This book challenges the church to ask whether or not the gospel as we commonly interpret it today really embodies the jubilee vision of the Bible. Imagine a group of forty adults living in a community, assisting each other to buy houses, sharing material wealth and releasing the surplus to help others as a practical outworking of the biblical principles of jubilee.Kim Tan was part of this group and in The Jubilee Gospel seeks to unpack these principles of sacrificial generosity, stewardship and social holiness.Starting with the OT principle of jubilee and tracing the themes through the Bible, we discover a way of living that reflects Gods justice and compassion and embraces kingdom politics and economics.What may seem buried deep in the early parts of the OT is brought up to date as were confronted by Jesus teaching and principles of wealth distribution, cancellation of debt, hospitality and storehouses.

On 10 July 2020, Singapore held its 18th general elections in history and the 13th since independence in 1965. The ruling People's Action Party (PAP) once again retained its supermajority by capturing 83 out of the 93 seats, controlling 89.2 percent of parliamentary seats. In spite of a changing social, political and economic landscape, Singapore is still very much identified as an illiberal democracy that has somehow thrived over the years.As the general elections was held during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were expectations that Singaporeans would overwhelmingly vote for the PAP government as the country was facing a serious crisis of a generation. The 'flight-to-safety' mode that some had expected in an election during a crisis, however, did not materialise. In the end, Singaporean voters decided to send a strong warning to the PAP that not all was well, with the opposition achieving its strongest gains since 1965, capturing 10 seats and an additional two Non-constituency Member of Parliament seats. The PAP's total votes dropped from 69.9 percent in 2015 to 61.2 percent in 2020. The rise of a credible opposition has also further strengthened Singaporeans' resolve to ensure that a fair-playing field exists in the political realm. With the highest voter turnout since independence, many have made it known that their voices mattered. The PAP also saw some cracks in its ranks, with some former cadre members and supporters being critical of the new fourth-generation team.Against this backdrop, this book hopes to address the following questions. What were the key issues in the general elections? Who were the main contenders in the polls? What accounted for the PAP's continued hold on power in Singapore? Why did the opposition perform much better than in the previous general elections? What are the main implications of the 2020 general elections results for the PAP, opposition and the broader society at large? How far have electoral issues shifted from 'bread and butter' concerns to much broader topics of social injustices and diversity of voices in parliament? What were some of the crucial talking points during this election? Last, but not least, how far did social media and internet campaigning determine the outcome of this election?

On 10 July 2020, Singapore held its 18th general elections in history and the 13th since independence in 1965. The ruling People's Action Party (PAP) once again retained its supermajority by capturing 83 out of the 93 seats, controlling 89.2 percent of parliamentary seats. In spite of a changing social, political and economic landscape, Singapore is still very much identified as an illiberal democracy that has somehow thrived over the years.As the general elections was held during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were expectations that Singaporeans would overwhelmingly vote for the PAP government as the country was facing a serious crisis of a generation. The 'flight-to-safety' mode that some had expected in an election during a crisis, however, did not materialise. In the end, Singaporean voters decided to send a strong warning to the PAP that not all was well, with the opposition achieving its strongest gains since 1965, capturing 10 seats and an additional two Non-constituency Member of Parliament seats. The PAP's total votes dropped from 69.9 percent in 2015 to 61.2 percent in 2020. The rise of a credible opposition has also further strengthened Singaporeans' resolve to ensure that a fair-playing field exists in the political realm. With the highest voter turnout since independence, many have made it known that their voices mattered. The PAP also saw some cracks in its ranks, with some former cadre members and supporters being critical of the new fourth-generation team.Against this backdrop, this book hopes to address the following questions. What were the key issues in the general elections? Who were the main contenders in the polls? What accounted for the PAP's continued hold on power in Singapore? Why did the opposition perform much better than in the previous general elections? What are the main implications of the 2020 general elections results for the PAP, opposition and the broader society at large? How far have electoral issues shifted from 'bread and butter' concerns to much broader topics of social injustices and diversity of voices in parliament? What were some of the crucial talking points during this election? Last, but not least, how far did social media and internet campaigning determine the outcome of this election?

The recent military coup in Myanmar perpetrated by the Tatmadaw has set the country back to the days of political uncertainty and military authoritarianism. This book examines how far the country has come since its nascent attempt at democratic reforms and democratisation in 2010.Each chapter considers some of the more prominent issues that have plagued Myanmar since political reforms started. First, there have been debates about the extent to which democratic reforms have been achieved since the Constitution was formalised in 2008. Second, what has been the significance of the three elections in 2010, 2015 and 2020? Third, how has the National League for Democracy transformed in the past decade? How far has the Union Solidarity and Development Party changed the political landscape? What roles did the Tatmadaw play in the last decade? Fourth, questions surrounding how the ethnic crisis, not least the Rohingya issue, have continued to dominate the country's political landscape in the last decade, thereby overshadowing its democratisation process.Finally, how far have these efforts at democracy demonstrated Myanmar's futile attempts at appeasing the domestic and international audience? Myanmar's relations with the global and regional community vis-a-vis the US, China, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have also taken a toll in the last decade. There is already a shift in power politics, especially with China determining the direction of Myanmar.Myanmar has been locked in a perpetual cycle transitioning between military authoritarianism and democratisation. These prevailing issues have led to a fragmented democracy and a lost opportunity to demonstrate its foray into a genuine democracy.

SO WHATS BEEN LOST? The zeal of the New Testament believers, and their practises too. Plus the freedom that comes from not being instituted. This book tells the story of the early church and Reformation - with a focus on the roots of the modern Baptist-Evangelical-Charismatic movement. *A gripping Account of how Christians of the first centuries dealt with the Roman state. *The compromise of the 'official' reformation of Luther and Calvin *Church - State relations, pacifism and civil disobedience *At every stage of history it asks whether this was the church Jesus intended to build and what are the lessons for today?

Whilst it is true that Jesus' parables are timeless, speaking to all people in all ages and cultures, they are essentially Middle Eastern stories set in a culture very different from our own. They really only make sense when understood in their oriental setting. Without seeing them as skilfully crafted oriental stories, we will miss their beauty and the impact of their message. This book sets out to ask the question: How did the original listeners understand the parables when they were first told by Jesus? It does this by setting the stories of Jesus in their cultural background and explaining the parables as they originally intended to be understood.

Nearly 50% of the world's population - almost 3 billion people - live on less than $2 a day. 10 million children die every year from easily preventable diseases. AIDS kills 3 million people every year and 1 billion people lack access to sanitation. About one-quarter of children in poor countries do not nish primary school and some 1 billion adults are illiterate. To date, the debate on tackling global poverty has been dominated by the case for providing more aid. The authors of this booklet certainly believe that foreign aid has a role to play in facing this challenge. However, here they voice the need for greater emphasis to be given to the part that business and enterprise can play in reducing poverty. In recent years China and India have proved dramatic examples of countries which have reformed their economies, opened up to trade and investment, embraced an enterprise culture, and lifted millions of their citizens out of poverty. Grif ths and Tan believe Africa has the same potential as Asia. Micro-credit has been a crucial rst step in directly helping the poor escape poverty. Using case studies they argue that social venture capital has the potential to become a new asset class and a critical second step to support the growth of small and medium sized enterprises in developing countries, so creating jobs and reducing poverty.