Nisha Rathode (Editor)

Timothy Tow

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Full Name
  
Tow Siang Hui

Name
  
Timothy Tow

Years active
  
1950-2009


Occupation
  
Pastor

Nationality
  
Singaporean

Died
  
April 20, 2009


Born
  
December 28, 1920 (
1920-12-28
)
Swatow, Guangdong, China

Education
  
BD, STM, Faith Theological Seminary DD, Shelton College

Religion
  
Christianity - Bible-Presbyterian

Spouse(s)
  
Nancy Loh (1940-1965) Ivy Tan (1966-2009)

Books
  
John Sung My Teacher

Rev dr timothy tow and rev dr prabhudas koshy in conversation december 2006


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.

Contents

Nhb interviews with the rev dr timothy tow 27 mar 9 dec 1988 part 9 of 11


Personal life

Tow was educated at the Anglo-Chinese School. 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 Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church. 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. He later returned to Faith Theological Seminary and completed a Master of Sacred Theology degree.

In 2003, Tow resigned from Life Bible-Presbyterian Church and founded True Life Bible-Presbyterian Church. 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, was sued in 2008 by Life Bible-Presbyterian Church for teaching this allegedly deviant 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. 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 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”; (ii) “[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 (iii) “[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."

Publications

  • John Sung My Teacher (1985) ISBN 9971-991-13-6
  • The Law of Moses and of Jesus (1986) ISBN 9971-991-15-2
  • Asian Awakening (1988) ISBN 981-05-3257-1
  • A Glimpse of the Life and Works of John Calvin (1993) ISBN 9971-991-29-2
  • William C. Burns: Grandfather of Bible-Presbyterians (1994) ISBN 9971-991-34-9
  • Pattern for Church Growth and Missions (1996) ISBN 981-00-7539-1
  • An Abridgement of Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion Book I-IV (1997) ISBN 981-00-9335-7
  • A Theology for Every Christian Book I: Knowing God and His Word (1998) co-authored with Jeffrey Khoo ISBN 981-04-0076-4
  • Theology for Every Christian: A Systematic Theology in the Reformed and Premillennial Tradition of J Oliver Buswell (2007) co-authored with Jeffrey Khoo ISBN 978-981-05-9034-5
  • References

    Timothy Tow Wikipedia