C. S. Song

Choan-Seng Song ({{zh|poj=Sòng Choân-sēng|c=宋泉盛|p=Sòng Quánshèng}}) (October 19, 1929 – November 26, 2024) was a Taiwanese theologian who was Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Theology and Asian Cultures at the Pacific School of Religion.

Biography

Song was born into a Presbyterian family in Tainan, and received his early education while Taiwan was under Japanese rule.{{cite book|last=Federschmidt|first=Karl H.|title=Theologie aus asiatischen Quellen. Der theologische Weg Choan Seng Song's vor dem Hintergrund der asiatischen ökumenischen Diskussion|location=Münster/New York|publisher=Lit|year=1994|url=http://www.federschmidt.net/Choan-Seng-Song/Uebersicht.html|page=71|language=de}}

He studied at the National Taiwan University (1950–1954), the University of Edinburgh (1955–1958) and the Union Theological Seminary, where he received his PhD in 1965. Song's dissertation was "The Relation of Divine Revelation and Man's Religion in the Theologies of Karl Barth and Paul Tillich."{{cite thesis|last=Song |first=C. S.|title=The Relation of Divine Revelation and Man's Religion in the Theologies of Karl Barth and Paul Tillich|institution=Union Theological Seminary|type=dissertation|year=1964|url=https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1641-1700_choan-seng-song_1964-09_ia40330109-09}} Song was principal of the Tainan Theological College (1965-70), secretary for Asian ministries of the Reformed Church in America (1970—1973), associate secretary for Faith and Order for the World Council of Churches (1973—1982), and president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (1997–2004).{{cite news |title=WCC gives thanks for the life of Choan-Seng Song |url=https://www.oikoumene.org/news/wcc-gives-thanks-for-the-life-of-choan-seng-song |access-date=1 December 2024 |publisher=World Council of Churches |date=28 November 2024}}

Song received two honorary Doctorate of Divinity degrees, one in 1996 from his alma mater the University of Edinburgh,{{cite web |last1=Chow |first1=Alexander |author1-link=Alexander Chow |title=Rev. Professor Choan-Seng Song (1929-2024) |url=https://divinity.ed.ac.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/rev-professor-choan-seng-song-1929-2024 |website=The University of Edinburgh |access-date=2 December 2024 |language=en |date=27 November 2024}} and another in 2018 from Tainan Theological College where he served as principal.{{cite news |author1=林家鴻 |title=台南神學院肯定宋泉盛授榮譽博士 |url=https://tcnn.org.tw/archives/37689 |access-date=2 December 2024 |work=Taiwan Church News Network |date=13 June 2018 |language=zh-hant}}

Song died on November 26, 2024, at the age of 95, after being hospitalized for over a week due to pneumonia.{{cite news |author1=王子恆 |title=上帝卑微的僕人神學家宋泉盛牧師安息主懷 |url=https://tcnn.org.tw/archives/224106 |work=Taiwan Church News Network |date=29 November 2024 |language=zh-hant}}{{cite web |last1=Keum |first1=Jooseop |author1-link=Jooseop Keum |title=CWM mourns the passing of Prof. Choan-Seng Song (C.S. Song) |url=https://www.cwmission.org/cwm-mourns-the-passing-of-prof-choan-seng-song-c-s-song/ |publisher=Council for World Mission |access-date=26 November 2024 |date=26 November 2024}}

Theology

A major theme underlying Song's theology was his attack on the Western-centric nature of Christian theology. He saw it as highlighting an individualistic gospel that uproots non-Western converts from their original cultures.Yung Hwa, Mangoes or Bananas? The Quest for an Authentic Asian Christian Theology (Oxford: Regnum Books, 2009), 170. Instead, Song argued, God redemptively works in creation through all cultures, even the so-called "non-Christian" cultures.{{cite book|first=C. S.|last=Song|title=Christian Mission in Reconstruction: An Asian Analysis|location=New York|publisher=Orbis Books|year=1975|pages=20–28}} Asian Christians are therefore obliged to articulate an Asian theology, coming from the "womb" of Asia.

Song borrowed his methodology from Latin American liberation theology, which adopts largely from a Marxist critique on religion and capitalism. Song described the people of Asia as being victimized by a history of Western imperialism, both colonially and culturally, creating an identity crisis for Asian Christians. Hence the task of contextualization is found through liberation of these unjust circumstances and the reconstruction of a new identity for Asian Christians.{{BCEWT|id=song|title=C. S. Song|first=James|last=Wu}}

Works

"New China and Salvation History: A Methodological Inquiry," in South-East Asia Journal of Theology, 15.2 (1974):52-67.
Christian Mission in Reconstruction: an Asian Analysis, (New York: Orbis Books, 1975). {{ISBN|978-0-88344-074-2}}
Third-Eye Theology: Theology in Formation in Asian Settings, (New York: Orbis Books, 1979). {{ISBN|978-0-88344-474-0}}
The Compassionate God: An Exercise in the Theology of Transposition, (New York: Orbis Books, 1982). {{ISBN|978-0-334-01951-0}}
Theology from the Womb of Asia, (New York: Orbis Books, 1986). {{ISBN|978-0-88344-518-1}}
Jesus the Crucified People, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990). {{ISBN|978-0-8006-2969-4}}
Jesus and the Reign of God, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993). {{ISBN|978-0-8006-2671-6}}
Jesus in the Power of the Spirit, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1994). {{ISBN|978-1-57910-958-5}}

{{Cite book|title=The Believing Heart: An Invitation to Story Theology|publisher=Fortress Press|year=1999|isbn=9780800631420|location=Minneapolis}}
{{Cite book|title=Tracing the Footsteps of God: Discovering What You Really Believe|publisher=Fortress Press|year=2007|isbn=9780800638924|location=Minneapolis}}

C. S. Song

Biography

Theology

Works

References

Further reading