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{{Short description|Malaysian-born Chinese American scholar of the New Testament}}
{{Infobox academic
{{Infobox academic
|name=K. K. Yeo
|name=K. K. Yeo
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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
An ethnic Chinese, Yeo was born and raised in a small coastal village called [[Kampong Teriso]] in [[Borneo]] Sarawak (three years before Sarawak joined the federation of [[Malaysia]] on 16 September 1963). His father fled [[Chaozhou]] China in 1937 because of [[civil war]] and the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://wipfandstock.com/978-1-725265066/theologies-of-land/|title=Theologies of Land: Contested Land, Spatial Justice, and Identity|date=2021|publisher=Cascade Books|isbn=9781725265066 |editor-last1=Yeo|editor-first1=K. K. |location=Eugene, OR |pages=132–135 |chapter=Conclusion |editor-last2=Green |editor-first2=Gene}}</ref> Facing the vicissitudes of a life in a world of terror and violence, he turned to Confucian ethics and Pauline theology.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://wipfandstock.com/9781556354885/musing-with-confucius-and-paul/ |title=Musing with Confucius and Paul: Toward a Chinese Christian Theology |date=2008|publisher=Cascade Books |isbn=9781556354885 |last=Yeo|first=K.K.|location=Eugene, OR|pages=3–13|chapter=Overture}}</ref>
An ethnic Chinese, Yeo was born and raised in a small coastal village called [[Kampong Teriso]] in [[Borneo]] Sarawak (three years before Sarawak joined the federation of [[Malaysia]] on 16 September 1963). He identifies his background as “a diasporic Chinese, a hybrid Chinese Christian identity”<ref>{{cite book|url= https://wipfandstock.com/9781556354885/musing-with-confucius-and-paul/ |title=Musing with Confucius and Paul: Toward a Chinese Christian Theology |date=2008|publisher=Cascade Books |isbn=9781556354885 |last=Yeo|first=K.K.|location=Eugene, OR|pages=3–13|chapter=Overture}}</ref> in multi-cultural Malaysia that shapes his interests in the critical engagement between the Bible and cultures.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WNWoTIPbbRIC&pg=PA20|title=Cross-Cultural Paul: Journeys to Others, Journeys to Ourselves|date=2005|publisher=Eerdmans|isbn=9780802828439|editor-last1=Cosgrove|editor-first1=Charles H.|location=Grand Rapids, MI|pages=16–20|chapter=Introduction|editor-last2=Weiss|editor-first2=Herold|editor-last3=Yeo|editor-first3=K. K.}}</ref>

He attended Chinese primary schools in Kuching, and became a follower of Christ in an [[Anglican]] high school ([[St. Thomas’ Secondary School]], founded in 1848). He identifies his background as “a diasporic Chinese, a hybrid Chinese Christian identity”<ref>{{cite book|url= https://wipfandstock.com/9781556354885/musing-with-confucius-and-paul/ |title=Musing with Confucius and Paul: Toward a Chinese Christian Theology |date=2008|publisher=Cascade Books |isbn=9781556354885 |last=Yeo|first=K.K.|location=Eugene, OR|pages=3–13|chapter=Overture}}</ref> in multi-cultural Malaysia that shapes his interests in the critical engagement between the Bible and cultures.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WNWoTIPbbRIC&pg=PA20|title=Cross-Cultural Paul: Journeys to Others, Journeys to Ourselves|date=2005|publisher=Eerdmans|isbn=9780802828439|editor-last1=Cosgrove|editor-first1=Charles H.|location=Grand Rapids, MI|pages=16–20|chapter=Introduction|editor-last2=Weiss|editor-first2=Herold|editor-last3=Yeo|editor-first3=K. K.}}</ref>


Yeo completed a BA in Biblical and Theological Studies from [[Crown College (Minnesota)|St. Paul Bible College]] in 1987, an MDiv from [[Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary]] in 1990, and a PhD in New Testament, Classical and Rhetorical Studies at [[Northwestern University]] under Robert L. Jewett (2013–2020), <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theologie.uni-heidelberg.de/fakultaet/personen/jewett.html
Yeo completed a BA in Biblical and Theological Studies from [[Crown College (Minnesota)|St. Paul Bible College]] in 1987, an MDiv from [[Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary]] in 1990, and a PhD in New Testament, Classical and Rhetorical Studies at [[Northwestern University]] under Robert L. Jewett (2013–2020), <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theologie.uni-heidelberg.de/fakultaet/personen/jewett.html
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'''Teaching and mentoring'''
'''Teaching and mentoring'''


Yeo was a professor of New Testament at Alliance Bible Seminary in Hong Kong from 1992 to 1996,<ref>{{cite web|first=Craig Y. S.|last=Ho|title=Biblical Scholarship in Hong Kong|website=SBL Forum|date=July 2004|url=http://sbl-site.org/Article.aspx?ArticleID=290|access-date=13 December 2018}}</ref> before becoming Harry R. Kendall Professor of New Testament at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, where he has taught since July 1996.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.garrett.edu/academics/faculty/kk-yeo|title=K. K. Yeo|website=Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary|access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref> He has lectured widely in Asia, Israel/Palestine, Europe, and the US, serving the global church by preparing academic, ecclesial, and community leaders.
Yeo was a professor of New Testament at Alliance Bible Seminary in Hong Kong from 1992 to 1996,<ref>{{cite web|first=Craig Y. S.|last=Ho|title=Biblical Scholarship in Hong Kong|website=SBL Forum|date=July 2004|url=http://sbl-site.org/Article.aspx?ArticleID=290|access-date=13 December 2018}}</ref> before becoming Harry R. Kendall Professor of New Testament at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, where he has taught since July 1996.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.garrett.edu/academics/faculty/kk-yeo|title=K. K. Yeo|website=Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary|access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref> He also served on the graduate school faculty of Northwestern University, Evanston (1997–2008) for the joint Garrett-Northwestern PhD program.

Yeo is an affiliate faculty member at the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at [[Northwestern University]] Evanston (since 2015), and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China (since 2012), a visiting professor of Peking University, Peking Normal University, Huaqiao University and Fudan University in China (since 2006). He currently serves as one of the international consultants at Christian Art Center, Peking Normal University, Beijing (since 2015); a dissertation mentor of the PhD and MTh programs at Australian College of Theology (since 2018). He was the academic director (2005–2016) mentoring the MA in Christian Studies and PhD in Biblical Studies programs at Peking University (matriculating almost one thousand graduates).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://wipfandstock.com/9781532618864/locating-us-theological-education-in-a-global-context/ |title=Locating US Theological Education in a Global Context|last=Yeo|first=K. K.|publisher=Pickwick|year=2019|isbn=9781532618864|editor=Hendrik R. Pieterse|location=Eugene, OR|pages=134–157|chapter= “Made in the USA”: A Chinese Perspective on US Theological Education in Light of the Chinese Context}}</ref> He also served on the graduate school faculty of Northwestern University, Evanston (1997–2008) for the joint Garrett-Northwestern PhD program.


'''Research and cross-cultural hermeneutics'''
'''Research and cross-cultural hermeneutics'''


Inducted as elected member of ''Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas'' (SNTS: Society of New Testament Studies) in 1999, Yeo is also a full member of the Society of Biblical Literature (since 1987) and the Chicago Society of Biblical Research (since 1996). He has served numerous societies, journals, and institutions as an academic committee member, research fellow, and advisory consultant.
Inducted as an elected member of ''Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas'' (SNTS: Society of New Testament Studies) in 1999, Yeo is also a full member of the Society of Biblical Literature (since 1987) and the Chicago Society of Biblical Research (since 1996). He has served numerous societies, journals, and institutions as an academic committee member, research fellow, and advisory consultant.


Yeo is best known for his work advocating for cross-cultural biblical hermeneutics, as found in his dissertation, later published as ''Rhetorical Interaction in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10: A Formal Analysis with Implications for a Cross-Cultural, Chinese Hermeneutic''<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SdPaIlT1_PoC|title=Rhetorical Interaction in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10: A Formal Analysis With Preliminary Suggestions for a Chinese, Cross-Cultural Hermeneutic|last=Yeo|first=K. K.|publisher=Brill|year=1995|isbn=9004101152|location=Leiden}}</ref> and his second English book, ''What Has Jerusalem to Do with Beijing: Biblical Interpretation from a Chinese Perspective.''<ref name="Yeo 1998">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TrTYAAAAMAAJ|title=What Has Jerusalem to Do with Beijing: Biblical Interpretation from a Chinese Perspective |last=Yeo|first=K. K.|publisher=Trinity Press International|year=1998|isbn=9781563382291|location=Harrisburg, PA}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.presby.edu/academics/dr-k-k-yeo-brought-confucius-and-paul-the-apostle-to-a-conversation-at-pc/|title=Dr. K. K. Yeo Brought Confucius and Paul the Apostle to a Conversation at PC|date=16 October 2015|website=Presbyterian College|access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref> His approach includes the comparison and contrast of biblical and Chinese classical texts, in order to look for similar and unique themes or events as points of mutual critical engagement—"reading the Bible culturally and reading classical cultural texts biblically.”<ref name="Kim2008">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hXh3iq94MWIC|title=Christian Theology in Asia|last=Lee|first=Archie C. C.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2008|isbn=9781139472067|editor=Sebastian C. H. Kim|location=Cambridge|pages=192–193|chapter=Cross-textual hermeneutics}}</ref>
Yeo is best known for his work advocating for cross-cultural biblical hermeneutics, as found in his dissertation, later published as ''Rhetorical Interaction in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10: A Formal Analysis with Implications for a Cross-Cultural, Chinese Hermeneutic''<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SdPaIlT1_PoC|title=Rhetorical Interaction in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10: A Formal Analysis With Preliminary Suggestions for a Chinese, Cross-Cultural Hermeneutic|last=Yeo|first=K. K.|publisher=Brill|year=1995|isbn=9004101152|location=Leiden}}</ref> and his second English book, ''What Has Jerusalem to Do with Beijing: Biblical Interpretation from a Chinese Perspective.''<ref name="Yeo 1998">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TrTYAAAAMAAJ|title=What Has Jerusalem to Do with Beijing: Biblical Interpretation from a Chinese Perspective |last=Yeo|first=K. K.|publisher=Trinity Press International|year=1998|isbn=9781563382291|location=Harrisburg, PA}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.presby.edu/academics/dr-k-k-yeo-brought-confucius-and-paul-the-apostle-to-a-conversation-at-pc/|title=Dr. K. K. Yeo Brought Confucius and Paul the Apostle to a Conversation at PC|date=16 October 2015|website=Presbyterian College|access-date=3 January 2018|archive-date=4 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104073501/https://www.presby.edu/academics/dr-k-k-yeo-brought-confucius-and-paul-the-apostle-to-a-conversation-at-pc/|url-status=dead}}</ref> His approach includes the comparison and contrast of biblical and Chinese classical texts, in order to look for similar and unique themes or events as points of mutual critical engagement—"reading the Bible culturally and reading classical cultural texts biblically.”<ref name="Kim2008">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hXh3iq94MWIC|title=Christian Theology in Asia|last=Lee|first=Archie C. C.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2008|isbn=9781139472067|editor=Sebastian C. H. Kim|location=Cambridge|pages=192–193|chapter=Cross-textual hermeneutics}}</ref>


'''Collaboration and majority world theologies'''
'''Collaboration and majority world theologies'''


Early in his career in 1994, Yeo and Philip P. Chia co-founded a Chinese-English peer-reviewed theological journal, ''Jian Dao: A Journal of Bible and Theology'', and its two series: the Jian Dao Dissertation Series; Bible and Hermeneutic series.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abs.edu/en/departments/abs-publications/%E5%BB%BA%E9%81%93%E5%87%BA%E7%89%88%E6%9B%B8%E8%97%89/|title=Jian Dao and Its Series|website=Alliance Bible Seminary|access-date=3 January 2021}}</ref>
Early in his career in 1994, Yeo and Philip P. Chia co-founded a Chinese-English peer-reviewed theological journal, ''Jian Dao: A Journal of Bible and Theology'', and its two series: the Jian Dao Dissertation Series; Bible and Hermeneutic series.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abs.edu/en/departments/abs-publications/%E5%BB%BA%E9%81%93%E5%87%BA%E7%89%88%E6%9B%B8%E8%97%89/|title=Jian Dao and Its Series|website=Alliance Bible Seminary|access-date=3 January 2021}}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

While working with university colleagues in China, Yeo has co-edited with Liang Hui at [[Zhejiang University]] (Hangzhou) a 21-volume series called “The Biblical Library 圣经图书馆,” published by East China Normal University Press (2009–2018)—besides co-supervising PhD dissertations at Zhejiang University. Yeo served as the executive editor, with the series editor Zhao Dunhua of Peking University, of a 15-volume series called the “Peking University Christian Cultures Series 北京大学基督文化研究系列” (2005–2018).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-the-bible-in-china-9780190909796?q=yeo&lang=en&cc=us#/|title=The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in China|last=Yang|first=Huilin|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2021|isbn=9780190909796|editor=K. K. Yeo|location=New York, NY|pages=404–407|chapter=Study of the Bible in Chinese Academia}}</ref>


Along with Gene L. Green and Stephen T. Pardue, Yeo is also a series editor of the six-volume "Majority World Theology" series, published by [[Langham Partnership|Langham Publishing]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://langhamliterature.org/books?series_id=4188|title=Series: Majority World Theology|website=Langham Publishing|access-date=14 July 2020}}</ref> and republished in omnibus edition through [[InterVarsity Press|IVP Academic]], which offers examples of six theological loci ([[Christology]], [[Trinity]], [[pneumatology]], [[ecclesiology]], [[soteriology]], and [[eschatology]]) explored from a variety of [[World Christianity|global perspectives]].
Along with Gene L. Green and Stephen T. Pardue, Yeo is also a series editor of the six-volume "Majority World Theology" series, published by [[Langham Partnership|Langham Publishing]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://langhamliterature.org/books?series_id=4188|title=Series: Majority World Theology|website=Langham Publishing|access-date=14 July 2020}}</ref> and republished in omnibus edition through [[InterVarsity Press|IVP Academic]], which offers examples of six theological loci ([[Christology]], [[Trinity]], [[pneumatology]], [[ecclesiology]], [[soteriology]], and [[eschatology]]) explored from a variety of [[World Christianity|global perspectives]].
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Yeo also co-edits with Melanie Baffes the "Contrapuntal Readings of the Bible in World Christianity" series, published by [[Pickwick Publications]], which celebrates biblical interpretations that engage in contextual theology while taking part in the polyphonic conversation that is global Christianity.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Contrapuntal Readings of the Bible in World Christianity |url=https://wipfandstock.com/search-results/?series=contrapuntal-readings-of-the-bible-in-world-christianity/|date=2018–2021|publisher=Cascade Books|editor-last1=Yeo|editor-first1=K. K. |location=Eugene, OR |editor-last2=Baffes |editor-first2=Melanie}}</ref>
Yeo also co-edits with Melanie Baffes the "Contrapuntal Readings of the Bible in World Christianity" series, published by [[Pickwick Publications]], which celebrates biblical interpretations that engage in contextual theology while taking part in the polyphonic conversation that is global Christianity.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Contrapuntal Readings of the Bible in World Christianity |url=https://wipfandstock.com/search-results/?series=contrapuntal-readings-of-the-bible-in-world-christianity/|date=2018–2021|publisher=Cascade Books|editor-last1=Yeo|editor-first1=K. K. |location=Eugene, OR |editor-last2=Baffes |editor-first2=Melanie}}</ref>


Yeo has edited ''The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in China'' (900+ pages and 43 images), as he collaborated with 48 authors writing 47 chapters on the translation, expression, interpretation, and reception of the Bible in China.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-the-bible-in-china-9780190909796?q=yeo&lang=en&cc=us#/|title=The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in China |last=Yeo|first=K. K. edited|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2021|isbn= 9780190909796|location=New York, NY}}</ref>
Seven volumes in the series have been published:

(1) ''Text and Context: Vernacular Approaches to the Bible in Global Christianity'', edited by Melanie Baffes<ref>{{cite book|url= https://wipfandstock.com/9781532643408/text-and-context/|title=Text and Context: Vernacular Approaches to the Bible in Global Christianity|last=Baffes|first=Melanie |publisher=Pickwick|year=2018|isbn=9781532643408|location=Eugene, OR}}</ref>

(2) ''What Has Jerusalem to Do with Beijing? Biblical Interpretation from a Chinese Perspective'', second edition, by K. K. Yeo<ref name="Yeo 2018">{{cite book|url=https://wipfandstock.com/9781532643286/what-has-jerusalem-to-do-with-beijing/|title=What Has Jerusalem to Do with Beijing? Biblical Interpretation from a Chinese Perspective |last=Yeo|first=K. K. |publisher=Pickwick|year=2018|isbn=9781532643286|location=Eugene, OR}}</ref>

(3) ''Chinese Biblical Anthropology: Persons and Ideas in the Old Testament and in Modern Chinese Literature'', by Cao Jian<ref name="Cao 2019">{{cite book|url=https://wipfandstock.com/9781532655661/chinese-biblical-anthropology/|title=Chinese Biblical Anthropology: Persons and Ideas in the Old Testament and in Modern Chinese Literature|last=Cao|first=Jian|publisher=Pickwick|year=2019|isbn=9781532655661|location=Eugene, OR}}</ref>

(4) ''The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity'', two-volume set, edited by Daniel Patte<ref name="Patte2019">
{{cite book|url=https://wipfandstock.com/9781532689437/the-cambridge-dictionary-of-christianity-two-volume-set/|title= The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity, two-volume set |last=Patte|first=Daniel edited|publisher=Pickwick|year=2019|isbn=9781532689437|location=Eugene, OR}}</ref>

(5) ''Cross-Textual Reading of Ecclesiastes with the Analects: In Search of Political Wisdom in a Disordered World'', by Elaine Goh<ref name="Goh 2019">{{cite book|url= https://wipfandstock.com/9781532681479/cross-textual-reading-of-ecclesiastes-with-the-analects/|title= Cross-Textual Reading of Ecclesiastes with the Analects: In Search of Political Wisdom in a Disordered World|last=Goh|first=Elaine Wei-Fun|publisher=Pickwick|year=2019|isbn=9781532681479|location=Eugene, OR}}</ref>

(6) ''An Ethic of Hospitality: The Pilgrim Motif in Hebrews and the Refugee Problem in Kenya'', by Emily Choge<ref name="Choge 2020">{{cite book|url=https://wipfandstock.com/9781532699344/an-ethic-of-hospitality/|title= An Ethic of Hospitality: The Pilgrim Motif in Hebrews and the Refugee Problem in Kenya|last=Choge|first=Emily|publisher=Pickwick|year=2020|isbn=9781532699344|location=Eugene, OR}}</ref>

(7) ''The Diffused Story of Footwashing in John 13: A Textual Study of Bible Reception in Late Imperial China'', by Yanrong Chen.<ref name="Chen 2021">{{cite book|url= https://wipfandstock.com/9781532653117/the-diffused-story-of-the-footwashing-in-john-13/|title=The Diffused Story of Footwashing in John 13: A Textual Study of Bible Reception in Late Imperial China |last=Chen|first=Yanrong|publisher=Pickwick|year=2021|isbn=9781532653117|location=Eugene, OR}}</ref>

Yeo has edited ''The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in China'' (900+ pages and 43 images), as he collaborated with 48 authors writing 47 chapters on the translation, expression, interpretation, and reception of the Bible in China.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-the-bible-in-china-9780190909796?q=yeo&lang=en&cc=us#/|title=The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in China |last=Yeo|first=K. K. edited|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2021|isbn= 9780190909796|location=New York, NY}}</ref> In the introduction chapter, “Creative Transformation, the Bible, and China,” he writes: “The Handbook displays the significant role of the Bible over thirteen centuries of Chinese history and Chinese cultures to a degree that cannot be erased. The Handbook might well provoke a twenty-first-century question: How will the ways that the world has invested the Bible in China come to be reciprocated through the export of a culturally enlivened Chinese Bible to invest in creative transformations across the world beyond the Middle Kingdom?”<ref>{{cite book|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-the-bible-in-china-9780190909796?q=yeo&lang=en&cc=us#/|title=The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in China|last=Yeo|first=K. K.|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2021|isbn=9780190909796|editor=K. K. Yeo|location=New York, NY|pages=15|chapter=Creative Transformation, the Bible, and China}}</ref>


'''Publishing and world Christianity'''
'''Publishing and world Christianity'''


Yeo’s recent works have a special emphasis on the tasks of building nations, transforming local communities, fulfilling the ideals of culture, saving individuals from chaos, meaninglessness, injustice, and moving them toward shalom and beauty. To that end he has launched two new e-publications:
Yeo’s recent works have a special emphasis on the tasks of building nations, transforming local communities, fulfilling the ideals of culture, saving individuals from chaos, meaninglessness, injustice, and moving them toward shalom and beauty.

(1) Since 2018 Yeo has co-edited (with Jili Sun of Northwestern University) an online series in Chinese called ''ars et canonica'' 艺术与经典, an imprint of BeholdCreation on Smashwords.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/beholdcreation/|title=Ars et Canonica |publisher=BeholdCreation on Smashwords|editor-last1=Yeo|editor-first1=K. K.|location=艺术与经典. Online |editor-last2=Sun|editor-first2=Jili}}</ref> Nine titles have been published thus far to promote Christian aesthetics.

(2) Yeo collaborates with Justin T. T. Tan (director of the Centre for the Study of Chinese Christianity and senior lecturer at Melbourne School of Theology, Australia), an online series in Chinese called the ''Shenzhou Biblical Commentary'' 神州圣经释义,<ref name="Yeo Tan 2021">{{cite book|url= https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/beholdcreation/|title=Shenzhou Biblical Commentary |publisher=Smashwords|editor-last1=Yeo|editor-first1=K. K.|location=神州圣经释义. Online |editor-last2=Tan|editor-first2=Justin}}</ref> as they encourage emerging Chinese scholars to write Bible commentaries.


Since 2020 Yeo serves as the Vice-president of Global Faculty Initiative (GFI) <ref>{{Cite web|url= https://globalfacultyinitiative.net/mission|title=Global Faculty Initiative|website=Global Faculty Initiative|access-date=3 January 2021}}</ref> ([[Terence C. Halliday]] serves as the President and, together with [[Donald Hay]], co-convenors) “to promote the integration of Christian faith and academic disciplines by bringing theologians into conversation with scholars across the spectrum of faculties in research universities worldwide.”
Since 2020 Yeo serves as the Vice-president of Global Faculty Initiative (GFI) <ref>{{Cite web|url= https://globalfacultyinitiative.net/mission|title=Global Faculty Initiative|website=Global Faculty Initiative|access-date=3 January 2021}}</ref> ([[Terence C. Halliday]] serves as the President and, together with [[Donald Hay]], co-convenors) “to promote the integration of Christian faith and academic disciplines by bringing theologians into conversation with scholars across the spectrum of faculties in research universities worldwide.”

== Honors ==
Yeo was awarded the John Wesley Fellowship (1991–1993) and the Dempster Fellowship (1990–1992) for his doctoral research in classical Greco-Roman literature and New Testament studies, and the work as later published as ''Rhetorical Interaction in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10'' (E. J. Brill, 1995).

Yeo was also awarded research grants from the following groups: (1) AAR Small Grant on “Eschatology of Three-Self Churches and Utopianism of Cultural Revolution” (1998); (2) Lilly Faculty Fellowship by the Association of Theological Schools) on “Pauline Eschatology and Millenarian Hope: Interaction between Three-Self Churches and Maoist Utopianism, and its Implications to the Church Today Facing the End and Beginning of the Millennia” (1999–2000); (3) Society of Biblical Literature Research Grant and Technology Grant Award on “Pauline Eschatology and Millenarian Hope” (1999); (4) the Henry Luce III Fellows in Theology on “Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Freedom: A Confucianist-Pauline Hermeneutic of Pistis (in Galatians) and Chung-shu 忠恕 (in Analects)” (2003–2004); (5) Summer Stipend Program, Louisville Institute on project: “The Wisdom of James and Zhuangzi: Toward a Chinese-American Christian Spirituality and Theology” (2008).

Yeo was inducted into several academic honors societies, including the Catholic Biblical Association (1995), ''Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas'' (1999), and Delta Epsilon Chi honor society of The Association for Biblical Higher Education (2007). With Wang Xiaochao, he was appointed honorably as the co-director of the Center for Classical Greco-Roman Philosophy and Religious Studies, Institute for Ethics and Religious Studies (IERS), Tsinghua University, Beijing (2015–2020), and now the distinguished classical studies expert and professor 国际人材引智计划下的特聘的古典家专家、教授under the “School-level 111 Base” International Talent Introduction Program at Beijing Minzu University (2018–2023).


== References ==
== References ==

Latest revision as of 01:12, 14 May 2024

K. K. Yeo
Born1960 (age 63–64)
Borneo Malaysia
OccupationNew Testament scholar
Known forCross-cultural hermeneutics
Academic background
Alma materNorthwestern University, Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary, St. Paul Bible College
Academic work
InstitutionsGarrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary, Alliance Bible Seminary
K. K. Yeo
Traditional Chinese楊克勤
Simplified Chinese杨克勤
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYang Keqin

K. K. Yeo or YEO Khiok-Khng (simplified Chinese: 杨克勤; traditional Chinese: 楊克勤; pinyin: Yang Keqin, born 1960), is a Malaysian-born Chinese American scholar of the New Testament. He is known for his work in cross-cultural hermeneutics and global theologies.

Biography

[edit]

An ethnic Chinese, Yeo was born and raised in a small coastal village called Kampong Teriso in Borneo Sarawak (three years before Sarawak joined the federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963). He identifies his background as “a diasporic Chinese, a hybrid Chinese Christian identity”[1] in multi-cultural Malaysia that shapes his interests in the critical engagement between the Bible and cultures.[2]

Yeo completed a BA in Biblical and Theological Studies from St. Paul Bible College in 1987, an MDiv from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in 1990, and a PhD in New Testament, Classical and Rhetorical Studies at Northwestern University under Robert L. Jewett (2013–2020), [3] Reginald E. Allen (1931–2007),[4] and Michael Leff (1941–2010) in 1992.[5][6]

Career: Theologian, educator, academic

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Teaching and mentoring

Yeo was a professor of New Testament at Alliance Bible Seminary in Hong Kong from 1992 to 1996,[7] before becoming Harry R. Kendall Professor of New Testament at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, where he has taught since July 1996.[8] He also served on the graduate school faculty of Northwestern University, Evanston (1997–2008) for the joint Garrett-Northwestern PhD program.

Research and cross-cultural hermeneutics

Inducted as an elected member of Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (SNTS: Society of New Testament Studies) in 1999, Yeo is also a full member of the Society of Biblical Literature (since 1987) and the Chicago Society of Biblical Research (since 1996). He has served numerous societies, journals, and institutions as an academic committee member, research fellow, and advisory consultant.

Yeo is best known for his work advocating for cross-cultural biblical hermeneutics, as found in his dissertation, later published as Rhetorical Interaction in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10: A Formal Analysis with Implications for a Cross-Cultural, Chinese Hermeneutic[9] and his second English book, What Has Jerusalem to Do with Beijing: Biblical Interpretation from a Chinese Perspective.[10][11] His approach includes the comparison and contrast of biblical and Chinese classical texts, in order to look for similar and unique themes or events as points of mutual critical engagement—"reading the Bible culturally and reading classical cultural texts biblically.”[12]

Collaboration and majority world theologies

Early in his career in 1994, Yeo and Philip P. Chia co-founded a Chinese-English peer-reviewed theological journal, Jian Dao: A Journal of Bible and Theology, and its two series: the Jian Dao Dissertation Series; Bible and Hermeneutic series.[13]

Along with Gene L. Green and Stephen T. Pardue, Yeo is also a series editor of the six-volume "Majority World Theology" series, published by Langham Publishing,[14] and republished in omnibus edition through IVP Academic, which offers examples of six theological loci (Christology, Trinity, pneumatology, ecclesiology, soteriology, and eschatology) explored from a variety of global perspectives. [15]

Together with Gene L. Green, Yeo co-edits the "Crosscurrents in Majority World and Minority Theology" series published by Cascade Books, which offers theological loci such as land, migration, identity, which are prominent in the majority world but often find no place in North Atlantic discussions.[16]

Yeo also co-edits with Melanie Baffes the "Contrapuntal Readings of the Bible in World Christianity" series, published by Pickwick Publications, which celebrates biblical interpretations that engage in contextual theology while taking part in the polyphonic conversation that is global Christianity.[17]

Yeo has edited The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in China (900+ pages and 43 images), as he collaborated with 48 authors writing 47 chapters on the translation, expression, interpretation, and reception of the Bible in China.[18]

Publishing and world Christianity

Yeo’s recent works have a special emphasis on the tasks of building nations, transforming local communities, fulfilling the ideals of culture, saving individuals from chaos, meaninglessness, injustice, and moving them toward shalom and beauty.

Since 2020 Yeo serves as the Vice-president of Global Faculty Initiative (GFI) [19] (Terence C. Halliday serves as the President and, together with Donald Hay, co-convenors) “to promote the integration of Christian faith and academic disciplines by bringing theologians into conversation with scholars across the spectrum of faculties in research universities worldwide.”

References

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  1. ^ Yeo, K.K. (2008). "Overture". Musing with Confucius and Paul: Toward a Chinese Christian Theology. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books. pp. 3–13. ISBN 9781556354885.
  2. ^ Cosgrove, Charles H.; Weiss, Herold; Yeo, K. K., eds. (2005). "Introduction". Cross-Cultural Paul: Journeys to Others, Journeys to Ourselves. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. pp. 16–20. ISBN 9780802828439.
  3. ^ "Robert L. Jewett". Heidelberg University. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Reginald E. Allen". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  5. ^ "K. K. Yeo". Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  6. ^ Yeo, K. K. (楊克勤) (2002). Classical Rhetoric: Greco-Roman Culture and Biblical Hermeneutic [Dedicated to Michael Leff]. [in Chinese] 古修辭學：希羅文化與聖經詮釋. Hong Kong: Logos and Pneuma 道風書社. ISBN 9789628322442.
  7. ^ Ho, Craig Y. S. (July 2004). "Biblical Scholarship in Hong Kong". SBL Forum. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  8. ^ "K. K. Yeo". Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  9. ^ Yeo, K. K. (1995). Rhetorical Interaction in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10: A Formal Analysis With Preliminary Suggestions for a Chinese, Cross-Cultural Hermeneutic. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9004101152.
  10. ^ Yeo, K. K. (1998). What Has Jerusalem to Do with Beijing: Biblical Interpretation from a Chinese Perspective. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International. ISBN 9781563382291.
  11. ^ "Dr. K. K. Yeo Brought Confucius and Paul the Apostle to a Conversation at PC". Presbyterian College. 16 October 2015. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  12. ^ Lee, Archie C. C. (2008). "Cross-textual hermeneutics". In Sebastian C. H. Kim (ed.). Christian Theology in Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 192–193. ISBN 9781139472067.
  13. ^ "Jian Dao and Its Series". Alliance Bible Seminary. Retrieved 3 January 2021.[permanent dead link‍]
  14. ^ "Series: Majority World Theology". Langham Publishing. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  15. ^ Green, Gene; Pardue, Steve; Yeo, K. K., eds. (2020). Majority World Theology: Christian Doctrine in Global Context. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic. ISBN 9780830831807.
  16. ^ Yeo, K. K.; Green, Gene, eds. (2021). "Conclusion". Theologies of Land: Contested Land, Spatial Justice, and Identity. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books. pp. 132–135. ISBN 9781725265066.
  17. ^ Yeo, K. K.; Baffes, Melanie, eds. (2018–2021). "Contrapuntal Readings of the Bible in World Christianity". Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.
  18. ^ Yeo, K. K. edited (2021). The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in China. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190909796. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  19. ^ "Global Faculty Initiative". Global Faculty Initiative. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
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