Kosuke Koyama facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kosuke Koyama
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| Born | December 10, 1929 |
| Died | March 25, 2009 (aged 79) |
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| Occupation | Theologian |
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Notable work
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| Main interests | Liberation theology |
Kosuke Koyama (小山 晃佑, Koyama Kōsuke, December 10, 1929 – March 25, 2009) was a Japanese Protestant Christian theologian. A theologian is someone who studies and writes about religious beliefs. Koyama was known for his unique ideas about faith, especially how it connected with people in different parts of the world.
Contents
Life and Work
Early Life and Education
Kosuke Koyama was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1929. His parents were Christian. He later moved to New Jersey in the United States. There, he studied at Drew Theological Seminary and earned his first degree in divinity. He then went to Princeton Theological Seminary for his Ph.D. His studies there focused on how Martin Luther understood the Psalms (songs from the Bible). He finished this in 1959.
Teaching and Leadership
After his studies, Koyama taught at a seminary in Thailand. From 1968 to 1974, he led the Association of Theological Schools in Southeast Asia. His office was in Singapore. During this time, he also edited the Southeast Asia Journal of Theology. He was also the dean of the Southeast Asia Graduate School of Theology.
Later, from 1974 to 1979, he worked as a senior lecturer at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. After that, he moved to New York City. He taught at the Union Theological Seminary. He stayed there until he retired in 1996. He was known as "Ko" to his close friends and family. Many people consider him one of the most important Japanese theologians of the 20th century.
Later Life
Kosuke Koyama passed away on March 25, 2009. He died in a hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts, due to pneumonia and cancer. He was survived by his two sons, a daughter, and five grandchildren.
Key Ideas and Books
Koyama wrote 13 books and over 100 articles. He wanted to make theology (the study of God and religious beliefs) easy for everyone to understand. He especially wanted to reach farmers in developing countries. He felt that some academic theology was too complicated.
Water Buffalo Theology
One of his most famous books is Water Buffalo Theology (1974). This book was inspired by his time as a missionary in Northern Thailand. In it, Koyama explored Christian ideas while thinking about Thai Buddhist society. The book is seen as an "ecological theology" (connecting faith with nature) and a type of liberation theology (faith that helps people who are struggling). It also helped create a dialogue between Christian and Buddhist ideas.
Koyama's work helped connect ideas between the East and the West. It also bridged the gap between Christian and Buddhist thoughts, and between the rich and the poor. He didn't have one big, fixed system for his theology. Instead, he focused on helping a "broken Christ trying to heal a broken world." He is considered a very important person in the development of world Christianity.
No Handle on the Cross
In his book No Handle on the Cross: An Asian Mediation on the Crucified Mind (1976), Koyama wrote about Christian suffering. He explained how the cross is a symbol of this suffering. He started the book with a chapter called "The Cross and the Lunchbox."
In the preface to this book, Koyama explained his missionary work in Thailand from 1960 to 1968. His experiences there made him more interested in Asian religions. He also shared a story from Singapore. He met a Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka. Koyama told the monk about "crusades for Jesus Christ." The monk looked confused and asked, "Why do you need to crusade?" The monk suggested that if someone felt the need to crusade, they might not be a true follower. Instead, the monk spoke about self-denial, which is important in Buddhist beliefs.
Koyama's last book was Theology and Violence: Towards A Theology of Nonviolent Love. It was published in Japanese in 2009.
Major Works
- Water Buffalo Theology (1974)
- Pilgrim or Tourist (1974)
- Fifty Meditations (1975)
- No Handle on the Cross (1977)
- Three Mile an Hour God (1980)
- Mount Fuji and Mount Sinai (1985)
