A virtual book launch for Exploring the New Testament in Asia: Evangelical Perspective took place at 8 p.m. Manila time, on November 5, presenting an addition to the Foundations in Asian Christian Thought (FACT) series published by Langham Publishing and the Asia Theological Association (ATA).
This book gathers 13 essays from distinguished scholars from all around Asia. It is the fourth title in the FACT series, following the earlier three: Asian Christian Theology, Asian Christian Ethics, and Exploring the Old Testament in Asia.
At the event moderated by Justin Joon Lee, a faculty member at Singapore Bible College, editors Samson Uytanlet and Bennet A. Lawrence discussed the book's objectives.
Samson Uytanlet, chair of the Biblical Studies Department at the Asian Theological Seminary Philippines, said that the book's aim is to foster respectful dialogue with interpreters worldwide. He noted that contextualization influences every step of biblical interpretation: observation, interpretation, and application. Cultural backgrounds shape the way people read the Scripture.
Bennet A. Lawrence, regional secretary of ATA India, thanked the opportunity the book provides for Asian scholars to engage with global scholarship. He mentioned two notable aspects of the book: explaining the content with the contextual realities and addressing contextual realities.
Two contributors highlighted their chapters collected in this book.
Chee-Chiew Lee, professor of New Testament at Singapore Bible College and member of the editorial board for the Langham Chinese Bible Commentary, introduced her essay Responding to Persecution and Marginalization of Christians. This essay has been translated into Hindi and Chinese and is available for free download and distribution with the publisher's permission.
Johnson Thomaskutty, professor of New Testament and chairperson of Biblical Studies at the United Theological College in Bengaluru, India, explained his essay Metaphors of Salvation in the New Testament and their Implications in Asia.
General editor of the FACT series Steve Perdue spoke about the series’ focus on contextualizing evangelical scholarship for Asian Christians, and ATA’s associate publication secretary Andrew B. Spurgeon outlined the broader mission of ATA’s publications.
ATA is an accrediting body overseas with over 300 theological schools in the region and creates books to serve the growing Asian Christian church.
According to Andrew B. Spurgeon, the organization has published works for nearly 50 years and eight years ago expanded into non-commentary series (including the FACT series) in addition to regular commentary series. These publications adhere to ATA’s mission to produce biblical, pastoral, contextual, missional, and prophetic resources for pastors, Christian leaders, cross-cultural workers, and seminary or Bible school students in Asia.
Steve Perdue underlined the growing prominence of Christianity in Asia, with nearly 300 million Christians, 80 million of whom identify as evangelicals--20 percent of the global evangelicals. In addition, Asia is also home to vital new discipleship models and theological education for leaders both within and beyond Asia.
He introduced that the FACT series aims to offer accessible and innovative introductions to major topics for Asian Christians. Each book features contributions from a mix of emerging and seasoned scholars, with sections that address both classical theological issues and topics unique to the Asian context. Each book has two editors to represent Asia’s diversity and is divided into two sections. The first half addresses classical and theoretical topics, while the second half focuses on practical issues, allowing readers to engage with both theory and practice.
The launch concluded with a Q&A session. The book will be available at the ATA consultation in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and at upcoming meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Biblical Literature in the U.S. It can also be purchased online at Langham Publishing, with free international shipping available, as well as in e-book format.
