Alternative Culture: The Pope's Speech in Singapore

 

In September 2024, Pope Francis visited Singapore as part of his tour of Asia. He gave a speech about the importance of inter-faith relations at the Catholic school, Catholic Junior College. The transcript of the speech is here. 

As usual I will give a theological take on current events, also for this speech in this post.

The good
"A young person must be a critical thinker, and it is not good never to be critical."

"Do you have the courage to criticize but also the courage to let others criticize you?"

"Young people must have the courage to build, to move forward and go out of their “comfort zones.”

The Pope advocated for critical thinking, and that is always good. Too often we Asians tend to have overly fear authority. We rather go through the motion pretending a fallacy is correct then to questions the legitimacy of a claim and risk upsetting the harmony of a team project, or upsetting the boss.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:6

This applies doubly for Christians. As Jesus claimed to be the truth, Christians should not be afraid to examine any claim or study any research with a critical and sceptical mind in order to find truth.

Although the pope's speech started out well, it went downhill from there.

An inter-religious gathering in Singapore, 2017

The bad (wasted opportunity)
"If you start arguing, “My religion is more important than yours...,” or “Mine is the true one, yours is not true....,” where does this lead? Somebody answer. [A young person answers, “Destruction”.] That is correct."

"All religions are paths to God. I will use an analogy, they are like different languages that express the divine. But God is for everyone, and therefore, we are all God’s children. “But my God is more important than yours!”. Is this true? There is only one God, and religions are like languages, paths to reach God. Some Sikh, some Muslim, some Hindu, some Christian. Understood? Yet, interfaith dialogue among young people takes courage."

Instead of advocating for the exclusivity of Christianity, Pope Francis chose the safer, political path. He claimed that religions are pathways to the same God, and that arguing a single, right path is "destructive". 

To me, this was a great wasted opportunity. The pope had a stage to preach Christ to a multicultural Singapore, and threw it away. It is not like this platform was unprecedented; the Apostle Paul took his chances at multicultural Athens 2000 years ago and preached the following in Acts 17:

So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, - Acts 17: 22-28

While as Christians we are taught to be live in peace with our neighbours, ultimately we are also to speak of God's love and sacrifice for everyone.

Conclusion
While we Christians should strive to live in harmony as far as possible, we are called to evangelise.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28: 18-20

Alternative Culture: Tragedy in school

 

Students setting up an edible garden, taken April 2021

Recently, Singapore experienced a murder in school . I do not want to write exactly about what happened.

In fact, what really surprised me was that numerous people from reddit to Facebook have chimed in. And to some extent, I understand. After all, everyone wants to rationalise such senseless violence. A volatile, unpredictable world can be scary for one to accept.

Senseless violence

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” -- Luke 13: 1-5

'We cannot make sense of what happened' -- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong 

In a way, there is no sense to this violence. For the Christian, it is a recognition that this earthly realm is sinful and broken. It should wake us up from complacence and call us to repentance.

And that is the learning point I want to take from it.

Alternative Culture: Youth Shunning religion in Singapore

Singapore's leading newspaper, The Straits Times recently published an article about the drop of number of religious believers.

In this post, I will not be questioning the validity of the findings, nor will I be criticising the purpose of such an article.

I simply want to what the article (if true) means in terms of theology.

Religion on the decline

The article claims that that the trend is due to an increasing number of people being brought up in nominally-religious families. This is expected -- if God becomes less important in our daily lives, worship would cease.

According to the article,

"Academics and religious leaders The Straits Times spoke to said the trend of non-religious affiliation is in tandem with an increasingly educated populace, some of whom might move away from religion if it does not connect with their lives and needs."

This is especially true for those in the nominal Protestants, where our sense of tradition is less pronounced than our Muslim and Buddhist friends.

Moral without God

According to a Mr Seah in the article,

"I don't think I need divine guidance to make a right or wrong decision. Reason alone can guide such decision- making"

And if Christianity is simply about making people moral, then Mr Seah is correct. One can carry out moral actions without believing in anything.

What I would argue is that it is hard to have a source of morality without religion. Mr Seah's world view may sound ideal, but it fails to answer the question of whose reasoning should reign supreme. As we all know, everyone reasons differently.

Conclusion
Christianity is more than just moral teaching or tradition. Other religions, and atheism can provide that. Christianity is about knowing the identity of God and loving him.

And I wished more people knew that.

Alternative Culture: Christianity in Asia exhibition at Asian Civilisation Museum

Japanese martyrs

Recently, I visited the Christianity in Asia exhibit at the Asian Civilisation Museum (in Singapore). My knowledge of Asian Christianity is limited: I do know of the Hudson Taylor's efforts in China and Francis Xavier's in Japan, but not too much beyond that.

I was quite pleasantly surprised by the evidence Chinese Christians in 800 AD, as shown by the tavlet below. The museum also displayed the sword hilts of the Christian samurai.

Tablet of Nestorian Christians in China dated around 800 AD

Displays of Christ and angels from India to Southeast Asia were always shown. All in all, it was a good attempt by the museum to show that Christians were not newcomers to Asia.

Ivory ornaments from India

Theology 1.0: Dr Tan Lai Yong

Two things I ask of you, Lord;
    do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
    give me neither poverty nor riches,
    but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
    and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
    and so dishonor the name of my God.   -- Proverbs 30: 7 - 9

Recently, I had the honour of meeting Dr Tan Lai Yong. Hailed for his charity work by the Singapore Parliament in March 2014, I have sometimes heard his name mentioned as a bright shining example of Christendom.

Inspired by Proverbs 30:7-9, Dr Tan dedicated his life to help people who are less well-off. This includes the poor in China and foreign workers, the elderly and ex-offenders in Singapore.

What amazes me is his simple lifestyle. Clad in a simple pair of jeans and a university-sponsored shirt, he greeted my students while advocating a life of volunteerism to my students.

Thanks Dr Tan, for living a live dedicated to God and avoiding a materialistic lifestyle so endorsed by our affluent lifestyle.

For further reading
Wandering Saint

My confession: My biggest fear for the churches in Singapore

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see."
-- Revelation 3: 14 - 18

In Singapore we are blessed with prosperity. And maybe it's our Asian drive mixed with Western ingenuity that has led us to pursue success in every area of our lives. I mean we can easily define success as the amount of money we earn every month, the brand of the cars we have, or even how well our kids are coming. It can be even the less tangible things, such as the amount of options our education degrees gives us, or how happy we are with our current job.

We may even stretch this in the context of our Christian lives. Some people gauge the success of the church by the number of people attending, or the amount of donations. Others look at reputation, or highlight the number of celebrities at their church.

What if I were to tell you none of that mattered?

The costs of following Jesus
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.  In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
-- Luke 14: 25-33

In my interactions with my fellow Singaporean Christians, there seem to be an idea that following God would results in blessings gained. However in the verse above, the message is clear: in following Jesus, we must be prepared to give up everything.

That is what has been missing from a lot of preaching I heard in Singapore. The idea that we will suffer, lose or even die when we following Jesus. To deny that is disingenuous to the early Christians or our suffering siblings in North Korea and the Middle East.

The genuity of worship
But Samuel replied:

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
    as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
    and to heed is better than the fat of rams"
-- 1 Samuel 15:22

As shown in the verse above, God desires genuine worship. It is not enough to give money, time and effort if our intentions are not enough. So what if we are wealthy and give God 10%, 50% or 90%? So what if we hit all the right notes in the songs?

Sincerity in worship is more important. If I am allowed to be frank, I rather have a smaller congregation with real worshipers, than to be in a church with many numbers but little sincerity.

The choice between truth and peace
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
-- 2 Timothy 4: 2-4

If we are not careful, we may fill our ears and thoughts with things we simply like, and not what the Bible says. As the song goes, "the heart wants what it wants."

If we want someone to affirm Christian homosexuality, we can find someone to that. If we want to find a respectable person to support the idea that Christianity is about being wealthy and healthy, we can look for that too.

That would be contrary with what the Bible teaches. Christianity is not about peace at the expense of the truth of Jesus. It is about the truth that Jesus died for our sins, and the only way for reconciliation with God is through Him.

Often we are afraid to offend people in Singapore, especially since the country prides herself in religious harmony and secularism. Thus there is a tendency to treat all religions as equal. Even my ex-pastor recently went on a Buddhist meditation trip.

It may be unpopular, and even cost us our jobs. But we must declare that Jesus is the only way.

Conclusion
The truth is this --  in our lips we may condemn the prosperity gospel or claim we are following God, but in our hearts in may be different.

Dear friends, it is my plead that we all follow Scripture, even it is brings us to the unfavourable conclusion that we must change our lives in order to follow God.

For further thinking

Theology 1.0: Who is Sophia Blackmore?

Sophia Blackmore

Despite Singaporean, I realised I often do not post about the Christians would contributed to Singapore. So let me give a brief description of the life of one Christian-- Sophia Blackmore. She is more famously known as the founder of Fairfield Methodist School (Primary) and Methodist Girls' School.

In the beginning...
Born 18th October 1857 in Australia to devout Methodist parents, Sophia had a calling to be a missionary after meeting American missionary Isabella Leonard.

However the Australian church did not dispatch unmarried woman as missionaries, so Sophia had to rely on the American church (and thus the help of Miss Leonard) to sponsor her instead. She was then sent to Singapore.

Welcome to Singapore
Arriving in Singapore on 16th July 1887, Sophia started the Tamil Girls' School (later known as the Methodist Girls' School) within a month with a cohort of nine students. She then set up a mission to spread the gospel in Chinatown, making 800 visits to 90 homes a year.

In August 1888, she set up a Chinese girls' school (now Fairfield Methodist) with a cohort of eight students. Still not done, she also established a shelter for homeless girls, calling it Nind home, in honour of a friend (Mary Nind) who supported her.

Church planting
In 1894, she planted a church in Singapore catering to those who worshiped in the Baba Malay language. This was affectionately called the "Baba Church", and now is known as Kampong Kapor Methodist Church today.

In 1928, Sophia returned to Australia. She passed away on 3rd July 1945.

Personally
I admire Ms Blackmore for her dedication to the Christian faith, and her aid to teenage girls. This is despite her initially setback with the Australian church and her struggles in a foreign land.

With Due Respect: Don't all religions lead to God?

In pluralistic, sensitive and secular Singapore, it is often regarded taboo to talk about religions, much less the exclusitvity of a certain religion. To even say in public that "Jesus is the Way, the truth and the life" (according to John 14:6) can be frown upon and considered to be disruptive in society.

After all, given the huge number of religions in the world, isn't it bigoted to say that Christianity is the only way to God?

Think about it first:

The statement that all religions lead to God presupposes a few assumptions, and I will handle some of them.

1) It is arrogant to say that any one religion has exclusivity to God
 The statement firstly assumes that anybody who claims to have monopoly on the truth is standoffish and unnecessarily divisive.

However, this statement is unconcerned about the nature of truth (i.e. whether something is true or not) and is more concerned about sensitivity (whether people will be offended or not). It has no bearing on truth claims.

Furthermore, the statement by its own rules is also arrogant. This statement is also exclusive in stating that no one religion can be exclusive.

2) All religions talk about the same God
The statement also assumes the God that all religions talk about is the same. However, there are many irreconcilable differences between the differing religions.

For instance, in Hinduism there are many gods. In Christianity, Judaism and Islam, there is only one God. To cite another example, Christianity claims that Jesus is God, while Judaism and Islam rejects that notion.

Hence, to be completely logical and coherent, only one of the following is possible:
A) All religions are wrong OR
B) Only one religion is right

The idea that all of them lead to the same God, or rather the same conclusion is logically inconsistent.

Conclusion
Instead of engagning in senstivity mud-slinging and accuse each other of arrogance, I encourage all readers to come and explore this site and others like it. Come and see if Jesus is truly God or not!


For further reading

Bethinking

Alternative Culture: Singapore's train problems and the limits of man

 

City Airport Train, Vienna, Austria 2011

Triple train trouble!
In December 2011, Singapore (my country) suffered three major train (a.k.a. MRT [Mass Rapid Transit]) disruptions. As these incidents were consider the worst malfunctions in the 24-year history of the MRT, many have called the CEO to step down.

Having studied in London for the past 4 years, I was initially quite surprised by such demands. If the CEO had to step down everytime there was a line malfunction, then the CEO of the London Underground (London's train services) must have stepped down many times. However one of my friends pointed out that the MRT have often touted itself as being the best, so such incidents was considered a slap to the face to its reputation. Furthermore as many as 125,000 people were affected by one of the disruptions, making it a major accident.

So should the CEO stepped down?

If you're looking for a political analysis of the situation, you're viewing the wrong blog. I'm just humbly here to give a theological view of the event, and that will be the purpose of this post.

I'm here not to criticise the MRT management or the engineers. In fact Singaporean engineers are one of the best in the world. During my time at Imperial College, the students who topped every engineering course I could think of (Electrical, Mechanical, Material, Chemical and Aeronautical) were Singaporeans. In additional to that, I would go on record to say that travelling on the Singapore train/subway/metropolitan is very reliable.

The limits of man
But it's a strange situation isn't it? Despite possessing some of the best engineers in the world, the MRT was shown to be prone to breakdowns. But this isn't the first time man's pride was shamed, isn't it? We were once told somethings were unsinkable, and others would last for a thousand years. And this (series of MRT malfunctions) is in the field of engineering, one of the most highly disciplined fields in academia.

And it's not just in the issue of engineering that man struggles with. We struggle with health, self-worth, justice, poverty, morality, artistic expression and so many other things. And often we tend to elate man's ability to solve everything. If we even struggle to solve for these issues, then what about the issue of salvation, our eternal destinies?

[I am not saying we shouldn't work on these fields, but I'm merely highlighting man's limitation in these areas.]

The ultimate struggle
And here's the ultimate struggle for Christians--we either tend to be religious, or irreligious (Keller, 2007). To be religious, is to look within ourselves-- our acts, achievements, behaviours and morality for justification before God. Then the religious would look to the others and condemned the others for not following the traditions they do.

To be irreligious is also another great temptation-- it is to deny there is a problem with the world and us, and therefore do not see a need for accounting before God.

Both the religious and irreligious can be dangerous forms of self-centredness. Chesterton (1908) used the analogy of images of Buddhist saints to illustrate this well-- that we close our eyes to the world and look within ourselves for satisfaction.

What about Jesus?
Just as a Roman centurion looked to Jesus for his servant's healing and a father looked to Jesus for his son's exorcism, we must look to Jesus (and not ourselves) as our source of justification. As the Reformer Luther (1520) wrote that it was by "impiety and incredulity of heart" that mankind became deserving of "condemnation". In being religious or irreligious, a man makes himself "as an idol in his own heart".

So how do we save ourselves?
You can't!-- that's the point! That's why we can be grateful for Christmas. If we could do everything on our own, God didn't have to come down. So take heart, my Christian friends. There's grace! The salvation issue is not about what we can do for God (being religious), or how we redefine God (being irreligious). It's not about how much faith we have in Jesus either. It's about whether we trust Him in the first place.

And we can. That's why I can joyfully and truthfully declare "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Reference

Chesterton, G.K. (1908) Orthodoxy

Keller, T.J. (2007) The Reason For God

Luther, M. (1520) Freedom of a Christian