A SI AN C O NT E XT UAL T HE O L OG IE S 1

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

I. INTRODUCTION: Asia is a huge continent with several large countries that are not
homogeneous. This situation of the geographical area presents the problem of one not being able
to treat this vast continent as a homogeneous unit. Further, a contextual theology being a
theology emerging from a particular socio-political, cultural and economic context or situation,
Asia presents a situation of multifarious and varied plethora of contextual theologies. It is not
possible in a small book to deal with every theology or theologian. However, it has been
attempted to give an overall account selecting some major issues and certain theologies. This
gives an idea of the trends and concerns.

II. WHY ASIAN CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGIES?

(sources: Gnanakan, K., 1995, pp. 5-8; Batumalai,1991, pp.3-5; Ro, Bong Rin &
Eshenaur, Ruth ed. The Bible & Theology In Asian Contexts. Asia Theological Association,
Taiwan, 1984)
It has been noted above that Asia presents a situation of several contextual theologies. A
contextual theology arises out of a particular context or situation. So, in Asia various theologies
emerge from the many different contexts.
Batumalai lists five reasons why we need Asian contextual theologies.2

1. Western theologies were formulated for the contextual needs of the West and so were
parochial.
2. Western theologies written in the thought patterns of the Enlightenment with its emphasis on
theology being ‘rational’, ‘scientific’ and able to stand objective ‘verification’ was cast in that
particular framework.
3. The Western Church of Europe was transplanted in the non-western soils by the western
missionary efforts. The theologies also bore the form and content of the 19 th and 20th Centuries.
Little attempt was made to translate the Gospel and the theologies from the Western socio-
cultural, religious, philosophical and historical forms into Asian forms.
4. The Asian worldview is different from that of the West and much closer to that of the Bible.
5. The Asian political, socio-economic independence and religious resurgences demand their
own identity. The Asian realities and agenda need appropriate Asian responses.
Bong Rin Ro categorizes the East and the West through different categories. 3 His chart may be
summarized in this way:

EAST WEST

1
This Study Materials was prepared by Dr. Beulah Herbert, Former Prof. GFABS.
2
Batumalai, S. An Introduction To Asian Theology. ISPCK, Delhi, 1991, pp. 3-5
3
Bong Rin Ro, “Contextualization: Asian Theology” in Ken Gnanakan, ed. Biblical Theology In Asia.
Theological Book Trust, Bangalore, 1995, pp. 5-6

1
A Pre-occupational Economic survival, bribery, cheating, wars, Affluence, drugs, sex, alcoholism,
Barriers suffering crime, complacency, busy life
B Communism, Socialism, Guided democracy, Democracy, Capitalism, Extreme
Political systems
Benign Dictatorship Individualism
C Logical, abstract, Conceptualized
Philosophy Pragmatic, Practical, symbolic, Sign-oriented
idealism, Metaphysical
D Religions Most religions originated in the East Traditional Western theology
E Philosophy Cyclical view of time Pessimistic, Optimistic, Christian
Creation emanation Creation Judea-Christian
God vedantist Personal God
Man a part of God and God a part of man Man in the image of God
In Hinduism sin is ignorance Sin against God
F Theology
Salvation is oneness with Brahman
Buddhism has no concept of forgiveness of sin
Truth relative Truth absolute
Re-incarnation, Nirvana Immortality, heaven and hell

Because of these differences in the thought patterns and world-views of the East and the
West, and because of the differences in the contexts there is a need for contextualising Asian
theologies.

III. CRITICAL EVALUATION OF WESTERN THEOLOGIES.

(Sources: Balasundaram, 1995, pp. 31-34, 62-66; Devasahayam, 1997, p. 252; Gnanakan,1995,
pp.280-281)
Some Asian theologians have given a critical evaluation of western theologies.
Balasundaram reads some of these critiques. Ahn Byung-Mu of South Korea 4 gives four reasons
why the western theology is inappropriate for the Asian contexts. First, it is speculative giving
satisfaction to the intellect, separated from the reality of life. Second, it is a ‘logos’ theology
interested in the preaching of Jesus and not in his life. Third, the western theology being situated
in the academic circles has no relevance for praxis in life. Finally, it is also dichotomous. Another
Korean theologian, Suh Nam-Dong finds western theology especially the German theology as
ruler’s theology and culture bound. Sun Ai Lee Park a South Korean woman theologian rejects
western theology because she holds that it is a male theology with its tools inadequate. Further it
does not include the perspectives of women, Third World and of rich Asian religions and
cultures.
Another critique is offered from the theology of Tissa Balasuriya of Sri Lanka. 5
According to Balasuriya, western theology is capitalist-oriented, adult, male and determined by
clerical groups. It is culture-bound serving the western expansion. Secondly, it is Church-
centred. The third criticism is that it is male-dominated. It is also age-dominated, is the fourth
point. Fifthly, it is pre-capitalist. It is anti-communist is the sixth criticism. The seventh point is
that it accepts the western urban development as the norm. It is bereft of social analysis is the
eighth point. Finally it is theoretical.

4
Balasundaram, Contemporary Asian Christian Theology. ISPCK, Delhi, 1995, pp. 62-66
5
Balasundaram, Contemporary…, pp. 31-34

2
 Balasundaram points to Aloysius Pieris, a Sri Lankan theologian as one who finds
western theology immune to human suffering and rationally justifying oppression and injustice.
It is pietistic and capitalistic.6
The evangelical theologians from the Third World critique western theologies as
rationalistic, abstract and not in touch with the current issues, secularist, moulded by the
Enlightenment thought, justifying or not questioning colonialism and not addressing the
questions raised by those living outside the Christendom in situations of religious pluralism and
resurgent religions.7

IV. WHY STUDY ASIAN CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGIES ?

The contexts are widely varying and different, it is important to study this type of
contextual theologies, to learn from them and construct theologies relevant to our contexts.

V. ASIAN HERMENEUTICS.
(Sources: Francis and Balasundaram, 1992, pp. 58-65; Balasundaram, Part II,1994, pp. 228-232;
Amaladoss and others, 1981, pp. 43-55; Abraham, K. C. in Joseph, M. P., 1995, 202-224;
Gnanakan,1995, pp. 55-57, 112-122)
Various Asian theologians have pointed out the framework for Asian hermeneutics.

A. Franklyn Balasundaram of India lists the following as the major components of an Asian
hermeneutics.8
1. The Kingdom of God is the only absolute.
2. The Church must return to the Jesus of History.
3. The Church must adopt an option for the poor to look at the world through the eyes of the
poor and to adopt a spirit of poverty to use the resources of the Church to serve the poor.
4. From economics the Church should enter politics to support movements that seek justice
and liberation.
5. The Asian Church must be baptized in Asian religiosity to live alongside other
religionists and share in their search for salvation and in their resistance to God who
seeks to save them.

B. Elsewhere Balasundaram gathers the emerging themes in Asian contextual theologies and
presents them for an Asian hermeneutic. 9 First, ‘the social context assumes the first
hermeneutical place in doing theology in Asia’. An interdisciplinary approach is stressed with a
dialectical relationship with other disciplines, as the second principle. The third is a calling for a
dialogue of Christianity with other secular ideologies. Fourthly, both capitalism and socialism
are analyzed critically and a third appropriate path is chosen. The fifth point is that theology is
done from the perspective of the poor, marginalized and the oppressed. The European theologies
are rejected as irrelevant and the Latin American theologies are owned with qualification is the
sixth principle. Seventhly, the Asian Church seen to belong to another continent, is criticized
and a call for it to be a Local Asian Church of the poor is given. The eighth point is that a return
6
V. Devasahayam, ed. Frontiers Of Dalit Theology. ISPCK, Delhi, 1997, p. 252
7
Gnanakan, pp. 280-281
8
T. Dayanandan Francis and Franklyn J. Balasundaram ed. Asian Expressions Of Christian Commitment. CLS,
Madras, 1992, pp. 58-65
9
Balasundaram. The Prophetic Voices of Asia. Part II. Logos.Volume 33, No. 1& 2. March/June 1994, pp.228-
232

3
to the Jesus of History has to be made overcoming the neo-orthodox dichotomy between Jesus of
History and Jesus of Faith. The Kingdom of God is the central theme and the mission of the
Church is the ninth principle. Tenth is that attention is called to the phenomenon of the sin of
institutionalized violence. Eleventh, traditional concepts such as sin, sinner, conversion, baptism,
death, resurrection and faith are critically reinterpreted to be relevant. The Asian context of
religious pluralism is taken seriously and a humble dialogue is called for, is the twelfth point.
The thirteenth principle is that Mary the mother of Jesus is seen as a liberated person in the
Protestant circles and in the Roman Catholic circles as a liberated, liberating co-liberatrix.
Finally, theologizing becomes a collective and co-operative enterprise acknowledging the
positive use of western resources gained.

C. Yet another contribution is from M. Amaladoss given as some methodological considerations

for an Indian theology but also applicable to an Asian hermeneutics.10 Amaladoss proposes:

1. Theology should be contextual.

2. Theology should be indigenous.
3. Theology must be dialogical.
4. Theology should be personal.
5. Theology must be critical.

D. K. C. Abraham from India proposes three elements for a new paradigm for theologizing. 11
One, the purpose and direction of theologizing is a reflection on the articulation of the faith
experience of people in a given context and not a systematic explication of timeless truths nor is
it an application of a pre-fabricated system to a particular situation. The second component of the
new paradigm is liberative praxis and the third is to see Jesus as the Christ, the liberator.

E. From the evangelical perspective, Rodrigo D. Tano gives some guidelines.12 First, an
indigenous or contextual theology must hold to the supremacy of the biblical revelation as the
standard for faith and conduct. Secondly, it is essential to maintain a proper balance among the
concepts of the personality, transcendence and immanence of God. Third, any contextual
theology must uphold the uniqueness and finality of Jesus Christ. Fourthly, the falleness of
humanity and the need for repentance and faith response to God’s grace must be affirmed. Fifth
is a call to belong to the Christian Church. The final sixth point is that a contextual theology
must pour the biblical substance into the crucible of local religio-cultural concepts critically
reinterpreting the local containers.

F. Wilson W. Chow, another evangelical raises some questions about doing theology and gives
some guidelines.13 The first is about the source. For the evangelicals the Bible is the source for
doing theology. He also lists the guidance of the Holy Spirit, obedience to the Word of God and

10
M. Amaladoss, S. J. “Towards An Indian Theology: Some Methodological Observations”, in M. Amaladoss,
T. K. John and G. Gispert-Sauch ed. Theologizing In India. Theological Publications in India, Bangalore, 1981,
pp. 43-56
11
K. C. Abraham, “Third World Theology: Paradigm Shift And Emerging Concerns” in M. P. Joseph ed.
Confronting Life: Theology out of the Context. ISPCK, Delhi, 1995, pp. 202-211
12
Rodrigo D. Tano, “Toward An Evangelical Asian Theology” in Gnanakan, pp.54-57
13
Wilson W. Chow, “Biblical Foundations For Evangelical Theology In The Third World”, in Gnanakan, pp.
109-122

4
our life situations as three fundamental factors in doing theology. The second issue in doing
theology for Chow is that of text and context. For him, while the context is important, it is the
text with which one begins theologizing. The third issue is that of the Bible being culture bound.
To resolve this complex issue, Chow suggests carefully detecting the cultural forms that illustrate
principles. The final issue is the role of the context. The context is neither the starting point nor
the normative control for theologizing. Then, what is the place of the context? The theologian
immersed in his or her context stands between the text and the context and is constantly driven to
the text carrying the issues and questions arising from the context. In other words, biblical
teachings are brought out to deal with the contemporary situation from a biblical perspective.

VI. ASIAN CONTEXTS: POLITICAL, ECONOMICAL, RELIGIOUS, CULTURAL AND SOCIAL .

(Sources: Amaladoss and others, 1981, pp. 44-47; K. C. Abraham,1990, pp. 1-13, Abraham in
Joseph,1995, pp. 211-217; Balasundaram, 1993, pp. 7-18, and, 1995, pp. 1-17; Francis and
Balasundaram,1992, pp. 1-7; Gnanakan, 1995, pp. 57-64 also Ro and Eshenaur,1984, pp. 93-
118; Balasundaram, EATWOT, 1993, 134-143)
Many theologians have analyzed the political, economical, religious, cultural and social
contexts of Asia. These will be looked into here. For theologising, every person has the
responsibility of engaging in a context analysis of the situation in which he or she lives and the
context of the people whose theology is being formulated. The various presentations have
commonalities and dissimilarities. For the same issue or aspect of the context, different
theologians respond differently and the perspectival difference has to be conserved. So, an
attempt to amalgamate the various presentations into a synthesized product has not been made.
On the other hand, the different presentations are described so that the reader may recognize the
various perspectival and presuppositional differences and develop an ability to make his or her
own analysis.

A. Amaladoss an Indian Roman Catholic theologian in proposing some methodological

principles for theologizing, states the first principle of theology being contextual. He proceeds to
list some aspects of the Indian context. Quite a few of these apply to many different contexts in
Asia. Amaladoss’ analysis14:
1. Pluralism of religions – almost in every Asian country there are a number of religious
affiliations along with some atheism, secularism and so on.
1. India is a developing country – a Marxian model is uncritically adopted, but a Gandhian
pattern of development should be espoused in India.
2. Another point Amaladoss notes is that the Latin American theology of Liberation and an
Asian or Indian one will have differences in perspective, because of the dissimilarities in the
contexts. So, a Theology of liberation, not such as the Latin American one, but an Indian one
to appeal to the people of other faiths should be formulated. The Latin American model is
formulated in a Christian context and is biblical and Christological. In Asia or India it should
be based on broad humanism in order to enable an effort with people of all faiths and no faith
to act side by side; in Latin America the theology of liberation focused on a struggle against
totalitarian regimes, whereas in India we have a functional democracy, which dissimilarity
has to be considered; the peculiarities of the issues of caste and communal divisions in India
will have to be taken into account by the Asian theology of liberation; some religious
concepts such as karma may discourage change; on the other hand religious reformation and
14
Amaladoss in Amaladoss et. al. pp. 44 - 47

5
 renaissance initiated by persons like Ram Mohun Roy and Jai Prakash Narain encourage
change; this liberation should be not merely personal but also social and structural.
3. There is a crisis of moral values – corruption and social evils such as caste, dowry are
rampant in India.
4. Theology has become elitist and not done at the popular level.

B. Rodrigo D. Tano, an evangelical theologian in his paper presented in the Sixth Asia
Theological Consultation in Seoul in August 1982 lists some features of the Asian contexts. 15 In
the diverse mosaic of complex situations these are some aspects:
1. Resurgence of indigenous religions
1. Struggle for fuller life contending with various forms of oppression
2. The challenge of oppressive ideologies and secular worldviews
3. Impact of scientific and technological development
4. Tension between traditional values and social change brought about by secularization and
modernization
5. Authoritarian regimes and limitation of liberties.

Further he discusses some salient common issues16:

1. The existence of other religions demands that a theologian works out the relationship between
Christianity and other religions, finds the points of entry, also recognizes the apparently similar
but deeply dissimilar concepts, and above all describe the conditions under which a Christian can
appropriately approach the non-Christian and adequately witness to the uniqueness of Christ.
2. Modernization and social change: The impact of western technology and ideas has profoundly
shaken the traditional foundations and structures of Asian religio-cultural society. Modernization
has brought about economic, social and political changes. On the other hand modernization has
also had negative effects of destroying human dignity and solidarity by promoting acquisitive
and secular attitudes. Further, modernization should be used creatively to enhance well-being at
the same time not adopting an attitude of human self-sufficiency and false hope in human
progress.
3. The political situation in Asia has been made unstable and unpredictable by revolutions, coup
de’etat, authoritarian rule and armed conflicts. So, an appropriate theology of power has to be
developed.

C. Another Asian theologian who describes the contexts in his writings is K. C. Abraham17.
According to Abraham,

1. Socio-economic and Political realities of Asia are:

i) Geographically vast with huge countries like China and India.
ii). Demographically most populous with China and India rating as the most populous in the
world. (At the time of Abraham’s writing, China had more than one billion and India about
700million; but, at the time of this writing India had already crossed the billion mark and it is
suspected that India may overtake China in its population)

15
Tano in Gnanakan, pp. 57-58
16
Tano in Gnanakan, pp. 58-64
17
K. C. Abraham ed. Third World Theologies. Commonalities & Divergences. Orbis Books, Maryknoll, 1990, pp. 1-13

6
 iii).Economically, Asia has both a developed country such as Japan competing with the west
for economic power and a poor country such as Bangladesh that is rated as one of the poorest of
the poor of the world.
iv) Politically, variety of systems of political rule ranging from liberal democracy to socialist
with authoritarian nationalist security state in between.
v) Pervasive poverty and misery alongside luxury and opulence a few enjoy. The level of
poverty and the gap between the poor and the rich vary from country to country.
vi) Japan has relatively higher standard of living and lower percentage of the ‘poor’.
vii). Countries such as South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan have also
progressed in their economic growth.
viii). Indonesia and Malaysia are of medium range where the natural resources have
facilitated the growth and lowered the level of poverty.
ix.) India though poor is the tenth industrial producer in the world.
x). Economic growth has been slow in countries such as the Philippines and Bangladesh
where 80% of the population live below the poverty line.
xi). China is different from the rest of the Asian countries. Its per capita income is low, but
the gap between the rich and the poor has reduced. It is claimed that the basic needs are met
and a large-scale inflation is prevented.
xii). In spite of some big claims to economic growth and development, only about 10 to 15%
of Asia’s population lives comfortably. The rest suffer under grinding poverty. There are still
enormous disparity and widening gap with unequal distribution of wealth and power
resulting in several socio-economic and political problems.
xiii). Asian economy is controlled by the imperialistic powers through transnational capital
and multinational corporations.
xiv) Varied experiences of colonialism.
a. Some countries such as Indonesia, India and Malaysia were under the direct political
control of western
powers.
b. Philippines and some others went through successive control by more than one power.
c. China was ‘carved up like a watermelon’ by several powers.
d. Korea was colonized by another Asian country Japan.
e. Only Japan and Thailand have never been under any foreign colonization.
xv.) Asian countries mostly have economically neo-colonial experience controlled by the
economic super powers.
xvi). The countries such as South Korea that claim to have achieved economic miracle have
fragile economies dependent upon the international market and international trade.
xvii). South Korea and the Philippines have severe debt crises dependent on the dictates of
international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World
Bank.
xviii). Export oriented production affect adversely local social and economic situations.
xix.) High level of unemployment with export and migration of labour.
xx.) Many countries in Asia cannot claim economic sovereignty and sustainability. Japan and
China may be considered exceptions.
xxi.) There is a growing exclusion of the masses from the decision-making process and
political structures. There are a variety of political systems followed as already noted. Finally,
there is repression and dictation and no true democracy.

7
 xxii.) Militarization has become not only a political tool but also a way of life.
xxiii.) Values of military have seeped into political, socio-cultural and educational life of
these countries.
xxiv.) Social conflicts have been fed to produce suppression of the minorities, religious
tensions, ethnic and tribal rivalries.
xxv.) Commonalities and divergences are many.
xxvi.) Ideological rivalries among the super powers are intense in the Asian region. This has
led to the establishment of military bases of the super powers. Socialist societies have in cases
such as Korea divided the country.
xxvii). Popular movements of social transformation have grown in many countries. These are
of various types – of urban workers, of farmers, of religious groups, of the poor, of women, of
ethnic and cultural minorities, of students and teachers to free education from militaristic and
imperialistic control, for anti-nuclear and peace efforts, for human rights and freedom, of ecology
and environment.

2. Religio-Cultural Realities.
i.)Asia is the source of all the great world religions.
ii) Cultures and religions in Asia are related and intermingled.
iii) In Asia, there are many different races, ethnic groups and tribes that have their own
identity and struggle to preserve it. These struggles are also related to religious conflicts. In India
an added feature is the struggles produced by the caste structure. Quite often these conflicts are
tied up with economic factors also.
iv) Women in many parts and sections of Asian societies are treated as inferior and
oppressed.
v) Folk religions and cults in Asia help people deal with the basic issues of day-to-day life.
vi) Certain characteristics in religions of Asia – influence of folk religions and cults; spiritual
ministration to their adherents; sacred writings and founding spiritual leaders; both scholarship
and mysticism.
vii) There are some common humanizing core teachings that can be used to work for
common good.
viii) The impact of cultural and religious factors is notable in Asia. There are both liberative
and oppressive features. So in relationships between different groups of culture, ethnicity,
religion and sex these features have worked on the psychology of people to perpetuate
domination and oppression and also to work for freedom and liberation.
ix) Some trends such as modernization, fundamentalism, renewal and interfaith ecumenism
are found in Asian religions and cultures due to globalization.
x) The different ideologies in Asia relate differently with the Asian religions. In countries
with religious freedom and a capitalistic society, the western influence has produced both
desirable and detrimental effects. In the socialist states, religions were not allowed; but
persecuted. Recently these States have become tolerant towards religions and more open towards
modernization. Both in secular States such as India and States such as Pakistan where one
religion is accepted as the State religion, there are problems in dealing with minority and
majority groups.
D. Elsewhere K. C. Abraham describes the New Third World18 as economically disadvantaged,
with a cultural past and unjust trade arrangements along with the burden of debt. He also
18
K. C. Abraham in M. P. Joseph, pp. 211-217

8
analyses the New Third World situation as one characterized by the market as the dominant
force, consumer ideology and the new elite. The other features of this New Third World are:

1). Search for an alternative world order

2) Struggle for ethnic identities and justice
3). Threatened by nation-state and secularism, uprising fundamentalism, volatile
situation, militancy and a sense of insecurity among the minorities
4). The struggle of Dalits and Tribals
5). Plurality and diversity
6). Struggle for justice and participation
7). All religions display both liberative and oppressive elements.

These various aspects of the context of Asia pose their own challenges for theologizing.
E. Franklin J. Balasundaram is another Indian theologian who has given an analysis of the
Asian situation or context in his writings. In one place he lists 19 the Present –Day Context Of
Asia as follows,
1. Socio, Economic and Political context.
Five realities:
i. The colonial experience and debilitating structures of domination have created a
psychological dependency; this has produced neo-colonial economic relationships that constrict
socio-economic revolution in Asia. The external structures created serve the interest of the First
World countries and produce continued economic dependency.
ii. Poverty of the many and opulence of the few.
iii. Increasing marginalization of sections of national communities.
iv. Inferior and oppressed status of women.
v. Growing International militarism and repressive regimes.
1. Cultural, Religious and worldview context of Asia.
Both liberative and oppressive elements are present in the religious traditions.
2. The Environmental or ecological situation. The industrialized countries that have
produced environmental pollution and ecological imbalance use the Asian countries.
So, new liberative interpretations have to be worked out. There are different ideologies and
philosophies that need to be considered and reckoned with.
Balasundaram has summed up the Asian context in these words: “To sum up, the Asian
political scene today is dominated by national elites and superpowers. Exploitation of Asian
people is carried on by centres of capitalism, [sic] MNCs, with their economic, political and
cultural power, dominate the entire line of production and commerce. Thus, Asia reels under
abject and glaring poverty dictated to [sic] by the super-powers, their national ruling elites and
the MNCs. Capitalism is responsible for most of the evils of Asia. The people are in [sic]
suffering under dictatorships, militarism and national security states. Asian religions, hitherto
forces of domination, discrimination and exploitation, are today stressing social transformation.
In the social context of Asia, racism is operative through the caste system. Sexism is operative
through discrimination and oppression of women. Thus, the Asian context is characterized by
oppression, exploitation and domination.”20

19
Balasundaram, F. J. “The Prophetic Office – An Asian Perspective”, in Contemporary…, pp. 1-5.
20
Franklyn J. Balasundaram. EATWOT In Asia. Towards a Relevant Theology. Asian Trading Corporation,
Bangalore, 1993, p.143

9
CHAPTER TWO: JAPAN

(Sources: Batumalai,1991,pp. 88-104, 104-105,105-107,107-112; Francis and

Balasundaram,1992, pp.199-202, 203-224,225-230; Adams,1982, pp. 128-130; Macquarie, 20th
Century, 4th ed., 1988, pp. 418-419; Gnanakan, K., 1995, pp. 11-13, 31)

I. INTRODUCTION:
Japan is not a third world country in economy. It like many other Asian countries had
never been colonized, but has been a colonizer of Manchuria, Korea and North East China.
However, in some aspects it has similarities with the other Asian countries. At present
Japan has become quite strong with its technological advance. It has conquered the world by its
economic expansion. With its yen strong it promotes sex tour of the Japanese in Asia and in the
West.

A. History of Japan.
Japan had been an imperialistic power. The end of the Second World War not merely
defeated Japan but shattered it with two atomic bombs. After this, the government policy of
rearmament, the Peace Treaty with the Allied Forces except Russia, and the military pact with
the US in 1950s brought back Japan into power politics. Especially economically and
technologically Japan rules the world at present.

B. Japanese Religion.
Buddhism that came to Japan in the 6th C. became its principal religion by the 7 th C. In
1884 Buddhism was declared the State religion. It is the family religion. It has become a
missionary religion. Confucianism in the 7th C influenced Shintoism that is an ancestral religion.
At present Shintoism is a ‘political religion’. Modern Japan with its economic progress and a
secularized attitude is westernized with traditional values and systems breaking down.

C. Modern Japan
Japan’s economy has seen remarkable growth. It is one of the largest economic powers in
the world. Its management of its economy is without parallel. Its cultural life has been influenced
by Chinese and Western cultures. After the Meiji restoration in 1868 its modernization and
industrialization began along the western patterns. Rationalism and Socialism based on
Christianity and Marxism are related to the Japanese way of life.

II. CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN:

A. Christianity’s Beginnings in Japan.

Francis Xavier was the first Christian missionary to enter Japan in the 16 th C. Initially
Christianity was received. But in the 17th C. the Tokugawa Shogunate prohibited Christianity for
the sake of feudal solidarity. However the Jesuits continued language learning, Bible translation,
production of Christian literature in Chinese, educational and medical work. Finally when the
Roman Catholic missionaries began the evangelistic work in 1873, Christians faced persecution.

10
B. Christian Contribution in Japan.
In the early years Christianity was considered as a useful progressive ideology to lay a
spiritual foundation for a civil state in modern Japan. Though the Christian journals criticized the
introduction of Western technology, they were silent about liberty and human rights. In the 1880s
when the civil liberty movement took place many advocated it from a Christian point of view.
Frustrated with this movement some leaders accepted Christianity, and a Christian community
was established with those involved in the literary movement.

The 1880s was a period of rising nationalism. In 1891, Uchimura Kanzo refused to bow
to a copy of the Imperial Rescript on Education considering it as equal to emperor worship. He
lost his teaching position in the First High School in Tokyo being accused of unpatriotic act.
Uemura Masahisa and some others supported his stand pointing out emperor worship would be
against religious liberty and harmful to the cause of education. Many Christian leaders complied
with this interpreting it as loyalty to the State.

C. Christianity in Modern Japan.

Early 20th C. in Japan was a period of capitalism and industrial revolution. Coupled with
this was the policy of modernization seen as a service to imperialism. This situation of modern
Japan was characterized by imperialism and capitalism. Japan colonized Korea and North East
China. This also produced class struggle. The government encouraged the industrialists and
landed people to suppress the workers, farmers and the powerless. By mid 1910s there was an
uprising demanding parliamentary politics and universal suffrage. After World War I, economic
depression, class tension, impact of the Russian Revolution and international democracy
produced a movement of social reform. Many intellectuals supported this. This was the complex
situation in Japan for Christianity to deal with.

D. Ways of Understanding Christianity.

Urban middle class who enjoyed relative freedom from traditions and the opportunity for
higher education and access to Christianity accepted Christianity. Tokutaro an outstanding
theologian of late 19th C and early 20th C, struggling with his individualism and egocentricity
found the salvation experience through the grace of God. His doctrine of salvation was the
biblical doctrine of the orthodox reformers. Some intellectual Christians influenced by humanism
participated in movements for social equality and justice. But the Churches were antagonistic
towards such efforts.
In general Protestant Christianity in Japan was evangelicalism. By the end of the 19th C a
new theology emerged. This rejected the Bible as the Word of God and the theory of atonement,
and viewed Christianity as a historical religion to be Japanized. By the turn of the 19 th C this
caused a controversy between Uemura and Ebina. Uemura held to the traditional historic creeds
and Jesus as God become man and an object of worship. Ebina held to the reality of Christ as a
subjective experience and the creeds as relative interpretations. The Evangelical Alliance
supported Uemura’s position though Ebina had many sympathizers.
Another feature of the Japanese Christianity during this period was its attitude towards
Shintoism. Shintoism in Japan was accorded a kind of a State religion status. It was used through
ancestral worship to foster loyalty to imperial regime. It was also used to justify Japanese
expansionism and colonialism. The Christian churches were opposed to this status of Shintoism.

11
In 1932 some students of a Catholic University refused to participate in the Shinto ceremonies.
The Ministry of Education interpreted the demand for all students to participate in the Shinto
ceremonies as patriotism and part of the national education. The Roman Catholic and Protestant
Churches gave in for this and allowed Christians to worship in Shinto shrines. Participation in
Shinto ceremonies was enforced upon the Koreans. The Korean Christians opposed this with no
avail.

E. Theological Thinking in Japan.

The Kansai Seminar House aims to deal with issues of peace, quality of life in Japan and
inter-religious and inter-ethnic dialogue. At an early stage there was an emphasis on Christology
that created a difference of opinion between Uemura and Ebino. Theology of Nature and History
is another emphasis that Koyama also displayed in his thinking. Some other emphases are on
anthropology, people, the oppressed and marginalized people, salvation that is existential, social
and eschatological and human rights.
The Church and several Christians have been making various responses to the different
issues in Japan through the past decades. Some of the issues to be handled are the prosperity and
glory of Japan, the necessity for neighbourliness of Japan with Asian countries, dialogue with
Buddhism and Shintoism, the emperor cult, racism displayed in the finger-printing required for
every non-Japanese who likes to live in Japan for a long term, repression of the Koreans living in
Japan, sudden surge of Asian immigrants, modernization that erodes moral and ethical values
and an erosion of the Asian life style. Kagawa was a leading theologian of the first half of the 20 th
C. There have been many other theologians, though the Christian population is only about one
percent. Of these theologians only three will be considered at some length here.

III. SELECT THEOLOGIANS.

A. Toyohiko Kagawa:
Kagawa was an evangelist, preacher, social worker, organizer of cooperatives and
participant in the Federation of Nations. He was not a formal theologian in the usual sense of the
word. His contribution was more practical. Redemptive love was the central concern of his
thinking, writing and acting. Kagawa considered the task of the Japanese Church to be two-fold:
one, to interpret the Christian Gospel in the existential situation of Japan and the other to
understand Japanese history and culture in the light of Christianity.

1. Kagawa’s family background.

Kagawa was born in 1888 the twenty-first year of the Meiji reign. His father left his wife
in the country home because they were childless. He took a geisha as an auxiliary wife and had
five children. Kagawa was the third one. He was unloved, unwanted and lonely. This influenced
his writings on man, sin and human suffering. One bad experience in early childhood made a
lasting effect upon his life. He was accused of having pushed Fumie the daughter of the janitor
into a ditch because of which the children said she died. None of Kagawa’s explanations about
his innocence was accepted. He a boy of ten years had to spend his savings for her medical
expenses and had to confess sins he had not committed. At this point he managed to persuade his
grandmother to allow him to go to the Middle School though he was an year under aged. His
brother points to two factors that influenced his turning to Christianity – one the untimely death

12
of Fumie and another the constant ridicule he had to endure by being called ‘the son of a
concubine’. In the Christian faith he found someone to understand and rescue him.

2. Flight into Nature.

Kagawa in the solitude of his childhood immersed himself in observing Nature. He saw
God not only as the author of Nature but also as a power within it. He protests against the
industry’s waste of Nature.

3. Other Influences.
At the age of nine Kagawa was sent to study Confucianism. He received three influences
from Confucianism. First was from the teaching of jen or benevolence that he found fulfilment in
Christian redemptive love. Second was the teaching of li. This raised questions in his mind when
he had to reject the pattern of life of his father and elder brother. This resulted in his search for
understanding of evil and suffering. Third was his concern to create an immanent theocracy
grounded in the family system.
The principle of tao was important for Kagawa. Meditation was basic method of
knowledge. He saw the embryo of the redemptive love of Christ in Tao. For Kagawa the greatest
weakness of Taoism is its shallow understanding of human sinfulness. Kagawa considered
Taoism as a hidden treasure and did not feel the necessity of throwing away this ancient system
in his Christian teaching.
Buddhism also influenced Kagawa. However he lists four weaknesses of Buddhism: i. Denial of
the existence of God ii. Rejection of the human value of individuals iii. Loss of ethical standards
in the Hinayana Buddhism iv. Exclusion of salvation.

4. Conversion.
Kagawa in 1900 joined the Middle School. Here also the other students tormented him
and his loneliness and melancholy increased. Through the English teacher and the head teacher
he came into contact with Charles A. Logan and Harry W. Myers, two western missionaries. This
was to help Kagawa practice his spoken English.
Initially Kagawa was antagonistic towards Christianity; but reading the Bible he came
across the narration of the Cross. This happened during a dark period in his life when his brother
had died and he was remembering the tragedies of his life. The love portrayed gripped his heart.
He was also attending the Bible classes. The love and tenderness of the missionaries also
prepared his heart. He was delaying being baptized fearing being disowned by his family. Finally
in 1904 at the age of fifteen Kagawa was baptized. He became active in the church. His new
motivation to incarnate Christ’s love in his practice led him to the Shinkawa slums.

5. Shinkawa slums.
Across the Ikuta River running through Kobe the Shinkawa slums housed the poorest of
the poor with the most degraded life. Life was valueless. Kagawa enrolled himself in the new
Seminary and with the encouragement of the pastor whom he assisted he began open-air
preaching. Within a year he recognized that his work was useless because no one listened. He
also collapsed and did not come back. After his convalescence he left the seminary and dedicated
himself to work in the slums as an insider. In 1909 Kagawa went to the slums alone to serve his
Lord.

13
 Kagawa had definite plans for his work in the slums. He wanted to awaken the people to
their needs. He also offered all possible help to the suffering people. Further he tried to
conscientize the citizens of Kobe about the plight of the Shinkawa slum dwellers. He also found
that the poor broken in personality need much more than welfare.
The criticism of Kagawa against the Christians was that their teaching of love was
abstract without concrete involvement in the lives of people. He believed that every Christian
must be involved in the problems of people. He was against violence and anti-Marxist. But he
believed in cooperative effort.

He was involved in the labour movement, cooperative movement and the Kingdom of
God movement. His method was that of a Kyokaku a street knight who helps the weak and
crushes the strong. He was seen as a samurai a protector of morality and a rebel. Kagawa’s self-
sacrifice, self imposed poverty, simplicity and serenity is of the Bushido spirit, the spirit of the
warrior of the Tokugawa era.
In 1921 Kagawa with fourteen of his former schoolmates formed the ‘Society of the
Friends of Jesus’ along the Franciscan, Jesuit and Protestant lines. This society aimed at loving
service and loyalty to the church. Five principles characterized this society: i. Piety ii. Work iii.
Purity iv. Peace v. Services. By 1926 it had 1300 members. The aim of the Kingdom of God
movement was to Christianize the community. The threefold methods of evangelism, education
and Christianizing of economics were followed. His priority was to unite all churches in a
cooperative evangelism. Kagawa’s desire was to foster love of the soil, love of the neighbour and
love of God. Though the Kingdom of God movement had only three years’ official existence it
continued in the post-war Japan For Christ Movement.

6. Last Days.
Kagawa’s last prayer before his death in 1960 was for the blessing of the churches, the
salvation of the Japanese and the peace of the world. His attention turned to world peace as the
world went to the Second World War. His preaching on non-violence led to his arrest and
imprisonment in 1940. Through the years of the war much disappointed he led a life of semi-
retirement from active public life. However, at the end of the war he again preached about the sin
of war. He began to involve in efforts for peace and a world State. Kagawa deeply rooted in the
redemptive love of Christ that characterized all his efforts and actions.

B. Kazo Kitamori and the Pain of God:

1. Context of Kitamori’s Writing.
Kitamori brought out the book “The Pain of God” in 1946 soon after the Second World
War, when Japan had been shattered by two atomic bombs. He begins with Jeremiah 31:20
claims that pain and suffering are integral to the essence of God and not external to God. The
pain of God is God’s love conquering the wrath of God. The Cross is the heart of the Gospel and
the entire Christian theology is a theology of suffering.

2. Pain is integral to God’s essence.

Kitamori claims the method of how we are allowed to see the pain of God is more
astonishing than the content that pain is integral to the essence of God. Kitamori highlights his
dilemma that how one may see and know the heart of God to know God’s pain while one who
sees God cannot live. For this he finds a way in Ex. 33:20 by which God reveals God’s glory to

14
us by covering us with his hand. The sheltering hand of God is part of God’s essential nature.
The heart of God was not fully revealed to Moses; but, by taking away God’s hand, God allowed
Moses to see God’s back. Paul had a revelation of the heart of God; so, had the hope of seeing
God face to face. God is revealed in God’s sheltering hand for our salvation. ‘Theology of glory’
can be understood only through ‘Theology of the Cross’. So it is our task to understand the depth
of Christ’s love as God’s pain. The power of God enables us to know the immeasurable love of
Christ. The content (the pain of God) enables the method (our knowledge) to establish theology.

3. Pain as Witness.
Kitamori also claims that we must speak about the things of God using human experience
that is the meaning of ‘witness’. Man’s pain serves the purpose of witnessing to God’s pain.
Moreover the pain of God gives meaning and value to human suffering. Human suffering while
helping us to comprehend God’s pain does not have value in itself. The value of human suffering
is given by the surpassing grace of God given to man by God. Pain is the deepest of all our
spiritual experiences. So, as the saying goes, ‘it is useless to talk with those who have not eaten
their bread with tears’. The Bible also points out that pain turns people to God. But human pain is
valueless because of falleness. Even the best of human creation remains imperfect and dark.

4. Salvation.
The next point Kitamori proceeds to explain is that of salvation. By God’s grace the
darkness of man is changed into light for witnessing to the good news of salvation. The next
principle is that the scholar should have freedom from occupation or a distance from mundane
affairs, to realize learning.
The theology of pain of God can be pursued only when we participate in it through our own
suffering. But, this is not possible because pain deprives us of all freedom. Then how can we
participate in God’s pain? Pain shakes the foundations of our existence and God sustains us
whose foundations are shaking when we participate in God’s pain.
There are two kinds of people – those who experience pain, but do not understand it; and, those
who understand but do not experience. Both these kinds cannot study pain. Only a person who
experiences pain and understands it can pursue the study of pain. But, the problem is that being
human the one, who experiences pain with the ability to understand it, is shattered by the pain.
Then, how can such a person pursue the study of pain? This is made possible by grace through its
sustaining hands.

5. Kitamori’s Prayer.
Kitamori’s prayer is that the gospel of love rooted in the pain of God will become real to
all humans. But for making this possible we must go outside the camp with God and not become
dominant. V. Devasahayam also uses this point of going outside the camp with God in
explicating his Dalit theology much later than Kitamori.

6. Use of two Japanese words.

Kitamori brings together two Japanese words tsutsumu (‘to enfold’) and tsurasa (‘to feel
pain for others’) with Jeremiah 31:20 speaking of God’s bowels being troubled for Ephraim and
Isaiah 63:15 with the concept of the sounding of God’s bowels and mercies.

7. Four constituents of Pain of God.

15
There are four constituents in the pain of God:
i. The pain of God in loving and forgiving those who should not be loved and forgiven.
ii. The second aspect of the pain of God is simply in suffering.
ii. The third aspect is the pain of Jesus Christ experienced on the Cross; the Father suffered
with the Son.
iii. The last part is the pain God’s people experience vicariously in the suffering of those
who hunger, thirst and suffer as seen in Matthew 25: 31-46; this God experiences through
God’s immanence.
For Kitamori, the bridge between God and humans is pain. There are three orders of
God’s love. The first is the smooth parental love of God. Human sin has spoiled this and the
second order is the pain of God. The third is a synthesis of God’s love and pain, known as ‘pain
rooted in love’. Kitamori not only contextualised the Gospel to the suffering of the Japanese, but
used the Buddhist concept of dukka (‘suffering’) to reach nirvana. John Macquarrie raises the
question whether Kitamori’s theology of the pain of God, gone far beyond the legimate
boundaries of a theology of the cross and become pessimistic and masochistic.21

8. Shift in Kitamori’s theology.

In the preface to the 1958 edition of The Pain of God, Kitamori claims that there was no
further need to talk about the ‘pain of God’ and changed the direction of his theologizing. Thus,
he contextualised his theology to the culture, history and temporal situation of his people, the
Japanese.

9. Critical Evaluations.
Koyama a Japanese theologian and student of Kitamori compares Kitamori’s theology to
Luther’s theology and comments that the principle of suffering is not just Japanese but an
accomodational principle for all people. The question is also raised whether the heart of the
Gospel can be reduced only to suffering while the Cross is more than vicarious suffering. Song a
Taiwanese theologian passes two comments: one, that while the theology of suffering and pain
strikes a resonant chord in Asian particularly Buddhist context, Kitamori elevates pain to an
ontological level and pain reigns supreme; the other criticism is that the hope of resurrection is
altogether missing in Kitamori’s theology of pain.22

C. Kosuko Koyama and the Water Buffalo theology . (Sources: Adams, 1987, pp. 130-134;
Batumalai, 1991, pp.105-107; Ferm, 1986, pp. 78-80; Gnanakan, 1995, pp.212-213; Yung, 1997,
pp. 162-168)

1. Background.
Koyama is a Japanese born in a Christian home in Tokyo where he lived through the
years of Second World War and the devastation of two atomic bombs. His early theological
training and ministry in the church were in Tokyo. His higher education in theology was in the
US. He served in Thailand as a missionary theological teacher. Later his teaching career has been
in New Zealand and the US.

2. Koyama’s main work.

21
John Macquarrie. Twentieth-Century Religious Thought. SCM Press, London, fourth edition, 1988, p. 419
22
Gnanakan, p. 31

16
 His main work Waterbuffalo Theology in its chapter layout displays his approach. The
parts of his book are:
i). Interpretation of History ii). Rooting the Gospel iii). Interpretation of the Thai
Buddhist Life iv). Interpretation of the Christian Life. He begins with the unique historical
situation of Asia and its countries, of the Asian cyclical view of time, the Asian experience of
colonialism and the Asian reaction to technology. Then he speaks of rerooting the Gospel in Asia
especially in Thai Buddhist soil. He thus completes the hermeneutical circle by pointing out the
need for the missionary to interpret Christianity. The issues he lists are denominationalism,
concept of personality, Asian urban life and the need for the missionary to have a crucified mind.
Koyama uses vivid imagery such as ‘Will the monsoon rain make God wet?’, ‘Aristotelian
pepper and Buddhist salt’ and so on. The title of his book “The Waterbuffalo Theology’ came
from his concern to interpret the Gospel to the ordinary rice farmers in Thailand. He says that
every time he went to the church he crossed the rice fields where in the water the waterbuffalos
were cooling themselves off. To the Thai rice farmers who were in the fields his theology should
speak. This is his concern. Koyama’s theology is people-oriented. This is found in his statement
that he is not interested in ‘ism’ but in ‘ist’; so, he began to study not Buddhism but a Buddhist
that led him to see the similarities. Thus, Koyama does not want Christians to adopt an
imperialistic attitude towards Buddhism or other religions, because he believes that Christianity
is not superior. He claims that every religion has good and bad things; so, one must keep the
good things of Buddhism in Thailand and talk about them that will change one’s lifestyle and this
is evangelism. He also notes the dissimilarities between Buddhism and Christianity – the former
is cyclic and the latter is linear in its view of history. Further, Buddhism calls for ‘no-pathos’
while Christianity speaks of a non-apathetic passionate God. This causes Christians in Buddhist
cultures to play down the wrath of God. The God of the Bible does not eliminate the ‘I’ of a
person, but restores and resurrects. This is not self-aggrandizement. God is not nirvana or void-
oriented but history oriented. However, for Koyama the mission of the Church is not
Christianization but participation in the secular forces that shape history. In his view, a religion
becomes idolatrous when it puts a handle on God and tries to control God. He is also critical of
western speed and titles one of his books Three Mile An Hour God. His concern that all theology
must be contextual is shown in his book Mount Fuji and Mount Sinai.’ Like the Latin American
and South African liberation theologians he shows a preference for the poor.

3. Koyama’s hermeneutic.
Koyama’s hermeneutic possesses the following aspects:
i. It is people-oriented and not idea-oriented. So, the concern of Christian Gospel is for
people.
ii. It does not shun academic theology. But, theology has to be interpreted with the context of
the place where it is done.
iii. Interpretation begins where the people are and not where the interpreter is. So, he uses
vivid imagery. Jesus also spoke in terms of parables and things common to the daily life
of people.
iv. The interpreter has to empty himself or herself of his or her presuppositions through ‘the
crucified mind’. The interpreter is called to become a ‘little cultural incarnation’.
v. All theology is contextual because only by involvement with the context a theology can
be evolved.
vi. It is biblically based.

17
CHAPTER THREE: SOUTH KOREA

(Sources: Balasundaram, Part I,1993, pp. 124-185; Batumalai, 1991, pp. 14-52; Francis and
Balasundaram,1992, pp. 238-247; 259-282; Ferm, 1986, pp.95-99;Smith, D. L., pp. 218-225;
Yung, 1997, pp. 178-186)
I. INTRODUCTION:
A. Glory of Korea.
South Korea has an impressive list of ‘Number One’ achievements’. These are: 1. A
movable type was invented in 1232 some 200years before Guttenberg. 2. The oldest known
astronomical observatory in the East built in 647 A. D. 3. The first rain gauge was made in 1441.
4. The first ironclad warship was made in 1590. 5. The most scientific system of writing was
invented in mid fifteenth century. 6. The largest church in the world is Yongi Cho’s church 7.
The largest seminary is the Presbyterian seminary 8. the World’s largest Presbyterian church is in
Korea 9. The largest church is in Inchon 10. the biggest Baptist seminary is in Taejon.
Christianity is a fast growing religion in Korea. For the Koreans democracy and unification of
South and the North are two major concerns. They have experienced an economic miracle and
democracy.

B. General History of Korea.

Korea has experienced invasion, occupation, division, oppression, political unrest and
economic growth. Its economy depends on tourism. Their understanding as a people is
intertwined with their painful history of having been sandwiched between China and Japan. They
have been humiliated by the Japanese and continue to be humiliated as a minority in Japan.
Anything modern and western is uncritically accepted in South Korea. The elections held in 1987
have brought a government to power that has made a gesture towards democracy and unification
of the divided country. However it is closely allied with big businesses and American
connections. USA controls South Korea. There is open hostility towards the US.

C. The History of Christianity in Korea.

Korea received Roman Catholic missionaries in the 18th C. and Protestant ones in the 19th
C. Korean religious background is a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism and Shamanism. For
nearly seven decades from the last quarter of the 19 th C. Korea had been colonized by Japan. In
the 1950s the partition of Korea into Communist North and democratic Republic in the South
had further added to the problems of the Koreans. The American missionaries who began their
work as doctors and teachers introduced the western civilization. Initially the Gospel was pietistic
and evangelistic. Social concern and the Gospel were separated. In 1920s and 1930s some
Korean theologians educated in Japan sensed the need for an indigenous Korean theology. After
the partition, attempts were made to articulate Korean liberation theologies that have been at odds
with the Government. Urban Industrial Missions and Students Missions have been influential in
articulating a theology seeking true democracy and social justice.

D. Church Growth in Korea.

The growth of the Church in South Korea is a miracle in Church History. The early
mission with its evangelical appeal and humanitarian compassion touched the heart of the people.
A sense of withdrawal from the members presented an otherworldly gospel. There seems to be

18
an inherent religiosity. The new environment created by the syncretisation of Confucianism,
Buddhism and Taoism, the quest for modernization, a quest for new spirituality emerging from a
hunger of the heart, socio-political crises and the Korean war became the major influencing
factors in the growth of the Church. The Korean Church appears to be radical and explosive. It is
also parochial, materialistic and pietistic. Christianity has become a prosperity or triumphalistic
gospel. On the other hand, the church fosters national tradition and identity. Its history of
persecution and struggles has given the Church strength. The loyalty to the Nation and solidarity
with the people has encouraged church growth.

E. The Issue of Reunification of Korea.

The Korean War was fought between the United Nations and China in 1950s. After the
Second World War and the Japanese withdrawal there was a power vacuum in the Korean
peninsula. In 1945 Soviet troops advanced into the peninsula. Friction between the Russian
sponsored North and the American sponsored South led to the war in 1950. The South was
supported by the UN and the North by China. Peace was restored in 1953. In 1945 USA
proposed the division of Korea to make the Japanese surrender. The USSR agreed to this. This
was supposed to be a temporary arrangement; but it became permanent with the North becoming
Communist and the South capitalist and democratic. This has caused untold suffering for the
people, ten million families and the Nation. The division of the Nation is reflected in the division
of the Church by denominationalism, internal division, theological disputes, internal power
struggles, and discrimination against women. The anticommunist feelings paralyze them from
being reconcilers. An ecumenical effort for reunification has been started. In 1986 both North
and South Koreans for the first time celebrated the Eucharist together.

F. Some Theological Trends.

Kim Chung-Choon suggests that God as the liberator is to be found in the midst of
human suffering. He points out that the Korean concepts of a shaman and han have to be utilized
in Korean Christian theology. A shaman is one who appeases the spirit of the dead. He advocates
the role of Christians as shamans filled with the Holy Spirit to identify with the suffering
humanity. han means the accumulation of grief and oppression. Chung-Choon suggests that the
Church must have a ministry of appeasement of han to enable the rejected, despised, imprisoned,
exploited, alienated and the poor to have joy.

II. THE MINJUNG THEOLOGY:

A. Introduction to Minjung Theology.
Korean Minjung theology as an Asian liberation theology is particularly important for its
growth from the grass roots and its attempts to relate to the Korean indigenous shamanistic
tradition. The Minjung theology is not merely a rejection of the western theology but an
affirmation of Korean culture and history. In its particularity it is a theological expression of the
cultural history of the Korean poor. It is a Korean theology and does not claim to speak for every
one everywhere. But its focus on the Cross and the Resurrection of Jesus makes it relevant for all
people who struggle for freedom.

B. Background to Minjung Theology.

The background of the emergence of Minjung theology is the political situation in South
Korea. 1919-1932 was a depoliticization period when the Church was not actively involved in

19
the life of the people. Christianity was not articulate on behalf of the oppressed because of
missionary control. The next period, 1932-1960 was the period of the ‘Babylonian Captivity’
when the Korean Church yielded to the Japanese Shinto worship. It was captive to dogmatic
imported theology and those striving for ecclesiastical authority. Then followed the period of
awakening from 1960. In 1961 after the military coup modernization policies were espoused.
This led to rapid industrial growth and increase in the gross national product. President Park
exploited the small work force that was relatively educated. This resulted in the economic
deprivation of the peasants and urban factory workers. Many Churches did not raise a voice
against the dehumanizing and repressive policies of Park. Some especially student and urban
industrial missions protested openly. The Students’ Revolt in 1960, the protest of the Korean
National Council of Churches against the military power, the Urban Industrial Mission and the
issuing of several declarations are some highpoints in the history of the development of the
Minjung theology. Around 1975 some theologians developed the idea of Minjung theology.

C. Basic Points of Minjung Theology.

The minjung are downtrodden people. Minjung theology comes from the socio-political
biography of the people of Korea. It does not arise from the Latin American liberation theologies,
but from the Korean-Asian situational context. It transcends history expressed in a religious form.
The biblical text of salvation is reinterpreted from the Korean minjung context. In its affirmation
of culture and history Minjung theology is similar to other Asian theologies. It is a theology of
the Cross and Resurrection. Because both ‘pain’ and ‘hope’ are discerned Minjung theology is
not parochial but universal and ecumenical. Some Koreans claim that the true meaning of
evangelism is resolving the accumulated han or feeling of discontent. From these perceptions of
what Minjung theology is, a definition of who a theologian is emerges. The Minjung theologians
are not academics teaching in seminaries, but those actively involved in the Urban Mission and
human rights movements. The Korean Christians have an intuitive awareness of the essence of
the Christian message. A Minjung theologian must be able to identify with the sufferings of the
people and serve them in their realization of liberation. The people who are involved in this
process are to retell and reflect upon the stories and social biography of the Minjung. It
presupposes God’s liberating concern and action. God is the advocate of the minjung.

D. Critique of Minjung Theology.

According to Hwa Yung, Minjung theology is not of, by and for the minjung people.23 It
is a theology that has come out of the guilt complex of theologians who are not part of the
minjung, but try to understand the message of Jesus through the socio-cultural and historical
situation of the minjung. It is addressed to the Christians and the general public. There is a
difference of opinion about the central theme of this theology. Some feel it is the people while
some others opine that it is the people and Jesus. Suh Nam-Dong uses three biblical paradigms as
the biblical bases for the minjung theology – the exodus event, the crucifixion-resurrection event
and Jesus’ mission directed at the downtrodden people of the land. Three types of tools are used
– the biblical paradigms, folk stories and the Korean traditional mask dance.
Hwa Yung critiques Minjung theology from four viewpoints. 24 It is strongly missiological in its
socio-political emphasis because it sees Jesus’ mission as a political liberation and the crucifixion

23
Hwa Yung. Mangoes or Bananas? The Quest for an Authentic Asian Christian Theology. Regnum Books,
Oxford, 1997, p. 179
24
Yung, pp. 180-186

20
as one of a political criminal. Minjung theology claims that Jesus’ message was later
depoliticised and spiritualized. But it is weak in its evangelistic and pastoral concerns. Salvation
is political and there is no call for repentance and faith. Further, the aim is to humanize people
and not to call them to a clear faith commitment. Thirdly, the inculturation is both positive and
negative. There is an attempt to contextualise and indigenize; but, on the other hand though the
western dualism is rejected, dualism is accepted in the secularized worldview. This secularization
is displayed in the way shamanism and demon possession narratives in the Gospels are treated as
results of socio-political oppression, negating the spiritual dimension. Finally the emphasis on
han as the feeling of nobody neglects the traditional Christian faith and its emphasis on sin. The
concept and problem of sin is not dealt with.

III. SELECT MINJUNG THEOLOGIANS.

A. Kim Yong-Bok:
Bok, a leading spokesperson of the Minjung theology, understands minjung as those
dominated by the powerful – women politically dominated by men, an ethnic group and a race
dominated by a ruling race, intellectuals suppressed by powerful military elite, workers and
farmers. In Bok’s words, the minjung ‘…are the have-nots…. They suffer political suppression,
economic exploitation, social humiliation and cultural alienation.’ 25 Bok sees the minjung as
members of a new community of the liberated.

B. Suh Nam-Dong:
1. Sources used by Suh Nam-Dong.
Suh Nam-Dong is considered the Father of the Minjung theology movement. He was a
professor of theology; but, he was dismissed, imprisoned and tortured. For him stories past and
present of human experiences are important. His thinking is influenced by the works of the poet,
Kim-Chi-Ha.
Two stories capture the context of South Korea. One is that of Miss. Kim Kyung-sook
who worked in a wig export company. The company after a profit of 1.3million suddenly shifted
the company to New York without paying 1.5billion debt. The number of workers was
drastically reduced. The daily wages of female workers were quite low. Most of the export
companies in South Korea have the same story of special provisions of bank loans, tax
exemptions, rapid expansion, low wages for female workers and the story of the capital being
smuggled out of the country. Trade Union organized protest. Some remedy seemed to come. But
finally police action was taken and Miss. Kim was killed. Even while she was alive she suffered
exhaustion, poverty, deprivation and hunger. However Kim advocated Sunday service and Bible
reading for her brother. In a police state workers live with repressed anger in poverty while the
rich are protected by the politically powerful.
Another story Suh uses is that of a farmer Oh Won-Choon. He was active in the farmers’
association. He was beaten and kept in a solitary confinement. The Catholic priest wanted to
know the truth. Later some police broke into the diocesan office and dragged away a priest as an
animal. Suh holds that Oh has han.
In Suh’s opinion the context of Korea itself is of han for four reasons: one, historically because
the Koreans have suffered many invasions the existence of the Korean nation itself is han.
Secondly Koreans have suffered tyranny under their rulers. Third the very existence of women is

25
Deane William Ferm. Third World Liberation Theologies. An Introductory Survey. Orbis Books, Maryknoll,
1986, p.97

21
han because of Confucianism’s restrictions against women. Finally in Korean history half of the
people have been slaves and property and these people consider their lives as han. Han is a
feeling of the Korean people. As a feeling of defeat it expresses itself in artwork whereas as a
feeling of tenacity for life it displays itself in revolution and rebellion.
Kim-Chi-Ha the poet has given importance to the theme of han. Suh says that Kim has
developed the theme of han theologically. Han is the energy for revolution. He identified God
with revolution. He also saw the minjung, Jesus Christ and himself as a composite figure. He
brings together the Korean human rights movements with the exodus event. He juxtaposes Jesus
with han. The Korean Christians express their solidarity with the sufferings of the people, pray
for their han to be resolved and give birth to a Third Church. Suh considers han as ‘the voice of
Christ knocking on our doors’.26 Suh interprets han as the feeling of despair and hope underlying
the experiences of the suffering people. He suggests that han should be developed as a dominant
theological theme.
Suh uses two more stories to develop a counter-theology. One is of Ahn-Gook from the
th
18 C. Ahn-Gook was a good looking man from a noble family. But he could never learn. He
would develop headache and not be able to learn letters. He was sent to his uncle’s place where
also he was unsuccessful. Finally his uncle showing the point that he was from a good and noble
family got him married to a young woman. Ahn-Gook’s wife was clever and well educated. She
started to teach him by means of stories. This enabled Ahn-Gook to learn and he became well
educated.

The other story was that of Jee-Sung a Buddhist monk. He went to do shopping with a
bag of coins. On the way he saw a scholar taking away a boy and a girl. He came to know that
the parents of the children owed a debt to the scholar. The parents having died without paying the
debt, the scholar was taking away the children to work for him instead of paying the debt. The
monk freed the children by giving the scholar the money he had for shopping.
From these two stories Suh brings out some of his conclusions. 1. While letters are indirect
and analytical means of communication, stories are direct and holistic means. Further, stories
reveal the truth about God’s revelation because the language of God is that of stories. 2. Then,
stories reveal the truth about conventional theology on the one hand and the theology of story-
telling on the other hand. Theology arose in a dualistic situation and became dominant theology.
But, God’s revelation came in a situation of freedom and has been preserved in stories. 3. Finally,
stories lead to an evaluation of Jesus Christ and his acts. Jesus redeems not merely individuals
but the whole of humankind, changing sinful structures.

2. Suh’s theology of Minjung:

Suh interprets human rights movement as Missio Dei in Korea. He uses the following as
references: 1. The Exodus events and the Crucifixion-Resurrection 2. The history of the Church
that has received the traditions of the exodus and crucifixion-resurrection 3. The tradition of the
Minjung movement in Korea. For Suh the sociobiography of the minjung is the important
framework for theology. The exodus event is a political event which happened in the socio-
economic realm. Similarly at present God has to intervene in the socio-economic history. The
exodus and crucifixion-resurrection events have some differences. Jesus is the personification
and symbol of the minjung. According to Suh the subject matter of Mark’s Gospel was not Jesus
but the minjung, the ochlos, the poor downtrodden and oppressed people. Following the second
26
Balasundaram. Prophetic Voices. Part I. P.171

22
reference the history of the Church, the content and import of the Bible have been depoliticized
for two reasons. One, the change in the worldview and the other that the religion of the oppressed
became the religion of the rulers and oppressors since Constantine. The third point of reference is
the minjung history in Korea. The minjung were the objects of the ruling power. They did not try
to become the ruling power by revolution, but prepared the way for a historical transformation.
Step by step, they prepared the way to become the ruling power. They are no more the objects
but the subjects.
According to Suh the minjung movement originated in the Korean history. Apart from this
movement the minjung spirit is seen in the Korean art forms. The Korean mask dance and other
art forms seem vulgar because they portray life in its reality and are the expressions of the han of
the minjung. Further, the minjung consciousness and aspirations are focused in the belief in
Maitreya Buddha who can help in the realization of the future world.

CHAPTER FOUR THE CHINESE COUNTRIES

I. TAIWAN:
(Sources: Batumalai, pp. 53-87; Ferm, pp. 82-84; Francis and Balasundaram, pp. 319-324;
Gnanakan, pp. 10, 211-212, 217-224; Yung, pp. 168-178)

A. Introduction:
Taiwan formerly Formosa was occupied for about fifty years by Japan until the end of
the Second World War. Though it is close to Communist China it is anti-communist and the
communist party is not allowed. Politically it is independent, but claims to be a part of China.
Religiously it is plural. In Taiwan the word Chiahh (eating) is used for the essence of life.
Chiahh-chai-ye (those who eat a vegetable diet) was used to refer to the Hinayanalists (Hinayana
Buddhism) and Chiahh-chho-ye (those who eat animal protein diet) folk religionists. When
Christianity came to the Island, Chiahh-kau-ye, the word used for the contract of an
apprenticeship meaning that the master provided ‘enough’ to eat, came to be used for the
Christians. This was because the evangelists and catechists were provided like the apprentices.
So the term meaning that they ate of the religion, because kau also meant ‘religion’ was
derogatorily used for Christians. The Chinese Folk religion is followed as a popular religion in
rural and small towns. Buddhism is the next important religion. Christianity has been in Taiwan
for 300 years. Islam is also present. In 1950 about one and a half million Chinese Muslims
refugees came from Mainland China. Both Roman Catholic and Protestant theologians have
taken leading roles in developing indigenous theologies. Christians in Taiwan are emerging as a
political force with a new political party established along with citizens at large. Earlier since
1949 Taiwan considered itself as part of the Republic of China (ROC) and the vision was to take
over ROC. But, in 1970 when the UN recognized ROC, the Taiwanese have been forced to fight
for a homeland. So a homeland theology has emerged.

B. A Brief History:
It is believed that the ancestors of the Mountain Taiwanese were of the Malayan race that
migrated at the end of the 6 th C. The first colonization was by the Dutch in the 17 th C. This was
followed by the colonization by the Spanish who were once again thrown out by the Dutch. Later

23
the Ming dynasty that had helped the Dutch expelled them. After this the fourth period of
colonialism was that of the Ching Empire. After 200 years Peking gave Taiwan to Japan in 1895.
But at this juncture the Taiwanese announced independence and established the Republic of
Taiwan. However, the fifth period of colonialism was under Japan. In 1945 the Republic of
China colonized Taiwan for about four years. In 1947 the independence movement began.

C. History of Christianity in Taiwan:

The political situation in Taiwan influenced the gospel presentation. There were three
waves of missionary effort. The first one was from 1624-1662 when the Dutch and the Spanish
were vying for colonization of Taiwan. The second one was from 1859 – 1895 when the corrupt
Manchu rule finally ended in the Manchu-Japanese war handing over Taiwan to Japan. The third
one was from 1945-1977 when Taiwan once again was caught up in the power struggle of bigger
powers.

1. The first wave (1626-1642).

The first missionary effort was by the Dutch Reformed Church. The Dutch East India
Company expected the missionaries to give pastoral care to the Dutch in Taiwan, act as
interpreters and tax officers and also evangelize the Taiwanese. The Spanish Dominican Mission
during the period of the Spanish colonization (1626-1642) also combined extension of the
Spanish kingdom with that of evangelization. For the Taiwanese Christianity and foreign
domination went hand in hand. At different times Dutch and Spanish were employed as native
languages. They believed God had given Taiwan to them.

2. The Second Wave (1859-1895).

During this period of the Manchu rule when toleration of Christianity was guaranteed
missionaries rushed to Taiwan. The British went to Taiwan after the Opium war in 1842. This
produced in an anti-alien attitude. Both the Dominicans and the English struggled through this
difficult period. In 1866 the Catholic missionaries established the first orphanage. This
challenged the Taiwanese to develop a concern for the underprivileged. But for most part of their
missionary work the Dominicans concentrated on parish work. The Manchu-French war in 1884-
1885 affected the missionary work. However the first two Taiwanese Protestant pastors were
ordained. Just before the Japanese came the Christian population was 0.03%. A serious
theological encounter took place and a Christian religious identity was established.
The methods of missionary service were education and medical work. Western medicine
was introduced. This became an incentive for people to become Christians particularly because
of the traditional belief of health of body and soul. The Han doctors tried to interfere. But the
Taiwanese preferred especially the surgery by the western doctors. This became another
challenge for the Taiwanese. Along with the medical service, evangelization was carried out by
mission centres established as solar systems. However the best evangelists were the former
patients. Theological colleges were also established. Apart from education for ministry general
education was also the focus of the Presbyterian missionaries. The Spanish missionaries
established a catechist school; but had to close it down for lack of applicants. A missionary and
his Taiwanese colleague developed the Amoy-Taiwanese one of the larger languages that could
not lend it to Chinese characters. They devised a romanised phonetic system that made the
learning and use of the language easier. So the Christians could read the Bible and other literature

24
on their own. A newspaper was also produced using this new script. The non-Christians also
learnt this script. So some literature work was also done.
The period of Japanese rule: 1895-1945 was the period of Japanese rule in Taiwan after
the Manchu-Japanese war. This may be divided into two periods when the Japanese attitude
towards the Church was different.
The period of Japanese favour: The Japanese from 1895-1930 were favourable towards the
Christians in Taiwan. They stopped persecution and were friendly. The number of Christians
increased. The Japanese provided only primary education and were opposed to the Taiwanese
receiving secondary education. Japanese was promoted as the national language.
Modernisation of life: The Dutch in the early days introduced the seven-days-week and
this has been accepted by the public. Chiahh is an important concern; so, the daily greeting is:
chiahh pa boe? (Have you eaten?). The missionaries changed it into ‘shalom’ that has been
accepted by all in the society. Though the Christians had alienated themselves to some extent,
their life style pointed to a new direction. Christians worked for six days and on Sunday went to
church and rested. Their neighbours worked all seven days. The Christians introduced
monogamy though the others thought of concubinage as part of the family system. The churches
initiated several social movements to put down various evils such as foot binding and opium
smoking. The position of the English missionaries was anomalous. They protested against their
government’s policy of exporting opium to China and Taiwan; but as part of that empire they
benefited from that empire’s trade. The churches initiated efforts to promote the status of women
in feudal Taiwan. Mackay a missionary with his Taiwanese wife gave leadership alongside her
husband showing that women could not only participate in meetings but also could lead. Two
schools for girls were started showing that girls should have the same opportunity as boys for
education.
The Churches under Japanese oppression (1931-1945): In 1931 there was a change in the
relationship of the churches and the colonizing Japan. The imperial Japan was continuing its
atrocities. Japanese invasion in Asia and nationalism grew stronger and overwhelmed
westernization. The oppression took many forms. 1. The English Mission Council turned down
the request of the Japanese rulers that the pupils of the school worship at the Shinto shrines. The
church schools were branded as unpatriotic and anachronistic. 2. Soon after the Sino-Japanese
war began in 1937 the churches were forced to organize ‘Holy War’ service and Shinto emperor
worship before Sunday service. 3. The Japanization movement was launched. Shintoism was
imposed as the only Mountain-Taiwanese religion. Many were persecuted and martyred. 4. By
1940 all missionaries were expelled. 5. The Japanese language was forced as the educational
medium. The churches became the guardian of the Taiwanese language. After 1942 Japanese
was forced upon the churches also whether they understood it or not. 6. The youth movement
was considered as the Church’s resistance. 7. The oppression resulted in the formation of
Japanised Churches. Japanese Christians were promoted as leaders. Some Taiwanese and
Japanese Christians in the island collaborated with the Japanese.

3. The Third Wave of Missionary Movement:

The ruthless rule of the Japanese came to an end in 1947. When the communists took
over China, Christians from all denominations came to Taiwan. The Presbyterians sent the
Mountain-Taiwanese to Sarawak establishing a Chinese church in East Malaysia. The Roman
Catholics transferred their men and money to Taiwan from the Mainland. The Protestant Church
adapted to the changed social situation and began new forms of ministry. Apart from the

25
traditional pastoral ministry the Protestants were allowed to serve in secular circles in special
ministries. The ministry of the laity was re-discovered and a new form of theological education
by extension was offered. The ‘Christian Community House’ that is not a conventional church
but a new entity to make the church part of the local community was introduced. Under pressure
the Church withdrew from the World Council of Churches. But, later the Protestant Church
emphasized that all the inhabitants of Taiwan must determine the future of Taiwan and that there
must be a general election. The dilemma of the churches in Taiwan is whether to obey the
government for the sake of freedom to evangelize or to play the servant role in bringing God’s
justice and salvation.

D. Choan-Seng Song:
1. The Person.
Song is a Taiwanese who has served in the World Council of Churches and had been a
theological educator. He has had his education in Taiwan, Edinburgh and New York. Before
joining WCC he was the Principal of the Taiwan Theological College. During this period he was
politically active and political realities forced him to leave Taiwan. Later he has been visiting
Taiwan on special occasions. He has written several books and articles.

2. Song’s Method of Doing Theology.

Song had his later theological education in the West. But he has been critical of the
traditional western theological thinking. He wants the Christians to go beyond the
particularities of their western cultures to the cultures of other people (eg. The Compassionate
God). He proposes a transposition from a pointed nose Christ to a flat nosed Christ. He also
wants a new code of theology from the post First-World Age.
In his assessment Song feels that theology has become the business of the elite who keep
away from popular expressions disdainfully. He and other Third World theologians have taken
steps to reverse this trend. In Asia God is working without interruption because of its religio,
cultural and socio-political contexts. This work of God is discerned with the ‘Third eye’, the
perception needed to grasp the meaning behind the surface of things. He declares in his book
Third Eye Theology, that Christians must be as humble and wise as the Confucianists, because
the Christians have no better understanding of God than the Confucianists. So, Song advocates a
heart-to-heart communication between Christian and other spiritualities. Song’s priority is Asian
people. He has enabled younger Asian theologians to make use of their Asian resources. This
effort is to ‘incarnate God’s message’ for the Asians. Further because God is a living God our
theology also must be living. For this the necessary requirement is that we begin our theology
with the stories of people, folk stories, politics, ideologies, art and poetry. The starting point is
not the question ‘Who is Jesus?’ but ‘Where is Jesus in our living context?’ This discernment
will enable us to raise the question ‘Who is Jesus?’

3. Song’s Concerns in his Theology27.

i. Creation and universal message of God to all people.
God creates, redeems and recreates a human community in compassion moving in all
directions without being pinned down to a centre. Song seems to include all people in God’s
‘election’ and not assign any unique place for the people of Israel. The historical sections of the
Bible have to be interpreted symbolically.
27
Batumalai, pp. 63-68

26
ii. An attempt to formulate an Asian incarnational theology.
For Song the centre of Christian faith is Jesus Christ. But traditionally Christiological
formulations have been western. So a reconstruction of theology from an incarnational
perspective is necessary. Song uses Asian religion, culture and political context to discern the
presence of Christ in Asia. In this vein he advocates Asian art work, because he holds that Christ
is to be presented in more recognizable forms.
iii. An Asian theology of politics.
Song opines that our God is a ‘political God’ concerned about the social and political
well being of humanity. The role of Christians in politics is to identify with the oppressed and the
poor and defend their rights. This will involve open conflict and suffering. Song says that it
should be confrontation and not conflict. But at times he says that we may participate in armed
conflict. He advocates challenging existing authorities to transform. This transformation is
possible through the power of God’s kingdom, power of the resurrection, power of the Cross and
suffering, of the eschatological power of truth and of the love of God. God in Christ participated
in the total life of people to bring about transformation through the Cross and suffering. The
Theology of the Cross must be seen in the context of the resurrection. Song attempts to explain
death and resurrection through the Chinese story, The Tears of Lady Meng. Song’s political
involvement made him leave his country and is able to visit it only on special occasions. This
causes pain to him. Many Taiwanese Christians have left Taiwan and some have dual citizenship.

iv. Contextualisation of theology in Asian terms.

In Song’s opinion Christ’s ‘enfleshment’ has implications for contextualisation. Song’s
aim in contextualisation is because theology is done with an analysis of the context for the
change of society, it is necessary to reroot the Gospel in the Asian soil. He uses the Bible as the
basis and attempts to expound it in the terms of the people. His method is one of creative use of
Asian resources – Japanese concepts, Chinese images and Indian spirituality. Reason and
emotion are important in Song’s method. ‘Pain-love’ is a Chinese image Song uses. His theology
of the womb that he initiated in his book ‘Third Eye Theology’ he expounds in his book
‘Theology from the Womb of Asia’. The theology of the womb enables us to appreciate a kinship
as the pivot of the inner structure of human community. The womb is the infrastructure of
community that God creates and redeems. God entered human history through a human womb
and creates a new human community built on love, justice and peace. In it the Kingdom of God
links all humanity in a common kinship and blood relationship. Another symbol he uses is ‘rice’
which is the staple food in Asia. He speaks about the traditional eucharistic elements and the
sacramental nature of our ministry. He is critical of our sacramental life both from the point of
view of contextualisation and also from the point of view of our socio-political economic
context. Koyama of Japan and some others have also used such images to indigenise the Gospel.
Apart from the use of Asian images and realities, Song also encourages Asian Christians to do
contextual theology. There are four reasons given for why we should do theology. These are: i.
The power of imagination given to us by God who created us in the divine image ii. It is the
passion that enables us to feel the compassion of God in us and others. iii. The experience of
communion makes us realize that we are responsible for others. iv. The vision of God’s
redeeming presence enables us to envision a new course.

As already noted one major theme of Song, also a book is the ‘theology of the womb’.
This imagery he uses for his liberation theology, according to which he holds that Christians

27
must be committed to the emergence of a new world as a mother is committed to bring out the
new life within her womb. Song’s liberation theology bears a few close parallels to the Latin
American liberation theologies: the exodus theme of God’s participation in liberation;
relationship between history and politics and the liberation of both the oppressed and the
oppressor.
Song brings out many new themes in his books. His ‘Chuang-tzu theology’ calls for
transcending the boundaries of history, religion and culture to be sensitive to the ways in which
God deals with nature and human nature. His use of the parable of Lady Meng who redeems her
husband by sacrificing herself is one among the many parables he has collected to do theology in
a new way. He wants the Christians to use parables and folk tales to interpret Christianity in a
religiously pluralistic context. He emphasizes liberation of history from religious interests.

4. Song’s Ten Theological Theses.

An old Chinese folk tale ‘The Mirror’ tells of the confusion caused by a Chinese young
man who bought a mirror for his young wife. Anyone who took the mirror saw his or her own
image in it and did not recognize that it was his or her own image. The young wife thought that
her husband had taken a concubine; the mother-in-law thought that the concubine was an old
hag; the judge thought that they dressed up like him to assault his dignity. This story is a Chinese
parable for theology. We have been given the mirror called ‘theology’. It is to reflect the various
images of God we have acquired in different parts of the world. But we take a negative view.
Sometimes we are emotionally upset thinking that the image in the mirror is an adulteration of
the true image. Sometimes we lament that there is no resemblance to the beauty and dignity of
the image that God has given us. Sometimes like the judge we think that the image is an impost.
But of late theology has become a colourful enterprise with many non-western, non-white, non-
male theological perspectives. Two points are made, one that any theology because of its
historical and cultural conditioning has to be tested. Another point is that each theology must be
evaluated on its own merit and not in comparison or competition with other systems. Ten theses
are advanced to help in reflection and action28.
1. The totality of life is the material for theology.
2. The frontiers of our theology should move from the history of Israel and of Western
Christianity into our historical horizon in Asia.
3. Jesus Christ as the Word become flesh is the theological centre that guides our theological
reflection and action in Asia.
4. Theology is not culturally and historically neutral.
5. Ecumenical theology does not have to be invented by a synthesis of particular theologies, but
is contained within particular theologies.
6. Ecumenical theology in Asia has a wider context because it is the world of Asia with its
cultures and religions.
7. The task of Christian theology is not to give Christian answers to non-Christian questions or
turn non-Christian questions to Christian questions or non-Christian answers to Christian
questions. It is to be open-minded.
8. The only mission there is the mission of God and the Church exists to serve God’s mission.
The task of Third World theology is to help the traditional churches to enlarge their vision of
God’s mission.

28
Batumalai, pp. 85-87

28
9. Theology is to serve God’s future as if it is present. In Christ God’s future has become
humanity’s present.
10. God’s salvation cannot be explained to move forward in a straight line, because God moves
everywhere and anywhere.

5. An Evaluation of Song’s Theology.

In the various regions of Asia the theological concerns are different. Song does not speak
to every context but sets some trends. These are:
i. People of other living faiths and Christian mission: Song’s Third Eye Theology attempts to
speak through Asian culture and spirituality. He has attempted to develop a theology of religion
and to discern the presence of Christ and the activity of the cosmic Christ in Asian situations.
ii. Incarnation approach: Incarnation theology has become a presupposition in Asian
theological thinking and action. It has to be worked out in every context and at all levels.
iii. Homeland Theology: Political struggle is a living reality in Asia. A Taiwanese theologian
Wang has said that he does ‘homeland theology’ while Song has written about it. The concerns
of homeland theology are the fight of those who assert that Taiwan is their homeland and not
Communist China. He has implicitly discussed this by way of discussing the rights of Maoris and
aborigines struggle to reclaim the land in the place of their birth. Song’s heart is in Taiwan. He
reflects from his homeless situation upon the magic word ‘home’. For him this word reminds one
of the place where he or she belongs; of responsibility to the kith and kin; of one’s destiny of
where one must look for the fulfilment of one’s life journey.
iv. Contextualisation: Song along with Koyama has been a trendsetter in this area. For Song the
histories, politics and cultures of Asia are important. Folk tales are his favourites. There is a need
to deal with the new questions of new culture, applied science and technology. Sociologically the
Church is part of modernization and development. So our theologies and ministries respond to
the current social changes. Song is insufficiently critical of the wholesale rejection of religion in
western secular theology. Song used to separate religion and faith. Religion is culture-bound,
totalitarian and enslaving. But later he has improved his position.
v. His Asianness and Ecumenicity: Song because of his political exile has been unable to serve
his Taiwanese people. He has to live elsewhere to serve as a Chinese and Asian thinker. He
develops his theology through his Asian background in which he is deeply rooted. His main aim
is to equip the Church to proclaim the truth of God. So he attempts an incarnational theology. It
is also for the Asian intellectuals. Asian theologians attempt to interpret to Asians. But there is a
tendency to return to western resources because many have been trained in the West. He attempts
to bring forth more Asian theologians in Asia.

6. Critique from Another Perspective:

His prominent contribution is the book Third-Eye Theology. In this he holds that
Christians must be as humble and wise as Confucius because the Christians do not have any
better understanding of whom God is than a Confucianist. Song borrowing a visual image from
the Japanese Zen master Suzuki speaks of theology starting from the heart and not from reason.
Thus the heart serving as a window into the mystery of Being is the ‘third eye’, the perception
needed to grasp the meaning behind the surface. According to Song, Asian Christians must see
Christ through the Asian eye, which is intuitive and not conceptual; heartfelt and not rational.
Asian spirituality is shaped by Asian cultures and religions. It is for the Church to bring God’s
love in Jesus Christ to this spirituality. The struggles of humanity are the arena for the Christian’s

29
participation in the world. Faith is validated and incarnated in such a redemptive participation.
For Song a literal interpretation of the Bible kills revelation. Even the historical passages are to
be interpreted symbolically. Song argues that the Buddhist experience of satori (enlightenment)
is similar to the conversion in the Christian faith. Further there is a resemblance between the Pure
Land Buddhism and Christianity in the concepts of God’s love and grace. So, a positive
appreciation of other religions should result in a world community of God’s children.
Tissa Weerasingha critiques Song’s comparison of the concept of ‘grace’ in Pure Land
Buddhism and Christianity. Weerasingha points out that the concepts do not have the same
content or meaning. In the Pure Land Buddhism ‘grace’ is the unmerited favour through which
the believer is able to attain his or her goal through an outside power. The believer can reach the
Pure Land after death through the grace of Amida Buddha. But, if ‘grace’ is receiving of
salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ it is an exclusive way. Further, the question is raised
whether the elements of similarities between Pure Land Buddhism and Christianity lead us to
Christ or away from Christ.29 Weerasingha has a few other criticisms about Song’s theology. One
is that the Christology of Song is defective because he does not want words such as ‘unique’,
‘absolute’ and ‘finality’. So, the comprehensive Christology makes Christ to be seen in every
other religionist, even an atheist. Song’s intersection of Asian spirituality with Christian
spirituality makes a synthesis of all religions into one world religion.30

7. Yet Another Evaluation:

Hwa Yung sees three key ideas in Song’s theology – rejection of concept of salvation
history, transposition theology and a critique of the mission of the Church. In Yung’s opinion,
Song’s theology is not faithful to Christian tradition, because of three points. One, Song dislikes
dogma and does not make a distinction between western denominationalism and the Apostolic
faith. The other two reasons are his universalism and implicit pluralism. Song is strong in the
socio-political implications of the Gospel but weak in its evangelistic and pastoral dimensions.

E. Some Concerns in Conclusion:

1. The Taiwanese are homeless. They have been asked to go to Mainland China. But they claim
that Taiwan is their home. When the Republic of China has been recognized many countries
dropped their diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The Taiwanese have protested. The people are under
martial law. The Church struggles to make its presence felt. The main themes of homeland
theology are people, land, power and God. This is perceived from the Bible. Some who have
been actively involved in the struggle for human rights and future of Taiwan have developed the
homeland theology. Relevant subjects are offered for study. Seminaries have been encouraged in
socio-political movements. Continuing education and a program of lay theology have been
started.

2. Reforms in Taiwan: The President has initiated some quick political and economic reforms.
One phenomenon is the relationship with Mainland China. Blood relations are allowed to visit
relatives. But only the overseas (from Malaysia and Taiwan) Chinese will be invited to visit and
citizens of Mainland China will not be allowed to travel to other countries. China wants Taiwan
to be part of Mainland China with some freedom; but is wary of the Taiwanese wanting to have
29
Tissa Weerasingha, “A Critique Of Theology From Buddhist Cultures”, in Gnanakan. Pp. 217-218
30
Weerasingha in Gnanakan, p. 220

30
independence. Further both the nations consider themselves as the rightful government of all
China. Political reform is for democracy. The political climate depends upon several groups such
as the farmers, the business community and so on. Its industrialization has been quite fast.
Economic success and easy citizenship may lure more of the overseas Chinese.

3. The Church’s Response: The Christian population in Taiwan is 7.5% According to the
Roman Catholic Taiwanese bishop vocations are not satisfactory and laity formation has to be
strengthened. The quest for material wealth has hindered God’s mission. Christians like others
are involved in the economic development of their families. The Church is keen to establish
relationship with Mainland China. The traditional Presbyterian Church has given medical,
general and theological education. The government is concerned that the Church does not get
involved in politics. But the Taiwanese Church is concerned with human rights. This can create
tension with the government. Ecumenically the Church is divided along language lines. If there is
ecumenical unity it can speak to the general and religious society. The Church has to speak out
against corruption and the interference of the ruling party in the judiciary. If the relationship with
Mainland China improves the Church has the prophetic task of discerning God’s will and
contextual needs.

II. CHINA.
(Sources: Ferm, pp. 80-81; Francis and Balasundaram, pp. 314-317; Ro and Eshenaur ed. Pp.
327-342; 343-362)

A. The Church in China:

China has had a long history of attempts at Christian Missions right from the early
centuries and the Nestorian mission. Later, the Roman Catholic missionary efforts were made in
the 16th C. The Jesuit missionaries made a serious attempt to indigenize the Christian faith to
make it appealing for the Chinese literate removing the foreignness of Christianity. They won the
hearing of the Confucian intelligentsia. In the 19th C. lot of missionary effort was focused on
China. Some Chinese theologians such as T. C. Chao and Ting Kuang-Hsun hold that the reason
for the failure of Christianity in Mainland China is the failure of the western Christianity to
reinterpret the Christian faith in the Chinese socio-political, religio-cultural and economic
context. However by the 1920s there were a number of experiments to indigenize the Christian
faith. The movement to establish independence from the Western churches through self-support,
self-government and self-propagation was a reaction to the anti-Christian campaigns. The anti-
Christian force was great and seemed to threaten the Christian movement. After the Nanking
incident in March 1927 there was a massive exodus of foreign missionaries.

Three trends were seen among the Chinese intellectuals who tried to establish the cultural
identity of the nation. Some wanted to reject Confucianism as incompatible with the modern age
and advocated total westernization with Science and Democracy introduced. The conservatives
saw the First World War as the result of the cultural bankruptcy and believed in the renaissance
of traditional Confucianism. Some others followed a middle path of a synthesis of the East and
the West. Buddhism and Taoism were popular among the masses and Confucianism among the
intellectuals. The dilemma of the Chinese Christians to be true to their culture and faithful to
Nationalism without betraying the Christian Gospel at the same time showing the Christian faith
as not of the West and alien, was quite real.

31
 The question what is indegenization was raised. Ch’eng Ching-yi views indigenization
as the process to “render Christianity suitable to the needs of the Chinese and to accommodate it
to the customs, environment, history, and thinking of the Chinese culture.” 31 ‘Chao Tzu-ch’en,
professor of Yenching University, defined indigenous church as “one which conserves and
unifies all truths contained in the Christian religion and in China’s ancient civilization and which
thus manifests and expresses the religious life and experiences of the Chinese Christians in a
fashion that is native and natural to them.”32’33Lam sees five patterns of indigenous thought.

Ng Lee Ming34 faults the claim that Christianity has failed in China on two scores. One, he
perceives an ambiguous definition or expectation of what the missionaries should have attempted
or achieved. The second reason is the distinction Ming wants to make between the history of
Christianity in China and the history of Christian missions in China. In his opinion, the former
still continues while the latter may have ceased to be explicit.
Ming also holds that the reasons given for the failure of Christianity in Mainland China are not
tenable just as the claim that Christianity has failed. He says that many give the following
reasons:

i. The emphasis on social programs at the expense of ‘evangelism’

ii. The Church’s insensibility to socio-economic injustices
iii. The desperate effort on the part of the Chinese to maintain their national identity
iv. China did not really need Christianity and western democracy coupled with capitalism for its
reconstruction. These reasons are not tenable in Ming’s view.

The reasons are not far to seek is Ming’s view. In his opinion Christianity has always
been a persecuted faith. It has never been able to find its place in the Chinese ethos. Next, there
were periods of excellent opportunities and favourable conditions for Christianity; but the Church
was unable to overcome some basic difficulties. One, Christianity could never come to terms
with the cultural past of China. Next, Christianity was not a viable option within the social
context of China. Thus, Christianity was not able to convince the Chinese of its social and
cultural viability.

B. Evangelical Theology in Totalitarian Cultures With Special Reference to Socialist

China.

31
Ch’eng Ching-yi, “Pen-se chiao-hui shang-ch’ueh” (Discussion of Indigenous Church), Wen-she yueh-k’an
1.6(May 1926): pp. 9-10. Cheng was elected General Secretary of the National Christian Council of China and
served in that position until 1933, quoted by Wing-hung Lam, “Patterns Of Chinese Theology” in Ro &
Eshenaur ed. The Bible & Theology In Asian Contexts. P. 331
32
Chao Tzu-ch’en (T. C. Chao), “Indegenous Church,” The Chinese Recorder. Vol. 56 (1925): p. 497 qouted in
Ro & Eshenaur, p. 331
33
Ro & Eshenaur, p. 331
34
Ng Lee Ming, “The Failure Of Christianity In China” in Francis and Balasundaram, 1992

32
 Rev. Dr. Jonathan T’ien-en Chao presented a paper on this topic in Seoul in 1982. 35 Chao
is the founder director of the Chinese Church Research Centre in Hong Kong. Born in Manchuria
at the time of the Japanese occupation, living through the period of struggle between the Chinese
Nationalists and Communists, he left Mainland China in 1948. He is also the founder of the
China Graduate School of Theology of which the Research Centre was originally a department
until it became independent when it became large. He is invited often to consultations on China,
theology and missions. He has also contributed to mission compilations.

1. Three Basic Questions.

Chao prefers a modification in the title of his paper from the phrase ‘totalitarian cultures’
to ‘Marxist cultures’ or ‘totalitarian societies’. He raises three questions for the examination of
the topic of evangelical theology in totalitarian societies.
i. What should be the evangelical theological attitude towards a totalitarian state within which
the Christian church is trying to bear witness?
ii. The second question is about how believers have lived and worked in totalitarian societies.
iii. The final question relates to the most urgent theological tasks relating to Christian life and
witness in totalitarian socialist societies.
Chao in his paper seeks to answer these three questions that he has raised.

2. A Theological Interpretation of Totalitarian States.

Chao following Webster’s dictionary, defines a totalitarian government as a political
regime that subordinates the individual to the state and controls all aspects of life and production
especially with coercive measures. So, the Christian and the Church are caught between two
conflicting authorities who demand absolute obedience, the Lordship of Christ and the absolute
control of the state.

i. Characteristics of Totalitarian States.

A totalitarian state has six characteristics.
a. It has an official ideological orthodoxy.
b. It has one party political system.
c. It has a system of secret police control.
d. Its communication media are all under the control of the state.
e. The state controls the military forces.
f. It has a centrally planned and controlled economic system.

In Communist China the Party has an ideology known as “Marxism, Leninism and the
thought of Mao Tse-tung”. The legislative and administrative apparatus under the control of the
state supports this ideology. This is expressed in China’s ‘Four Insistences”, the demand to walk
the socialist road, to follow Marxism, Leninism and the thought of Mao Tse-tung, to have the
leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and to have the dictatorship of the proletarian class.
These four demands have been incorporated in the ‘Draft of the Revised Constitution of the
Peoples Republic of China’ published in 1982. The leadership of the Party applies to all aspects
of the national life – government administration, police control, communication control, military
control and economic control. The state also controls all religious activities through the ‘mass

35
34 Jonathan T’ien-en Chao, “Towards An Evangelical Theology In Totalitarian Cultures With Special
Reference To Socialist China” in Ro & Eshnaur ed., pp. 343-363

33
organisations’ such as the China Buddhist Association, the China Islamic Association, the
Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the China Taoist Association and the China Catholic
Patriotic Association.

The religious life is controlled by interlocking relationships between the various

apparatuses. The policy of the Chinese Communist Party is limited religious freedom. However
in practice the T. S. P. M. works against its ideals of self-support, self-government and self-
propagation. It appears that the Chinese Communist Party is working towards the elimination of
religion. However, this is not displayed for two reasons – not to alienate the religiously minded
people and also not to lost international good will and friendship.

ii. Characteristics of the Christian Church.

The house churches in China hold to the following essential characteristics of Christian life.

a. The Lordship of Christ.

This acknowledgement of the lordship of Christ implies Christian witness even if it runs counter
to the state.
b. Assembly for Worship and Celebration of the Ordinances.
The Church observes two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The Christians have been
meeting contrary to the state legislation for prayer, worship and evangelistic services. Those not
approved by the state have also been administering baptism.
c. Proclamation of the Gospel.
Only those approved by the state are allowed to preach. But the house churches have their own
leaders who preach, train young people to preach and do itinerant preaching.
d. Teaching and discipline.
The proclamation of the gospel aims at conversion and incorporation of individuals into the local
house churches. These house churches take care of teaching, discipleship, discipline and
development of gifts.
These four characteristics are understood to be the marks of biblical Christianity.

iii. Conflict Between Authority and Obedience.

There is a conflict for obedience and allegiance for Christians living in totalitarian
societies, because of two systems demanding absolute obedience, the Church and the State. In
three areas the tension is felt most keenly.

a. The Question of Lordship.

The totalitarian government claims lordship over every area of life. So the question of
whom to obey, Christ or the State arises. The issue is to know when to obey and when to disobey
the state. The state claiming total control has deified itself and absolutized its power. Thus its
subjects are denied the freedom of expression, assembly, of choice of vocation and even the
freedom of residence. This is dehumanization. The resistance to this absolute sovereignty incurs
the wrath of the state. In fact the state competes with Christ for sovereignty and authority.

b. The Question of Ideological Conflict.

The Chinese Communist Party controlling every aspect of life in the state is totalitarian.
Its ideology is based on dialectical materialism, Marxist view of history and atheism. On the

34
other hand the Christian ideology and world view are quite different raising a conflict. For
example, Communist atheism teaches evolution as fact denying God’s creation. Human nature is
defined in terms of economic class in Communist ideology while the Christian doctrine of
humans is of persons created in God’s image. The Marxist view of history is utopian whereas the
Christian eschatology is different. The issue of abortion to control population is a policy in
Communist China; on the other hand, the Christian faith teaches the sanctity of life. Thus the two
ideologies are in conflict in every area of life and in every practical situation in life.

c. The Question of Proclamation of the Gospel.

Evangelism is the foremost area in which there is tension between the Communist and
the Christian ideologies. Christians are specifically commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ to
preach to all people. But the Communist Chinese state prohibits evangelism. Christians may hold
worship services but should not propagate the Gospel. There are specific regulations controlling
the activity of the Christians. (1) No one can preach without the approval of the TSPM. (2) No
one can give religious training or baptism for those under eighteen. (3) No one can privately
publish religious literature. Itinerant preachers are arrested and severely beaten up. The local
cadres are instructed to: (1) stop itinerant preaching (2) stop Christians from overseas and Hong
Kong supplying Bibles and other religious literature (3) control house church meetings to reduce
their strength and number (4) educate the masses in atheism (5) persuade party members who
have become Christians to recant (6) discourage non-party persons and teachers from attending
religious meetings.

Thus in the above mentioned three areas of lordship, ideology and proclamation there is
conflict between the Chinese Communism and Christianity.

3. Evangelical Attitude Toward a Totalitarian State.

Three points are set forth for the shaping of an evangelical attitude toward a totalitarian
state.

i. Totalitarianism Deifies the State.

A totalitarian state claims authority beyond what the Scriptures say that God grants to it.
According to Romans 13:1-7, three points are made about authority. a. All authority is given by
God. b. God delegates authority to the state for the state to maintain peace and justice. c. Any
institution that has received God’s delegated authority should use it on God’s behalf as God’s
servant. A totalitarian state that denies these teachings of the Scriptures about God’s delegated
authority deifies itself making itself equal to God. Christians should proclaim these teachings of
the Scriptures and warn those who deny these. Further Christians should respect and obey the
state in issues in which obedience is proper. They should act according to both the teaching of
Jesus in Matthew 22:21, ‘Render unto Caesar the things that belong to Caesar, and to God the
things that belong to God’, and also the example of Peter in Acts 4:29; ‘We must obey God
rather than man’.

ii. Totalitarianism Dehumanizes Man.

A totalitarian state demands absolute obedience from its citizens and denies any freedom
of will. Freedom of will is a God-given aspect of humanity made in God’s image. To deny this is

35
to dehumanize persons created by God. So, Christians should resist such efforts and programs of
dehumanization and join hands with others who lead human rights movements.

iii. Totalitarianism Denies Christ.

A totalitarian state that prohibits the proclamation of the Gospel is against Christ. Behind
such a state is a satanic spiritual force. So Christians should use spiritual weapons to fight an
atheistic state. These weapons include prayer. Thus the Christians will be able to resist the attack
of Satan in the power of the Holy Spirit as seen in Ephesians 6:10-19. The Church under the
totalitarian state shows its true spiritual nature by proclaiming the Gospel that gives true freedom.
Through the proclamation of the Gospel the church helps the rule of Christ to be established. If
the totalitarian state persecutes the Church for obeying Christ and proclaiming the Gospel, such a
state has lost its delegated authority and it becomes illegitimate.

4. How Christians in China Responded to Totalitarian Rule.

The conflict between church and state in Communist China is not direct. The religious
organizations set up and approved by the state act as the buffer. The Christians have responded in
many ways.

i. Obey the State when Permissible.

Majority of the believers obeyed the state as much as possible according to their
understanding. They obeyed the Communist rule, as they would have done any other civil
authority. They neither resisted nor attempted to overthrow. Christians wanted to show by their
obedience that they were good citizens, patriotic Chinese and also good witnesses for the Gospel.
During 1950-1955, most of the pastors joined the TSPM. Those who joined were sent to factories
or farms and reeducated. Some such as Watchman Nee refused to join. These were imprisoned
and were not released until 1978-1980.

ii. Disobey the State in Religious Matters.

The Chinese Christians learnt to give to God what was due to God and to Caesar what
was due to him. During the 1950s most of the pastors came under the control of TSPM or were
imprisoned. The Christian community learnt to comply with the TSPM outwardly while
conducting their own Christian activities maintaining a good Christian witness. The Christian
community’s activities to assemble and preach were carried on with the help of lay leaders. Since
the 1960s the house church leaders and itinerant preachers were imprisoned and ill treated. The
Christians learnt to willingly suffer. They had learnt that through suffering they grew. Because of
this way of acknowledging the lordship of Jesus Christ through suffering the power of the risen
Christ was manifested in the life of the Chinese church that chose to willingly suffer for its faith.
Signs and wonders were seen in the life of this suffering church. These were displayed not only
to the believers but also to the general population and the state officers.

iii. Use Spiritual Weapons.

The Chinese Christians did not rise in armed revolution against the totalitarian state. But
they interpreted the oppression as of a demonic power. So they are more and more using spiritual
weapons in this spiritual warfare. The following spiritual weapons are primary:

a. Meet Frequently.

36
 Believers meet every day in many places for several hours of prayer, praise and
preaching. Through these meetings they experience God’s power in healing, strengthening and
conversions.
b. Pray Strategically.
Believers pray for those in authority and many relatives have been led to Christ. Many of
the senior party officials are believers.
c. Preach Unceasingly.
Chinese Christians preach in season and out of season. Proclamation of the Gospel has a
high priority.
d. Praise in Suffering.
The believers rejoice in suffering counting it a privilege to suffer for Christ’s name.
e. Prayer Requested.
Believing in the universal character of the church the Chinese Christians request the
worldwide church to pray for them.
The church in China has shown three kinds of responses or three stages to the totalitarian
state. During 1949-1958 the believers supported the state. From 1959-1978, they obeyed the state
in civil matters and God in religious matters. In the third stage of 1979-1982 they obeyed God
rather than men in all matters.

5. Some Urgent Theological Tasks Relating to Christian Life and Witness in a Totalitarian
Society.
Five issues arise for evangelical reflection out of the analysis of the church-state conflict
in a totalitarian state.

i. Evangelicals Need to Develop a Theology of Politics.

Evangelicals have to abandon the traditional concept of separation of church and state.
Theological thinking on current political philosophies and institutions has to take place.
Political studies are essential. Theology of power not only outside the church but also within
the church has to be developed.
ii. Evangelicals Need to Develop a Theology of Human Dignity and Freedom.
Human freedom is lost and so human dignity is also lost. So theological reflection on
human dignity and freedom has to take place. This has to be done in reference to such evil
forces that destroy human freedom and how Jesus’ redemptive power can be applied in such
situations.
iii. Evangelicals Need to Develop a Theology of Suffering.
The theme and experience of suffering has to be introduced into our theology. The
meaning of suffering is primarily learnt through experience and not through rationalization or
rational thinking. This has to pave the way for a theology of suffering born out of experience not
considering rational reflection superior.
iv. Evangelicals Need to Develop a Theology of Evangelism under Totalitarian Rule.
The totalitarian state in China has prohibited preaching, baptizing, praying, exorcising,
producing, receiving and distributing of Christian literature. In the light of loss of civil rights in
many countries around the world evangelicals have to find ways and means of responding to
such prohibitions on religious liberties by the state.

v. Evangelicals Need to Develop a Theology of Spiritual Warfare.

37
 The house church leaders have interpreted their suffering and conflict with the State in
terms of spiritual conflict and warfare. This has to be interpreted theologically and experientially
to know our Christian and theological task in such a situation.
The above-mentioned five areas of evangelical theological reflection have been
suggested in the light of the experience of the Chinese church under the totalitarian regime of the
Communist Party of China. These reflections need to lead one to take up the responsibility of
advancing the Kingdom of God.

III. HONG KONG.

(Sources: Ferm, pp.81-82; Francis and Balasundaram, pp. 325-337; Ro and Eshenaur ed. Pp.
327-342)

A. Introduction:
Hong Kong has been strongly influenced by the West and has not come heavily under
Marxist influence. Capitalism, industrialization and urbanization of the type, degree and speed
not found in traditional Asian contexts have gripped Hong Kong. Though it is not any more a
colony of any western power, the stamp of years of western colonization is displayed.
Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism and Islam are present. Peter Lee raises some questions about the
religious map of Hong Kong. In his view though people may not explicitly acknowledge the
secularization of the society, for all practical matters of social reality religion in Hong Kong
seems irrelevant. Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism have been the traditional religions and
philosophies of the Chinese who make up 98% of the population. In Peter Lee’s opinion these
worldviews must have made their imprints on the thinking of the people. The sources of
theological thinking in Hong Kong, considered here are the Tao Fong Shan Ecumenical Centre
with Peter K. H. Lee its Director and the Industrial Committee of the Hong Kong Christian
Council with its former leader Raymond Fung.

B. Raymond Fung:
The Industrial Committee has focused on social injustice in Hong Kong industries.
Raymond Fung suggests that Christians should perceive the oppressed as the ‘sinned against’. He
also holds that the Christian message should be presented as ‘comfort in compassion’ to the
oppressed and ‘judgement in comfort’ to the oppressor.

C. Tao Fong Shan and Peter K. H. Lee:

Lee holds that huge changes have taken place in Asia after the Second World War.
Though many of the countries have gained political independence from the western nations, the
Church is still living under imperialism. Many of the Asian countries have to deal with a
traditional society while taking care of the demand of the oppressed for justice and equality. The
gap between the rich and the poor is huge fed by the multinational corporations of the West. Lee
wants the Church to take the first step in renewal by siding with the weak against the oppressor.
The ecumenical centre is the Christian Study Centre on Chinese Religion and Culture and
also a base for Christian Mission to Buddhists. A Norwegian Lutheran missionary Karl Ludwig
Reichelt established this in 1930s on a lovely hill. This was the colonial period with not much of
urbanization and industrialization achieved. There was not much respect for the non-Christian
religions. Reichelt was impressed by the piety of the Buddhists. He made friends with Buddhist
monks and laypersons. He thought that there are areas in which Christians can learn from

38
Buddhism. He firmly held to his conviction that Christ was Word became flesh. He also
presented this to his Buddhist friends when there was some opportunity. In Lee’s opinion
underneath the secularized front of the society in Hong Kong there are Buddhist motifs in the
culture and ethnically and culturally close ties with other Asian countries such as China.
In Lee’s opinion Reichelt was particularly sensitive to his work among the Buddhists and
practised dialogue with them long before the term became much used. His success in dialogue
came out of some personal qualities. 1. His capacity for friendship 2. His readiness for a deeper
understanding 3. He prepared himself to meet people of different backgrounds. Lee seems to get
the idea that there was a tension between Reichelt’s friendliness and his evangelistic impulse.
Reichelt followed a Johannine incarnational approach. After Reichelt’s death in 1952 the work
dwindled. There seem to be a few factors: i. After 1950 the flow of Buddhist priests ceased. ii.
The successors of Reichelt did not have his charisma. iii. Some Buddhist converts developed a
negative attitude towards their pre-conversion religion. iv. Resentment in some circles gave a bad
name to the centre. To offset some of the negative effects a House of Friendship was established
in the city.
Concern for indigenization is displayed in the dialogue between Chinese thought and
Christianity shown in the study about China in order to help the Chinese Christians to effectively
carry on their mission. The Chinese intellectuals think that Christianity is a foreign religion. So to
arouse their interest in dialogue sufficient knowledge of Chinese thought is essential. Further, the
Christians are to know their past heritage and also the areas of convergence and difference. When
such in-depth dialogue happens the Christians enliven their understanding of Chinese culture and
religion and enrich their self-understanding, and the Chinese non-Christians gain a new
perception of Christianity. Those in the study centre carry on an internal dialogue within
themselves.
Lee narrates how a breakthrough in interreligious relations came about. The first step take
by the committee was to have a ‘Chinese New Year celebration’ with people of all faiths. This
was a purely social event. Each faith community was to host it every year. When it was the turn
of the Protestants to host it even the most ecumenically minded persons were hesitant. Then Lee
chided them for not having the traditional Chinese ethos of hosting. He also pointed out that
Jesus was a friend of ‘sinners and tax collectors’ and the non-Christian neighbours were not to be
rejected as ‘sinners’. Lee emphasized the importance of meeting people on the human basis.
Finally the Protestants took up their responsibility of hosting. At the celebration a Catholic priest
and a Buddhist monk suggested that time was ripe for interreligious dialogue. Another person
suggested that they should get together to discuss public issues of the community.

Two sets of mutireligious activities are being carried on. Six different religious groups –
Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism are participating. The
first set of activities is to discuss religious issues for the sake of mutual understanding. The first
round chose the theme of ‘worship’ while the second round ‘basic tenets’. In every meeting
representatives of two religions would present the views about the chosen theme. Lee’s
assessment is that not all the participants know what it is to engage in dialogue; further,
sometimes the meetings tend to go in the direction of abstract ideas rather than vital enrichment.

The second type of activities focused on community issues. Twice a year three leaders
came together for this. In the first meeting the participants expressed their views on mass media
and youth problems. Some leaders tended to moralize. However, it was felt that religion should

39
have a say in public issues. It also promoted the sense of community. The second meeting
focused on the UN’s theme of ‘child’ in 1979. The leaders of the various religious groups
decided to issue a New Year’s joint message on child welfare. This Lee feels is a move forward
from a New Year gathering.
Lee’s opinion is that the two types of meetings should be held together without having
two different streams. Further, in Hong Kong several families are of multi-religious composition.
They accept one another without religious arguments. Lee envisages two types of dialogue in the
situation of these families – one of mutual enrichment and another of conversion without any
hazard.
Preparation for encounter with ideologies is a step forward for Lee. It is an imperative
with the proximity of Mainland China with its Communist regime. However the Church in Hong
Kong with a traditional mindset seems to squarely face the issue. Any interest shown springs
from a motive for an opportunity to evangelize along the traditional lines. On the other hand,
Communism challenges Christianity and China hopes to create a society without religion. There
is no use in discussion of theory. Christians have to acknowledge the validity of some of the
claims of Communism. They also have to show in praxis what the real demands of Christianity
are. One issue that can be a meeting point is ‘social justice’. At the time of Lee’s writing of this
article, he felt that both sides were not yet ready. However he points to some steps taken by the
Centre. A study group has been learning about Communism. He also wants to raise the critical
awareness of the Church through the method of group praxis. The establishment of the Research
Institute on World Religions in Peking (at present Beijing) is a hopeful sign for Lee.
Lee sees the necessity for the churches in Hong Kong to dialogue with capitalism.
Communist Republic of China has established links with capitalist Hong Kong along the lines of
investment from both sides on the other side. This is a good opportunity in Lee’s opinion for the
capitalists to learn from China with its egalitarian ideal.
Lee’s hope is that the Centre with its beautiful Chinese architecture will be a symbol of
Christianity’s openness to Chinese religions and culture in the real world with dialogue being a
style of life.

D. Wing – hung Lam.

Dr. Wing-hung Lam, a lecturer in Church History in China Graduate School of Theology
in Hong Kong has written two books, Chinese Theology in Construction and Wang Mingtao and
the Chinese Church. His article deals with the Chinese Church without making a distinction
between those in Mainland China and those in Hong Kong. He explains that there are three types
of Chinese Christians who have made efforts to produce indigenous Chinese theology – those
who have felt the conflict between their traditional values and their Christian values, those who
have been comfortable with both sets of values and those in between. He enumerates three
aspects of the intellectual task of indigenization – the definition of the Christian faith, the
identification of culture and the expression of the former in the latter. Lam surveys five patterns
of indigenous Chinese theology in his article.36
1. Five Patterns of Indigenous Thought.
Each pattern may not be unique and distinct, but the different emphases show their
presuppositions and approaches.

i. Presence of Classical Precedents.

36
Wing-hung Lam, “Patterns Of Chinese Theology” in Ro and Eshenaur, pp. 327-342

40
 Those who had intimate knowledge of Confucianism propound this approach. They did
not lose their love and confidence in Confucianism. Their adherence to Christianity gave them
the values to defend their traditions. No conflict was displayed. Even when there were tensions
they were ignored or explained away. They were convinced that their Chinese values were
universally true. They did not accept Christianity as absolute to displace Confucianism but as a
colleague to enrich.
Wu Lei-ch’uan of Yenching University is a strong proponent of this approach. He
coming from a strong Confucian background was well versed in the Four Books and Five
Classics. He holds that Truth is one and its expressions are many. Christianity and Confucianism
are two different expressions of the same Truth, Tao. Wu did not hold to the uniqueness and
finality of Christianity. He tried to build continuity between the two. He found the counterparts of
many Christian doctrines in the Chinese traditional Confucianism. Three such counterparts
according to Wu are:
(1) Shang-ti signifies the idea of a personal deity in Shih Ching (The Book of Odes) and in Shu
Ching (The Book of History). Only in later times this idea was altered.
(2) The expectation of the coming saint is seen in Chung Yung (The Doctrine of the Mean),
chapter 31. The Holy One will come and rule the nations in peace exemplifying perfect virtues.
Wu compares this with the expectation of the Messiah prophesied in Isaiah. He claims that both
accounts arose out of similar situations of political unrest when the people were looking for a
saviour to put right the affairs. Tzu Ssu and Isaiah shared the same idea. Isaiah was a prophet
while Tsu Ssu was an optimistic theoretician.
(3) Jen (Humanity) the central doctrine of Confucianism is equivalent to the Holy Spirit
according to Wu. Jen is referred to with a spiritual aspect and is prayed for to dwell in people.
Jen will prevail over the nation.
Wu was concerned about transformation of the present and not merely with conforming
Confucianism with Christianity. Jesus followed social reform to bring in the Kingdom of God.
According to Wu the same ideal is found in Confucianism from self-cultivation to the rule of the
nation until harmony is achieved.

ii. Harmonization of Cultures.

Wang Chih-hsin, professor of Nanking Theological Seminary advocates harmonizing of
Christianity with Chinese culture. For him culture is world property not to be monopolized by
any one nation. History is full of examples of cultural absorption and assimilation. According to
Wang, Christianity is a universal culture into which both Western and Eastern cultures can be
synthesized. He bases his view on Jesus’ words in John 10:16 about the other sheep which also
have to be brought into the fold. China is a sheep outside the fold that have to be brought into the
fold by the Good Shepherd in the future. His vision of a universal Christian culture tempered by
nationalistic flavour directs his indigenous effort.

Wang considers the Chinese culture as ethical in orientation based on filial piety Hsiao.
Parents play the role of God. In fact Christianity is not against hsiao. The Jewish and Chinese
cultural backgrounds have to be considered. In Judaism religion being the center God takes
primacy whereas in Chinese culture that is ethical parents take priority. The Jews look upon God
as Father while the Chinese look upon parents as God. So both mean the same, says Wang.
Loving our parents shows our love for God. Jesus also did not allow people to take the portion

41
due to the parents by pretending to have given to God, as seen in Mark 7:11. Therefore Wang
sees no conflict between Jesus’ ethics and the Confucian hsiao.

Another point Wang uses to synthesize is the discussion of the doctrine of jen and i
(righteousness). He takes jen as love for others and i as love for oneself. Extremes of both have
to be rejected. Harmony between the two can be seen in the teaching of a love of gradation and
discernment. In Christianity the balance of love and truth is seen in Jesus words, ‘Give to those
who ask you’ and ‘Cast no pearl before the swine’. In this program of harmonization an effort to
preserve the best of Chinese culture by gaining the sanction of Christianity is seen. It is an
attempt to maintain their double loyalties.

iii. To Fulfil, Not to Destroy.

The advocates of this approach hold that Christianity would improve and enrich the
traditional Chinese culture. They instead of seeing identity such as Wu did, look for similarities.
Their loyalty to their own culture was not less. They did not favour complete westernization.
They wanted to preserve the Chinese values, but also recognized its inadequacy. This was not
because of any anti-Confucian iconoclasm but of a different theological conviction.

Three premises were seen in this approach.

a. First, they believed that God was at work in the Chinese society. The Chinese culture was
both the work of God and of men. There were traces of divine revelation in the teachings
of Chinese sages. Humility replaced the superior attitude of former missionaries.
b. Second, they were optimistic about the future of the Chinese culture. Modern china in the
making would inevitably go through cultural assimilation.
c. Thirdly, the finality of Christianity and the centrality of Christ were their focus. Chao
Tzu-ch’en has said that Christianity can make the contribution of the experience of God
as revealed in the Incarnate Word, Jesus, the Christ to the Confucian culture.
According to these premises, the exponents of this approach examined the traditional
Chinese culture critically and sympathetically. They looked for meeting points. They felt that the
humanistic outlook of the Chinese thought lacked the basis for philosophy of life, further being
obscured by the finiteness and sinfulness of humans. Chao in his analysis holds that the Chinese
thinkers value the harmony between humans and nature. Confucianism seeks to understand
nature and not conquer it. So it does not go beyond the realm of human affairs to metaphysics
and religion. Confucian ethics deals with human relationships. Hsiao is only for man and not for
God. Thus Man becomes god in realizing the true, good and the beautiful. But this over
confidence in human nature defeats its moral structure. Christianity will enable the Chinese to go
beyond the man-nature harmony to God-man relationship. The Christian doctrine of the
Fatherhood of God enables the doctrine of hsiao that binds the living and the dead to be extended
to one universal family. The traditional Chinese piety to the family will be extended to a
heavenly fatherhood and a world brotherhood. Chao says that only Christianity can give a world
God-consciousness that will lead to the depth and height of brotherhood.

iv. Cultural Dualism.

This approach was displayed by not a mainstream theologian but a popular preacher,
Wang Ming-tao in Peking (at present Beijing). In a time of social disorder and political instability
members of his church found psychological comfort and spiritual renewal from his conservative

42
message. In his view the world and the church are two competing forces. The world is driven by
satanic authority and inhabited by sinners. This thoroughly corrupt social order is beyond any
possibility of redemption.
Wang was not concerned about any preservation or reformation of cultural values. He
held that God was not at work in culture because anyway in the end God would have to destroy
anything that belongs to culture. He was aware of the impossibility of living out of contact with
culture. He resolved his dilemma of between his message of detachment and the impossibility of
detachment in his own way.
He promoted the idea of the Church Triumphant. The Church is the Bride of Christ
purged by his blood to be united with him without blemish. Only redemptive history matters. His
ecclesiology is eschatological and otherworldly. His dualism is applied to individuals also. Only
the believers are sons of God. The non-believers are enemies of God. The contact between the
two groups is only evangelism. Chinese culture contaminated by human sinfulness has to be
evangelized but not to be harmonized or fulfilled. Only a changed man can change the world. He
had a low view of the social reconstruction of the liberal group in the Chinese church.
Wang’s theology had a constant dichotomy between faith and reason, the church and the
world, individual gospel and social gospel. This led to a retreat from the world and a self-
righteous attitude in social relationships. This also produced the attitude of the majority of the
missionaries in the previous century.

v. Christianity Judges Culture.

Chang I-ching a prolific writer in the South was a theological conservative such as Wang.
But, he was more positive towards the Chinese culture and more comprehensive in his
apologetics. He was more critical in his examination of the Chinese culture. He pointed out the
differences and weaknesses. He entered into a debate with the Chinese scholars from a
theological standpoint.

Chang acknowledged the lordship of Christ in both creation and redemption. So he

recognized the divine activity of Christ in the Chinese culture. However, he also pointed out the
corruption of any culture due to human sin. Because of this even the best of the Chinese culture
was affected by human sin. The revelation of God to the Chinese sages was only glimmers of
truth that has to be gathered in the True Light in Jesus Christ. Chang used the sun and moon
analogy to compare Jesus and Confucius. The sun has its own light whereas the moon only
reflects the light of the sun. Wu considered both Jesus and Confucius as humans of similar type.
Chao considered Jesus as a supreme man. But, Chang argued that Jesus is God incarnate while
the Chinese sages are only humans. Confucius was seeking for the Tao in heaven without the
help of special revelation. But, the Tao is Jesus Christ.

Chang encouraged the Chinese scholars to consider Christianity without losing their
respect for Confucianism. However, like Wu he did not admit precedence in Confucianism for
Christian doctrines. Similarity does not mean equivalence, because of difference in metaphysical
structure and epistemology. Confucianism begins it epistemology, the science of knowing with
humans and ends up in polytheism. But, the Christian faith begins with God’s self-revelation and
is monotheistic.
Chang did not agree with an adoption of Christianity for political modernization. He felt
that national reconstruction could come only by the transformation of individuals and also the

43
community. Mere human effort cannot change people and community. The Kingdom of God is
both a gift of God and a task of humans.

2. Conclusions.
Having surveyed five patterns of indigenous Chinese theologies, Lam proposes three
valuable premises for indigenization. i. No culture is beyond the redemptive activity of God. ii.
No definition of Christianity is absolute because culture is relative. Culture has to be enlightened
by Christianity and Christianity has to be interpreted by culture. iii. Every culture though having
traces of God’s work is under divine judgment.

Thus Lam deals with the issue of indigenization and surveys the various patterns of
indigenization that have existed in the Chinese culture.

CHAPTER FIVE THE PHILIPPINES

I. INTRODUCTION:
(Sources: Balasundaram, 1993, pp. 53-123)
The Philippines is predominately Roman Catholic. Like many other Asian countries it
has been invaded and dominated. From the 15thC till the 19th C Spain colonized the Philippines.
In the 20th C USA took over the Spanish role with Japan occupying the Philippines during the
Second World War. The original Malay-Asians are Muslims and some tribes. The westernized
Malay are Christians. There is a new Filipino culture emerging. By 1920 the Roman Catholic and
Protestant theologians in the Philippines attempted to construct Filipino indigenous theologies.
The concern to remove the socio-economic injustices since 1960 had not been put into action
because of the martial rule of Macros in 1972. However the struggle had been kept up. Several
theologians in the Philippines have taken up the cause of liberation and worked out liberation
theologies quite similar to the liberation theologies of Latin America and Africa. The points
emphasized are: 1. Edicio de la Torre. He has urged the Christians to seriously consider the
political alternative of Maoism to work for liberation as a servant of the revolution. 2. Oracion a
theological educator believes in the preference for the poor; for him, basic human rights are
rooted in God’s righteousness and the main task of the Church is to make known God’s
opposition to injustice. 3. Claver a bishop advocated ‘the violence of the meek’ as a strategy for
the poor to liberate through political action. 4. Dominguez has shown special interest in
uncovering the religious and cultural heritage of Asia. 5. For Arevalo, a Roman Catholic, human
rights is at the top of the agenda and his theology is similar to those of Latin America and South
Africa. 6. Avila an organizer of peasant unions shows how from the early times the Christian
Gospel has shown a preference for the poor. Apart from these many theologians, the views of
two theologians will be looked at here.

II.CARLOS H. ABESAMIS:
(Sources: Balasundaram, Part I, pp.53-71; Batumalai, 115-156; Ferm, pp. 88-89; Francis and
Balasundaram, 283-313)
Abesamis, the Coordinator of the Justice and Peace Department of the National
Secretariat of Social Action has developed a theology committed to the oppressed Asians.
Because he holds that theology should come from the grass roots, he wants liberation of theology

44
from the Europeans, Americans and Asian middle class. In a graphic way he maintains that the
middle class Christians should keep silent instead of muddying the theological waters. Theology
should emerge from the prayers, liturgy, drama, song, stories and poems grounded in the daily
experiences of the grass-root communities and all that the middle class Asian theologians can do
is to assist them to take over by the fading away of the theology of the middle class.

III. EMERITO P. NACPIL AND THE CRITICAL ASIAN PRINCIPLE:

Sources: (Adams, 134-137; Ferm, p.89)

Nacpil a theological educator is concerned about the vast social changes modernization has
caused in South East Asia. He suggests three dimensions of a liberation theology in this context
of South East Asia – liberation from oppression, taking responsibility and hope for the future. His
theology is similar to that of Gutierrez of Latin America. This is the Gospel for the new Filipino.

CHAPTER SIX THEOLOGIES FROM VIETNAM

I. INTRODUCTION:
(Sources: Batumalai, pp. 345-362)
Of the countries that have emerged from what was known as Indo-China, only Vietnam
is considered for theologies from its context. Cambodia (Kampuchea) and Laos are quite small
and there is very little information about the Church in these countries. The countries of South
East Asia Mainland share a similar cultural and religious heritage. Theravada Buddhism and
Sanscritic and Chinese cultures characterize these countries. The social and political histories of
these countries are different; but, the destructive impact of western imperialism whether military,
political, economic and cultural is similar in all these countries. The national Christian traditions
are unique.

In 1960s and 1970s the American presence in Vietnam was dominant. However the
Vietnamese drove out the Americans and united the North and the South in 1976. Earlier they
had driven out the colonizing French.

A. The Ancient Past.

The Vietnamese history is to be traced from their migration from China. Though
culturally, racially and ideologically they are similar to China they have fought for their political
independence. Their history is linked to events in China. But they have resisted encroachment of
China.

B. The French Period.

In 1673 Vietnam’s unity was destroyed. There were dynastic rivalries. So the country
was divided into three States – Tongking (North Vietnam), Cochin China (Mekong delta) and
Coastal area of Central Annam. The rulers of Mekong invited the French in 1789 to intervene. In
1802 the whole country was united. In 1885 the French procured a treaty recognizing the
sovereignty of France. The French secured Cambodia and Laos and by 1907 made the whole of

45
Indo-China into one colony. This consisted of Cochin-China and four protectorates – Cambodia,
Annam (Central Vietnam), Tongking (North Vietnam) and Laos.

C. A Vietnamese Nationalism.
In 1894 a young Vietnamese Nguyen Tat Thanh was born and later was known as Ho
Chi Minh. He was educated in Paris and organized the Vietnamese Communist group in 1917.
Saigon was renamed as Ho Chi Minh City. He was trained in Russia and was an assistant to the
top agent in China. In 1930 Ho combined several revolutionary groups into the Vietnamese
Communist Party. The French put down their uprising in 1931. Of the several popular front
groups Viet Minh or League for the Independence of Vietnam is the most important one.

In 1941 when the Japanese occupied Indo-China, with the acceptance of the French the
Communists led the Vietnamese resistance movement. The Vietminh gained the support of the
nationalists with a program of independence, free elections and land for the peasants. A guerrilla
army controlled the rural areas of the Red River delta and extended into South Vietnam. By the
climax of the Second World War the Japanese controlled Indo China completely. With some
American aid the Viet Minh continued to support. In 1945 they proclaimed a Democratic
Republic.

The return of the French after the end of the Second World War did not resolve the
tension between the Communists and the French. The war between them started in 1946. This
war of eight years claimed thousands of lives and billions of dollars. China and Soviet Union
supported Ho Chih Minh.

D. Vietminh draws the Curtain on French Rule.

In 1959 under the terms of a Geneva peace agreement Communist Vietminh took control
of Hanoi and North Vietnam. Huge crowds organized by advance units greeted them with
flowers and cheers. There was minimal violence. The French in Hanoi and thousands of Catholic
Vietnamese fled to South Vietnam.

E. The Americans in Vietnam.

The USA was involved in Indo-China after the victory of the Communists in China in
1949 following the intervention of Peking in the Korean War. The American presence may be
understood as an effort to check the power and expansion of Communism. The Americans
justified their intervention as on behalf of the Free World. Thailand and Malaysia welcomed the
American presence to fill the security gap. The Western Coalition supported them. America tried
to contain the spreading Chinese Communism in Indo-China. By 1961 USSR entered the
conflict. By 1965 the American involvement had become so large that the Americans had to win.
Some American Christians viewed this involvement as: 1. Struggle between Socialists and
Capitalists. 2. Christians’ accountability is beyond their national boundaries. 3. Though
Christians in the ‘body’ have a responsibility for other Christians elsewhere it does not mean a
physical control of their destinies.

F. Preparation of Renewal in Vietnam.

Douglas Pike, the director of the Indo-China archives in the University of California
gives a reasonable summary of the Ho Chih Minh regime. Le Duan mentored by Ho was the

46
Communist Party General Secretary. He was a tough, ruthless and determined leader needed for
wartime. But for maritime he did not know how to face challenges and relate amicably with the
neighbours. His failure was because of his inexperience.

G. Since the Unification of Vietnam in 1975.

Vietnam like many other Asian countries has been influenced by western powers, both
the French colonization of eighty years and American presence of nearly two decades. There is a
new openness in a communist society. Southern Vietnam is reluctantly Communist. Vietnam is
open to tourists to increase its currency. At one time it was a battle between Communism and
Capitalism. But at present for the ordinary people it is the opportunity to be in touch with the
outside world. Like China and Burma (Myanmar) Vietnam had imposed upon itself isolation.
The colonial experience, war and self-imposed isolation have produced some particular
challenges.

H. Religious Groupings.
North Vietnam the Democratic Republic of Vietnam has a large Buddhist population and
a small Christian population. Vietnamese, French and Thai are the languages used.

1. Buddhism: Buddhism was introduced in the second century A.D. in the North as Theravada.
In 1963 this was united with Mahayana Buddhism as the United Buddhist Church. After the
division of the country, Buddhism became active in opposition to Catholic dominance. Prior to
1954 majority were Buddhist, but the Government’s pressure reduced the power of Buddhism.
The United Buddhist Association of Vietnam is sympathetic towards and cooperates with the
Communist regime.
In the South Catholicism was promoted and Buddhism was persecuted to the point of self-
immolation of monks. Buddhism became a political force and tried to overthrow the government
and anti-communist forces. It tried to be reconciling body.
2. New Religion: In the South, a syncretistic religio-political millennial sect of Buddhism and
other world religions has a good following.
3. Animism with ancestral cult and protection against evil spirits is the religion of ethnic
minorities.
4. Majority of the Chinese in Vietnam follow the Chinese Folk Religion composed of
Confucianism and Taoism united with popular animistic religion and Buddhism.
5. The Cham minority follows Islam.
6. Christianity: The first to come were the Roman Catholics from the Philippines in 1580. In
1825 missionaries were prohibited from entering. In 1884 the French intervened in Vietnam on
the pretext of religion. Catholicism has been persecuted much with 130,000 martyrs over the
years.

The Catholic Church: The Catholic Church in this region has seen both success and tragedy. Its
association with the French has been both strength and weakness. The French used religion as an
excuse to involve in the politics of the country. In the North the Catholic Church has managed to
maintain its contact with Vatican. Since 1955 the Church has been growing at the rate of 2%.
During the years of war the Catholics in the North checked the suffering of the people and
established international contacts to find an end to the war. Prior to 1975 in the South Sunday

47
church attendance was 80%. After 1955 the Church due to foreign aid was institutionalized.
After the unification in 1976, the Church began to face the problems produced by unification.

The Protestant Churches: The French protected the Catholic Church and restricted the
Protestant Churches. These comprise of about half of the Christian population. When the Theiu
regime fell in 1975 the Protestants had to be evacuated as refugees. The situation of the Roman
Catholics was different. In 1954 when the country was divided into North and South, the Roman
Catholics flooded into the South. In 1975 they did not want to have further flights and not a
single bishop left his diocese.

J. Church and State.

i. North Vietnam: Ho Chih Minh declared independence at the end of the Second World War.
The Catholic Church supported him. But the French returned and a civil war resulted with a deep
division of the Catholic Church. The hierarchy initially supported the independence movement;
but this was eroded by the loyalty to the French displayed by many Catholics. There was mistrust
and misdeed on both sides. The choice was tough. On the one side were nationalism,
independence, Communism with its atheism and poverty. On the other side were respect for
religious rights, religious freedom, support for the church and continued foreign domination of
economy, culture and politics.

Enmity between the Catholic Church and Ho Chih Minh began when the Catholics were
against the government. In 1954 the country was divided into North (Communist) and South.
This resulted in the large exodus of Roman Catholics to the South. The Americans gave millions
for resettlement. The reasons for migration to the South were anti-Viet Minh political, anti-
religious (Communist) and others.

The military intervention of the Americans encouraged many to migrate to the South.
The Catholics actively participated in politics. The peasants were inspired to go against the
Catholics because the missions possessed 5.5% of all lands. The Government controlled all
aspects of church life including the appointment of bishops.
The American bombing changed the attitude of the Catholics and they rallied to the side of the
government. But the clergy and hierarchy were reticent. The Church and the State joined hands
against the Americans. Though the State helped the Church, the Church was suspicious.
During the last period, 1973-1975 there was some reconciliation. The Catholics fought to have
freedom of religion, equality, freedom to open schools and to print materials.
ii. South Vietnam: Between 1954-1975 the Catholic Church exerted much influence. The
Catholic population was 10%. The Government favoured the Catholic Church with privileges
and subsidies. There was a Catholic political party. In the 1970 election the Catholics held quite a
sizable portion. Rome was directly involved in supporting the Catholics.

K. Challenges faced by Vietnam

It is claimed that the Vietnamese have suffered extreme brutalities under the colonial western
powers. However the once suffering Vietnamese have invaded Cambodia (Kampuchea). The
colonized have become the invaders.

48
 1. Economic Poverty: In 1987 the Vietnamese top economic planner listed some of the
economic woes – i. Stagnating food production ii. Soaring inflation iii. Acute shortage of
consumer goods iv. Serious unemployment. Openness and renovation have brought
about liberalization of economy, freer press, broader political debate and a wider
acceptance of Western fads. Vietnam’s slow progress is portrayed to carry the burdens of
Cambodia, ‘the past’, bureaucracy and military spending. Its economy reliant on the
Soviet Union is foundering. This may be due to the war is an opinion. Vietnam has not
been able to establish a sustainable development programme. There are deep rooted
structural tensions and several challenges. Poverty is a serious problem as many are
dying without food.
2. Oppressive Regime: Vietnam like many other Communist countries is accused not only
by its own people but also by the western powers and human rights groups for holding
people in re-education camps for more than a dozen years without trial. There is a huge
tide of refugees because of poor economy and the attitude of the government towards
people. Many have fled the country and continue to do so. The problem of refugees from
Vietnam has become a concern for its neighbours. Malaysia tries to help the Vietnamese
particularly the Muslims.
3. Once colonized invades Laos and Kampuchea: Prince Norodon Sihanouk ruled
Kampuchea in the 1960s. He has resigned as the head of Kampuchea’s coalition
resistance. He preferred to talk to Hanoi directly. He wants the occupying troops to pull
out. Only if Vietnam pulls out completely there will be peace and stability in Indo-China.
4. New Neighbourliness: Except for few countries such as Laos and Kampuchea, most of
the countries in Asia are independent. For Vietnam real neighbourliness should be shown
in economic terms. There is a positive change in the attitude of other countries. A
Malaysian points out that only if developed countries such as Japan and Australia open
up the economy of Vietnam. This will expose the Vietnamese to modern economy and
democratic political system and bring about a change.
5. Contextual Needs: There is a serious crisis of identity of Amerasians. There are
thousands of children of American soldiers who are strangers in their land of birth. They
are known as ‘the dust children’. They search for the land of their fathers. Because of
their mixed racial features they are reviled and rejected. They scavenge a living on the
streets. Some 4000 have got out; some 2000 are in transit; another 10000 are still in
Vietnam. Only 3% of the freed ones have found their GI fathers. Some do not know who
their father was. Some come with their own children. They may have a faded photo or a
yellowed paper with a name. The Vietnam Veterans Association helps these children find
their fathers. As some settle in the US, these children called ‘the dust children’ are called
‘the gold kids’.

II. THEOLOGIES FROM VIETNAM.

A. Introduction
Not much information is available from Vietnam. However the understanding of
Archbishop Nguyen Van Binh of Saigon is that the Vietnamese Catholics encounter God in the
lives of people. Father Bao reveals that a large number of Christians express their love for
Vietnam in service to society. This is a theology of incarnation in the socialist country of
Vietnam.

49
B. Contextual Needs
In Vietnam it was questioned whether Roman Catholicism really supported issues of
human justice. The justice action of the Communists was appreciated by the Catholic Church.
But the apparent support of the Catholic Church given to Capitalism was not appreciated by the
Communists. So the Church had to find an alternative method within the socialist system. The
contemplative religious order in terms of incarnation in the concrete situation of Vietnam is a
new approach.
Politically the Communists preferred Socialism. Vietnam is one of the poorest countries.
Christianity in Vietnam has to show its love for all people. A ‘Community of Brothers’ is
discerned. One is challenged to find one’s new neighbours.

C. How theology is defined

A spirit of brotherhood is discerned. The maxim is:’ Let each one live for all, and let all
take charge of each.’37 A Christian is challenged to be a Socialist Christian because it is held that
there is no fundamental difference between the aim of Marxist humanism and that of
Christianity.38

D. The Method of Doing Theology in Vietnam

The incarnational method of being truly human is recommended. This involves Christian
identity and solidarity. The social maxim, ‘Each for all and all for each’ inspires the incarnational
theology in Vietnam.
The next point is Christ-like renunciation that is not personal poverty but contribution of
our resources for the enrichment of the whole community. There is strength in weakness and lack
of power. Christians are called to administer justice and not to emphasize sacrifice of material
things.
The method of ministry suitable for Vietnam is that of contemplative order. This is not an
exclusive order. It is a place of contemplation, of love being exercised and of incarnation of God
through humans.
Father Bao raises a few questions. He raises the question how we may see and love
Christ in the Communist. His answer is that we do this in practice in encounters, active
colloboration, in interpersonal relations even if the atheist insults us as impostors. Fr. Bao
reminds the Christians of the danger of the desire for material well-being. His opinion is that the
incarnational model will enable us to freely give of our best to others. He hopes that the spirit of
incarnation will give hope to Vietnam. Apart from this Catholic theologizing, Ho Chih Minh in a
poem holds that as the rice suffering under pounding comes out white, misfortune turns people to
polished jade.

III. CONCLUSION.

A. Vietnam’s Suffering
The Vietnamese have suffered under colonization for nearly 100 years. In their own
homeland they had lost their rights and privileges. Millions of the Vietnamese had lost their lives
in their struggle. Can the Christians be mere spectators when their own people suffer in the hands

37
Batumalai, p. 364
38
Batumalai, p. 364

50
of those colonizers who claim to be Christians? Those who could not endure the suffering have
escaped to other places.

B. Vietnamese Dispersion
How does one compare the dispersion of Christians in the Book of Acts of Apostles with
the history of the Vietnamese Boat People? Many Asians are found in places other than their
homelands. The cost of leaving their homelands to find a better future elsewhere is heavy. Some
20,000 Vietnamese are caged in settlements in Hong Kong. About 16,000 are in Malaysia
waiting to be settled in a third country. Refugees are a human problem. It is not enough to dress
the wounds. We must tackle the root causes.

C. A United Vietnam
It is encouraging to see in the midst of suffering and problems in 1976 the North and the
South Vietnam have united. Only a unified country can build its socio-economic sectors. But the
unified Vietnam has its eyes on Cambodia and Laos. This neo-colonialism will destabilize the
peace and harmony of the region.

D. Rebuilding
Some of the evils that hamper the rebuilding of Vietnam are corruption, gambling, drug
addiction, prostitution, witchcraft and fortune telling. Rebuilding needs partnership and the use of
local and other resources. The ASEAN countries are trying to help the war-torn countries of
Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. What message is to be given to the Christians in Vietnam? The
message of Jeremiah for his people to stay in their own country and work for the welfare of their
people is appropriate for Vietnam’s Christians. The exodus of the ‘Boat People’ is one form of
liberation. It is for the Christians in Vietnam to recognize their needs and God’s directions.

E. The People’s Spiritual Strength

The Vietnamese have courageously withstood the encroachment of China and the
colonization of France and America. Only the service of the war heroes is often eulogized
neglecting the sacrifice of the common people of Vietnam. The Vietnamese have to be
strengthened to rebuild their own country. Healing is important. The Pope in 1988 elected 117
martyrs for sainthood. Of these 58 were clerical and 59 lay people. This is the largest group ever
selected at one time for canonization. The Hanoi government was not pleased with this. It said
that some of them were collaborators with the French government and were killed for political
reasons. However, it is encouraging to see Christians organizing themselves to contribute to
Vietnam. The relationship between the State and the Church seems to be improving after 1986. A
seminary was reopened and some seminarians were ordained as priests. Though there may be
some tension, the Church and the State need to learn to work together.

CHAPTER SEVEN SOME COUNTRIES WITH AN ISLAMIC

BACKGROUND
I. INDONESIA
(Sources: Batumalai, 157-196; Francis and Balasundaram, pp.338-348; Ferm, pp. 93-95)
A. Introduction
Indonesia is a meeting ground of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. At
present it has Muslim majority.

51
B.Some Political developments in Indonesia
The Indonesian state ideology was to have the Pancasila, the five points of belief in one
almighty God, humanity, unity, democracy and social justice. Since the 1940s there have been
several regional uprisings. In 1965 there was a communist coup. President Suharto rose to power
in counteracting this rise of communism. For this he reduced the number of political parties to
three.

C. Recent trends of thinking of Islam in Indonesia

There are three types of Muslims in Indonesia – the nominal ones who profess and do not
practice, and the two groups Muslims who strictly follow but show difference in their
fundamentalist or aggressive behaviour. At present Indonesia is an Islamic state with a turbulent
socio-political and religious life.

D. Christian response toward the challenge of Islamic situation in Indonesia

Christian faith is seen as an ally to the colonizing west. Further the aggressive
evangelistic efforts may put off the Muslim neighbour. So the best course of action is to display
love and understanding expressed mainly through religious dialogue and discussions.

E. Some theologians in Indonesia

i. Henrietta Marianne Katoppo. She develops an Asian Women’s theology in which both
men and women work together for a just society. She considers Mary the mother of Jesus as a
role model for being compassionate and free, without being alienated as the ‘other’.
ii. Albert Widjaja. He makes a distinction between ‘theological begging’ and ‘beggarly
theology’. In ‘theological begging’ one borrows from other theologies. In ‘beggarly theology’
one sides with the poor and the dispossessed.

II. MALAYSIA
(Sources: Batumalai, pp. 371-425; Francis and Balasundaram, 349-365)
A. An Understanding of Conversion from a Malaysian Perspective

1. Introduction.
The Hindus in Malaysia are not happy with evangelism or missionary efforts of the
Muslims or the Christians. They do not want forced conversion that will be the result of
missionary efforts. The Muslims seek for conversion because for them there is no salvation
outside the Islamic community, but they do not allow any apostasy or going back. The Christian
faith is also a missionary faith, seeking converts. Conversion is a sensitive issue in Malaysia.

2. What is Conversion?
Conversion should be one’s free personal choice. It should be a response to the
personality of Jesus Christ. It should not be motivated by religious and political motives.
Batumalai’s own conversion experience from Hinduism to the Christian faith is a personal
response to Jesus Christ.

3. Why Conversion is being objected to?

52
 Hinduism is universalistic and tolerant. But a Hindu is afraid of conversion because of
the deculturalisation it produces. There are socio-political factors also involved.

4. Is Conversion a form of Religious Freedom?

The Muslim understanding of freedom is not like the western concept of individual
freedom. The individual should also think about the ummah, the community. So there is no room
for religious conversion. Islam is missionary minded but it does not allow a Muslim to convert to
other faiths.

5. Why have the Malays built fences and walls around themselves?
The first reason is the Islamic theological reason that the ummah is the best community.
The second is that Malay is a Muslim. In Malaysia and Brunei citizenship is defined
ethnocentrically. The third is the quest for racial identity and security. Fourthly Malay is
protected for economic reasons. Fifthly there is social ostracization or even death. Finally, Islam
has become a political tool.

B. Conclusion
The suggestion is that conversion should be for i. Worshipping God ii. For discipleship
and iii. For service.

CHAPTER EIGHT THEOLOGIES FROM THAILAND

(Sources: Batumalai, 302-318)

I. Introduction:
Thai monarchy unifies the country. Her neighbourhood especially in the East is not quite
friendly. Malaysia is quite friendly. Economically Thailand is struggling.
It is a Buddhist country; but has much in common with Malaysia. Siam (former name of
Thailand) tried to have sovereignty over the northern states in Malaysia by expecting them to pay
a tribute. The royal families of Kedah have some links with the royal families of Thailand.
Though it is a Buddhist country, there is much in common with Southern Thailand and Northern
Malaysia. Thailand is part of the ‘Golden Triangle’ where much drug trafficking goes on. The
religious constituencies of Thailand are Buddhist majority with Islam, Chinese folk religion and
Christianity. The Chinese have assimilated themselves into the life of the Thai society. Racially
they are Chinese while culturally and religiously they have been influenced by the Indian
civilization.

A. Brief History:
Thailand has a special relationship with Malaysia. There is a common boundary.
Historically, culturally and militarily there is a close relationship. Most of the Thais in the South
are Muslims and use Malay language in addition to Thai. The mother of the first Malaysian
Prime Minister Abdul Rahman was a Thai. There is a joint military operation to defend
themselves from Communist influences. There is a mutual neighbourly concern. Thailand is a
buffer zone between the Communist countries and the democratic Malaysia. Thailand is wary
about her communist (on the east) neighbours China, Laos and Cambodia.

53
 Theravada Buddhism is the official religion. Each Buddhist is expected to spend about
two to six months in the monastery. There is a renewal movement. Universities are also
instrumental in renewal.

It is said that about 2000 years ago the Thai tribes were driven from China. The Thai
Kingdom extended to the Malayan peninsula and beyond. Buddhism came from India and
influenced the entire population. The King became the patron and defender of this religion. It
played a crucial role in the lives of people. The monastery was the center in all communities. The
monk supported by the villagers advocated self-sufficiency and rejection of greed for more
wealth and power. The impact of western education has transformed the elite. The monarchy had
little impact on the people except in times of war and famine.

B. An Ancient Nation: the Colonial Impact:

Colonial expansion influenced Thailand in the 19 th C. Though it had never been
colonized like the other countries in South East Asia, both Britain and France exerted their
influence in the early period and in the modern period American neo-colonialism is seen in the
establishment of military bases and the Japanese influence through modern technology and ‘sex
tourism’.

Political power was limited to the King and his court. The benevolent monarchy
benefited the people since 1782. This dynasty adhered to the ten virtues of Buddhism. Since 1932
western educated people took control of the country though majority of the people were not
involved in politics. Though it was known as a democracy little change took place in political
and social structures. Since 1932 it has been dictatorship. From 1932-1974 eleven elections took
place. The General Assembly never had real power. A small group that controlled the armed
forces held real power and made decisions. In this period Thailand experienced twelve successful
and unsuccessful coup d’etat. A slogan was: “the Government of the people by those who knew
how to operate it for the people”.39 One of the Prime Ministers defended his actions by claiming
he to be the only one responsible for the nation. Political instability characterizes the nation. In
the opinion of the Japanese missionary theological educator Kosuko Koyama there are two
Thailands, Thailand One and Thailand Two, characterizing the traditional and the modern ones.

C. Traditional and Modern Thought:

Thailand one is the traditional one with its religion and monarchy. Thailand two is the
one of modernization. The existence of both creates tension. Mother Nature, the monarchy and
Buddhism are basic. Buddhism plays a key role in economics, social, education and culture.
Thailand Two is the westernized one confined to the cities. It is controlled by the military
and enjoys international cultures. A Thai person lives at the intersection of the two Thailands. A
Christology relevant for the spiritual needs of these people has to be formulated.
Thailand has a unique monarchy. King Bhumibol and his Queen Sirikit are benevolent.
He has been the longest ruling monarch. He works within the framework of democracy for the
good of the people based on Buddhist ethics. He and the queen spend about eight months in a
year traveling to the rural areas to keep in touch with the people. He is also involved in nation
building. He has been described as a king with a mission and a people’s king.

39
Batumalai, p. 304

54
II. Christianity in Thailand:
In Thailand though the Christians are citizens of Thailand they are considered foreigners
because of their ethnic origin. Most of the Vietnamese are Catholic and Chinese. Christianity has
not penetrated the Hinayana world successfully. A Thai has to abandon the Thai community to
become a Christian. This is similar to the Malay in Malaysia. A Thai Church historian feels that it
is something to do with the approach that Christianity has not made much impact on the Thai
community in spite of the good works and the good relations.
The Christian presence was felt in Thailand as early as 1554. There was violent
persecution in the 18th C. The first Thai bishop was consecrated in 1945. The first Catholic
monastery was established in 1970. Socially and economically the Catholic society is humble
and poor. There have been little large-scale conversions. Much of the service has been in
education and medicine.
In 1828 the Netherland and London Missionary Societies were the first Protestant
missions. In 1934 the Presbyterians, Baptists, Disciples of Christ and Lutherans formed the
Church of Christ in Thailand that has a strong ecumenical impact. Christianity in Thailand is
numerically small. The reason for this is opined to be the lack of training to know the Buddhist
milieu which has resulted in the touching of the Thai heart with Christian service and not the
Thai mind. Koyama the Japanese missionary theological educator in Thailand says that the
reason for not taking Buddhism seriously is focusing on Buddhism as a study and not on Buddha
as a person. Christianity has not been adequately indigenised in the Theravada Thai culture.
Koyama wants Christ to be seasoned with the Aristotelian pepper and Thai Buddhist salt. The
Buddhist neighbours have not been taken seriously and respectfully. Koyama wants a de-
Hebraization of Yahweh.

III. Church and State:

Buddhism is the State religion in Thailand. It is used as a unifying factor and to make the
non-Thai people Thai. There has been political independence and religious freedom. The
Department for Religious Affairs at least symbolically provides subsidies to different religious
groups according to their numbers. Thai Christians have been accepted as part of the Thai
community because of the lack of colonization. One language and one culture have been
unifying. The Chinese also have Thai names and speak Thai.

The Government has been reasonable to the Muslims. Special Islamic judges have
been provided in the southern areas where there are quite a number of Muslims. The
ecumenical unity has been already mentioned in the formation of the Church of Christ in
Thailand.

Thai Christian’s Response:

The Thai Christian response has been in terms of study and social involvement. During
1963-1973 the Student Christian Centre led in study and involvement. Koson Srisang has given
ecumenical leadership. Samsrit Wong Sang enbled response to the issue of slums.The
Theological Seminary prepared people for ministry in the church, rural development and adult
education. Inter religious cooperation on social issues was given by the Seminary in Chiangmai.
In 1970s the Catholics were involved in reflection and social action. Many have opined that the
Church must be rooted in the life of the people. At the time of violence, insurgency, assassination

55
and other problems a Thai Christian response by way of statements and writings was produced
relevant for political witnessing.

IV. Theologies from Thailand

A. Contextualisation of the Gospel:
The Churches are alienated in their institutions, vocabularies and rituals. There is a need
for contextualisation as Koyama has attempted in terms of ‘Mother Nature’, ‘The Monarch’ and
‘Theravada Buddhism’. The Gospel has to be contextualised in terms of Thai Buddhism. Thai
folk song is one example to rid the Gospel of its foreignness.

B. Foreignness of Christianity:
Christianity is still foreign. A convert from Thai Buddhist culture continues to be
alienated. Especially in the North with its Thai animism which was rejected as satanic by the
Laos mission the Church has very little to do with the local culture.

C. Selfhood of the Church in terms of Independence:

The Thai Church is still dependent on the Mission for its finance. This dependency
makes it helpless and forces it to think of only in terms of evangelism. So it fails in its
evangelism because of not having its own self-understanding in terms of its full life.

D. Theology of Grace:
The Laos Mission operated on the principle of Law instead of Grace. It tried to preserve
its purity on legalistic terms and this state of affairs continues in the Thai Church. Koyama in his
contextualisation wants to include not only what is good in Buddhism and but also all that is
good.
E. Leadership Development:
One serious failure of the Laos Mission is not developing local leadership. The priority
given to urban leadership has affected the Church in rural areas.

F. Major Concerns:
1. The influence of the army in politics.
2. Monarchy that draws out much regard in the Thai mind.
3. The Refugee problem is a living reality with 15,000 refugees from Laos and Vietnam in
1982. The number was 130,000 in 1983 and fell to 119,790 in 1986.
4. Thailand’s eastern border is threatened by the Communist neighbours and the southern
one by the Muslim provinces.
5. Thai means ‘free’. But its military dependence on the US affects its freedom, economy,
moral life and relationship with the neighbors.

G. Ecumenical Relationship:
For the Thai Church to develop and be effective in the Thai society, the first and foremost
concern is dealing with the divisions and conflicts among the Christians in Thailand.

H. Relationship with Other Religions:

56
 There is a growing opposition to the Christian religion and Boonratna Boayen the
General Secretary of the Church of Christ in Thailand opines that Buddhism makes great
attempts to respond to the Christian faith.

J. Need of Leaders and Teaching:

People have not been adequately trained in leadership.

K. Koson Srisang’s Thai People’s Theology:

Koson Srisang is one of the leading theologians in Thailand. In 1932 kingship was
replaced by a vision of democracy. But the most viable social order has not yet been established.
Thai cultural heritage and folk tales are indispensable for theologizing. Positive changes may
come if there is people’s participation. It is noted that the root causes are lack of vision, ethics
and concern for people to treat them as subjects and not as objects.

1. Bias towards the Poor and the Marginalised

In 1982 labourers, students and farmers caused the Government to reconsider some of its
policies. In 1976 many students were massacred. The common people suffer most. Poverty is a
serious issue. The solution is not in blaming the people as lazy. The people must be enabled to
participate and be self-reliant.

The Government is established by appointment. The controlling factors are the military,
the aristocracy, the business elite and interest in foreign business and geo-politics.

Koson Srisang served as Director of Study Centres and later as the General Secretary of
the Church of Christ in Thailand. He was much involved in study and social involvement. He
encourages in his writings the Christian community to serve all Thai people. By 1976 he was also
part of the group concerned about the political situation. He had to leave Thailand on account of
some misunderstanding in the Church and served in WCC. His theological reflections are found
in two essays. He himself having come from a poor and oppressed family, he has a bias toward
the poor.

2. A Thai Theological Quest for Re-rooting the Gospel

Srisang taught in the Chiangmai seminary. He served as a teacher, student director and
organizer of conferences. He has editied and contributed to many works. He holds that the Thai
cultural heritage does have a political vision. The religion of Thailand (Buddhism) is not taken
seriously to deal with human problems. He also holds that a discernment of a religious vision
such as freedom and compassion within Thai sources will be effective for Thai welfare. But
modernization promotes greed, wealth and power. He sees a solution. His prayer reveals the
person.
A creative use of heritage will enable people to act. Isan one of the four major regions of
Thailand gives political leadership by virtue of their cultural heritage; but on the other hand
historically Isan has been the most poor and oppressed. The Thai have to repossess this heritage.
Srisang emphasizes people’s participation.

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V. Conclusion:
Thailand is exceptional in its monarchy and religious tradition of Theravada Buddhism.
Its society is also a diverse community. It is controlled by militarism and American economic
domination. In the midst of traditionally authoritative Buddhist situation the small struggling
Church has to be a revolutionary force to bring about new life.

CHAPTER NINE: THEOLOGIES FROM MYANMAR

(Sources: Batumalai, pp. 321-342; Win, Kanbazwa. ‘A Christian in Southeast Asian Peninsula
(A Burmese Perspective)’ in Francis and Balasundaram, 1992, pp. 366-376)

i) The land of Therevada Buddhism which follows the way of the elders. Politically at present
repressive regime.
ii) Theravada Buddhism is also known as Hinayana Buddhism, that of the small wheel that
carries only a small number of people across the stream of life. A straight and narrow path based
on only the teachings of Buddha, found in the Pali Scripture. Conservative, missionary and
scriptural. The Theravada Buddhists believe that the message of Buddhism alone may cure the
world of war. The message of Buddha is found in the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Paths.
a. The four noble truths.
(1) Awareness of suffering
(2) Desire is the root cause of suffering
(3) Necessity for extinction of suffering
(4) The explanation of the path that leads to Nirvana
b. The Eightfold Path.
iii) Most of the Southeast Asian countries see Christianity as the religion of the colonial power.
To become a Christian is to be traitor.
iv) The discerning Buddhists find the following Christian concepts difficult to accept.
(1) The surety of a personal God with whom one may have a relationship
(2) Salvation in this life is hard to understand. Nirvana is remote and by accumulating merit
one may move closer to Nirvana.
(3) Heaven is the highest abode of the thirty-two planes of Buddhist cycles of life.
(4) The biblical claim ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’ appears aggressive.
v) For a Buddhist he is the result of his making and he alone can do anything to move towards
nirvana. So a person who can relate to a personal God is difficult to accept. The concepts of
salvation by God’s grace and love, righteousness, wrath of God and judgment are concepts he
cannot accept.
vi) The Christians in the Southeast Asian countries are a small minority.
vii) Apart from the minority situation of Christians in Southeast Asian, the mission compound
attitude, the isolation of Christians within the sphere of the mission or missionary, has detached
native Christians from their fellow country people. This isolation has resulted in paternalism and
communalism.
viii) At present Christianity and Christians seen as aliens and anti-nationalists. But the Christians
must affirm,
a. That the Lord is the Lord of all humanity
b. That this Lord works in history, nature and the revolutions for the good of the people
c. That the Lord is loving, forgiving and understanding

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 d. The practical example of living as a true Christian

CHAPTER TEN: NEPAL, BANGLADESH AND PAKISTAN

I. NEPAL
(Sources: England and others ed. 2002, pp. 402-407)
i. Hindu kingdom. Political upheaval in 2006
ii. Hinduism and Buddhism
iii. Since the Nestorians, Roman Catholics and Protestants.
iv. After the mild revolution in 1951, only a presence to aid in education, development,
healthcare and so on. The United Mission to Nepal and other networks. Some efforts to
contextualize and indigenize.

II. BANGLADESH
(Sources: England and others ed., 2002, pp. 169-188)
i. Independence in 1971
ii. Mostly Bengalis and several tribal groups
iii. Second largest Muslim country next to Indonesia
iv. Christianity since the Portugese
v. Concerns of the Church – fundamentalism, human rights, protection of the tribals, community
service and development, population growth and unemployment. The missionary compound
provides help but not self-reliance.
vi. Because of a short independent existence and the Christians being a
small minority, only some contextual and indigenous theological thinking.
They shared in the Bengali theological thinking in West Bengal.

III. PAKISTAN
(Sources: England and others eds. 2002, pp. 408-456)
i. Independent in 1947; declared an Islamic republic in 1956; military rule and shariat law.
Economic injustice, low level of literacy, not much of development, poverty and so on.
ii. Early Christian presence since the 5th century. Portugese Roman Christian missionaries.
Prebyterians since 1849. Islam the state religion since 1973. Minority communities suffer
religious, social, economic and political discrimination.
iii. An adequate theology of liberation in the context of discrimination, poverty and exploitation
has to be worked out. Many theologians have worked out theologies of some issues. It has to
come out of the experiences of the people. It has also to consider the context of Islam being the
state religion.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: SRI LANKA

(Sources: Balasundaram, Part II, pp. 103-227; Batumalai, pp. 202-230; England and others
eds., 2002, pp. 457-538; Ferm, pp. 84-86; Gnanakan, pp. 215-216; Yung, pp. 148-154)

I. INTRODUCTION:

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 Sri Lanka meaning ‘great and beautiful island’ is plagued with ethnic problems. Ceylon
Tamils have contributed much to the development of Malaysia and Singapore. For the past two
decades Sinhalese nationalism and Buddhist resurgence have affected Hindus, Christians and
Muslims in Sri Lanka. The racial and religious aspirations have revived the differences between
the Tamils of the Dravidian root and the Sinhalese of Aryan root. Though the country is small it
has produced quite a few theologians. Some to be listed are: D. T. Niles, Lakshman
Wickremsinghe, Alosyius Pieris, Tissa Balasuriya, Lynn de Sylva and Bernadeen Sylva.

A. Understanding the Sri Lankan Context

It is a small country but multi racial and multi religious. The Tamils in the northern and
eastern provinces are fighting for an independent state. These are Hindus brought by the British
in the 19th C. to work in the tea plantations.
Theravada Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka in the 3rd C. B. C. The Portuguese, Dutch
and British suppressed it. It has permeated all aspects of life. Monasticism is well developed.
Buddhism and Sinhalese have become political forces. They claim to be ‘bumiputras’(sons of the
soil).
In 1948 the Indians lost their citizenship. In 1972 several thousands were sent back to
India and the Constitution did not give any benefit to those of Indian origin. The Tamils are
Hindus and they claim to have come to Sri Lanka in the third century B. C. They have become
people without a State and are fighting for their rights.
Christianity was introduced into Sri Lanka by the colonizers. There are Roman Catholics,
Anglicans and Methodists.
The Tamils live in the North and the East. There has been disharmony between the
Tamils and the Sinhalese fostered by suspicion, mistrust and discrimination. The Sinhalese
accuse the Tamils of having taken the strategic posts while the Tamils complain of not being
respected and given due appreciation of merit. Language streaming in schools has aggravated the
situation. Bishop Lakshman Wickremesinghe a Sinhalese Anglican worked for harmony and
reconciliation. He listed three factors in the struggle. First is the vying for recognition by both the
communities. Second is the struggle for resources. Third are the alienation, prejudice and mob-
violence. Wickremesinghe advocated a perception of contextual realities.

B. A Brief History.
The Roman Catholic Portuguese brought Christianity to Sri Lanka. Later the Dutch
suppressed them. During the British period religious liberty enabled the Roman Catholics to
grow and flourish. Education is a major contribution of the Protestants. For the past three decades
there has been a revival of Buddhism and Buddhist education. Politics also has been taken over
by the majority Buddhists. This has affected the Church-State relationship.
The Christians churches enjoyed some privileges during the colonial period and later till
1961. After 1956 Buddhism received much support and was made the State religion in 1972.
Since 1960 there has been some tension between Church and State. The following changes were
brought about: 1. In 1961 the schools were nationalized. 2. Religious persons working as nurses
were dismissed from government hospitals. 3. In 1961 Sunday ceased to be a public holiday,
replaced by the Buddhist Poya. 4. In 1956 teaching of religion was made compulsory in schools
and the parents had to choose a suitable religion for their children. 5. There has been some
freedom. There was no legal restriction on the evangelistic work of the Church. 6. The
Government maintained its professed religious neutrality. 7. The non-Roman Catholic churches

60
completed a scheme of union by 1970. But the political developments changed the plans. In 1972
Buddhism was accorded a favoured status. In 1975 when the union was about to take place the
Supreme Court enforced the abandonment of the plan. The National Christian Council is not
dynamic. An Inter-Religious Council and Buddhist Christian study groups at the Buddhist
University are active.

C. Emerging Themes In Theological Thinking in Sri Lanka.

Religiosity and Poverty: Religion and poverty are two most common factors in Asia.
i. Religion: Aloysius Pieris says that Asia will always remain a non-Christian continent and the
Church must regain its authority by breaking its alliance with power. Further, he says, the Church
must humbly be baptized in the Jordan of Asian religiosity and be bold to be crucified on the
Cross of Asian poverty. Buddhism is powerful in Sri Lanka. Pieris has identified the importance
of dialogue. He discerns the presence of non-Christian soteriologies and uses Buddhist categories
in dialogue. Lynn de Silva did a fruitful work in the area of inter-religious dialogue.
Wickremesinghe wrote about Christianity in the context of other faiths. One of the models for
social change is Christian Buddhist-Marxist dialogue.
ii. Poverty: Pieris wants the problem of poverty to be understood from all perspectives such as
religious, socio-economic and Marxist situations. He talks about praxis of God’s people living
beyond the Church and losing themselves in total participation. Pieris sees it from a
Christological perspective of Christ’s mission being a prophetic mission of the poor, by the poor
for the poor. He suggests a ‘Christ-of-religions’ approach to unite all religions for liberation from
all forms of oppression, political, social, economic, racial, sexual and spiritual. Dalston Forbes
discusses services in terms of justice, love, mercy, freedom and peace. He seeks the colloboration
of people of other faiths. Wickremesinghe fought for the poor especially the Tamils and sought
the reconstruction of a new economic system and a political solution.

1. Dialogue: Dialogue is an important mission in Sri Lanka. Many theologians and leaders at
different levels have done dialogue in ashrams and colleges. Some have been involved in social
concerns and a team has developed social work in labour movements and industries.

2. Culture and Economic Realities: Pieris says that the Asian Church has no theology of its
own though its host cultures have a lot of theology. The economic rivalries between the Sinhala
and the Tamils has left the Tamil plantation workers destitute. Many have spoken and written
about liberation theology. In Sri Lanka it is understood in terms of loving God and our
neighbours as ourselves. Paul Caspress says that the task of the followers of Jesus is to live
according to the faith that God is Jesus of Nazareth. The Church attempts to prevent the
Terrorism Act for the sake of human rights. Students and young people also express their
theological concerns. It is said that the Sri Lankan society is drawn towards secular values.

3. Communalism: Since Independence there has been tension between the two races. In 1958,
1977, 1983 and since then there has been much violence. The Tamils want an independent
secular State. The Church seems to favour a unitary State. The Tamils also may be happy if
Tamil is made one of the official languages, their rights are respected and their interests are not
sacrificed. The present violence is the worst. It is natural for the Tamils to long for a home of
their own.

61
4. Theology of Ecumenism: Church unity is important for national unity. But, in 1976 the
Church unity could not be achieved. The concerns of D. T. Niles are inter-religious and social
issues. Niles stressed that Christ himself is present in every secular or religious setting. The
Church is called to be involved in it. This is a crucial moment for the Christians in Sri Lanka to
show their contribution in terms of reconciliation and sacrifice.

II. D. T. NILES:
Daniel Thambirajah Niles was a great Sri Lankan Christian leader, ecumenist and
dialogue theologian.

III. TISSA BALASURIYA:

Balasuriya who has been the head of the Centre for Society and Religion has been an
influential Sri Lankan theologian. He has written many books on several themes. In his book The
Eucharist and Human Liberation he develops an action-oriented liturgy. Balasuriya lists themes
such as food, clothing, shelter, health, work, family, justice and religious harmony – basic
necessities of the oppressed to be part of the liturgy. For him, the Eucharist should build a new
world order based on equality, service and justice.
Capitalism is profit motivated and so incompatible with the spirit of the Eucharist. He
suggests a form of socialism in which the means of production and distribution are owned
commonly. Balasuriya also sees a deep interconnection between Christians and Marxists.
Marxists must teach Christians the meaning of Eucharist in a world of exploitation. Christians
must teach Marxists the ideal of classless society in which all human beings are respected with
equality and freedom.

Balasuriya is well aware of the pitfalls of both capitalist and socialist societies. He argues
for a sharing of resources on a global level and criticizes the Latin American Liberation
theologians for their lack of a world vision. Another criticism he has against the Latin American
theologians is that their emphasis is on socio-economic factors to the neglect of the role of land in
economic development.

Tissa Balasuriya’s view of the relationship of Christianity to other religions is also

critical. He addresses the need for Christianity to be liberated from its traditional parochial
attitude. As an Asian he refuses to accept that a loving God would eternally damn millions and
millions of his ancestors because they had not been baptized or related to an institutional church.
For Balasuriya, theology has to be liberated from Western culture, church centralization, male
clerical domination, and procapitalist and anticommunist bias.

The book Planetary Theology written by Balasuriya brings out the point that most of the
contextual theologies are infected with’world apartheid’. The Latin American theologies neglect
the issue of marginalized racial groups while the Black theology overlooks the needs of Asians.
Most of the Third World liberation theologies have not paid attention to the oppression of
women. He suggests an ecumenism of all religions and a God who combats all forms of
injustices on a global level. His Cosmic Christ offers ‘integral liberation’ of the person, of society
and of the world in truth, authenticity, social justice and peace. Balasuriya’s liberation theology
embraces all cultures, religions and societies.

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IV. ALOYSIUS PIERIS: He suggests a ‘Christ-of-religions’ approach to unite all religions for
liberation from all forms of oppression, political, social, economic, racial, sexual and spiritual.

V. LYNN A. DE SILVA:
For de Silva several concepts of Buddhism and Secular ideologies have a close
relationship with the Christian faith. This has to be worked out to state a Christian theology for
Asia.

VI. BISHOP LAKSHMAN WICKREMESINGHE:

Wickremesinghe is critical of capitalism, feudalism and neo-colonialism. He advocates a
sarvodaya movement. He advocates a kingdom of God for Asia by working for a just society.

VII. MICHAEL PAUL RODRIGO:

Fr. Michael was assassinated in Sri Lanka. He advocated a people’s theology and took a
stand for justice.

CHAPTER TWELVE: INDIA, PART I

I. INTRODUCTION:
Theologies from India and India theologies are numerous. Right from the beginning of the
entry of the Christian faith in India in the first or second century, from the time of the Thomas
Christians there have been many efforts to develop theologies contextually. The coming of the
Portugese and the missions of the Catholic societies also brought about many efforts. Francis
Xavier and Robert de Nobili had their own ways of developing contextual theologies. The
Protestant missionaries, Ziegenbalg and William Carey also contributed to contextual theologies.
Starting with Ram Mohan Roy there have been many Indian theologians who formulated
contextual theologies.

II. M. M. THOMAS AND SALVATION AND HUMANISATION:

M. M. Thomas along with other theological proposals made a major contribution in his
work on salvation and humanization.

III. THEOLOGY OF KAPPEN:

(Sources: Balasundaram, Part II, pp. 27-67; Ferm, p.92; Thumma, A. People’s Power.)
Sebastian Kappen, Director for the Centre for Social Reconstruction, Madras holds that one
encounters God in building a new social order of freedom for everyone. For Kappen the cosmic,
social and historical dimensions cannot be separated and Asian spirituality keeps all the
dimensions of life intertwined. All persons of good will can unite in their concern for the poor.
An authentic Asian liberation theology will emerge from dissonant Christians who are willing to
unite with people of all faiths and even Marxists.
IV. GEEVARGHESE MAR OSTHATHIOS AND ORTHODOX THEOLOGY FROM INDIA:
(Sources: Batumalai, pp. 279-283; Ferm, pp. 92-93)
Mar Osthathios, metropolitan of the Orthodox Syrian Church of Kerala in India uses the
Orthodox theology for the social implications of the Trinity. For him true Christianity is easier to
practice in a socialist society than in a capitalist society. He makes the bold statement that the
God who chose Cyrus has graciously chosen Marx, Engel and Mao to bring about a classless
society. However, he is not naïve to be ignorant of the weaknesses of socialism. He objects to the

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determinism, materialism, atheism and lack of individual freedom promoted by communism. On
the other hand he welcomes communism for its nationalization of the means of production, social
equality and elimination of class distinctions. He calls the Church to promote simple life style
and to break down the socio-economic barriers between the rich and the poor and the oppressed
and the oppressor.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: INDIA, PART II

1. DIALOGUE THEOLOGY FROM INDIA

The concept of dialogue had been put forward for the relationship with people of other
faiths. P. D. Devanandan developed the theology of dialogue. Others such as M.M.Thomas, S. J.
Samartha and Griffith Bede contributed to dialogue theology in India

II. CHRISTO-CENTRIC THEOLOGIES FROM INDIA

In developing Christian response to other faiths, some theologians have developed
Christo-centric theologies. The basic concept is that Christ and not necessarily the man or human
Jesus of Nazareth is the centre of all religiosity and all religions. But some have questioned this
position. Why should Christ be the centre? Theologians of religious pluralism have moved away
from this position of Christo-centrism to God-centrism or soterio-centrism or centrism of God-
experience or religious experience.

III. PLURALISTIC THEOLOGIES FROM INDIA

Pluralistic theologians such as Raimundo Panikkar and others have proposed that God or
human experience of God or human religious experience should be at the centre of our
theologies. The pluralists would also say that all religions are equally good and valid. All paths
lead to the one God. It is our duty to help one another be better human beings deepening our
experiences of religion of birth or confession, and also cooperating to solve human problems
without giving up our individual and specific convictions and concerns.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: INDIA, PART III DALIT THEOLOGY

(Sources: Appavoo, ‘Dalit Religion and Culture’ in Nehring, pp. 302-318; Balasundaram,
Part II, pp. 75-98; Balasundaram, 1995, pp. 146-172; Devasahayam, ed. Frontiers of Dalit
Theology. Gurukul, 1997; Devasahayam, ‘Dimensions of Dalit Dilemma’ in Nehring, pp. 273-
301; Francis and Balasundaram, pp.173-184, 194-198; Massey, J. Roots. ISPCK, Delhi, 1996;
Massey, ‘Ingredients for a Dalit Theology’ in Sugirtharajah and Hargreaves, pp. 152-157;
Nirmal, A. P. ed. A Reader In Dalit Theology.Gurukul, Madras,1990; Prabhakar, pp. 32-34, 77-
82, 83-103; Thumma, A. Springs From The Subalterns. ISPCK, 1999)

I. NIRMAL’S DALIT THEOLOGY.

1. Dalit theology is by, for and of an oppressed people.
2. Dalit theology takes the sociological dimension seriously.
3. Dalit theology is based on empirical investigation.
4. Pathos is the basis for dalit theology.
5. Dalit theology is a counter theology and should maintain its distinctiveness.
6. Dalit theology is a theology of identity.
7. Dalit history is important for dalit theology.

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 8. Dalit theology must have a transforming liberative social vision.
9. Concepts of dalit God, dalit Jesus and dalit Holy Spirit.

II. DEVASAHAYAM’S DALIT THEOLOGY.

1. Dalit identity – legal, social and religious.
2. Ritual status.
3. Economic status.
4. Atrocities against dalit women.
5. The reservation policy.
6. Political mobilization.
7. Untouchability.

III. THEOPHILUS APPAVOO’S DALIT THEOLOGY.

IV. PRABHAKAR’S DALIT THEOLOGY.
1. Who is a dalit? The word means ‘broken’ or ‘oppressed’.
2. Fourfold alienation of Christian dalits – not given economic or social benefits by the
government; disfavoured by other dalits when they seek government benefits; treated
contemptuously by upper caste Christians; and, finally divided within themselves as clans
and sub castes.
3. The dalit dilemma
4. Dalit quest for liberation.
5. Contents of a dalit theology – dalit power, dalit consciousness, church as community,
church of the poor and servant church, liberative action.

V. DALIT WOMEN.
1. Caste system denies the humanity of men and women.
2. Fourfold impact of caste on women – i. Social division of labour ii. Determines sexual
inter connectedness iii. Hierarchical relations iv. Concepts of pollution and purity
3. When dalit women awaken there will be a rich base for revolution.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: INDIA, PART IV TRIBAL THEOLOGY FROM

INDIA
(Sources: Longchar, Wati ed. An Exploration Of Tribal Theology. 1997, pp. ; Longchar, In
Search of Identity and Tribal Theology. 2000, pp. ;Minz, Albert, ‘Dalit and Tribals’ in
Devasahayam, pp.130-154; Minz, Nirmal, ‘Dalit Tribal: A Search For Common Ideology’ in
Francis and Balasundaram, pp. 185-193; Minz, Nirmal, ‘A Theological Interpretation of the
Tribal Reality in India’, in Sugirtharajah and Hargreaves, pp. 46-58)

I. INTRODUCTION.
According to Nirmal Minz the tribal reality has four parts, the people, the land, power
and God. Many have developed tribal theologies in India. One major contribution comes from
the North East India.

II. TRIBAL THEOLOGIES FROM THE NORTH EAST INDIA.

A. The tribal context.

65
1. The term ‘tribal’ is used negatively in India.
2. But it may also be used to affirm that they are the original people of India, that they have a
distinctive tribal tradition and also to affirm the common identity of the several tribal groups in
India.
3. Dalits and Tribals.
a. They share a common history of oppression.
But there are differences also.
i. Dalits are thinly distributed and so are not able to unite and fight. Tribes are concentrated in
some places and so a united action is possible.
ii. Dalits have only their homes if it is possible as their own land. Labour is their only mode
of livelihood. But tribals own land and is the main source of their livelihood.
iii. The dalits have forgotten their original languages and have taken up the languages of the
dominant people. The tribals have their own languages.
iv. The dalits have been absorbed into the Hindu caste structure. But the tribals have not been
so rigidly absorbed into the Hindu caste structure.
4. The tribals have a defeated history.
5. Tribals in modern India.
The development process treats them as objects and not as subjects.
The new economic policy produces a new kind of alienation and injustice.
i. Displacement
ii. Suppression
iii. Assimilation

B. Tribal theology
1. It is a contextual theology of liberation.
2. Land is the central or core concern of tribal theology.
i. Tribal theology is space centered in that land is given primary importance.
ii. God is intimately linked with the land.
iii. Christ is organically linked with the eco system.
iv. Humans are part of the land.
v. There should not be any exploitation and degradation of the land. It should not be
commercialized. All should share it.
vi. ‘… the human attains redemption only in relation to the rest of creation. Together with
God, Spirit and mother earth we are redeemed’ [Longchar, 2000, p. 64].
vii. Human history must be interpreted in the context of the whole creation. Nature and
history form one whole.
viii. Humans are integral part of earth’s community.
ix. Because the whole earth is God’s body, natural resources must be used reverentially
without selfish greed.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: WOMENIST THEOLOGIES OF ASIA

(Sources: Balasundaram, EATWOT, 225-249; Balasundaram, 1995, pp. 173-203; Yamashita,
Akiko ‘Women’s Issues in Japan’, pp.231-237 and Balasundaram, F. J. ‘Chung Hyun Kyung’,
pp. 248-258 in Francis and Balasundaram; Batumalai, pp. 431-443; Ferm, pp.94-95;
Gnanadason, ‘Feminist Theology’ in Sugirtharajah and Hargreaves, pp. 59-70)

66
I. INTRODUCTION
The phrase ‘womenist theologies’ is used by K. C. Abraham for Asian feminist
theologies. Feminist theologies were first proposed by western middle class women. Feminist
theologies arise from the context of the experiences of women. The experiences of all women all
over the globe are not the same. The Afro-American women have formulated the womanist
theologies. The Latin American Hispanic women have formulated the mujiro theologies. The
women in the African continent have formulated their own theologies. The Asian women have
formulated their own Asian theologies that are known as womenist theologies.
II. GENERAL FEATURES
One main feature is that these are articulated by Asian women and arise out of the
context of the Asian women.
III. SOME SELECT EMPHASES OF CERTAIN THEOLOGIANS
A. Four voices:
Aruna Gnanadason, Sun Ai Lee Park, Bernadeen Silva and Sister Mary John Mananzan
put forward a few thoughts from Asian women’s perspective.
1. Women the victims of feudalism and patriarchy.
2. Women the victims of capitalism and militarism.
3. Women the victims of Christian religion.
4. Women and Patriarchal church.
5. Women and ordination.
6. Women, spirituality and theology.
7. Women and Jesus of the Gospels.
8. Women and violence.
9. Women and the Kingdom of God.
10. Women and the mission of Resurrection.

B. Marianne Katoppo of Indonesia:

Katoppo uses the phrase ‘Asian Women’s theology’ because the phrase ‘feminist
theology’ has become quite loaded. Three points can be highlighted from Katoppo’s theology:
1) How does one encounter God?
Kotappo draws from her own experience of alienation of being the other. She insists that
theology should make the experience of the other not alienating but liberative. For her it is
important that men and women should work together to build a just society.
2) View of Mary the mother of Jesus.
Mary is an important role model because of being truly compassionate and free. She gave
herself completely to God. Further her virginity is a symbol of an inner quality of true freedom
without being subject to any other humans and free to serve God. Katoppo faults Gutierrez of
Latin America for not mentioning Mary which she feels is the way women are often eclipsed.
3) Reading the Bible.
For Katoppo reading the Bible without a masculine bias reveals female imageries and
one discovers that Yahweh is neither male nor female. Further, Katoppo holds that service and
not sexuality is a primary aspect of God’s image. She also uses C.S. Song’s phrase ‘theology of
the womb’ to show the continuity of hope from one generation to another.

C. Chung Hyun Kyung of South Korea

67
 She is a systematic theologian in South Korea educated in the US. Her doctoral
dissertation has been published as the book The Struggle to be Sun Again. She roots her theology
in the struggle and pain of Asian women.
1. For her the concept of ‘In God’s Image’ is important.
2. Jesus Christ is the symbol of full humanity for Asian women. Jesus as the Suffering
Servant, as Lord and as Immanuel is relevant. Jesus’ humanity embraces all. Jesus relives
through our lives. Chung sees Jesus as liberator. He is also Mother, Woman and the Shaman.
She sees Jesus as the broken grain.
3. Mary is also considered as a symbol of new humanity. Mary is seen as a self-defining
woman, as Mother and as Co-Redeemer.
4. Asian women give birth to a new type of spirituality.
5. Asian women’s theology is liberational.
6. Chung suggests four points for Asian women’s theology – their experiences being the text,
moving away from institutional religion to popular religions, accepting religious pluralism
and a shift from doctrinal purity to syncretism.

D. Japan
Japanese women are enjoying the fruit of Japan’s economy. But before World War II,
they were oppressed in a patriarchal system. Earlier Shamanism gave freedom to women. But
later the entrance of Confucianism and Buddhism has brought in concepts of women’s pollution.
During the World War Japanese women were taken as prostitutes to serve the Japanese soldiers.
After the war, Japanese sex tourism is promoted in the Philippines, Korea and Thailand. Women
from other Asian countries are brought to Japan to serve in bars and brothels. These women
being the breadwinners for their poor families back home do not give proper information. They
are bound by the Japanese Yen. Japanese women should not enjoy the benefits of yen at the
expense of other Asian women. The hierarchical society has to change.

E. Aruna Gnanadason of India

She proposes the following principles:
1. Affirmation of full humanity of both men and women.
2. Re-reading of the Bible to recover the liberative elements.
3. Hermeneutics of suspicion.
4. Interpretations.
5. Women as co-workers with God.
6. Jesus Christ empowers women.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: ECO THEOLOGY

Sources: Nalunnakkal, George Mathew. Green Liberation. Towards an integral ecotheology.
ISPCK, Delhi, 1999; Nehring, Andreas ed. Ecology A Theological Response. Gurukul, Madras,
1994; Ruether, Rosemary Radford ed. Women Healing Earth. Third World Women on Ecology,
Feminism, and Religion. Orbis Books, Maryknoll, 1996, pp. 61-116

I. INTRODUCTORY.
1. The ecological crisis.
a. Pollution
b. Technological exploitation of natural resources.

68
 c. Some global issues – radiation hazards, oil spills and so on.
II. One major Indian work on eco theology is by GEORGE MATHEW NALUNNAKKA. He says
that the liberation theologies are inadequate as eco theologies. The Latin American liberation
theological model is weak in exegesis and is formulated on the principles of Marxist social
analysis. He also says that the Dalit, Tribal and Eco feminist theologies in India are not doing
justice to ecological concerns. According to him eco theology is a better word compared to
environmental or green theology, because it includes the whole of the oikos the habitat. He calls
his theology an integral eco theology because it integrates the concerns of the poor, Dalits, tribals
and women from a perspective of eco-justice.

III. INTEGRAL ECO THEOLOGY OF NALANNAKKA.

1. The ecological context in India.
a. Water – depletion of ground water and pollution of water sources with waste, domestic and
industrial; dams – destruction of forest and agricultural land, displacement of people,
destruction of flora, fauna and fish, uprooting of culture, neo-colonialism of I. M. F., World
Bank and other MNCs. Alternative of micro dams. Over fishing a cause for water pollution
and extinction of marine wealth.
b. Atmosphere.
c. Green house effect.
d. Acid rain.
e. Ozone layer depletion.
f. Forests. Adverse effect of social forestry – example of eucalyptus. The Chipko movement.
Forests integral part of tribal culture.
g. Globalisation and environmental impacts.
h. soil and biodiversity. Soil erosion. Adverse effects of commercial agriculture and Green
Revolution.
j. Industrialisation. Bhopal.
k. energy situation in India.
m. Population.

2. Ecological significance of Process theology.

a. Inter-relatedness
b. The living and the non-living – absolute distinction avoided
c. Enjoyment
d. Ecological significance of the Process doctrine of God.

(1) The doctrine of God in Process theology is different from that in classical theology. The
Process God is dipolar – having two aspects at the same time – transcendent and immanent,
abstract and concrete, being and becoming. This God is involved with the world. God’s
immanence with a panentheistic framework limits God.
(2) God in the world and the world in God. Panentheism. The Process theologians mean by this
that God depends on the world to be God and God is independent of the world.
(3) Divine love is persuasive. The Cross is the symbol of this persuasive love.
(4) Process theology with its concept of ‘process’ that every thing is in process and change can
integrate liberation and eco theologies.

69
(5) Process concepts of ‘enjoyment’, ‘lure’ and ‘incarnation’ uphold the intrinsic worth of
creation. The process concept of ‘inter-relatedness’ leads to the idea of God, humans and the rest
of creation being in an interpenetrative relationship. Justice to nature is parallel to justice to the
oppressed. The Cosmic Christ and cosmic salvation are integral concepts of Process theology.
The ecological sensitivity of Process theology corrects the anthropocentrism of traditional
theology.

3. Aspects of Integral eco theology of Nalunnakkal.

a. Doctrine of God
(1) Panentheism provides the necessary concept of God’s immanence in God’s embodiment
and God’s transcendence.
(2) Trinitarian doctrine of God. The social (equality and sharing) and ecological
(interdependence) aspects of Trinity relevant for eco-justice in India.
(3) Indigenous images of God such as ‘God is rice’ to be used.
b. Creation.
(1) The principle of ‘remythologisation’. The creation myths of Dalit and Tribal theologies
have to be incorporated in the Genesis story. The connection between adam and adamah
(from the dust) and the injunction to ‘till’ or ‘preserve’ the earth are important.
(2) The concept of ‘image’ being ‘stewardship’ is deficient.
(3) Our self-emptying should be one of cross bearing with the suffering humanity and
groaning creation.

c. Doctrine of sin.
(1) God’s creation of image of God in humans distorted
(2) God’s creation of heavens and the earth polluted
(3) God’s Spirit brooded over the waters. But today waters have been polluted.
(4) God brought forth vegetation. But today deforestation and desertification.
(5) God created all kinds of living creatures. Threat to many species of animals.
(6) God saw that everything is good. The technocratic, capitalist model of development treats
Nature as an object with only instrumental value.
d. Christology.
(1) In an Indian ecotheology, Jesus becomes an avatara to identify with the oppressed
humanity and exploited nature.
(2) The presence of Christ in all forms of life has to be recognized as ‘the unknown Christ of
Creation’ and a ‘Cosmic Christology’ has to be emphasized. An integral eco-spirituality has
to move forward to a ‘new heaven and new earth’ of Kingdom of God where peace, justice
and integrity of creation will abound.
e. Soteriology and Eschatology.
(1) Cosmic salvation.
(2) The Kingdom of God is a Bramaloka where the whole order of creation is transformed
and assimilated into God.

IV. ECO THEOLOGY BY ASIAN WOMEN.

1) Vandana Shiva of India gives a lead in Asian eco-feminism. She critiques western neo-
colonialism that increases the poverty and marginalization of especially rural women. Western

70
science is based on a worldview of fragmentation, dualism and hierarchical domination. But the
connection between women and nature that causes the victimization of women also becomes a
source of life. She also uses the principle of Shakti that can be used to oppose exploitation and
destruction.

2) Aruna Gnanadason uses both the Hindu and the Christian heritages to formulate her Indian
ecofeminist theology.

3) Gabriele Dietrich discusses the effect of development on two particular communities – the
fishermen in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and the urban slum dwellers in Tamil Nadu. She uses five
aspects of these communities – women and work, women and body, women and natural
resources, women’s spirituality and the struggle to reconstruct social structures. She uses also the
theological concept of the world as God’s body.

4) Victoria Tauli-Corpuz is an Igorot tribal from the northern mountains in the Philippines. She
has been alienated from the Christianity in which she grew up because of its irrelevance to real
life. She has also been alienated from her traditional animist spirituality. She finds in her
traditional customs, rituals and spirituality the resources for solidarity, egalitarianism and
reverence for the natural world. She also feels that Christianity might provide positive values for
justice and sustaining of life.

5) Sun Ai Lee-Park in 1980 founded the journal In God’s Image for Asian Christian Feminists.
For her the Bible read from the viewpoint of Asian women is the tool for eco-theology of
liberation. She focuses on two passages – Gen. 2 and Lev. 25. She says that the forbidden fruit
shows the limits within which humans may use nature. She also emphasizes the redemption and
restoration portrayed in Lev. 25 in the concept of liberation in the Year of Jubilee. The biblical
redemption is shown to be holistic.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: CONCLUDING CHAPTER

1. THEOLOGIES IN VARIOUS TYPES OF CONTEXTS IN ASIA
A. The Hindu Context
B. The Islamic Context
C. The Buddhist Context
D. The Marxist and Totalitarian Context
E. The Urban Context

B IBLIOGRAPHY :
Abraham, K. C. ed. Third World Theologies. Commonalities & Divergences. Orbis Books,
Maryknoll, 1990
Adams, Daniel J. Biblical Hermeneutics. An Introduction. CLS, Madras, second edition revised,
1987
Amaladoss, M., John, T. K. and Gispert-Sauch, G. ed. Theologizing In India. Theological
Publications in India, Bangalore, 1981

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Balasundaram, Franklin J. EATWOT In Asia. Towards A Relevant Theology. Asian Trading
Corporation, 1993
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Gnanakan, Ken ed. Biblical Theology In Asia. Theological Book Trust, Bangalore, 1995
Joseph, M. P. ed. Confronting Life: Theology out of the Context. ISPCK, Delhi, 1995
Longchar, Wati ed. An Exploration Of Tribal Theology. The Tzudikong Baptist Church,
Nagaland, 1997
----. In Search of Identity and Tribal Theology. Tribal Study Centre, Jorhat, 2000
---- and Davis, Larry E. Doing Theology With Tribal Resources. Tribal Study Centre, Jorhat,
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Nalunnakkal, George Mathew. Green Liberation. Towards an integral ecotheology. ISPCK, Delhi, 1999
Nehring, Andreas ed. Ecology A Theological Response. Gurukul, Madras, 1994
----. Prejudice. Issues in Third World Theologies. Gurukul, 1996
Nirmal, A. P. ed. A Reader In Dalit Theology. Gurukul, Madras, 1990
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Association, Taiwan, 1984
Ruether, Rosemary Radford ed. Women Healing Earth. Third World Women on Ecology,
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USA, 1992
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----. Springs From The Subalterns. Patterns And Perspectives In People’s Theology. ISPCK,
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