The dearth
I reflected upon the tough questions that Christians in this region of the world will face from non-believers. Singapore is a very interesting country, because it stands at the crossroad between the west and the east. In some sense, this country is a confluence of both eastern and western thoughts and influence.
Generally, questions on humanism and atheism are easy to answer because there are ample materials out there. The Americans have written so much in the field of apologetics that you can just step into a bookstore and grab a book that talks about how to answer the tough questions that an atheist or agnostic will have.
Here comes the problem. I did a quick survey, most of these books are written from the perspectives and the contexts of North America. Even when you look into the books on comparative religions, it's always from the perspectives on the kind of eastern religions that invades the American society. Very few books out there, if any, address some of the unique tough questions that Singaporean Christians will face, though the principles can be extracted from the materials that are already in place.
Where do I get this from? Recently, I came across a case, where a sister was trying to outreach to her colleague who believes in this syncretic religion called 'Tian Dao' and he actually quoted bible verses to support his case. No books I have read so far address this kind of issues, at least not directly. I used to reach out to a friend who believe in 'Yi Guang Dao', which is another all inclusive syncretic religion. In some sense, these religions are different from the pantheistic philosophies that are being addressed by authors such as Ravi Zacharias and Norman Giesler and Walter Martins. Other local and Asian authors would have addressed other local beliefs in their purest form, but not exactly teaches how to deal with the syncretism that emerge in its own way in Singapore and around this region.
I actually had to spend a night to think through and reflect through all the materials that I have read to come out with an adequate (or rather rough at the moment) response. Will post up my response again. But this is one gap which I feel that local theologians and apologists (if any) should address and help our believers here grapple with. Too many books are written in the American context and more than often, they may not be directly applicable here.
Generally, questions on humanism and atheism are easy to answer because there are ample materials out there. The Americans have written so much in the field of apologetics that you can just step into a bookstore and grab a book that talks about how to answer the tough questions that an atheist or agnostic will have.
Here comes the problem. I did a quick survey, most of these books are written from the perspectives and the contexts of North America. Even when you look into the books on comparative religions, it's always from the perspectives on the kind of eastern religions that invades the American society. Very few books out there, if any, address some of the unique tough questions that Singaporean Christians will face, though the principles can be extracted from the materials that are already in place.
Where do I get this from? Recently, I came across a case, where a sister was trying to outreach to her colleague who believes in this syncretic religion called 'Tian Dao' and he actually quoted bible verses to support his case. No books I have read so far address this kind of issues, at least not directly. I used to reach out to a friend who believe in 'Yi Guang Dao', which is another all inclusive syncretic religion. In some sense, these religions are different from the pantheistic philosophies that are being addressed by authors such as Ravi Zacharias and Norman Giesler and Walter Martins. Other local and Asian authors would have addressed other local beliefs in their purest form, but not exactly teaches how to deal with the syncretism that emerge in its own way in Singapore and around this region.
I actually had to spend a night to think through and reflect through all the materials that I have read to come out with an adequate (or rather rough at the moment) response. Will post up my response again. But this is one gap which I feel that local theologians and apologists (if any) should address and help our believers here grapple with. Too many books are written in the American context and more than often, they may not be directly applicable here.
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