City Harvest's founder Kong Hee & 4 others arrested/charged
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SilentHermit:
No, though I do wish there is one such body. For denominations here such as methodist there is a board that ensures all the pastors do not stray from the accepted methodist teaching and spout nonsense. It is by no means a perfect system, but at least there are checks and balances in place.Dear Bro Dream,
I have a question to ask. Is there an authority in this world that deals with the behavior of churches all around the world? I mean, for example, if a preacher is going astray with his teachings, teaching nonsense to people and somehow a large group believe in him and follow him, is there a world organisation somewhere that people can complain to and they will send someone to investigate and look into the issues?
From the way I look at it, if such thing do happen, it would be so sensitive for the government and I doubt they can stand in to judge on matters regarding religions..
SH
The problem with policing churched is that often the ones with the questionable teaching are the larger and richer ones. They can always claim they are doing the right thing since people are flocking to their churches. Their size and wealth could also mean they are willing to use legal power to defend their teachings.
So yes, unfortunately it is up to a christian to discover his own faith and to decipher the true essence of Christianity and the Word. Only then he can deduce what is right or wrong. -
Dreamaurora:
I feel that the best solution is through education and raising the quality of the people. Ultimately, if the collective wisdom of the society is low, such a \"policing\" bodies will not be possible. the fact that rich people and many people are willing to follow questionable teachings reflect that there is a declining collective wisdom such as the \"right\" teaching fear the \"false\" one and is too afraid to speak up.
No, though I do wish there is one such body. For denominations here such as methodist there is a board that ensures all the pastors do not stray from the accepted methodist teaching and spout nonsense. It is by no means a perfect system, but at least there are checks and balances in place.SilentHermit:
Dear Bro Dream,
I have a question to ask. Is there an authority in this world that deals with the behavior of churches all around the world? I mean, for example, if a preacher is going astray with his teachings, teaching nonsense to people and somehow a large group believe in him and follow him, is there a world organisation somewhere that people can complain to and they will send someone to investigate and look into the issues?
From the way I look at it, if such thing do happen, it would be so sensitive for the government and I doubt they can stand in to judge on matters regarding religions..
SH
The problem with policing churched is that often the ones with the questionable teaching are the larger and richer ones. They can always claim they are doing the right thing since people are flocking to their churches. Their size and wealth could also mean they are willing to use legal power to defend their teachings.
So yes, unfortunately it is up to a christian to discover his own faith and to decipher the true essence of Christianity and the Word. Only then he can deduce what is right or wrong. -
Dreamaurora:
No, though I do wish there is one such body. For denominations here such as methodist there is a board that ensures all the pastors do not stray from the accepted methodist teaching and spout nonsense. It is by no means a perfect system, but at least there are checks and balances in place.SilentHermit:
Dear Bro Dream,
I have a question to ask. Is there an authority in this world that deals with the behavior of churches all around the world? I mean, for example, if a preacher is going astray with his teachings, teaching nonsense to people and somehow a large group believe in him and follow him, is there a world organisation somewhere that people can complain to and they will send someone to investigate and look into the issues?
From the way I look at it, if such thing do happen, it would be so sensitive for the government and I doubt they can stand in to judge on matters regarding religions..
SH
The problem with policing churched is that often the ones with the questionable teaching are the larger and richer ones. They can always claim they are doing the right thing since people are flocking to their churches. Their size and wealth could also mean they are willing to use legal power to defend their teachings.
So yes, unfortunately it is up to a christian to discover his own faith and to decipher the true essence of Christianity and the Word. Only then he can deduce what is right or wrong.
Like dat siao liao.. -
SilentHermit:
Not really...although there is no authority to step in, the mainstrean churches like Anglican, Methodist, Prebyterian can always issue their own statements to disapprove of any act. but then, sometimes on certain issues, the regional authority (eg anglican in SEasia) may defy the central authority (authority in England).
Like dat siao liao.. -
SilentHermit:
Oh, thanks SilentHermit, you've just expressed what's on my mind!...Is there an authority in this world that deals with the behavior of churches all around the world? I mean, for example, if a preacher is going astray with his teachings, teaching nonsense to people and somehow a large group believe in him and follow him, is there a world organisation somewhere that people can complain to and they will send someone to investigate and look into the issues?
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WeiHan:
there were differences in dealing with LGBT and more specifically gay priest ordination
Not really...although there is no authority to step in, the mainstrean churches like Anglican, Methodist, Prebyterian can always issue their own statements to disapprove of any act. but then, sometimes on certain issues, the regional authority (eg anglican in SEasia) may defy the central authority (authority in England).SilentHermit:
Like dat siao liao.. -
Dreamaurora:
Theoretically one would look to Christian leaders to criticise, rebuke and get everyone in line. In reality, there is no one single church leader who has authority over every Christian pastor among the Protestant churches, unless you are talking about pastors within a specific denomination such as the Anglican or Methodist churches with an established hierarchy.Prior to this case, it seems very few local preachers/leaders are willing to comment on Kong Hee and Sun Ho. If only there had been a concerted effort by local church leaders to rebuke Sun Ho's MTVs and Kong Hee's prosperity teaching, Singapore's Christian landscape could have been very different. I hope this is not because \"my church is smaller, so I don't think I have the right to criticize a bigger church\" mentality.
Yes, those issues should have been commented much earlier and not only because of this criminal case. But now this case is out in the open and people are asking and getting confused, should Christian leaders here just sit on the fence?
If one Christian pastor starts to criticise another pastor from another church, it would either start a war of words or people may question his intentions. He is not sitting on the fence as such. He can only control what he teaches in his own church and his focus would be to talk about the right principles to his own congregation, without directly attacking another pastor during the current controversy. -
verykiasu2010:
there were differences in dealing with LGBT and more specifically gay priest ordination[/quote]The anglican church in SE asia, africa etc...is usually refered to as the lower church and the england's as the upper church. Not just LGBT issues, there is doctrinal differences. SE asia is considered right winged.
Not really...although there is no authority to step in, the mainstrean churches like Anglican, Methodist, Prebyterian can always issue their own statements to disapprove of any act. but then, sometimes on certain issues, the regional authority (eg anglican in SEasia) may defy the central authority (authority in England).WeiHan:
[quote=\"SilentHermit\"]
Like dat siao liao.. -
WeiHan:
so the rest are wrong winged, I guess
The anglican church in SE asia, africa etc...is usually refered to as the lower church and the england's as the upper church. Not just LGBT issues, there is doctrinal differences. SE asia is considered right winged. -
verykiasu2010:
so the rest are wrong winged, I guessWeiHan:
The anglican church in SE asia, africa etc...is usually refered to as the lower church and the england's as the upper church. Not just LGBT issues, there is doctrinal differences. SE asia is considered right winged.
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