More Christians now live in the Majority World than in Europe and North America. Yet most theological literature does not reflect the rising tide of Christian reflection coming from these regions. If we take seriously the Spirit’s movement around the world, we must consider how the rich textures of Christianity in the Majority World can enliven, inform, and challenge all who are invested in the ongoing work of theology.
Majority World Theology offers an unprecedented opportunity to enter conversations on the core Christian doctrines with leading scholars from around the globe. Seeking to bring together the strongest theological resources from past and present, East and West, the volume editors have assembled a diverse team of contributors to develop insights informed by questions from particular geographic and cultural contexts.
For as long as I have been studying scripture and theology, and that has been since my college days in the early 80’s, and for centuries before that, those subject fields have been dominated by the viewpoint of Europeans and their descendants in North America (including one Canadian). This Eurocentricism has been counteracted in recent recent years as Majority World theology comes to wider appreciation and dissemination and the current volume is an excellent addition to that blossoming discipline.
This extensive volume is over 700 pages long and includes treatments of most of the major heads of Christian Doctrine, though it lacks a discussion of the Doctrine of Scripture. This is due in part to the aim of the volume which is to introduce the major dogmas of the faith from the point of view of the inhabitants of the Majority World and it is due in part to the progress of the various international meetings where the issues of this volume were discussed and promulgated first.
Its contents are
Part One: The Trinity Among the Nations: The Doctrine of God in the Majority World
Introduction to Part One: Trinity 101: Kaleidoscopic Views of God in the Majority World, K. K. Yeo
1. One God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, Gerald Bray
2. Beyond Homoiousios and Homoousios: Exploring North American Indigenous Concepts of the Shalom Community of God, Randy S. Woodley
3. The Trinity in Africa: Trends and Trajectories, Samuel Waje Kunhiyop
4. The Trinity as Gospel, Antonio González
5. Learning to See Jesus with the Eyes of the Spirit: The Unlikely Prophets of God’s Reign, C. Rosalee Velloso Ewell
6. Asian Reformulations of the Trinity: An Evaluation, Natee Tanchanpongs
7. Motherliness of God: A Search for Maternal Aspects in Paul’s Theology, Atsuhiro Asano
8. How to Understand a Biblical God in Chinese: Toward a Crosscultural Biblical Hermeneutics, Zi Wang
Part Two: Jesus Without Borders: Christology in the Majority World
Introduction to Part Two: An Invitation to Discuss Christology with the Global Church, Stephen T. Pardue
9. Christology in the West: Conversations in Europe and North America, Kevin J. Vanhoozer
10. Jesus as God’s Communicative and Hermeneutical Act: African Christians on the Person and Significance of Jesus Christ, Victor I. Ezigbo
11. Christologies in Asia: Trends and Reflections, Timoteo D. Gener
12. ¿Quién Vive? ¡Cristo! Christology in Latin American Perspectives, Jules A. Martínez-Olivieri
13. Reading the Gospel of John through Palestinian Eyes, Yohanna Katanacho
14. From Artemis to Mary: Misplaced Veneration Versus True Worship of Jesus in the Latino/a Context, Aída Besançon Spencer
15. Christology and Cultus in 1 Peter: An African (Kenyan) Appraisal, Andrew M. Mbuvi
16. Biblical Christologies of the Global Church: Beyond Chalcedon? Toward a Fully Christian and Fully Cultural Theology, K. K. Yeo
Part Three: The Spirit over the Earth: Pneumatology in the Majority World
Introduction to Part Three: Pneumatology in the Majority World, Gene L. Green
17. I Believe in the Holy Spirit: From the Ends of the Earth to the Ends of Time, Amos Yong
18. The Spirit Blows Where It Wills: The Holy Spirit’s Personhood in Indian Christian Thought, Ivan Satyavrata
19. Redefining Relationships: The Role of the Spirit in Romans and Its Significance in the Multiethnic Context of India, Zakali Shohe
20. Pauline Pneumatology and the Chinese Rites: Spirit and Culture in the Holy See’s Missionary Strategy, Wei Hua
21. Pneumatology: Its Implications for the African Context, Samuel M. Ngewa
22. Who Is the Holy Spirit in Contemporary African Christianity?, David Tonghou Ngong
23. In Search of Indigenous Pneumatologies in the Americas, Oscar García-Johnson
24. The Holy Spirit: Power for Life and Hope, C. René Padilla
Part Four: So Great a Salvation: Soteriology in the Majority World
Introduction to Part Four: Soteriology in the Majority World, K. K. Yeo
25. The New Covenant and New Creation: Western Soteriologies and the Fullness of the Gospel, Daniel J. Treier
26. Telling Our Stories: Salvation in the African Context, Emily J. Choge Kerama
27. Luke 4:18-19 and Salvation: Marginalization of Women in the Pentecostal Church in Botswana, Rosinah Mmannana Gabaitse
28. Con Las Venas Abiertas: The Hope of Life and Salvation in Latin American Theologies, Jules A. Martínez-Olivieri
29. From What Do We Need to Be Saved? Reflections on God’s Justice and Material Salvation, Milton Acosta
30. An Indigenous Reinterpretation of Repentance: A Step on the Journey to Reconciliation, Ray Aldred
31. Salvation as Reconciliation: Toward a Theology of Reconciliation in the Division of the Korean Peninsula, Sung Wook Chung
32. Qohelet’s Gospel in Ecclesiastes: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15; 7:15-22; and 11:1-6, Elaine W. F. Goh
Part Five: The Church from Every Tribe and Tongue: Ecclesiology in the Majority World
Introduction to Part Five: God’s Community in Majority World Theology, Gene L. Green
33. Ecclesiology and the Church in Christian Tradition and Western Theology, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen
34. Church, Power, and Transformation in Latin America: A Different Citizenship Is Possible, Ruth Padilla DeBorst
35. Two Tales of Emerging Ecclesiology in Asia: An Inquiry into Theological Shaping, Wonsuk Ma
36. Ecclesiology in Africa: Apprentices on a Mission, Stephanie A. Lowery
37. Ecclesiology in Latin America: A Biblical Perspective, Carlos Sosa Siliezar
38. The Community as Union with Christ in the Midst of Conflict: An Ecclesiology of the Pauline Letters from a Chinese Perspective, Xiaxia E. Xue
39. The Church as an Assembly on Mount Zion: An Ecclesiology from Hebrews for African Christianity, Peter Nyende
40. Ecclesiology and the Theology of the Land: A Palestinian Christian Perspective, Munther Isaac
Part Six: All Things New: Eschatology in the Majority World
Introduction to Part Six: Eschatology in the Majority World, Stephen T. Pardue
41. Eschatology, Apocalyptic, Ethics, and Political Theology, D. Stephen Long
42. The Past, the Present, and the Future of African Christianity: An Eschatological Vision for African Christianity, James Henry Owino Kombo
43. Revelation 21:1-4 from an African Perspective, John D. K. Ekem
44. From Dispensationalism to Theology of Hope: Latin American Perspectives on Eschatology, Alberto F. Roldán
45. The Kingdom of God: Latin American Biblical Reflections on Eschatology, Nelson R. Morales Fredes
46. Asia and God’s Cruciform Eschatological Reign, Aldrin Peñamora
47. From Judeophilia to Ta-Tung in Taiwanese Eschatology, Shirley S. Ho
The editors and contributors of the volume met and discussed issues for six years and each year focused on one of the six loci herein described. Then came the fruit of those labors in each of the essays written for that major loci. The representations from the various parts of the Majority World are what make this work so exciting and so useful. There are Latin-x, African, Asian and even a few European and American contributors. The only Continent not represented is Antarctica. For obvious reasons (i.e., penguins can’t write very well and aren’t well acquainted with theology).
This encyclopedic work is excellent throughout, but there are particular essays which deserve special attention, and praise. These are
8. How to Understand a Biblical God in Chinese: Toward a Crosscultural Biblical Hermeneutics, Zi Wang
16. Biblical Christologies of the Global Church: Beyond Chalcedon? Toward a Fully Christian and Fully Cultural Theology, K. K. Yeo
32. Qohelet’s Gospel in Ecclesiastes: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15; 7:15-22; and 11:1-6, Elaine W. F. Goh
38. The Community as Union with Christ in the Midst of Conflict: An Ecclesiology of the Pauline Letters from a Chinese Perspective, Xiaxia E. Xue
43. Revelation 21:1-4 from an African Perspective, John D. K. Ekem
And of those 5 especially engaging contributions, that of Xue on the Community as Union with Christ in the Midst of Conflict is one of the most amazing, insightful, and useful theological treatments I have read in a good while. In that essay, Xue describes the situation in Hong Kong and how Christians of very different viewpoints are navigating the at times tense circumstances. It’s an extraordinary piece of work.
Each chapter also offers a list of bibliographic materials which will further one’s learning. I was pleased, as a matter of fact, to see that my colleague at Ming Hua Theological College, Dr. Philip Wickeri, has several works cited in the bibliography.
The subtitle of this book is ‘Christian Doctrine in Global Context’ and it delivers splendidly just that.
In a day of rising nationalism and sectarianism; when people are more and more narrowly defining community and even Church and Christianity, a volume like the present one, which so helpfully opens numerous windows on how other believers view the core tenets of the Christian faith is not only useful, it is indispensable and even necessary.
If you are genuinely interested in Christian Theology, you should broaden your horizons and read this book. It will take some time, but you will not only benefit by it, you will benefit those you teach or preach to as well.
Many of you will be receiving a stimulus check from the Government shortly. Might I recommend that you use a small portion of it to obtain this book. It will be the best investment you make with that stimulus money. I promise you.