Opinion

REV DR WILSON WHEN it comes to sharing the Gospel, most Christians would probably agree with missiologist Hendrik Kraemer when he talks about meeting listeners on their own terms. He writes, “Communication involves the communicator having somehow discerned which are the obstacles to the receipt of the message in such a way as to be […]

  Hope for the World: The Christian Vision Author: Roland Chia Leicester: IVP, 2006 167 pp.   IN EIGHT short chapters, this book introduces readers to the major themes of eschatology, the doctrine of the last things. It is the latest in the series called The Global Christian Library put out by IVP. A special […]

Do angels exist? What are they like, and what is their role in God’s plan? THERE seem to be two extreme responses to the reality of angels among Christians today. On one end of the spectrum, some Christians seem to dismiss angels as a myth that no one in this scientific age can be expected […]

HAS the song, “Pass it on”, become a tradition? The question was brought home to me during an opening praise time as the worship leader was vamping up to the song. Speaking over sentimental guitar strumming, he recalled how the song had especially touched him as a youth. He went on to lead the congregation […]

IN THE movie, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, the gypsy sings her prayer: “God help the outcast, hungry from birth. Show them the mercy they don’t find on earth. God help my people win them to you still. God help the outcast when nobody will … Please help my people, the poor and down trod. I thought we always (are) children of God.” […]

  Latest edition of MCS’ rule-book published   THE latest edition (2006) of The Book of Discipline of The Methodist Church in Singapore has been published recently and is the rule-book of the denomination. It is a guide for Methodist ministers, laymen and officials in their various ministries. A hefty volume of 342 pages, it […]

At the Crossroads The History of Trinity Theological College 1948-2005 Publisher: Trinity Theological College , $35   IF I could only buy one book this year to display in my living room, At the Crossroads would be it. This book proves that history is not soporific or irrelevant! At the Crossroads is a record not only […]

Are all religions fundamentally the same? Do they all lead to God and offer salvation? THE Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw has famously said that “There is only one religion though there are a hundred versions of it.” This interpretation has become very appealing in our modern pluralistic context because it seems to address several concerns peculiar to our time. Firstly, such a view […]

IN MY office hangs a poster of the painting Dalit Madonna by Jyoti Sahi, an artist and practical theologian from South India. The Eastern orthodox tradition calls Mary Theotokos, or “Godbearer”, because she quite literally bore God’s presence into the world. A friend of mine tells me that God specialises in calling upon unlikely suspects […]

A FEW years ago, my family and I visited Ground Zero in New York City. There was a long line of visitors. While gazing at the rocks and concrete where the World Trade Center once stood, something caught my attention. I saw, at a corner, the remains of a steel structure. It was in the […]

Should Christians subscribe to the theory of evolution? MUCH depends on what one means by evolution. In his Origin of Species (1859), Charles Darwin hypothesised that all organisms are related to a “common ancestry” and arose through a process of mutation and “natural selection”. The latter refers to the process by which organisms arose and persist by the random processes of nature. The […]

Should Christians ever go to war? THE Christian response to war has been a broad spectrum, ranging from absolute rejection of war to full participation, with the proclamation of divine blessings and authority. The spectrum includes the following: pacifism, non-resistance, just war, preventive war, and crusade. Each view has several permutations and variations, as well as […]