Racial & Religious Harmony
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August 25, 2009, 1:20 pm
Filed under: Blog by Pastor
Filed under: Blog by Pastor
On August 16, 2009, I was invited to the National Day Rally held at the NUS University Cultural Center. The National Day Rally is akin to the State of the Union Address delivered by the President of the United States. In our case, it is an annual address that the Prime Minister of Singapore makes to the entire nation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
That night, I was seated on the second row, directly behind Rustom Ghadiali, the vice-president of the Inter-Religious Organization. Among those around me were the Methodist bishop and the Catholic archbishop, Buddhist monks and Muslim leaders. I must say that I was very impressed by the podium design, multimedia incorporation and technological gadgetry that PM Lee Hsien Loong used. The discipline and excellence in which the entire NDR was organized is indeed commendable. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This year is the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s self-government. The PM spoke first in Malay and then in Chinese. The following two hours, he spoke in English, issuing a call for unity across different races and religions. I was amazed by the content of the PM’s speech as it is consistent with the value and philosophy of ministry we practice in City Harvest Church. In a sense, it is comforting to know that our approach is not antagonistic to the society we are planted in and seeking to reach. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PM Lee: Critical to our long-term success is maintaining social cohesion, particularly racial and religious harmony. We have discussed potential fault lines in our society – between rich and poor; between Singaporeans and new arrivals. But the most visceral and dangerous fault line is race and religion. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As far as racial harmony is concerned, this should be second nature to us Christians. The Bible says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). Jesus Himself exhorts us to “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:19). That word “nations” (Gr. ethnos) literally means people of diverse races and ethnicity. We can’t reach them with God’s love if we don’t engage, befriend and build meaningful relationships with people of various cultures and customs. God created the world as a collage of various colors, hues, “nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues” (Rev. 7:9-10). For us to live and operate within our own racial enclave is certainly against the spirit of New Testament Christianity. One of the things I am very proud of about City Harvest Church is that our membership is made up of 24 different nationalities (based on a 2007 internal survey), and within them a further multiplied variety of ethnic races. This racial mix enriches us and gives us a more global outlook as a community. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PM: [In a multi-religious society, we] need good sense and tolerance by all sides, and a willingness to give and take. Otherwise whatever the rules, there will be no end of possible causes of friction—noise, parking, joss sticks, stray ashes, dog hair, etc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
We have been saying for years that God expects His people to thrive and prosper even as they mingle with people of different faiths. A good example is Jeremiah 29, when the Jews were in exile in Babylon. The Babylonians had thousands of gods that its citizens worshiped and revered, with religious values that were diametrically opposed to that of the Jews. Yet, God instructed His people, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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