Asian Christian Theology: Evangelical Perspectives (Foundations in Asian Christian Thought)

by Timoteo D. Gener

Publishers:

Asia Theological Association; Langham

, 2019

Overview

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. 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.

Key Features

• Provides a collection of biblically rooted, historically aware, and contextually engaged essays
• Emphasizes what classical Christianity is to the vast non-Christian population in Asia
• Presents a biblically rooted theology against the inroads of theological trends and other popular belief systems

Contents

Part I: Doctrinal Themes

• Divine Revelation and the Practice of Asian Theology (Timoteo D. Gener)
• On the Doctrine of Scripture: An Asian Conversation (Havilah Dharamraj)
• The Trinity in Asian Contexts (George N. Capaque)
• Christology in Asia: Rooted and Responsive (Ivor Poobalan)
• Creation, New Creation, and Ecological Relationships (Ken Gnanakan)
• Lord and Giver of Life: The Holy Spirit among the Spirits in Asia (Wonsuk Ma)
• Toward An Asian Evangelical Ecclesiology (Simon Chan)
• Eschatology and Hope in Asia (Roland Chia)

Part II: Contemporary Concerns

• A Theology of Suffering and Mission for the Asian Church (Kar Yong Lim)
• Cultural Identity and Theology in Asia (Lalsangkima Pachuau)
• Jesus and Other Faiths (Ivan Satyavrata)
• God’s Basileia in Asia’s Res Publica: Situating the Sacred in Asia’s Public Sphere (Aldrin M. Peñamora)
• Finding Home for the Unhomed: Helping Diaspora Communities Discover Identity and Belonging (Juliet Lee Uytanlet)
• Hans Frei’s Typology of Theology for Religious Encounters in Asian Contexts (Kang-San Tan)
• Theology in a Context of Radical Cultural Shift: A Chinese Reflection (Carver T. Yu)
• Reconciliation and the Kingdom of God: Reflections from the Middle East (Salim J. Munayer)

Contributors

• George N. Capaque
• Simon Chan
• Roland Chia
• Havilah Dharamraj
• Timoteo D. Gener
• Ken Gnanakan
• Kar Yong Lim
• Wonsuk Ma
• Salim J. Munayer
• Lalsangkima Pachuau
• Stephen T. Pardu
• Aldrin M. Peñamora
• Ivor Poobalan
• Ivan Satyavrata
• Kang-San Tan
• Juliet Lee Uytanlet
• Carver T. Yu

Praise for the Print Edtion

This groundbreaking book is not vaguely Christian nor parochially Asian. It is, rather, the effort of leading Asian theologians to articulate Christian faith in terms that are biblically rooted, committed to historic orthodoxy, contextually engaged, and suffused with evangelical zeal. As this book shows, the future is bright because Asian Christianity is theologically rigorous and missiologically driven, something the Western churches would seriously benefit from imbibing. This book is simply mandatory reading for anyone interested in theology from the global church, missions, cross-cultural ministry, or serving in multicultural settings.

—Rev Michael F. Bird, PhD, Academic Dean and Lecturer in Theology, Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia

This book is a wonderful testimony to the work of representative evangelical theologians striving to balance the importance of staying focused on the text of Scripture and the traditions of its interpretation (“Christian”) while simultaneously engaging the demands and complexities of their various contexts (“Asian”). The editors achieve this balance by asking half the contributors to engage biblical doctrines and the other half realities on the ground that are particularly relevant to Asian Christians. The book as a whole provides further welcome evidence of the truth of Andrew Walls’s observation that each time the gospel is understood in a new context, the whole church—east, west, north, and south—benefits.

—Kevin J. Vanhoozer, PhD, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois, USA

With this outstanding volume, the Asia Theological Association adds sparkling crown jewels to its long and expanding heritage of significant publications. This richly informative collection is not only a gift to Asian Christian churches and seminaries from some of their own finest theologians, it is also a most welcome gift from the Asian church to the global Christian community. And for that reason it ought to be in the libraries and syllabi of seminaries anywhere that are serious about hearing and understanding mature theological voices outside the echo chambers of the western academy. Thank you, ATA, for such a feast of living theology!

—Christopher J. H. Wright, PhD, International Ministries Director, Langham Partnership

Product Details

• Title: Asian Christian Theology: Evangelical Perspectives
• Editors: Timoteo D. Gener and Stephen T. Pardue
• Publisher: Langham
• Publication Date: 2019
• Pages: 376
• Resource Type: Collected Essays
• Topic: Church in Asia

About Timoteo D. Gener

Timoteo D. Gener (Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary) is President of the Asian Theological Seminary, Manila, Philippines (www.ats.ph). A practitioner of local theology and a distinguished member of the World Evangelical Alliance Task Force on Ecumenical Affairs, he has coedited The Earth is the Lord’s: Reflections on Stewardship in the Asian Setting (2011), published jointly by OMF Lit and Asian Theological Seminary.

Steve Pardue (PhD, Wheaton College) is Associate Professor of Theology at the Asia Graduate School of Theology, Manila, Philippines. He is the author of The Mind of Christ: Humility and the Intellect in Early Christian Theology (London/New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2012) and co-editor of Asian Christian Theology (Carlisle, UK: Langham Global Library). He grew up in the Philippines and moved back there after finishing his doctoral work. His areas of research include virtue theory, contextual theology, and the doctrine of providence.