Compiled by

Peter T. Vogt

Herbert V. Klem

Robert V. Rakestraw 

General Works

African Theology

Asian Theology

Black Theology

Hispanic Theology
 

Codes:

* Annotation from Mark L. Chapman, "Annotated Bibliography of Black Theology 1980-1992," in James Cone and
       Gayraud S. Wilmore, Black Theology: A Documentary History. Vol. 2, 1980-1992. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1993.

General Works

Ambler, Rex Global Theology: The Meaning of Faith in the Present World Crisis. London: SCM Press 1990

A brief, light review of tensions facing the church (East/West, North/South, rich/poor and our common ecology), pleading that theologians and the church take these issues seriously due to the spiritual root of the problems.

Bediako, Kwame. Christianity in Africa: The Renewal of a Non-Western Religion. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1997.

A theologian from Ghana argues that African Christians need to form an authentic and culturally relevant theology apart from Western traditions.

De Leon-Hartshorn, Iris and others. Set Free: A Journey Toward Solidarity Against Racism. Scottdale: Herald Press, 2001.

A description of how white people have formed power structures to oppress and suppress the identities of people of color and how to resist racism.

Dyrness, William A. Emerging Voices in Global Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.

Collection of essays on theological issues from the perspective of theologians from Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Examines the ways in which Christians in a variety of settings think about nd live out their faith. Also includes examination of appropriate methods for conducting theological education in these contexts.

Good, basic introduction to the topic. The author assumes that Western Evangelicals have not sufficiently taken into account the theologies of other cultures. Especially helpful is chapter 5, which compares African, Latin, and Asian perspectives on Christology.

Careful study by Wheaton College graduate on the topics of wealth and poverty in the Old and New Testaments, concluding that in many cases poverty in the Bible comes directly from unfair practices of the wealthy and powerful which the poor can not prevent.

Makes the case that American racism is supported overtly, covertly, structurally and indirectly by the very structures of our theological training. These structures tend to work against inclusion of people of color due to academic considerations and then, by indirect social interaction, continue to produce pastors who unwittingly support racism in their churches.

A Christian critique of the use of Marxist categories of evaluation of economic situations as a grounding of Liberation theology. A reaction against this trend.

King, Ursula, ed. Feminist Theology from the Third World. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1994.

An anthology with essays which discuss issues such as how women in the Third World do theology, oppression of women, and how the Bible empowers women.

McDermott, Gerald R. Can Evangelicals Learn from World Religions? Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2000.

Argues that God has revealed Himself to some extent in non-biblical religions and that evangelicals can learn from them, but he still insists that Christ is the center of God's revelation.

Theological argument that hunger and infant mortality in much of the world comes from an imbalance of power and wealth. Contends that this is a justice issue and calls the church to make a basic contribution to addressing the needs of the poor at individual, practical and systemic levels.

An exploration of the use of Scripture by liberation theologians which is at once critical of materialistic perspectives, yet appreciative of the challenges it raises to North American interpretation of the same texts and our relationships to the poor.

One of the great scholars of our time critiques the emergence of the Church from Jewish ethnocentrism to the rejection of Jewish Christianity, and the subsequent struggle of the world Christian movement to discover the interaction and balance between culture and theology.

Sugirtharajah, R. S. Voices from the Margin: Interpreting the Bible in the Third World. Maryknoll: SPCK/Orbis Books, 2000.

An anthology which discusses issues involving the use of Scripture, various interpretations of Exodus, multi-faith readings of the Bible, and popular exegesis.

A broad selection of theologians from around the world respond to Liberation Theology and its themes of the need for consideration of economic issues and the empowerment of Third World churches.

A collection of over ten authors from around the world, reflecting thinking about liberation from a perspective of the World Council of Churches. Originally presented as papers at a meeting of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians, held in New Delhi in August 1981.

Yung, Hwa. Mangoes or Bananas?: The Quest for an Authentic Asian Christian Theology. Carlisle: Regnum Books International, 1997.

A professor at a Malaysian theological seminary discusses the need for an Asian theology more consistent with its own intuitive worldview apart from what he perceives as overly rational and cold Western theology. He also analyzes Asian theologians in light of how well he believes they have accomplished this and at the same time been faithful to Scripture.

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Adeyamo, Tokunboh. Salvation in African Tradition. Nairobi: Evangel, 1979.

Conservative evangelical description of ways in which African view of salvation interacts with the biblical data. Author is head of Association of Evangelicals in Africa.

Details the emergence of Africa as a center of world Christian thought, and examines the nature of theology and Christian expression in Africa. This article is followed by two responses.

A South African pastor's sermons and writings on the inconsistency of racial segregation with the Gospel and with sound Reformed theology.

Reformed South African theologian argues strongly in favor of full civil rights and equality for Black people as the only hope for justice in South Africa.

Presents a practical ethic for post-apartheid South Africa that challenges that nation's black people to channel their anger in constructive ways.

Roman Catholic priest argues that Western forms of Catholicism are fetishes which hinder the development of theology in African context. The development of Jewish and Latin Christianity is traced to demonstrate the precedent for contextual theology.

Response to Kwame Bediako's article on African theology.

A biblical evaluation of the origins, teachings, and impact of Apartheid on the South African churches, both black and white, with particular care to evaluate Apartheid in biblical perspective.

Exposition of the African worldview as the context of theology in Africa, the implications of Colonial Christianity, the need for Christianity to affirm economic justice for Africans, and the need to build bridges between biblical and African cultures.

Describes various perspectives on theology from the perspective of African theologians.

Details history and content of African theology, with a view toward learning from the African cultural perspective. Good, basic introduction to the topic.

A survey of theological issues facing the Catholic Church in Africa. They include dealing with traditional cultures (including their impact on the life of the church) and the need for a corrective African Theology to deal with uniquely African issues such as relationships to South Africa and issues of poverty.

Explores the fundamental tenets of black theology in the US and in South Africa, and searches for a common denominator between the two.

Conservative rejection of liberal trends in African Liberation Theologies.

African theologian details a theology of proclamation based on the uniqueness and authority of Scripture as the Word of God.

A survey of African religions from Kenya to Nigeria indicating which people groups have had a very high view of God (along with other gods), which has provided the foundation for the rapid spread of Christianity in Africa. The debate is whether these religions know the Christian God.

The first comparative study of African religions by an African evangelical theologian, this book adds a new dimension to our understanding of African History, life, and thought.

Examines role of Protestant liberal theology in the development of Pan-Africanism, arguing that Africans and African-Americans were not passive recipients of Western theology, but contributed to the development of African theology.

A comparison of Materialistic Exegesis (which attempts to interpret key texts in Luke and Micah in the context of the original social, economic, and political context) with the treatment of the same texts by Black Theologians in the South African setting.

This is a good survey to introduce scholars to the issues leading to recognition by Africans of the need for indigenous African Theology and its relevance to African Independence movements, and problems in southern and South Africa. Primary focus is theological issues in Africa and South Africa.

Response to Kwame Bediako's article on African theology.

One of the early works seeking to use the world view of African traditional religion to make Christian teaching clear and attractive to the majority of people, so that the church can be a valid option to more Africans.

A good introduction to the major issues in African theology including African concepts of God, indigenous understandings of God, Africa's potential contribution to world theological discussion, and issues of understanding Jesus Christ as the Son of God in East African contexts.

Initial essays by Shorter on issues of Christianity and African culture is followed by a collection of readings and papers from famous African leaders dealing with African understandings of humanity, spirituality, and community.

Black theology in America, with its origins and specific needs in asserting authentic African identity and the struggle for civil rights, is compared to the struggles of African people to work on indigenous theology, and the struggles of South Africa. A good survey to introduce the major issues and writers.

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Asian Theology

Committee on Theological Education (eds). Minjung Theology: People as the Subjects of History. Maryknoll, NY:
        Orbis, 1983.

A collection of 10 articles from eight different authors (mostly from Korea) dealing with issues of poverty in Asia, and the insensitivity of churches and theology to the plight of the poor. It cotends that rooting Christian theology in the concerns of the very poor is legitimate and necessary.

Asian theologians discuss theological issues of particular concern to them, including developmental issues, political relationships, and missiology.

Analyzes a major theological issue relevant to the cultures of India, China, Japan, and the Philippines.

An Indonesian woman argues for the development of a unique approach to theology that is unconstrained by conceptions of men and other cultures.

A series of lectures and devotionals on Asian approaches to understanding God, and spiritual sensitivities and understandings of Christian theology in Asia. The author is a missionary from Japan to Thailand.

Devotionals on Thai and Japanese cultural themes as they relate to the understanding of God from South East Asian perspectives. Designed to inform Christians from the West as they enter Asian lands.

Presents an Asian theology of the Trinity based on a variety of East Asian religious traditions. The Korean concept of "yin and yang" is used to help understand how God is both "one" and "three."

Examines reconciliation with God and the restoration of han (the Korean concept of the relational consequences of sin). Presents a culturally contextualized examination of the doctrine of sin.

This writer comes from China, lives in Switzerland, and writes theology to help Westerners know how very differently the Gospel must be presented for Asian minds. Evangelicals in China are not always pleased with the extent to which he deals with Western ideas.

Second of a trilogy detailing an Asian Christology.

Third of a trilogy detailing an Asian Christology.

First of a trilogy detailing an Asian Christology.

An example of doing theology in a contextual way, Song examines a story and draws implications for today.

An intriguing study of cultural themes appropriate to the doing of theology in Asia, such as the Love-Pain of God who loves those who suffer and the mystery of why he does not stop it. He offers 10 ways in which western theology does not fit Asia and needs to change.

An examination of the approaches to theology in the Asian context.

Examines the person and work of Christ in light of the Indian concept of guru.

Collection of theological essays from Aboriginal Australia, Torres Strait, and Melanesia which demonstrate the unique contributions of Black theologians of Southwest Asia.

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Bailey, Randall C. and Jacquelyn C. Grant, eds. The Recovery of Black Presence: An Interdiciplinary Exploration.
        Nashville: Abingdon, 1994.

Explores how "Afrocentric" issues have reshaped concerns about the Bible, theology, ethics, sociology of religion, and Christian Education.

A white pastor examines racism and posits a biblical response to it.

Describes the nature of black evangelicalism and details the unique culture and setting in which it developed. Includes a helpful bibliography.

Examination of past interpretations of Gen. 9:25-27 with arguments as to why it should not be used to justify racial segregation or oppression of people of color.

Argues for a multi-cultural approach to understanding the spiritual heritage of the Mennonites and Anabaptists, with a view toward broadening the Mennonite heritage.

Collection of writings by African-American thinkers and church leaders on fundamental aspects of black theology. Includes extremely helpful annotated bibliography.

Compilation of writings on contemporary issues facing the black church, including feminism, hermeneutics, and multicultural issues.

Examines the roots of Black theology in the context of Africa-American religious thought. The author discusses the themes of justice, love, suffering, liberation and hope in Black religious thought from slavery to the civil rights movement and the theology of Martin Luther King, Jr. The author concludes with a discussion of the impact of Malcolm X and the Black Power movement on the emergence of Black theology. (C)

Interprets the origins of Black theology from the Black Power movement of the 1960s, its relationship to liberation theologies, special problems faced by Black women and his suggestions for the movement as it moves toward maturity. Earlier titles include: Black Theology, Black Theology of Liberation, The Spirituals and the Blues.

An examination of theological methods and core tenets of the theological thinking of the black community.

Describes the ways in which culture and history have affected the African-American community and its theology, and proposes a means of liberation through the Gospel.

Expresses the content of Black theology with an effort to strengthen black churches in the accomplishment of their mission.

An examination of Black theology as to how it relates to the biblical doctrines of Christ, the Bible, and the church. It further analyzes the tenets in light of Scripture to determine compatibility, and offer biblical corrections, where needed.

White response to the Black Power authors of the sixties which recognizes the ways in which African Americans have been systematically put at a social and economic disadvantage, and considers the kind of response which would lead toward justice and fairness.

A collection of essays and papers from eleven prominent African American writers dealing with issues such as the Black presence in the Bible, Afro-centric hermeneutics, African women in the Bible, and texts in the Bible dealing with slavery.

Examines the nature of the Cushites as a Black people and notes their contribution and development. In light of the prominence of the Cushites, the author argues that the Bible should be seen as being told against a multiethinic background.

Explores the fundamental tenets of black theology in the US and in South Africa, and searches for a common denominator between the two.

Important African-American theologian seeks a middle ground between the black power and nonviolent stances.

A black pastor argues that black theology is unbiblical and inconsistent with the Gospel.

Classic work which disengages racism (which says human life is determined by the physical and the genetic) from true Christianity (which sees human life as a function of the personal and spiritual).

A very devotional set of practical Bible studies designed to help people of color deal with the distinctive problems and challenges facing them in the USA, using the strength and power which only God can give as they apply the teachings of God's word.

This teacher's guide introduces the topic of the black presence in the Bible and details the importance of the topic for blacks and whites alike.

A companion to the above volume, this work focuses attention on Genesis 10:1-32.

Thesis that African American folk religion has it roots in lofty African concepts of God as a God of hope and justice, which has given African American people common beliefs, values and the ability to endure pain in America.

Seeks to expand the understanding of redemption to include acceptance into the community of of the chosen.

This professor from Fuller Seminary comments on the crisis of the Rodney King events and its meaning for Black evangelicals in view of the failure of evangelical Whites to do much to understand the conditions and feelings of people of color in the USA.

Essay on the need for a broader prolife position that includes concern for justice and the poor, as well as the unborn.

Challenges the white evagelical world to seek new approaches to communicating the Gospel to African-Americans and their unique perspectives and culture.

Scholarly examination of the nature and impact of religious faith among slaves in the South.

A plea for contextual theology which includes dialogue with Third World theologians, African Americans and other communities, which traces the origins of Black Theology and its potential contribution to justice and reconciliation in our world today, without which there is little love or truth in theology. Other titles by Deotis are: Black Theology in Dialogue, Roots of a Black Future, A Black Political Theology, Liberation and Reconciliation : A Black Theology

An evangelical assessment of the Black Consciousness movement and its contribution to the health and recovery of African Americans, and recommendations for what White evangelical churches could be doing to promote healing and reconciliation.

An early statement by a black evangelical on the impact of the Gospel on the problems of inner cities and racism.

An effort to demonstrate that Christianity is not a "white" religion, but is focused on a relationship with Jesus, who seeks all the lost.

A question-and-answer book addressing some key issues in politics and religion, stressing how faith in Christ can make a difference.

A forceful argument that Christianity is not a "white man's religion," but rather can be afrocentric and, therefore, significant for people of color.

Presents a response to social problems facing the black community from the perspective of black theology and black power.

Examines the history of religion among African-Americans and identifies the cultural, social, and political factors in the rise and decline of radicalism in the black church. Concludes with identification of current trends in black religion.

This white theologian examines the history and development of black theology and describes how it is unique as a theological movement. Translated from Dutch.

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Araya, Victorio. God of the Poor. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1983 (Spanish) English 1987.

A Methodist professor of theology indicates how God's concern for the poor is a theological theme that can integrate theological thinking.

A good introduction to contextualization in Latin American context, understanding sin and salvation in an oppressed continent. An Evangelical approach to Biblical and liberation themes.

The author pleads with church and mission agencies to allow greater freedom of thought and theological expression for Latin American pastors and theologians. This will result in greater effectiveness in church outreach in the region.

A strong protest against the use of financial control to limit the effectiveness of Latin American churches and missions to minister to Latin Americans. Argues that the motivation for such control is fear of criticism on the part of North American mission agencies.

Two Latin American theologians describe theological issues of missiology and Protestantism.

An introduction to the background, development, and thought of liberation theology.

Examines the early church's doctrinal formulations and sets forth a contemporary Hispanic theology of liberation.

Hispanic Christians write about ethical issues facing the church today. Includes materials from Catholics, Protestants, and women from a variety of Hispanic backgrounds.

Spanish Original Teologia de la liberacion, Perspectivas (Lima, CEP, 1971).

Details the sources, loci, and expressions of Hispanic theology while at the same time providing insight as to the possibilities for the future of Hispanic theology.

A classic introduction to liberation theology from one of the founding fathers, who focuses on the need to care for the liberation of the poor, using a combination of Christian theology and Marxist critique of economic conditions in Latin America.

Collection of readings on various aspects of Latin American Liberation Theology.

A classic development of a combination of Christian Theology from a Roman Catholic perspective and some Marxist categories of critique of existing social inequality and persistent disadvantage of the poor. Argues for the need to provide a theological solution to the problem.

Presents a Latin American theology of justification by faith, arguing that justification is properly understood as a synonym for "humanization."

Peter Wagner of the School of World Missions offers an Evangelical attempt to evaluate the major trends in Latin American Theology, attempting to assess those emphases which are needed as a corrective and those which are not acceptable to evangelical mission concerns.
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