True Jesus Church in Malaysia
Encyclopedia
The True Jesus Church was first preached into Malaysia in 1926 when a deacon of the True Jesus Church in Singapore
named John Voon handed out a copy of the Holy Spirit News (聖靈報), published by the Nanjing
True Jesus Church General Assembly, to friend named En-fook Tsen in Kota Kinabalu
, Sabah
. However Tsen was an overseas Chinese
businessman pre-occupied with his work and lacked the time to glean over the material, hence he redirected it to a Sandakan
friend named Siak-lin Lee.
Siak-lin Lee was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church and asfter carefully examining the Holy Spirit News, he was deeply moved. As a result of his eagerness to seek the truth, he boarded a ship headed for Singapore
to search for the True Jesus Church
and throughout the whole journey he enquired for the whereabouts of the church. After his encounter with deacon Voon and a period of examining their teachings he received baptism on 11 January 1927; three days later he received the Holy Spirit
.
At the same time, with consent of Elder Tan and deacon Voon, he headed back to Sandakan
to preach the gospel. In this way the first True Jesus Church in Sandakan was formed in 1927. In 1932, they sent deacon Philip Tyan to represent the church in Malaysia at the Eighth Delegates Conference held in Shanghai
.
Japanese Occupation of Malaysia
, chuches were also established in other parts of Peninsular Malaysia from 1940 to 1950. The church also has congregations amongst the Malaysian Tamils
and the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia
.
As of 2008 there are churches and prayer houses in the following states:
during 1927, the local Protestant denominations such as the Seventh-day Adventists, the Basel Church
and the Presbyterians
began to panic because they had already heard of the True Jesus Church's evangelizing efforts on the Mainland and their emphasis on the Holy Spirit. However, due to the fact that their home councils in Britain and North America had previously issued a statement condemning the Pentecostal movement in 1915, the local pastors warned their local congregations: "My fellow brethren, do not deceived by the false prophets of the false christ, they use hypnosis and obstruct the truth."
Despite this, some Christians were still eager to inquire further on what they were preaching, and the attendance during night services averaged sixty seven people. Later, thirty-nine people were willing to receive baptism with immersion and three of them received the Holy Spirit that day.
When their evangelisation efforts reached Sabah, the TJC Elder Chen Chien-hsin became involved in a debate with an English Pastor, whose adopted Chinese name Mashun As they were debating, a certain pastor named Mark Chen also watched closely on the sidelines and was convinced that the TJC was preaching the truth and received baptism. After the debate, Pastor Mashun was angered and from then on, he sought ways to hinder the work of this fledgling group.
According to the regulations of the Sandakan Port during that period, a license had to be obtained from the local government in order to legally evangelise. However the TJC Elder Chen Chien-hsin did not obtain the license in advance and, despite bravely preached for several days, the local government still did not make any remarks. Upon seeing this, pastor Mashun became alarmed because he noticed that the TJC converts were increasing daily whereas the Seventh-day Adventist congregation were reducing daily. Since his salary was assessed on the congregation attendance, Mashun devised a plan to expel those preachers.
Since Mark Chen was residng at a rented house, Mashun informed the landlord that the men were carrying out unlawful preaching activities and as a result, Mark Chen was denied further residence there and had to seek accommodation at the houses of the new converts, whom had also provided a school facility for him to teach.
The English pastor Mashun and a Chinese named Jiang Ming-han could not bear this any further and reported to the authorities claiming that Mark Chen, Siak-lin Lee and others were stirring up a rebellion and as a result, Mark was arrested around 1 pm at 11 April and thrown into prison. However since Siak-lin Lee was a member of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and had several investment funds in the area, the government feared that his arrest could lead to negative impacts, hence they decided to arrest Mark Chen first.
The local government had also issued new legislation which stated that any Chinese accused of sedition would be imprisoned and re-offenders would be deported. Mark Chen was imprisoned for over ten days, and he decided to undertake a fast as soon as he entered prison. The prison guard that he refused to eat at every meal so he noticed the Police officer. The police officer thought that it was because the prison food
was not of good taste and feared that Mark might die in prison. Hence he notified the church members and allowed them to bring food to him. On careful observation, the police officer discovered Mark Chen's Bible
and started asking him questions which made him realise that Mark was imprisoned due to religious jealousy and from then onwards, mark was given preferential treatment.
During the days of Mark's imprisonment, the Sandakan church prayed fervently for Mark and also prayed for God to forgive his persecutors, Pastor Mashun and Jiang Hou-ming, for their sins of ignorance. These events soon drew the attention of the political authorities, and they secretly sent spies to attend the church services to examine their movements to see if the accusations contained any substance. Then they understood that this was just a religious issue, that the TJC were preaching according to the biblical truths, the brethren showed love towards newcomers. They also noticed that despite the current hardship, they did not bear any resentment, and still persisted in their religious devotion. Once all this was reported to the city populace, the public citizens soon knew of what really happened and became outraged. The city populace rebuked the local Seventh-day adventist church for their false rumours and biased accusations, and severely reprimanded pastor Mashun and Jiang Hou-min as the big sinners of the devil. Whenever the two of them walked on the streets, members of the public would mock them and shout the public opinion towards them. Even their own Seventh-day adventist members began labelling pastor Mashun and Jiang Hou-min as deceivers.
Because the public protests and unrest had been sparked by this incident and was increasing daily, the members of the Colonial Government — of the Governor
, the Colonial Secretary
, the General, the Chief Secretary for Administration
, the Chamber of Commerce
, and the Business Kapitan
— held a temporary emergency meeting on 20 April 1927 to speedily determine whether this was an act of sedition or simply religious matters only and how this issue should be dealt with under the public law because they could not ascertain what had really happpened. The two topics of religion
or sedition
were considered to be important political issues because it related to the Freedom of Religion Act and the Sedition Act
. The governing authorities feared that if the accusations against the TJC evangelists turned out to be a false rumour and that they were persecuted due to religion factors, then it might lead to a religious war like that of the crusades. On the other hand, if it was confirmed to be an act of sedition, then the perpetrators ought to be severely dealt with. Shortly afterwards they took note of all this and sent police detectives to report on all aspects of their activities. After undertaking intense inquiries from the Chinese Kapitan
, the Chamber of Commerce and a list of others, they ascertained that the claims of sedition were unsubstantiated and that the accusations had originated from the jealousy of the Seventh-day adventist pastor Mashun. They also confirmed that the TJC's activities were specifically for missionary work that was beneficial to the hearts of mankind, and that they do not involve themselves in foreign or political affairs at all. Therefore they released Mark Chen and permitted him to continue preaching in that location and gave him the freedom to build chapels.
tribe named Dusun
, preached the gospel into the mountainous region of Wangkod and thereby established the first Dusun church with brother James ordained as deacon
to pastor the church. Numerous church prayer houses were also formed near the vicinity and church dedication ceremonies were conducted in an area whenever the number of believers attained a sufficient level.
In early 1958, a man named Sahoh, who belonged to the Murut
tribe located in Sungei Paal fell seriously ill, and hence the tribesman urgently invited deacon Philip to come to the interior regions. Deacon Philip, after preaching the gospel to Sahoh, interceded for him through the laying on of hands
and miraculously he was no longer spitting out blood
; a few days later his sickness was totally cured.
In this way, Sahoh believed in the Lord and a prayer house was formed at his house. This charismatic movement soon spread throughout the whole village, many signs and miracles were manifested. After a surge in the number of believers, deacon Thomas Chew and ten other fellow co-workers came to Sungei Paal and built a church chapel.
True Jesus Church in Singapore
The True Jesus Church is a nontrinitarian Christian denomination begun in China, growing out of the Pentecostal movement. Since its foundation it has spread to other countries including Singapore....
named John Voon handed out a copy of the Holy Spirit News (聖靈報), published by the Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
True Jesus Church General Assembly, to friend named En-fook Tsen in Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu , formerly known as Jesselton, is the capital of Sabah state in East Malaysia. It is also the capital of the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. The Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park lies on one side and Mount...
, Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
. However Tsen was an overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
businessman pre-occupied with his work and lacked the time to glean over the material, hence he redirected it to a Sandakan
Sandakan
Sandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo. It is located on the east coast of the island and it is the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo...
friend named Siak-lin Lee.
Siak-lin Lee was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church and asfter carefully examining the Holy Spirit News, he was deeply moved. As a result of his eagerness to seek the truth, he boarded a ship headed for Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
to search for the True Jesus Church
True Jesus Church
The True Jesus Church is a non-denominational Christian church that originated in Beijing, China, in 1917. The current elected chairman of the TJC International Assembly is Preacher Yong-Ji Lin. Today, there are approximately 2.5 million members in fifty three countries and six continents...
and throughout the whole journey he enquired for the whereabouts of the church. After his encounter with deacon Voon and a period of examining their teachings he received baptism on 11 January 1927; three days later he received the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
.
At the same time, with consent of Elder Tan and deacon Voon, he headed back to Sandakan
Sandakan
Sandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo. It is located on the east coast of the island and it is the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo...
to preach the gospel. In this way the first True Jesus Church in Sandakan was formed in 1927. In 1932, they sent deacon Philip Tyan to represent the church in Malaysia at the Eighth Delegates Conference held in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
.
Peninsular Malaysia
The churches in Penang and Ipoh were established in 1928 by Deacon Ng, followed by the churches in Kuala Lumpur and Kajang between 1930 and 1931. Despite persecution during the World War TwoPacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
Japanese Occupation of Malaysia
Japanese occupation of Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak
Throughout much of World War II, British Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak were under Japanese occupation.The Japanese Empire commenced the Pacific War with the invasion of Kota Bahru in Kelantan on 8 December 1941 at 00:25, about 90 minutes before the Attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii at 07:48 on 7...
, chuches were also established in other parts of Peninsular Malaysia from 1940 to 1950. The church also has congregations amongst the Malaysian Tamils
Tamil Malaysians
Tamil Malaysian or Malaysian Tamil refer to the Malaysians of Tamil ethnic origin from India and Sri Lanka in Malaysia. They make up over 70% of the Indian Malaysian population group in Malaysia...
and the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia
Orang Asli
Orang Asli , is a generic Malaysian term used for people indigenous to Peninsular Malaysia...
.
As of 2008 there are churches and prayer houses in the following states:
- Northern RegionPenangPenang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
: KulimKulimKulim is the third largest town in Kedah after Alor Star and Sungai Petani is located at the South East of Kedah state and East of Penang state in Malaysia. Kulim is a district consist of 15 smaller sub-districts also known as "mukim"...
, PenangPenangPenang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
, Padang SeraiPadang SeraiPadang Serai is a small town in Kulim district, Kedah, Malaysia. The town is located between Kuala Ketil and Lunas.There are few villages such as Kg Teluk Binu, Kg Sidam Kanan, Kg Sentosa, Permatang Durian and some estates like Ladang Bukit Selarong, Ladang Nagalilit....
, Alor Setar, Sungai PetaniSungai PetaniSungai Petani is a town in the state of Kedah, in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. Sungai Petani is the second largest town in Kedah after Alor Star.-Etmylogy:...
, Bayan BaruBayan BaruBayan Baru is a township located in Penang, Malaysia. The town is located near Bayan Lepas, where the Penang International Airport is located. It is next to the Bayan Lepas Free Trade Zone. The town is part of the Penang Cybercity Phase 1, which was obtained in 2005. The town features the Pantai...
, ButterworthButterworth- People with the surname :* Arthur Butterworth , English composer* Bob Butterworth, former Florida attorney general* Brad Butterworth , yachtsman from New Zealand...
. - PerakPerakPerak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
: Ayer TawarAyer TawarAyer Tawar is a small town of 30,000 people in the district of Manjung, state of Perak, Malaysia. Ayer Tawar literally means "fresh water" in the Malay language, although the word "Tawar" on its own means tasteless...
, BerchamBerchamBercham is a suburb of Ipoh next to the North-South Expressway in Perak, Malaysia. It is located between the Ipoh South Interchange of North-South Expressway and Ipoh city. It is near Ipoh Garden, Tasek, Tambun and Tanjung Rambutan. There are a number of housing estates in Bercham. Bercham began...
, Chendrong, IpohIpohIpoh is the capital city of Perak state, Malaysia. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway....
, Kampong Koh, Sungai SiputSungai SiputSungai Siput is a town and also a parliamentary constituency in Kuala Kangsar district, Perak, Malaysia. Since the recent Malaysian general election of 8 March 2008, this parliamentary constituency is represented by Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, from Pakatan Rakyat Party, in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower...
, KamparKampar, PerakKampar Kampar Kampar (Chinese:金宝） is a town in the state of Perak, Malaysia. Founded in 1887, the town lies within the Kinta Valley and located in the newly-created Kampar District, an area rich with tin reserves. It was a tin mining town which boomed during the height of the tin mining industry....
, BidorBidorBidor is a small town in the district of Batang Padang, Perak, Malaysia. Chinese name is 美罗.-Geography:Bidor is located between Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur via the North-South Expressway...
, Cameron HighlandsCameron HighlandsThe Cameron Highlands is one of Malaysia’s most extensive hill stations. It covers an area of .To the north, its boundary touches that of Kelantan; to the west, it shares part of its border with Perak....
. - Central RegionsKuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
: Cheras, GombakGombakGombak is a district located in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. The district was created on February 1, 1974, the same day when Kuala Lumpur was declared a Federal Territory. Until 1997, Rawang was the district capital; the capital has been moved to Bandar Baru Selayang. Gombak borders Kuala...
, KlangKlangKlang , formerly known as Kelang, is the royal city and former capital of the state of Selangor, Malaysia. It is located within the Klang District in Klang Valley. It is located about 32 km to the west of Kuala Lumpur and 6 km east of Port Klang...
, Petaling JayaPetaling JayaPetaling Jaya is a Malaysian city originally developed as a satellite township for Kuala Lumpur comprising mostly residential and some industrial areas. It is located in the Petaling district of Selangor with an area of approximately 97.2 km². On 20 June 2006, Petaling Jaya was granted a...
, KajangKajangKajang, is a town in the eastern part of Selangor, Malaysia. Kajang is the district capital of Hulu Langat. It is located from of Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur.The current locational gravity of growth in Kajang would be Sungai Chua...
, Kajang Utama, Subang JayaSubang JayaSubang Jaya is a suburban city in the Klang Valley, Selangor, Malaysia. It comprises the southern third of the district of Petaling, and is home to a third of the district population of 1.78 million. Subang Jaya comprises , Bandar Sunway, UEP Subang Jaya, Putra Heights and Batu Tiga...
, KepongKepongKepong is a major township in the borders Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, located about 6 km from the KLCC, to the south of Sungai Buloh, to the east of Bukit Lanjan, to the west of Selayang and to the north of Jalan Duta. The main access roads to Kepong are Damansara-Puchong Expressway, Jalan...
, Rawang, Sungai LongBandar Sungai LongBandar Sungai Long is a main township in Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia. The Tunku Abdul Rahman University operates a campus in Bandar Sungai Long. It is currently under the administration of local council Majlis Perbandaran Kajang ....
, MentakabMentakabMentakab is a main town in Pahang, Malaysia, originally known as Pasir Rawa. It is close to Temerloh, Lanchang, Kampung Tualang, Kampung Gantok, Mengkarak and Kerdau. Mentakab was once considered by the State Government in the year 1901 to be the new centre of all administrative works in the...
, KuantanKuantanKuantan is the state capital of Pahang, the 3rd largest state in Malaysia. It is situated near the mouth of the Kuantan River and faces the South China Sea. If one measures the distance along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, it is located roughly halfway between Singapore and Kota Bharu...
, Kota Bahru. - Southern RegionsMalaccaMalacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
: Johor BahruJohor BahruJohor Bahru is the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia. Johor Bahru is the southernmost city of the Eurasian mainland...
, SkudaiSkudaiSkudai is a rapidly expanding suburb of Johor Bahru, the largest city in and the capital of the state of Johor in southern Malaysia. Skudai is part of the new growth corridor of southwest Johor, which includes the Senai International Airport, Tanjung Pelepas Port and the proposed new...
, Batu PahatBatu PahatBatu Pahat is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It lies south-east of Muar, south-west of Kluang, north-west of Pontian, and south of Segamat and the new Ledang district. The capital of the district is Bandar Penggaram, Batu Pahat....
, Desa Terbau, Melaka, SerembanSerembanSeremban is the capital of the Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan, located within the district of Seremban, one of the seven districts of Negeri Sembilan. The town's administration is run by the Seremban Municipal Council or Majlis Perbandaran Seremban...
, BahauBahauBahau is the principal town of Jempol district, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. The name Bahau is believed to have been derived from a Chinese phrase...
, Port DicksonPort DicksonPort Dickson or PD to locals is a beach and holiday destination situated about 32 km from Seremban and 90 km from Kuala Lumpur. It is located in the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia...
.
Persecution of the church in Sandakan
As Siak-lin Lee was actively preaching to the Chinese Christians in SabahSabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
during 1927, the local Protestant denominations such as the Seventh-day Adventists, the Basel Church
Basel Christian Church of Malaysia
The Basel Christian Church of Malaysia or BCCM is one of the four Lutheran bodies in Malaysia. It currently has 112 congregations nationwide and 59,500 baptized members.The current bishop of the Basel Christian Church in Malaysia is the Rev. Dr...
and the Presbyterians
Presbyterian Church in Malaysia
The Presbyterian Church in Malaysia or GPM is a Christian church in Malaysia. Established as an independent synod in 1974, it currently has approximately 7,000 members in 100 congregations nationwide .The current Moderator of the GPM is the Rev...
began to panic because they had already heard of the True Jesus Church's evangelizing efforts on the Mainland and their emphasis on the Holy Spirit. However, due to the fact that their home councils in Britain and North America had previously issued a statement condemning the Pentecostal movement in 1915, the local pastors warned their local congregations: "My fellow brethren, do not deceived by the false prophets of the false christ, they use hypnosis and obstruct the truth."
Despite this, some Christians were still eager to inquire further on what they were preaching, and the attendance during night services averaged sixty seven people. Later, thirty-nine people were willing to receive baptism with immersion and three of them received the Holy Spirit that day.
When their evangelisation efforts reached Sabah, the TJC Elder Chen Chien-hsin became involved in a debate with an English Pastor, whose adopted Chinese name Mashun As they were debating, a certain pastor named Mark Chen also watched closely on the sidelines and was convinced that the TJC was preaching the truth and received baptism. After the debate, Pastor Mashun was angered and from then on, he sought ways to hinder the work of this fledgling group.
According to the regulations of the Sandakan Port during that period, a license had to be obtained from the local government in order to legally evangelise. However the TJC Elder Chen Chien-hsin did not obtain the license in advance and, despite bravely preached for several days, the local government still did not make any remarks. Upon seeing this, pastor Mashun became alarmed because he noticed that the TJC converts were increasing daily whereas the Seventh-day Adventist congregation were reducing daily. Since his salary was assessed on the congregation attendance, Mashun devised a plan to expel those preachers.
Since Mark Chen was residng at a rented house, Mashun informed the landlord that the men were carrying out unlawful preaching activities and as a result, Mark Chen was denied further residence there and had to seek accommodation at the houses of the new converts, whom had also provided a school facility for him to teach.
The English pastor Mashun and a Chinese named Jiang Ming-han could not bear this any further and reported to the authorities claiming that Mark Chen, Siak-lin Lee and others were stirring up a rebellion and as a result, Mark was arrested around 1 pm at 11 April and thrown into prison. However since Siak-lin Lee was a member of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and had several investment funds in the area, the government feared that his arrest could lead to negative impacts, hence they decided to arrest Mark Chen first.
The local government had also issued new legislation which stated that any Chinese accused of sedition would be imprisoned and re-offenders would be deported. Mark Chen was imprisoned for over ten days, and he decided to undertake a fast as soon as he entered prison. The prison guard that he refused to eat at every meal so he noticed the Police officer. The police officer thought that it was because the prison food
Prison food
Prison food refers to the meals served to prisoners while incarcerated in correctional institutions. While some prisons prepare their own food, many use staff from on-site catering companies.-United States:...
was not of good taste and feared that Mark might die in prison. Hence he notified the church members and allowed them to bring food to him. On careful observation, the police officer discovered Mark Chen's Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and started asking him questions which made him realise that Mark was imprisoned due to religious jealousy and from then onwards, mark was given preferential treatment.
During the days of Mark's imprisonment, the Sandakan church prayed fervently for Mark and also prayed for God to forgive his persecutors, Pastor Mashun and Jiang Hou-ming, for their sins of ignorance. These events soon drew the attention of the political authorities, and they secretly sent spies to attend the church services to examine their movements to see if the accusations contained any substance. Then they understood that this was just a religious issue, that the TJC were preaching according to the biblical truths, the brethren showed love towards newcomers. They also noticed that despite the current hardship, they did not bear any resentment, and still persisted in their religious devotion. Once all this was reported to the city populace, the public citizens soon knew of what really happened and became outraged. The city populace rebuked the local Seventh-day adventist church for their false rumours and biased accusations, and severely reprimanded pastor Mashun and Jiang Hou-min as the big sinners of the devil. Whenever the two of them walked on the streets, members of the public would mock them and shout the public opinion towards them. Even their own Seventh-day adventist members began labelling pastor Mashun and Jiang Hou-min as deceivers.
Because the public protests and unrest had been sparked by this incident and was increasing daily, the members of the Colonial Government — of the Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
, the Colonial Secretary
Chief Secretary
The Chief Secretary is the title of a senior civil servant in members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and, historically, in the British Empire. Prior to the dissolution of the colonies, the Chief Secretary was the second most important official in a colony of the British Empire after the...
, the General, the Chief Secretary for Administration
Chief Secretary for Administration
The Chief Secretary for Administration , commonly known as Chief Secretary and abbreviated as CS, is the second highest position of the Hong Kong Government...
, the Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
, and the Business Kapitan
Kapitan China
Kapitan Cina or Capitan China was originally a Portuguese title for the representative of a Chinese enclave. The 15th century rulers of Southeast Asia, such as Melaka and Banten , chose to deal with a single individual from each ethnic group under their rule...
— held a temporary emergency meeting on 20 April 1927 to speedily determine whether this was an act of sedition or simply religious matters only and how this issue should be dealt with under the public law because they could not ascertain what had really happpened. The two topics of religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
or sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
were considered to be important political issues because it related to the Freedom of Religion Act and the Sedition Act
Sedition Act (Malaysia)
The Sedition Act in Malaysia is a law prohibiting discourse deemed as seditious. The act was originally enacted by the colonial authorities of British Malaya in 1948...
. The governing authorities feared that if the accusations against the TJC evangelists turned out to be a false rumour and that they were persecuted due to religion factors, then it might lead to a religious war like that of the crusades. On the other hand, if it was confirmed to be an act of sedition, then the perpetrators ought to be severely dealt with. Shortly afterwards they took note of all this and sent police detectives to report on all aspects of their activities. After undertaking intense inquiries from the Chinese Kapitan
Kapitan China
Kapitan Cina or Capitan China was originally a Portuguese title for the representative of a Chinese enclave. The 15th century rulers of Southeast Asia, such as Melaka and Banten , chose to deal with a single individual from each ethnic group under their rule...
, the Chamber of Commerce and a list of others, they ascertained that the claims of sedition were unsubstantiated and that the accusations had originated from the jealousy of the Seventh-day adventist pastor Mashun. They also confirmed that the TJC's activities were specifically for missionary work that was beneficial to the hearts of mankind, and that they do not involve themselves in foreign or political affairs at all. Therefore they released Mark Chen and permitted him to continue preaching in that location and gave him the freedom to build chapels.
Evangelizing amongst the indigenous areas
Shortly after the dedication of the Tuaran church, a certain church sister named Lumbihan Gimpit, whom belonged to an indigenous BorneoBorneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
tribe named Dusun
Dusun
Dusun is the collective name of a tribe or ethnic and linguistic group in the Malaysian state of Sabah of North Borneo. Due to similarities in culture and language with the Kadazan ethnic group, a new unified term called "Kadazan-Dusun" was created. Collectively, they form the largest ethnic group...
, preached the gospel into the mountainous region of Wangkod and thereby established the first Dusun church with brother James ordained as deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
to pastor the church. Numerous church prayer houses were also formed near the vicinity and church dedication ceremonies were conducted in an area whenever the number of believers attained a sufficient level.
In early 1958, a man named Sahoh, who belonged to the Murut
Murut
Murut may refer to:* Murut people, an ethnic group of the northern inland regions of Borneo* Murutic languages or Murut languages, spoken by those people* Tagol Murut language, the most widely spoken of the Murutic languages* Murut, Azerbaijan, a village...
tribe located in Sungei Paal fell seriously ill, and hence the tribesman urgently invited deacon Philip to come to the interior regions. Deacon Philip, after preaching the gospel to Sahoh, interceded for him through the laying on of hands
Laying on of hands
The laying on of hands is a religious ritual that accompanies certain religious practices, which are found throughout the world in varying forms....
and miraculously he was no longer spitting out blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
; a few days later his sickness was totally cured.
In this way, Sahoh believed in the Lord and a prayer house was formed at his house. This charismatic movement soon spread throughout the whole village, many signs and miracles were manifested. After a surge in the number of believers, deacon Thomas Chew and ten other fellow co-workers came to Sungei Paal and built a church chapel.
See also
- Christianity in MalaysiaChristianity in MalaysiaChristianity in Malaysia is a minority religion practised by 9.1% of the population , most living in East Malaysia. The major Christian denominations in Malaysia include the Anglicans, Baptists, Brethrens, non-denominational churches, independent Charismatic churches, Lutherans, Methodists,...