Timothy Tow Explained

Timothy Tow Siang Hui
杜祥辉
Nationality:Singaporean
Birth Name:Tow Siang Hui
Birth Date:28 December 1920
Birth Place:Swatow, Guangdong, China
Years Active:1950-2009
Occupation:Pastor
Education:BD, STM, Faith Theological Seminary
DD, Shelton College
Ordained:August 1950
Religion:Christianity - Bible-Presbyterian
Spouse:Nancy Loh (1940-1965)
Ivy Tan (1938-2024)
Children:Jemima Tow Li Mi (1967-2021)

Timothy Tow Siang Hui (28 December 1920 – 20 April 2009) was a Singaporean pastor who founded the Bible-Presbyterian Church. He was also founding principal of the Far Eastern Bible College.[1]

Personal life

Tow was educated at the Anglo-Chinese School.[2] He was influenced first by John Sung, and later by Carl McIntire. He studied at Faith Theological Seminary and was ordained in Geneva in 1950 at a special meeting of the Philadelphia Presbytery of the Bible Presbyterian Church. Tow returned to Singapore and became pastor of the Life Church English Service at "Say Mia Tng Teck Khah" or Life Church Teck Khah (located at 144 Prinsep Street) which was later renamed Singapore Life Church.[3] In 1955, he led a group out of the Chinese Presbyterian Synod to form the Bible-Presbyterian Church. Tow's congregation became known as Life Bible-Presbyterian Church (Life BPC). He later returned to Faith Theological Seminary and completed a Master of Sacred Theology degree.[4]

In 2003, Tow resigned from Life BPC and founded True Life Bible-Presbyterian Church.[5] He had been criticized for holding to the doctrine of Verbal Plenary Preservation (VPP) and, together with the other directors of the Far Eastern Bible College (FEBC), was sued in 2008 by Life BPC for teaching this doctrine in the Church's attempt to evict the College from the Gilstead Road premises which had been shared by the two institutions from the outset.[6] However the Church failed as the Court of Appeal of Singapore, the apex court in the Singapore legal system, ruled on 26 April 2011 that (i)“the VPP doctrine is actually closely related to the VPI doctrine which both parties [i.e., FEBC and Life BPC] adhere to,” (rejecting Life BPC’s contention in [59] of the Court of Appeal Judgement that it is “an entirely different creature from the VPI doctrine");” (ii) “the College, in adopting the VPP doctrine, has not deviated from the fundamental principles which guide and inform the work of the College right from its inception, and as expressed in the Westminster Confession;” (iii) “[i]t is not inconsistent for a Christian who believes fully in the principles contained within the Westminster Confession (and the VPI [Verbal Plenary Inspiration] doctrine) to also subscribe to the VPP doctrine;” and (iv) “[i]n the absence of anything in the Westminster Confession that deals with the status of the apographs, we [the Court] hesitate to find that the verbal plenary preservation doctrine is a deviation from the principles contained within the Westminster Confession."[7] [8]

Publications

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tow . Timothy . A Word from the Founding Principal . . 3 September 2015.
  2. Web site: In Memoriam: Rev Dr Timothy Tow (1920 - 2009). Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church. 21 September 2015.
  3. Web site: Brief History of Singapore Life Church. Singapore Life Church. 26 October 2023.
  4. Web site: Our History . Quek Suan Yew . Calvary Pandan Bible-Presbyterian Church . 4 September 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150329183714/http://calvarypandan.sg/our-history/our-history-2 . 29 March 2015 .
  5. News: John . Arul . Church sues Bible college directors . 3 September 2015 . . 18 December 2008.
  6. Web site: Life Bible-Presbyterian Church v Khoo Eng Teck Jeffrey and others and another suit [2010] SGHC 187 ]. 4 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160827181802/http://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/laws-of-singapore/case-law/free-law/high-court-judgments/14206-life-bible-presbyterian-church-v-khoo-eng-teck-jeffrey-and-others-and-another-suit-2010-sghc-187 . 27 August 2016 . dead .
  7. Web site: Khoo Jeffrey and others v Life Bible-Presbyterian Church and others [2011] SGCA 18.]. Singapore Academy of Law, paras 94, 95 and 98. 24 September 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20170110135155/http://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/laws-of-singapore/case-law/free-law/court-of-appeal-judgments/14604-khoo-jeffrey-and-others-v-life-bible-presbyterian-church-and-others-2011-sgca-18. 10 January 2017. dead.
  8. See also Wikipedia's Khoo Jeffrey and others v Life Bible-Presbyterian Church and others.
  9. Book: Tow . Timothy . John Sung My Teacher . 1985 . Christian Life Publishers, 1985 . 9971-991-13-6 . 24 September 2016.
  10. Book: Tow . Timothy . The Law of Moses and Jesus . 1986 . Christian Life Publishers, 1986 . 9971-991-15-2 . 24 September 2016.
  11. Book: Tow . Timothy . Asian Awakening . 2005 . Far Eastern Bible College Press, 1988 . 981-05-3257-1 . 24 September 2016.
  12. Book: Tow . Timothy . A Glimpse of the Life and Works of John Calvin . 1993 . Christian Life Publishers, 1993 . 9971-991-29-2 . 24 September 2016.
  13. Book: Tow . Timothy . William C. Burns: Grandfather of Bible-Presbyterians . 1994 . Christian Life Publishers, 1994 . 9971-991-34-9 . 24 September 2016.
  14. Book: Tow, Timothy. . Pattern for Church Growth and Missions . 1996 . Far Eastern Bible College Press, 1996 . 981-00-7539-1 . 24 September 2016.
  15. Book: Tow, Timothy. . An Abridgement of Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion Book I-IV . 1997 . Far Eastern Bible College Press, 1997 . 981-00-9335-7 . 24 September 2016.
  16. Book: Tow, Timothy & Khoo, Jeffrey. A Theology for Every Christian Book I: Knowing God and His Word . 1998 . Far Eastern Bible College Press, 1998 . 981-04-0076-4. 24 September 2016.
  17. Book: Tow, Timothy & Khoo, Jeffrey . Theology for Every Christian: A Systematic Theology in the Reformed and Premillennial Tradition of J Oliver Buswell . 2007 . Far Eastern Bible College Press, 2007 . 978-981-05-9034-5 . 24 September 2016.
  18. Book: Tow . Timothy . Born Again in the Singapore Pentecost . Christian Life Publishers, 1993 . 9971-991-30-6 . 24 September 2016.
  19. Book: Tow . Timothy . The Singapore B-P Church Story . 1995 . Life Book Centre, 1995 . 978-9810070571 . 24 September 2016.
  20. Book: Tow . Timothy . The Story of My Bible-Presbyterian Faith . 1999 . Far Eastern Bible College Press, 1999 . 981-04-1071-9 . 24 September 2016.
  21. Book: Tow . Timothy . Son of A Mother's Vow . 2001 . FEBC Bookroom, 2001 . 981-04-2907-X . 24 September 2016.

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