Guidelines for Doing Theologies in Asia

Established in 1957 with sixteen member schools, the Association for Theological Education in South East Asia (ATESEA), now with 104 member institutions in sixteen countries, celebrated its Golden Jubilee in November 2007 at Trinity Theological College in Singapore. In 1966 the South East Asia Graduate School of Theology (SEAGST) was established by ATESEA as a consortium for advanced theological studies leading to the Master of Theology (M.Theol.) and Doctor of Theology (D.Theol.) degrees. Twenty-six schools in seven geographic areas now constitute the academic core of the Graduate School. Sientje Merentek-Abram is currently executive director of ATESEA and dean of SEAGST, with offices in Quezon City, Philippines; Po-Ho Huang is associate dean of SEAGST.

In 1972 ATESEA and SEAGST adopted the Critical Asian Principle (CAP) as a framework for theological construction and education in the region. While recognizing the significant contribution of CAP over the last thirty-five years toward enhancing the construction of Asian contextual theologies and theological education, the occasion of the Jubilee was an opportunity to develop new guidelines for a new era. After wide-ranging consultation and feedback from member schools, the new guidelines were approved by the executive committee of ATESEA and adopted by the SEAGST senate (see comments at www.atesea.org/guidelines.htm where the document that follows is available online). Po-Ho Huang, who gave leadership in the review and drafting process, presented the guidelines to the assembled representatives at the Golden Jubilee.—Editor