The centre of gravity of contemporary Christianity has shifted to the southern hemisphere. However, except in South America, almost all Christians in the southern hemisphere are minorities in their home countries. In Asia they live amongst the Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Shamanist or Taoist majorities, which are increasingly affecting the Christian theology that is done there. The same is happening in Africa, in the relation between African Christians and traditional African religions. A non-Western theology with its own images and concepts is coming into being. Translated from the original Dutch edition published in 2006, The Non-Western Jesus uses the concept double transformation as a guideline in the description of the genesis of this theology. For the author, this term indicates that concepts are applied to Jesus that in Western opinion add new dimensions to Jesus, while the concepts themselves are also changed through their application to Jesus. Change thus occurs on both sides.

As a result, Jesus is undergoing a transformation that is both unprecedented and exciting.