Bible-Presbyterian churches (Singapore)

This article relies too much on references to primary sources. Please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources. (July 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Bible-Presbyterian Church
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Presbyterian, Fundamentalist, Evangelical
Origin	1955 (66 years ago) (1955) Singapore
Separated from	Say Mia Tng (Presbyterian denomination)
Defunct	1988 (33 years ago) (1988)
Congregations	43 (as of 2020/21)
Members	20,000 (as of 2009 with 32 congregations)

The Bible-Presbyterian Church ("BPC") was a conservative reformed denomination in Singapore.^[1][2] It existed from 1955 to 1988, following the history of the country, as the Bible-Presbyterian Church of Malaya,^[3] then the Bible-Presbyterian Church of Singapore and Malaysia, and finally the Bible Presbyterian Church of Singapore ("BPCOS") (with the then eight Malaysian BP churches in 1985 to register themselves in Malaysia thereafter)^[4] before the BPCOS dissolved in 1988. Since that time, Bible-Presbyterian ("B-P" or "BP") churches in Singapore have continued to exist separately. The B-P movement grew out of the Bible Presbyterian Church in the United States. As of 2009, there were 20,000 members in 32 B–P churches in Singapore.^[5] The number of B-P churches in Singapore has grown to forty-three as of 2020/21.^[6]

BPC was noted for a belief in literal six-day creation and a preference for the King James Version ("KJV").^[7]

History[]

The BPC was founded in 1955 by Timothy Tow. Tow had been influenced first by John Sung, and later by Carl McIntire. He was strongly opposed to liberal theology and ecumenism, and the de facto link of the English service he founded in 1950 in a Chinese Presbyterian church in the Chinese Presbyterian Synod that was connected to the World Council of Churches ("WCC") in promoting modernist ecumenism in opposition to the International Council of Christian Churches ("ICCC"). A conflict ensued and the English Service pastored by Tow in Life Church (生命堂) or Say Mia Tng (Teochew dialect) at Prinsep Street (not to be confused with Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church) severed connections with the Synod in 1955 to form Life Bible-Presbyterian Church ("Life B–P Church," "Life BP Church" or "Life BPC").^[8]

In 1988, after experiencing a period of significant dissension, the Synod of the BPC voted to dissolve itself.^[9] It was "mainly due to strong differences in interpreting the Doctrine of Biblical Separation, Fundamentalism, and Neo-Evangelicalism"^[7]—as in the statement issued by the BPC on 30 October 1988 describing the dissolution.^[10]

Divisions[]

Fundamentalist and Evangelical[]

While individual BP churches operate separately and independently post BP Synod dissolution,^[11] they fall essentially or broadly into two factions or groups. One group subscribes to the fundamentalist stance of the founders while the other considers itself to be evangelical. This latter group of churches is denounced by the former to be "neo-evangelical" or "liberal", and are often called "the new B-Ps" because of a different interpretation on the doctrine of "Biblical Separation".^[12]

The evangelical group of B-P churches embraces the fellowship of any church that professes evangelical Protestant Christianity and cooperates with para-church organizations like Campus Crusade, Youth for Christ, Navigators and the Bible Study Fellowship.^[13] Many ministers or aspiring ministers in the evangelical group prefer an evangelical seminary (such as Fuller Theological Seminary, Temple Baptist Seminary, Singapore Bible College, Trinity Theological College or University of Nottingham) over the B-P's own seminary, Far Eastern Bible College ("FEBC"), which is fundamentalist.^{[14][15][16][17][18][19]}

Shortly after the dissolution of the BPC Synod on 31 October 1988, Quek Swee Hwa (“SH Quek”) and David Wong invited the general public to a “Presentation Evening” on 19 November 1988 at the Sanctuary of the Clementi Bible Centre that led to them starting in 1989 the Biblical School of Theology, which later changed its name to Biblical Graduate School of Theology (“BGST”).^[20] Although the founders are BP ministers, BGST is a trans-denominational college.^[21][22][23] Notwithstanding the statements on separation in its Theological Position,^[24] BGST is a non-separatist school.^[14] It works and co-operates with persons in churches linked with the WCC.^[25][23]

After Life BPC failed in its lawsuit to dislodge the FEBC directors from the Gilstead Road premises to take over the operations of the FEBC due to the church disagreeing with the college teaching the doctrine of verbal plenary preservation ("VPP"),^[26][27] Life BPC – taking the lead role – started Emmanuel Reformed Bible College (“ERBC”) in January 2017 on the premises of Calvary (Jurong) BPC, an ERBC affiliate together with Maranatha BPC and Sharon BPC.^[28]

Twenty-three years after the dissolution of the BPCOS, four BP churches – Emmanuel, Herald, Zion Serangoon and Zion Bishan – inaugurated on 8 October 2011 the Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore (“BPCIS”) to form what they had considered to be the new BP Presbytery.^[29] However, the BPCIS was not legally constituted and registered as a society until 19 December 2018.^[30] Three more BP churches – Mount Carmel, Mount Hermon and Shalom – joined after 2011 to make seven charter members before BPCIS submitted its application in 2017 to register as a society.^[31][32] The BPCIS had only seven BP churches (out of a total of forty-three BP churches in Singapore^[6]) as charter members at its registration despite organising many meetings and activities prior to the registration's approval and gazetting by the government.^[31] However, David Wong, the first General Secretary of the BPCIS,^[33] announced in August 2020 on Mount Horeb BPC (another in the Mount Carmel group of mountain-named BP churches^[34]) becoming the eighth member of the BPCIS.^[35]

With only seven BP churches out of a total of 43 BP churches^[6] when BPCIS was registered with the ROS in December 2018 – it is now eight (see above) – Jeffrey Khoo remarked that BPCIS calling itself the new BP Presbytery is a misnomer.^[36]

Leadership of Fundamentalist Faction[]

The fundamentalist group was headed by Timothy Tow (d 20 April 2009^[37]) and his brother Tow Siang Hwa (“SH Tow”).^[38]

Timothy Tow pastored Life BPC until 2003 when he left to found True Life BPC because his two assistant pastors, Charles Seet and Colin Wong, and (a majority of) the Session at Life BPC rejected a 100% perfect Bible without any mistake in the doctrine of the Verbal Plenary Preservation ("VPP") of Scripture.^[39] SH Tow headed the Calvary BP churches until his demise on 8 March 2019.^[40] However, Calvary BPC (Jurong), one of the churches, split with him (before his demise) when they issued on 6 November 2005 their statement “Explanation of Our Non-VPP Stand.”^[41]

The fundamentalist group continues after the deaths of Timothy Tow and SH Tow with such new leaders as Jeffrey Khoo, Quek Suan Yew and Prabhudas Koshy – all directors and faculty members of the FEBC.^[42] All three new leaders uphold the VPP doctrine.^[43][44] They were among the defendants in the lawsuit between Life BPC and FEBC in which the church sued to evict the college from their Gilstead Road premises on account of the FEBC upholding the VPP doctrine.^[45] However, the church failed as the Court of Appeal, the apex court in Singapore's legal system, held that the VPP doctrine is not a deviation from the principles contained in the Westminster Confession of Faith ("WCF"), by which the work of the college has been informed and guided from its inception, and it is not inconsistent for a Christian who believes fully in the principles contained within the WCF and the VPI (Verbal Plenary Inspiration) doctrine to also subscribe to the VPP doctrine.^[46]

Leadership of Evangelical Faction[]

The evangelical/new evangelical group is led mainly by SH Quek and David Wong; they headed the Zion-Carmel combination and played a significant role in the dissolution of the BP Synod or the BPCOS in 1988 because of their different views on Bible versions, tongues-speaking, and biblical separation.^[47] SH Quek is currently the Senior Pastor of Emmanuel BPC and Pastor Emeritus of Zion Bishan BPC.^[48] David Wong is currently the Advisory Pastor of Zion Bishan BPC.^[49]

SH Quek and David Wong were, respectively, the pastors of Zion BPC (now Zion Serangoon BPC) and Mount Carmel BPC in 1988 when the BP Synod or the BPCOS dissolved.^[50][51] The BP churches included in the Zion group (of the Zion-Carmel combination) were Zion BPC, Bethany BPC^[52] (which dropped the BP name and renamed itself as Bethany Independent Presbyterian Church on 10 July 1992), Emmanuel BPC and Cana BPC; and the churches in the Carmel group (before the BP Synod dissolution) were Mount Carmel BPC, Hebron BPC and Mount Hermon BPC.^[34]

David Wong, SH Quek's protege,^[53] issued his response on the BP Synod dissolution in the “Carmel Weekly” of 6 November 1988 to the congregations he pastored and supervised in the Carmel group.^[54] David Wong is also one of the four authors/editors in the 2018 publication, Heritage & Legacy of the Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore (hereinafter Heritage & Legacy); he wrote seven articles compared to six written by SH Quek in the book.^[55] Although Chua Choon Lan (“CL Chua”) wrote more articles in Heritage & Legacy, he did so as General Editor in a lay capacity; this is evidenced by the less doctrinal nature of his articles (seven of which are on church buildings)^[55] and his profession as a surgeon.^[56][57] SH Quek and David Wong underline their role as the main spiritual leaders of the evangelical/new evangelical faction^[47] with answering the questions posed by the Editors in the round-table discussion in Heritage & Legacy on the dissolution of the BP Synod.^[58]

Quek Kiok Chiang ("KC Quek"), a founding BPC elder who relinquished the pastorship of Zion Serangoon to his son SH Quek on 31 October 1970 ,^[59][50] was on different side with Timothy Tow and SH Tow after the dissolution of the BPC in 1988. He (KC Quek) had defended his son's association and co-operation with para-church organizations; he also challenged the late Patrick Tan’s proposal to him (as the incumbent Moderator before the Synod dissolution) to have Timothy Tow made the Synod Moderator to lead the BP Church back to the original stand before Patrick’s proposal was withdrawn.^[60] Despite KC Quek’s seniority, his switch to pastor the Mandarin/Teochew-speaking Faith BPC meant that the main leaders of the evangelical/new evangelical faction were (and are) SH Quek and David Wong.^[47] They also played key roles in the formation of BPCIS with six of the current eight BPCIS member churches hailing from the Zion-Carmel group (i.e., Zion Bishan, Zion Serangoon, Emmanuel, Mount Carmel, Mount Hermon and Mount Horeb) – see “Fundamentalist and Evangelical” above.

Doctrine, Distinctives and Differences[]

Doctrinal Statement[]

A typical BP church registered in 1986 has an article (usually Article 4) in its constitution stating that the church’s doctrine shall follow that system commonly known as “the Reformed Faith” as expressed in the Westminster Confession of Faith (“WCF”), the Larger and Shorter Cathechisms. In addition to the Apostles’ Creed, the chief tenets of the church’s doctrine are set forth in 12 statements on: (i) the Scriptures; (ii) the Triune God; (iii) the virgin birth of Christ; (iv) the creation and fall of man; (v) the propitiatory and expiatory death of Christ; (vi) the bodily resurrection, ascension and exaltation of Christ; (vii) the personal, visible and pre-millennial return of Christ; (viii) salvation being by grace through faith; (ix) the ministry of the Holy Spirit; (x) the Sacraments of Baptism and Lord’s Supper instituted by Christ; (xi) the eternal destiny of the saved and the lost; and (xii) the principle and practice of separation.^[61][62][63] (The numbers (i)-(xii) used below refer to the doctrinal matters in the corresponding numbers above.)

Churches in the Carmel group in the evangelical faction, however, do not follow the Doctrine template of a typical BP church. Most of them registered with the ROS after 1986 while Mount Carmel BPC registered earlier in 1982 with the Registry of Companies as Mount Carmel BP Church Ltd under the Companies Act (Cap. 50).^[64] As evident in their Statements of Faith/Beliefs posted on their websites, the Carmel group of churches omit certain statements in their Statements so that, unlike a typical BPC, they have a total of ten or eleven statements: Mount Hermon BPC omits statement (vii) on the personal, visible and premillennial return of Christ while Hebron BPC omits “premillennial” in statement (vii). Also the last statement (either the tenth or eleventh) of the Carmel group of churches omits the underlined words in statement (xii) (i.e., 4.2.12 of Life BPC’s^[61] or Shalom BPC’s constitution^[63]): "We believe in the real, spiritual unity in Christ of all redeemed by His precious blood and the necessity of faithfully maintaining the purity of the Church in doctrine and life according to the Word of God and the principle and practice of biblical separation from the apostasy of the day being spearheaded by the Ecumenical Movement (2 Cor 6:14–18, Rev 18:4)".^[65][66][67] The omitted words reflect the link at the outset of the Singapore BPC with the ICCC in the battle against ecumenism and the WCC (represented locally by Malayan Christian Council ("MCC")).^[68]

Certain BP churches in the fundamentalist faction registered with the ROS after 1986, such as True Life BPC (2004) and Blessed Hope BPC (2014),^[30] expanded statement (i) on the Scriptures into three sub-statements to cover the VPI (Autographs) and the VPP (Apographs) of Scriptures in the original languages, the infallibility and inerrancy of the Hebrew OT and the Greek NT underlying the KJV, and the upholding of the KJV as the English translated Word of God for church use (WCF I:VIII); these churches also introduced an additional statement on God creating the whole universe ex nihilo (out of nothing) by the Word of His mouth in six literal or natural days (WCF IV:I).^[69][70][71]

Premillennialism[]

Premillennialism has been an important distinctive of the BPC in both America and Singapore from the very beginning. Timothy Tow learnt this doctrine from Dora Yu, John Sung, Chia Yu Ming, Oliver Buswell, Allan MacRae and R. Laird Harris, the last three-named being Tow’s professors at Faith Theological Seminary which was founded by conservative Presbyterians headed by Carl McIntire who himself held dearly to the doctrine of the Premillennial Return of Christ and had it incorporated into the WCF by the Bible Presbyterian Church of America, founded also by him and other conservative Presbyterian clergymen.^[72] Upon Tow’s return to Singapore after graduating from Faith, he imparted this doctrine to the congregants he pastored from 1950 and to the students he taught at FEBC where he was its lecturer and principal from 1962 (until his demise).^[73]

Premillennialism holds that (a) there will be a long period (1,000 years) of universal peace and happiness upon earth and (b) the return of Christ will happen before this period, rather than afterthis period – which is postmillennialism – while amillennialism (meaning “no millennium”) denies that there will be such a period with the 1,000 years of Revelation 20 being not literal but symbolic of Christ’s present reign from heaven through the Church. The doctrine of premillennialism is so clearly taught in the Bible that it is difficult for anyone, absent resorting to “spiritualizing” hermeneutic, to explain away the facts in (a) and (b) above without calling also into question the explainer’s interpretation of other Biblical doctrines.^[74][75]

Reformed Theology and BPC's Dispensational Premillennialism[]

Of the two types of premillennialism, historic and dispensational, the Singapore BPC adopts the latter – which is the position of McIntire, MacRae and Buswell who are all Reformed and covenantal in their system of theology.^[76][77]

Reformed theology uses the literal (i.e., grammatical-historical-canonical) method of interpretation and sees Israel as Israel without replacing it with the Church.^[78][79] In historic premillennialism, the rapture – an event described in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 as Christ’s coming in the air for His people (the first phase of His second coming) – and the return of Christ to earth to reign as king (the second phase of His second coming) occur at the same time, with the rapture happening at the end of the tribulation (post-tribulation rapture) so that Christians must go through the 7-year tribulation to endure suffering and persecution for the cause of Christ; in dispensational premillennialism, the two events are separated by either 7 years (pre-tribulation rapture) or 3½ years (mid-tribulation rapture).^[80] Historic premillennialists, like amillennialists and postmillennialists, believe that Israel has been replaced by the Church, and that prophecies relating to Israel must be interpreted as relating to the Church; dispensational premillennialists, also known as pro-Israel premillennialists, on the other hand adopts a literal approach to interpretation and emphasize the importance of the nation of Israel in the study of the end times and in God restoring His chosen nation to greatness when Messiah returns.^[81][82]

Romans 11 key to understanding Israel and the Church[]

Timothy Tow, writing on Romans 11 as being the key to answering the question on whether the blessings promised to Israel are fulfilled in the Church or in Israel herself, says that Israel will be restored when Christ returns to earth to establish His peaceful reign of a thousand years sitting on the throne of His father David^[83] – a position in accord with that of John Walvoord in interpreting Romans 11.^[84] Allan MacRae, in Biblical Christianity published with SH Quek helping him select his letters to be included in the book, says Scripture teaches that the Jews will return in unbelief to the land God covenanted to them through Abraham, and that the nation Israel living in the land in the day of Christ's coming will be converted (Zechariah 12:10; Ezekiel 20:33-40; 3:21-25) as God has declared that Abraham's seed will not cease from being a nation before Him forever (Jeremiah 31:35-37) and, while He is not going to leave Israel unpunished (Jeremiah 30:7-11), His purposes in grace will be fulfilled when His purposes in judgment are accomplished (Jeremiah 23:5-8; Hosea 2:14-16; Romans 11:26, 27).^[85]

BPC's Covenant Theology as opposed to Dipensationalism[]

Though dispensational premillennial in their eschatology, the BPC and its ministers are covenantal – and not dispensational – in their theology (soteriology) as not all dispensational premillennialists are dispensationalists even though every dispensationalist is dispensational premillennial in his eschatology.^[86][87]

While dispensationalism sees God’s redemptive plan and history in a number of different tests and consequent failures in a system of discontinuity (C. I. Scofield lists seven dispensations), there is continuity in covenant theology which sees all of God's dealings with man under one of two covenants: (a) the Covenant of Works in which man was under, before the fall, wherein God promised him (through Adam, the federal head of the race) eternal blessedness if he perfectly kept the law; and (b) the Covenant of Grace (Romans 5:12-21) wherein God, of His free grace, promises the same blessings to all, since the fall, who believe in Christ (the federal head of the church).^{[88] [89]}

The continuity in covenant theology sees a unifying theme of one Saviour and one way of salvation in the Covenant of Grace as OT believers had looked forward in faith to the (first) coming of Christ the Messiah-Saviour to atone for their sins by His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, while NT believers looked or look back in faith to Him since He had already come and made the atoning sacrifice: the church is manifested in the nation of Israel in the OT (as Israel is not merely a political/national entity) and continues in the NT ‘as organised from the day of Pentecost onwards’.^[90][91]

Only a remnant of the Jews, including the Apostle Paul, are in the NT church (Romans 11:1-5) since Israel as a whole, except for the remnant, is blinded and cut off from the Abrahamic promises of grace (after their rejection of Christ), but they will be grafted in again into the Abrahamic tree after “the fullness of the Gentiles” has come in (Romans 11:25) even as Gentile Christians have their position in grace grafted into the Abrahamic tree.^[92] The NT church will be raptured prior to the salvation of Israel which will as a whole turn to the Lord after the rapture, as Paul predicts in Romans 11:26.^[93] (See also Timothy Tow in The Story of My Bible-Presbyterian Faith and Allan MacRae in Biblical Christianity above).

Premillennialism and Bible-Presbyterianism[]

The White Paper of the BPCIS says Premillennialism is non-essential to Bible-Presbyterianism even though BPCIS will only teach this view in their churches (p. 512 Heritage & Legacy). The doctrinal statements of certain BPCIS churches (see “Doctrinal Statement” above) allow their ministers and members to embrace Amillennialism or Postmilliennialism.^[94] In a revamp of its website recently, Zion Serangoon BPC changed its statement on the second coming of Christ to: “We believe in the personal, visible, glorious, and bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ …”.^[95] Zion Bishan BPC, which operated with the same constitution and statement of faith as the Serangoon parent or head office until Bishan’s registration as its own entity with the ROS in 2010, still has: “We believe in the personal, visible and premillennial return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ …” (underlining added to show the word removed by Zion Serangoon BPC).^[96]

Contrary to BPCIS’s assertion, Joshua Yong clarifies that the BPC does not separate from other Christians or churches just because they hold to a different millennial view; Peter Masters of Metropolitan Tabernacle, who is amillennial, was invited to speak to the BPC.^[97] The BPC only requires its members to adhere to its constitution which, inter alia, has a doctrinal statement declaring premillennialism as an essential doctrine or a chief tenet among a list of key beliefs or doctrines that they must subscribe to when they are admitted as members, and they are free to leave and join another church if they should (later) disagree.^[98]

Biblical Separation[]

That the BPC was a separatist church is beyond doubt as the late Bobby Sng, renowned non-BP church historian, in his book In His Good Time: The Story of the Church in Singapore 1819-2002 (3rd Ed, Singapore Bible Society, p. 232) described the BPC, after its separation from the MCC, as a church which developed at a rapid pace ‘in isolation from other churches’ and its strong call to all Protestant Christians to separate themselves from churches with liberal leadership appealed to some but antagonized the leaders of the larger churches.^[99]

The editors of Heritage & Legacy of the Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore (hereinafter Heritage & Legacy), representing BPCIS, attempt to rewrite the history of the BP Church. On the doctrine, principle and practice of Biblical separation, they attempt to do so in several ways.^[100]

No separation at the outset?[]

CL Chua in Heritage & Legacy questioned whether there was actually a split or a break away from the mother church Say Mia Tng since Life BPC continued to use the premises of Say Mia Tng for nearly eight years before moving out on 21 October 1962 to Life BPC’s present premises at Gilstead Road. Chua also pointed to Timothy Tow not accusing the Chinese Presbyterian churches of being liberal or ecumenical, and Life BPC and Say Mia Tng maintaining a friendly relationship during their co-existence on the same premises. He wondered if, instead of a break, Life BPC was just going ‘independent’ with the blessings of its mother church.^[101]

Ko Ling-Kang pointed to Heritage & Legacy obtaining the testimonies of some pioneer members of the BP Church in Chapter Four – Voice of the Silent Generation to attempt to make their point that there was no split or separation. With seemingly leading questions posed to elicit the desired answers, Ko remarked that Elder Joshua Lim Heong Wee responded that there was no break from Say Mia Tng and there was also no issue with its pastors and elders over their theological beliefs. However, Ko remarked that the testimony of Elder Dr Ang Beng Chong is more factual and truthful. After noting that theological liberalism was spreading worldwide and had also reached Singapore, Ang went on to say that Say Mia Tng’s English Service, under the leadership of Timothy Tow, separated from the MCC to align itself with the ICCC and ‘Bible-Presbyterian (BP)’ was added to the church’s name to distinguish it from the mainline Presbyterian Synod of Singapore.^[102]

Ang’s account agrees with that of Timothy Tow who, in The Singapore B–P Church Story, wrote that the BP Church founded by him was to uphold the torch of the separatist stand and of the 20th Century Reformation Movement.^[103] Tow also wrote in January 1955, after the last battle for the Faith was unsuccessfully fought in Muar at the Trinity Presbyterian Church against the ‘usual phalanx of modernist missionaries and subservient national pastors’, that the Interim Committee decided to fully constitute Say Mia Tng (English service) as a church and to sever connections with the Synod on account of modernism.^[104]

KC Quek, BPC founding elder, in The Bible-Presbyterian Church of Singapore and Malaysia 1950-1971 concurred when he wrote that the second fold of the threefold cord of the BP Church Movement was the determination from the beginning “to separate from all entanglements” by taking the Scriptural position of separation (2 Cor. 6:14–18) in joining the ICCC to 'contend earnestly for the faith once delivered unto the saints' (Jude 3) and cutting link, even indirectly, with the apostate Ecumenical Movement.^[105]

Ko Ling-Kang remarked that if it was just the planting of a daughter church which went independent with the mother church’s blessing, there would not be a need for Life BPC to sever ties with the Synod. While Life BPC continued to operate on the premises of Say Mia Tng after the break and maintained a friendly relationship with mother church, there was no longer any formal ecclesiastical relationship. If mother church was in agreement with Life BP Church, mother church would not stay on in the ecumenical Synod but heed Life BPC’s call to all Protestant Christians, as noted by church historian Bobby Sng (see above), to separate themselves from churches that had liberal leadership.^[106]

That there was indeed a separation at the onset of the BPC is clear as Dev Menon, Pastor of Zion Bishan BP Church,^[49] acknowledges at p. 150 Heritage & Legacy that ‘the BP Church will be remembered as a church born and bred on its stand of separation’.^[107] The editors of Heritage & Legacy seem to want to sow doubt about the separation because acknowledging it means that the BPC at its inception practised separation not only from liberalism, but also separation from believers who had compromised with ecumenical groups – what the BPCIS term secondary separation.^[106]

Issue of secondary separation[]

If there was a separation of the BPC at the onset, as indeed there was (see above), Daniel Chua – who succeeded David Wong as Senior Pastor of Mount Carmel BPC in December 1993 before becoming its Pastor-at-Large in January 2016,^[108] postulates that the initial separation stand of the BP Church was moderate with only ‘primary’ or first-degree separation – allegedly the stance adopted by McIntire in the earlier years of the BPC of America which was then passed to the Singapore BPC – but this was changed or modified over time by McIntire and by a ‘strong-headed but influential minority’ in the Singapore BPC to incorporate ‘secondary’ or second-degree separation. If Daniel Chua fails to prove that the separation stand was not a moderate one at the BPC inception, he then asserts that it should have been one – like what the BPCIS are doing which, they claim, Machen would approve it if he were alive today and which is also the teaching of the Bible, based on Daniel's exegesis of certain Bible verses.^[109]

That the BPC of America adopted at the beginning a strong or militant stance on separation – “one that calls for separation not just from unbelief and apostasy, but also from compromise and disobedient brethren” – is clear. Ko Ling-Kang points to McGoldrick, et al. (2012) describing as ‘rigorous’ the posture of the BPC on personal and ecclesiastical separation, and BP minister Francis A Schaeffer in a paper to the BP Synod in 1942 presented the BPC as ‘militantly’ stating its system of doctrine as separatists.^[110]

The Articles of Association drawn up at the inaugural meeting of the BPC of America in June 1937 shows the founding fathers (including McIntire) had intended to associate as militant fundamentalists in their fight against “modernism, compromise, indifferentism, and worldliness”, and this militant separation stand was then passed as a heritage to the Singapore BPC as Timothy Tow studied at Faith Seminary in the 1940s (January 1948 to May 1950) when, one wintry morning in mid-January 1948, his heart was ‘strangely warmed’ by McIntire’s message at the seminary’s Chapel Hour challenging young men to join a Twentieth Century Reformation which Tow later did upon his return to Singapore in joining the Separatist Cause of the ICCC.^[111] Tow affirmed the BPC’s militant stand when he quoted McIntire’s declaration, “The Bible Presbyterian Church is a militant church in the defense of the faith”, in his book The Singapore B–P Church Story for the Singapore BPC that he founded.^[112]

Ko Ling-Kang, on p. 7 of his article in The Burning Bush (January 2021), points to the BPCIS citing McIntire’s words for use against him in their claim that he initially urged caution against ‘extreme separation’ and ‘took a very moderate approach in the earlier years’ on separation before hardening his stance in the 1950’s. The words are probably those printed on p. 507 of Daniel Chua’s article in Heritage & Legacy on McIntire’s address to the ministers and elders of the BPC on 7 September 1944 calling them not to separate from the ‘many godly people still in apostate denominations’ further than what is required in God’s Word. But Chua omits those words which clarify the context of McIntire’s call being one that was made to the BPC ministers and elders to stay (separated) while trying to reach godly Christians in the apostate denominations to urge them to come out of their denominations and join the reformation – rather than to call the BPC elders and ministers to embark on an offensive to infiltrate the apostate denominations.^[113]

In the fundamentalists-versus-liberals battle for Princeton Seminary, Machen showed that he would not tolerate the inconsistences of a moderate position by ranking three possible attitudes that one could adopt in the conflict: (a) standing for Christ, which is the best; (b) standing for anti-Christian Modernism, which is the next best; and (c) being neutral, which is the worst.^[114] McIntire follows Machen’s separatist principle in that either unbelievers must be pushed out or Bible-believers must withdraw; else the church stops being the church.^[115] Ko Ling-Kang, accordingly, points to Machen and McIntire withdrawing from the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (“PCUSA”) and Princeton Seminary to found the Presbyterian Church of America (renamed Orthodox Presbyterian Church) and Westminster Seminary, not because these two institutions were full of apostasy and liberal teachings but because the moderates in their leadership and the General Assembly of the PCUSA did not take firm action against the liberals but sought to mediate a neutral position to accommodate all views.^[116]

The Singapore BPC from its inception practised separation from Christians and churches which refused to separate from apostasy. While Daniel Chua refuses to acknowledge this, he is again contradicted by Dev Menon who writes that in the earlier years of the 1950s ‘only the BP Church insisted on having secondary separation’ (p. 146 Heritage & Legacy).^[117]

Jeffrey Khoo (True Life BPC) and Charles Seet (Life BPC) see no degrees in separation, as separation is simply separation and has the holiness of God – which has no degrees – as its premise.^[118] They share the same view as McIntire who sees separation as a command that requires only obedience and it should not be fractured into degrees (for options to obey or to ignore), as to do so is also disobedience and sin.^[119] But BPCIS sees separation in different degrees and asserts that the right biblical approach is only primary (first-degree) not secondary (second-degree) separation.^[106]

Citing the issue to be in the different interpretations of the same Scripture passages cited by both sides to support their views, Daniel Chua (p. 501 of Heritage & Legacy) attempts an exegesis of 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15. He says that ‘keep away’ in v. 6 and ‘not associate’ in v. 14 (per modern Bible versions used by him) cannot mean to ‘totally cut themselves off from a brother’ because v. 15 to ‘not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother’ means as he is, after all, a ‘brother’ (adelphos).

Ko Ling-Kang disagrees with Daniel Chua as he sees (a) Daniel applying eisegesis, i.e., interpreting a text by reading into it his [Daniel's] own assumptions or biases based on his own preconceived notion that the Bible cannot be calling a believer to completely dissociate from another believer simply because v. 15 says that we are to regard him as a brother and not as an enemy, but sometimes the best course in dealing with a disobedient brother lovingly is to separate from him so that he may be ashamed (v. 14) and repent of his ways; and (b) Daniel completely ignoring the two Greek words stellesthai (v. 6) translated as ‘withdraw yourselves’ and sunanamignumi (v. 14) translated as ‘have no company’, in the KJV, which are commands that must be obeyed as the same Greek word in 1 Corinthians 5:9 (‘not to company with’ in KJV) and in 1 Corinthians 5:11 (‘not to keep company’ in KJV), used in applying church discipline to excommunicate a member who is a fornicator (1 Corinthians 5:5), means having no fellowship with that member believer, for to do so is to condone his sin.^[120]

Timothy Tow and Jeffrey Khoo in their book Theology for Every Christian say separation is a command and not an option. They reach the same conclusion as Ko Ling-Kang in their exegesis of 2 Thessalonians 3:6–15 by focusing on the two Greek words in v. 6, ataktos (a military term translated as “disorderly” in the KJV for one who is “out of ranks”) and paradosin (translated as “tradition” in the KJV), to conclude that “have no company” in v. 14 is a command that must be obeyed against a disobedient person not standing in line with the apostolic “tradition” (paradosin).^[121]

Fundamentalism v New Evangelicalism[]

In the early 1940s, after the dust of the fundamentalist-modernist controversies had settled, there arose a new generation of evangelicals and so-called fundamentalists who were repelled by the militant stance of their evangelical/fundamentalist forefathers in separating from those who denied many fundamental truths of the Bible such as its inspiration, inerrancy and infallibility, the deity and virgin birth of Christ, etc. In England, the term “fundamentalist” is less preferred to “evangelical”, and it is also no exaggeration that many who call themselves evangelicals today are New Evangelicals as the two terms have become synonymous.^[122]

The term “Neo Evangelicalism” was coined by Harold Ockenga in 1948 emphasizing the repudiation of separatism and a determination to engage in theological dialogue in a new emphasis to apply the gospel to sociological, political and economic issues.^[123] Ockenga was pastor of the Park Street Church in Boston, founder of the National Association of Evangelicals, co-founder and first president of Fuller Theological Seminary, first president of the World Evangelical Fellowship (now World Evangelical Alliance), one-time editor of Christianity Today and a member of the board of directors for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.^[124]

The Singapore BPC from its inception was linked to the ICCC – a worldwide fellowship of fundamental churches opposed to liberalism, ecumenism, neo-evangelicalism and charismatism.^[125] Founding BPC elder KC Quek, prior to his switch to support his son KC Quek (see “Leadership of evangelical faction” above), affirmed in 1985 on the BPC, in concert with the ICCC, contending in Singapore against New Evangelicals Billy Graham (1978) and Luis Palau (1-7 June 1986).^[126]

Opposition to Billy Graham[]

McIntire in the U.S. and Timothy Tow in Singapore opposed Billy Graham and his co-operative evangelism as they saw the danger in Graham’s compromise. McIntire said that Graham had become "a cover for the apostates".^[127] At Graham’s 1957 New York crusade, he eulogized Dr. Jesse Baird, a well-known liberal and apostate, by calling him ‘a great servant of Christ’; at his 1957 San Francisco Crusade, he praised Episcopal Bishop James Pike who denied the deity, virgin birth, miracles, and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ; and at his 1963 Los Angeles Crusade, he commended Methodist Bishop Gerald Kennedy, the crusade’s chairman who denied practically every fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith, as “one of the ten greatest Christian preachers in America”. ^[128]Other modernists or liberals lauded by Graham include Rudolph Bultmann, Karl Barth, Emil Brunner, Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, Robert J. McCracken and Norman Vincent Peale.^[129]

The spirit of tolerance in neo-evangelicalism caused Graham to end up in universalism and liberalism as he believed that people can be saved without knowing Christ^[130][131] and he also expressed uncertainty about a literal fire in hell as a place of eternal torment.^[132][129] Despite deviating from the Christian faith, Graham maintained that he fully adhered to the fundamental tenets of the faith for himself and his ministry.^[133]

Timothy Tow’s opposition to Billy Graham came into focus when he serialised J.A. Johnson's book Billy Graham – the Jehoshaphat of our Generation and published two news reports in his capacity as special correspondent for an Australian Christian newspaper New Life in the Far Eastern Beacon, November and December 1968 on the Graham-sponsored Asia-South Pacific Congress of Evangelism held in Singapore from November 5-13, 1968 (the “Congress”). Tow said he had the support of Life BPC, except for one or two in the Session which later increased to a few, and also the BP Presbytery.^[134]

Daniel Chua paints a different picture (p. 518, Heritage & Legacy), based probably on pioneer member Joshua Lim’s earlier account in Heritage & Legacy (pp. 185-186) that the Session was unhappy with Tow’s work. But Tow differed from Lim in that while having to write fairly and accurately the two reports for New Life, Tow also put in a conclusion – unpalatable to some – in the second report by remarking that the line of separation from Ecumenical apostasy maintained by the 20th Century Reformation Movement in Singapore and Malaysia in the spirit of John Sung during the previous two decades had been all but obliterated by the Congress and warning that while thousands might be “signed up” into the Ecumenical fold, thousands might also be “signed off”.^[134]

New Evangelicalism in Singapore BPC[]

Among the detractors who opposed Timothy Tow on the Billy Graham issue in the late 1960s (above), Jeffrey Khoo says that some had repented.^[135] One of them was SH Tow who was on the same side as Joshua Lim (p. 186 Heritage & Legacy) but changed when he realised he had erred (p. 430 Heritage & Legacy). SH Tow spoke out against the 1978 Billy Graham Crusade (“BGC”) in Singapore.^[136]

Joshua Lim, however, remained intransigent as he participated in the 1978 BGC by being a member of its Advisory Committee, albeit in a personal capacity and not as a BPC elder (p. 186 Heritage & Legacy). Joshua Lim’s and Daniel Chua’s remarks on the lack of support for Timothy Tow’s opposition to the Billy Graham-sponsored Congress in 1968 (see above) lack credibility, since the BPC – to the seeming lament of David Wong – did not participate in the 1978 BGC which attracted participation from 237 out of 265 Protestant congregations in Singapore (p. 419 Heritage & Legacy). The claim of CL Chua (pp. 98-99 Heritage & Legacy) that ministers and Session members were regarded as ‘dissenters’ for disagreeing with Timothy Tow in the first decade of the BPC despite representing the majority view lacks documentary proof.^[137]

Jeffrey Khoo finds it disconcerting that the editors and the contributing writers of Heritage & Legacy call themselves “BP” and talk about the BP “heritage and legacy” but yet write approvingly of Graham while maligning Timothy Tow, the Singapore BPC founding father, who took a separatist stand against Graham.^[138] This is contrary to the claim on their website^[139] that their book was published inter alia to honour BP “pioneers”.

The current President of the ICCC, Brad K Gsell, is also opposed to Billy Graham as he wrote The Legacy of Billy Graham: The accommodation of truth to error in the evangelical church (1998, Revised and Expanded Edition, published by Fundamental Presbyterian Publications).^[140] SH Quek, previously General Secretary of the ICCC and currently its Second Vice-President,^[141] seems to be tone-deaf or indifferent to Gsell and the ICCC's stance even though he [Quek] mentions serving many years in the ICCC and its agencies (pp. 80-81 Heritage & Legacy).

SH Quek’s view on separation is not the same as that of his father KC Quek who, in the early years of the BPC, was regarded by Timothy Tow as “McIntire’s ardent disciple” equal to Tow in zeal for the defence of the faith.^[142] KC Quek’s separatist stand (after switching side to join SH Quek) seemed to have dimmed or changed as Dev Menon at p. 149 Heritage & Legacy mentions KC Quek’s message at the Golden Jubilee of the SCCC in 2006, printed in the Far Eastern Beacon in 2010 as “My Thanksgiving Testimonies”, recommending member SCCC churches going forward to continue to separate from the Ecumenical movement (were they not already separated?) but the subsequent words (in Menon’s article) are unclear as to whether KC Quek was calling member SCCC churches to remain within the Ecumenical movement (and not separate?) to witness to (non-SCCC) churches or to remain indifferent.

The editors of Heritage & Legacy chose to include only KC Quek’s reports on welfare services in Singapore (pp. 363-364) and Christian relief work to Kampuchea (pp. 377-378)^[55] in the book rather than his epochal message on the three-fold cord in 1971 ^[105] (repeated in 1985^[4]) which characterises the BPC from its inception. It is symptomatic of New Evangelicals to change focus to social work such as the provision of assistance in natural disasters.^[143]

Khoo feels that those who oppose the doctrine and practice of separation of the founding father should do the honourable thing by leaving the BPC to form their own denomination and not remain to give lip-service to separation when they are practically neo-evangelicals.^[138] SH Quek, who was ordained on 31 October 1970 to succeed his father as pastor of Zion BPC shortly after his return to Singapore on 7 October 1970 after studying a decade abroad (to obtain his BD from Faith Seminary and his PhD from the University of Manchester), has his article The Christian and Music and two reports on Zion BPC and Zion Kindergarten in The Bible-Presbyterian Church of Singapore and Malaysia 1950–1971 where, on p. 61, is printed the words in Ecumenism or New Revolution? of Thomas Molnar who detests the arrogance and cowardice of those who do not believe in or agree with the organization to which they belong, but remain to bore from within in order to change the institution into something different from what it is and has been, when they should be acting like honourable men to leave the organization for another which they approve or found a new organization and gain disciples by the importance and clarity of their own faith.^[144]

Timothy Tow in The Singapore B-P Church Story lauded a former B-P church stating herself as “Independent” as being “bold enough” to drop her B-P name.^[145] That former B-P church, a daughter of Zion B-P Church, is now Bethany Independent-Presbyterian Church.^[34](see “Leadership of Evangelical Faction” above).

Even J. Gresham Machen, whom they [the BPCIS] claim to look up to (see “Issue of secondary separation” above), detests the strategy New Evangelicals employ to infiltrate and change organisations from within; he gives an illustration that those who advocate Republican principles should not think of making a declaration of conformity to Democratic principles to gain entry into a Democratic club to finally turn its resources into an anti-Democratic propaganda, and a church should be more honest than a political club.^[146]

Daniel Chua denies that the “moderates” – by which they call themselves – are neo-evangelicals, but Jeffrey Khoo disagrees as after the dissolution of the Synod in 1988 they have departed further from the original BP position by advancing their non-separatist stand in cooperating with those who have compromised the faith, by being open to charismatic tongues, by replacing the KJV with modern corrupt Bible versions and by introducing Contemporary Christian Music (“CCM” ) into their worship services. Khoo also points to Bob Phee, now with BPCIS, who wrote and distributed in October 1988 a paper entitled “Neo-Evangelicalism in the Bible-Presbyterian Church” detailing the neo-evangelicalism of SH Quek.^[135]

Harold Ockenga, the father of New Evangelicalism, in his foreword to Harold Lindsell’s Battle for the Bible wrote that Neo-evangelicalism is different from Fundamentalism in the former’s repudiation of separatism, and New Evangelicalism adherents emphasized, inter alia, the recapture of denominational leadership and the reexamination of theological problems such as the antiquity of man, the universality of the flood and God’s method of creation.^[147]

Jeffrey Khoo notes with no surprise that (a) SH Quek, David Wong, Daniel Chua et al. would want to recapture the BP denominational leadership in the formation of a new presbytery in the BPCIS (see “Leadership of Evangelical Faction” above); (b) SH Quek being open to the Genesis “years” being “months” and not literally “years” while questioning the universality of the Genesis Flood, God’s method of creation, etc.; and (c) David Wong obtained his DMin degree from Fuller Seminary, flagship seminary of neo-evangelicalism, and had worked with Haggai Institute which co-operates with liberals, Catholics, and charismatics.^[138]

Khoo also points to neo-evangelicals speaking of separation and saying they are for it when they are actually not, invariably contradicting the Bible and themselves^[138] – an observation made also by David Cloud that not every New Evangelical is as frank as Ockenga in his repudiation of separatism as some merely give lip service to separation because they neither like nor practise it.^[148] In a revamp of its website recently, Zion Serangoon BPC revised its statement of beliefs by reducing from 12 to 9 the statements which form the chief tenets of faith/beliefs of a typical BPC (see “Doctrinal Statement” above);^[149] the last or twelfth statement on biblical separation has now been dropped. Zion Bishan BPC, which operated with the same constitution and statement of beliefs as the Serangoon parent or head office until Bishan’s registration as its own entity with the ROS in 2010, still has all 12 statements in its statement of faith including the twelfth or last statement on biblical separation: “We believe in … faithfully maintaining the purity of the Church in doctrine and life according to the Word of God and the principle and practice of biblical separation from the apostasy of the day being spearheaded by the Ecumenical Movement (or other such movements) (2 Cor 6:14-18; Rev 18:4)”.^[150]

KJV and Modern English Bibles[]

Another feature which once distinguished the BPC from other churches is its preference for the KJV of the English Bible and there was a period of time in which the BPC in Singapore used only the KJV in public reading, preaching and teaching.^[7] Elder Chia Hong Chek,^[151] a pioneer member of the BPC, says that Timothy Tow wanted the English service he founded and pastored at Say Mia Tng – which became Life BPC – to be a distinct Bible-believing church and also to stick to the KJV, and not the RSV (p. 172, Heritage & Legacy).

Timothy Tow was persuaded at one time to use the NIV as Laird Harris and Allan MacRae, his teachers at Faith Seminary, were among the NIV translators (p. 178, Heritage & Legacy). However, the use of the NIV was brief as Tow’s unswerving support for the KJV did not abate since Life BPC continued to use it for public reading even though Tan Wai Choon, its assistant pastor 1978-1981, encouraged the NIV's use, albeit only for private reading with the NASB; the BP Synod finally issued a statement on 26 October 1981 affirming reliance on the KJV and recommending that the two newer versions may be used for collateral reading and reference, in particular by serious students of the Bible, but the AV or the KJV should not be displaced or replaced (pp. 178-179, Heritage & Legacy).

Timothy Tow did not follow Harris and MacRae all the way on the NIV as he wrote in 1998 the lyrics for the The King James Bible vs Hundred Versions and penned in the Life BPC’s weekly of 26 July 1998 (while he was pastor of the church) his call to those using the NIV, the RSV and other modern Bible versions “to cease taking their poison and be delivered from the death in their pot”.^[152] He also wrote the foreword to SH Tow’s book Beyond Versions – A Biblical Perspective of Modern English Bibles (1998) which upholds the KJV against modern English Bibles.^[153]

Timothy Tow’s position on Bible versions accords with that of Carl McIntire who, when the RSV was copyrighted and promoted by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA ("NCC") in 1952, launched immediately a blitz against the RSV which included him publishing and printing in hundreds of thousands a pamphlet The New Bible, Revised Standard Version: Why Christians Should Not Accept It to denounce as heretical the RSV’s rendering of certain Bible verses such as replacing “everlasting” (KJV) in Micah 5:2 with “ancient days” (RSV) and replacing “virgin” (KJV) in Isaiah 7:14 with “young woman” (RSV); these changes removed Christ’s eternal pre-existence and deity.^[154]

Timothy Tow praised McIntire’s swift offensive against the RSV and although McIntire did not act as speedily when the NIV first appeared in 1978 due to fifth columnists within the ICCC ranks, Tow nonetheless commended him for reaching “the crowning of his life-long struggle against Satan’s wiles to falsify God’s Word” when the ICCC, at its birthplace in Amsterdam, in 1998 passed a resolution urging “all Bible-believing churches worldwide to use only the Authorized KING JAMES VERSION in their services and in their teaching ministry” amidst more than 150 so-called ‘versions’ of the Bible extant around the world.^[155]

McIntire’s legacy on the KJV continues in the Bible Presbyterian Church in Collingswood, NJ – the church that he founded and pastored – where they still “believe the King James Version is the most faithful and accurate translation available in the English language” and they use it exclusively in public worship and in the teaching and training of their children and youth.^[156]

Although SH Quek has been associated with the ICCC for many years (pp. 80-81 Heritage & Legacy – see also New Evangelicalism in Singapore BPC above), the BPCIS sees Bible versions as a non-essential and their churches are free to use the versions of their choice according to guidelines of the Presbytery (p. 512, Heritage & Legacy). While the use of the KJV is not precluded, NIV and ESV are promoted^[157] and usually used.^[158][159]

When Ho Peng Kee was installed as an elder of Mount Carmel BPC on 17 April 1987, he was presented with an NIV (1984) bible by David Wong and Ang Beng Chong with the latter hand-writing on the inner cover of the presented NIV Bible the charge to Ho in the KJV in full in 1 Peter 5:2–4 beneath which Wong and Ang signed off their names.^[160] Zion Serangoon BPC has officially added the ESV as a Second Official Translation to the KJV for public reading in the church besides recommending the NKJV (1982), the NASB (1995), the NIV (1984) and The Holman Christian Standard Bible (2005) (“HCSB”) to its members for collateral reading and study – based on a paper headed BP Distinctives on Bible Versions issued by the church’s Session and Board of Deacons on 7 July 2015.^[161] (See also first paragraph in this section above on the BPC being distinguished at its onset for exclusive use of the KJV.)

Although the NKJV is translated from the Majority Text, Life BPC in its Golden Jubilee Magazine 1950-2000 in A Doctrinal Positional Statement of Life B-P Church (a) flashed out the NKJV changing the KJV text in about 60,000 places, including perfectly good terms in the KJV that should have remained unchanged; (b) considered the NIV 'unreliable’ and (c) called it the “New Evangelical Version” (NEV) because of the deep involvement of the National Association of Evangelicals in the NIV’s production and promotion.^[162] This view has not changed, based on Life BPC’s website currently displaying what was published in 2000.^[163]

The ESV (first published in 2001) and the NIV are critiqued by Timothy Tow and Jeffrey Khoo in their book Theology For Every Christian (2007) and listed together with the NIV, NASB, NKJV and the RSV – all (except NJKV) translated from the Alexandrian/Minority/Wescott-Hort Text and the Nestle-Aland Greek NT – as among the many Bibles of ecumenism, modernism, neo-evangelicalism and neo-fundamentalism.^[164] Although the HCSB is not specifically listed, its NT is translated primarily from the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament and Nestle-Aland's Novum Testamentum Graece and Dr Ken Matto has compared 50 verses translated in the HCSB with the same 50 verses translated in the KJV and two other Bibles in the New American Bible ("NAB") of the Roman Catholic Institution and the New Word Translation ("NWT") of the Jehovah's Witnesses to see the differences before concluding that (a) the HCSB is as corrupt as the NWT or (b) the NWT is as accurate as the HCSB.^[165]

The ESV is adapted from the RSV, the copyright of which is owned by the NCC whose permission was obtained for use of the 1971 revision of the RSV as the basis for the ESV translation work which has resulted in the ESV being 91% the same word-for-word as the RSV – the percentage is even higher when gender-related language changes and the uses of “Thee”, “Thou” and “Thine” referring to Deity are ignored.^[166] The NCC is a liberal organization that is not a “friend of Evangelical Reformed Theology” and the ESV “generally sticks too closely to the original RSV translation, and therefore the text is still tainted by liberal theology”. ^[167]

The Zion Serangoon BPC’s paper of 7 July 2015 (see above) promotes the ESV as having certain advantages over the KJV and lists among the references made in the study by the Session and the Board of Deacons for the issuance of the paper Dr Joel Grassi’s A Critical Analysis of the English Standard Version of 2001.^[161] Grassi, however, concludes his analysis of the ESV on p. 41 with five conclusions adverse to its use and a prayer at the end: “May the LORD’s churches see the ESV for what it really is: a subtle attack upon the words of God by an enemy who knows what he is doing”.^[168]

See also[]

• Religion in Singapore

References[]

External links[]

• Far Eastern Bible College