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Asian Theologies in Review
By Philip L. Wickeri

The theological concerns of Christians from Asia, Africa and Latin America have an importance which extends far beyond national or regional boundaries. Working in a variety of social and cultural contexts, theologians from Third World churches are articulating their understanding of the biblical message in ways which are both particular for their own time and place and at the same time of more universal significance.

Whether emerging from the encounter between Christian faith and traditional African religiosity or from the participation of Latin Americans in movements for liberation, there is a tension between the contextual and the ecumenical in Third World theology which highlights these concerns for Christians in other parts of the world. This is especially true of recent works from Asian theologians, as the books which are here under review clearly illustrate. Asian theologians who are concerned with issues ranging from inter-religious dialogue to theological hermeneutics approach their subject from a variety of perspectives and religious traditions, but their efforts are unified in their attempt to understand the meaning of Jesus Christ in contemporary Asian society. The theological ferment of Asian Christianity is therefore of more than passing interest to all who are interested in the future of the Church in the world.

I

Parig Digan, in Churches in Contestation, provides a useful account of what might be called the cutting edge of Asian Christianity in his pioneering study of Christian social protest in the region. In broad strokes, And making generous use of sociological and political resources, he begins by setting Asian Christianity in its historical and cultural context. In a world which is sixty percent Asian, Christianity is only ten percent Asian, and Asian Christians account for only five percent of the population from South Asia to Japan. And yet, this figure belies the significance of Asian Christianity for its own context and for the world.

Digan highlights the varieties of Asian Christianity from country to country in its Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox forms. For Christian social protest, however, more important than confessional differences is

Philip L. Wickeri received his doctorate in Religion and Society from Princeton Theological Seminary and now teaches at the Tao Fong Shan Ecumenical Centre in Hong Kong. Dr. Wickeri here reviews four recent works on Asian Christianity and theology: Parig Digan's Churches in Contestation: Asian Christian Social Protest (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1984, 214 pp., $10.95), Tissa Balasuriya's Planetary Theology (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1984, 282 pp., $10.95), Minjung Theology: People as the Subjects of History, edited by the Commision on Theological Concerns of the Cristian Conference of Asia (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1983, 200 pp., $9.95), and C. S. Song's Tell Us Our Names: Story Theology from an Asian Perspective (MaryknolI; Orbis, 1984, 212 pp., $10.95).

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the contrast between what Digan terms the "standard bearers" and the "scouts" in Asian Christianity. The standard bearers are the "ecclesiastical power holders," the representatives of established churches such as the Christian Conference of Asia and the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences. These organizations have been instrumental in moving Asian Christianity beyond a position of marginality in the region. The scouts, on the other hand, are the people on the frontier who are charting new directions in Christian social involvement and theological reflection. They include such groups as the Young, Catholic Workers, the World Students' Christian Federation, and the Urban-Rural Mission. Both the standard bearers and the scouts have their respective social roles, and these are analyzed in some detail by Digan. Emphasizing the importance of a multi-polar Christian community for Protestants and Catholics alike, he comments, "The monolithic church structure so dear to conservative church leaders is truly a guaranteed force for social inertia; and the pious hope cherished by some other church leaders that the Church can be a force for change in the world's power structure, while leaving intact the status quo in its own, is a wish not rooted in the evidence of experience" (pp. 81-82).

Digan writes as a sociologist, and he is at times limited by the preconceptions of his own framework. Thus, his claim that a Christian minority of less than five percent cannot be expected to, put itself on a collision course with state power, except where its own survival is at stake, seems to ignore the evidence of church history, not to mention the liberating message of the Christian Gospel.

Still, Digan raises important questions for the future of Asian churches. He speaks of the options between nationalism and transnationalism, between capitalism and communism, between the "powers that be" and the "cry of the people" which the Church must choose if it is to be a church of all the people and of all peoples. How is this to be done in a radically non-Christian social environment? What will such choices mean for Asian churches which seek to shift the balance in favor of the have-nots? And how important is trans-national ecumenical involvement in the process? These are some of the questions which Digan poses for the future of Asian Christian social protest.

II

Tissa Balasuriya, a Roman Catholic theologian from Sri Lanka, deals with some of these same questions in his attempt to articulate a "planetary theology." The term is meant to suggest the importance for theology to be both contextually rooted and ecumenically related. "What is needed," writes Balasuriya, "is a dialectical interchange between local theologies and a theology that tries to read the significance of global realities…. Rejection of the false universalisms of the past should not dissuade us from at least trying to evolve the general outlines of a truly universal theology grounded in the basic elements of the human condition and the overall world situation" (p. 14). On this

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basis, Balasuriya spends half of his book analyzing the global reality, and the remainder exploring an appropriate theological response. His scope is comprehensive, and the author effectively makes the case for the necessity of an integral approach to human liberation which links the individual and social claims of the gospel.

Unfortunately, Planetary Theology provides little indication of the type of dialectical interchange which is proposed in the first part of the work. Balasuriya's analysis of the world situation goes over familiar ground, and it at times seems to be little more than a catalogue of contemporary ecumenical concerns. Although this may serve as a convenient summary of the relationship between Asia and the world system, the author's generalizations have been argued more convincingly other Asian theologians, from M.M. Thomas to Kim Yong-bock.What is missing is a sense of the particularity of the Sri Lankan context, and the way in which this might help to shape a theology which is truly planetary.

More helpful is the theological section of the book which begins with Chapter 9. Creation and the Exodus are identified as continuing themes for Asian theology, which for Balasuriya means the discernment of the "Christic presence in all created reality," on the one hand, and the "divine concern for all human oppression," on the other. He is most persuasive when he argues for a spirituality of justice, one which provides' the Christian mission with a wholistic version of the future. "The planetary theology of the kingdom of God, the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth, the presence of the cosmic Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within each and all of us, and the return of all beings to the Creator God can inspire such a wholistic integration in us, in the churches and among peoples" (p. 274). It is hoped that the author will further develop his understanding of the content of this vision in future works.

III

C.S. Song is well-known to Western readers through the publication of earlier books such as Third-Eye Theology (l979) and The Compassionate God (1982). Those who have been stimulated by Song's earlier writings can look forward to his most recent volume. Tell Us Our Names is a collection of ten essays using folktales from different parts of the world as the basis for Song's evolving "story theology." Each essay begins with a story or folktale which the author uses to develop a theological message around five central concerns: theological methodology, the ecumenical movement, Christian mission, dialogue with persons of other faiths, and political theology. Folktales thus become resources for doing theology, and whether they are used as points of departure for a related theological message or as subjects of exegesis in their own right, Song adds new insight to each of the concerns be discusses.

The title essay of the volume, for example, is from an Angolan folktale which underscores the importance of names and name-giving in any

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culture. After relating this to the importance of name-giving in the Old and New Testaments, Song turns to the problem of name-learning for the Christian mission. Christians must learn to take other cultures seriously on their own terms, for this is at the heart of the contextual and universal message of the Christian mission. How can one expect to minister to a people if he or she does not even know their names? Song challenges, "Tell us if you know our history and what it means for us, and not always about your history and what it must also mean for us. And tell us whether you see and understand the struggles that have been going on for centuries in our body, heart and spirit, and not just unburden your concerns for our lost soul" (p. 94). Christians-must take on the human likeness of those a-round them, says Song, and discover the theological importance of name-learning as well as name-giving.

Song shows that an Asian perspective on Christian theology has a wider ecumenical significance, for his essays are in no way limited by a particular time and place. Still, questions can be raised about Song's method and approach. Is he really presenting, as he claims, a "theology of the people," or is he instead engaging in a highly refined form of literary craftsmanship? In other words, do folktales, including two chapters drawn from Alice in Wonderland, become for Song a convenient vehicle for putting forth an independent theological message, rather than the resources for a theology which has been shaped by the Asian reality? These are important questions, for they have to do with the basic posture of contextual theology. However, they in no way diminish C. S. Song's most recent contribution to the contemporary theological enterprise. He raises issues which have never been adequately addressed by Western theologians, and this volume will be important for all men and women who are trying to understand their faith in a new way.

IV

In contrast to the books by Tissa Balasuriya and C. S. Song, Minjung Theology introduces a movement which has emerged out of the involvement of Christians in the struggle for social justice in one particular nation-South Korea. Minjung theology is a people's theology, and, according to its authors, "a development of the political hermeneutics of the Gospel in terms of the Korean reality" (p. 17). It emerged in the l970s, but, as several of the chapters in this volume indicate, it is related to the entire history of Korean Christianity over the last century.

Although it may be seen as part of a wider Asian theological ferment, one which bears a strong similarity to contextual theologies from other parts of the world, minjung theology has a character all its own, and, as the Koreans say, it was not designed for export. Minjung theology is thus contextual theology at its best, firmly rooted in a particular situation, and growing out of the struggles of Christians who embrace their own history as well as the universal message of the Bible.

Most of the ten essays in this volume were originally prepared for a

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theological consultation on "The People of God and the Mission of the Church" held in Seoul in 1979. The essays have been edited and updated, with a preface by James Cone and an introduction by Preeman Niles, indicating the broader, ecumenical significance of the Korean Christian experience. David Suh then introduces minjung theology in two chapters dealing with the original consultation in relationship to the character of Korean Christianity and the history of its social and political involvement. These chapters provide a helpful guide to the volume for those unfamiliar with the Korean situation. Suh makes three concluding observations: (l) minjung theologians are persons who have been actively involved in the human rights movement in Korea, and whose theology has been shaped by this experience; (2) they interpret their experience theologically, not only by looking back on Korean church history, but on the entire socio-economic history of Korea; (3) they have tried to listen and learn from the minjung, the common people, and to see reality from their perspective (p. 36).

The remaining essays deal with particular aspects of minjung theology. The chapters on the theology of han (righteous indignation) and the mask dance, show the extent to which Korean people's culture have shaped the form and, content of minjung theology. To understand the oppression of the Korean people is to understand han, and mask dance has endowed this han with a sense of life-giving purpose.

Two chapters on minjung perspectives in the Bible will be of special interest to readers of Theology Today. Writing on the Old Testament and the New Testament respectively, Cyrus Moon and Ahn Byung-mu reflect upon minjung in relationship to the Exodus event, the prophetic literature, and the Gospel of Mark. These essays show how the Bible has shaped and transformed the Korean understanding of minjung. Similarly, the two essays by Kim Yong-bock reveal the creative ways in which a Reformed understanding of koinonia has been transformed by the experience and the faith of Korean Protestants. All of the essays in this volume reveal a healthy tension between the contextual character of theology and its biblical and historical roots.

Nineteen eighty-four is the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Protestant missionaries to Korea. It was the early missionaries who first put the Bible into the hands of the common people of Korea, and they thus contributed to the eventual emergence of minjung theology. To join with Korean Christians in celebrating the centennial of Korean Protestantism can be an occasion to reflect upon the ecumenical nature of our faith in relationship to Asian Christianity. These four volumes from Orbis Books go a long way in helping us to remember that the theology and mission of the Church no longer flow in one direction only.