SAN FRANCISCO- An unprecedented press conference on the Oscar Best Picture nominees 'Brokeback Mountain' was called by Christian leaders in the San Francisco Bay Area to address the movie’s destruction to family and society.
On March 3, the world-renowned Chinese evangelical and chairman of the Great Christian Commission Center International (GCCI) Rev. Thomas Wang; chairman of the Traditional Family Coalition Dr. Bill Tam; Dr. Melvin Wong, a California-based Licensed Clinical Psychologist; Rev. Lawrence Chan, chairman of America Chinese Evangelical Seminary (ACES); Rev Luke Poon, senior pastor of the Peninsula Chinese Alliance Church were invited to GCCI at Sunnyvale.
The panel session was presented as a strong and open defiance to the fallen entertainment industry in the U.S. It aimed to declare one clear message: "Brokeback Mountain Victimizes Family and Society." "Brokeback Mountain" has drawn critics from different groups in the society for it portrays an entangling homosexual relationship between two cowboys out of their respective marriages.
Holding a press conference like this for a particular Hollywood movie may seem unusual as there are far more other movies conveying messages that contradict the teaching of Christianity. Not only because the director of "Brokeback Mountain" Lee Ang is a Taiwanese and will draw much attention to the movie, Chinese Christian leaders express deep concern over the issue, but Chinese Christian leaders has pointed out the most serious problem of "Brokeback Mountain."
"Brokeback Mountain" attempts to promote homosexual relationship higher than heterosexual marriage, showing that one may pursue his personal desire in the expense of his wife and children, according to the leaders.
"From the biblical viewpoint, homosexuality is not just a sin, but it’s a detestable sin that God hates. In the Bible, there were two cities of sins called Sodom and Gomorrah, and homosexuality was on the top of all sins. Therefore, God destroyed the two cities by fire from the Heaven," said Rev Wang.
Wang warned that the great ancient Roman and Greek civilizations were fallen because of the sin of homosexuality and the situation of the world today is actually the same. Therefore, Christian leaders should be challenged and voiced out the truth.
"God creates man and woman, so that they can reproduce generations. However, if everyone is homosexual, it symbolizes the end of life of mankind. Society is made up of families and a family is made up parents, however, homosexuality destroys the most fundamental form of the society." said Wang. "In the movie, you can say ‘there is no way out’ and everyone is a loser. This is because the sin of homosexuality poses unrecoverable destruction to people."
Dr. Bill Tam, on the other hand, suggested that the movie gave a wrong message that some people are born to be homosexuals and have that special kind of desire. The fact is that homosexual relationship is a behavior that learns through experience.
Tam lamented that even though the cause of homosexuality has not been proved scientifically, now the mass media, entertainment and schools have started teaching children that wrong teaching. The trend that homosexuality is becoming more acceptable has worried many parents, yet the mass media and teachers have not stand up to criticize such wrong ideas. He shared an experience in the theatre when a scene showing one of the wives cried as found out that her husband was passionately kissing another man, but surprisingly many youngsters in the theatre clapped their hands. Chinese Christian leaders should therefore express their voice so that no one will fall into the trap.
Sharing his own clinical experience, Dr. Melvin Wong said there are cases that homosexuals change back to normal. He knew a real story that happened to a couple from Hong Kong, sharing how the homosexual husband returned to normal life through the wife’s endless understanding and support.
All Christian leaders call on the mass media to be responsible for the education of the society and to speak for justice and righteousness. Rev. Wang quoted the words from a famous English philosopher Edmund Burke "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing," encouraging the mass media to carry the burden of today’s culture and society. While acknowledged that there are difficulties to go against the general trend, Rev Wang exhorted the Christian leaders to go with faith.
After the panel session, one lady from the audience, who named Wong and lived in the Bay Area, said she was encouraged to see some Christians speaking up on the issue.
"For violence, everyone has a very clear standard that it is wrong. However, homosexuality is something controversial. Even the government officials are not very willing to show their standpoints clearly. Therefore, parents and other related people should stand out and express their opinions," said Wong, adding that she did not want her children to be affected by movies.
