trinity theological college, may I have a refund?
Just want to recommend three excellent books to you folks. The first is “Hope For The World,†published by IVP,written by Dr Roland Chia, a good book on “the last things†or eschatology, for those prepared to wade through some theological background, which is important, because theology is not done in a vacuum. There were theologians before this book, and there are contemporary theologians whose ideas and thoughts the author interacts with. The author (who was my junior in trinity theological college - “he who is after me is greater than I, and I am not worthy to untie his sandalsâ€), has written with clarity and cogency, and I just found his book very helpful in solidifying my convictions about the last things. Having said this, unlike most good authors, his lectures sprinkled with wit, and preaching is even better! ( I remember being with him in a preaching team to Labuan’s Basel church before theological college days).
I also sat under Dr Simon Chan in the evening classes and found him a lucid thinker and lecturer who speaks with a “received†pronounciation, well….almost. They say he is very demanding of his students, so those who have a choice, like me, smartly choose to audit. His book is titled, “Liturgical Theology†and it has created sufficient waves to warrant the attention of well-circulated evangelical magazine “Christianity Todayâ€. I devoured this book like a hungry man and I am still going back to some of the chapters to digest some stuff. It is highly recommended reading to all evangelicals, particularly we Pentecostals and Charismatics who love to dance around the golden calf of church growth. (Yes I used to dance in a trance, but have since grown older and wiser.)
The third book, “Faithful To The Endâ€, was written by Dr Gordon Wong, brother of my friend, Norman. Now this is the most readable and user-friendly of the three. And because of this accessibility I think it will sell better. More importantly, I believe his interpretation of the book of Daniel, is a much-needed and refreshingly fresh look at an apocalyptic book that has been contorted beyond recognition by the dispensationalists, especially the professors and graduates from the famous Dallas Theological Seminary. Dr Gordon is a capable expositor too and I am sure he will be a speaker in great demand. I also believe this interpretation of Daniel is a much-needed and deeply relevant message for Myanmar today. And I wish someone or some institution would sponsor its translation into Myanmese, print a cheaper edition, and distribute it to Myanmese bible training institutes, pastors and Christians. In fact I use this text to teach a small Bible school in Yangon. In fact, I’ll be doing chapters 6 to 12 next week in Yangon.
These are three notable, relatively young theologians and outstanding lecturers of Trinity Theological College and they are highly respected internationally by others in their field of study, and by the student body. I find they are so good, that compared to the lecturers I had (no insult intended) when I was a student back in 1980’s, I feel like asking for a refund or free audits for the courses they now teach. Trinity has improved so much! …………it is light years ahead of all the other bible colleges in Singapore. I say this with absolutely no bias.
Add comment January 17th, 2007
