Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church Is Influencing the Way We Think about and Discuss Theology
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
It’s no secret that the center of Christianity has shifted from the West to the global South and East. While the truths of the Christian faith are universal, new contexts bring new questions, new understandings, and new expressions. What does this mean for theology? Is the Christian faith not only culturally translatable, but also theologically translatable? Timothy Tennent answers this question with a resounding yes. Theological reflection is alive and well in the majority world church, and these new perspectives need to be heard, considered, and brought into conversation with Western theologians. Global theology can make us aware of our own blind spots and biases. Because of its largely conservative stance, global theology has much to offer toward the revitalization of Western Christianity. Tennent examines traditional theological categories in conversation with theologians from across the globe, making this volume valuable for students, pastors, missionaries, and theologians alike.
Top Highlights
“Second, Majority World Christians are more likely to be morally and ethically conservative.” (Page 14)
“What we further need to recognize is that the Christian faith is not only culturally translatable, it is also theologically translatable. I am defining theological translatability as the ability of the kerygmatic essentials of the Christian faith to be discovered and restated within an infinite number of new global contexts.” (Page 16)
“Second, non-Christian texts should be used only to provide a corroborative witness to a biblical message, rather than an independent testimony in isolation from the biblical witness. As Christians, we do not accept the final authority of the Upanishads any more than Paul accepted the final authority of the Hymn to Zeus.” (Pages 71–72)
“However, beginning in 1900, the statistical center began to shift dramatically southward, and in 1970 it began to move eastward for the first time in 1,370 years! (See Figure A). Today, the statistical center of Christianity is located in Timbuktu! This means that for the first time since the Reformation, the majority of Christians (approximately 67 percent) are now located outside the Western world.” (Page 8)
“First, it is vital that we become more informed and conversant with the growing theology from the Majority World church” (Page 17)