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Hong Kong: Evangelists Accuse Lady Gaga of Leading Youth Astray

Categories: East Asia, Hong Kong (China), Human Rights, LGBTQ+, Music, Religion

American singer and songwriter Lady Gaga [1] is currently touring Asia with her ‘Born this Way Ball’ [2]. Hong Kong shows are scheduled to take place between May 2 and May 7, 2012. On the eve of her first concert there, an evangelist group's campaign against her presence in Hong Kong has ignited debate within the local community.

A right wing evangelist group, Media Evangelism Limited [3], has launched an online campaign against Lady Gaga's tour, inviting Christians to sign in and “pray for youth in Hong Kong against the temptation of Lady Gaga”. The online poster [4] [zh] states:

Lady Gaga 演唱會將於 2/5 – 7/5 來港舉行,演唱會帶有色情、同性戀及崇拜撒旦的元素,亦容讓 3 歲以上人士進場。我們籲請信徒支持緊急代禱簽到行動,為青少年的心智守望禱告。

[4]

Poster calling for Christians to sign in to pray for youth against the

Lady Gaga's concerts will be held between May 2 and May 7 in Hong Kong. The concert has pornographic, homosexual and satanic elements and it allows children over three-year-old to enter. Here we plead Christians to sign up and pray for the youth's mind and spirit.

Facebook user Julie Lam [5] explained the Christian's action in her prayer [zh]:

她的新歌 Born This Way “生來如此” — 聲稱上帝創造同性戀者及同性戀不是罪,她積極推動同性婚姻合法, 影響了數個國家的立法。她 的表演志在香港及亞洲打開黑暗的大門讓邪惡進入,目標是要嚴重影響青少年, 導致道德墮落。

Her new song, Born This Way, said that God created homosexuals and it is not a sin. She advocates for the legalization of same sex marriage and has influenced several countries’ legislation. Her performance will open the door for evil to come in. Her objective is to influence the youth and bring moral decadence.

Less than 100 people have signed in to the page with the majority being against the evangelist group's propaganda. Below is a selection of some of the prayers in the sign-up page [4] [zh].

Johnny Cheung [6] said [zh]:

求主使青年人有清昕頭腦, 分辨壞思想, 壞行為, 分辨到造假的諾亞方舟或者lady gaga 教壞人熟輕熟重的問題。 請所有被洗腦影音洗腦的人清醒, 回到你身邊, 呀門.

Pray for god to clear our youth's brain. Let them know how to distinguish bad thought and behavior. Let them know the fake business of the Noah's Ark theme park. Isn't that more of a problem than Lady Gaga in terms of corrupting people's minds? I pray all those who have been brainwashed by the evangelist media to regain their senses and come back to God's side.

Chan Kwan Yeung [7] defended Lady Gaga [zh]:

慈悲天父嘅主呀,求你為被”影音使團”所說的話而被蒙蔽的人,清洗他們的眼睛哦!
LadyGaga是一個歌手,她所行的一切都是引導現今青少年於正道。宣揚,愛與自由,任何種族,性別,性取向的人皆是平等。她本人並沒有崇拜撤旦,只是在節目上回應主持人的玩笑。她的心是永遠追遠追隨父神你的。神呀,請你為那些被影音使團對LadyGaga的誤解,而寬恕。請你引導這班被該團體而誤入歧途的信徒,帶回正道!阿門~

Our Father, Please let those who have been blinded by the evangelist media to regain their sight!
Lady Gaga is a singer. She guides the youth to choose a righteous path. She promotes love, freedom and equality among those of different race, gender and sexual orientation. She is not a Satan worshipper, she was joking with the program host. Her heart follows our Heavenly Father. God, please forgive those who misjudge Lady Gaga because of the evangelist media's propaganda. Please guide the believers who have been led by the evangelist group to the righteous path. Amen.

Chu Ka Yu [8] criticized the evangelist group for spreading a ‘gay sin’ message [zh]:

將社會分化, 將同自己價值觀唔同既野打壓, 向年青人洗腦, 向佢地灌輸Gay Sin呢個message, 將自己所知所信既視為世界上唯一正確既真理, 唔去用批判思考去想上帝既道理, 用”人”既腦去解讀上帝既意旨, 呢d就係”教會”

我信主, 我信神, 我讀聖經, 所以, 我反對任何教會既存在…

你話我係魔鬼又好, 話我係咩都好…

Divide society, oppress those who do not share their own value, brainwash the youth with the message of Gay Sin, uphold one's belief as the only truth in this world, refuse to reflect upon God's message, impose upon God's will by one's limited intelligence, these are acts of the ‘church’.
I believe in God and Jesus Christ. I read the Bible. That's why I oppose the Church.
I don't care if you call me a devil or anything else….

Siu Heng [9] pointed out that young people know how to make their own choices [zh]:

我唔係lady gaga fans, 亦冇打算去睇佢show;我亦好尊重人地既宗教信仰。但頂唔蒲有人以為青少年係白痴,睇個show就會變壞;以為自己係道德塔里班,人地同你唔同就話係歪風。

I am not a fan of Lady Gaga and do not plan to see her show. I respect the beliefs of others. But I can't stand people treating the youth as idiots who would become bad because of a show. You are just a bunch of moral Talibans who accuse each other of being morally wrong because they are different.

Vita Lam [10] criticized the right wing for spreading hatred [zh]:

基督徒表達對信仰的立場 令到小數族群飽受歧視 公平嗎.
假設所有人針對基督來打壓 你們會怎樣想
與其說神愛世人 不如說是宗教挑起仇恨比較貼切

Is it fair for the Christian to impose discrimination against the social minority when expressing their belief?
If all other people are attacking Christian beliefs, how would you react?
God loves everyone in this world, but in reality, it is more accurate to say that religion has instigated hatred.
The thumbnail and featured image used in this post is by Domain Barnyard [11], used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) Creative Commons license. Visit Domain Barnyard's flickr photostream [11].

This post was sub-edited by Jane Ellis [12].