A Dictionary of Asian Christianity

This superb dictionary is the first basic reference work for the study of Asian Christianity in the past and at present. Describing Christianity in the region from Pakistan to Japan and from Mongolia to Indonesia, this volume's 1,260 signed articles include biographies of important Asian church leaders as well as reliable, up-to-date information on the political, cultural, and religious movements that have shaped the Christian faith in this part of the world.

Uniquely capturing the 2,000-year history of Christianity in Asia, this work shows how Christianity has impacted Asian cultures as well as how those cultures have in turn shaped Christianity. Written by nearly 500 Asian scholars from 18 Asian countries and by those whose primary work has been in Asia, the articles gathered here directly reflect the perspectives of Asians living in the region — often as part of minority communities.

The full sweep of Christianity is explored, including its consequential encounters with Asian political movements, cultural practices, and indigenous religions. Some of the articles identify the important role of particular leaders, both Christian and non-Christian, while other articles examine large-scale developments in Asian Christianity during the past two millennia. Maps, cross-references, and bibliographies enhance the usefulness of the volume.

In a time when the Christian faith is being transformed by the vitality of non-Western Christian movements, and as new forms of ecumenical cooperation are emerging, the Dictionary of Asian Christianity provides the single best point of reference for understanding Asia's contribution to global Christianity.

Although Christianity has been present in Asia for two millennia, it is currently experiencing a period of lightning-quick growth. For the first time, a one-volume reference chronicles the history of Asian Christianity, profiles its major leaders and dissects its various movements and denominations. In A Dictionary of Asian Christianity, editor Scott Sunquist includes entries on political events (e.g., the Korean and Vietnam Wars) and also discusses how Christianity has existed side-by-side with indigenous Asian religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. The entries are marvelously thorough for a dictionary, and well-written. (Eerdmans, $75 1024p ISBN 0-8028-3776-X; June)

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

A reference work on Asian Christianity is definitely needed, and this one, though highly problematic (and primarily concerned with East and South Asia, excluding Russia) may temporarily fill the gap. The dictionary contains over 1200 signed articles, which include biographies of important Asian church leaders, information on political, cultural, and religious movements in Christianity in this part of the world, and overviews of important doctrinal concerns to Asian Christians. Sunquist (Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) has borrowed heavily from the Japanese-language Historical Dictionary of Christianity in Japan, leading to oddities, such as an article on "Hymns (Sambika), Japan" but no articles on hymnody in any other Asian country. Further, the editor's Protestant evangelical view at times conflicts with objectivity and clarity, and the book lacks overall logic. An article on "Cults" does not define the term, covers only Japan and Vietnam, and highlights Latter-Day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Unification Church, all of which should have been given separate entries. The article on the Khmer Rouge should have indicated their impact on the Christians of Cambodia but contains no mention of Christianity, and the article on Baha'i contains a few misconceptions and deals only with Baha'is in India, although the religion also has large communities in other countries covered by the dictionary. As a result, this dictionary will be partially useful for academic and large public libraries where Asia and Christian religion are of interest, but Eerdmans's The Encyclopedia of Christianity (LJ 2/15/99, Vol. 1), when completed, should provide better overall coverage. William P. Collins, Library of Congress
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Christianity is generally regarded as a Western tradition, its history linked to Europe. This view omits a long and rich relationship of Christianity and Asian cultures. Although some scholarly attention of late has been paid to Christianity in Asia, there is now a reference work that gives an overview of how Christianity has shaped and been shaped by many Asian cultures.

The 1,260 entries are alphabetically arranged, signed, and conclude with supplemental bibliographies. Worthy of mention is the fact that the majority of contributors are scholars or religious leaders in Asia, intimately associated with the topics about which they write. Many of the articles are short biographies of Asian religious leaders and missionaries from Europe and North America. Political leaders influenced by Christianity (e.g., Katayama Tetsu, in Japan) or whose policies affected Christians (e.g., Sukarno, in Indonesia) are also included. Survey articles on countries provide nice overviews of the history and development of Christianity there. Other entries describe the history of Christian denominations (e.g., Anglican Church, Seventh-day Adventists) in Asia. Roman Catholic and Orthodox religious orders in Asia are discussed, as are such Protestant religious communities such as the Methodist Sitiawan Christian Settlement, in China. Specific Asian approaches to Christian theology are treated in the entries for Minjung Theology, in Korea, and Homeland theology, Taiwan. Finally, issues such as Family, Poverty, Racism, and Secularization are all discussed in their Asian contexts.

See and see also references are useful, but they are no substitute for a thorough index. However, given that this work charts new territory, with no competition on reference shelves, the lack of an index is probably a minor complaint.

The Dictionary of Asian Christianity makes the reference literature for Christianity more complete and is recommended for academic and public libraries that want to add depth to their religion reference collections. It will be a welcome resource for Asian history and cultural studies, too.

RBB
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