Jesus in Global Contexts

Rating:
Summary: Misinformed and Dis-informing
Review: The misinformed and dis-informing book propagates caricatures nonwestern socieies and their Christian communities, in service of American/Western pride and a false sense Christian charity.

First, a misinformation example: "Many ... religions ... began in Asia: ... Confucianism ... in eastern Asia.". Confucianism is NOT a religion, if by "religion" one refers to the supernatural or the transcendent, as is common. Please ask Voltaire, if you would rather not take this ethnic Chinese person's word for it. If the authors cannot get such basics straight, how I can take their other claims seriously?

When European colonizers came to sub-Sahara Africa, ... they succeeded in replacing African way of life with European political, economic, social, and religious institutions." Pardon me --- "replacing"? Or do the authors mean "superimposing"? Such carelessness is ridiculous.

Second, an example of misleading categories: "Although Christianity was founded in Asia (Palestine), it "left Asia very early and forced its way back several centuries later as a stronger and `intruder' which Asia consistently refused to entertain." Please, exactly what has Japan in common with Jordan, and Korea with Kuwait? That is, besides that none of them is western? May be the following details are irrelevant to the authors' mind: Korea has a very sizable and dynamic Christian minority; and the Philippines is actually Christian.

Third: an example of caricatures of the "other" to (subconsciously) serve American pride: In the chapter entitled "Jesus in Asia", I note a section entitled "Asian Poverty" but no sections called "Asian Affluence". Yoo-hoo. Have the authors perhaps heard of a country call Japan, and places like Singapore and Hong Kong? Perhaps Asian success is irrelevant to the authors so that American Christians may humbly self-appoint themselves as world-saving heroes, to demonstrate their self-sacrificing sensitivity for the "other", by consigning Asians to caricatured poverty and by interpreting Asian theology as primarily reactions to the West.
Much of the authors' mischaracterization cannot be simply attributed to random carelessness, because their mischaracterizations are almost invariably exaggeration of nonwestern negatives and exaggeration of American/Western power and impact. This systemic mischaracterization reveals the authors' psychology and mindset and (subconscious) motivations

I would respectfully suggest to the authors that they can perhaps best serve nonwestern Christians simply by stop writing and publishing in the name of Christian service their misinformation and disinformation.

Rating:
Summary: Misinformed and Dis-informing
Review: The misinformed and dis-informing book propagates caricatures nonwestern socieies and their Christian communities, in service of American/Western pride and a false sense Christian charity.

First, a misinformation example: "Many ... religions ... began in Asia: ... Confucianism ... in eastern Asia.". Confucianism is NOT a religion, if by "religion" one refers to the supernatural or the transcendent, as is common. Please ask Voltaire, if you would rather not take this ethnic Chinese person's word for it. If the authors cannot get such basics straight, how I can take their other claims seriously?

When European colonizers came to sub-Sahara Africa, ... they succeeded in replacing African way of life with European political, economic, social, and religious institutions." Pardon me --- "replacing"? Or do the authors mean "superimposing"? Such carelessness is ridiculous.

Second, an example of misleading categories: "Although Christianity was founded in Asia (Palestine), it "left Asia very early and forced its way back several centuries later as a stronger and 'intruder' which Asia consistently refused to entertain." Please, exactly what has Japan in common with Jordan, and Korea with Kuwait? That is, besides that none of them is western? May be the following details are irrelevant to the authors' mind: Korea has a very sizable and dynamic Christian minority; and the Philippines is actually Christian.

Third: an example of caricatures of the "other" to (subconsciously) serve American pride: In the chapter entitled "Jesus in Asia", I note a section entitled "Asian Poverty" but no sections called "Asian Affluence". Yoo-hoo. Have the authors perhaps heard of a country call Japan, and places like Singapore and Hong Kong? Perhaps Asian success is irrelevant to the authors so that American Christians may humbly self-appoint themselves as world-saving heroes, to demonstrate their self-sacrificing sensitivity for the "other", by consigning Asians to caricatured poverty and by interpreting Asian theology as primarily reactions to the West.
Much of the authors' mischaracterization cannot be simply attributed to random carelessness, because their mischaracterizations are almost invariably exaggeration of nonwestern negatives and exaggeration of American/Western power and impact. This systemic mischaracterization reveals the authors' psychology and mindset and (subconscious) motivations

I would respectfully suggest to the authors that they can perhaps best serve nonwestern Christians simply by stop writing and publishing in the name of Christian service their misinformation and disinformation.