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Volume 16 Number 1, January 2010

A REVIEW OF THIO LI-ANN’S MIND THE GAP: CONTENDING FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS IN AN AGE OF LAWLESSNESS

Paul Ferguson

Dr Thio Li-ann is Professor of law at the National University of Singapore. She was educated at the University of Oxford, Harvard Law School and the University of Cambridge. In January 2007, she was appointed a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) in Singapore stepping down in 2009. In The Straits Times of 2 November 2007, she claims to have had "a life-changing experience with Jesus Christ" from being a "very, very arrogant" atheist in 1987.

Thio’s book—Mind the Gap¹—is written as a hard hitting polemic to catalyse Christians to take an active role in Singapore society by "contending for righteousness." Thio’s basic premise is that believers should "serve as responsible citizens and watchful stewards in seeking to beneficially influence public life to serve the common good" (28). She believes God is giving Christians, "the privilege of contending for righteousness, in an age of lawlessness" (356).

The author divides the book into four main parts: "Destiny Lost or Found?"; "The Call to Stand in the Gap"; "Identifying the Gap and Knowing How to Stand in It"; and "The Divine Assignment and Final Examination". From an overall perspective, the book is a challenging academic genre, but most readers should be able to follow the line of reasoning. The audiences who will enjoy this book most are likely those who appreciate logical analysis and lengthy quotations from a variety of authors. It probably suffers from trying to accomplish too many purposes and at times can appear unfocused. Notwithstanding this, Thio draws from a wide diversity of sources and has clearly thought through the issues from a Christian perspective and in application.

In the first section, Thio gives a useful theological presentation of the need to live a holy and pure life as a believer. She is to be commended for taking a clear biblical stand against sexual immorality, particularly that of homosexuality. The author warns that those who take such a stand need to be prepared for persecution, mocking, hatred, ostracism, and even threats to life. Thio’s argumentation is significant, as she speaks throughout with personal experience of taking unpopular public stances on these issues. She clearly applies her unique perspective as a law professor and former parliamentarian in formulating practical suggestions in responding to the threat of moral relativism.

Part Two is probably one of the best sections in the book, as Thio discusses the "moral barometer" of a nation and the corruption of sin. She maintains that the Bible teaches from examples such as Sodom and Gomorrah that there is a "threshold or spiritual tipping point" that once crossed inevitably brings divine judgment to any nation. It is pleasing that Thio unequivocally denounces false ministers by stating, "the attempt by some clergy to campaign for the recognition of the perversion of ‘same-sex marriage’ is evidence of a degenerating priesthood" (104).

In Part Three, Thio delineates how the spirit of lawlessness manifests in the "philosophy, morality and politics that shape our laws, systems and mindsets." She traces the genesis of lawlessness from the confrontation in Eden to the contemporary relativism that belligerently opposes Judeo-Christian morality in what she calls "the public square." The author boldly identifies the traits and agents of lawlessness. Particularly useful is Thio’s incisive dissection of the semantic gyrations and rhetorical tricks of relativists in distorting the truth and propagation of liberal agendas. For instance, she delineates how it is not hypocritical to support social norms as everyone draws a fixed line of morality at some point. No one supports the idea of society recognising any and all forms of social organisation. Thio cleverly shows how relativists simply draw a line at another place and shout "bigot" or "homophobe" at anyone who would draw a line at any other location on the floor. The book concludes in the final part by urging us to consider the differing responses by believers to the challenge of the spirit of lawlessness.

Despite its many worthwhile points, there were a number of theological areas that manifest concern. The author it should be recognised is a self-taught layperson rather than a professionally trained exegete. Thio appears to have embraced a form of the Charismatic "Kingdom Now" Theology. She advocates that believers be like Joshua and "possess the land promised to us" and to "facilitate the advancing kingdom of God" (356). In Thio’s view, Christians are "called to minister to their communities by promoting social welfare and the just ordering or relationships" (293). However, the Church is not responsible to usher in the Kingdom of God through political involvement, but to testify to God’s Kingdom by proclamation and a radically different life. Scripture nowhere teaches a believer to find common ground with an unbeliever. The work of legislative societal reformation is not the Church’s but Christ’s when He returns. Indeed, it is impossible to legislate righteousness. If we truly desire moral change in our society, we must give ourselves to the only biblically prescribed method for New Testament saints to facilitate this—the preaching of the gospel.

An equally problematic trend in the book was the tacit approval of charismatic gifts. Thio claims that speaking in tongues is a "very useful tool in intercession" as she argues, "it bypasses the mind because when one speaks in tongue, the mind (which can be prejudiced and filled with soulish thoughts) lies fallow" (359-360). This position she premised from passages such as Acts 2:4 and 1 Corinthians 12:10; 14:12. However, the speakers and listeners fully understand the tongues in Acts 2:4, which were an incidental convenience, albeit a miraculous one of 16 known languages, to the real purpose of leading three thousand to salvation. If genuine tongues speaking were truly existent today, it would be supernatural manifestations of other known languages. Another difficulty is that if tongues do not involve the mind, how can they ever be edifying to the speaker? Also, charismatics need to explain how if ecstatic utterances are non-cognitive why did the Apostle urge them to seek a translator? The tongues of 1 Corinthians 14 are presupposed by Paul as equivalent to those of Acts 2 for as Gordon Clark explained, "the word glossa can mean a tongue of land or a leathern thong, or the organ in one’s mouth; but it is very difficult, if not impossible, to find an instance in Greek where it means gibberish."²

Biblical tongues were not a prayer language and Paul cites Isaiah 28:11-15 to explain that "tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not" (1 Cor 14:22), namely apostate Jews who had made a covenant with death by rebelliously rejecting the Word of God. It should be noted that when Paul cites Old Testament precedent here he appeals both in the actual Old Testament context and by his choice of words, he is referring to human languages. There is no indication that they did not engage their minds, as bypassing of the mind is thoroughly unbiblical (Mark 12:30; John 4:23; 1 Cor 14:10). Such an existential leap might cause one to surrender one’s faculties to dangerous and evil influences. Thio undermines this position in another passage when she correctly posited "we must avoid thinking with our feelings and emotions" (42). Our mind, will, and emotions must always be connected to biblical truth and used together in worship to glorify God in doctrine, action, and affection. This is inter alia a salient reason for believers to reject worship that bypasses the mind such as contemporary Christian music and charismatic tongues. Such worship champions feeling, experience, and immediate gratification.

Despite the reservations I have expressed above, it is encouraging to note that such a book has been published by a leading Singaporean academic and former Parliamentarian. Prof Thio writes with a refreshing urgency and passion to see society rescued from immorality. She is to be commended for her courage and steadfastness in seeking to honour God’s Word against the accepted secular world views on vital moral issues facing her nation. All Singaporeans would benefit from reading this book.

¹ Thio Li-ann, Mind the Gap: Contending for Righteousness in an Age of Lawlessness (Singapore: Armour Publishing, 2009), 416pp.

² Gordon H Clark, First Corinthians (Jefferson: The Trinity Foundation, 1975), 219.

Dr Paul S Ferguson holds degrees from Queen’s University, Belfast (BSc), and King’s College, University of London (LLB), and Foundations Theological Seminary, Dunn, North Carolina (MRE, DRE), and is currently a ThD student at Far Eastern Bible College.

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