93 John Roxborogh WHOSE HISTORY AND WHOSE THEOLOGY? Reflections from Malaysia on the Study of Christianity in the Non-western World 1. Questions of Perspective The globalization of Christianity coupled with the localization of the history and theology of what must remain a universal faith raise questions of perspective, methods, sources, and ownership which are important to address. Christianity is in a transitional phase moving from a situation in which the Western world and its philosophical tradition set the norms of content and expression for theology and the center of gravity for Christian history, to one in which the variety of content, expression and history found in different countries and cultures must be taken with comparable seriousness. It is essential to do justice to the integrity of Christianity in the non-Western world and to address issues of continuity across time and space. What is also needed is the formulation of a basis of critical evalua- tion and reform so that judgments about what is appropriately Chris- tian are true both to the Gospel and to the culture concerned. Doing justice to the particular does not mean abandoning critical evaluation; what it means is that the basis of evaluation is not settled by taking one culture as normative for the rest. Rather norms and continuities are looked for out of multi-cultural comparison and involvement. This has relevance on a global scale as well as in countries which are in themselves increasingly multi-cultural. The study of Christianity in the non-Western world is therefore concerned with "South-South" interaction, not just "North-South." It cannot be a situation of the center and the periphery changing places - though there may be some pressures in that direction' - but of both becoming more diffuse. Perception of what these concepts refer to in terms of continents and cultures must also be expanded to take into account the changing situation in Eastern Europe. Whatever world Christianity may be moving towards, the legacy of where we have come from is not to be disowned however much it