1985 was a significant year for The Bible Society of Singapore (BSS). In the Bible Society’s Annual Report (1984-1985), it was announced that “we have taken a great step of faith and will become a self-supporting Society as of 1st November 1985… The financial subsidies [we have received] will now be channelled to help the work of the Bible Societies in needy countries in the third world.”¹ With this announcement, The Bible Society of Singapore shifted its focus to include supporting its neighbouring countries in need. 

Simultaneously, a shift in China was well underway. Opportunities to share the Gospel had been expanding over the past decade, and the United Bible Societies (UBS) fellowship began answering China’s need for Bibles by printing through various outside printing presses in 1985. Eventually, the growing demand encouraged UBS to find an independent printing press instead. 

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Partnering with the Amity Foundation, the fellowship of national Bible Societies around the world raised US$7.6 million to spearhead the project.² On 8 July 1987, “workers, officials, church leaders and guests assembled to hand over the equipment and to dedicate the buildings,”³ and the first Bible rolled off the press on 15 October 1987. The UBS Executive Committee’s Chairman, Rev James R Payne, called this effort “one of the most challenging and worthwhile enterprises ever undertaken by the UBS Movement.”⁴ 

The Bible Society of Singapore and many Singaporeans were equally passionate about this endeavour and partnered in this mission not only in sending funds, but also other resources and personnel. One such Singaporean was Rev Eugene Seow, a publishing consultant who joined Amity’s work in Nanjing in the late 80s. He was largely responsible for the layout and formatting of the Chinese Union Version with New Punctuation (CUNP), as well as the cover and logo design. The CUNP was the first Chinese Bible with a horizontal layout and the first version whose format and layout saved space on pages so that the Bible was thinner and more portable. 

Another instrumental individual sent in the early years was Mr Daniel H S Koh (Board Member of BSS), a Singaporean consultant with a background in international publishing, whose focus revolved around improving the plant’s organisation and modernising its technology and equipment. “The main objective,” according to Mr Koh, “was to modernise their printing technology at the plant… [in order to] enhance the work of the Bible Society in the printing and the distribution and making Bibles available to the masses.”   

Current President of BSS Dr Lee Soo Ann became the General Secretary of The Bible Society of Singapore in 1990 and very soon thereafter received a request to send two individuals to help run the Management and Production departments. As Dr Lee recounts, “they needed help from another society to help find the people, and Singapore had an advantage [in] that we had people who were Chinese-speaking.” This placed the Bible Society in a unique position – helping to run the day-to-day process (as well as training) in Nanjing, while raising awareness and funds within Singapore. 

Dr Lee first sent Mr Ng Kok Huat in September 1991 as a technician to help in the printing of Bibles in Amity Press, Nanjing, China, for a period of four months.⁵ “As a result of his visit, the motivation and skills of the workers there improved so much” that Mr Ng returned to Nanjing with his wife Soo Pang on a two-year-long assignment as resident production supervisor.⁶ Despite losing his fingers in an unfortunate accident, Mr Ng remained dedicated to the task and stayed on. In May 1993, Mr Kua Wee Seng joined the team in Nanjing as deputy general manager, accompanied by his wife Cheng Hiang and their two daughters.⁷    

Since then, many prominent leaders, such as Bishop John Chew (Honorary President of BSS), have greatly contributed to developing relationships with leaders in China. Over the years, Amity Printing Company has become a household name in the Bible printing industry. Over 130 million Bibles have been published and that number is estimated to reach 200 million within the next ten years.⁸  

The Bible Society of Singapore continues to support the Bible mission in China by raising funds for the UBS printing and distribution work, taking teams on Bible mission trips, and facilitating long-term relationships for continued ministry. The sentiments from the Bible Society in 1987 remain the same today: “Your Society participated in helping to raise funds for this worthy cause. We thank God that many of our supporters have rallied around and [given] generously and sacrificially. We are much encouraged by your love and concern for God’s people in China.”⁹ 

Partner with us as we continue serving the people of China:  

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• PRAY with us that God will use the Bible Society’s work in China to draw people to Himself and call many more to a saving faith in Christ. 
• SUPPORT our China projects (bibleresource.net/bsschina) and further enable us to continue literacy programmes, provide community outreach, and equip local Chinese Church workers. 

• EMAIL ibex@bible.org.sg to join us on a Bible Mission Trip as we distribute the Word of God to the people of China or to customise a Bible Mission Trip for your church. 

_{¹ Annual Report, The Bible Society of Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei, 1st November 1984 – 31st October 1985, page 10.} 

_{² http://www.biblesociety.org.au/news/china%E2%80%99s-amity-press-celebrates-100-million-bibles-the-presses-are-gearing-up-for-the-next-100-million.} 

 _{3 Annual Report, The Bible Society of Singapore and Brunei, 1st November 1986 – 31st October 1987, page 7.} 

 _{⁴ Ibid.} 

_{⁵ Bible Society Newsletter, January 1993.} 

_{⁶ Ibid.} 

_{⁷ Bible Society Newsletter, January 1994.} 

_{⁸ http://amityprinting.com/about-us/understanding-amity and http://www.biblesociety.org.au/news/china%E2%80%99s-amity-press-celebrates-100-million-bibles-the-presses-are-gearing-up-for-the-next-100-million.}  

_{⁹ Annual Report, The Bible Society of Singapore and Brunei, 1st November 1986 – 31st October 1987, page 8.} 

“Convert…, pay a protection tax or leave.” 

This ultimatum given on 17 July 2014 resulted in many Christians fleeing from their hometowns, becoming refugees almost overnight. The United Nations reported in August 2014 that 1.2 million Iraqis and 1 million Syrians were internally displaced. 

When news of such a catastrophe was heard, there was an outcry from the global community. In Singapore, the Bible Society worked with the National Council of Churches to raise an appeal for the refugees. This effort enabled us to give away just over $250,000 to meet the urgent needs of persecuted Christians. The contribution provided families with Scriptures, food items, medical supplies, blankets, mattresses, and hygiene items. Although some physical needs were alleviated, the refugees were left with deeper scars.  

Mike Bassous, General Secretary, Bible Society in Lebanon, shared with us the following heart-wrenching stories during their crisis relief project. 

The Toy Gun  

Three-year-old Abir was resistant to knowing us and escaped our hugs and gifts of candy. When we finally talked to her, we asked her what she was doing with a gun, supposedly a boy’s toy. She immediately answered, “To protect my family and home.” 

The Handmade Crosses 

We noticed many handmade crosses hanging over the tents of one camp. When we asked one family why they put up the cross, the obvious answer was from the Gospel of Matthew, to carry our cross.   

The Kidnapped Daughter  

Aida wept as she recounted how her three-year-old daughter was taken from her by ISIS militants.  

“Those moments were the hardest in my life. I felt that I was dead, unconscious of my surroundings. My heart was cold as ice. I wished they could kill me, better than leaving my daughter behind.” 

They do not know today whether their daughter is alive. The father feels guilty as he feels responsible for not protecting his child. The other children are also scared and traumatised. 

“We felt that Christian refugees were very wary and simply wanted to leave the country. Our relief and Scripture programme, which is much appreciated, appeared as if we were putting a band-aid on a cancerous organ. The wound is very deep!” – Mike Bassous, General Secretary, Bible Society in Lebanon 

The Christian refugees need more than physical items to heal them of their fears and wounds. They need hope and refuge solely anchored in God, the great Physician who heals completely. 

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Please take a moment to pray for these refugees. 

SAFETY: Pray that all who are fleeing will find safe harbour and be well-provided for by the Lord. 

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COMFORT: Pray for comfort for those who have lost loved ones and suffered traumatic violence. 

FAITH: Pray that local Christians and the next generation will be strengthened in faith and truth, and the Church will grow. 

The fear of abduction and death is a daily part of life for Syrian Bible distributor, Gaith.

We’ve changed his name to protect him from possible attacks.

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Gaith works in northern Syria helping to distribute some 250,000 Bibles and portions of the scriptures across the war-torn country.

“Every time we leave our headquarters it’s difficult because we cannot anticipate what we may encounter on the road,” he said. “We don’t know if we will get to our destination or not.”

“When I leave my family every morning, I don’t know if I will see them at night.”

More than 200,000 Syrians have lost their lives in four years of armed conflict. More than 11 million others have been forced to flee their homes, including some 4 million who have left Syria altogether.

The conflict began in 2011 during the Arab Spring but had escalated by 2012.

It is against this background of violence that Gaith and his colleagues distribute Bibles.

“Sometimes we are on the road to our destination and we are caught in a battle zone,” he said. “We park and wait until things calm down and then we continue our journey.”

“There is always the risk of being abducted. All the time, every day, I fear that I will not come home at night.”

Gaith and his colleagues distribute Bibles across the war-torn country and visit and encourage church leaders.

Don’t people need food and shelter more, I asked. “On the contrary,” he said, “there is a thirst for the scriptures because more important than food and shelter and peace is hope. People find hope in the word of God.”

“There is no hope here. People have lost hope in the country and in the countries that are promising some sort of solution.”

“We know of clergymen who take our Bibles into very dangerous situations.”

“Many people when we go through checkpoints, they take the scriptures and kiss it and place it on their forehead as a sign of reverence.”

“Because of this, we are motivated to keep going with our work. It is risky work. But it is our mission. We can do nothing but fulfill it.”

David Smith, Bible Society’s International Programme Manager, met Gaith last week. He said, “He’s an absolute hero.”

“I think he’s the most courageous person I have ever met. People like Gaith risk their lives every day in order to share the Bible.”

William Carey once said ‘to know the will of God, we need an open Bible and an open map.’ These words are meaningful to us at the Bible Society, particularly as our nation celebrates its Jubilee. We are prompted to think of new beginnings associated with Biblical Jubilee and to discover afresh the will of God for the Bible Society. 

Whilst many do associate us with the ‘open Bible’ – the ministry of the Word, perhaps it is the ‘open map’ – the missionary aspect of our work, that is less thought of when the Bible Society comes to mind. Yet, it was a mission-focused vision that began the Bible Society’s work in 1804. In fact, missionaries like William Carey worked closely with the Bible Society to make the Word of God known to all people. 

The Bible Mission 

This mission is one that God has prospered over the last 210 years. It is now a global effort carried out in over 200 countries and territories, through 147 Societies that come under the banner of United Bible Societies (UBS). The scope of the mission has also expanded: beginning with functions like translation, publishing and distribution that put the Bible in people’s hands, our mission today includes literacy, engagement and advocacy components, which put the Bible in people’s hearts. Through these six pillars of the Bible mission, we hope to see lives transformed by the Word. 

These pillars will be fleshed out in the later issues of Word@Work this year, so be sure to pick up a copy every quarter! In this issue, we look at the underlying values of the mission as a whole: it is centred on the Word, driven by people, and oriented to our community. 

Word-centric 

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching… that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV) 

Naturally, God’s Word lies at the centre of the Bible mission, because His Word should be at the centre of our lives. Through it, God speaks, reveals Himself and guides us to do His work. There is no doubt that all people should have the opportunity to read or hear the Scriptures and learn its precious truths. Sadly, many are unable to for various reasons, and so our task is to ensure that God’s Word reaches these people. 

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This principle shapes all the work we do at the Society. Our programmes, trips and fundraising efforts place the Bible front and centre, emphasising the Word’s importance in the world today.

People-driven 

“For I was hungry and you gave me food… I was naked and you clothed me… Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” – Matthew 25:35-36, 40 (ESV) 

Whilst the Word of God is the focus of the Bible Society, the mission work is done through people and for people. We are driven not just by the importance of the Bible, but also by the needs of the people we serve, whose hearts will be changed by the Scriptures. 

We pray for more opportunities to touch people’s lives with the Word through our programmes, especially as we begin to engage the public square through the ETHOS Institute for Public Christianity, and involve ourselves with major humanitarian relief projects.

Community-oriented 

“So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” – Romans 12:5 (ESV) 

As part of the UBS fellowship, our local Bible Society’s mission is aligned with the needs of the Singaporean community, even as we are involved in regional Bible mission work. Therefore, we do our utmost to partner with and support the local Church, as well as take on significant community projects. 

This is an exceptional year for Singapore, and we are glad to be doing our part to commemorate SG50. In collaboration with Jubilee Day of Prayer 2015, the Bible Society will be printing 60,000 special edition SG50 Jubilee Bibles for the event to encourage the spread of God’s Word to pre-believers. This is a huge undertaking, but one absolutely worth doing because of its impact on our community. 

Missionaries for the Bible 

This Word-centric, people-driven, community-oriented mission of the Bible Society is fulfilled by Bible missionaries around the world. Though most of these individuals may not be sent out as missionaries in the most traditional sense, they have responded to the call of the Bible Mission in their local societies. 

“We are shaken. We are upset. But this will not stop us worshipping.” These are the words of Bible Society’s general secretary in Pakistan, Anthony Ajiaz Lamuel, following the double suicide bombing on churches in Lahore.

On March 15, two bomb blasts killed 15 people and injured more than 70 others, at churches in a Christian neighbourhood in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

Thousands of people were attending the Sunday morning services. Two suicide bombers detonated their explosives at the gates of St John’s Catholic Church and Christ Church, two of the largest churches in the town.

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An offshoot of the Pakistan Taliban, known as Jamatul Ahrar, has claimed responsibility.

Christians make up just 2 per cent of the largely Muslim population in Pakistan.

Mr Lamuel said that the mood among Lahore’s Christians was resilient.

“Persecutions we can take,” he said. “But we have to be present in Pakistan’s society and we have to make our presence known.” Mr Lamuel said he first heard of the bombings whilst attending church. “My phone kept ringing. At first I ignored it, but then I knew there was a problem,” he said.

“We left the service and raced across town. The roads were blocked so we took all the back routes.”

“When we arrived it was chaos. It was very, very sad, you can imagine. We didn’t know how many had been injured or died.”

“Then came the news that people we knew had stopped the suicide bombers entering the churches. They didn’t recognize them and stopped them going in. ‘One blessing has been that though we lost 15 lives, it would have been more like 400 or 500 if they had got into the churches, which were packed.’ Mr Lamuel said he believed that the extremists had targeted the churches because they were so well attended and there would be many casualties.”

He added that the violence was repellent to many moderate Muslims within Pakistan and leading to a greater interest, by many, in the Bible.

“People say, ‘Why must they kill?’ They witness what is happening and so our distribution of Bibles among Muslims has increased amazingly.’ Yet this work happens under constant threat of attack, including a local paper front page headline in a city 45 kms west of Islamabad last year that read, ‘Burn Bible Society’.”

“We have always had threats,” said Mr Lamuel. “I used to sell scriptures to passersby on the streets. We were beaten at times, and we had our Bibles burned and taken away from us.”

“But now, there’s a fear in the back of my mind which was never there 20 years ago.” Bible Society’s offices are surrounded by razor wire and concrete crash barriers. Every visitor goes through a scanner and has to leave their bags outside. The corridor that leads to Lamuel’s office is made of reinforced concrete and steel. Fifteen security cameras guard the premises.

“We are there, and it is an opportunity for us to be a light and also to allow the fragrance of God’s hope and love to permeate the atmosphere of our country,” said Mr Lamuel.

“We will never shut down. We will never close.”

Christian mystic and philosopher Simone Weil wrote in her famous work Waiting for God, published posthumously more than 60 years ago: “Today one might think that the white races had almost lost all feeling for the beauty of the world, and that they had taken upon themselves the task of making it disappear from all the continents where they have penetrated with their armies, their trade, and their religion.”

Had Weil lived to witness the savage iconoclasms of this period we have nebulously tagged as ‘postmodern’, she would have been truly appalled. For in this so-called ‘postmodern turn’, where cultural narcissism, a plurality of psychological identities, and radical relativism dominates and corrodes human society, beauty (together with the true and the good) is slowly being eclipsed and forgotten.

This is seen supremely, although not exclusively, in art. The American art critic and philosopher Arthur Danto, observing the erosion of beauty, wrote in The Abuse of Beauty that “Beauty …disappeared not only from the advanced art of the 1960s, but from advanced philosophy of art of that decade as well… [It] rarely came up in art periodicals from the 1960s without the deconstructionist snicker.”

The eclipse of beauty is also seen in the church, especially in its worship, music, architecture and art. This is both alarming and sad because beauty has always occupied such a central place in the Christian heritage. In music, for instance, we have such marvellous epiphanies of created beauty in the haunting monody of Gregorian chant, the uncommon splendour of the choral motets of Palestrina, and the majestic cantatas of Handel and Bach.

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The world that God created is beautiful because it reflects the divine beauty. There is therefore that profound analogy between earthly or created beauty and the beauty of God, its Creator. “The world”, writes the great 19th century poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, “is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook foil.” Thus, while the divine beauty transcends all its visible manifestations, God is their source and final cause.

If God is Beauty, then, his self- disclosure must also be beautiful. And if, as Scripture has taught us, God has revealed himself universally in the created order, every experience of beauty is in some sense an encounter of the revelation of God. In all its imperfections, earthly beauty affords us a glimpse – however slight – of the glory of God.

But the beauty of God is seen most supremely in the fullness of his revelation in Jesus Christ. For the incarnate Son is the icon, the image and the form of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). Looking at the eternal Son clothed in humanity in the incarnation, John could testify: “We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) And since Christ is the definitive self-disclosure of God, to see the glory of the Son is to behold the glory of the Father (John 14:8-9).

Perhaps this is why despite the philistinism of the postmodern culture, beauty has not totally disappeared and still survives in some strands of culture. And perhaps this is also why despite the onslaught of secularism and atheism, more than a third of the global population still believe in the God of the Bible.

‘Assessing The ISIS Threat’

Speaker: Dr Rohan Gunaratna

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Venue: Bible House Level 4 Seminar Room, 7 Armenian Street

Whenever there is a discussion on the obligations of Christians towards the state, a key saying of Jesus is invariably cited. The most well-known rendition of it is found in the King James’ Version of the Bible: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”.

A common interpretation of this saying is that Christians owe different sets of obligations to God and to the state. It is depicted in the diagram below:

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So, as this interpretation of Jesus’ saying goes, there are obligations we owe to the state alone (perhaps things like paying taxes, respecting public order). These we should “render unto Caesar”. Then there is a completely separate set of obligations we owe to God (perhaps the obligation to tithe or to pray). These we should “render unto God”. Jesus’ saying, therefore, has repeatedly been used through the ages to urge Christians to be good and law-abiding citizens; to discharge well our unique obligations to “Caesar”.

The problem with this interpretation of Jesus’ saying is quickly apparent. It invites us to divide our lives into two portions, one governed by God, and the other by the state, with no interaction between the two. God’s reign over us is therefore restricted to so-called “religious” matters, while Caesar has the final say on how we should behave with regard to our lives in the public square. This interpretation of Jesus’ saying is, in other words, totally in line with the secularising agenda of many contemporary societies. The secular ideal is that one’s public life should be free of religious considerations. There can be a carefully circumscribed role for religion in one’s private devotion and morals, but that is as far as it should go.

Could this understanding of Jesus’ saying be correct? Could Jesus have been a man before his time, advocating a secular agenda more than a millennium and a half before these ideas took root in Western societies? Might Jesus actually approve of the marginalisation of religion we see in so many contemporary societies? Surely, something is amiss. It behoves us to examine carefully the passage in which this saying is contained to see if its context sheds any light on how it should be interpreted. We will focus on the description of this episode in the Gospel of Mark (12:13-17).

This immediate context of our passage is a trap set by the Jewish religious authorities. As v.13 puts it, “they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words”. These emissaries began with flattery. They praised Jesus’ integrity and said they admired the way he taught the way of God truly without being swayed by the fear of man (v.14). Having cunningly set up an expectation for Jesus to speak the truth fearlessly, they sprung the trap:  “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” (v.14-15). This question was designed to put Jesus in a deadly bind. Whether he answers “yes” or “no”, he would get into deep trouble.

If Jesus were to answer, “No, it is not right to pay taxes to Caesar”, it would have given a basis for the Jewish religious authorities to persuade the Roman rulers to arrest Jesus. The Romans were very sensitive about their system of taxation, and any potential disruption to it was likely to draw a swift and firm response. This is where the Herodians come in. They were a political faction of Jews seen as loyal to Rome. They would be best placed to report any subversive behaviour to the Romans.

If, on the other hand, Jesus were to affirm the correctness of paying taxes to Caesar, many of his followers would have abandoned him in deep disappointment. Many Jews had an intense hatred of the Roman tax. They had even started a series of riots over the payment of taxes not too long before Jesus’ time. How do you think these Jews would have felt if Jesus were to encourage meek submission to the oppressive Roman tax system? Most conveniently, the Pharisees were on hand to fan any angry responses. They were respected among the Jews for their anti-Roman sentiments, and were best placed to incite the crowd should Jesus affirm the correctness of paying taxes to Rome.

How did Jesus emerge from this bind unscathed? He did the rather unexpected thing of requesting for a denarius (v.15). He then asked, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” The denarius was a Roman coin, and had the portrait of the Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar on its front side, with words proclaiming his title and name. It was therefore a simple thing for the Pharisees and the Herodians to answer “Caesar’s” (v.16). Jesus then spoke the final words recorded for this episode, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”. This reply totally floored the Pharisees and the Herodians. They thought they were cruising to victory in this boxing match. But Jesus’ reply was the knockout punch they did not see coming. V.17 tells us that the Pharisees and Herodians were amazed at him. The account in the Gospel of Luke describes them being so astonished that they fell silent (Lk 20:26). Matthew adds that they left Jesus and went away (Matt 22:22)—probably in shame that their mission had failed.

This is where the common interpretation of Jesus’ answer does not make sense. What would be so utterly amazing about Jesus teaching that we owe different sets of obligations towards God and the state? Such a reply would also not have successfully evaded the trap, since it is in essence a “yes” answer; it suggests we ought to pay taxes because we owe obligations to the state.

The key to understanding Jesus’ last sentence lies in his earlier question, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” The original Greek word for “portrait” is εἰκών (eikon). This is the word from which the English “icon” is derived, and can also be translated as “image”. To the Jew, one of the first things which come to mind when the term “image” is mentioned is the teaching in Genesis that human beings are created in the image of God. εἰκών has also been used in other parts of the New Testament to denote this image of God present in human beings (e.g. 1 Cor 11:7). The English word “inscription” is translated from ἐπιγραφή (epigraphe). A form of this word is used in passages like Isa 44:5 of the Greek translation of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint, which reads:

_{“One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD’;
Another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
Still another will write (epigraphein) on his hand, ‘The LORD’s’
And will take the name Israel”}

So how would Jesus’ Jewish audience have understood his reply? Just as the denarius had the image of Caesar and the inscription of Caesar’s name on it, human beings are made in the image of God and all those who belong to God have his name written on their hands. Therefore, when Jesus speaks about giving to God what is in God’s image and what has God’s inscription, he is calling for the giving of the whole of ourselves to God. He is reminding the Jews that their one loyalty is to God alone. So, if we do pay our taxes to Caesar, it should be as an aspect of our sole obligation to God; it should be as an act of worship to God. The converse is also implied: If the state should overstep her boundaries and impose obligations which conflict with our fundamental obligation to God, “we must obey God rather than human beings” (Acts 5:29). The one guiding principle for all of life is our obligation towards the one who has made us in his image and inscribed his name on our hands. Thus Jesus, in his answer, does not advocate uncritical submission to the state and its laws. Yet he also does not advocate rebellion for its own sake. Everything has to be evaluated according to one’s sole duty to God. He therefore manages to avoid the unequivocal “yes” or “no” his enemies were expecting.

The pervasive influence of secularism in modern societies has caused Christians to live fragmented lives. The phenomenon of a “privatised” Christianity is evident amongst many Christians. We have carefully shepherded our Christian faith into a small and comfortable corner of our lives. When it comes to “religious” activities, like attending church, or going for small group meetings, we are happy to say and do all the right “Christian” things. Outside of these times, however, we often refuse to allow the reality of our Christian faith to guide and impact the other aspects of our lives (e.g. when we are in the office, when we discuss national politics, when we evaluate the economic direction of our society).

The privatised Christianity of our secular age needs to hear afresh the words of Jesus, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”. This, far from being an affirmation of the secular tendency to divide our lives into different spheres which are hermetically sealed from one another, is a powerful call for us to re-assemble the fragmented pieces and live our entire life in obedience to God. If we do discharge our obligations to others (e.g. the government, our families, employers, friends), it is as an aspect of our service to God.

Dr Leow Theng Huat is a lecturer of theology at Trinity Theological College. He is a member and local preacher of Wesley Methodist Church.

Speaker: Dr Vinoth Ramachandra

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(Venue: St. Andrew’s Cathedral Prayer Hall)