12.31.07
Posted in Culture/Society, Social and Political Philosophy at 1:14 pm by Kam Weng
The Deputy Minister of Internal Security, Johari Baharum, recently declared that only Muslims may use the word ‘Allah’ to describe the God they worship…. This article offers a firm, rational and clear rebuttal to the flawed rationale that underlies the Deputy Minister’s declaration.
The declaration is questionable for the following reasons: 1) its logic is flawed 2) it omits historical facts 3) it shows disrespect for cultural identity and 4) it disregards Constitutional rights of Malaysian citizens.
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11.27.07
Posted in Hermeneutics, Philosophy, Theological Issues at 2:55 pm by Kam Weng
Anthony Thiselton links Postmodernity to the crisis of truth. To this one would naturally ask the question, “Why a crisis of truth�? Is the linkage a matter or causality, that is, to suggest that Postmodernity is the cause of the crisis, or is the linkage merely descriptive? In the latter case, Postmodernity would be a description of a general condition of society where people in general and intellectuals in particular have lost confidence in attaining consensus regarding matters of truth.
What are the contours of the contemporary crisis of truth? One cannot help but be struck by the proliferation of theories spinning across the various disciplines of Western academia. Such proliferation is accompanied by intense disputes with no obvious winner. There is no evidence that the competing theories will be subsumed under an overarching, unifying framework. The resulting fragmentation of knowledge leads to doubts about the viability of the academic enterprise in securing certain or indubitable knowledge
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10.10.07
Posted in Public Theology, Social and Political Philosophy at 1:38 pm by Kam Weng
Christian social engagement aims at building a covenant nation based on justice and religious liberty for all. It may include the following agenda:
1) Educating Christians on the rights and responsibility of citizenship.
2) Promoting civil society through NGOs and voluntary societies.
3) Supporting particular political candidates.
4) Sustaining the prophetic witness of the Church against the arrogance of power by embodying submission to the kingdom of God.
5) Affirming the moral right to civil disobedience as loyal citizens.
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09.11.07
Posted in Critical Thinking, Public Theology, Social and Political Philosophy at 11:51 am by Kam Weng
We must address the challenge of the cultured despisers of Christianity if Christian witness is to gain credibility:
- Secure a thorough understanding of the modern world.
– Identify crucial issues that must be addressed if we are to follow J. H. Bavinck mission strategy to annex culture, to take every thought captive in Christ.
- Re-conceptualize the framework for Christian reflection and set priorities for theological education. All too often activism replaces serious theological reflection when we act under the tyranny of the urgent. But in the absence of a distinct intellectual framework and with our inability to ferret out and critique the presuppositions of dominant thought patterns of the world, we end up merely responding to the agenda set by non-Christian elites and eventually conform to the spirit of the age.
- Ensure that theology is both grounded in Biblical tradition and critically correlated with contextual realities. This demands a fresh look at theological education and how we train Christian thinkers and pastors.
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08.08.07
Posted in Islam, Social-Cultural Analysis at 11:28 am by Kam Weng
It has been noted above that Islamists opt for a selective appropriation of the rational structures and goods of Modernity without critically submitting their own traditional values to self-critique. The justification for this strategy finds support from the flourishing of the discipline of Civilizational studies in the universities. Islamic thinkers who seek to undermine the suggestion that the supremacy of Western modernity is permanent or that history of progress is linear following the path set by Western nations.
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08.07.07
Posted in Announcements at 10:28 pm by Kam Weng
Disaster Strikes!
Never love blogging more than necessary. It is more unreliable than a fickle lover
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07.17.07
Posted in Islam, Social-Cultural Analysis at 2:13 pm by Kam Weng
My thesis is that there is a deeply felt, but nevertheless unexpressed anxiety among Muslims, especially among the religious elite, that Modernity (in the technical sense that I will describe below) will ultimately undermine Islam as a viable framework for a coherent community in the modern world. Hence, we witness the temptation among Muslims to find solace and security in dogmatic and defensive Islam and the resurgence of intolerant Islam in Malaysia.
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06.25.07
Posted in Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy at 11:14 pm by Kam Weng
Asian critics offer more sophisticated arguments than expediency in their resistance against demands for greater implementation of human rights policies. Of the various arguments voiced by Asian governments I shall focus on four: 1) that human rights are culture specific; 2) that community takes precedence over individuals; 3) that social-economic rights have priority over civil political rights, and 4) that the implementation of human rights should be respected as a matter of national sovereignty.
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05.24.07
Posted in History, miniblog, Social-Cultural Analysis at 11:07 pm by Kam Weng
The Reid Commission (1957)(Download PDF File) I) Report of the Federation of Malaya Constitutional Commission 1957 (London: Her Majesty’s Stationary Office) Colonial No. 330 3. The members of the Commission were appointed in the name of Her Majesty The Queen and Their Highnesses the Rulers with terms of reference as follows: “To examine the present [...]
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Posted in History, miniblog, Social-Cultural Analysis at 10:41 pm by Kam Weng
Whoever seeks to redefine our past seeks to hijack our future. In this regard, recent attempts to rewrite the history of the Social-Legal Contract created at the founding of Malaya/Malaysia in 1957 and our Constitutional history are troubling. These attempts at rewriting of history include two goals: 1) legitimize the transformation of Malaysian politics premised on equal citizenship of all Malaysians to one based on Malay dominance (supremacy) since 1969 (one may call it subversion of Malaysian democracy), and 2) to strengthen demands for implementation of Shariah law in all sectors of society.
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