Asian Theology
Having completed schooling at a Catholic high school and taught in a number of secondary and primary catholic schools, I have recently wondered why there is a very low percentage of students in the schools that are of Asian descent. What is Asian theology and how does it differ to Christian theology? Is there or could there be a link between the two? Koyama's (1990) aim is to explain that Asian theology should not, and can not, merely be a counter-concept to theology in the West. Asian theology needs to be concerned with the biblical proclamation of Christ, that is a God of Pathos and ethos, instead of a response to Western theology. Koyama therefore suggests that the basic orientation for Asian theologians should be a responsible contextualization of theology. He feels that God calls Asians to a new understanding of the world and humanity. An Asian theologian, Samartha, formulated a Christology in a mul
Samartha also attempted to contextualize Christian theology, as Koyama suggests is needed. This is because Jesus was multi-dimensional; spiritual, social and historical. These two aspects tie together in the following way: the advaitin perspective prepares the community for a Mystery, Christ reveals that Mystery. Samartha's theological focus is his concern to affirm that Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour in India today. Samartha believes that for this connection to occur, Indians must accept the teachings and insights of their own philosophers and use these to gain a better understanding of Jesus Christ. Samartha used this perspective of advaita, which is a Sanskrit word meaning "non-duality" or the eradication of duality, to explain his views and how this Indian philosophical insight can help Indians to reach an understanding of Jesus Christ in India today. As he states, Indians do not have to become Jews to recognise the fullness of Christ, but instead should make use of their own, Indian philosophers, especially the Vedanta philosophers. Jesus Christ, however, is not an advaita. These dimensions may lose some of their significance if they were bundled together instead of retaining their separate roles and values. For example, can the Israel story be used to interpret Asia's own history? Do they have their own exodus and redemption? The other aspects currently under debate include the relationship between Christology and ethics and also the question of universality and apologetics. Therefore , Samartha believes that a "differentiated interrelatedness" type of theology should be adopted in India. A Vedanta philosopher, Sankara, believed in an advaita view of the universe. Four major aspects that are debated by theologians are firstly is evangelism and people of other faiths, is a belief that Semitic thought form should be relative to the culture. This makes sense as syncretism is a term used to describe the attempted union of principles irreconcilably at variance with each other, especially the doctrines of certain religionists.
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Acceptance Essays
