Light from the East: Asian contributions to contemporary North American theology

This dissertation explored the theological work of four Asian theologians: Choan-Seng Song, Kwok Pui-lan, Kosuke Koyama, and Chung Hyun Kyung. Specific attention was given to their theological methodology, content, and construction and to their contribution to North American theology.; Chapter 1 explored how both globalization and contextual theology have progressed. A brief assessment of Third World theology was followed by the methodological presuppositions that underlie this dissertation. Chapter 2 provided an overview of the general context of Asia and the impact on Asian theology of Western missions, religious plurality, and suffering on Asian theology.; Chapter 3 examined the writings of C. S. Song, focusing upon his appropriation of Asian history within salvation history, his Christological construction, and his call for the use of Asian folktales within theology. Song's theology functions to provide a portrait of Jesus for Asian people. Chapter 4 considered the theological construction of Kwok Pui-lan within the paradigm of a search for solidarity. Kwok rediscovers the richness of Chinese women's history, recognizing how it has influenced Asian women today. She is interested in finding ways for biblical hermeneutics to arise from within the community of believers. Chapter 5 explored the creative writings of Kosuke Koyama. Koyama's theology is built upon a theology of history in which the involvement of God is found within the history of Asia. Koyama's central focus is the image of the "crucified mind," a reflection of the passion and discipline of Jesus and the ethical calling of a disciple's life. Chapter 6 considered the work of Chung Hyun Kyung as she offers her theological perspective as a Korean woman. Korean shamanism and Minjung theology play a central role in Chung's theological construction. She offers a liberation-centered syncretism as an appropriate paradigm for developing theology from her context.; This dissertation culminated in chapter 7, in which the North American context, as defined by Douglas John Hall, is explored with the guiding question, "what can North American theologians learn from these four Asian theologians and their work?" A series of theses followed as proposals for a North American theology informed by its own context and by these Asian theologians.