Content

Though there is truth to the phrase ‘lies, damned lies and statistics’, the statistics say that today the majority of Christians live outside the former lands of corpus Christianum and that this trajectory will continue. Nor is this ‘shift’ in the faith’s ‘center of gravity’ without theological consequence. Easily observable are the institutional concerns, but for Andrew Walls ‘what happens within the African churches in the next generation will determine the whole shape of Church history for centuries to come’. This course engages with theological voices from Latin American, African, Asian and Pacific contexts, the variety of challenges posed to established lines of theological discourse, and the intercultural hermeneutics in play. It will pay special attention to the contribution of woman theologians such as Mercy Amba Oduyoye, Pui-Lan Kwok, Marcella Maria Althaus-Reid, and Meehyun Chung.

Unit code: DM2049P

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 2

Unit discipline: Missiology

Delivery Mode: Online

Proposing College: Pilgrim Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Articulate the various broad themes shaping the discourses of world Christianity;

2.

Compare the differences in emphasis across different geographical and cultural regions;

3.

Evaluate the differing theological claims forwarded within the world Christianity context and the critical significance these have for the western theological tradition.

Pedagogy

Online learning materials, tasks and tutorial discussion

Indicative Bibliography

  • Althaus-Reid, Marcella. Indecent Theology. Routledge, 2001.
  • Bediako, Kwame. Theology and Identity: The Impact of Culture upon Christian Thought in the Second Century and in Modern Africa. Oxford: Regnum Books, 1992.
  • Chan, Simon. Grassroots Asian Theology: Thinking the Faith from the Ground Up. IVP Academic, 2014.
  • Chung, Meehyun, ed. Breaking Silence: Theology from Asian Women. EATWOT/ISPCK, 2006.
  • Chung, Meehyun. Liberation and Reconciliation: Feminist Theology’s Relevance for Korea. Geneva: World Council of Churches, 2014.
  • Gebara, Ivone. Out of the Depths: Women’s Experience of Evil and Salvation. Augsburg Books, 2002.
  • Havea, Sione ‘Amanaki. “Christianity in the Pacific Context,” In South Pacific Theology: Papers from the Consultation on Pacific Theology: Papua New Guinea, January 1986, 11–15. Regnum, 1987.
  • Koyama, Kosuke. Three Mile an Hour God: Biblical Reflections. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1980.
  • Kwok, Pui-lan. Hope Abundant: Third World and Indigenous Women’s Theology. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2010.
  • Mbiti, John S.Bible and Theology in African Christianity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.
  • Oduyoye, Mercy Amba. Hearing and Knowing: Theological Reflections on Christianity in Africa. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1986.
  • Sobrino, Jon. Jesus the Liberator: A Historical Theological Reading of Jesus of Nazareth. Burns & Oates, 1994.
  • Song, Choan-Seng. Third-Eye Theology: Theology in Formation in Asian Settings. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991.
  • Tennent, Timothy C. Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church Is Influencing the Way We Think about and Discuss Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

Develop a 1500 summary of a particular theologian, with a focus on his or her life setting, and the constructive contribution made. The theologian is to be selected in conjunction with the lecturer

1500 25.0
Essay

3000 word essay which considers two or three of the voices covered in the course but supplemented with wider reading. This can focus on one cultural context, or examine a theme coordinated across these contexts (for example, the relation to the cultural and religious past) The essay must, however, incorporate the work of one female theologian

3000 75.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 1 Nov, 2015

Unit record last updated: 2022-10-04 13:28:11 +1100