Asia Graduate School of Theology

Not to be confused with South East Asia Graduate School of Theology.

The Asia Graduate School of Theology (AGST) is a consortium of evangelical theological seminaries. It was established by Asia Theological Association in 1984, and consists of three bodies: AGST Japan, AGST Philippines, and AGST Alliance (Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand).[1]

AGST's purpose is to enable its member seminaries to offer advanced degrees, especially doctorates, to prepare scholars and leaders for the Church and society in Asia. AGST was self-consciously modelled on the South East Asia Graduate School of Theology, which is operated by the Association for Theological Education in South East Asia.[2]

Bong Rin Ro notes that AGST was formed to stop the "brain drain" of Asian Christian workers to the West: "The Asian Church had depended on western seminaries and churches too long, and the time had come for us to be independent from the West in theological education; otherwise, we would not be able to grow ourselves."[2] He goes on to note that one of AGST's objectives was to "encourage cultural adaptation of theological education. Asian students needed to study theological training within their cultural contexts of poverty, suffering, injustice, non-Christian religions, and communism."[3]

AGST's original plan was to have a consortium in Korea, but as Bong Rin Ro notes, "the AGST in Korea did not succeed due to the lack of cooperation among the evangelical seminaries in Korea."[4]

  1. ^ "Asia Graduate School of Theology". Asia Theological Association. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  2. ^ a b Ro, Bong Rin (2008). "A History of Evangelical Theological Education in Asia (ATA): 1970–1990" (PDF). Torch Trinity Journal. 11 (1): 39. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  3. ^ Ro, " History of Evangelical Theological Education in Asia," 40.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ro42 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).