Doing Theology With The Festivals And Customs Of Asia

The Handbook of Theological Education in World Christianity is the first attempt to map and analyze developments in theological education on a global scale. This volume, with contributions from 98 leaders in theological education from around the world, provides a comprehensive introduction to the major themes and contexts in the international discourse on theological education, surveys of the issues and challenges faced in different regions, and introductory essays on the developments in the major denominational families in World Christianity. The editors are Dietrich Werner, World Council of Churches, Geneva; David Esterline, McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago; Namsoon Kang, Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth; and Joshva Raja, Queen's Foundation, Birmingham.

This volume is a study of Chinese populations in contemporary Southeast Asian societies. It addresses related issues in the light of themes of regional interdependence and international influence.

Efforts to construct a Christian theology of religions have inevitably stumbled on the Christian scandal of particularity-the historical Jesus of Nazareth. What, however, if we began by focusing on the universal presence and activity of God in the world as symbolized by the Holy Spirit? Yong develops just such a pneumatological approach to religions, drawing, by way of resource, on the Pentecostal-charismatic experience of the Spirit. This book thus invites Pentecostals, charismatics and other Christians to conceive of how a pneumatological approach to religions can invigorate the wider ecumenical conversation. At the same time, it also brings recent Pentecostal-charismatic scholarship into dialogue with a broader audience, including those interested in philosophical theology, world religions, global spiritualities, and comparative religion and theology.

Theologies of Power and Crisis provides a case study for Eric Wolf's research directive to better comprehend the interplay of cultural (webs of meaning) and material (webs of power) forms of social life. More specifically, the book demonstrates how theological discourse and practice engage with historical and material relations of power. It has been normative to speak of power in terms of political and economic processes and theology in terms of interpretive and symbolic experiences. This work breaks new ground by linking theological ideas with political-economic processes in terms of the structural relations of power. Ethnographically, this research investigates the theological processes of Hong Kong Chinese Christians during a period of significant social change and crisis, precipitated by the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997. It shows how local Christians and Christian institutions mediated the significant regional, national, and transnational forces of political-economic change by connecting theological practice to the structural relations of power. The Christian response was a contested process closely intertwined with the broader contested processes of social organization. This study develops an understanding of Christianity that goes beyond ecclesiastical hegemony to encompass struggles over human practice, meaning, and representation in relation to the changing political-economic context. These findings implicate religious ideas and practice as significant to an understanding of social inequalities and powerlessness by connecting ideologies to material conditions. Christian ideas may be used to legitimize an oppressive social order or they may be used to liberate those who are oppressed. Issues related to the policies and practice of development should take seriously the role of religious beliefs and practices.

V.1. Asia region 7th-20th centuries; South Asia; Austral Asia; v.2. Southeast Asia; v.3. Northeast Asia.