An Introductory Reader’s Guide to Asian Theology, by Dr. Terance Espinoza.

The term “Asian Theology” is broadly defined here as Biblical and Theological Studies by or about people who identify as Asian, East Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, Pacific Island, or related identity markers including nationality (Asian-American, Korean, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc.). The opinions and goals in this body of literature are varied, and there is no single theological representative to rule them all. The purpose of this list is to provide resources that speak from a particular social location and that will contribute to becoming more well-read in this broad area of theological reflection. Special thanks to Dr. Koo “K.D.” Yun for consulting on this list.

Introductions

1. Foskett, Mary F. and Jeffrey Kah-Jin Kual, eds. Ways of Being, Ways of Reading: Asian American Biblical Interpretation. St. Louis: Chalice, 2006.
2. Gener, Timoteo D., ed. Asian Christian Theology: Evangelical Perspectives. Carlisle: Langham Publishing, 2019.
3. Ireland, Daryl R., ed. Visions of Salvation: Chinese Christian Posters in an Age of Revolution. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2023.
4. Kim, Uriah Y. and Seung Ai Yang, eds. T&T Clark Handbook of Asian American Biblical Hermeneutics. New York: T&T Clark, 2019.
5. Kwok, Pui Lan. Introducing Asian Feminist Theology. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.
6. Lee, Daniel D. Doing Asian American Theology: A Contextual Framework for Faith and Practice. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2022.
7. Liew, Tat-Sion Benny, What is Asian-American Biblical Hermeneutics? Reading the New Testament. Intersections: Asian and Pacific American Transcultural Studies 32. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2007.
8. Pardue, Stephen T. and Timoteo Gener, eds. Asian Christian Theology: Evangelical Perspectives. Carlisle: Langham, 2019.
9. Ro, Bong Rin and Ruth Marie Eshaneur. The Bible & Theology in Asian Contexts: An Evangelical Perspective on Asian Theology. Taichung, Taiwan: Asia Theological Association, 1984.
10. Starr, Chloë, ed. and transl. A Reader in Chinese Theology. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2023. [Based on He Guanghu and Daniel H. N. Yeung’s Sino-Christian Theology Reader (漢語神學讀本)]
11. Sun, Chloe. “Recent Research on Asian and Asian American Hermeneutics Related to the Hebrew Bible.” Currents in Biblical Research 17 (2019): 238-265.
12. Tan, Jonathan Y. Introducing Asian American Theologies. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2008.
13. Thomaskutty, Johnson ed. An Asian Introduction to the New Testament. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2021.
14. Tirimanna, Visal. “Asian Theology.” The Oxford Handbook of Catholic Theology. Edited by Lewis Ayres and Medi Ann Volpe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.
15. Trimm, Charlie, Brittany Kim, Zihan Xu, and Jery Hwang. “Works Written by Asian and Pacific Islander Old Testament Scholars.” Every Voice Kingdom Diversity. 2021. n.p. Online: https://everyvoicekingdomdiversity.org/database/

Commentaries (canonical order)

1. Asia Bible Commentary series.
2. Massey, James, ed. One Volume Dalit Bible Commentary: New Testament. New Delhi, India: Centre for Dalit/Subaltern Studies, 2010.
3. Massey, James, ed. One Volume Dalit Bible Commentary: Old Testament. New Delhi, India: Centre for Dalit/Subaltern Studies, 2015.
4. Wintle, Brian, ed. South Asia Bible Commentary: A One-Volume Commentary on the Whole Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015.
   
5. Ko, Ming Him. Leviticus: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2018.
6. Modine, Mitchel. Numbers: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2018.
7. Gorospe, Athena E., and Charles R. Ringma. Judges: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2016.
8. Dharmraj, Havilah, and Philip Ewan Yallah. Ruth: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2019.
9. Kim, Koowon. 1 Samuel: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2018.
10. Shao, Joseph Too, and Rosa Ching Shao. Ezra and Nehemiah: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2019.
11. Lau, Peter H.W. Esther: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2018.
12. Villanueva, Frederico G. Psalms 1-72: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2016.
13. Villanueva, Frederico G. Lamentations: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2016.
14. Shao, Rosa Ching. Jonah: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2019.
15. Ferreira, Johan. Micah: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2017.
    
16. Uytanlet, Samson L., and Kiem-Kiok Kwa. Matthew: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2017.
17. Chen, Diane G. The Gospel of Luke. New Covenant Commentary Series. Edited by Michael F. Bird and Craig S. Keener. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2017.
18. Spurgeon, Andrew B. Romans: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Andrew B. Spurgeon. Carlisle: Langham, 2020.
19. deSilva, David. Global Readings: A Sri Lankan Commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2011.
20. George, Roji Thomas. Philippians: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2019.
21. Gupta, Nijay. Reading Philippians: A Theological Introduction. Eugene: Cascade, 2020.
22. Wintle, Brian, and Bruce Nicholls. Colossians and Philemon: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2019.
23. Cheung, Luke L., and Andrew B. Spurgeon. James: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Theology. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2018.
24. Hoo, Gilbert Soo, and Sultan Pervaiz. 1, 2, 3 John: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary. Asia Bible Commentary. Edited by Frederico G. Villanueva. Carlisle: Langham, 2016.

Studies

1. Ahn, John. Landscapes of Korean and Korean American Biblical Interpretation. International Voices in Biblical Theology 10. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2019.
2. Arnold, Bill T. and John H. Choi, A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
3. Arnold, Bill T. and John H. Choi, A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
4. Center for Asian American Theology and Ministry. Fuller Theology Seminary. https://www.fuller.edu/asian-american-center/
5. Centered. Resources for the Asian American Church. Center for Asian American Theology and Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. https://sparks.fuller.edu/centered/
6. Centering: The Asian American Christian Podcast. Center for Asian American Theology and Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. https://soundcloud.com/centeringpodcast
7. Chan, Simon. Grassroots Asian Theology: Thinking the Faith from the Ground Up. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2014.
8. ———-. Liturgical Theology: The Church as Worshiping Community. Downers Grover: InterVarsity, 2009.
9. ———-. Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1998.
10. Che-Bin, Tan, “Ethical Particularism as a Chinese Contextual Issue” Pages 262-281 in The Word Among Us: Contextualizing Theology for Mission Today. Edited by Dean S. Gilliland. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 1989.
11. Chen, Diane G. God as Father in Luke-Acts. Studies in Biblical Literature 92. New York: Peter Lang, 2006.
12. Chen, Kevin S. The Messianic Vision of the Pentateuch. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2019.
13. Choi, John H. Traditions at Odds: The Reception of the Pentateuch in Biblical and Second Temple Period Literature. The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies. New York: T&T Clark, 2019.
14. Chung, Paul S., Kim Kyoung-Jae, and Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, eds. Asian Contextual Theology for the Third Millennium: Theology of Minjung in Fourth-Eye Formation (Princeton Theological Monograph Series Book 70), Princeton Theological Monograph Series 180. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2017.
15. Fernandez, Eleazar F., ed. New Overtures: Asian North American Theology in the 21st Century. Essays in Honor of Fumitaka Matsuoka. Upland, CA: Sopher Press, 2012.
16. Fuller, Russell T. and Kyoungwon Choi. Invitation to Biblical Hebrew Syntax: An Intermediate Grammar. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2017.
17. ———-. Invitation to Biblical Hebrew: A Beginning Grammar. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2006.
18. Gupta, Nijay. Paul and the Language of Faith. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2020.
19. ———-. Worship that Makes Sense to Paul: A New Approach to the Theology of Paul’s Cultic Metaphors. BZNW. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2010.
20. Huat, Leow Theng. What Young Asian Theologians Are Thinking. CSCA Christianity in Southeast Asia Series 7. Singapore: Trinity Theological College, 2014.
21. Kato, Julius-Kei. How Immigrant Christians Living in Mixed Cultures Interpret their Religion: Asian-American Diasporic Hybridity and its Implications for Hermeneutics. Lewiston, NT: Edwin Mellen, 2012.
22. Khiok-khng, Yeo. What Has Jerusalem Have to Do with Beijing? Biblical Interpretation from a Chinese Perspective. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity International Press, 1998.
23. Kim, Matthew D. and Daniel L. Wong. Finding Our Voice: A Vision for Asian North American Preaching. Bellingham, Wa.: Lexham Press, 2020.
24. Kim, Uriah Y. Identity and Loyalty in the David Story: A Postcolonial Reading. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2008.
25. Kim, Yung Suk and Jin-H Kim, eds. Reading Minjung Theology in the Twenty-First Century: Selected Writings by Ahn Byung-Mu and Modern Critical Responses. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2013.
26. Lee, Hak Joon. Intersecting Realities: Race, Identity, and Culture in the Spiritual-Moral Life of Young Asian Americans. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2018.
27. Lee, Jung Young. Marginality: The Key to Multicultural Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1995.
28. Lee, Sang Hyun, From a Liminal Place: An Asian American Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2010.
29. Matsuoka, Fumitaka. Learning to Speak a New Tongue; Imagining a Way That Holds People Together-An Asian American Conversation. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2011.
30. ———-. Out of Silence: Emerging Themes in Asian American Churches. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 1995.
31. Ok, Janette. Constructing Ethnic Identity in 1 Peter: Who You Are No Longer. LNTS 645. T&T Clark, 2021.
32. Park, Sung Jin. The Fundamentals of Hebrew Accents: Divisions and Exegetical Roles Beyond Syntax. Cambridge; Cambridge University Press, 2020.
33. Phan, Peter C. Christianity with an Asian Face: Asian American Theology in the Making. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2003.
34. Rajkumar, Peniel, ed. Asian Theology on the Way: Christianity, Culture, and Context. International Study Guides. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2015.
35. Sugirtharajah, R. S., Jesus in Asia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2018.
36. Sun, Chloe. “Recent Research on Asian and Asian American Hermeneutics Related to the Hebrew Bible.” Currents in Biblical Research 17 (2019): 238-265.
37. Vondey, Wolfgang and Martin William Mittelstadt. The Theology of Amos Yong and the New Face of Pentecostal Scholarship. Leiden: Brill, 2017.
38. Yee, Gale, “Where are you Really From? An Asian American Feminist Biblical Scholar Reflects on Her Guild.” Pages 79-85, 306-308 in New Feminist Christianity: Many Voices, Many Views. Edited by Mary E. Hunt and Diann L. Neu. Woodstock, VT: Skylight Paths Publishing, 2010.
39. Yee, Russell, Worship on the Way: Exploring Asian North American Christian Experience. King of Prussia, PA: Judson, 2012.
40. Yong, Amos. The Future of Evangelical Theology: Soundings from the Asian American Diaspora. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2014.
41. ———-. Spirit of Love: A Trinitarian Theology of Grace. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2012.
42. ———-. Pneumatology and the Christian-Buddhist Dialogue: Does the Spirit Blow through the Middle Way? Studies in Systematic Theology 11. Leiden: Brill, 2012.
43. ———-. In the Days of Caesar: Pentecostalism and Political Theology – The Cadbury Lectures 2009. Sacra Doctrina: Christian Theology for a Postmodern Age Series. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010.
44. Yun, Koo Dong. The Holy Spirit and Chi’i (Qi); A Chiological Approach to Pneumatology. Princeton Theological Monograph Series 180. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2012.

*This page is a work in progress and will continue to be developed. It is being published now in an effort to collaborate with students and colleagues. If you have suggestions for resources that belong on this page, please leave them in a comment below.

Note to students

As with all research bibliographies, resources are included not because they are endorsed but because they make a contribution to the discipline in a meaningful way. It is not expected that you will agree with everything in these resources or with everything the authors say in other venues. But it is important to read with a generous and open attitude in order to understand what they are saying so that whether you agree or disagree with them, you are able to articulate their views in a fair and clear manner.