Opinion

THE ORIGIN OF THE BAPTIST TRADITION is a subject of considerable debate among historians and even among Baptist theologians and leaders. Historians like David Benedict and Walter Rauschenbusch (both of whom are Baptist) trace the Baptist heritage to the Anabaptist sects of the 16th century that rejected paedobaptism and reinstituted the baptism of believers. “Anabaptist” […]

THE POLITE VOICE on the phone was unmistakable. “Jacqueline, please drop everything and come into my office now.” As my mind set off its “battle-ready” mode to review all possible crisis protocols, I thought, “Good grief, what could possibly have happened now?”

WORD FROM THE EDITOR IS IT TRUE that men find it more difficult to share their problems or feelings than women? It seems they would rather talk about the economy, politics or about their cars and their last game at the golf course than how they are coping as husbands and fathers at home. But […]

  VINOTH RAMACHANDRA’S Church and Mission in the New Asia: New Gods, New Identities refreshingly questions widely-held understandings of the nature and purpose of missions in light of the modern Asian context. The book content was prepared originally as three public lectures under the Annual Lecture Series of the Centre for the Study of Christianity […]

WORD FROM THE EDITOR THESE ARE PERILOUS TIMES we are living in. The threat of ugly terrorism is lurking in every corner of the world. No nation, big or small – not even the superpowers – is spared the wanton and senseless killings by the wily terrorists, supported by their sophisticated networks. And so nations, […]

16TH CENTURY REFORMS “From its genesis, the Anglican Communion has embraced the reforms introduced by the 16th century Reformers like Martin Luther.” THE ENGLISH REFORMATION had an unlikely beginning when England’s King Henry VIII declared unilaterally the Church in England to be under his control, and not that of Pope Clement VII. Henry VIII made […]

WORD FROM THE EDITOR IN CELEBRATING the 44th anniversary of becoming an independent nation, we give thanks to God for the marvellous way in which this island republic has been able to weather the many challenges that we have faced and successfully overcome. at Singapore has taken its place as one of the newly-developed nations […]

How should Christians engage in the public square? AS SOCIETY BECOMES increasingly secular, religion is slowly edged towards the periphery of public life and reduced to a private experience without any social implications. The Christian faith is intrinsically opposed to the privatisation of religion because of its claim that the God it worships and professes […]

We begin a new series on Christian denominations entitled, “So What’s the Difference?” This series, which alternates with “Now That’s A Good Question!”, will discuss the history, theology and practices of the main Protestant denominations. In the first instalment, we look briefly at the origin of Christian denominations CHRISTIANITY today is divided into many different […]

    THE FACEBOOK FEVER has infected the world over and is here to stay. Alongside other social networking websites such as Twitter, Friendster, LinkedIn, hi5, Doostang and MySpace, Facebook has injected a new streak of vibrancy into the virtual world after the hype of blogging. The perfect tool for expanding one’s social circle and […]

  BEYOND WORDS: The Remarkable Story of Paul and Nathalie Means Edited by: Laurel Means Published by Armour Publishing Pte Ltd 376 pages, $25+ GST This book is available in major Christian and general bookshops   THIS book, edited by Laurel Means, traces the life and ministry of Dr Paul and Mrs Nathalie Means, Methodist […]

How would you evaluate the basic tenets of Open Theism? THEOLOGIANS throughout the centuries have wrestled with the question concerning the sovereignty of God and the free will of human beings. Profound theological tomes have been written on the subject in conversation with Scripture and the doctrinal tradition of the Church. Most theologians would maintain […]