Beyond the Academy: Lived Asian Public Theology of Religions
Ebook
The term "public theology" was introduced by Martin E. Marty in a 1974 article. Since then, scholarly discussions on public theology have become more popular in academic circles. This book, however, is about the invitation for moving beyond the academy. It provides two reasons for doing so. First, an overtly academic public theology is in crisis today. Although public theology may be flourishing in the academy, its relevance for real life is limited. Second, there is the "ecclesial flourishing" among grassroots Christian communities across Asia who witness to their lived faith in public and hidden life. Their voices are largely unheard due to the gaps between the academy and the church. This volume argues that we should consider their voices as key sources for developing a relevant lived Asian public theology. The author makes the case for reimagining the paradigm shifts in lived Asian public theology of religions and for bridging the unhappy gaps between the academic and grassroots voices.
“For the most part, public theology so far has been an endeavor of religious ‘experts’ who belong to a single tradition exploring how their faith should serve the common good. David Moe argues that in a religiously pluralistic world we need ordinary practitioners of diverse religions coming together and, each drawing on their own tradition, pursue together the common good. In a divided world, this is a very needed book.”
—Miroslav Volf, professor of systematic theology, Yale Divinity School
“This is the most imaginative, absorbing, and remarkable book I have ever read!”
—Pum Za Mang, associate professor of world Christianity, Myanmar Institute of Theology
“In journalism, we stress the importance of not just writing about abstract ideas, but going out on the street to see how everyday people live it out. David Moe does this in Beyond the Academy by moving beyond the ideas of Asia’s public theologians and examining what Christian faith looks like for real grassroots Christians in Myanmar. This is an important book for anyone interested in Christianity in Southeast Asia.”
—Angela Lu Fulton, Southeast Asia editor, Christianity Today
“Public theology too often involves dialogue between scholars, but without hearing from the grassroots voices. David Moe confronts this criticism directly as he offers an Asian public theology emerging from everyday people during the coup in Myanmar. Beyond the Academy is public theology at its finest. I enthusiastically recommend it.”
—Gregg A. Okesson, professor of leadership and development, Asbury Theological Seminary
“Noting the ways in which Christian theology is primarily an ecclesial activity, David Moe argues for a closer integration of academic work with the life of the church. From the context of a minority church within the Buddhist culture of Myanmar, he points to ways in which theological reflection can contribute more effectively to Christian social engagement. His volume offers us a valuable resource for public theology today.”
—David Fergusson, regius professor of divinity, University of Cambridge
“Beyond the Academy explores the implications of Christian theology in the setting of an oppressive and deeply divided Asian society, namely Myanmar. Throughout, David Moe centrally emphasizes lived experience, as he allows us to see through the eyes of grassroots Christians. The book is thoughtful, innovative, and it is truly moving to hear the voices of those ordinary believers as they live their faith. Thoroughly recommended.”
—Philip Jenkins, distinguished professor of history, Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University
“If two thousand years ago, diaspora Jews gathered from every nation under heaven on the streets of Jerusalem heard in their own languages about the wondrous works of God, today, ethnic Burmese Christians from across the small towns and rural villages of Myanmar’s countryside are declaring via their own accents not only about God’s saving deeds but also about Christian faith and discipleship in their pluralistic public square. Readers of the Third Evangelist’s sequel volume can now also listen in on the grassroots witness of the Southeast Asian church as scholar-practitioner David Moe’s second book resounds such to the ends of the earth.”
—Amos Yong, professor of theology and mission, Fuller Seminary
“David Moe’s probe into grassroots Christian theology is deeply rooted in his home environment of Myanmar where his faith was formed and where he practiced his faith amid systemic violence. Moe makes a distinction, not only between grassroots and academic theology, but also between grassroots and public theology that tends to be top-down. He insists that the grassroots reality of actual Christians practicing actual faith is the most elemental articulation of faith. Moe’s vigorous attestation of practical faith is sure to be instructive for Christians who live and practice faith elsewhere, most especially in the West where our faith is much too often accommodating to cultural expectation. This book is an invitation to step outside our conventional assumptions in order to face the stark reality of Gospel mandates.”
—Walter Brueggemann, professor emeritus of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary
“David Moe writes in response to the ongoing violence of the military coup in Myanmar. There is an urgency in his work. His context is far removed from the ‘unhappy gap’ that exists between the academy and lives of ordinary believers. What unfolds is unlike public theology in the West. In a manner that is both prophetic and irenic, Moe crafts a lived Asian public theology that listens to the grassroots that inspires and which it serves in return.”
—Clive Pearson, former editor-in-chief, International Journal of Public Theology
“I was much enlightened and heartened when I read David Moe’s book, not least because he has pushed the boundaries of doing contextual theology even beyond what I had done in my Grassroots Asian Theology. This is what theological works should be.”
—Simon Chan, editor, Asia Journal of Theology
“David Moe opens up new Asian perspectives to public theology by inviting to the dialogue table not only theologians and leaders from academia but also grassroots Christians. From his own background of ethnic and religious conflict in Myanmar, he explores how Christians from marginalized communities experience and express their faith, and by highlighting their significant contribution, he widens the dialogue. I highly recommend it.”
—Anna May Say Pa, professor emerita of Hebrew Bible, Myanmar Institute of Theology
“David Moe is a leader of a new generation of S.E. Asian theologians seeking to move beyond their N.E. Asian and S. Asian predecessors who offered helpful local correctives to long-dominant Western presumptions. Focusing on his native Myanmar, Moe employs a ‘synthetic methodology’ that values previous contributions while expanding the field to include the hitherto neglected voices of grassroots Christian communities. This book is uniquely situated at the interface of world Christianity and public theology.”
—Thomas John Hastings, former executive director, Overseas Ministries Study Center, Princeton Theological Seminary, and former editor, International Bulletin of Mission Research
David Thang Moe is Henry Rice Postdoctoral Associate and Lecturer in Southeast Asian Studies at Yale University. He is a co-editor of Public Theology for Global Witness (2023), a review editor of International Journal of Public Theology, and a co-chair of Religion in Southeast Asia Unit at American Academy of Religion.