“Is God Christian? is an excellent contribution to Asian theology by one of its most important and sophisticated interpreters. Anyone interested in Asian theology must read this book.”
Is God Christian?: Christian Identity in Public Theology: An Asian Contribution
Is God Christian? Christian Identity in Public Theology: An Asian Contribution is a sequel to Niles’s previous book, The Lotus and the Sun: Asian Theological Engagement with Plurality and Power, and continues the narrative of the social biography of Asian theology. It enters the theological efforts of the author’s generation as a collective enterprise to survey methods that, in the arena of public theology, confront and reject the assertion that God is Christian or that there is a Christian god among other gods. The focus is on the issues and questions that affect the people and societies of Asia. The theology envisaged here is not the kind that will confine itself within the Christian community but one that will have an import for the actors in public life. Asian public theology will be one that will be inherently interreligious in nature. Accordingly, the theological methods explored in this book are concerned not narrowly with problems in Christian theology but rather with challenges posed for Christian theology in the wider arena of social and political life in Asia.
- Publisher Fortress Press
- Format Paperback
- ISBN 9781506430263
- eBook ISBN 9781506430270
- Dimensions 6 x 9
- Pages 216
- Publication Date October 1, 2017
Contents
Introduction
1. Cross-Textual Hermeneutics: A Counter-Colonial Approach
2. Cross-Textual Reading: Demonstrating a Method
3. Postcolonial Hermeneutics: Confronting Colonialism
4. Postcolonial Biblical Criticism: Addressing Colonial Entanglements
5. Subaltern Hermeneutics: Counter Theological Approaches
The Exploration Continues: Some Concluding Remarks
Endorsements
An excellent contribution to Asian theology.
James H. Cone | Union Theological Seminary
Essential reading for anyone concerned with public theology in the Asian context.
"This book is essential reading for anyone concerned with public theology in the Asian context. In a series of short, readable and incisive chapters on cross-textual and postcolonial hermeneutics, D. Preman Niles asks how Christians can better understand and engage other religious communities through a more careful reading of their own Biblical texts. In an age of increasing religious polarization, this book will help Christians reassess their positions in the public realm and move towards reconciliation with others."
Philip L. Wickeri | Ming Hua Theological College, Hong Kong
The mature fruit of long years of experience of the author and his continuous and creative engagement with Asian theologies.
"The lotus of D. Preman Niles has bloomed now as a new book with a provocative title! The present work represents the mature fruit of long years of experience of the author and his continuous and creative engagement with Asian theologies. Blending admirably the narrative and the argumentative, this book is an important contribution to Asian public theology and an exploration into its methods. The vision and perspectives set out here are highly refreshing, and will find, it is hoped, positive resonance beyond Asia, at the level of global theology."
Felix Wilfred | Emeritus, University of Madras, India
This book is as provocative as it is timely.
“This book is as provocative as it is timely. Last December, Indonesian students stormed a Christian university accusing them of luring Muslim students to study with it; in March, a young Pakistani student was killed because of his alleged liberal view on religion. How shall Christian faith express itself in the midst of increasing fear and distrust in the midst of a multi-religious Asia? A self-critical question to Christians ourselves of why an exclusive naming of God is a much-needed step toward building peace in Asia.”
Wai Ching Wong | Vice President for Programs, United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia
This is a must-read, and not just for theologians.
"With his book, Is God Christian?, Preman Niles has made a huge contribution to what some call post-colonial discourse. Yes, this is an entre to very contemporary Asian theology, but it is so much more. The volume is a straightforward challenge to the hegemony of all Western (Euro-Christian, colonial) discourse. It demonstrates the vitality of Asian thought rooted deeply in Asian cultures. Yes, Niles would insist that it still Christian; but he would also insist that it no longer sits merely in the European Christian trajectory as some sort of an add-on. Rather, it is a fresh expression of an ancient Asian religious tradition taking new root in other parts of Asia. This is a must-read, and not just for theologians."
Tink Tinker | Illif School of Theology