EMQ » April–June 2019 » Volume 55 Issue 2
Edited by Allen Yeh and Tite Tiénou
Evangelical Missiological Society, Book 26
William Carey Publishing, 2018
Littleton, CO
ISBN: 978-0878080885
224 pages
ISBN: 978-0878080885
USD $14.99
Reviewed by Benjamin D. Espinoza is a PhD candidate at Michigan State University and college pastor at Faith Church, Lansing, Michigan.
Examining the theologies from those who live in the Majority World is useful for Western theological educators and missionaries who seek richer, more nuanced theological approaches that take into account the lived realities of those outside of the West. As the church grows in the Majority World, those of us in the West must think more critically about our theological assumptions as a new world takes shape before us. In an effort to highlight the theological work of those from the Majority World, Allen Yeh and Tite Tiénou, two missiologists in the evangelical tradition, have assembled a volume that seeks to expose Western-based missiologists and educators to recent theologizing from diverse contexts.
The book is organized around theologies from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and “the ends of the earth.” In Part One, theologizing from African contexts, Kofi Amoateng explores the role and importance of symbols in the theology of the Akan people in Ghana, articulating the benefits of symbolic theology for missionary educators. Diane Stinton examines theological education in a Kenyan context to describe indigenous theologies. Robert Priest examines how the biblical word “witch” is translated and interpreted across African contexts in order to address the problems associated with witchcraft accusations. These chapters highlight the importance of symbols and language in African theological work.
In Part Two, focusing in Asian contexts, Natun Bhattacharya provides a theological appraisal of Hindu “insider movements” where people from non-Christian backgrounds who profess Christ retain their prior religious affiliation without joining a Christian body. Sunny Hong looks at the Korean concept of Han and its manifestation in the life of David. James Morrison looks the evangelization of Tibetan Buddhists through their cultural paradigm of pollution and purity. These chapters wrestle with how to merge Christian faith and cultural contexts; the authors here manage to do this quite well.
Part Three examines theologies coming from a Latin American context. Jessica Brooks examines the evangelistic implications of Santería among Afro-Cubans. Rubén Tito Paredes explores the challenges and opportunities of a PhD program in theology in Latin America. Rolando Cuellar looks at various approaches to Christology in Latin American theologies. Part Four looks at theological perspectives that do not fit neatly into the continental categories the editors lay out. Yousef AlKhouri provides a critical look at Palestinian theologian Naim Ateek’s liberation theology while John Ferch constructs a theology of worship for ministry with Indigenous peoples in Alaska. All of these chapters emphasize the importance of context and culture in theological work.
Each chapter is well-crafted and helps to expand the boundaries of evangelical theology. Yeh’s introduction chapter states that the whole volume is from an evangelical perspective, but takes into account how culture informs and shapes the authors’ understanding of theology. Majority World Theologies may challenge some Western theologians, missiologists, and practitioners to re-examine their theological and cultural assumptions in light of the growth of the Majority World church.
For Further Reading
Green, G., S. Pardue, and K.K. Yeo. The Church from Every Tribe and Tongue: Ecclesiology in the Majority World. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018.
Tennent, T. Theology in the Context of World Christianity: how the global church is influencing the way we think about and discuss theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.
