Book Notice: Jesus without Borders

Jesus without Borders: Christology in the Majority World

Gene L. Green , Stephen T. Pardue, K. K. Yeo
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2014.
Available at Amazon.com

By Chris Porter

Since the work of Lesslie Newbigin the observation that cross-cultural theological insights can serve to sharpen our own theological understanding has become commonplace. Jesus Without Borders: Christology in the Majority World seeks to continue this sharpening process, and indeed is the first in a series on Majority World Theology that will bolster this sharpening in other areas. Stemming from a series of papers shared over ETS/IBR 2012 this volume addresses two aspects of christological thought: theological and biblical.

Starting with Vanhoozer’s insightful summary of Western christological thought and history, each paper seeks to consider theological or biblical aspects of Christology from a specific cultural milieu. Papers cover African (Ezigbo), Asian (Gener) and Latin American (Martínez-Olivieri) theology, and biblical explorations of Palestinian Johannine insights (Katanacho), Latino/a Marian veneration (Besançon Spencer), Kenyan engagement with 1 Peter (Mbuvi) and a Chinese perspective on Chalcedon (Yeo). However, notably absent are contributions from the Indian subcontinent and Eastern Orthodoxy—although perhaps this comes down to how ‘Majority World’ is construed.

Each paper is full of cultural insight and nuance that is often lost on Western world Christians steeped in Greek philosophy and the Council of Chalcedon. From considering aspects of Jesus as embodying aspects shared with the Buddhist concept of the bodhisattva to varying ‘Hindu image of Jesus,’ (72) or reframing logos theology in terms of a Chinese dao framework (171), each author brings their own cultural insights to bear on christological concerns.

This book—and the series at large—will do well for sharpening theological engagement across the globe, here in the West as much as in the Majority World. Recommended for anyone seeking to investigate aspects of Christology, local or cross cultural contextualisation or translation.