DESCRIPTION:

This course is designed to introduce students to theological reflection going on outside of North America as this develops against the backdrop of the indigenous religious context. The focus will be on major philosophical and religious traditions and the interaction of Christianity with these traditions. The emphasis will be on a comparative study which makes use of social science methods and develops a biblical and critical perspective.

Ministry is now carried out in a world perspective in which cross-cultural issues are unavoidable. Since the Church outside of North America is now larger than that in the West, and since much creative thinking emanates from these churches, responsible ministry today requires the development of critical listening skills.

Class will meet weekly for a three-hour session. This course will survey theological reflection in three major areas of the world: Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. For each area lectures will first focus on the major religious traditions of the region and then study the rise of local theologies in those contexts. Lectures and readings will cover selected topics being discussed by theologians (both formal and informal) from these regions. Finally an attempt will be made to interact with these materials from the perspective of western theology.

Barr, William R. ed. Constructive Theology in the Worldwide Church. Eerdmans, 1997.

Dyrness, William A. Learning About Theology from the Third World. Zondervan, 1990.

Jenkins, Philip. The Coming Christendom. Oxford University Press, 2000.

Ngewa, Samuel; Mark Shaw; and Tite Tienou, eds. Issues in African Christian Theology. East African Educational Publishers, 1998.

RECOMMENDED READING (B):

Bañuelas, ed. Maestizo Christianity: Theology from the Latino Perspective. Orbis, 1995.

Bediako, Kwame. Christianity in Africa: The Renewal of a Non-Western Religion. Orbis, 1995.

Gifford, Paul. Ghana's New Christianity: Pentecostalism in a Globalizing African Economy. London: Hurst, 2003.

Parker, Cristian. Popular Religion and Modernization in Latin America. Orbis, 1993.

Peterson, Douglas. Not by Might Nor by Power: A Pentecostal Theology of Social Concern in Latin America. Penguin, 1996.

Ramachandra, Vinoth. The Recovery of Mission: Beyond the Pluralist Paradigm. Eerdmans, 1996.

Yung, Hwa. Mangoes or Bananas? The Quest for an Authentic Asian Christian Theology. Regnum/Oxford, 1997.

Grading will be based in equal part on three short (4-6 pp.) reviews comparing articles from two continents from required anthologies in "A" of required texts; a longer (15-20 pp.) paper focusing on one of the three areas discussed in class and interacting with one of the texts listed under "B" of the texts. The reviews can focus on a particular issue raised in the books, but in general should cover the relation of Christian theology to indigenous religious traditions, and should reflect a knowledge of the larger argument of the book. The longer project will be a comparative study of a Christian belief or practice and a corresponding belief of the indigenous religious tradition. This project should make use of the required reading (and any other sources available). Class attendance and participation will be factors in evaluation.