Mangoes or Bananas?: The Quest for an Authentic Asian Christian Theology

American Society of Missiology

by Hwa Yung

Over the past few decades there has been a growing awareness of the need for contextual theologies throughout Asia. But how genuinely contextual are these? Based on the premise that theology and mission are inseparable, the author applies four missiological criteria to representative examples of Protestant Asian writings to assess their adequacy or otherwise as contextual theologies. These are relevance to sociopolitical challenges, enhancing evangelism and pastoral care, inculturation, and faithfulness to the Christian tradition. The study reveals certain discernible trends in Asian ecumenical and conservative theologies respectively, and also distinctive strengths and weaknesses. But the greatest problem with most of these theologies appears to be that, at heart, they have been domesticated by western dualism and Enlightenment thought. Authentic Asian Christian theologies will only emerge with the dual recovery of confidence in both gospel and culture within Asian Christianity. In this new edition, the author has further shared his personal journey that brought him to this conclusion. I can hardly find the words to praise sufficiently this new edition of Mangoes or Bananas?, a book I have long considered one of the most important theological works of the past quarter-century. This edition preserves the wealth of its predecessor and adds an autobiographical dimension that brings into relief both the theological options Hwa Yung has followed and why. That testimony adds depth to a book that everyone interested in world Christianity and mission must read. Hwa Yung helps us grasp what occurs when Asian Christians recover the transcendent depths of their cultures and open themselves to the light that the Gospel sheds on living Christianity authentically as Asians. William R Burrows, Managing Editor Emeritus, Orbis Books; Research Professor of Missiology, New York Theological Seminary Ever since this book first appeared, its impact on the world of contextual theology has been significant and sustained, to the point that the expression 'mangoes or bananas' is now a theological household term for authentic Asian theology. This book has successfully established the urgency of true Asian theology which is faithful to the scriptures but born of Asian experiences, and so relevant to the mission of Asian church. It also provides a foundational matrix with which each Asian local setting can construct its own local theology. In this expanded edition, Hwa adds a personal dimension to the task of theologisation, by positioning his turbulent life experience (as a refugee/immigrant in a new socio-cultural and religious context) as an integral part of doing theology. This is a courageous act of vulnerability, and exactly how Asian or any theology is to be formulated. Thus this book is not just for Asians, but for anyone who struggles to make the Christian message authentic to its roots whilst being closely relevant to the changing social and cultural landscapes. A must-read for all. Wonsuk Ma, Director, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies Hwa Yung was the Bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia from 2004-2012. Before that he had served as Principal of Malaysia Theological Seminary, and later as Director, Centre for the Study of Christianity in Asia at Trinity Theological College, Singapore. Over the years he has been closely associated with the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies and the Lausanne Movement. He continues an active preaching and teaching ministry both in and outside Malaysia

Genres: Theology

270 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2001

Reviews

[Håvard Bamle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't agree with everything, but it is a fresh viewpoint and it is damn well argued.


Yung's arguments:
1. Western christianity developed in a context which was apologetic to the Hellenistic culture surrounding the early church. Apologetics are important in shaping an authentic Asian theology as well.
- Here I find that Yung undervalues the fruits of dialogic approach, but he does adress my critique in the book.
2. The Enlightenment solidified a dualistic world view: Kant, building on Descartes, building on Aristotle, established the doctrine of an objective world which is unavailable to us. This created problems for Christianity which since Augustine had built on Plato's assumption that knowledge of true reality can be aquired. Rather than accepting the Enlightenment dichotomy, an authentic Asian Christianity must strive to be more holistic.
- I agree with this approach in Asia, but do not agree that this is in principle a flaw in Western Christian theology.
3. Theology must be established in a pastoral and missiological practices.
- I completely agree, but I disagree with the continual insistence of Yung that everything must be biblically founded. I agree that the Bible is the most pure source of Christianity; in theory its content is unaffected by the Hellenisation of Western culture, but unfortunately I don't think that is true. The Bible is not pure, and it is inconsistent with rationality on many points. The Bible can thus not be treated as the only fundament on which to establish theology. Philisophy is a necessary addition.
- But isn't the point that Asian cultures do not respond to western thinking? True, Asian cultures are more orthopractical than orthodox, and stories are more effective than philosophies; but the consistency (philosophical integrity) of the Christian faith should not be sacrificed for the sake of spreading the religion.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important work describing the need for Asian theologies. Hwa Yung also gives a framework for evaluating theologies written by Asians
1) Relevance to the sociopolitical concerns
2) Efficacy in respect of the church's evangelistic and pastoral concerns
3) Inculturation
4) Faithfulness to the Christian tradition
In Chapter 5, Hwa Yung describes and evaluates Asian Theologies up to WW2:
Matteo Ricci in Church (17th Century) & Robert De Noblii in India
Anti-Christian movement in China in the 1920s
Nehemiah Goreh (India, 1825-1895)
Sadhu Sundar Singh (India, 1889-1929) Singh was deeply convinced that his people needed Christ, the 'Water of Life', but he was equally adamant that 'they do not want it in European vessels.' Our brief study shows that he succeeded eminently to bring to them the true 'Water of Life' in an Indian cup (111)."
Indian Theology (Saccidananda, Robert Boyd 1974)
Toyohiko Kagawa (1888-1960)
In Chapter 6, Yung describes theology after WW2
DT Niles (Sri Lanka, 1908-1970)
MM Thomas (India 1916-1996)
Kosuke Koyama (1929-2009)
CS Song (1929-)
Minjung Theology (Korea, 1975+)
In Chapter 7, Yung describes conservative theologies since WW2
ATA
Vinay Samuel
Cho Yong-Gi
Hwa Yung's analysis: "Underneath the Asian 'clothes' and 'colors' that have been given to these theologies, we have found layers and layers or Enlightenment and dualistic thought. It appears that mature examples of a truly contextual Asian theology have yet to fully emerge (173)."
In Chapter 8, Yung writes "Toward an Asian Christian Theology." He suggests different literary genres which are required in Asian theology: biblical exegesis, Christian apolgetics, systematic theology (especially addressing ancestral practices, healing/exorcism and the miraculous, church leadership patterns, personal ethics, a theology of social engagement), theology for the grassroots. Important concerns for the contextualization process: unearthing hidden presumptions, in-depth studies of Asian Cultures and Traditions, dialogue with Asian religions, insights from cultural anthropology, addressing the challenge of 'power encounters' in Asian Christianity, learning from Western Christians.
"There is a parable in this comparison between the banana and the mango. ost of the post-WW2 examples of Asian theology studied here look more like bananas than mangoes - 'yellow' outside, but 'white' inside. Asian may love the banana, but there is no doubt that the sweet, succulent flesh of the mango is prized much more highly. If one has to choose, the latter is much more likely to be preferred (190)."
"Yet the fact remains that Asian Christianity does not have a very clear sense of its own self-identity. Moreover, as Koyama says, much of Asian Christianity is 'culturally deformed'. The overwhelming predominance of Western culture in the modern world, and its consequent effect on the development of Christianity in the non-Western world in the last two hundred years are generally accepted as facts today. As a result non-Western Christians in general, and Asian Christians in particular, lost confidence in their own cultures and histories. Partly because, some Asian Christians have embraced Enlightenment categories which deny objective truth to religious beliefs. Consequently, as the pluralism debate and other trends indicate, they have lost confidence in the gospel of Christ as well (191)."
"The agenda for Asian theology for the future therefore seems clear. What we need are more theological 'mangoes' and not 'bananas'. When these are birthed by the grace of God, they will they will bring genuine blessings to the Asia church. They will first give Asian Christianity a clearer sense of self-identity without which it can never fully mature. Secondly, they should contribute to the healing of the divisions obtained presently in Asian Christianity, much of which has been imposed from without. Finally, they will enable the churches in Asia, to proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom by word and deed with greater pastoral relevance and missiological fruitfulness (191)."

[Kiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every year my 10th grade class completes an assignment where they chose a personal artifact that they feel represents how their culture views them. When I first arrived in Hong Kong in the fall of 2019, Crazy Rich Asians the book and movie had been out for awhile. A reference is made there that had escaped me but made its way in to my student’s psyche and experience. Many of them selected banana as their artifact which confused me until I heard their completed projects where they cited being labeled as such by locals for their westernized education and pure English accents, that they were Asian (yellow) on the outside but white on the inside. My immediate response was to say then I’m an egg, white on the outside and yellow inside. My dear Uzbeki friend once told me I had a third-world faith, a badge of honor to me. Jokes aside, this illustration highlights a larger reality in global Christianity and Christian history that has been neglected, and which I’ve found no better resource than this book. Disambiguating Christ from cultural failures to interpret and obey him is no small task. Because of the historical realities of recent western imperialism and it’s too all to often marriage with the modern missionary moment, Asian Christianity has particular kinds of identity crises. I’ve read heaps of garbage attempts to tackle this issue from theological and pastoral angles. Hwa Yung is the first author I have read that does it well, and sets a helpful agenda for progress for anyone interested in any cultural context, by not overpraising all thing eastern nor tossing out everything western. I found his approach balanced and fair, and only took exception to finer points in his bibliology. His testimony at the end is awesome. 273 pages of mango theology.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very excited as I started reading this book as it appeared to be about the aspects of theology missing in the West. As someone who works with Asian Christians I was looking for something little tickly address their concerns bad ancestor worship, demon possession etc. I was in complete agreement with the introductory chapters and found the middle of the book very interesting but hard going as he looks at the various attempts by Asian theologians to work out a theology appropriate for their cultures. The author does a great job of pointing out the shortcomings of the different approaches, but I guess the point of the book is that nobody has yet found an adequate solution. The concluding chapters were also interesting and pointed the way to what is needed, but if you are looking for a book that contains a new Asian systematic theology this is not it, but it does spell out what is needed and is pointing in the right direction that hopefully will lead others to fruitful work.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

The opening sections of the work are a useful general introduction to some of the flavours and directions of theological thinking in general, and of the weaknesses of narrowly "Western" ways of doing things. The author's evangelical convictions do not get in the way of his giving a fair account of other theological traditions. The real value of this work lies in the second half: short critical introductions to the works of twelve different "Asian" Christian theologians. Informative, interesting, wide-ranging, sensible. But... My scare quotes around "Western" and "Asian", above, are there to show that I can't really discern what is "Asian". I can see what is contextually helpful or downright heretical, but the very category "Asian" itself seems problematic. An earnest fin de siècle Indian convert from Sikhism and a late-twentieth century liberal Taiwanese academic don't necessarily share anything in particular that would make their theological writings worth grouping together. So, it's all fascinating stuff, often very humbling to be reminded of the work of God in all sorts of cultures in unexpected ways, always intellectually stretching to be challenged conceptually, but I'm not sure that there is yet such a thing as an Asian Christian theology, or what it might look like. Interactions and fellowship with "Asian" Christians, of course, are a great joy, to this "Western" Christian, and I hope the feelings are reciprocated.

[Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview of how the Enlightenment and Western Dualism has caused so many problems within the study of theology around the globe. And a way out.

[L W · Rating 5 out of 5]

In depth review here: https://academia.edu/resource/work/12...