Overview
Global theology represents one of the most important trends in theology today. What does it mean to do theology in a global context? How can Christian theology be understood as a conversation between different parts of the world and various streams of Christian history? This concise introduction explores the major issues involved in rethinking theology in light of the explosion of world Christianity. Combining the voices of a Western and a non-Western theologian, it integrates Western theological tradition with emerging global perspectives. This work will be of interest to theology and missiology students as well as church leaders and readers interested in the changing face of world Christianity.
Table of Contents
Contents
1. Transoccidentalism and the Making of Global Theology
by Oscar García-Johnson
2. Doing Theology Out of a Western Heritage: Gains and Losses
by William A. Dyrness
3. The Role of Indigenous Traditions in the Context of Christian Theology
4. God, Creation, and the Human Community
5. Jesus Christ and the Good News for the World
6. The Church in Global Context
7. The Christian Hope: Eschatology in Global Perspective
Appendix: The Historical Traditions of the Church
Index
1. Transoccidentalism and the Making of Global Theology
by Oscar García-Johnson
2. Doing Theology Out of a Western Heritage: Gains and Losses
by William A. Dyrness
3. The Role of Indigenous Traditions in the Context of Christian Theology
4. God, Creation, and the Human Community
5. Jesus Christ and the Good News for the World
6. The Church in Global Context
7. The Christian Hope: Eschatology in Global Perspective
Appendix: The Historical Traditions of the Church
Index
Endorsements
"The most important theological development in the latter twentieth century was the birth of contextual theologies reflecting various cultures, social conditions, and ways of experiencing the gospel. The great task of this century will be to promote a faithful dialogue among these theologies. The present book is a significant contribution, pointing and opening the way for this task."
Justo L. Gonzalez, author of A History of Christian Thought
"Theology without Borders demonstrates brilliantly how theologians' contexts shape both the form and content of their theologies. The book is an important contribution to discourse on the necessity of a cross-contextual mind-set for constructing theology in this era of global Christianity."
Victor I. Ezigbo, chair of biblical and theological studies, Bethel University
"Christianity has become global, but theological education in the United States often retains a focus that is almost entirely Western. Theology without Borders takes a different approach, contextualizing Western theological accomplishments, explaining the significance of theologies that are emerging elsewhere, and opening new space for cross-cultural dialogue and collaboration. This insightful volume exemplifies what theological education needs to become now that Christianity is a genuinely worldwide movement."
Douglas Jacobsen, author of Global Gospel: An Introduction to Christianity on Five Continents
"This cowritten volume is a valuable and catalytic resource for the pursuit and practice of a deeply faithful Christianity in a world of great cultural diversity."
Vincent Bacote, Wheaton College
"This inspiring text challenges Eurocentrism in theology and explores the contours of a global theology that is truly multicultural, transnational, and transcontinental. Written by two scholars from different cultural contexts, it offers a rich symphony of theological voices from the global South. Both beginners in theology and seasoned scholars will learn much from it."
Kwok Pui-lan, author of Postcolonial Imagination and Feminist Theology
"Dyrness and García-Johnson's Theology without Borders steps beyond Western and non-Western paradigms and invites us to a genuinely global conversation where East, West, and South discuss theology together around the same table. The authors tell us why the conversation is necessary and model how it can and should be done. Essential reading for anyone studying and doing theology in the twenty-first century."
Gene L. Green, professor of New Testament, Wheaton College and Graduate School
"Theology without Borders makes a valuable contribution to a developing conversation about the status of Western theology after the demographic shifts that are changing the face of global Christianity. The authors invite theological educators to a heart-searching reflection about our entrenched ways of doing theology and helpfully point out the contribution that a theology indigenous to the global South can make."
Adonis Vidu, associate professor of theology, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Authors
William A. Dyrness
William A. Dyrness (DTheol, University of Strasbourg; Doctorandus, Free University) is dean emeritus and senior professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, and is the author of several books on global theology.
Oscar García-Johnson
Oscar García-Johnson (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is chief of diversity, equity, and inclusion and associate professor of theology and Latino/a studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author of The Mestizo/a Community of the Spirit: A Latino/a Postmodern Ecclesiology and other writings from the Global South.