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Coconut theology was an attempt by the Methodism minister Sione 'Amanaki Havea to create a contextual theology that spoke to the specific experience and context of Pacific Island or Oceania culture. Havea used the coconut to point to certain Theology themes, such as the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and God's action in the world. Though it has not been widely embraced by Oceanic churches, it marks the first significant attempt towards a Pacific theology.
The term coconut theology was first coined by Sione 'Amanaki Havea in 1985 in a paper he gave at a theological consultation in Suva, Fiji. Havea argued that when missionaries brought Christianity to the Pacific in the 19th century, they failed to remove it from Western culture and assumptions. It was brought in a "Western theological pot" and needed to be nurtured in "local soil". This became known as the "pot-plant transportation model" of contextualization. He proposed that Jesus chose symbols from his own Hebrew-Palestinian culture not because of their intrinsic value but because they were ubiquitous. However, many of these symbols, such as sheep, bread, ploughs, and olives, never existed in the Pacific islands before contact with the West. Therefore, Havea suggests, if Jesus had been born in the Pacific context, he would have used symbols that were more indicative of life there, such as , taro, and kava. He claimed that Jesus would have said "I am the coconut of life" rather than "I am the bread of life."
Another accusation by Palu is that this concept of the Pacific Christ does not focus enough on the Christian cross. While the symbol of death is present in the coconut, there is not the same notion of suffering and salvation as there is in the bible. The Pacific Christ presented focuses primarily on Christ's role as a good moral teacher.
There is also suggestion from Randall Prior that the symbol of the coconut is not strong enough to be the total embodiment of a Pacific theology. He seems sceptical that it can hold up to global scrutiny against other theologies, like liberation theology, which was born out of a particular experience and struggle. The coconut alone cannot fully speak to the larger political and economic context of Oceania.
There are also larger theological implications to using the coconut instead of bread and wine for the Eucharist, particularly for those holding to a higher understand of the sacraments.
Bishop Leslie Boseto of the United Church in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands took up the cause of Pacific theology by saying that the Gospel may be universal, but it must be translated into the local context. He saw a key characteristic of Pacific culture as being its strong sense of community and interdependence.
Keiti Ann Kanongata'a focuses on the woman's experience and claims that the Gospel is a call of liberation from oppressive social structures. She likens the birthing process and the hope for new life that accompanies it to God's mercy.
Seforosa Carroll also notes that one of the challenges facing Pacific Islanders is increasing migration of peoples which in turn leads to a feeling of displacement. As a result, any Pacific theology must address the loss of belonging and home.
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