About the authors

Seforosa Carroll (b. 1969) is a Fiji-born Rotuman. She spent her formative years growing up in Fiji, a multi-religious/multicultural context. She has lived in Australia since 1987. She was ordained as a Minister of the Word in the Uniting Church in Australia in 1999. Her theological research interests fall into two areas: cross cultural relationships/diasporic and Christian theologies of other faiths, interfaith dialogue and encounters. Sef is currently a full time doctoral student at the School of , Charles Sturt University. Her PhD research is on a feminist diasporic reading of interfaith dialogue and encounters in Australia. Sef is also the Administrator of Manah- ine Pasefika (Association of Oceanian Women Theologians) whose primary objective is to “make Oceanian women’s voices heard through print”. Sef has served both as a congregational minister at Caves Beach and Chaplain to MLC School, Burwood. Sef has been a visiting lecturer at the United Theo- logical College since 2000. Sef is married to Ralph and they have a daughter Sarah.

Charles Farhadian ( b. 1964) holds a MDiv from Yale University and a PhD from Boston University. He is Associate Professor of World Religions and Christian Mission at Westmont College, Santa Barbara. Farhadian’s research is in Southeast Asia and Melanesia. His books include , Islam, and Nationalism in Indonesia (Routledge, 2005), Christian Worship World- wide: Expanding Horizons, Deepening Practices (Eerdmans, 2007), and The Testimony Project: Papua (Deiyai: West Papua, Indonesia, 2007). Currently he is editing, with co-editor Lewis Rambo, The Oxford Handbook of Reli- gious .

Jionen Havia (b. 1965) is Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies, United Theo- logical College and School of Theology, Charles Sturt University (Australia). He is author of “Boring reading, forgotten readers”. Uniting Church Studies (2004). 10.2: 22-36. And “Who is strange(r)? A Pacific native muses over mission”. Journal of Theology and Culture in Asia (1999).

Heup Young Kim (b. 1949) is Professor of Systematic Theology, Kangnam University, . He is also a Co-moderator of the Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS), a Founding Member of the International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR), and the Founder and Executive Director of the 232 About the authors

Korea Forum for Science and Life (KFSL). He served as a Senior Research Fellow of Doshisha University Center for Advanced Study and Education and as a Senior Fellow of Harvard University Center for Study of World Religions after graduating from Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div. and Th.M.) and Graduate Theological Union (Ph.D.). He is author of numerous writings in Asian theology, theology of religion, interreligious dialogue, and dialogue between religion and science, including Christ and the Tao (2003), Wang Yang-Ming and Karl Barth: a Confucian-Christian Dialogue (1996), Natural Sciences and Christianity! (2006), and Toward a Theology of Tao: Theo-tao (2001).

J. Jayakiran Sebastian (b. 1958) is currently H. George Anderson Professor of Mission and Cultures and Director of the Multicultural Mission Resource Center at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He is a Presby- ter of the Church of South India, and has been Professor in the Department of Theology and Ethics at the United Theological College, Bangalore, India, where he served as Chairperson of the Department and also Dean of Doctoral Studies. His recent book is entitled Enlivening the Past: An Asian Theolo- gian’s Engagement with the Early Teachers of Faith (Gorgias Press, 2009).

Hisako Kinukawa (b. 1938) is co-director, Center for Feminist Theology and Ministry in Japan (2000-present), also serves as adjunct Professor of Biblical Studies, Feminist Theology, Gender Issues and the Bible, Japan Lutheran College and Theological Seminary and Japan Agricultural Theological Seminary. Previously taught at San Francisco Theological Seminary, CA, USA, Graduate School of St. Paul University, and International Christian University in Japan. She is Executive Member of Program of Theology and Culture in Asia and Executive Member of Asian Womens Resource Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia & Jogjakarta, Indonesia. She is author of Gender no Shiten de Seisho wo Yomu (Reading Biblical Texts From A Perspective of Gender Issues), Tokyo: NCC Publishing House, 2002, Joseitatchi to Iesu (Women and : Reading the Gospel of Mark from an Interactional Perspecitve), Tokyo: NCC Publishing House, 1997, Josei no Shiten de Seisho wo Yomu (Reading Biblical Texts From A Feminist Perspective), Tokyo: NCC Pulbishing House, 1995 and Women and Jesus in Mark: A Japanese Feminist Perspective, New York: Orbis Books, 1994.

Fumitaka Matsuoka (b. 1943) is Robert Gordon Sproul Professor of Theol- ogy, Emeritus, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA, USA. He was former dean of Pacific School of Religion and Bethany Theological Semi- nary. He also served the founding the Executive Director of PANA Institute (Institute for Leadership Development and the Study of Pacific and Asian