In May 2008 over a dozen evangelical scholars (Chinese and Western) from the United States, Hong Kong and Taiwan came together to address issues of Christian and evangelical identity. This inter-cultural theological conversation was entitled "Beyond Our Past: Bible, Cultural Identity, and the Global Evangelical Movement".

This collection of papers from the conference demonstrates that evangelicalism possesses the historical assets and hermeneutical and theological tools to contribute to the global church and to address the significant theological and cultural issues arising out of a post-colonial context. Questions of evangelical identity in China and around the world are addressed from the disciplines of history, biblical studies, and systematic theology/contextualization.

   List of Contents » (PDF, 31 KB)

   Introduction » (PDF, 51 KB)
   Chapter 3: Overcoming Missions Guilt » (PDF, 85 KB)

Richard R. Cook, Associate Professor of Mission History and Global Christianity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois.

David W. Pao, Professor of New Testament and Chair of the New Testament Department at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois.

   List of Contributors » (PDF, 31 KB)

"An important volume for both church circles and academic scholars, After Imperialism touches off the issue of evangelicalism that connects the world, yet also creates conflicts between peoples in the history of Christianity. It represents the valuable fruits of a unique meeting of historians, theologians, and Bible scholars on the two sides of the Pacific Ocean. Their dialogue contains reflections, challenges, and deliberation of the Protestant missions in China in the past and also in the future. It makes a major contribution to the new horizon of study in this field while examining old ones in scholarly light."
Peter Chen-Main Wang, National Central University, Taiwan

"This book initiates a new, fertile conversation between biblical reading and understandings of modern Chinese history, informed by social science and post-colonial theory."
Richard Madsen, Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology, University of California, San Diego

"This volume helpfully outlines some ways in which imperial readings of the Bible and Christian history have led to the inexcusable importation of Western divisions into Chinese church life."
Lawrence Braschi, in Church Times, 30 November 2012

"... opens a way to overcome missionary paralysis for fear of propagating or capitulating to neo-colonialism."
Beau Pihlaja, in Theological Book Review, Vol 24, No 2