Out of Silence: Emerging Themes in Asian American Churches

Most of us are American yet not fully acknowledged as American. Asian Americans are plagued with this awareness. We have been in the United States in significant numbers for 150 years. . . . Today we Asian Americans find ourselves in the midst of opposing tides swirling around us. One current carries us across old enmities toward a solidarity of all people of Asian descent another urges retreat to the nostalgia of our individual cultures and ethnic groups and yet a third demands a just place in the larger American society where many of us are still treated as strangers. --from the Introduction Fumitaka Matsuoka has written a rare and candid theological discussion of Asian Americans their Christian faith and racial/ethnic interactions in the United States. Out of Silence probes into particular religious expressions by presenting a description and analysis of the experiences of Asian American Christians of Chinese Filipino Japanese and Korean ancestry. The response to these challenging experiences - far too long ignored--offers new models and dynamics to the work of reconciling humanity. Matsuokas eloquent treatment of the Asian American church speaks to all Christians--the liberation of each group shall be the bond that unites us all.