Union College to Compile SEA Christianity Handbook

Saturday, Sep. 26, 2009 Posted: 11:04:57PM HKT

A union college is embarking to compile a handbook on present-day Christianity in Southeast Asia.

Trinity Theological College has gathered an international group of scholars for the four-year research project in folk Christianity in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

“[We] want to understand what God has been doing especially in the post-Pacific war years; what God has been doing in society and the nations,” The Rev Canon Dr Michael Poon explained yesterday at the end of an annual lecture series.

The aim is to produce a reference work for seminary teaching and missiologists, communicating the works of God in the region to the next generation of pastors and leaders, he revealed.

To this end, the group of scholars, who were present at the lecture, will be meeting for the next two to three years. They have been holding morning workshops at TTC.

Canon Poon is the Director of the Centre for the Study of Christianity in Asia, which is coordinating the project.

The CSCA is the research arm of TTC.

There appears to be a lack in research on Christianity in Southeast Asia. This is evident from the fact that the TTC was unable to invite an expert for its annual talks on the subject.

The CSCA annual lecturer Professor Roger E Hedlund, while an authority in South Asian missiology, himself claimed no expertise or experience as he would prefer in the area.

And he had to embark on what he suggested was a challenging and novel exercise in searching for and studying research on the topic.

At a book launch held Thursday, Canon Poon noted the lack of theological reflection and writing in Southeast Asia.

A new series launched on the same day by the CSCA represented an effort in engaging local theologians, pastors and sincere Christians to write and publish their works.

In regard to the study of popular, mostly Pentecostal Christianity, TTC Professor Simon Chan noted a 'diffuse' use of the term 'Pentecostalism' and stressed the need to be clear in research about what one means.

He also suggested a more 'fruitful' way of approaching the subject by taking indigenous Christian movements on their own terms.

That is to say, it is important for researchers to understand the insider's point of view rather than simply imposing their own perceptions in their studies of such groups.

Such a method of doing research will lead to the raising of important theological questions, he said in his response at the end of the lectures.

Edmond Chua
edmond@christianpost.com