If what you teach is true, it will not contradict the scriptures, and it can be applied consistently. And when you are questioned, you would not feel uneasy, evasive, embarrassed, ashamed or threatened. And if your scripture contradicts itself, how can it be true? If you have to force others to accept, or restrict them from leaving, how can what you believe be true?
The English language calls them loan sharks. Malaysian colloquailism
names them as Ah Loongs, spelt as Along which probably came out of the
Cantonese colloquail "dai yi loong" or big ear hole. I am not quite sure
why the Cantonese call them "big ear hole". All we know is that they
give out illegal loans to people who urgently need cash at exhorbitant
interests. The City Harvest Church appears to be guilty of this -
illegal money lending at exhorbitant interest.
CHC Sues Chew Eng Han
The headlines read "City Harvest Sues ex church leader in $21M lawsuit". That ex-church leader is none other than Chew Eng Han, the guy that got 6 years in jail, being the next longest sentence to the 8 year sentence passed on this ex-leader's leader, the now infamous Kong Hee. Apparently, in our eagerness to hear the government's case against them, we all missed noticing that on Oct 10, 2013 CHC filed that suit against Chew Eng Han for repayment of the outstanding sum. It appeared that Chew Eng Han had enticed CHC to "invest" some monies into his investment company AMAC Capital Partners in return for high returns and sign a personal guarantee to CHC for the money to be "invested". CHC then went ahead and "invested" sums of $3M or more each time, up to 16 times in all which were to be repaid in a short period with "interest". CHC through AMAC Capital Partners had also loaned some money to the Transcu Group for high interests.
Now, how an "investment" brings "interests" in returns is beyond me. But it appeared that CHC charged very high interests on these investments. How high is high? Well, one such transaction amounting to $2.45M for a one week duration was charged at 52% interest per annum! Hmmmm. That sounds like it is even higher than the outrageous interest rates charged by the ubiquitous Alongs in Malaysia! In another one week transaction, the $1.5M loan was repaid with 152% interest! WOW! WOW! WOW! Well, Chew Eng Han and his company repaid the loans except for four loans given to Transcu Group, and they defaulted with the outstanding sum of $21M, inclusive of interest of $4.6M ( You work out the % for yourself).
Why Sue Chew Eng Han?
This is just my conjecture. When going is good, Christians often go round with "brother! brother!". When the going goes bad .. ... and the going went bad here. Chew Eng Han is sore that he has been charged in court for fraud and probably more sore that Kong Hee tried to make himself look good in court. So we all know that Chew Eng Han hit at Kong Hee in court, do we not? And so, Kong Hee is sore that Chew Eng Han hit at him in court and he hit back with a lawsuit for the $21M. And what is Chew Eng Han's response?
"Why should I pay you back?"
Chew Eng Han is now using his lawyer A. Rajandran to argue in court that he does not need to repay the remaining $21M since it is an ILLEGAL LOAN, given in violation of the Money Lenders Act. The judge, in allowing Chew Eng Han to defend the case had ruled that CHC does appear to have infringed the law by acting as an illegal money lender, since the monies "invested" are not really investments, but with the purpose of earning high interests.
So there you go! When thieves fall out, the shit hits the fan. More will be coming out when the case is heard in court later, i.e. on 18th December, 2015. Let us wait and see.
So, what does the bible say about lending money with interest?
Deuteronomy 23:19 Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:
Well, Kong Hee can always argue he lent the money to AMAC Capital Partners which is a company and not a brother in Christ and so he should be allowed to charge interest on it. And of course, with his charisma many so called Christians will clap hands and nod their heads in agreement.
As for you goody goody christiany christians and pastors out there! Instead of going round telling everybody to "forgive them", so that you can look and sound christiany.. stop and think. Did CHC and Kong Hee steal from you and me? NO! So, for what do I owe them any forgiveness? NONE! But what do the scriptures say about wrong-doing elders in the body of Christ? 1Timothy 5:20 says "REBUKE THEM before all so that OTHERS may fear". So, Mr Christiany Pastor, why are you ignoring this scripture? WHY?
What says the bible in John 8:32? "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Huge numbers of people, often highly educated, intelligent and society savvy can be easily be mind controlled to simply follow, obey, and clap their hands to do purportedly holy things even when the greatest evil is thrust before their faces! Wait till you hear the excuses they rush to invent to justify her behavior!
We see this with the City Harvest Cult (CHC ) as well as in the case of the Roman Catholics, Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, etc..... even in non Christian cults. The followers will simply ignore the evil and go about their holy activities in the most unholy way, and shout you down if you point it out to them. Mind control - reaaaaally powerful!
Just look at the evil they ignore, a pastor? doing this? and go on laying hands! and look at their so called "elders" laying hands as ordered to.
John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Some 3 weeks have passed by since the arrest of the above well-known pastor of a 30,000-members church and his team on 26 Jun 2012. I have waited that long before writing about this case. Well, more on the fallacious behavior of churches and their leaders against unrighteous acts among their own, and the idol-worshiping followers of that now infamous name. I have waited that long to see if they would behave the way I had expected them to and sure as the sun rises in the East, they did.
Now, first of all let it be known that the bible has plenty of warnings against the popping up of wolves within the sheepfold.
Act 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Bible warns that some will bring in false teachings and prophecies. Others will make merchandise out of the believers ( i.e. make profit out of them). And some will do both, i.e make profit out of gullible believers by teaching falsely to scratch itching ears and superstitious followers by their false prophecies designed to excite and cause fear, so that the fool and his money can be early parted from him.
2Pe 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2Pe 2:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
2Pe 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
For this, you only have to look at people like Creflo Dollar ( the name itself is so telling ), Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, TD Jakes, and the list goes on. Not all people come to church to seek God, but on the pretext of seeking God, they come for all kinds of other worldly things like worldly riches and blessings, girlfriends, business networking, motivational adrenaline flow, etc. Many worship the leader with charisma and showmanship and obey that leader more than they obey God, for they believe the pastor more than the bible. That, is the condition of the institutionalized church today. I always make a distinction between that institution that usurped the name “church” from the body of believers.
Kong Hee’s Gifts and Fruits of the Spirit
Now, Kong Hee does have very good teachings. I do not fault him on this, for in this he puts Joseph Prince to shame. But the ability to teach is not all Christians are supposed to look for in a leader, or any other believer. We are supposed to look for the fruits of the Spirit. But Christians easily idol-worship any charismatic speaker and especially one with showmanship. Many come to the church to entertain themselves under the pretext of seeking God and the pulpit is also turned into a comedian stand and a motivational podium. My former church mate, an Uncle Lim is one of them and not the only one. And Kong Hee has charisma and some level of showmanship to go with his teaching. And so, he has become ‘god’ to be idolized by many of his followers.
Should a Pastor Live Luxuriously To Be Effective?
And on what he did, or rather been alleged to have done. Let me first say this. I have no grudge against a pastor driving a luxurious car or living in a mansion. He could have inherited it, earned his money in investments before or even during his time as a pastor; or he might even have received it as a gift from his followers. I only question the necessity of showing off. I have heard one lady “pastor” by the name of Christina who once told me that a pastor needs to wear expensive clothes in order to be able to impress others and get their attention so that when he preaches the gospel it can be believed. You go figure what’s right or wrong with this logic. To me, being well-groomed does not equate to expensive clothings. And I can preach the gospel as long as I am decently dressed.
What He Did, And How The Church Responded
Now, back to Kong Hee. The Singapore authorities took 2 years to complete the investigations and found enough evidence to execute the arrest and to charge the whole bunch in court for Criminal Breach of Trust of S$23million. And the authorities revealed that there were clear evidence of manipulation to conceal the movement of the money from one account into another, until it reaches the final “Multi-purpose Account”, which then uses the money to fund his wife’s secular career activities. Now, what is the best thing for Christians to to do in the circumstances? I would say that we wait for the evidence to be presented in court to see if Kong Hee is actually found guilty. But whether or not he is found guilty, that should not prevent us from making a stand against any criminal act, lying and cheating per se. But this was not done. What was done were: -
1)Immediate chorus of support for the pastor and his team with statements made as if he and his team is not capable of committing those acts. Do you not think those who cry do not judge has already judged before the court judges? What hypocrisy! 14000 members, it seems got together to do this.
2)Cries were issued to pray to God that the court will find him innocent. It does not matter if he is actually guilty, but the prayer should be that God should ( blind the eyes of the judge?) set him free whatever he has done, so that the “honor” of Christianity be upheld. I would not think my righteous God would do that. Would yours?
3)Various Christian leaders from other churches immediately expressed concern over the “talks” circulating around, and urge believers to exercise restrain. Only one man Dr. Daniel Koh had the balanced wisdom to express along the lines that, “some of the comments are negative and unkind. Yet unkind responses, as well as those that seem to offer blind support of pastors and leaders, are 'unhelpful'”. Others, immediately jump up to urge Christians “not to judge”. Now, the question is, “Are Christians supposed to judge or not to judge”?
4)The Regional Pastor of Hope International Ministries Benjamin Lee exhibited the standard hypocrisy of self-righteous non-judging Christian by urging Christians to "watch out for negative and sinful dynamics in our own life" and to "avoid the judgmental spirit and self-righteousness." What hypocrisy! Crying out against self-righteousness by practicing self-righteous restraint that is in contravention to bible teachings.
To Judge Or Not To Judge, That Is The Question
For my firm answer to that, I simply quote :
1Co 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 1Co 5:10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. 1Co 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 1Co 5:12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 1Co 5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
It is so simple to understand. I am supposed to keep company with fornicators of the world, with the covetous, idolators of the world. But I am not supposed not keep company with a “brother”, i.e. a Christian who is covetous or a fornicator or extortioner, a drunkard, etc, etc. I am not supposed to judge the sinners who are outside of the church, for it is for God to judge them. But I am supposed to judge those who are within ( the church ), and I am supposed to put away from me that wicked person ( who is a Christian ).
Now, tell me. Does any church seriously preach the above? NO!! But I have the cults ( surprisingly ) being more serious about this than the regular churches. In churchy hypocrisy, they tell believers not to be self-righteous by judging others, while they themselves become self-righteous by practicing “self-restraint” in a manner which is against the bible teaching. Can anyone tell me 1Co 5:9 is to be understood in any other way?
And by the way, what about those pastors on this side of the border with Singapore who connived with them to receive the huge sums of money as "love offering" and then quickly re-transferred the monies into the Multi-purpose Account? Are they not guilty of collaborating to deceive? Is any of them owning up?
But The Bible Says Judge Not! ??
Dressed for Evangelism? To Judge or Not To Judge
The bible does say:
Mat 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
but if you care to read on further, you will find the clear message that you should not judge without first judging yourself. If does not say do not judge. It says judge yourself first and then go on to judge others. And by what standard should a person judge? By the standards set in the bible, of course for you are going to be judged by these standards even if you do not judge others. This is what the pastors and church leaders do not explain. They just stop at verse 1. Maybe they don’t understand the bible despite their training. Maybe they are just being deceitful and hopes that by teaching out of context, their wrongs will not be revealed by their followers.
Image of Holiness or Harlotry?
The bible teaching on judging others is so clear. Just this verse: Joh 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
Let’s look at another verse commonly used to scare Christians away from judging:
Rom 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
False preachers commonly stop expounding at “thou condemnest thyself”. They would not go on to the last limb that says “for thou that judgest doest the same things”. So the truth is, if we condemn others while we are doing the same things, then we are condemned for we do the same things. So, am I not allowed to judge if I am not doing the evil they are doing? See how easily Christians are deceived by incomplete teaching and preaching.
My take is, we are supposed to judge. I will judge, and I will judge by the standards of the bible. And I shall make sure that I do not the things that the bible condemns, and when I do, I know I have sinned and shall confess to the Lord and ask for forgiveness.
Naughty Girl Evangelism - City of Sin or City of Sun
The "Cross-over Project"And finally, about this thing called the “Cross-over Project”. I suppose the title refers to an intention of the “good” pastor and his hand-picked team to “use” the worldly, material-girl image of the wife to draw in worldly material-life chasing members from within her fan club to cross over into the church. This sounds like a fantabulous idea until you start asking questions. And one question is “cross over into the church for what purpose”? To change these people into holy living Christians? Surely CHC cannot succeed in that when the pastor cannot get his wife to dress more decently on stage. Another question is "What kind of image does she project upon Christianity with skimpy dressing and abundant exposed flesh on stage, couple with hips jerking forth antics on stage?". No wonder the Muslims have such a cockeyed view of Christianity as a decadent religion!Maybe his intention is merely to get the fans to cross-over to fill up the membership rolls and collect more money in tithes and offerings? Numbers attract numbers, and numbers = $$$$! That would sound like a more plausible motive, but that would be the wrong motive for converting people to Christianity. But the idol speaks, and his handpicked leaders obligingly agree ( probably with due benefits for agreeing ) and connived to use church funds to “sponsor” the pastor’s wife’s career in order to bring in more members. Is that not a devious method of “evangelism” on behalf of a fully righteous God? But though we call a collection of sheep a flock, they actually behave like a herd. Their eyes being blurred by the charisma of the leader, they become incapable of making the right judgment. Even when the matter is exposed, they continue to blindly cry for him and to support him, and even pray to a holy God to help get him off the hook, whether he is guilty or not. One lady supporter of his even remarked "Why are you people outside of CHC complaining about the money when we who are inside are not?" This kind of blind support is pathetic. They fail to look beyond at the damage to the public's impression of Christianity caused by the allegations against a Christian leader's criminal behavior, and the half-naked evangelism. I am inclined to think that maybe they are acting out of need to defend their hurt pride, for they cannot admit that they have had wool pulled over their eyes. Kind of reminds me of Joseph Prince’s supporters and the way they defend him even when Joseph Prince is caught outright teaching wrongly.
Will I pray for Kong Hee? I will pray, for I have prayed for Kong Hee that God’s will be done, and that if he is truly guilty but found not guilty by the court for any reason whatsoever, God’s grace be upon him to come before Him to confess and repent, and that the Lord will forgive him. For in the end, it is not the court of man that condemns us in eternity, but the righteousness of God.
Jesus said "Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. " but many would not know the truth.
