Taiwan Church News 3274 Edition November 24 - 30, 2014 Church Ministry In A Centenary Seminar On Rev. Dr. Shoki Coe, Theological Scholars Delivers Their Methodological Thoughts About Identity And Reformation Within Contextualizing Confessional Churches From November 20 to 21, 2014, commemorating the spiritual legacies of Rev. Dr. Shoki Coe toward theological education, contextualizing theological methodology, home land theology, Mission in Taiwan and Ecumenicism, 14 theological papers are presented in a centenary seminar at Chang Jung Christian University(CJCU) with a purpose to support Taiwan churches to practice their ecclesiastical reformation and identity formation in a theologically contextualizing situations. As Professor M. P. Joseph of CJCU Theological Seminary straightly points out in his keynote speech, due to Shoki Coe's critical contextualizing thoughts, that many third world and Asian people could never be dominated by European and American theologies. And to practice and fulfill his contextual theology, insisting a political witness is necessary to Christian faith and mission, Shoki Coe initiated a movement of Taiwanese self-determination. Professor Hwang Po-ho, currently Vice President of CJCU and former President of Tainan Theological Seminary and College(TTCS), stresses in his paper that the globalization in our age is a new Babel tower worshiping the capital as God. Hwang says, contemporary theology has to re-build the house of God, through Shoki Coe's theological methodologies: de-contextualization and re-contextualizing, reclaiming the justice from ecology, economics, societal and related fronts. Rev. Dr. Wang Chong-giau, President of TTCS, recollects the ground breaking contributions of Shoki Coe during his Presidential term from 1949 to 1965: strengthening the faculties, refurnishing the school equipment, insisting financial independence and etc. These are remarkable achievements during that historical period, as TTCS then was under the shadow of the western theological establishment, says Wang. Rev. Dr. Chen Nan-chou, former Vice President of Yu-Shan Theological College and Seminary, remarks about Shoki Coe's major emphasis on theological education: accommodation of social change and culture. So, Chen reminds, except exploring the theological meaning between Taiwanese cultures and religions, the proper theological education should also endeavor to witness the correlation between the gospel and Taiwanese religions. In addition, the biblical interpretations and related theological studies and education for special social conditions or minority cultural contexts deserves a more considerate concern from Taiwan churches. Translated by Peter Wolfe |