THE STRAITS TIMES FORUM Wednesday December 3, 2008 THE illuminating articles in last Saturday's Review section on HIV/Aids and 'Time to treat HIV like other diseases' on Monday have cast light on this issue and made us aware of our responsibilities.

HIV/Aids has reached pandemic proportions and infects and affects people throughout the world. The articles have highlighted the plight of victims and the alarming rise of infections here. This sexually transmitted disease crosses the lines of straight and gay, young and old, men and women and, most pathetically, innocent children.

The articles have painted a hopeful and positive scenario of education, including safe sex, early HIV testing without stigmatisation, availability and affordability of retro-viral drugs. They have indicated the dramatic drop of infections in countries that have these services in place. Any denial of any of these services will increase the spread of infection and impede treatment of HIV/Aids.

It is widely acknowledged that the message of abstinence and being faithful alone will not lower the rate of incidence of the transmission of HIV/Aids. The realistic strategy is also to promote wider use of condoms. This approach has lowered dramatically the infection rate of HIV/Aids in countries like Thailand and Cambodia.

We applaud the work of our Health Promotion Board and Action For Aids which are out in the frontlines. The services to those who are infected, especially by City Harvest, Kampong Kapor Methodist Church and Care (Catholic), are commendable. We encourage wider participation by non-government service agencies and financial support of corporate bodies so that, together, we can prevent the spread of HIV/Aids in Singapore.

We know the way to deal with HIV/Aids and bring down the infection rate, but obstacles have risen along the way.

We have to remove stigmatisation, avoid discrimination, promote education, instil public awareness and introduce affordable drugs. Unless we tackle these issues, the result will be that more and more people are left to suffer pain and misery and die a slow and lonely death.

It has become a global problem and we have to address this problem locally and act more vigorously in expanding our existing programmes of education, prevention and treatment of this disease.

Reflections on Obama's Election

Dear Friends Far & Near

I received the following message on Election evening:

"Dear Kim: We are absolutely thrilled along with all other Democratic Americans that Barack Obama has become our President. It seems impossible that it could happen and like others we were holding our breath. For once America did something right and maybe we can redeem our country in the world. Jill, my daughter, and her husband and children were working in the Obama Headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. Leslie, her youngest daughter who is in college in Bowlling Green, Ohio worked in her college Headquarters and came home last night to be with the family. They all were crying, hollering etc like everyone else when Ohio went for Obama. We cut our trip to AZ short so we could be here in Lansing to be a part of the excitement."

Shan Wilder (her son is the Senior Director of the out-going National Security Council) wrote to me the above while I was still relishing CNN News Live Report yesterday morning and watched the CNN Projections during the vote counting, McCain's gracious concession speech, Obama's brilliant acceptance mountain-top acceptance address and the world-wide celebrations beginning in Grant Park, Chicago. What a momentous, inspirational, earth-shattering and highly charged emotional experience even for me in my home in Singapore.

The image that moved me was to see the face of Jesse Jackson beaming with pride and then his face streaming with tears. He shows the scars of the Civil Rights Movement, remembers his failed attempts to run for the Presidency, seeing the fulfillment of the Martin Luther King's dream, and witnessing his black brother attaining the pinnacle of political leadership of a great nation now energized with hope, possibilities and promise. I resonate and shed silent tears with him and others especially the blacks for I experienced the sorrows of the racial struggle when I began my college education in Kansas in 1947 and was in touch with the American scene since then.

With all the problems that we face even now with the financial crisis, global conflicts and the hitches in the LGBT movement, Obama embodies hope. In his acceptance speech when he included the word "gay" into the inclusive community of Americans he has embraced the gays and conjured up promise for the future. His life was rooted by his Kenyan father, began in womb of his white mother in the Kansan heartland, touched base amongthe Indonesians, immersed in the academic center of Harvard and engaged in communty organisation inspired by Saul Alinsky in Chicago. He has nurtured a global outlook, inherited an intellectual tradition and involvement in the grassroots. He now will give youthful, fresh and exciting global leadership to a tired and weary world.

Truly this is a defining moment for all us and it holds much promise and hope. If that grand old black poor woman who in the not too distant past could not vote, sat in the back of the bus, entered only segregated toilets and restaurants, lived in the slums could survive to see the day when a young black man is voted in as the President of the most powerful nation of the world, there is hope. All things are possible. Opportunities abound around us. We can, yes we can make a difference. Our faith in humanity is being restored, our trust in the future is being re-vitalized.

It is a dawn of a new day, the emerging of a bright future. The past is behind us and we have overcome, change has come, dreams are realised. Filled with faith and inspired we are called to participate to shape the tommorrows of God's people on this earth. We can all join to thank God for what God has accomplished. Our God has waited long for God's people to rise and march together to enter the promised land of God's rule on this earth.

Shalom, my friends, SHALOM
Kim Hao

Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao 10E, Braddell Hill, Apt. #16-17Singapore 579724Tel: +65-62504561
Email: kimhao.yap@gmail.com

Religious Tensions

Home > ST Forum > Online Story Religious tensions cannot be allowed even to simmer in our society

I REFER to last Wednesday's report, 'Religious tension simmers in Indonesia'. With a predominantly Muslim population in Indonesia, the context is different from Singapore which is more multi-religious with parity between Christians and Muslims. But there is always a fear that tensions may arise when members of different religions live in proximity with one another. We cannot afford to allow such tensions to even simmer in our society. We are alerted to consider the root causes of tensions.

The report indicated: 'Without the State stepping in more forcefully, there is a limit to how much grassroots efforts at religious harmony can achieve. Christians and Muslims must know that the state will be neutral and fair in protecting their rights.'

I applaud our secular Government in its enthusiastic proactive stance in promoting inter-faith dialogue as evidenced in setting up inter-racial confidence circles and harmony circles at the grassroots level, and the Common Engagement Programme in the national level. The media has engaged the public in discussion of the topic in a responsible way. Educational institutions have encouraged study and research on inter-faith relations.

There is widespread concern about inter-faith dialogue and this is reflected in the number of comments made by the reading public on this issue in the ST Discussion Board. Consistently, responses to inter-faith issues top the list and reach around the 500 mark in each case.

However, it has been reported that religious leaders are wary of participating in inter-faith dialogue because they are unwilling to compromise on what is regarded as 'core' or fundamental beliefs in their respective faiths. There is the threat of proselytisation as well. These are certainly causes of conflict, resulting in simmering of tensions between faith communities.

At some stage in the dialogue, we have to re-examine such core beliefs in the light of new study and research and experience of living together. What is traditionally regarded as fundamentals of faith may not be as relevant in our contemporary understanding and in current interpretation of sacred texts.

Perhaps an important core belief of every faith community is that God the Creator loves and continues to be present with all people in every part of Creation. The goal is that people should live in peace with justice and in harmony with nature for our common survival as created beings on planet Earth. We are now opposed to racism, slavery, patriarchy, dictatorship, global warming and exploitation of natural resources.

Another essential core belief is that there will always be differences among people of different races, cultures and religions and we need to respect diversity. Unity is not uniformity but unity in diversity. No one religion has complete monopoly of divine truth. Meanwhile, we are to work together in addressing common social problems as they affect us in our daily lives. They are the matters of education, food, shelter, health and welfare of our people. Here it is the level of dialogue of ordinary living every day.

Religions have the continuing role to play in helping us to cope with life, motivating us to realise our hopes and directing us to shape a harmonious society.

Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao
This online letter was published on September 29, 2008 and was visited by 14,359 hits and commented by 953 messages within a week.

Issue of Inter-faith talks

The Straits Times, major daily newspaper in Singapore, has published my letter to the Editor in its entirety without editorial changes. I append another letter and report on the same topic. They arise from the launching of the 723 pages book "Religious Diversity in Singapore" published by the Institute of Policy Studies, an autonomous research centre in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. My commendation is printed at the back cover of this important book which carries a Foreword by President S R Nathan. YKH

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>> Back to the articleSep 6, 2008Issue of inter-faith talks must be addressedI REFER to Wednesday's report, 'Clergy 'wary of inter-faith talks''. This is the situation we must address if we want to work for religious harmony in our multi-religious society. We cannot afford to be embroiled in conflict among the different faith communities. The cost is too high. As Professor Tommy Koh has warned, 'it will threaten everything we have build for the last 43 years'. While the Christian clergy are fearful that religious dialogue will compromise their beliefs, other religious leaders are afraid their members will be proselytised. Until they cast out such fears, faith communities will continue to exist in isolation and refuse to interact and engage with one another. We need to break down the walls that separate us as people of faith and those who claim no religious affiliation. We share a common humanity. Christianity, as well as other religions, tends to be exclusive in order to maintain its distinctive identity and convictions. Each religion will claim it is true and its beliefs are revealed by God. If one claims one's religion is the only true religion, then all other religions are necessarily false. The claim that my religion is the Absolute Truth means the doors to dialogue are shut tight. In studying the historical developments of different religions, scholars are saying to us that, in our understanding today in the postmodern world, there is no one Absolute Truth. No one Sacred Text contains all the truths. No one religion has the monopoly of Truth. No one single religion can dominate the entire world. We witness the resurgence of religions which have been suppressed in the past. We see the emergence of new religions in rejection of traditional religions in the present. We watch the increase of the numbers of 'free thinkers' and atheists. Admittedly, it is difficult to bridge existing differences. No, all roads do not reach the same God. Yes, there will be different roads to God and we travel our chosen path in faith. At the same time, we have to recognise that there are fellow travellers on other roads. On the journey, we need to borrow the light from one another. We may meet common dangers and we come together to defend ourselves. We may see some common tasks and we can work together for our common good. The hope of each of us is that, ultimately, the road I chose to travel is the one that leads to God. In the context of religious diversity, we have to lay aside our exclusive truth claims and admit we do not possess all the truth. It is through interaction and engagement we learn to comprehend the differences and appreciate the commonalities. This will eradicate the fears and remove the suspicion we have for one another. Only then we can ensure harmony in our multi-religious society. Dr Yap Kim Hao
Sep 6, 2008It really depends what the talk is aboutI REFER to Wednesday's article, 'Clergy 'wary' of inter-faith talks'. Since the article was based on my research, I hope to provide some clarification so the report may not be interpreted wrongly. My research shows that, among some quarters of clergy, there were some concerns about inter-religious dialogue. This was particularly the case if dialogue was conducted with the aim of presenting that all religions are really very much the same. This becomes a problematic exercise for conservative Christians who hold truth claims which they do not want to dilute. On the other hand, clergy seemed more willing to engage their non-Christian religious counterparts if the dialogue was aimed at working on social concerns pressing society. The main point of my paper, then, was that, even among conservative Christians who may hold rather exclusivist positions of their faith, there are ways to reconcile their theological beliefs and evangelist styles to cope with the reality of a secular and multi-religious society. Dr Mathew Mathews Sep 3, 2008Clergy 'wary of inter-faith talks'Nearly half of Christian leaders fear such dialogue will compromise their beliefs: PollBy Li Xueying THE bulk of Christian clergymen in Singapore are apprehensive about inter-faith dialogue, said a sociologist who is also a Pentecostal church pastor. Dr Mathew Mathews came to this conclusion after conducting a survey of clergymen here. One of its key findings: Nearly 50 per cent feared inter-faith dialogue would compromise their religious convictions. Dr Mathews, a visiting fellow at the National University of Singapore's sociology department and who is trained in theology, interviewed 183 clergymen for his study. It sought to determine how Christian leaders relate to others in Singapore's multi-religious society. The key findings were presented at a forum organised by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) yesterday on religious diversity in Singapore. Attended by 200 religious leaders and academics, it also saw the launch of a book on the same subject. Edited by multiculturalism researcher Lai Ah Eng, the book, titled Religious Diversity In Singapore, has 28 chapters by academics and leaders of various faiths. A theme that ran through the book and forum was that of tolerance and the way religions can bridge their differences. One issue was whether religious leaders themselves would take the step. Dr Mathews noted that Christianity in Singapore tends to be conservative, evangelical, 'embracing an exclusivist stance' in viewing other religions. This spills into the clergymen's attitudes towards collaborating with other religions: 41.5 per cent would find it difficult to collaborate with a non-Christian religious leader for a charity drive. They fear it would lead to the perception that 'all religions are equal'. The study sparked a discussion at the forum on the extent religions here can tolerate and understand one another. Some were pessimistic. One participant asked: 'If religions hold on to that exclusive point of view, there is no hope. Am I right to be depressed?' Replied Dr Mathews: 'Though one holds on to the position that the other is wrong...you can still relate to them on other levels - as a citizen, as a human being, for instance.' Professor Ten Chin Liew, a philosophy don, earlier noted that some differences were simply irreconcilable, for instance those on afterlife and the divinity of Christ. He is 'a little sceptical' about whether they can be eliminated. Even when religions share common values such as kindness, it is not possible to 'water down', say, the Catholic faith to such general values, he said. 'You just have to find common ground on as many issues as you can.' That would be an uphill task, suggested another study of 2,700 young people. Done by sociolinguist Phyllis Chew, it showed three-quarters of them are tolerant of other religions, but this was seen as 'not talking about it' rather than genuine understanding. However, others were more optimistic that the differences can be bridged if more is done at the grassroots level. Inter-faith dialogue advocate See Guat Kwee called on civil society and religious leaders to take on this responsibility from the Government. 'We need deep friendships and to talk frankly, behind closed doors if needed.' Another participant also asked religious leaders to 'do what the academics have done' in openly discussing differences, rather than treat the matter with 'such sensitivity'. In response, IPS chairman Tommy Koh said Singapore does need to be sensitive when talking about religion. He cited events in the region, like in South Korea where Buddhist monks are accusing President Lee Myung Bak of being pro-Christian. 'If Singapore becomes unstable over the issue of religion, it can threaten everything we have built over the last 43 years,' he added. xueying@sph.com.sg

Seeking Spirituality

I resonate with Andy Ho's review article on "True Spirituality is not about 'me first.'" (ST April 21). I agree with his conclusion that "Spirituality is not fulfilled personal lives. Instead, it is living life to its fullness for the common good…" It is encouraging to read such an inspiring piece in our news media. Congratulations.
It is well-known that there is a search for spirituality in reaction to materialism and uncertainties. We yearn for meaning in life and purpose in living. In spite of the advances that we have made in the scientific and technological world, there is a sense of emptiness and dissatisfaction. We wonder what we have achieved in the end. There must be more in life than we know now.
Different faith communities have tried to offer solutions but unfortunately they have largely reduced religion to 'inner healing' for individuals, outer rituals and other-worldly concerns. They may provide temporary relief from anxiety and euphoria that ultimately all with be well with our soul. Religion has become largely a private matter and disconnected with public issues. Where is the love, care, compassion, freedom and peace with justice? In despair and disenchantment with prevailing religious systems they seek to be "spiritual without being religious." They look for a religious faith without what we have conceived God to be. Human beings have always been clever idol-makers and fashioning idols to worship and help them to cope with life. It becomes an act of self-delusion. Could it be that the God we conceive, fabricated and believe is essentially an idol?
In the present discourse on spirituality we are aware of the limitations of humankind to solve the world's problems. This does not follow that we leave them entirely in the hands of God in the name of faith. It is not a retreat from living out in the world and closeted in our private and personal lives even in prayer and mediation alone. It calls for faith to believe in the God who continues in the creative work of transformation of life and all of creation. One's connection with the Creative ONE which many called God is to work for the common good in all the social, cultural, economic and political situations in our lives. The future is open and we have a responsibility to participate in shaping it and find our fulfillment.
Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao (S2539414C)10E, Braddell Hill, #16-17Singapore 579724Telephone 6250-4561
Cc. Andy Ho
-- Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao10E, Braddell Hill, Apt. #16-17Singapore 579724Tel: +65-6250-4561Email: kimhao.yap@gmail.com
"When we lose the right to be different,we lose the privilege to be free" True spirituality is not about 'me first' By Andy Ho, Senior Write
THE Singapore women paddlers who won a silver in the Olympics Games were said to reflect the Singapore spirit. But how can bodily achievements be 'spiritual'? In his National Day Rally speech, the Prime Minister dwelt at length on economic, social and political concerns - but not the spiritual. Perhaps that is because the former set of concerns is outer and thus public, whereas the latter is inner, religious and thus private. A 2000 review of the literature on development issues turned up no articles that delved into spiritual concerns. And yet these concerns obviously have an impact on the lives of numerous people. In our public discourse, we still tread on spiritual issues like egg shells. But attitudes towards spirituality have changed a great deal over recent decades. Thirty years ago, mainstream culture endorsed a 'scientific' dismissal of the incorporeal and transcendent. Faith and science did not mix, it was said. Today, however, while we still look to science for solutions, the culture rejects brazen scientism and the crass materialism associated with it. Spirituality - religion's fuzzy offspring - is in fashion and the non-material is embraced. This is a response to the crisis of meaning - what sociologists, following Max Weber, call the 'disenchantment of the world'. Culture remains desacralized, but many educated folk are no longer ashamed to admit that they desire to connect with the contemplative. Today's spirituality - decked out with crystals, chanting and channelling though it might be - is a search for a fully human existence. In this endeavour, people tend to look inwards, taking for granted that spirituality is inner, personal and private. By contrast, religion is seen as being of the outer life - a matter of doctrines, institutions and community. But how did this notion of spirituality as being essentially 'inner' come about? It can be traced to the Gnostics of the second century who believed that the soul had fallen from a high into the natural world only to be trapped in the body. The soul thus seeks to transcend the body so that it might attain to its original state of pure knowledge. Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor says in his 1989 classic, Sources Of The Self, that this notion was passed on to the Western world by St Augustine, who urged people: 'Do not go outward; return within yourself. In the inward person dwells the truth.' This interiorisation was later confirmed by Rene Descartes, who argued that there was an 'I' that stood apart from and is external to the world out there: 'Cogito, ergo sum' (I think, therefore I am). Being able to stand apart from his natural and social environments, the individual was said to possess a true inner core. This inner self was taken to be located in some quasi-spatial sanctum inside one's body and consciousness. Spirituality consisted of the moral perfecting of this inner self. Thus, one had separate outer and inner lives. By contrast, interiorities characterised Eastern religions from the very start. Whereas the divine confronts Man from the outside in Western religions, the Eastern religionist seeks 'within himself the divine ground of his own being and the cosmos', as Boston University sociologist of religion Peter Berger puts it. 'Once the divine ground of being is grasped, both man and cosmos pale into insignificance or even illusiveness,' he says in his 1979 work, The Heretical Imperative. Consequently, individuality in the Eastern religionist 'is not sharpened but absorbed, and both history and morality are radically relativised'. Either way, both Eastern and Western spiritualities featured the self-absorbed individualist in search of inner light. The post-modern pursuit of spirituality has taken all this on board. What this inward turn leads to, however, is a spirituality that abstains from the civil life of our communities. It is a me-first approach, and the material, social and political circumstances of the community become irrelevant to morality. To battle this inward turn, German philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein pointed out that we all originally had no inwardness, as such. As children, we merely responded to whatever happened to us. What we experienced inside was something that we built up as we acquired language. Thus inwardness is something we construct using language; it is not something that existed originally on its own. There is no inner chamber to which my self has privileged access, no inner self that gives rise to my outer life. Wittgenstein argued in his book Philosophical Investigations that the 'outer' - my body, actions, customs and community - forms the basis of everything 'inner'. There is no self inside that is independent of my body, community and culture. Or as the University of Notre Dame philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre put it in his 1984 classic, After Virtue: 'I am my body and my body is social, born to those parents in this community with a specific social identity.' If so, true spirituality cannot refuse to grapple with the social, economic, political and cultural problems of the community. Rather than personal introspection, true spirituality should work itself out in relationships of care within communities of flesh-and-blood people. Spirituality is not about fulfilled personal lives. Instead, it is living life to its fullness for the common good - weeping together in sadness and feasting together in thanksgiving. andyho@sph.com.sg

Commentary: The World is my Parish
John Wesley, the Founder of Methodism proclaimed: "The world is my parish." This was in response to the criticism that he was not working within parish boundaries or in church. He wrote "I look upon all the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that, in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation." His message and ministry addressed also the social situation beyond the walls of the Church. In the light of this shared Methodist heritage Gilbert H.Caldwell in the United States and Yap Kim Hao in Singapore were prompted to write this joint message. We come from opposite sides of the world. But we were once together in Boston University School of Theology and inspired to look upon the world as our parish. Gilbert H. Caldwell has served as Pastor & District Superintendent of the United Methodist Church in the United States. He was one of the founders and 2nd National Chairperson of Black Methodists for Church Renewal. Active in the Martin Luther King-led Civil Rights Movement, he participated in major freedom marches. He was a member of the Massachusetts Unit of Dr. Kings's Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Caldwell was a member of United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race. In 2000, he with others and with the support of the Reconciling Ministries Network, organized United Methodists of Color for a Fully Inclusive Church. The group is committed to the full inclusion of same gender loving and LGBT persons in church and society. Yap Kim Hao upon graduation from seminary returned to Malaysia to serve as Pastor & District Superintendent until he was elected the first Asian bishop of The Methodist Church in Malaysia and Singapore in 1968. Yap was active in the ecumenical movement and resigned from the episcopacy and was elected General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia in 1973 and served for twelve years. He led the Asian churches in support of the human rights struggle in the Asian countries and their programmes of not only of theological but also of social and economic development. Currently he is involved in Interfaith work and engaged in Inter-religious dialogue. He serves currently as Pastoral Advisor to the Free Community Church which is the only church for the LGBT persons and straights who affirm them. Awards include Boston University School of Theology Distinguished Alumni, Baker University Honorary Doctorate, World Methodist Council Order of Jerusalem, People Like Us "Dignity" (Coordinating all LGBT groups in Singapore) for his contribution to the gay community. Both of us have been in the ordained ministry since the fifties and we are now in retired relations in the Methodist Church. But the ministry continues. As we survey the world in which we live, we have not known a time when the painful agonies of the world have been so obvious. Whether we refer to war, hunger, poverty, violence, environment or HIV/Aids, the world is suffering as it may never have suffered before. These are the pressing life and death issues that we as a church must address in our time. We need to re-arrange our priorities and tackle human suffering, resolve conflicts and enhance life.We came together again recently at the General Conference in Fort Worth. We are concerned that while the world suffers, our denomination spent an inordinate amount of precious time legislating against LGBT persons over against the more pressing issues as listed above. In maintaining the language and legislation; "Homosexuality is incompatible with the Christian faith", our denomination has indicated that there is the absolute truth about the incompatibility between Christian faith and homosexuality. We have not expressed adequately toward the other matters which are so obviously incompatible with Christian teaching that are responsible for so much more human suffering. Our prohibiting negative language on this concern is out of proportion to other serious concerns that confront us all. In the past we have segregated people of color, denied the rights of women and ignored the poor. We have moved on and accepted people regardless of their race, gender or economic status. There is this last frontier or prejudice of homosexuality that we need to cross. It is apparent that in the USA and elsewhere same gender civil unions will become legal from state to state. United Methodist prohibitions on such commitments limit the ministry of our Church. As the South African Constitution forbids discrimination against same gender couples and as the world seeks to confront those things that seem to be tearing the world apart, the negative focus of the United Methodist Church on same gender love and commitment gives the impression this is a priority issue for the denomination. The tide of gay-affirmation is rising throughout the world and even major international financial institutions in exercising their corporate responsibility for staff diversity are proactive in recruiting LGBT persons. Is the church going to be lagging and left behind?Slavery in the USA, is now thought of as one of the moments in American history when church and society were not at their best. The role of the Church (the Methodist Church included) was not always a force for good as the nation debated the issue of slavery. In a drama titled The Slave Narratives, a collection of the thoughts and words of slaves, one slave says of the "Christian" slave master: "They used the Bible like a stick against us."How tragically unfortunate it is that in the 21st century the Bible as stick, is still used against same gender loving and committed couples.We urge the People called Methodists to develop a more positive attitude towards the issue of homosexuality and include LGBT persons in the parish in the world in which we serve. Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao, Rev Gilbert H Caldwell, Braddell Hill, Apt 16-17, Singapore 579724 Asbury Park, New Jersey, USATel: +65-6250-456, E-Mail: whykeh@singnet.com.sg E-mail: caldwellchurch@aol.com

-- Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao10E, Braddell Hill, Apt. #16-17Singapore 579724Tel: +65-6250-4561Email: kimhao.yap@gmail.com
"When we lose the right to be different,we lose the privilege to be free"

World Wide Nature of the Church

Worldwide church raises ‘insurmountable’ issuesYap Kim Hao, Jun 19, 2008 Yap Kim Hao By Yap Kim Hao Special Contributor

It was a revealing experience for me to be in Fort Worth as a visitor at the United Methodist 2008 General Conference. I participated for the first time as an elected delegate from the Methodist Church in Malaysia and Singapore in the General Conference in 1964. I attended as the first Asian bishop of the affiliated autonomous Methodist Church of Malaysia and Singapore until I resigned from the term episcopacy in 1973 to serve for 12 years as the General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia, which brought together the Christian denominations within Asia—including Australia and New Zealand—for fellowship, witness and service.

What was new for me in 2008 was the issue of homosexuality. I joined in the Common Witness as a Soulforce and Reconciling Ministries Network volunteer. The Silent Witness at the plenary was a memorable and moving experience for me, and it showed the increasing maturity of the delegates of the United Methodist churches in the United States. Hopefully the delegates, especially those from the Central Conferences, may be inspired by such a witness.

Worldwide nature
What was old for me was the discussion on the worldwide nature of the United Methodist Church. I was an active participant in the ‘60s in the Methodist Board of Missions Asia Consultation followed by the Global Consultation in Green Lake, Wis., which brought together the other regional consultations in Africa and Latin America. It was sponsored by the Commission of the Structure of Methodism Overseas (COSMOS).

The significant outcome of that consultation was the wide support for the move toward the structure of affiliated autonomous Methodist Churches overseas. The move was implemented in the Methodist Churches throughout Latin America and of Asia, with the exception of the Philippines. Other Methodist churches in Asia, which were the result of the work of the missionary society of British Methodism, had followed its policy of setting up autonomous churches earlier.

Looking at this development from the Asian perspective, the countries in Asia that were colonies of the United Kingdom entered into the period of de-colonization. The rise of independent nation-states came about with the disintegration of the British Empire. (British Methodism had also set free the Methodist Churches in the American colonies after the War of Independence).

For political reasons, the Methodist Churches in Korea, Japan, China, Indonesia and Burma have had to cut off connections at times with the United Methodist Church in the U.S. Foreign connections were detrimental to the development of Christianity.

The forces of history brought about the autonomous Methodist Churches throughout Asia with the exception of the Philippines. We have developed new relationships with one another that went beyond our previously exclusive connections with London and New York. We recognize now that close neighbors are more meaningful than distant relations.

A Fellowship of Asian Methodist Bishops/Presidents has since evolved into the Asian Methodist Council. The council recognizes the sovereignty of each member and restricts itself to common issues of witness and service.

Regarding the current discussion of the United Methodist Church’s worldwide nature, it is highly unlikely that the affiliated autonomous Methodist Churches will desire to be re-integrated into the denomination’s General Conference structure. It is more likely that we will welcome the partnership with the United Methodist Church on specific issues and programs of witness and service that are mutually beneficial.

It will be a relationship of mutuality without the past dominance of American Methodism over the other former Central Conference churches, even though they may change their names to Regional Conferences.

In re-structuring the United Methodist Church, what would be acceptable to the present Philippines Central Conference as well as other affiliated autonomous churches in Asia? What is the formula for representation at General Conference? Can we develop a rationale for disproportionate representation?

Questions to consider
How do we measure the apportionment from the churches in the different Regional Conferences? What is the level of participation in the Episcopal Fund? How do we support the enlarged General Conference budget, which will require convening in different parts of the United Methodist Church around the world?

To me, it seems these are insurmountable questions that defy answers.

The reality is that we have a different world today. Methodism responded to the colonial and post-colonial period. But in this time of globalization, what does it mean to develop a worldwide nature of the church?

Those who command resources and power will continue to dominate others who have less. Is the United Methodist Church in a position to develop a more equitable connection and mutually beneficial relations? This will call for affirmation of diversities and a commitment to change from its privileged status. Is there a willingness to learn from other already established Methodist Churches and an openness to partner with one another on an equal basis in witness and service?

It seems to me that the time has passed for the Methodist Churches in Asia to come together under one governance of one General Conference, either in the projected United Methodist General Conference or the Asian region. General Conferences in each country in Asia will continue to exist and develop connections not only with the United Methodist Church but with other churches in pursuit of our common mission and service in the world.

The Rev Yap is a former bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia and Singapore.