Faith and Justice: Conflict or Convergence?
Can faith & religion speak truth to power? Is social justice at the heart of authentic faith or is religion an opiate of the masses?
Come and take part in this Inter-faith Dialogue, “Faith and Justice: Conflict or Convergence?”, organised by our dear friends at the Islamic Renaissance Front, Sunday, 25th March, 2pm, at the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, KL.
Pls register here: http://irfront.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=503
“What are the Roots of the Distinction between Theology and Philosophy?” by Jean-Luc Marion
This is a good lecture interweaving insights from a historic western perspective with systematic reflections later. While it may be true that the distinction between theology (in particular Christian theology) and philosophy (in particular Greek Philosophy onwards) is problematized, then what does this mean for today? Where is ethics in this discussion and to what extent an introduction of ethics or the empirical into the discussion disrupts the abstract nature of the dominance of ideas?
Back to Malaysia, in the public university it appears the philosophical discussions would likely be found in the humanities and social sciences, or perhaps it is also present in the form of Islamic philosophy and theology in Islamic institutions. But, this fragmented situation suggests that different ‘knowledge’ production and cultivation sites are separated from each other at least institutionally. For example, the philosophy department in University Sains Malaysia, Penang, the study of Islamic philosophy in International Islamic University, and the social scientific and humanities work in Monash University.
Where would ‘theology’ especially Christian theology generated from either the church context, or more precisely the seminary context in the peninsular and Sabah for example enter the conversation?
Interview with Dr. Gayatri Spivak
Gayatri Spivak came to Malaysia and left quite an impression to the point of being compared to Oprah Winfrey. The challenge of her contribution will perhaps be less about her erudition and complex multi-syllable sentences, but rather forcing us to pause and reconsider how we have been taught to look at the world, especially starting with the world of our origins.
This conversation between Hamid Dabashi and her around the happenings in Iran models serious thinking that is grounded in particular situations whether it’s India or Iran. My sense is that it seeks to transcend the trap of ‘localizing’ the discourse because we are now even more aware of the interconnectedness our shared global existence. The result besides solidarity with each other is to critically resource one another’s ethical and philosophical engagement with the realities confronting us.
“CONSULT THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY AS STAKEHOLDERS IN THE EDUCATION REVIEW PANEL: SPM BIBLE KNOWLEDGE MUST BE BILINGUAL”
STATEMENT OF THE CCM YOUTH
**
Kuala Lumpur – 2 March 2012. CCM Youth referred to the article in the Sunday Star dated February 26, 2012 entitled “Review of Education System Soon” and in their press release, raised their concern that the Ministry of Education should consult the Christian community, as important stakeholders, in the education review panel, in particular, the SPM Bible Knowledge examination.
CCM Youth, in conjunction with the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Al-Kitab, has called on the Ministry of Education to make the SPM Bible Knowledge examination paper bilingual. This is in recognition of the fact that a large majority of Christians, mainly in East Malaysia, actually speak Bahasa Malaysia instead of English. They have been left out all this while. This needs to be corrected.
CCM Youth highlighted that in the 2010 Housing and Population Census report released by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia, Christians accounted for 2.6 million or 9.2% of the nation’s population of 28.3 million people.
A closer scrutiny revealed that 73.3% of the Christian population resided in the East Malaysian states of Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan. They are mainly indigenous believers speaking Bahasa Malaysia or their mother tongues as their first language.
CCM Youth noted that the Bible Knowledge subject for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination had to-date been made available only in the English Language, and is currently the only Christian-related subject in SPM for secondary schools. Despite the huge majority of indigenous Christian believers, the Ministry of Education appear to have overlooked East Malaysian students. CCM Youth believed that it was imperative to correct this misconception that Christian believers in Malaysia spoke only English. This misconception has now resulted in indigenous Christian students in Sabah and Sarawak being deprived of their right to study and sit for the SPM Bible Knowledge paper in Bahasa Malaysia.
This also prompted CCM Youth to point out that the nation’s Christian community, led by the Bible Society of Malaysia and Seminari Theoloji Malaysia, were celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Alkitab, i.e. the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia.
The translation of the Gospel of Matthew in the Malay Language was published in 1612. This was a very historic and significant publication as it was the earliest translation of the Bible into a non-European language.
Hence, CCM Youth stipulated in its list of recommendations to the Ministry of Education to include the following reforms for the SPM Bible Knowledge paper:-
· To have SPM Bible Knowledge paper set as a bilingual paper, making it available in both Bahasa Malaysia and English language for the benefit of all students;
· To provide full teaching facilities and resources for the indigenous Christian teachers to be trained to teach Bible Knowledge as a core examination subject during school hours in Sabah and Sarawak;
· To only allow for the setting of examination questions for SPM Bible Knowledge to be done by teachers of the Christian faith; and,
· To only allow for the marking of SPM Bible Knowledge paper to be done by teachers of the Christian faith.
CCM Youth would persist to seek justice and uphold the rights of all Christian students and students of other non-Muslim faiths to be allowed to have full access to teaching resources that will help strengthen their faith and, in so doing, help build a righteous and God-honouring nation.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
(signed)
Daniel Chai
Secretary
CCM Youth
Email: media@ccmyouth.org
2 March 2012
SOURCE: COUNCIL OF CHURCHES OF MALAYSIA YOUTH NETWORK
Media Contact details:
Person to contact – Daniel Chai 012 3986776
http://www.facebook.com/M68Youth
https://www.facebook.com/groups/18215893112/ (CCM Youth Network)
http://ccm-youth.blogspot.com/
Twitter: CCMYouth
c.c.
1. Ministry of Education
2. Teachers’ Christian Fellowship
3. Malaysian Christian Schools’ Council
Prayer of the Day: Ash Wednesday
O Lord, protect us in our struggle against evil. As we begin the Lenten journey, make this season holy by our self-denial. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
adapted from International Committee on English in the Liturgy (via Verse and Voice)
There are two seasons which has a special place in my own spiritual journey. The first is Advent, the other is Lent. Both seasons somehow concentrate my attention towards a climatic point, the two pictures that capture this climax is the cradle and the cross of Christ.
This is my first season of Lent away from my home country. So, the Lenten journey opens up a a different possibility to reflect on the regular themes only in different geographical location, but also in a different spiritual location in this season of my life.
My connection back home to Malaysia, is primarily through the internet either on Facebook or reading the news and views online. A quick glance of the thoughts in So, why is Malaysia on the Human Rights Council again?, especially the following caught my attention:
The dialogue on human rights in this country has been strange and very often contradictory. It’s not for nothing that we have been accused of being “champions of double talk.” Consider the fact that time and again, our policymakers have repeated the line that human rights is solely a Western device not suited for Asian communities. A number of religious figures have even stated that human rights is not compatible with Islam, never mind that the Quran is in fact, when read and interpreted properly, chock-a- block full with the spirit and principles of human rights and justice. The Malaysian government has also argued that international standards of human rights are not applicable to Malaysia because of the over-emphasis on the rights of the individual as opposed to the rights of the community.
So why then are we on the Human Rights Council? Why did we make those pledges during the campaigning and lobbying to be elected for a seat (yes, Malaysia did work hard and made several pledges to be on this august group). Malaysia stated clearly as one of its pledges that it would “engage constructively in the evolving modalities of work of the HRC to make it a strong, fair, effective, efficient and credible vehicle for the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide.” If Malaysia doesn’t believe in human rights as it is understood by the international community, why then continue to be a member of the HRC?
So my mind comes back to the opening utterance from the prayer:
O Lord, protect us in our struggle against evil.
In this season of Lent, our struggle against evil not only includes confronting the rights and wrongs – good and evil within us so we can be an ‘Upright Human’, but this whole debate on ‘Human Rights’ alerts us to the struggle of right and wrong – good and evil outside of the comforts of computer screens and the solitude of our souls.
We are very well aware that when our ‘souls’ are corrupted by evil, this corruption is destructive to our ‘body’ life and our relations with other people, culture and even nature. I doubt it is that different when the ‘soul’ of a nation is corrupted by evil in and through self-deception, questionable intentions, methods of control, and a range of other expressions would in any way help the ‘body’ life of our society. The lines from the Lord’s Prayer is shouts aloud in the classic translation, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”.
So, as I enter this Lented journey as an individual, and together with a corporate body as a church both institutionally and organically, I wonder what this Lenten journey might mean for us in Malaysia as we are gearing towards what some have labeled as potentially the ‘filthiest’ general election in Malaysian history.
For me, my prayer is for all who are struggling against evil expressed in varied shapes and sizes – whether is corruption or a ‘dirty’ election. This does not mean that when we pray this prayer everyone who is not like us are ‘demonized’, it’s a call to ALL to recognize the ‘war against evil’ is truly a struggle because no one is exempt from its temptation.
“You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.” - Psalm 51:6-9
Religious dialogue: whose responsibility?
Mahathir not personally responsible?
Sven Schottmann’s argument is simple and important: First, he offers a defense on Mahathir’s contribution to interreligious relations, and second, our attention is turned to the people – the religious people – with due attention to historical factors that impacts their disposition to people of other religions. Both ideas are summarised succinctly in the following:
“Mahathir himself, while in power, personally fostered such encounters and frequently spoke to Christian and also to Buddhist and Hindu audiences, both locally and overseas. It thus seems inaccurate to hold Mahathir personally responsible for the failure to bring Malaysians together in a respectful debate about their individual faiths.
The biggest impediments to a more meaningful inter-religious dialogue, in particular a more meaningful Muslim-Christian dialogue has been historically grown animosities and suspicions that will take time to overcome.”
In non-academic terms, one might read it as (1) Don’t put all the blame on Mahathir, because he has personally fostered and encouraged interfaith encounters, and (2) It’s really about the social psychological state of mind of religious people due to historic upbringing that is the main problem. Therefore, (3) it follows that we should turn away from the blame game on Mahathir (or perhaps by implication politicians in power?) and focus on addressing ingrainedanimosities and suspicions in religious communities, and in due time we will live happily ever after.
Who is responsible then?
As a result of reading Sven’s essay, a more general question emerged in my mind, whose responsibility is it – the politicians or the people? My main concern is not so much on the notion of ‘historically grown animosities and suspicions’ as one of the ‘impediments to a more meaningful inter-religious dialogue’. The word ‘biggest’ is what in my view warrants a minor intervention. Even if we answer both the politicians and the people, in the case of Malaysia, where does the greater ‘weight of responsibility’ lean towards?
Between the demands of Christ and Caesar: A review of God is Red
Unlike its Abrahamic cousins, Christianity have an ambiguous relationship with the state. Indeed its founding was precipitated by the Roman Empire crucifying its founder while the early Christians faced persecution by the Empire. Even after becoming the official religion of the Empire, the altar remained separated from the throne although both worked closely together. And there have been times when some within the Church who voiced unease about this close relationship.Indeed throughout the history of Christianity, this pattern have always been repeated.
Read the rest of this entry
Content Page and the contributors of ‘The Bible and the Ballot’
Foreword
Rt Rev Datuk Ng Moon HingIntroduction
Joshua WooNaming Names: Can Preachers Tell You Whom to Vote For?
Alwyn LauStrengthening Democracy in Malaysia: The Need for a Vibrant Public Sphere
Christopher ChoongVote!: Voting as a Christian Duty
Tan Soo InnVote for Changes: My Decision at This Point in History
Tan Soo InnPrayer and Political Consideration: How and What to Pray For?
Joshua WooWhy Am I Attending Vigils For Dr Jeyakumar and EO6?
Rama RamanathanAfterword: Christians: A Blessing to Malaysia?
Sivin KitAppendix: Petition by 34 Leaders of the Christian Community in Malaysia
Some friends asked about the contributors to the book. Here’s their information:
Alwyn Lau is a member of Friends in Conversation (friendsinconversation.wordpress.com). A lecturer in Marketing and Sociology at KDU University-College. He is also pursuing a Ph.D (Arts) at the University of Monash (Sunway). He blogs at wyngman.blogspot.com.
Christopher Choong is a member of Friends in Conversation (friendsinconversation.wordpress.com). He holds a doctorate in Political Science where his research interest lies in the interaction between religion and politics (with particular reference to Christians in Malaysia). He teaches at a private university and blogs at cacoescrib.wordpress.com.
Joshua Woo Sze Zeng is currently reading theology at Trinity Theological College, Singapore. His writings are posted and referred to at various platforms such as the Singapore Daily, REACH.gov.sg, the Christian Post Singapore, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs website, TheMicahMandate.org, World Reformed Fellowship website, and Australian National University’s New Mandala website. He blogs at szezeng.blogspot.com.
Rama Ramanathan graduated in Mechanical Engineering in 1982 and has since worked in factories and in regional roles in operations and quality management. He blogs at write2rest.blogspot.com.
Sivin Kit is a founding member of Friends in Conversation (friendsinconversation.wordpress.com) and one of the initiators of Micah Mandate (www.themicahmandate.org). He served as the pastor of Bangsar Lutheran Church from 2000 to 2010 and has been actively engaged in civil society in Malaysia since 2007. Currently, he is pursuing his Ph.D in Religion, Ethics and Society at the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway. He blogs at sivinkit.net.
Tan Soo Inn is a member of Friends in Conversation (friendsinconversation.wordpress.com). He holds a Doctor in Ministry from Fuller Seminary. His doctoral project focused on how one discerns vocation in the context of community. Together with his wife Bernice, Soo Inn directs the works of Graceworks (www.graceworks.com.sg), a training and publishing consultancy committed to promoting spiritual friendship in church and society.
Revisiting Christians & politics
Since the 13th General Election seems to be on the minds of most Malaysians (at least those who are online), and we’ve been very much focused on understanding how Christians are reflecting on religion and politics, I will repost an older article that made it into an English mainstream paper below.
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Sunday September 19, 2010
Christians & politics
By ANDREW SIA
Opinions are divided on Christian involvement in politics, but most people agree on the need to fight for justice.
SINCE the “political tsunami” of March 8, 2008, Christians have become increasingly vocal on national issues. However, according to the Malaysian Census of 2000, only 10% of Malaysia’s population is Christian, with the majority being in Sabah and Sarawak (where they make up 40% of the population).
But what Christians lack in numbers, they may make up for in influence. As one local Christian politician put it, “Christians may not be so numerous but we are usually well-educated, middle-class and well-connected, especially in urban society. The moment something happens, it will be widely discussed in cell group meetings or put up on the Internet.”
Malaysian Christians praying for the Pope John Paul in 2005. Prayer aside, Christians in the country have begun to speak up and take action to contribute towards nation-building. – File photo
A minor awakening
“I have never had so many political discussions with Christians than in the past two years,” says Sivin Kit, pastor of the Bangsar Lutheran Church in Kuala Lumpur. “We are swept up by the currents of the political climate.”
Political analyst Ong Kian Ming, a Christian himself, notes that “since March 8, more Christians are voicing their concerns about political issues. However, other Malaysians are doing so too.”
In 1992, the late Tan Sri Dr Tan Chee Khoon, a staunch Methodist, wrote in the book, Challenge of Vision 2020: Christian Involvement in Politics:
“To be involved in politics, the Christians have to increase the level of political consciousness. By this I do not mean that Christians should form political parties as is the practice of Europe.
“We are a multi-racial and multi-religious nation and the injection of politics may well disrupt the religious harmony that now prevails. But there is no harm in Christians taking an interest in the politics of our country.
“By all means they should join political parties and even join the component parties of the Barisan Nasional if they so desire. If Christians so desire they may also join Opposition parties. If Christians do so, let us hope that the level of politics in this country will improve with honesty, neighbourly love and charity amongst the political leadership in our country.”
2011 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,700 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 28 trips to carry that many people.
