The introduction of non-native

religions to South-East Asia

Topic Objectives:
A. Origin / Founder of the
religions
B. Basic teachings and ideas
C. Festivals and celebrations
D. The spread of the religion
to Southeast Asia
9. Christianity
in
Singapore
 On your birthday or
another special day,
what would you say
if your friends
decided to give you …
https://www.simplicityfunerals.com.au/content/dam/invocare/Simplicity%20Funeral/
https://holylandmerchandise.com/wp-content/uploads/
2016/05/Olive-Wood-Cross-CR1-3-1.jpg
 =
During the Roman Empire, before
the time of Jesus, the cross had the
similar symbolic meaning to that of
a coffin.
 =
No one liked to have anything to do
with the cross.

The cross was a symbol of

oppression and death.
Crucifixion was a
method of
punishment for
civil and political
crime.

It was meant to send

a visible message of http://s.newsweek.com/sites/www.newsweek.com/files/
styles/embed-tablet/public/
2015/04/01/0401christleuven.jpg

fear. http://www.newsweek.com/how-romans-used-crucifixion-including-jesus-political-weapon-318934
The crucified person would not die
immediately.

It was a painful death from

ruptured blood vessels due the
nailing.

It was torture.
 Why then, do
Christians like or
want to be
associated with
the cross?
To Christians, the cross symbolises
the great love of God for mankind.

The death of Jesus on the cross was

to amend the broken relationship
between humankind and God.

Good Friday is a reminder of this.

 The broken relationship
between humankind and
God is known as the
Original Sin.

We will talk about this

Original Sin when we talk
about the God’s creation
later.
 Why then, do
Christians like or
want to be
associated with
the cross?
CROSS CRUCIFIX

https://johnclarkecabinetmaker.co.uk/images/ https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0223/1885/products/28P-
com_hikashop/upload/sapele_cross.png 12R1_x700.progressive.jpeg.jpg?v=1453826142
CROSS

To the Protestants,
a plain cross symbolises the
death and resurrection of Jesus.
CRUCIFIX

To the (Roman) Catholics,

the crucifix symbolises the
death of Jesus and his sacrifice.
To Christians, Redemption means
they have an understanding of who
God is and believe that He has
forgiven their sin.

(Christians are motivated to share

this message: To receive the gift of
Redemption, you just have to
understand and accept it.)
The Protestants and the Catholics
form the two ‘umbrella’ groups of
Christians.

There are many sub-groups within

each of the two.
Make an Observation and Inference

on

Why this activity is important:

https://daybreaksdevotions.wordpress.com/2016/03/16/daybreaks-for-31616-peters-strange-request/
Christians learn that they are to be
‘fishers of people’ (Matt 4:19 and
Mark 1:17), that is …

to ‘catch’ people with (or to tell

people about) the message of God’s
Redemption.
Matt 4:19 gives the location in the
Bible where the quote is found, eg .
in the Book of Matthew,
in Chapter 4 and verse 19.

Mark 1:17 = verse 17, of Chapter 1,

in the Book of Mark.

(More on Books in the Bible later.)

A. Origins of Christianity

Christianity has its root in

Judaism (the Jewish belief)
in the 1st Century (1-99 AD).
The Star of David
In other words, is the Symbol
Christianity and Judaism of Judaism

have a common root.

http://religionmanuals.tpub.com
The Jews consider Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob as the Patriarchs - the physical
and spiritual ancestors of Judaism.
An early Christian painting depicting the Patriarchs
as being Middle-Eastern and dark-skinned

http://st-takla.org/Gallery/Bible/01-Old-Testament/OT-coptic-icons/OT-Coptic-icon-Abraham-Isaac-Jacob.html
B. Basic Teachings and Ideas
1. Creation and the fall of man
God has always been present and
He created man, woman and all
living things on earth.
Disobedience to God’s
commandment is considered sin.

So when Man and Woman

disobeyed God, they were banished
from his presence.
This is a cartoon depiction of the Fall of
Man, when Adam and Eve disobeyed
God’s command not to eat the fruit of
this tree. www.bible.com
2. God’s prophets (or messengers)
shared about God’s Redemption.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni1Y_ZHG-es

Noah warned about the great flood

that would destroy all the wicked.
http://www.euroteamoutreach.org
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65KgsHvFKd4

Moses was given a set of laws to

guide people in their lives.
http://www.fanpop.com
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

1 You shall have no other gods.

2 You shall not make for yourself an
image in the form of anything in
heaven above or on the earth
beneath or in the waters below.

3 You shall not bow down to them

or worship them.
4 You shall not misuse the name of
the Lord your God.

5 Remember the Sabbath day by

keeping it holy.

6 Honour your father and your

mother.
7 You shall not murder.

8 You shall not commit adultery.

9 You shall not steal.

10 You shall not give false

testimony against your neighbour.
In Standard English (The Adventure Bible,
NIV):

1 You may not love anyone or

anything, more than you love God.

2 & 3 You may not worship or put

more importance on any person or
thing, other than God.
4 You may not swear. Use God’s
holy name only in a loving way,
never to express anger or
frustration.
5 One day of your week should be
set aside for rest and the worship of
God. You need a special day set
aside to relax and meet with other
Christians.
6 Be respectful of your parents.
Love them, and the Lord will reward
you with a long life.

7 You may not hate other people;

don’t ever think of hurting someone
else in any way.
8 Keep your thoughts and actions
pure. Sex is a gift of God to married
couples.
9 You may not take or keep
anything that doesn’t belong to
you.

You may not be jealous of what

others have. Be satisfied with what
you have.
10 You may not tell lies, especially
when that lie will hurt someone
else.
As an example: it is difficult for any
one to keep to Commandment 7
‘You shall not murder’

because Christians consider

‘murder’ as not just the physical
ending of a life but includes the
verbal or emotional harming of
other people.
So not fulfilling just 1, or 2, or as
many as 9 of the Commandments
would mean that the person has
sinned.

Now to explain how Jesus is the

Redemption for sin.
3. There is only one God.

He exists as The Holy Trinity: The

Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

Jesus is The Son, the part of God who

became a human being, so that people
could have a better understanding of
God.
Christians believe that
Jesus died on the cross as
the Ultimate Redemption
(payment) for their sins
and was resurrected
(come alive again).
www.canossians.net

Anyone who understands and accepts

this gift of Redemption will go on to be
with God in Heaven.
4. The Christian holy book is the
Bible, made up of the Old and New
Testaments.
www.bible.ca

The Old Testament is the Jewish

Holy Text that speaks of God and
the rise and fall of the Jewish
Nation.
The New Testament explains how
Jesus Christ redeemed the broken
relationship (due to sin/ disobedience)
between people and God.

It consists of letters from the first

group of Christian leaders to encourage
the churches all over Asia (now called
the Middle East).
C. Festivals and
Celebrations

1. Christmas
The story of Jesus' birth (the
nativity) is often retold by children
through ‘Nativity Plays’.
Church services include the singing
of carols - happy songs which tell
the Christmas story.

The giving and receiving of presents

remind Christians of the gift of
Jesus.
And Christmas has nothing
to do with him.

http://www.zazzle.com
2. Good Friday and Easter Sunday
Good Friday commemorates the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Easter Sunday commemorates His

resurrection. (details during REW)

Special church services are held on

these two days.
 This is the Worship Hall of the
Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church
in Chinatown. It was the 1st Methodist
(Protestant) Church in Singapore.

Make an Observation.
Done respectfully please.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sanctuary_of_Telok_Ayer_Chinese_Methodist_Church,_Singapore_-_20100821-01.JPG
 Close-up of the front

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sanctuary_of_Telok_Ayer_Chinese_Methodist_Church,_Singapore_-_20100821-09.JPG
D. The Spread of Christianity to South-
East Asia

The Portuguese and Dutch traders and

sailors introduced Christianity to the
people in South-East Asia.

British and American missionaries

came after that.
The Portuguese were among the first
Europeans to arrive in the region. They
brought Catholicism and built
churches.

Among them was a priest called

Francis Xavier and he travelled
extensively throughout South-East Asia
and many other coastal areas.
Voyages of St Francis Xavier
Identify the continents:
1. 2.
3.
List the ports and countries that
Francis Xavier visited:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
We went through the History of
ACS before Founder’s Day.

Here is a recap:
Methodist Ministry
in Singapore

William and Marie Oldham were

appointed to accompany Bishop
James Thoburn to begin pioneering
Methodist work in Singapore. They
arrived on 7 February 1885 on a
ship called the SS Khandalla.
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1365_2008-10-09.html
The Oldhams' work
included English
services at the Town Hall, talks in
homes, evangelistic meetings at The
Christian Institute at Waterloo
Street and regular street preaching.
Sometimes pelted by rotten eggs
during his outdoor preaching,
this gifted speaker did not give up.
Feb 1885: started the 1st
Methodist Church

March 1886: founded the Anglo-

Chinese School and
started the Anglo-Tamil School
with M. Gnanamuthoo (a Tamil
evangelist and teacher).
With Sophia Blackmore, an
Australian missionary, in
1887: started the Methodist Girls’
School

1888: started the Anglo-Chinese

Girls' School (now Fairfield
Methodist Secondary School)
Plenary (Write into your Notebooks)

What I know about Christianity.

3 new words I learnt in this module.

2 teachings about Christianity.

1 festival that is celebrated by the

Christians.