Truly, let anyone among us who has no sins cast the first stone. To use a word like “butcher” is really quite inappropriate, to say the least.
I believe Rev Dr Kong Hee is not the first neither will he be the last and we definitely hope for more leaders to rise up and churches to impact the world. CHC is only one among many to come.
Hi Jenaline. Well like I said earlier, the question that still needs to be answered is why should a man of God copy another man’s work and misrepresent it as his own? If he considers hmself accountable to God, then he will make sure he remains blameless lest his actions tarnish the glorious name of Jesus Christ. In these times where emphasis is on intellectual rights, sure he should respect the intellectual rights of others. Especially when he is aware of in tellectual rights to the extent where he insists permission be sought before anything can be copied from his book.
Just because he has built up CHC does not give him the right to misrepresent himself as the author of articles not written by him. Good works cannot be used to cover up one’s sin. Only the atoning work of Jesus can do that.
Its no point to use the Bible as a hammer to frighten people with verses like “no sin cast the first stone” etc. I noticed in your pastor’s blog that he has already cast stones at others too so maybe you should preach to him before you preach to others. Unless you are saying here, he is wthout sin. By all means, deny the wrongdoing of people you respect but please do not assume you can justify or minimise another’s sin. And since you like to use cliched Bible verses, let me quote you one for your reflection, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” Isa 5:20
Hey Jenaline,
I am beginning to like you and your comments.Love to see more of your comments on other topics on this website.Can’t wait.
Dear Jenaline, thank you for your non-answer. To paraphrase your statements, why worry if the pastor copies other people’s work and pass them as his own? Good works is more important than character. So the important thing is that he do good works like attending to the poor and the hungry.
Whyworry if he profits by printing other people’s work in a book and sells it at $14. The important thing is that he had built up a congregation of $3o,000 followers impacting the world. BTW $30,ooo x $ = ??? It takes a good businessman to be able to sell stale bread in large quantities. LOL
wow, now got 4th example of copying others’ work. No need to credit others?? http://cheatgrace.blogspot.com/2010/04/4th-example-of-megachurch-pastors-word.html
Man of God surely teach others. So why copy another person’s work? Why canot depend on God for fresh daily bread revelation?
Jenaline
I was indeed impressed by your comments. Your choice of scriptures was appropriate especially when you quoted “Truly, let anyone among us who has no sins cast the first stone”. But it would be ideal if all the relevant verses be included.
Extracted from NIV, John 9
7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11“No one, sir,” she said.
”Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Wow. Some CHC members are really blind to their own pastor’s shortcomings.
What about saying. “Hi I’m a CHC member. Thank you Tee Kay Hetch for pointing out evidence of Pastor’s Kong’s intellectual theft. I shall scrutinize the evidence in the same great detail that I do when I read the bible and if I feel that the evidence is overwhelming, I shall confront Pastor Kong because the bible says ‘thou shall not steal’ and because the bible also says we can judge those who are within the body of Christ. More importantly, he has sinned and I will tell him it is ok to sin as long as one confesses to it and NOT pretend it DIDN’T happpen. And please point out more flaws of CHC because sometimes policies, behavior and people improve when they are criticized in a constructive manner. I promise I will not quote the ‘throw the first stone’ verse EVERY TIME a criticism is made, not matter how valid.”
Jurong, well said. ” Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.” Isa 5:20,21
Mr Tee KH
I am not trying to side anybody but things are getting too ridiculous. Imagine defender of the church claiming that they are non members when it’s very obvious. I do not intend to reproduce all his previous postings to prove the point. A christian brother calling questions raised as silly and stupid. Where is the fruits of the spirit ?
Dear Tee,Jurong, takumi,
Haven’t you noticed the log in your eyes the past weeks as you point out the speck in others’ eyes? Dont you even know what it means to fear God and watch what you say about the man of God? And, are you able to run a church of 30,000 members and yet be able to write a daily devotional everyday (even if i gave you various sources to cut and paste on your blogs)? Please, don’t be a fool and be more scarce with your words from now on…
Dear son of Zeus, I guess it is the log in your own eyes that prevents you from seeing the black colour in your pastor KH’s robes. LOL
So to paraphrase your statements, you are saying your Pastor is so busy running a church, its Ok for him to resort to deceit by copying other people’s work as his own ‘insights’? So you agree he cut and paste and don’t get his daily bread devotional from God? Is this how a God-fearing man of God acts? To copy other people’s work, claim them as his own and then include them in a book that he profits from the sales?
Please don’t be a fool. Be more afraid of your blind defense of your pastor’s acts. Because it is an act of a man who talks about God well but does not walk the talk.
Dear son of zeus
If we are the ones who cast the stones , who is the sinner ? Please mediate on the following verses and informed us when you have the revelation. The verses are simple but contains profound truth.
Extracted from NIV, John 9
7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11“No one, sir,” she said.
”Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Mr Tee
I discovered many topics discussed at Asiaone. Popularity on CHC are immense with subjects covering NDA, Sunho, prosperity gospel, bible school teachings etc. There have a game on spotting the difference. Guess what ? Your pet subject.
I find it strange that the Parson (person) in this long discourse has not even uttered a word in his own defence…..why dosn’t the good old Pastor Kong come out in his own defence and put this matter to bed once and for all and allow his congregation and members to concentrate on the real work of their Lord?
Very strange behaviour from the head of a 30,000 member church.
Very strange.
Tee Kay Hetch,
Charles Spurgeon published the devotion on February 19, 2010, while Kong Hee’s devotion was published on November 9, 2009.
Perhaps you should ask Charles Spurgeon “why copy another person’s work and why can’t he depend on God for fresh daily bread revelation”.
The truth shall prevail.
TKH, why don’t you address your question to the blog writer instead of side-winding here?
Fortunately I read a bit of Christian literature which leads me to another question. Surely if you are a Christian, you cannot be so ignorant of who Spurgeon really is? The Prince of Preachers, Charles Haddon Spurgeon lived from 1834 – 1892. That means he died even before your pastor Kong’s forebears were born.
Further, let me give you a fact that obviously even the cheatgrace blogger did not know since he did not mention it in his blog. This article which exposes your pastor Kong’s plagiarism in flagrante delicto is also found in the book ‘On Eagles’s Wings’, February 19 devotion. This is a collection of Spurgeon’s devotional writings and the book was published in 1991.
Surely the truth will always prevail
I am happy to read Tee Kay Hetch has shut down his blog. I am not a CHC member but I sympathise with the members who has to go through this trying times. To run a big church is not easy but to be accused of many wrong doings is terribly heartbreaking. I wonder what is the motive of TKH behind on this and who is this person. I know CHC has done many wonderful works of the Lord Jesus and they should continue to do so. Do not be distracted by outsider of CHC but stand firm in God’s words despite what others say. None of us is perfect but it is the matured christians that stand together and braved through storms and God will see you throught. At the end of the day, the Lord Jesus will be the ultimate Judge and ruler of all. So continue in your good works of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am not a member of CHC but a christian. Reading through these comments, I cannot help but find this so incredulous that CHC members are so blind to any sins. Call a spade a spade. If we know plagiarism is wrong, then its wrong, no matter whether he is the pastor of a 33k church or a small church. No man is above the law. And copying is cheating. Especially so when he made a clear stand that permission must be sought for any publication of his works.
Moreover, TKH’s comment on this may be symptomatic of CHC’s many members who made comments here to defend him – who may not have much understanding of church history nor any other aspect of christianity’s rich tradition. Possibly brainwashed in a very narrow set of theology that is preached on sundays. Young in the faith, “swayed about with every wind of doctrine”.
Jenaline – do not worship your pastor only God. To excuse his failings is an act of forgiveness. Its something you do after the fact. But to recognise that it is wrong – you should not make any excuse for him. Jesus never condone adultery, He only forgives by not casting the stone.
To Bystander,
there is such a thing as integrity. We can stand together with the pastor even for the things he did wrong. Yes, stand by him. But do not condone his wrong actions. Separate the matter – a wrong is a wrong. If the pastor failed, he failed God. That is something CHC members must admit. I am not talking about the COC’s investigation – that should wait – for the judgement , as everyone is innocent unless proven.
In the case of plagiarism, that is proven.
See today’s papers on the original authors’ comments. My advice to CHC members here – do not condone wrong action. But stand by your pastor in such difficult times and stop defending his wrong action. Do not mix the two – you can still be loyal to him but still admit he is wrong.
Keep your opinions to yourself. Observe yourself before you speak. Dont you have anything that people would like to talk about. If you like to comment, ask yourself if you are guilty of anything before you comment. Who are you to judge another. Are you a saint or God? You dont have the right to judge another just by seeing and hearing what others say. Did you see or hear it for yourself?
“..whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things” phil4:8
Do some relection on this and stop talking or commenting on others. PLEASE MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. DOnt you feel shameful talking bad about others and judging them. Maybe you have nothing better to do but to share your sickening thoughts online. May God forgive all of them who commented in this blog.
Achooo!!!
I had a good opinion on CHC when I attended a few servives years ago, until the $$$ issue came up too often. As a Christian I am disappointed in CHC’s conduct and bad testimony to non christians. Thanks to the whistleblowers, I hope CHC will learn from their mistake and renew itself and walk on the right path again one day. The CHC members commenting on blogs and here have been too blind to Pastor Kong and gang’s wrongdoings. I think he has done a lot of good things but in one swipe he has disgraced God in front of many.
From TR:
>>>>City Harvest Church (CHC) Senior Pastor Kong Hee who was called up by the police for questioning two weeks ago over alleged misuse of church funds is now embroiled in a fresh controversy.
The Straits Times reported today in its “Prime News” section that two Americans who co-auothered a Christian study book have hurled allegations at Kong Hee for plagiarizing their work on his website and books.
The two men Professor Sid Buzzell and Dr Kenneth Boa told Straits Times that Mr Kong did not ask them for permission to use their work. They were tipped off by a Singaporean blogger.<<<<<<<
Justice prevails. The irony is, if Kong Hee had behaved like a true Christian and apologise for (or at least admit to) his wrongdoing or had the CHC members not been overly aggressive in their responses towards the original blogger (apparently he was threatened so much that he had to close the blog down), the one who tipped off the Americans might not have chosen this step.
Do the CHC members think that the Americans should have minded their own business? Do they think that because the Americans are not 100% sinless or perfect, they can’t accuse (or judge) KH for plagiarizing their hard work? Do copyright laws only apply to works of people who are 100% sinless or perfect? Does the bible verse about ‘casting the first stone’ take absolute precedence over international copyright laws? Let’s wait and see.
its responses like jimreve that puts Christianity or religion in bad light. completely idiotic and unthinking.
I dont have to judge. The responses from those aggrieved by the plagiarism is already proof. For someone with a PhD, he should know better than not to cite all references in a published work that he himself insisted on the standard that permission must be sought.
Quoting verses completely out of context, just show how he (or she) is still “drinking milk”. With jimreve’s illogical argument, no one should then care if justice prevail. Just mind your own business…even if evil is done. I wonder if jimreve is directly connected to KH for him (or her) to be so worked up….and with such typical lack of maturity in her article.
I believe this episode is brought about by God to teach his churches on earth to keep to higher standards of morality and behaviour(especially in a multi-religious and multi-racial Singapore)
I believe the Christian community outside CHC have been praying for CHC, its pastor and leaders.
Inspite of all the alleged wrongs that its pastor is alleged to have done, the core anchor is that God chose Kong Hee to be an instrument to harvest 33,000 plus souls.
I think CHC members should not arrogantly
defended their pastor. It is wiser to show humility. Let your Yes be yes, and your No be no. When words are many sin is not absent.(Prov 10:19)
The Christian community should be magnanimous to pastor Hong Kee as do the two Americans whose work is said to be plagiarised. From what I read in the newspaper, it appears they are letting the matter rest if the pastor stops further plagarism. Here is mercy shown. They did not cast the first stone. Like Jesus told the woman to go and sin no more.
Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.
In this case, Caesar will be giving his judgement (we have to wait and see)
But Caesar is concerned only on the things of this world, whereas God concerns most on things of the heavenly world.
The core of your writing whilst appearing reasonable originally, did not really sit perfectly with me personally after some time. Someplace throughout the paragraphs you actually managed to make me a believer but just for a very short while. I still have a problem with your leaps in assumptions and one might do well to fill in all those gaps. If you can accomplish that, I will definitely be fascinated.