Opinion

Faith, Health and Prosperity Andrew Perriman, ed. Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 2003 316 pages $23   WHAT do Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Morris Cerullo, Benny Hinn and Rhema Bible College have in common? They are American-based with influence stretching all over the world through their publications, tapes and television programmes. They are better known, […]

” … Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him (Jesus) and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, […]

We begin this month with a series of reflections on the Book of Ecclesiastes entitled ‘Wisdom to Live By: Modern Reflections on an Ancient Text’.   SINCE time immemorial human beings have been pondering over the meaning of life. “Why is there something, and not nothing?”, enquired the ancient Greek philosophers. What is the purpose […]

The writer and her husband Ivan: Moving away from what is familiar and comfortable. — Methodist Message picture.   Kwa Kiem Kiok is a contributor to Methodist Message. In mid-August she and her husband Ivan Tan left for Asbury Theological College in Wilmore, Kentucky, for a sabbatical. Below are their reflections on taking this step. […]

THERE are no atheists in the frontline trench. How true, for when under fire, even the man who had habitually denied the existence of God begins to pray desperately. It seems almost common to our human nature that personal danger often turns the cynical atheist who thrives in fair-weather into a hysterical theist who shakes […]

I REMEMBER vividly one Ministerial Session interview at a July Annual Conference Special Session where a young pastor was asked if he had any faults; whether he had a dark side. And the cheeky pastor replied that his main failing is that he is too humble; if he wasn’t so humble, he would be perfect! […]

ONE of the hallmarks of the Christian life is the freedom from sin and its consequences, which we receive from Jesus’ finished work on the cross. Jesus Himself said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36 NIV). However, the ordinary believer often struggles with sin and experiences less than […]

CONCLUDING THE SERIES OF MEDITATIONS ON ‘FAITH TO LIVE BY’ BEWARE OF 2 MISTAKES IDENTIFYING the biblical teaching of everlasting life with the idea of the “afterlife” that is found in most religions, THINKING of everlasting life in terms of the immortality of the soul. AS WE turn to the final statement of the Creed, […]

Beyond Determinism and Reductionism: genetic science and the person Editors: Mark L. Y. Chan and Roland Chia ATF Press, 2003. 223 pages   IN THE current debate on homosexuality, some have argued that they are gays because they are “genetically” homosexual, and therefore there is nothing to be done about their lifestyle or behaviour. This […]

The following is an extract from a talk given by the late Dr Tay Eng Soon (1940 – 1993), then Senior Minister of State (Education), in 1989 at a seminar sponsored by the Graduates’ Christian Fellowship and Trinity Theological College. Dr Tay was a founding member of Barker Road Methodist Church. This talk was first […]

PART 16 OF THE SERIES OF MEDITATIONS ON ‘FAITH TO LIVE BY’ Resurrection of Christ is the very foundation of apostolic preaching and Christian faith BELIEF in the resurrection can be traced to the Old Testament. Daniel 12:2 unequivocally declares that “[m]ultitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting […]

The Challenge and Impact of Globalization: Towards a Biblical Response Singapore: Graduates’ Christian Fellowship, 2002. 194 pages. S$14.90. Editors: Tong Suit Chee and Allan Wong IN 2002, the Evangelical Fellowship of Singapore, with the Graduates’ Christian Fellowship as a co-sponsor, organised a seminar on “The Challenge and Impact of Globalization”. The papers presented at the […]