A Christian Social Vision For Nation Building

By Ng Kam Weng

(This article originally published in the Kairos Magazine, issue September 2007, and at Ng Kam Weng's website Krisis & Praxis, 10 October 2007.)

A Christian Philosophy for the Common Good

“The Church must exercise prophetic witness towards wider society and to government,” exclaimed the young man as he urged his friends to join a candlelight vigil in front of the High Court to express their concerns over a recent High Court judgment that was seen to be in conflict with fundamental liberties.

Asian Human Rights: A Critique

By Ng Kam Weng

(This article originally published at Ng Kam Weng's website Krisis & Praxis, 25 June 2007.)

Asian critics offer more sophisticated arguments than expediency in their resistance against demands for greater implementation of human rights policies. Of the various arguments voiced by Asian governments I shall focus on four: 1) that human rights are culture specific; 2) that community takes precedence over individuals; 3) that social-economic rights have priority over civil political rights, and 4) that the implementation of human rights should be respected as a matter of national sovereignty.

Rendering to Caesar: A Theology of Church-State Relations.

By Roland Chia [1]

(This article is originally published by the Centre for the Development of Christian Ministry of Trinity Theological College, Singapore, in periodical Church and Society, issue 7.2 [2004], p.41-46, and reproduced at Church and Society in Asia Today website.)

In a White Paper entitled Maintenance of Religious Harmony[2], published in 1989 and accepted as a Bill by parliament in 1990, the Singapore Government adumbrates its position concerning religion and politics. Emphasizing that for Singapore, ‘the safeguards for political rights and democratic values must be secular, not religious, institutions’ (21), the White Paper postulates the separation of religion from politics. By this it refers to the prohibition of the promotion of any political party or cause by religious groups or leaders and under the cloak of religion (20). Recognizing the fact that the division between religion and politics is really a matter of ‘convention’ (24), and that any such division in reality is not entirely possible, the White Paper nevertheless insists that such an approach is the most appropriate one, especially in the case of multireligious Singapore. The White Paper also acknowledges the fact that ‘some religions explicitly deny the possibility of this separation, because to their followers the faith encompasses all aspects of life’(25). It concludes, however, that it is precisely because some faiths proffer a holistic view ‘that they must collide if they all attempt to carry out to the full their respective visions of an ideal society’ (25). The document makes clear that ‘the purpose of attempting to separate religion from politics is therefore not to determine the validity of various religious or ethical beliefs which have political or social implications. It is to establish working rules by which many faiths can accept fundamental differences between them, and coexist peacefully in Singapore’ (27).

Discerning the Spirit in the Church Today

By Simon Chan

(This article is originally published by the Centre for the Development of Christian Ministry of Trinity Theological College, Singapore, in periodical Church and Society, issue 7.3 [2004], p.105-113, and reproduced at Church and Society in Asia Today website.)

Christians throughout history have always recognized the need to evaluate the sources of their spiritual experience if they are to make spiritual progress. Not all experiences come from the Holy Spirit. There are two other possible sources: the devil and ourselves. Confusing these sources could have disastrous consequences. In more recent times, the charismatic renewal has brought the matter of spiritual operations to the forefront of the church's life and consciousness. All kinds of conflicting claims are made in the name of the Holy Spirit. We need to discern these spiritual operations.

The Church as a Multi-racial Community

By Robert Solomon
(This article is originally published by the Centre for the Development of Christian Ministry of Trinity Theological College, Singapore, in periodical Church and Society, issue 7.2 [2004]: 64-74, and reproduced at Church and Society in Asia Today website.)

I was at a combined service recently where I had the joy of giving the benediction in three languages - Mandarin, Tamil, and English. After the service, a member of one of our Peranakan services remarked that I had missed saying the benediction in Malay. Interestingly, the next day I was at a Peranakan service and had the opportunity to give the benediction in Malay. This experience reiterated for me the fact that the church is a multilingual and multi-racial community. This is not just a sociological phenomenon, for in order to understand it adequately, we must begin with a theological perspective.

A Theological Perspective
We begin with the creation account in Genesis where we are introduced to God the Creator who made the heavens, the earth, and all that dwell on earth, including human beings. A constant theme right through Scripture is that it is proper for this Creator God to be worshipped by all people. However, sin entered the human race when Adam and Eve sinned (Gen. 3) and since then, God has been redeeming mankind to Himself.

Prophecy And Discernment

By Simon Chan

(This article is originally published by the Centre for the Development of Christian Ministry of Trinity Theological College, Singapore, in periodical Church and Society, issue 6.3 [2003], p.41-46, and reproduced at Church and Society in Asia Today website.)

Introduction
The topic I have chosen might appear at first to be rather narrow in scope. Why only discernment of prophecy? Surely more things could be said about this important subject than just discernment? Indeed, more things could be said, but I have specifically chosen to focus on discerning prophecy for good reason.

Of all the gifts in the NT there is reason to believe that prophecy occupies a special place. The NT scholar James Dunn goes so far as to suggest that prophecy may be considered the central charisma in Paul.[1] It occurs in all the three lists of gifts mentioned by Paul (1 Cor 12:7-11; 12:27-31; Rom 12:3-8). It could also be seen as the basic means by which other gifts are expressed. Prophecy is first and foremost speech, and speech is the means by which a good many other gifts are exercised, e.g., word of wisdom, knowledge, encouragement, even preaching under special circumstances. There is evidence to suggest that in a special sense prophecy is not just one of the gifts of the Spirit, but the gift of the Spirit for the entire church. The Spirit, who is the gift of God for the “last days”, is seen, especially in Luke, as the “Spirit of prophecy”. To the extent that the church is viewed in Scripture as the community of the last days, the community oriented towards the future fulfillment of God’s purpose, the community in which the word is given, received and proclaimed in the power of the Spirit—to that extent, the church as a whole could be described as a prophetic community.[2]

Economic Crises and the Chief End of Man

By Lee Soo Ann

(This article is originally published by the Centre for the Development of Christian Ministry of Trinity Theological College, Singapore, in periodical Church and Society, issue 2.1 [1999], pp.1-11, and reproduced at Church and Society in Asia Today website.)

 

The New year mesdage of the Prime Minister of Singapore emphasised the need of social cohesion during these times of economic uncertainty. There are only the daring few who would predict when Singapore would resume a high economic growth again. The Deputy Prime Minister, Bg-Gen. Lee Hsien Loong, has advised Singaporeans to prepare for a long period of moderate or slow growth at best. It is as if Singaporeans are being exhorted to discover an inner core to themselves and rediscover inner values which would re-instate concern for each other and lead to proper concern for oneself.

Why does it take an economic crisis to shake us to the core? Cannot man be aware of God and his fellow man in times of material prosperity?

Conversion and Intrafamilial Conflict: Some New Testament Perspectives

By Tan Kim Huat

(This article is originally published by the Centre for the Development of Christian Ministry of Trinity Theological College, Singapore, in periodical Church and Society, issue 1.1 [1998], pp.7-11, and reproduced at Church and Society in Asia Today website.)

Christianity as an avowedly missionary religion seeks converts. To prevent Christianity from performing missionary work is tantamount to denaturing it. This may sound offensive to some but when it is borne in mind that such a characteristic is not unique to it, the offence is somewhat lessened. Many religions do have such an agenda, especially when they claim to have the Truth and the principles to bring about the greatest happiness to a human being. Hence, Christianity, like some other religions, understands itself as helping to bring about something eternally significant and blissful to someone when it invites him to be converted. However, when this happens, there often comes with it a potentially thorny problem: intrafamilial conflicts brought about precisely by conversion. Such conflicts are often most complex, exasperating and traumatic. A new convert, especially a young one, may find it rather difficult to cope with these. The questions he may need answering could well be those which are Biblical, theological or practical in nature. It is the purpose of this article to look at this problem from some perspectives provided by the New Testament (NT) and it is hoped that some strategies may be found for pastors to alleviate the pain brought about by such conflicts [1]. By so doing, it also hopes modestly to demonstrate the importance of drawing resources from theology (and Biblical studies) to address societal norms, trends and concerns.