Setiap Cerita Bisik NamaNya (Pengenalan)

Cerita Dan Lagu

Langit menceritakan kebesaran Allah;

Cakerawala memanggil, “Lihatlah karya ciptaan Allah!”

Hari demi hari… Malam berganti malam…

Mereka menyampaikan ilmu kepada kita 

(Mazmur 19:1-2, parafrasa)

Tulis Allah, “Aku Kasihi Kamu” – di atas langit, di muka bumi dan di dasar laut. Pesanan Allah terpahat di mana-mana jua! Kerana segalanya dicipta demi mencerminkan rupa Sang Pencipta – supaya kita dapat kenal Allah, agar hati kita berlagu.

Lihat-lah burung kenyalang melayang tinggi. Renungi-lah gaya ikan keli bermain dalam sungai. Perhatikan lambaian pokok kelapa di-buai bayu.

Malah Allah suratkan kasih-Nya dalam sebuah buku juga. Namanya: “Alkitab”.

Ramai yang fikir Alkitab ialah buku para wira serta wirawati – orang cerdik dan gagah yang harus anda contohi. Ya, memang ada pahlawan dan serikandi dalam Alkitab, tapi (segera akan anda dapat tahu) mereka semua tidak-lah sempurna. Mereka buat salah (seringkali, secara sengaja!) Mereka penakut dan cabut lari. Kadangkala, mereka juga berlaku jahat.

Tidak, Alkitab itu bukan buku hukum ataupun buku wira contoh semata-mata. Sebenarnya, Alkitab adalah sebuah Cerita – tentang seorang Pengembara muda dari negara jauh yang datang menawan kembali harta kesayangannya. Ia kisah cinta tentang seorang Putera berani yang meninggalkan takhtaNya, mahligaiNya – segalanya – untuk menyelamatkan orang yang dikasihi. Ia seperti dongeng paling indah yang telah tiba-tiba menjelma di dunia nyata.

Oh ya, yang paling bagus tentang Cerita ini – ia adalah benar.

Ada banyak cerita dalam Alkitab, tapi semuanya menyampaikan sebuah Cerita Utama. Cerita tentang bagaimana Allah mengasihi anak-anakNya dan datang membebaskan mereka.

Setiap halaman Alkitab adalah sebahagian Cerita ini. Anda akan temui seorang bayi di dalam kalbu hikayat ini. Setiap cerita dalam Alkitab bisik NamaNya. Dia seakan penyelesaian suatu teka-teki. Secara tak disangka, anda dapat lihat suatu gambaran lengkap kerana kedatanganNya.

Dia bukan bayi biasa. Segalanya bergantung kepada Bayi ini. Suatu hari, Dia akan…

Oh, tunggu sebentar…

Cerita kita harus bermula di zaman yang paling awal sekali…

Pada mulanya…

The Pulpit And Politics (Part 1)

The Bible and the Ballot is a collection of articles produced by a group of Christians who are concerned with Christian political engagement in Malaysia today. They come from various church traditions who share connection with Friends in Conversation network. It was premised on the Lordship of Christ over all of life and sought to encourage other believers to think of their role as responsible citizens. In the following review, I will pick up some key themes and proceed to comment on selected articles.

The first contributor, Alwyn Lau, examined if the pastors could tell people how to vote from the pulpit and gave a clear answer: “Yes”! The argument is buttressed by references to biblical prophets and apostles who openly challenged corrupt kings and religious leaders of their day. Did Jesus pull punches in his confrontation against the Pharisees and Sadducees?

At least one reader/preacher expressed this concern, “Wouldn’t the pastor’s sermons, then, reek of partisanship when he takes side for a particular political party or candidate? What about separation of church and state?”

No, Alwyn argued, because a church becomes partisan only when she blindly swallows the rhetoric of a political party “lock, stock and ballot” without being a discerning critic of its faults also. After all, a church council could recommend to purchase its audio equipments from a particular brand (let’s say, Yamaha) without being accused of playing ‘favorites’, could it not?

As much as I welcome his concluding remarks about the centrality of the cross in our political engagement (“to serve and suffer for the community”), it seems that this “Yamaha sound-system” argument committed the fallacy of a ‘weak analogy’. A more representative analogy would sound like this: “Should a preacher recommend  from the pulpit that church-goers purchase Panasonic air-conditioners because its greener technology is more in line with a creation-caring trajectory of the Bible?”

Then it becomes more apparent why many pastors would be hesitant to countenance the possibility of the pulpit being hijacked for profiteering or politicking agenda. When they preach the Word, they are supposed to speak as representatives of the Almighty.

Perhaps a more fruitful and concrete question to explore is, “When, if ever, is it appropriate for pastors to make such recommendations from the pulpit?”

It would appear that such unusual homiletic ventures are conceivable to the degree that

-         the facts are beyond reasonable doubt that Panasonic/Pakatan Rakyat are “far better”

-         in unusual circumstances where failing to do so causes significant harm to others (i.e. all other brands emit disastrous ozone-depleting chemicals or BN is guilty of some heinous crimes against humanity)

Even granting that a government agency is guilty of detaining people without trial, it is not always clear whether the best course of action is to preach up a mandate for the Opposition. Could it be a vote recommendation against the Home Minister instead of the entire political platform? Or would a press statement or candlelight vigil on this particular issue be more effective compared to a pulpit message? How did you respond when evangelical pastors publicly endorsed George Bush Jr. for President of America because of his stance on abortion?

Such Brian-McLaren-esque questions throw up the ambiguity and diversity inherent in such daunting, complex socio-political issues. As Christian leaders, we should not shy away from our responsibility to be engaged at various levels. But it does caution us to humility and not to be too quick to take sides from the pulpit.

Recently, I heard desas-desus of a local church that is blessed (or cursed?) with two pious believers from across the political divide facing off with each other. It may not be the most pastoral approach to endorse one candidate and not the other. However, I believe it is appropriate for the pastor to discuss pertinent issues that affect the community and explain his personal affiliations on that basis. In fact, Pastor Soo Inn did precisely that in his article entitled “Vote for Change: My Decision at this point in History”. In that capacity as a concerned citizen, the Christian leader could still engage meaningfully with such public issues without risking the tarnish of partisanship for the Church. 

The Meaning of the Cross

Models Of The Atonement

Introduction

Every religion or ideology has its representative symbol. The lotus flower depicts the emergence of purity from murky waters in Buddhist thought. The Star of David is a symbol for modern Judaism while the crescent moon became internationally associated with Islam. Even secular Marxism is signified by a hammer and sickle to represent industry and agriculture of the proletariat. At least since the 2^nd century A.D., the cross has been used as the visual emblem for Christianity. For believers, it signifies that the death of Jesus is central to their faith even though crucifixion was a much-feared form of capital punishment.

Throughout the centuries, Christians have cherished and grappled with this mystery of how His death brought about reconciliation with God. The canonical Gospels devoted such disproportionate attention on events surrounding the final week of Jesus’ life on earth that they are sometimes described as “passion narrative with an extended introduction”. It is as if the action shifts into high-definition, bullet-time motion when the story reaches its climax in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. But what exactly did Christ accomplish on the cross of Calvary? Several frameworks for explaining the atonement have consequently gained wide acceptance in various historical contexts.

Models of the Atonement

Surrounded by pagan occults, many early Greek Fathers interpreted Christ’s death as a ransom paid to Satan to redeem captive humanity from his clutches. In Mark 10:45, Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Origen has a popular analogy that likened Satan to a ferocious fish that swallowed the bait of Christ’s human form and got caught by the hook of His deity. The forces of hell bit off more than they could chew when Christ rose victoriously from the grave. 

Drawing from these patristic sources, Gustav Aulen, a Swedish theologian, viewed the cross as Christ’s public triumph over evil powers in a cosmic battle to unshackle humanity from bondage. The Christus Victor motif found biblical support in passages like Hebrews 2:14: “Since the children have flesh and blood, (Christ) too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

Influenced by Roman legal codes, early Latin Fathers such as Ambrose construed the cross as Christ satisfying the requirements of God’s law. They drew support from Galatians 3:13, which read, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us”. During the medieval period, the satisfaction theory of the cross was developed further by Anselm as satisfying God’s honor. In feudal societies, an overlord whose dignity was offended could either punish the guilty peasants or forgive them when his honor is satisfied by another. Although God was dishonored by our rebellion, Anselm believed that we are forgiven because Christ’s obedient, meritorious death compensated for His honor. 

Peter Abelard, a younger contemporary of Anselm, reacted strongly against the prevailing theories and insisted that Christ’s suffering is primarily a display of how great God’s love is for us. “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). His sacrificial death melts away our enmity, awakens moral change and moves us to seek forgiveness. Some proponents of the moral influence theory also reject any objective requirement to appease God’s anger. Rather, the sole obstacle to salvation lies in the subjective resistance of sinners. Consequently, the cross as an expression of God’s love is required to inspire us to imitate Christ’s self-giving ethics.

Last but not least, some influential Church Fathers such as Athanasius in the East and Augustine in the West (to name just a few) also held that Christ took upon Himself the deserved penalty of fallen humanity as a sinless substitute in their place. The penal substitutionary view was further developed by the Reformers. 1 John 4:8-10 declares, “God is love. . . . This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” In explaining this biblical passage, Calvin wrote that God, at the same time when he loved us, was also hostile to us because of our transgressions. [1] Reconciliation was made possible because Christ appeased His holy wrath and opened the way for our pardon. By doing so, God can be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:21-26).

Pierced For Our Transgressions

Although penal substitutionary atonement has been the predominant theme in evangelical preaching, some theologians today seem to favor a plurality of atonement theories. In differing degrees, the various models stress crucial facets of Christ’s work on the cross that should be recovered. They need not be mutually exclusive. Indeed, it appears that when we understand the centrality of the cross as something accomplished primarily in relation to God Himself that its implications for the cosmos, demonic powers and ethics come into more balanced perspective.

Let us attempt a synthesis of these themes: The heart of the cross is, first and foremost, Christ’s vicarious sin-bearing to take upon Himself the just wrath of God (Isaiah 53). He absorbed the punishment that we deserved as a substitute so that sinners may be forgiven while satisfying the righteous demands of God’s law. However, the moral law ought not to be seen as a higher abstract entity independent of the Law-giver, but a reflection of God’s own holy character.

Unless the cross objectively rescues us, it would be an empty show of sentimentality just like a silly lovesick boy who declares, "Darling, I will prove my love for you by jumping off Niagara Falls". It is only a meaningful act of love if the beloved is in real danger so that diving into the waters would be an attempt to rescue her. And would it not be inappropriate to conceive of the cross as Jesus paying the devil a “pound of flesh”? God owed the devil nothing but retribution. Rather, the ransom was paid to God on behalf of sinners so that we now could belong to Christ.

And yes, by looking at the cross, we can learn much about Christ’s obedience even unto death and denying one's will to do the Father's. 2 Peter 2:21 says, “Because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” Yet, it is because Christ has rescued us from moral condemnation that we have the most powerful, liberating motivation for obedience in life. Otherwise, our moral performance degenerates into yet another self-salvation project.

Furthermore, a painful death by crucifixion is not apparently victorious if we conceive it exclusively as cosmic warfare. The demonic powers were stripped of their condemnatory weapons and made a public spectacle precisely because Christ forgave our trespasses by nailing our legal debts on the cross (Colossians 2:13-15).

The first Passover serves as an illuminating paradigm for connecting the deliverance of God’s people from spiritual bondage with penal substitutionary atonement. Nine plagues had fallen upon their Egyptian oppressors while the Israelites were spared in a protracted “power encounter”. But Pharoah stubbornly refused to let His people go. The stage was set for the climactic “judgment on all the gods of Egypt” (Exodus 12:12). If the tenth plague followed the same pattern as the preceding ones, it would be a coherent narrative of how divine judgment liberated humanity from evil powers. But unlike the other plagues, the firstborn of the Israelites were not automatically spared when God struck down the firstborn of Egypt. Instead, they were instructed to slaughter a spotless lamb and apply its blood to the door so that the wrath of God would “pass over” them. The Passover lamb was a sacrificial substitute for the Israelite firstborn so they may be spared from divine judgment (Exodus 13:11-16). What a sobering caution against triumphalism to realize that God’s people are not merely victims but guilty sinners in need of atoning grace! Similarly, our own liberation from Satan’s accusing condemnations is secured on the grounds of Christ’s once-for-all atonement as the Lamb of God (Hebrews 9).

The Divine Conspiracy

In summary, we can make much sense of various biblical themes of atonement through the lens of Christ's vicarious sacrifice. But in and of themselves, these motifs are emptied of their power. Unfortunately, this doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement has recently been described by critics as 'cosmic child abuse', portraying a fierce Father who needs to punish the innocent Son before He could forgive the guilty. But the objection fails to see that Jesus is not just a third-party bystander.

He is the Judge Himself receiving the punishment. He is the incarnate God, eternally one with the Father. The cross is biblically portrayed as a Trinitarian conspiracy of love where the Father ‘so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son’ (John 3:16) and the Son voluntarily accepts the cross as the supreme expression of His own love: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends.” (John 15:13) That’s the kind of love that continue to inspire countless choruses of worship devoted to the Sinless One who became sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him:

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.[2]

---

[1] Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book II. xvii. Section 2.   

[2] “In Christ Alone”, Words and Music by Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend, Copyright @ 2011 Kingway Thankyou Music

Gospel in the City (Malaysia)

Kuala Lumpur Gospel in the City

Commentary: Faith and Public Life

SOO-INN TAN
sooinn@graceworks.com.sg

Recently I was asked to share something about the political situation in Malaysia at a missions prayer group. I was given about ten minutes so only the highlights. I shared that in the past, many churches and Christians in Malaysia did not get involved in politics as they saw this as a distraction from the only work that mattered --- evangelism. After all, this world is temporary but saving souls is for eternity. I shared that times had changed. There was a new generation of Christians who did not see a dichotomy between evangelism and social engagement.

On the whole, I said, I thought this was a healthy development. Involvement in politics took seriously the fact that God had ordained governments as a key structure to order human life (Romans 13:1). As Charles E. Gutenson writes:

Governments are ordained by God. While God does not indicate that any one particular form of government is to be implemented, Scripture does lead us to conclude that government in general is intended by God as one of the "powers" that orders human life. Broadly speaking, God intends governments to serve and empower what might be considered a kingdom agenda. (Charles E. Gutenson, Christians and the Common Good, Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2011, 119)

Gutenson goes on to say that a kingdom agenda is one that pursues justice and mercy. In other words, governments are God's idea but they exist for the purpose of serving God's agenda for justice and mercy. Therefore, if we have the opportunity to choose a government, we should do so, and select a government that better serves God's agenda. (I have written on this before. See http://tinyurl.com/6o9mdu2)

But I also shared my concern that the church in Malaysia not swing to the other extreme and put too much faith in the political process to make Malaysia a better place. Again I like the way Gutenson puts it:

. . . we tend to put too much trust in the political process for making the world a better place. . . . I think that the public policies and institutions can serve a kingdom agenda. The concern I express here relates to putting too much confidence in them. (Gutenson, Christians and the Common Good, 136).

This is a heady time for the church in Malaysia. While a committed few have always been engaged in the political arena, Christians in general have become much more visible and vocal on the national stage especially after the 2008 General Elections when for the first time in the nations' history, it looked like there was a possibility to change the government. Those who believed that it was time for a change of government were emboldened. This included many in the church. I am one of them. I don't believe there are any perfect governments this side of heaven but I think the present federal government's track record on racism, corruption, mismanagement, human rights, and their treatment of the marginalised, warrants that they spend some time in the opposition (http://themicahmandate.org/2011/04/we-must-vote-for-change/). All Malaysian followers of Jesus should vote, and vote wisely, in the coming general elections.

But as I shared at the prayer meeting I couldn't help but think about the church's unique contribution to the nation. There is a place for political activism. When we do this we join the ranks of folks from many faith traditions in pursuing a common good. But as followers of Jesus are there unique contributions we can bring to the nation? I can think of two.

First, the church must model the values we are pushing for in society and which we wish to see practised by the governments of the day. Among other things, it means that our churches:

* are communities where all races are welcomed and celebrated;
* have leaders who are not self-serving. They are humble servant leaders who serve for the sake of the community;
* are free from the love of money; and
* are reaching out to the weakest and marginalised in the church and the community.

Gutenson cites Stanley Hauerwas on this:

Stanley Hauerwas has observed that the most basic job of the church is just to be the church --- to embody a different way of being that arises from following the radical Rabbi from Nazareth . . . (Gutenson, Christians and the Common Good, 142).

Getting our own act together will be tougher and will take longer than marching in the streets. Yet we will be failing our nation if we do not model what we preach.

Next, our unique contribution to the nation is the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is perhaps the most controversial of the church's contribution to the nation but the greatest problem of humankind is sin, a sin that cuts us off from the God of life, and therefore the best way to see society transformed is to see hearts transformed by the gospel. Christians have sometimes been accused of "converting people." I have argued elsewhere that we can't convert anyone. That is the work of the Holy Spirit (http://tinyurl.com/88ruuv4). But we are to bear witness to the gospel, and humbly and sensitively extend God's invitation to people to turn to God through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Evangelical revival in England in the 18th century led to the betterment of society at many levels, including the eventual abolishment of slavery. The evangelicals of the day did not shy from engaging society but never wavered from their passion for evangelism.

The evangelicals were not detached from politics, as the Pietists were, but their controlling passion was the conversion of the lost (Bruce L. Shelley, Church History In Plain Language, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995, 332).

Society changed for the better because people were becoming followers of Jesus.

The 13th General Elections in Malaysia will be called soon, maybe as early as June. May all followers in Malaysia be in prayer, and vote on polling day. I am now residing in Singapore but I will be back to vote. I feel that in Singapore, the nation is tweaking a system that is by and large working, but in Malaysia we are fighting for the soul of the country. Should Christians in Malaysia be involved politically? Yes of course. But our ultimate trust is in the Lord and we should never neglect the need to model and to share the gospel.

It will be difficult to hold the many agendas in tension but we must try.

Maintaining a position that allows the church to primarily to be the church while still offering a critique to political institutions is difficult . . . The role of the church is to be the church, but in doing so the church should both embody and speak critique to the powers that have been corrupted and no longer serve the kingdom agenda. (Gutenson, Christians and the Common Good, 142-143.)

My last word to the prayer group was: "Please pray for the revival of the church in Malaysia."

PS. Further reflections on issues of faith and politics in Malaysia can be found in The Bible and the Ballot, a Graceworks publication (http://tinyurl.com/7jko87n). Let us know if you need help to get a copy.

The Reason For God (Reloaded)

Reason for God II

CDPC Puchong will organize a series of 8 sessions exploring a positive case for faith in God as revealed in Jesus the Messiah.

1. The Clues of God
2. The Knowledge of God
3. The Problem of Sin
4. Religion and the Gospel
5. The (True) Story of the Cross
6. The Reality of the Resurrection
7. The Dance of God
8. Where Do We Go From Here?

Proposed Time and Venue
Day: Sunday
Time: 12.30 pm
Venue: City Discipleship Presbyterian Church Puchong
Frequency: Twice a month
Recommended Reading: The Reason For God by Tim Keller

If you are keen to join the discussion group, please contact David Chong at "hedonese at yahoo dot com". The point is not about getting armed with generic arguments and answers, rather to be equipped to become conversant with ways to sensitively, humbly and gently think and talk about these big questions in the safe context of community.

The Bible and the Ballot

The Bible And The Ballot

How do we relate Christianity to political engagement in Malaysia today? This is the question that we, as part of the community of believers, are trying to answer in this book. It is our conviction that “if Jesus Christ is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all”. We proclaim the lordship of Jesus over every aspect of life. Therefore, it is important for us to reflect on the relationship between what we confess on Sunday and what is happening in the country every day.

Gospel in the City

Dear colleagues in the ministry,

Redeemer Presbyterian Church New York, City to City Asia and our church City Discipleship Presbyterian Church are organizing a 2 days seminar on "Transforming our cities by planting Gospel Centered church" on April 17 & 18. I am one of the coaches for church planting working alongside Redeemer New York and City to City Asia and have been tasked to help churches to understand Gospel as the motivating force that shapes all of life, from the heart to a church and to cities. Our goal is to start a movement of planting gospel centered churches through networks of churches, church leaders and cultural leaders with the aim to transform cities in Malaysia and Asia. The two days seminar will take us through 8 plenary sessions and expose us to Gospel DNA that will bring about deeper commitment to gospel renewal in the family, church and in the city.

Let me know what you think and how you feel. I look forward to hearing from you.

Registration fees cover the cost of lunches, refreshment and printing materials (you will have solid reading materials from Dr. Tim Keller). Please register early

Date: April 17-18 (Tues - Wed) 2012
Time: 9 am to 6 pm
Speakers: Rev Abraham Cho and Rev Wong Fong Yang
Video Plenary by Rev Timothy Keller
Registration Fee: RM 60

Trinity Theological Center Malaysia

Trinity Theological Center Malaysia

Check out the biblical theology courses on Pentateuch (Dr Paul Barker) and Ruth (Dr Peter Lau)

Interfaith Relations

The Christian and Interfaith Dialogues

Alkitab: 400th Anniversary

400th Anniversary of Alkitab

Rev Dr Lim Kar Yong: The Alkitab is 400 years old this year! In the year 1612, the translation of the Gospel of Matthew in the Malay Language was published. This was a very historic and significant publication as it was the earliest translation of the Bible in a non-European language ever published. In celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the Alkitab, Seminari Theoloji Malaysia, together in partnership with Bible Society of Malaysia, warmly invite you to join us in a specially organised 2-day conference discussing the issues, difficulties, and complications involved in the translation and distribution of the Alkitab, and to celebrate God's faithfulness in preserving the Bible for us.

The Life and Legacy of John Calvin

The Life and Legacy of John Calvin

When pro-reform supporters regained power in the city councils, Calvin was urged to return and continue his work in Geneva. Martin Bucer, the reformer at Strasbourg, was reported to have employed Farel’s earlier strategy: If Calvin refused to resume his ministry he will be acting like Jonah who tried to run away from God! In September 1541, Calvin reluctantly accepted the request and picked up preaching from the Bible passage where he had left off three years ago. Timothy George commented, “In this way Calvin signaled that he intended his life and his theology to be, not a device of his own making, but a responsible witness to the Word of God”.

Click here to read the life and legacy of John Calvin

Love God With All Your Mind

Love God With All Our Mind

I found out that for many Christians an intellectual understanding of what we believe and why you believe is not important as long as you have an experiential feeling in your heart! The heart is what you used in a relationship with God but the brain is what you used while studying science, computers, economics and history in school. There is a separation of the heart for spiritual stuffs and the mind for secular stuffs like dinosaurs. When that happens, no wonder our faith has so little impact on how we do our work or studies in the world. And no wonder our ‘daily activities’ outside the church has very little to do with God or the gospel.

But the Bible seems to say: “Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewal of your minds”. It doesn’t say “Be transformed by the removal of your minds”! So we don’t need to remove our brains in order to be a Christian. In fact, renewing our mind with God’s truth and kingdom values is crucial to our spiritual growth.

The following is sermon transcript for today's sermon at Klang Presbyterian Church

Love God With All Your Mind

Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Ethical Considerations

Embryonic Stem Cell Research - Ethical Considerations. Dr Roland Chia

Christmas Message

The Day God Landed on Earth

Date: 11 December 2011 (Sunday)
Venue: Klang Presbyterian Church

A Rocha Creation Care Conference

Creation Care Workshop_Grace PJ_26 Nov 2011

A Rocha Workshop on Creation Care will be held on 26 November (Sat) at Grace Community Centre, Taman SEA, PJ.

Peter Harris will be our main guest speaker. He is the founder of A Rocha, an international Christian nature conservation organization working in 18 countries. The workshop is designed to be interactive will be a combination of sermon plus engaging activities. There is a very minimal fee of RM15 per person to cover the cost of F&B on the day. The workshop starts at 930am - 330pm.

Attached is the e-flyer with more information. I would greatly appreciate it if you can help to circulate this among your friends, church members, cell groups and networks. To register; email Deborah at maildebster@gmail.com.

Come, be inspired, blessed and make a difference wherever you are.

Green Spirituality: What Has Ecology To Do With Theology?

Green Spirituality: What Has The Christian Life to do with Nature?

The 2009 blockbuster movie “Avatar” told a futuristic tale of two species locked in a struggle for the planet Pandora. The villains were a group of greedy, materialistic and colonizing humans hell-bent on mining precious minerals even though it would destroy the habitat of the natives. For these cut-throat mercenaries, Pandora’s lush, intricate eco-system was “nothing but ferns”. On the other hand, the protagonists were 10-feet-tall, blue humanoids called the Na'vi who lived in harmony with nature and worshipped Eywa, the life-force permeating all of life. In the context of ecological problems that plague our own planet, it appears that popular culture presents us with a similarly straightforward choice between crass capitalism and nature-friendly pantheism.

For instance, the well-known Lynn White thesis traced the historical roots of our modern ecological crisis to the emergence of medieval Christian belief in “man’s transcendence of, and rightful mastery over, nature” . Ancient pagans were afraid to cut down a tree or mine a mountain because of spirits that supposedly reside in them. But by supplanting pagan animism, it was argued that Christianity made it possible for Western man to exploit nature in a “mood of indifference”. If the Bible legitimates man’s dominion over nature, isn’t Christian theology guilty of providing justification for environmental degradation? Isn’t a pantheistic belief that “everything is divine” or “we are one with the universe” more helpful to engender respect for every rock, tree, animal or blade of grass? In this assignment, I would like to propose that Christians could draw on powerful resources from within its own spiritual tradition to care for creation without worshipping nature.

Read on here

Was the Sultan Not Properly Informed?

The Christian community has waited with anticipation for DYMM Sultan of Selangor, to come out with a statement that will help resolve the inter-religious crisis sparked off by the JAIS raid on DUMC on 3 August, 2011.

We welcome the Sultan’s wish that religious harmony should continue in the state and his decree that there be no prosecution against any of the parties involved.

However, the Sultan’s statement does raise a few issues of serious concern for the non-Muslim community as there are views expressed therein that suggest that the Sultan may not have been properly informed by his advisers.

First, the statement suggests that “the actions of JAIS were correct and did not breach any laws enforceable in Selangor,” as they “are in line with the jurisdiction provided under Syariah Criminal Procedure (State of Selangor) Enactment (2003), Syariah Criminal (State of Selangor) Enactment, 1995 and the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment of 1988” (herein referred to as the “Selangor Enactment”)

With all due respect, I beg to differ from this interpretation of the State Enactments. In the first place, the jurisdiction granted by Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution was to permit the state to control or restrict the propagation of religion among people professing to be Muslims. This must be read in the context of the Article itself which fundamentally provides for every person the freedom to profess, practice and propagate his religion. Such power to control or restrict propagation cannot be understood as absolutely prohibiting any conduct or activity on the excuse of some unspecified complaint that they are for the purposes of propagation of religion. Such power cannot be taken as licence for officials to intrude or trespass into a function conducted within the premises of what is clearly a non-Muslim religious institution (in the present case a Christian institution) without legal authority

There is no legal provision under the Propagation Enactment that allows JAIS officials to intrude into the premises of DUMC, much less carry out a raid. From my reading of the Selangor Enactment (1988), the closest possible justification that can be offered by JAIS are sections 12 and 13 which specify that “an authorised officer may investigate the commission of any offence under this Enactment and may arrest without warrant any person suspected of having committed any such offence.”

He may also apply for warrants of arrest from a Magistrate to require the attendance of witnesses. There is however, simply no unilateral power to carry out an entry and search under the Propagation Enactment or for that matter even to apply for a search warrant. If the officer responsible for the raid intends to conduct an entry and search he must base his power from some legal source. JAIS officers appear to have acted under Syariah Enactment which however does NOT apply to non-Muslims and cannot be imported into the Propagation Enactment.

While superficially this provision seems to grant disturbing power to this “authorised officer”, the enforcement must be consistent with the more fundamental provisions under Part II of the Federal Constitution relating to fundamental liberties and the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (Act 593) relating to search and arrest which presumes that a search warrant should have been sought as a matter of course, and that the warrant is granted only upon reasonable suspicion that a seizable offence has been committed at the DUMC premises. The requirement of a search warrant is a fundamental recognition of the right to privacy within one’s own domain and space.

More importantly, given the sensitivity of inter-religious relations and the sanctity of religious places of worship, such a warrant should be granted only by a magistrate or judge from the Civil Court and only upon firm and clear grounds.

The fact remains that JAIS carried out the raid with disregard for established provisions and procedure of law – the leader of the JAIS party failed to present relevant identity documents to confirm he was indeed “an authorized officer”, specify the offence(s) or suspected offence(s) relating to propagation under the Selangor Enactment that was alleged to have been committed and that he had obtained a search warrant from a Magistrate or the High Court, especially when a church was the target of the raid. For these reasons, it may be argued contrary to the Sultan’s statement, that prima facie, JAIS had not acted lawfully within the bounds of law when it raided DUMC.

Second, it should be noted that the statement claims “there were attempts to subvert the faith and belief of Muslims but that the evidence obtained would be insufficient for further legal actions to be taken.” The plural word “attempts” suggests Christians at DUMC were guilty of subverting Islam not only on 3 August 2011, but that they were repeatedly committing the alleged offence. This is a most unfair and misleading accusation that imputes guilt to DUMC without offering any evidence that could be verified or refuted.

It may be noted that the English version of the Sultan’s statement uses stronger words than the official Bahasa version – it translates the word “memesongkan (distort, deviate) fahaman dan kepercayaan fahaman orang Islam” with the word “subvert the faith and belief of Muslims”

The statement unwittingly exposes the feeble foundations of its accusations when it concedes that there was insufficient evidence obtained for further legal action. In simple terms, this must means that JAIS had FAILED to make a prima facie case against DUMC. I may add that despite the attempt to hide behind the legal term of “insufficient evidence”, the reality is that there was simply NO evidence of subversion of the Islamic faith. Beating a hasty retreat from the threat of prosecuting DUMC was the best option left for JAIS.

Third, it is alarming that the statement describes the activities of DUMC as subversion of the Islamic faith. This charge is injurious to the integrity of Christians with regard to their profession and practice of faith.

Regarding integrity of profession of the Christian faith: Christians at DUMC have never pretended to be teaching any religion other than Christianity. DUMC is, after all, a church. Christians have every right to uphold their beliefs and practice their faith and while doing so, should not be judged as subverting or deviating /Memesongkan fahaman Islamic beliefs on account of the doctrinal differences between the two religions. Following the logic of JAIS, Christians could equally have charged Muslims for subverting the Christian faith when Muslims preach a faith different from Christians.

Regarding practice of faith: Christians are well known for their social work that flows from their belief in the love of God for the poor and needy. As the Bible says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27). Hence, the press statement from DUMC says, “DUMC conducts all its activities to serve the community and for the welfare of all Malaysians regardless of creed, race or religion.”

It is therefore alarming when JAIS casts aspersions against the charity work done by Christians and claims that Christians are subverting Islamic beliefs on account of their good works. It may well be the case that some needy Muslims have availed themselves to the good services offered by DUMC, and DUMC obviously cannot turn them away simply because they happen to be Muslims. DUMC may well be charged for promoting religious disharmony if it makes religion a factor before anyone can receive welfare. On the other hand, Christians may well be advised to stop their work that may incline a Muslim to view the Christian faith favourably since this would incur the wrath of JAIS officials. At best, the Sultan’s statement can be misconstrued by mischievous parties and exploited to misrepresent the altruistic intention of Christians; at worst, it maligns the welfare work of Christians.

Therefore, we welcome the announcement made by the Mentri Besar of Selangor, Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, that the Selangor government will set up a special committee to fine-tune the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) followed by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) in handling attempts to proselytise Muslims.

We hope the committee will come up with recommendations that will 1) ensure JAIS fully understands and observes the bounds of its authority, that is, that it has no jurisdiction over non-Muslims, and 2) any investigation of non-Muslims leading to intervention by the Islamic authorities should follow a proper procedure and law, including obtaining a search warrant granted by senior judicial officials from a religiously neutral institution such as a Magistrate or a High Court judge.

Otherwise, the government ends up surreptitiously investing illegitimate and excessive authority to Islamic officials over non-Muslims. The consequences will be abuse of power, and insensitive and provocative actions against non-Muslim believers as seen in the case of the JAIS raid of DUMC.

We do well to listen respectfully and sympathetically to the appeal from the victim of religious abuse, in this case DUMC, when it says in its media statement, “We sincerely ask that all religious communities and places of worship be treated with utmost respect and not be intruded upon.”


Dr. Ng Kam Weng
Kairos Research Centre
12 October 2011

The Gospel Changes Everything

Gospel theology is a way to read the Bible which makes the gospel not just a set of elementary truths but as the key to understanding every text of the Bible, to living and growing as a Christian at every point, and as a comprehensive perspective on all of life. The gospel must be worked into every corner of our thinking, feeling, and behaviour. In short the gospel is the driving and shaping force of everything we do. This dynamic and rich way to read the Bible retains not just the individualistic emphasis on revival and conversion but also the emphasis on community and cultural transformation. The gospel is both for individual conversion, the renewal of church life and the cities, nations and creation.

But somehow, we have ended up with an individualistic gospel. But the gospel doesn’t just change eternal destinies; it changes everything. It transforms societies, renews families, and heals relationships. It is all about the rule and reign of Jesus. It is holistic. God's redemptive action is world-embracing.

Find out more as Mark Reynolds will be speaking at City Discipleship Presbyterian Church Puchong this coming Sunday 16 Oct at 1 pm. For more info, contact hedonese at yahoo dot com.

He serves as the associate director for Redeemer City to City providing oversight for its programs and services to church planters - training, assessment, coaching and funding as well as running the daily operations. He also provides leadership to the Church Multiplication Alliance of New York City that is committed to planting churches throughout the city through a trans-denominational alliance and various networks.

He is passionate about creating learning programs that further develop leaders to reach their vision of planting new urban congregations and resourcing them through coaching, training and feedback.

Before serving in this current position he was the field director with Mission to the World in Manila facilitating church planting with Filipinos. Mark has also helped plant a church in Columbus, Ohio, served as campus staff with Campus Crusade at Oregon State University, and holds graduate degrees from Covenant Seminary, Aberdeen University and Saint Louis University.

Mark lives with his wife and two boys in Manhattan, all of whom share common affinities for reading, sports, and love for New York.

PS: Warm welcome to Bryngksai for being the 50th online Friend of Agora!

Klang Valley Bible Conference 2011

Dates: 11, 12, 13 October 2011
Time: 8:15 -10 pm
Speaker: David Cook
Venue: Tropicana Golf & Country Club

Theme: ‘Acts – God’s Word at Work’

It is ironic that a book called Acts should be all about the Word. Acts is the historic record of how Gods’ gospel starts out from Jerusalem and overcomes all barriers, unstoppably reaching the city of Rome, the centre of the Empire. The book of Acts is a tonic to revive our confidence in God who will see that his purpose is achieved, no matter what the world throws against it.

Day 1 Acts 1:1-8 – A Spiritual Tonic
Day 2 Acts 8:26-40 – The Story of One
Day 3 Acts 23 – 26 – A Preaching or a Living Faith?

Klang Valley Expository Preaching Seminar 2011
Dates: 12, 13 October 2011
Time: 930am - 1pm
Cost: RM95
Speaker: David Cook
Venue: Tropicana Golf & Country Club

Preaching historic narrative from the Bible is never easy. We must strive to rightly handle the Scriptures. The book of Acts is lively and exciting narrative, yet often neglected by preachers because it is hard to preach. Come along as we hear this book come to life.

More details to follow:
Please email us at kvbc.info@gmail.com if you would like to be kept informed.