Tell Us Our Names

by Choan-Seng Song

Book Overview

'Tell Us Our Names' is a timely book, beautifully written and understandable by all. Its particular challenge lies in the folk and fairy tales that provide the text. Here are the roots of both faith and reason -- and the direct way to dump excess baggage and discover new and better questions. Scripture, Oriental wisdom, ecumenical theology: all receive calm and imaginative treatment in Song's hands."" --Joseph McLelland, McGill University, Montreal...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1597523038
• ISBN13: 9781597523035
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Publishers
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Theology that Disorients

To borrow Walter Brueggemann's categories of the Psalms of Orientation, Disorientation and Reorientation and redefine them I would have to say that this book falls under theology that disorients. Now what do I mean by that? Theology that orients is theology that agrees with what you believe with and helps to affirm what you believe. Theology that disorients is theology that is not heretical but is different from your own, in this case Asian theology, which makes the reader think outside of what he would have previously thought about God or Christianity. Theology that reorients is the theology that you read after disorientation either in what has disoriented you to bring you to new ways of understanding God or theology that you previously agreed with to help reestablish your old ways of thinking. In short my review to not be too long winded is that Song disorients the reader by first asking the question if God is the God of all creation and not just of the West or of Israel then how is he present in the culture of Asia? This he roots in the incarnation that has Christ married humanity to divinity so to our history became God's history in the incarnation. The incarnation becomes the basis for much of his reasoning in the book. Do not think that this book is merely about the incarnation though. It is about much more. It involves the critique of Western dominance of our story and how we tell the Gospel over their story. How Western Christianity is dominated by the head and misses much of the hands and heart of the faith where rice becomes the Eucharist etc... Secondly, Song disorients the reader by making him rethink Christian mission. He advocates a listening approach rather than a telling approach. Let the reader beware if you do not want to have to think through your faith and the story of the Gospel that you have believed do not purchase this book. This review comes from class discussions at Somerset Christian College as we were reading this book for Narrative Biblical Theology.