ABSTRACT
The centre of gravity of contemporary Christianity has shifted to the southern hemisphere where, with the exception of Latin America, almost all Christians are minorities in their home countries. Christians in Asia live amongst Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Shamanist or Taoist majorities and this context shapes the local Christian theology. The same is true in Africa where traditional religions and beliefs influence African Christians. Central to this change in both Africa and Asia is the creation of a new Jesus, one who accretes local beliefs and concerns and who, in that process, is transformed. 'The Non-Western Jesus' reveals how a new theology - with its own images and concepts - is coming into being. A wide range of embodiments of Jesus is examined: Jesus as 'Avatara' and 'Guru' in the Indian context; as 'Bodhisattva' in the Buddhist context; and Jesus within Asian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, African and Indonesian religious contexts.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |36 pages
Where is Jesus “at Home”?
chapter |14 pages
The Cultural Embedding of the Gospel
chapter |20 pages
Something New about Jesus?
part |20 pages
The Asian Religious Context
chapter |12 pages
Sources of Asian Theology
chapter |6 pages
The Unique Nature of Asian Theology
part |22 pages
The Chinese Jesus
chapter |20 pages
The Chinese Context
part |22 pages
Jesus as Bodhisattva
chapter |20 pages
Jesus in a Buddhist Context
part |37 pages
The Japanese and Korean Jesus
chapter |20 pages
The Japanese Jesus
chapter |15 pages
The Korean Jesus
part |29 pages
The Indian Jesus
chapter |8 pages
Historical Encounters
chapter |9 pages
Examples of Reflection on Jesus
chapter |10 pages
Jesus as Avatara and Guru
part |32 pages
The Indonesian Jesus
chapter |10 pages
The Indonesian Religious Context
chapter |10 pages
Indonesian Images of Jesus
chapter |10 pages
Other Indonesian Interpretations of Jesus
part |40 pages
The African Jesus
chapter |21 pages
The African Religious Context
chapter |17 pages
African Images of Jesus
part |22 pages
Conclusions