Doing
Theologies in Asian Ways with Asian Resources
-
An Introduction to A Theological Movement Launched by PTCA
Keynote
Speak for Global Ecumenical Theological Education (GETI) Program
WCC
Busan Assembly Meeting, Seoul Korea
Oct.
28, 2013
by
Dr. Huang Po Ho
Dean
of PTCA, Moderator of AFTE and Vice President &
Prof. of CJCU
Introduction
The
attempt to formulate theologies and to implement theological education in Asia, can be dated back to the arrival and establishment of
Christians of Oriental Orthodox tradition, and multiplied with successive Christian sojourn to
Asia, of Roman Catholic and Protestant
Christian missions from Europe and North America. Theological education carried out as institutes of professional higher
education has been operated
in many of Asian countries for more than a century. Because of the
Christian mission legacy, theological education systems implemented in
Asia are mostly modeled after theological schools from western countries in all
their structures, disciplines and curricula.
Over
the years, despite of many challenges and arguments for new form of theological
education and many conferences which have been held to urge that transformation
be made for traditional models of theological education, there is still ongoing
search for appropriate theological education to meet the contemporary
ministerial and social challenges voiced by theological
faculties, students and church leaders.
Encouraged
by the internal conditions
of the church mission developments, and the external
challenges caused by the international
power remapping, an identity awareness of being “Asian” Christian was begun to
emerge in Asian Christian communities after Second World War. Theological
educators in Asia came together to form associations for theological schools to
encourage personnel exchanges, resources sharing, and shaping solidarity for
theological development in Asia. Association for Theological Education in South East Asia (ATESEA) was formed in 1957 and increased its members from 16 in the beginning, to 102 at its apex. Asian Theological Association (ATA) was formed in 1970 and has 128 accredited members and 64
associated members. Both associations are committed to the idea of “train Asian
in Asia”, while ATESEA has stressed on
contextual orientation for theological construction. College of Serampore was established even dated back to 1818 to provide collegiate education to students in the Faculties of
Arts, Science and Commerce through affiliation with the University of Calcutta,
as
well higher theological
education to the ministers of the churches through its Faculty of Theology to
affiliated colleges in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
It
was in the midst of this background, that the Programme for Theology and Cultures in Asia (PTCA)
was given birth as a theological movement to the service of contextual
theological formation and theological education in Asia.