An Asian Introduction to the New Testament

Understanding and assessing the New Testament writings from Asian viewpoints provides a unique and original outlook for interpretation of the Christian Scriptures. To that end, An Asian Introduction to the New Testament is the first book of its kind to take full account of the multireligious, multiethnic, multilingual, multicultural, and pluralistic contexts in which Asian Christians find themselves. Into this already complex world, issues of poverty, casteism, class structure, honor and shame aspects, colonial realities, discrimination against women, natural calamities and ecological crises, and others add more layers of complexity.

Perceiving the New Testament in light of these realities enables the reader to see them in a fresh way while understanding that the Jesus Movement emerged from similar social situations. Readers will find able guides in an impressive array of more than twenty scholars from across Asia. Working with volume editor Johnson Thomaskutty, the authors make a clear case: the kernels of Christianity sprouted from Asian roots, and we must read the New Testament considering those roots in order to understand it afresh today.

Johnson Thomaskutty, PhD., Radboud University Nijmegen, Holland, teaches in the Department of New Testament at The United Theological College, Bengaluru, India. He also serves as a Research Associate in the Department of New Testament and Related Literature, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, South Africa. He has authored books entitled The Gospel of John: A Universalistic Reading (New Delhi: Christian World Imprints, 2020); Saint Thomas the Apostle: New Testament, Apocrypha, and Historical Traditions (London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2018); Dialogue in the Book of Signs: A Polyvalent Analysis of John 1:19-12:50 (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2015); and others.