Frontiers In Asian Christian Theology

The most important emerging themes and voices engaged in Asian Christian theology today. Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology provides the latest extension of interpretive trends reflected in earlier volumes, now unavailable, such as the classic Living Theology in Asia. Arranged thematically, Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology first captures the ongoing dialogue between the dominant theologies of Asia and the continent's subalterns: women, tribals, and untouchables such as Indian dalits and Japanese burakumin. These essayists--including Kuribayashi Teruo, Arvind P. Nirmal, Nirmal Minz, and Chung Hyun Kyung--share the experience of those people who are treated as invisible non-entities who recover self-identity and self-validation in theological expression. The next group of essayists--among them Peter K. H. Lee, Choi Man Ja, Jyoti Sahi, Archie Lee Chi Chung, and Samuel Rayan--provide a wealth of stunning interpretive data in the uniquely Asian method of extra-textual hermeneutics. This perspective weaves Asian literary and non-literary resources into theology. Third, Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology offers examples of the narrative theology that is also a cultural outgrowth of Asia, including writings by Aloysius Pieris, Kwok Pui Lan, M. M. Thomas, Astrid Lobo Gajiwala, and Stanley J. Samartha. Their highly personal stories directly integrate lived experience with theology, which, as Sugirtharajah points out, is a prerequisite for any vibrant, dynamic theology. Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology concludes with essays that document some crucial contemporary issues for Asian theology. These include Wang Hsien Chi on Taiwanese homeland theology, Noh Jung Sun on Korean reunification, Felix Wilfred on human rights, Samuel Rayan on the environmental crisis, and Tissa Balasuriya on the responsibilities of the theologian in contexts of ethnic conflict.

The most important emerging themes and voices engaged in Asian Christian theology today. Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology provides the latest extension of interpretive trends reflected in earlier volumes, now unavailable, such as the classic Living Theology in Asia. Arranged thematically, Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology first captures the ongoing dialogue between the dominant theologies of Asia and the continent's subalterns: women, tribals, and "untouchables" such as Indian dalits and Japanese burakumin. These essayists - including Kuribayashi Teruo, Arvind P. Nirmal, Nirmal Minz, and Chung Hyun Kyung - share the experience of those people who are treated as invisible non-entities who recover self-identity and self-validation in theological expression. The next group of essayists - among them Peter K. H. Lee, Choi Man Ja, Jyoti Sahi, Archie Lee Chi Chung, and Samuel Rayanprovide a wealth of stunning interpretive data in the uniquely Asian method of extra-textual hermeneutics. This perspective weaves Asian literary and non-literary resources into theology. Third, Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology offers examples of the narrative theology that is also a cultural outgrowth of Asia, including writings by Aloysius Pieris, Kwok Pui Lan, M. M. Thomas, Astrid Lobo Gajiwala, and Stanley J. Samartha. Their highly personal stories directly integrate lived experience with theology, which, as Sugirtharajah points out, is a prerequisite for any vibrant, dynamic theology. Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology concludes with essays that document some crucial contemporary issues for Asian theology. These include Wang Hsien Chi on Taiwanese homeland theology, Noh Jung Sun on Koreanreunification, Felix Wilfred on human rights, Samuel Rayan on the environmental crisis, and Tissa Balasuriya on the responsibilities of the theologian in contexts of ethnic conflict.

Asian Christian Theology provides a survey of contextually reflective, robustly evangelical theology for students to engage with the core doctrines of Christianity and their outworking in different cultures across Asia. The contributors of the chapters come from all corners of Asia to systematically examine traditional doctrinal themes and contemporary concerns for the Asian church. Ideal for use as a companion textbook in Asian seminaries and institutions, this book will also provide excellent further reading for those outside of Asia seeking global theological perspectives, and for those in contexts of significant Asian diaspora. Many excellent books surveying theology exist, but this book is a major step forward for students and scholars seeking to understand the dynamic environment of evangelical theology in Asia.

Preliminary Material -- Preface -- An Overview: Asian and Oceanic Christianity in an Age of World Christianity /M. Thomas Thangaraj -- An Asian Journey Seeking Christian Wholeness: Owning Up to Our Own Metaphors (Theotao) /Heup Young Kim -- Contextualized and Cumulative: Tradition, Orthodoxy and Identity from the Perspective of Asian Theology /Anri Morimoto -- An Asian Christian? Or a Christian Asian? Or an Asian-Christian?: A Roman Catholic Experiment on Christian Identity /Peter C. Phan -- Texts and Terrorism: Communal Strife, Sacred Scriptures and Secular Stories /R.S. Sugirtharajah -- The Economy of God-talk in Asia: A Cultural Materialist Critique /Angela Wai Ching Wong -- Pacifism: its Frustration and an Alternative /Hisako Kinukawa -- The Guide Who Stands Aside: Confessing Christ in India Today /J. Jayakiran Sebastian -- Blessed are the Peacemakers: The Search for an East Asian Reading /Benoît Vermander -- Reimagining Home: a Diasporic Perspective on Encounters with the Religious Other in Australia /Seforosa Carroll -- Emerging Theology on an Asian Frontier: History and the Future of Memories in West Papua, Indonesia /Charles E. Farhadian -- Pasifika Secrets /Jione Havea -- Learning to Speak a New Tongue: Imagining a Way That Holds People Together /Fumitaka Matsuoka -- About the authors -- Index of Names.

"This Handbook explores the world of Asian Christianity and its manifold expressions such as worship, theology, spirituality, inter-religious relations, interventions in society, and mission"--

"While the intent of the editors is to honor Steve Bevans, SVD, a towering figure in the field of missiology and a longtime author of Orbis books on missiology, this book will be designed less as a festschrift than as a textbook for classroom use. Designed around the three main foci of Bevans' theology (mission, contextual theologies, and dialogical theory), it will appeal to teachers of courses in Christian mission, theological method, contextual theologies, and contemporary Third World theologies. The contributors are a who's who of contemporary mission studies in a global context, including representatives from various Christian traditions and from throughout the global church"--

In this exciting volume, Peniel Rajkumar has assembled the work of nearly twenty prominent Asian theologians, making their writings accessible to the introductory-level student. The result is an ideal introduction to the wealth of Asian theologies and the major questions they raise. It is ecumenical in scope with emphasis on the contemporary concerns within Asian theology and some attention to the development of these theologies. Regional and subject specialists capture the ongoing conversation, incorporating new emphases and trends, thus making the book a fresh introduction to Christian theology in Asia.

In recent years, the flow of Christian theology has been channeled in diverse streams represented by such trends and movements as black theology, liberation theology, feminist theology, and womanist theology. To survey this abundance and diversity of current Christian theology, this book examines the theologies of representative theologians. Particularly to help students navigate the sea of information, the editors have identified various routes for reading, and have traced several threads or issues common to many of the essays, thus demarcating such recurrent concerns as the ways in which the theologians consider the sources and goals for theology, their variant assumptions and conclusions about the nature of God, their divergent approaches to understanding the person and purpose of the Christ, and their distinct expectations for the destiny of history and faith.