An Introduction to Asian Theology

KNT2621HF (Fall of 2010)

Tuesday 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Instructor: Dr. Lee, Bryan Jeongguk (이정국, 李廷國).

416-630-1410, jeongguk.lee@utoronto.ca

I. Course Description

The purpose of this course is to recognize themes and insights that are developed uniquely by
Asian theologians, mainly from China, Japan, and Korea, such as C.S. Song, Kosuke Koyama,
and Korean Minjung Theologians. This course will help non-Asian students to get some knowledge
of Asian cultures and Asian indigenous religions, and Asian students to develop a theology based on
their Asian heritage and experiences. Consequently, this course will help theological students, both
Asian and non-Asian, to overcome Western parochialism and contribute to a development of Christian
theology for the coming multicultural and pluralistic century we have been already embarked. The
course will be in seminar format with lecture input, analysis of readings, student presentation and
class discussion.

II. Course Objectives: Knowledge, skills and competencies

This course aims to help students to:

1) Identify and describe diverse theological developments in Asia.
2) Become familiar with the major themes, distinctive features, and methodologies of Asian
theologies
3) Formulate a broader/global perspective in their theological thinking in relation to our local context
4) Demonstrate skills to express their ideas in both oral and written forms, using proper research
formats.

III. Required Texts: available at Crux Bookstore.

Koyama, Kosuke. Water Buffalo Theology. Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition, Revised and Expanded.
Maryknoll, N. Y.: Orbis Books, 1999.
Song, C. S. Jesus, the Crucified People. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996.

IV. COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATIVE CRITERIA

Grade scale and grade expectations are contained in the TST Basic Degree Handbook.

1. Class attendance and participation (10%): Students are expected to attend all classes. Absence
from more than two classes normally results in a grade of “incomplete.” For each class, there is a
list of required readings that students must read prior to the class. Class participation includes
student contributions to group discussions.

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2. Four short reflection papers on weekly reading assignments (20%): Students need to choose four
weeks and write short reflection papers (3-5 pages). Half of the content should be review and the other
half should be his/her personal reflection of the weekly reading material. The paper is due in class
before the class presentation starts.

3. Presentation (30%). After the fourth week, one student will be invited to initiate the class
discussion. This student will first review and then critically comment on the class’s required
readings, together with his/her other readings and personal experience. It should not take longer
than 30 minutes. Finally s/he will lead the class discussion. The student is expected to prepare a
handout or other visual aid to enhance the effectiveness of his/her presentation.

4. A research paper (40%): Students are required to hand in one research paper (12-15 pages) by the
last class. This paper aims to provide the student with the opportunity to research an Asian issue
in greater depth, drawing on the course content, and formulating his/her viewpoint on the topic.
Students need to choose a topic relevant to the course, and utilize at least 6 sources of information.
Before the reading week, students are expected to present a written plan of their research paper,
including the thesis statement, outline and preliminary bibliography.

* All papers should be submitted in class. No e-mail submission is allowed unless previously arranged due
to some special circumstances.

V. COURSE POLICIES

Policies for courses are contained in the TST Basic Degree Handbook and the Knox Student
Handbook. In particular, note:

Late Policy: 4 points deducted per week late.

Completion of Course Work: All course work (including any late work) must be completed by the
end of term, the last day of exams. Only in the case of illness (with a note from a doctor),
bereavement or other unusual circumstances will an extension be considered and this must be
authorized by the Basic Degree Committee and the Faculty. An SDF request form must be submitted.

Style Guidelines for Papers: See A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations,
by Kate L. Turabian.

Email Assignments: Papers and assignments are not accepted by email, except in rare cases by prior
permission of the instructor.

Plagiarism Policy: See TST Basic Degree Handbook.

Consultation: Please do not hesitate to consult the instructor about any questions you may have.
Email is normally themost immediate form of contact.

Attendance: A minimum attendance of 80% is required for a passing grade. Habitual lateness for
class will be counted as absence.

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VI. GRADING SCHEME

The grading scheme for this course, as with all TST courses, is as follows:

A+ 90-100 profound and creative

A 85-89 outstanding
A- 80-84 excellent: clear evidence of original thinking, of analytic and synthetic ability; sound critical
evaluations, broad knowledge base.
B+ 75-79 very good
B 73-76 good: good critical capacity and analytic ability; reasonable understanding of relevant issues,
good familiarity with the literature
B- 70-72 satisfactory: adequate critical capacity and analytic ability; some understanding of relevant
issues and with the literature
FZ 0-69 failure: failure to meet the above criteria

COURSE OUTLINE

Part I: Asian Theology in local and ecumenical context.

[Questions: Why is it important? Why another theology? Why bother?]

[Key words: The Gospel, the Scriptures, Tradition and traditions, interpretation, incarnation,
inculturation, and redemption,]

Sep. 14 (Week 1): The definition, context, and characteristics of Asian Theology

* Required Readings

1. R. Isvaradevan, “The Emergence of Asian Christian Theology: Its Background and

Formation,” Bangalore Theological Forum, v. XXviii, n. 1 and 2 (March and June 1996), pp. 28-37.
2. Douglas J. Elwood, “Asian Christian Theology in the Making: An Introduction,” in
Douglas J. Elwood, ed., Asian Christian Theology: Emerging Themes, pp. 23-39.
3. K.C. Abraham, “Asian Theology Looking to 21st Century,” Voices, vol. XX, no. 2
(December 1997), pp. 81-98.

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Sep. 21 (Week 2): The foundation for “theologies”: Christianity as interpreted, contextualized
realities in one and diverse manifestation.

* Required Readings

1. Mercy Amba Ouyoye, “Who Does Theology? Reflections on the Subject of Theology” in
Doing Theology in a Divided World, ed. Virginia Fabella and Sergio Torres
2. Johann Baptist Metz, “Standing at the End of the Eurocentric Era of Christianity: A Catholic
View,” in Doing Theology in a Divided World, pp. 85-90.
3. Stanley J. Samartha, “The Search for New Hermeneutics in Asian Christian Theology,”
in Yeow Choo Lak, ed., Doing Theology with Asian Resources, v. 3 (Singapore: ATESEA, 1993),
pp. 114-126.
4. Stephen B. Bevans, “Contextual Theology as a Theological Imperative,” in Models of Contextual
Theology, 3-15.

Part II: Asian Cultures and Religions.

Sep. 28 (Week 3) Asian Religions: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism

[Questions: What are the roots of the way of Asian thinking and living? What are main characteristics
of some of Asian religions? What are the issues, methodology and key points of Asian theologians in
their attempts to dialogue with Asian religions and cultural traditions?]

[Key words: Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism.]

* Required Readings

1. Raimon Panikkar, “Introduction,” in The Unknown Christ of Hinduism, 1-30.

2. Aloysius Pieris, “Western Christianity and Asian Buddhism,” in Love Meets Wisdom, 17-42.
3. Jung Young Lee, “The Yin-Yang Way of Thinking: A possible Method of Ecumenical Theology,” in
Christianity and the Religions of the East, ed. Rousseau, 9-15.

Oct. 5 (Week 4) Characteristics of Asian Thinking and Living

[Questions: What are the struggles of Asian theologians in relation to their own tradition?]

[Key words: Asian Texts, Asian traditions]

* Required Readings
1. Peter K. H. Lee, “Chinese Spirituality in a Chinese Religious Context,” East Asia Journal of Theology
3:1 (1985): 16-30
2. C. S. Song, “Let us do Theology with Asian Resources!” East Asia Journal of Theology 3:2 (1985):
202-208.
3. C. S. Song, “Introduction to the Revised Edition: Rethinking Asian Christian Theology,” in Third-Eye
Theology: Theology in Formation in Asian Setting, 1-16.

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 Part III: Asian Theologians and Their Theologies

Oct. 12 (Week 5) Kosuke Koyama 1

[Questions: What is the peculiar contexts Koyama’s theology formed in? What is his perception of
Western Christianity and Asian religion (Buddhism) and how does he synthesize them?]

[Key words: methodology, temporal vs spatial religions, theology of the cross]

* Required Readings

Kosuke Koyama, Water Buffalo Theology (Chapters 2, 4, 8, 10, 11, 17)

Oct. 19 (Week 6) Kosuke Koyama 2

[Questions: What is the peculiar context Koyama’s theology is formed in? What is his perception of
Western Christianity and Asian religion (Buddhism) and how does he synthesize them?]

[Key words: methodology, temporal vs. spatial religions]

* Required Readings

Kosuke Koyama, Mount Fuji and Mount Sinai: A Critique of Idols.

Oct. 26 Reading Week

Nov. 2 (Week 7) C. S. Song 1

[Questions: What is the context from which Song discusses his Christology? What are similarities and
differences between Song’s theology and Minjung theology?]

[Key words:]

* Required Readings

C. S. Song, Jesus, the Crucified People, Prologue - chap. 4. (100 pages)

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Nov. 9 (Week 8) C. S. Song 2

[Questions: What is the context from which Song discusses his Christology? What is similarity and
difference between Song’s theology and Minjung theology?]

[Key words: context, Christology]

* Required Readings

C. S. Song, Jesus, the Crucified People, Chap. 5 - 10. (133 pages)

Nov 16 (Week 9) Kwok Pui-lan and Chung Hyun Kyung

[Questions: What are key points of the two Asian feminist theologians? What are their methodology
and attitude toward the Western tradition (including the Scriptures)?]

[Key words: women’s oppression, patriarchy]

* Required Readings

1. Kwok Pui-lan. Discovering the Bible in the Non-Biblical World

2. Chung Hyun Kyung, “Emerging Asian women’s Spirituality,” in Struggle to Be the Sun
Again, 85-98.

Nov 23 (Week 10) Korean Minjung Theologians

[Questions: What is the geo-political situation of Korean people in history? What are more immediate
context that gave rise to Minjung Theology? How do these theologians use Asian sources as well as
western sources?]

[Key words: Han, Minjung]

* Required Readings

1. Jung Young Lee, “Minjung Theology: A Critical Introduction,” in Jung Young Lee, ed., An
Emerging Theology in World Perspective, pp. 3-29. (27 pages)
2. Young-Hak Hyun, “Minjung Theology and The Religion of Han,” The East Asia Journal of
Theology 3:2 (1985): 354-359. (6 pages)
3. Suh Nam-Dong, “Toward a Theology of Han,” in Minjung Theology, pp. 55-69. (15 pages)
4. Kim Yong-Bock, “Korean Christianity as a Messianic Movement of the People,” in
Minjung Theology, pp. 80-119. (60 pages)
5. Ahn Byung-mu, “Jesus and the Minjung in the Gospel of Mark,” in
Minjung Theology, pp. 138-152 (14 pages)

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Nov. 30 (Week 11) Chun-hoi Heo

[Questions: Who is Christ for us here and now? How does my context affect my perception of Christ
and how legitimate is that view? How does Heo’s Christology affect those of us in multicultural
Canada?]

[Key words: liberation and reconciliation]

* Required Readings

Chun-hoi Heo, Multicultural Christology: A Korean Immigrant Perspective. (Chapters I, IV, V)

Dec. 7 (Week 12) Final Overview and Evaluation

* Required Readings

1. K.C. Abraham, “Asian Theology Looking to 21st Century,” Voices, vol. XX, no. 2 (December 1997).
pp. 81-98.
2. Peter K. H. Lee, “A Journey of Finding Spritual Roots,” Ching Feng 30:4 (1987): 246-255.
3. Bede Griffiths, “The Meeting of East and West,” in Christ in India, 163-178.

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Selected Bibliography

Abraham, K.C. “Asian Theology Looking to 21st Century.” Voices, vol. XX, no. 2
(December 1997). pp. 81-98.

Bays, Daniel. ed., Christianity in China: From the Eighteenth Century to the Present.
California: Stanford University Press, 1996.

Chandran,J. Russell. “Theologizing in the Context of the Marginalized and the

Oppressed,” Voices, v. Xvii, no. 2 (December 1994).

Chung, Hyun Kyung. Struggle to be the Sun Again: Introducing Asian Women’s
Theology (Orbis Books, 1990; Fourth Printing, 1993);

Clements, Keith. “Theology Now,” in Peter Byrne and Leslie Houlden, eds.,
Companion Encyclopedia of Theology. London and New York: Routledge, 1995. pp.
272-290.

CTC-CCA (the Commission on Theological Concerns of the Christian Conference of

Asia) ed. Minjung Theology: People as the Subject of History. Orbis Books,
1983. (BR1325M56)

Elwood, Douglas J. Asian Christian Theology: Emerging Themes. Philadelphia: the

Westminster Press, 1980.

Fabella, Virginia. ed., Asia’s Struggles for Full Humanity: Towards a Relevant Theology.
Orbis Books, 1980.

Heo, Chun-hoi. Multicultural Christology: A Korean Immigrant Perspective.

Peter Lang, 2003.

Kitagawa, Joseph Mitsuo. The Christian Tradition: Beyond Its European Captivity.
Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1992.

Kitamori, Kazoh. Theology of the Pain of God. Virginia: John Knox Press, 1965 (5th
Revised Edition. Originally written in Japanese in 1946).

Koyama, Kosuke. Water Buffalo Theology. Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition, Revised

and Expanded. Orbis Books, 1999 (Originally Ppublished in 1974 by Orbis Books and SCM
Press, London).
. Mount Fuji and Mount Sinai: A Critique of Idols. Orbis Books, 1992;
originally published by SCM Press in 1984.

Kwok Pui-lan. Discovering the Bible in the Non-Biblical World (Orbis Books, 1995).

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Lee, Jung Young. ed., An Emerging Theology in World Perspective: Commentary on
Korean Minjung Theology. Connecticut: Twenty-Third Publications, 1988.
. Marginality: The Key to Multicultural Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress Press,
1995.

Lewis, Nantawan Boonprasat. “Asian Women Theology: A Historical and Theological Analysis,”
East Asian Journal of Theology 4:2 (Oct., 1986), ??

Michalson, Carl. Japanese Contributions to Christian Theology. Philadelphia: The

Westminster Press, 1960.

Musser, Donald W. and Price, Joshep L. eds., A New Handbook of Christian Theologians.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996.

Park, Andrew Sung. The Wounded Heart of God: The Asian Concept of Han and the
Christian Doctrine of Sin. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993.

Samartha, Stanley J. One Christ, Many Religions: Toward a Revised Christology. N.Y.:
Orbis Books, 1991.

Segundo, Juan Juis. “The Hermeneutic Circle,” in Liberation of Theology. Orbis Books,
1976. pp. 7-38.

Pieris, Aloysius. An Asian Theology of Liberation. N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1988.

Song, C.S. Third-Eye Theology (Revised edition of the original Third-Eye Theology by
Orbis Books in 1979). Orbis Books: 1991.
. Tell Us Our Names. Orbis Books, 1984.
. Jesus, the Crucified People. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996 (Originally
published: New York: Crossroad Publishing Com., 1990). BT205S766

Sugirtharajah, R.S., ed. Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology. Orbis Books, 1994.

Yap Kim Hao, From Prapat to Colombo: History of the Christian Conference of Asia
1957-1995 (Hong Kong: Christian Conference of Asia, 1995).