The Pioneers of Bible-Presbyterianism in Singapore

The history of the Bible–Presbyterian church in Singapore is inextricably linked to one of the greatest evangelist of all time, the Methodist, John Sung Shang Jie. Because of John Sung’s mighty preaching two young boys dedicated their lives to the cause of Jesus Christ –bringing the Gospel to thousands throughout South-east Asia and beyond. It was described by Dr. Bobby Sng in his definitive work on the history of the Church of Singapore, “In His Good Time (1^st edition)”:

Among the many people who responded to the gospel of John Sung’s meetings in 1935 were two young boys, both China-born and coming from godly family backgrouds. Few realised then that within 20 years these two young men would be blazing a trail in the church’s fight against liberal theology affecting the lives of hundreds of Christians.

The two boys were none other than Rev. (Dr) Timothy Tow Siang Hui, and Rev (Dr.) Quek Kiok Chiang. Both were instrumental in the founding of the Bible-Presbyterian movement in Singapore.

Rev (Dr.) Quek Kiok Chiang was caught up in the theological debate between the liberals and conservative evangelicals raging in the Western world. Reminiscing about his experiences in the early 1950’s, Rev Quek wrote,

My determination to introduce the biblical position of the ICCC [International Council of Christian Churches] in Singapore was further strengthened by my encounters with the minister of the leading English Presbyterian Church in Singapore and the aforesaid senior English Presbyterian missionary, both alarming me for the first time with their blatant unbelief in the essential doctrines of the Holy Scriptures… the Presbyterian missionary casting doubt on the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ and on His Virgin Birth.

At that time, Rev. (Dr.) Timothy Tow was pastor of the Life Church English Service (part of the Singapore Life Church), and Rev. (Dr.) Quek Kiok Chiang being an elder of the congregation. After several failed attempts to get Singapore Life Church not to associate with the apostate Malayan Christian Council, Life Church English Service decided to withdraw from the Synod. Rev. (Dr.) Tow remarked,

In order to distinguish ourselves from the Synod churches we prefixed the word Bible to make ours the Life Bible-Presbyterian Church. January 1955, indeed, saw the birth of the Bible-Presbyterian Church movement, but only the good Lord knew what blessings were in store for us as a result of this separation from the entangling alliances with unbelief

The two greats (pillars) of the Bible-Presbyterian movement are Rev.(Dr.) Timothy Tow and Rev.(Dr.) Quek Kiok Chiang.

Meanwhile academia was not spared the penetration of liberal theology. In the University of Malaya, the Students’ Christian Movement turned liberal and so a small group comprising mainly of medical students left the SCM to found the Varsity Christian Fellowship. One of the committee members appointed by the students was none other than Dr. Tow Siang Hwa, the younger brother of Rev. Timothy Tow.

Dr. Tow SH had an illustrious career as a medical doctor specialising in gynaecology and obstetrics but he gave that up to be a minister of the Gospel. Under his leadership and influence many B-P churches were established. He was for many years the Senior Pastor of Calvary Pandan B-P Church.

Thus one can conclude that the men responsible for the growth of the Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore are Rev. (Dr) Timothy Tow Siang Hui, Rev (Dr.) Quek Kiok Chiang and to a some extent, Rev.(Dr.) Tow Siang Hwa.

The passing away of Rev. Timothy Tow

On the 20^th April 2009, Rev (Dr) Timothy Tow passed away. A three-evening memorial service was held in Calvary Pandan B-P Church.

During the first evening, Dr. S H Tow shared with the attendees of the memorial service the life of his great brother (Rev. Timothy Tow). Dr. S H Tow made a very significant and revealing statement about his brother having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2006. Based upon the medical condition of Rev. (Dr.) Timothy Tow, one can, with very good reasons, excuse Rev Timothy Tow for allegedly advocating the error of VPP. Dr. S.H. Tow[1] was one of the leading medical doctors during the time when he was a practicing physician. His opinion regarding senile dementia is thus trust worthy.

Living long carries tremendous problems. One of them being given prominence in the press is the senile dementia, Alzheimer’s disease. So better you live well than you live long. How can you live well? Answer, live in the Lord Jesus Christ, in Him only there’s peace.

My brother has been suffering from the disease called Alzheimer’s. It was diagnosed only about 3 years ago. But this disease has a very long history. And, oftentimes we do not detect it. My late step-mother had it [for] at least 10 years; the same could have been[said] for Rev. Tow.

They start off with the mental limitations, that is the first sign. Then, they imagine things; they talk things that are not quite right. I detected this when my brother came to Vancouver in the year 2000. But now he is free from all this, how good! Absent from the body but present with the Lord.

Testimony of a senior Bible-Presbyterian pastor

Rev. Philip Heng, a well-respected preacher and pastor of Galilee B-P Church wrote[2] about his experience as pastor of many B-P churches and, as a former lecturer and ex-President of the board of the FEBC.

I was in the Life BPC since its inception at the Say Mia Tng in Prinsep Street, October 1950. I loved to hear Rev Tow preach from the Bible. He taught us that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and it was very clear to me that the Inspiration of God’s Word was only in the original languages – the Greek and Hebrew. This position is stated in our B-P Church Constitution right from the beginning. I have always understood Inspiration to refer only to the original manuscripts, the Autographs – that they were inspired by God, that they were special, unique, and the only one of a kind…

I first heard of the Verbal Plenary Inspiration (VPI) versus the Verbal Plenary Preservation (VPP) controversy in the Life BPC and suggestions that the King James Version is the perfect Bible, around 2002. As far as I am concerned, VPP is a new teaching, and not in the original beliefs of the B-P Church, or the FEBC.  

FEBC after the passing of Rev. Timothy Tow

Rev. Jeffrey Khoo, the successor and son-in-law of Rev. Timothy Tow, has taken the Far Eastern Bible College down a different route by teaching and promoting the error of the Verbal Plenary Preservation. It is a new view of the Inspiration of Holy Scriptures, teaching that God re-inspired the Scriptures through the KJV translators, hence giving the Christian Church anew the autographical texts. VPP maintains that without the “Original physical words” of the Scriptures, the claims of Christ are thrown into all sorts of doubts. They have minimised the work of the Holy Spirit and given prominence to VPP cult leader D.A. Waite, claiming that he knows what the “perfect Bible” is.

The FEBC faculty has attacked Christians using non-KJV bibles. They have joined forces with extremists Islamists theologians in attacking Christians.

(a) Jeffrey Khoo in the sermon[3], “His Word Above His Name” preached in 1^st October 2006, quoted an Islamist.

(b) Paul Ferguson, a disciple of Jeffrey Khoo, made used (Burning Bush, January 2009) of Ahmed Deedat to take swipes at Christians. Deedat took pleasure in attacking the Bible and making fun of Jesus Christ. He was banned from coming to Singapore in 1996. Soon after ridiculing the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in-front of a large audience in Australia during an Easter period, Deedat[4] suffered a severe stroke which left him paralysed and unable to speak − shutting him up forever.

Conclusion

Rev. (Dr.) Timothy Tow remained true to the fundamentals of the Christian faith; he was, and remained one of the pioneers and heroes of the Faith according to the East Asian tradition. In his twilight years, he suffered from Alzheimer’s, a debilitating disease which affects the brain function[5]. However, we thank God, as Dr. SH Tow said, “But now he is free from all this, how good! Absent from the body but present with the Lord.”

Sadly, the FEBC today, under the leadership of Jeffrey Khoo and its faculty members have strayed from the ancient ways, FEBC has caused some B-P churches to stumble in their ways from the ancient ways, to walk in the paths and way that is not trodden.( Jer. 18:15; Geneva Bible 1599)