State of Theology survey

From the second coming to cultural superstitions, here are the heresies Asian Christians notice most in China, Japan, and Korea.

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Behind the story

After last month’s State of Theology survey revealed some common heresies among US evangelicals, we’re looking at some common theological concerns elsewhere in the world, starting with East Asia.

For today’s piece, our Asia associate editor Isabel Ong heard from a handful of pastors and theologians in the region and found that each response reflected their cultural context in different areas.

“Some the East Asian heresies mentioned are familiar to me as they were ones I encountered while growing up as a Christian in Singapore, like the emphasis on individualistic moralism in Hong Kong and the propensity toward trying to earn one’s salvation by serving God in Japan,” she said. “What surprised me most was Korean professor Meehyun Chung’s hesitation to use the word ‘heresies’ as she acknowledged how certain Christian figures in history have been wrongly accused of this.”

“On the whole, the piece informs me that East Asian heresies continue to percolate because of a malformed theology that privileges human effort as a means of assuring our salvation,” Isobel said. “And as Taiwanese pastor Tim Wang said, Christian leaders also need to disciple well besides receiving solid theological training.”

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