A Christian living in the minority(http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/10/24/1775420/a-christian-living-in-the-minority.html)
Malaysian minister speaks at Lenoir-Rhyne University, 24 October 2010
A small crowd gathered Oct. 14 in the McCrorie Center on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University to hear the Rev. Philip Lok Oi Peng, current bishop of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore.
Lok's topic was "What It Means to Be a Christian Living in a Muslim World."
In the Southeast Asian country of Malaysia, Christianity is a minority religion practiced by about 9 percent of the population. Islam is the official state religion; of the country's 28 million residents, about 56 percent are Muslims. The remainder includes Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, and members of various tribal religious groups. Adding to the country's religious diversity is its mix of races, languages and cultures, including Chinese, Indian, Malay, and several indigenous tribes.
The Rev. Dr. Carl Fisher of Charlotte introduced the 46-year-old Lok. Fisher is a former LCMS bishop. He and his wife Miriam Fisher were Christian missionaries in Malaysia from 1962 until 1977. Speaking about Lok, Fisher said he is a "first generation Christian," adding, "not that many years ago, Lok wasn't a Christian. Today, he leads a church."
Lok spoke about his Chinese heritage and explained that when Chinese people face a crisis, they see an opportunity. The challenges of working in a Muslim-controlled country are significant. Lok said, "The government began to implement more and more Islamic policies into the system," declaring two years ago that only Muslims could use the term Allah.Because Bibles printed in the Malay language include the term Allah (the Malay word for God is Allah), the government also pronounced Bibles and Bible printing illegal.
The church challenged the ban in court and won. (The Malaysian constitution guarantees freedom of religion.) "Our joy was short-lived," said Lok. "Two weeks later, eight churches were attacked and two burned by extremists." The culprits were caught and sentenced to five years in prison, but the matter is not over, Lok said, adding that the church did not retaliate. Instead, it spoke against any form of extremism.
Another challenge resulted when the Malaysian government prohibited the sharing of any religious doctrine or belief with a Muslim.
"If you were to even hand out an invitation to a Christian event to a Muslim, he can take you to court," Lok said. "So now, at the bottom of fliers, we write 'for non-Muslims only' just to protect the church. Of course we don't feel good about it."
Should a Muslim choose to convert out of Islam, he faces many difficulties, Lok said.
He loses privileges and benefits, such as receiving a 10 percent rebate after buying a house.
The convert may be forced to stay 90 days in a place, such as a home, where he is "talked to about conversion," Lok said.
Erecting a Christian church in Malaysia has become almost as impossible as talking freely to a Muslim about the Gospel.
Though the builders have the land and the money, the government may not allow the construction or may impose impossible restrictions.
Lok said a goal of the LCMS is to create ecumenical relationships among Malaysia's religious groups.
"The Muslims have not been willing to engage in this conversation," Lok said. "They feel that Islam has special status, and it will be lowered if they sit at the same table for discussion.
"To many of our non-Christian friends, Christianity is still very much a 'white man' religion. There is a great urgency for Christians in Malaysia to acquire a Malaysian identity."
One way is through music.
Instead of Malaysians singing western Christian music, they need their own music, "so our non-Christian friends won't look at our church as something from the West," Lok said.
Malaysia's Christians and Muslims normally live and work together as friends.
Lok said a few days after the eight churches were attacked, Muslims from a mosque next door to one of the attacked churches entered the church and "extended their hands and expressed sadness for what had happened."
Lok concluded the evening by talking about his own conversion to Christianity. He said in 1953, the Lutheran Church in America established churches in Malaysian villages, one of which was the community in which he was born and raised. At age 16, he chose to be baptized.
"To the Chinese, it's OK to go to church, but when you talk about baptism, it's the point of no return," he said.
When Lok resolved to become a pastor, his mother, who was not a Christian at the time, opposed his decision because she thought it meant he'd never get married.
Once she realized that was not the case, she was OK with it.
Lok said his mother came to him one day when she was 65 and asked, to follow him to church.
"She got baptized when she was 69," Lok said.
"We have adult baptism very regularly."
・Mary Canrobert is a freelance writer. Send story ideas to her by e-mail to MaryCanrobert@charter.net.
(End)
