| Sumario: | Asian theology in the ablative case asks the question of the essence of Christianity in a renewed form by means of Asia and from Asia. The question was once posed by Asia to Western Christianity in the nineteenth century, but the importance of addressing it remains the same today for all who seek to understand the identity of global Christian communion. The question leads us to reaffirm the historical nature of the Christian religion. Its essence cannot be readily defined by a primitivist return to the 'origin,' however construed this 'origin' might be. Rather, as the examples of Lee and Kitamori among others indicate, it is defined by the experience of active faith communities in constant conversation with tradition and scripture. The role of experience in the formation of orthodoxy is experimental and subject to historical authentication, but it does have a voice as norma colloquens. It is in this context that the pronouncements of Asian Christians are to be located. Christianity is a living and lived religion. Its essence is renewed and redefined in a cumulative manner as it undergoes different stages of geohistorical development.
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