My Theological Musings

            The more I read Cook, I realise that those of us who are in the marketing of higher education, are already fully exercising what theologians now call contextualisation.            It is basically target marketing, to put it simply -- same product for different market segments.            For example, an engineering programme at Monash University Malaysia can be targeted at students who completed different pre-university programmes.           For those who had completed their A-Levels, for example, we tell them the entry requirements based on their A-Levels results; this is not something that we would give to someone who completed his/her UEC or STPM, the other equivalents of A-Levels or Matriculation programmes.            Even when we write articles for the Education Supplement pages in the local newsp...

By Stephen Ng Someone has sent me a question via Whatsapp, asking, "Is your second coming based on the Dispensation view, i.e. 7 years tribulation etc.?"           My answer was very simple: "I don't waste time delving into Revelations. I read it, mull over it, and with the three positions that are there, keep an open mind, watch and pray.           " A lot of time is wasted by Christians to worry about how God would carry out His plans, currently a Top Secret File. We should focus on going out to share the gospel with more people."           Hope it helps us to get ourselves "out" of the downward spiral that some preachers are trying to get us into.

By Stephen Ng   After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. Revelation 9:7            As theologians study World Christianity, it has become more obvious where the Church is heading to.          Throughout history, study of missionary movement shows us that as the incarnation of Christ, which took place in the Jewish town of Bethlehem, later affected a group of fishermen, tax collectors and women, it is translated into a number of cultures and population demographics, beyond the confines of a chose ethnic group living in the land of Israel.          The God who introduced Himself to Moses as ‘the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’ became known not as Yehovah or Elohi...

Go straight to Minute 52 of this video for the Sermon           Pastor Chew, thank you for your message. It is a very good summary that sheds a lot of light, hopefully, to many people who are being confused over the Laws of Moses and the New Covenant.            The relationship between the Old Testament & the New Testament, especially with regards to the Law is very clear: If not for Christ and His atonement work, the Law "condemns (letter kills)", but after Christ came to accomplish all the requirements under the Law, we can now walk by the Spirit of the Law.            Everything is summed up in the Shema, In fact, it goes beyond just verses 4 and 5. Verse 6 is a prelude to the New Covenant, repeated by Jeremiah and  Paul (Jer 31:33; Rom 2:15), where we know that the Law of God would be written on the tablet of the heart.            Paul expo...

  Pastor Lim Thean Heng of Hossana Baptist Church in Penang, whom I only came to know through cold call received his box of books. He was one of a few who reverted immediately. You can see his excitement. Praise the Lord!  By Stephen Ng  The latest book, "Same God, Different Stories" received very positive responses.           Initially, there was hardly any response from the few Chinese churches that I messaged. However, when we finally received the support from various individuals willing to support the project, we managed to raise funds to print 7000 copies.           Of this, some 4500 copies have been distributed to churches and individuals. Many picked up the books directly from my home; others I had to send via Pos Laju. The individuals and churches had to pay for the courier charges. I had a car load of boxes on the front and back seats, as well as the car booth.           On...

The Covid-19 pandemic has turned out to be a blessing in disguise even in the field of theological education. For some time now, I have been trying to encourage seminaries to go online with their programmes.           Now, for the first time, the Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS) in Penang is offering two of its programmes online. And, the best part is this will be 100% online. For this reason, people who are in the marketplace will find it possible to follow through the programme.           Many of us who are called into marketplace ministry will not necessarily become full-time pastors. When I first enquired about Master of Theology or Master of Divinity, I was told that it requires uprooting oneself from the family to live on-campus. I told myself, "Forget about it!"           Now, I cannot resist but to consider doing my Doctor of Ministry after completing my Master of Christian Mini...

  By Stephen Ng  AFTER THE DEMISE of evangelist Billy Graham, the man God used to reach masses of people, I wonder sometimes if this marks the end of a glorious age, once characterized by big meetings at stadiums with tens of thousands of people.           Mimicking God's work through Dr Graham, Satan also had his mega meetings with thousands of people listening to some false teachers, whose power to mesmerize even the elect is simply amazing.          The Covid-19 pandemic, as we all know, does not allow large number of people to congregate in one location. With the Delta variant which is airborne, this makes the virus even more infectious when hundreds of people come together in an enclosure. The air circulation in an air-conditioned environment provides an ideal place for the virus to strike.           Even before the pandemic is over, the Japanese embassy has issued an advisory to all its ...

           There have been too many talks about the Covid-19 pandemic that sometimes,  I have some reservations regarding statements that make Covid-19 a part of the spiritual attack by the Kingdom of Darkness.            While it is true that there is an ongoing spiritual warfare, to spiritualise everything from cancer to death caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, or even losing the US presidential election, we are in danger of becoming spiritual freaks.           I remember some 40 years ago, there were many who believed in preachers such Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin and Gloria Copeland, who would turn faith and prayer into some kind of magic.           I remember buying a book by a local author who said that he had prayed for a piano. He and his wife visualised a piano at a specific location in the house. Lo and behold, the next day someone gave them a pian...

  Ottheinrich (Rev4-5)  By Stephen Ng   A lot of things in Revelation are not for speculation. To be true to the meaning of the metaphors and symbols used this concluding book of the New Testament, we have to take Speculation out of Revelation.          The author John wrote this: “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book” (Rev 22:18). This is a very strong word of caution against all sorts of speculations.          Instead, we should be like Mary mulling over the word of God when the Angel Gabriel first revealed to her that she would have a son, whose name will be as Hebrew suggests, יְשׁוּעָ means, ‘Saviour.’          Mary did not jump into the conclusion like the zealots, who were looking for a political deliverer. When Je...

       I cannot help it but to write this blog post when I received a message this morning. In fact, this is the first time ever that such a message is sent by the National Health Institute (IJN).            It reads, "IJN wishes you a Happy Birthday. May your day be filled with lots of hearts."          This is a very simple message but it lightens my day. And, coming from IJN also surprises me, as one would always think of IJN as the 'high and mighty' rescuer of lives. They don't have time for short messages like this.          What surprised me even more was an email I received from the Inland Revenue Board. They all use some software that helps them to manage customer relations, but receiving an email from the IRB to greet me on my birthday is something that I had least expected!          Why then were these organisations willing to spend time sending a s...

  We have to be extra cautious not to turn our own New Year well wishes into a prophecy lest we be found to be giving false prophecies (see video).           I believe God has also used the US presidential election to confound many so-called popular "prophets" and "apostles" who claimed that Donald Trump would become a second-term president. Religion is used as a tool towards a political agenda.           One even said he was asked to look into God’s scroll and urged people to pray:  "Between Nov 3 and Jan 20, anything can happen to overturn, right? So, you want to don't stop praying till Nov 3, you want to continue till Mr Trump is safely installed (inaugurated) on Jan 20."  (1)         Watch how this jerk from India speaks:           I am not a fan of Trump and I didn’t even know who Joe Biden is until the election but I saw how false prophets were making ...

One Saturday early in the morning, I received a message from someone out of the blue who asked how I was getting on.                     I thought this sister has 'changed,' but after a short conversation, I soon learnt that she was not interested in what I was telling her.  Stateless Child          While I was more interested in telling her that I was planning to help a 13-year-old child with SLE to raise funds for her medical treatment at Selayang Hospital, she had a different agenda.           Telling her a little bit of the story of the stateless child, I urged her to also sell her posters to help raise fund for the girl as well. She merely asked if she could donate some money to the girl but at that juncture, the family had not sorted out whose account should be used. I gave her the contact of the relative so that this lady could contact her directly as I did not ...