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Exploring a Contextual Theology of Missio Dei for the Missiological Reconciliation of the Korean Protestant Church

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Exploring a Contextual Theology of Missio Dei for the Missiological Reconciliation of the Korean Protestant Church Abstract of TOWARD A THEOLOGY OF PAREO DEI : EXPLORING A CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY OF MISSIO DEI FOR THE MISSIOLOGICAL RECONCILIATION OF THE KOREAN PROTESTANT CHURCH Musung Jung This study explores a contextual theology of missio Dei through filial piety that is termed pareo Dei , in Latin, ‘the obeying of God.’ The Korean Protestant church is missiologically polarized between progressives and conservatives in their reductionist approaches to God’s salvation and mission, which is decidedly related to the missio Dei concept that the former exclusively utilized in its minjung theological movement and the latter antagonistically labeled missional radicalism in its heaven-bound Great Commission mentality. With attention to the holistic vision of the original and biblical missio Dei , the researcher introduces a holistic missio Dei to the whole Korean Protestant church via theological contextualization, so that its age-old missiological polarity might be overcome. In the making of p areo Dei , Andrew Walls’ pilgrim and indigenous principle serves as the overarching conceptual framework, Stephen Bevans’ synthetic model as a primary typological framework, and Robert Schreiter’s nine-process map as a concrete navigational framework. The dissertation is comprised of six chapters with interdisciplinary approaches. Chapter 1 is a preliminary study of the contextual theological project, stating the research background, problem, and questions as well as its thesis and methodology. Historical studies of missio Dei are the focus of the next two chapters: its diachronic developments in the worldwide Protestant movements in chapter 2 and in the Korean Protestant church in chapter 3. This comparative research shows that the dissemination of a holistic missio Dei to the whole Korean Protestant church is a key to its missiological reconciliation and cooperation as in the case of the worldwide Protestant movements. What follows are theological and missiological studies. Chapter 4 is a theological examination of ‘authentic’ contextualization with specific reference to its meaning, models, and methods, while chapter 5 is a missiological investigation of pareo Dei in the hermeneutical linkages between missio Dei and filial piety. The dissertation concludes with the integrative summary and promising research recommendations in chapter 6. As a result of this self-theological exploration, pareo Dei is proposed as the supreme example of both missio Dei and filial piety. In pareo Dei , Jesus is the filial Son par excellence who inaugurates the ‘the-anthropocosmic’ Datong society in relational shalom. As the Incarnation of missio Dei , Jesus models the fivefold filial mission of worship, fellowship, discipleship, evangelism, and social action in absolute submission to his Father’s redemptive will and purpose. This pareo Dei mindset can lead to the Korean Protestant church’s missiological reconciliation, since the evangelistic Jesus is inseparable from the prophetic Jesus in his filial commitment to God’s mission to the world. Furthermore, pareo Dei illuminates God’s mission to the church, revealing the missional facility of its inner life DISSERTATION APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation, entitled TOWARD A THEOLOGY OF PAREO DEI : EXPLORING A CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY OF MISSIO DEI FOR THE MISSIOLOGICAL RECONCILIATION OF THE KOREAN PROTESTANT CHURCH Written by Musung Jung and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy has been read and approved by the undersigned members of the Faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary _______________________________ Dr. Lalsangkima Pachuau, Mentor _______________________________ Dr. Terry C. Muck, Reader TOWARD A THEOLOGY OF PAREO DEI : EXPLORING A CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY OF MISSIO DEI FOR THE MISSIOLOGICAL RECONCILIATION OF THE KOREAN PROTESTANT CHURCH A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary Wilmore, Kentucky In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Committee Dr. Lalsangkima Pachuau, Mentor Dr. Terry C. Muck, Reader By Musung Jung May 2012 Copyright 2012 Musung Jung All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... … iii LIST OF FREQUENTLY-MENTIONED ABBREVIATIONS ....................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. vi CHAPTER 1: THE KOREAN PROTESTANT CHURCH IN MISSIOLOGICAL POLARITY ............................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of the Study .............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................. 5 1.3 Research Questions ...................................................................................................... 8 1.4 Delimitations of the Research .................................................................................... 12 1.5 Definition of Key Terms ............................................................................................ 12 1.6 Methodological Frameworks ..................................................................................... 21 1.6.1 Andrew Walls' Pilgrim and Indigenous Principle ................................................. 22 1.6.2 Stephen Bevans' Synthentic Model ....................................................................... 24 1.6.3 Robert Schreiter's Contextual Theological Map ................................................... 25 1.7 Significance of the Research ...................................................................................... 28 1.8 Dissertation Outline.................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 2: THE DEVELOPMENT OF MISSIO DEI IN THE WORLDWIDE PROTESTANT MOVEMENTS ............................................................ ..30 2.1 The Emergence of Missio Dei in the Ecumenical Movement .................................... 31 2.1.1 Karl Barth .............................................................................................................. 33 2.1.2 The Willingen Conference of the International Missionary Council .................... 36 2.1.3 Georg Vicedom ..................................................................................................... 42 2.2 The Controversy of Missio Dei in the Worldwide Protestant Movements ................ 45 2.2.1 Johannes Hoekendijk ............................................................................................ 46 2.2.2 The Uppsala Assembly of the World Council of Churches .................................. 51 2.2.3 The Ecumenical–Evangelical Missiological Polarity ........................................... 55 2.3 The Convergence of Missio Dei in the Worldwide Protestant Movements ............... 69 2.3.1 The Evangelical Path to a Holistic Missio Dei ...................................................... 71 2.3.2 The Ecumenical Path to a Holistic Missio Dei ...................................................... 79 CHAPTER 3: THE DEVELOPMENT OF MISSIO DEI IN THE KOREAN PROTESTANT CHURCH ....................................................................... 87 3.1 The Origin of the Conservative–Progressive Polarity in the Korean Protestant Church.. 88 3.1.1 The Comity Agreement of Foreign Missions ........................................................ 91 3.1.2 The Japanese Protectorate Invasion ...................................................................... 96 3.1.3 The Shinto Shrine Worship Controversy .............................................................. 98 3.1.4 The Conservative–Liberal Theological Controversy .......................................... 104 3.1.5 The Controversy Surrounding the World Council of Churches .......................... 107 3.2 The Emergence of Missio Dei in the Korean Protestant Church ............................. 111 3.2.1 The Korean Ecumenical Movement .................................................................... 113 3.2.2 The Introduction of Missio Dei to Korea ............................................................ 116 3.2.3 Minjung Theology as a Korean Contextual Theology of a Radical Missio Dei . 121 i 3.3 The Controversy of Missio Dei in the Korean Protestant Church ............................ 126 3.3.1 The Conservative–Progressive Debate on Missio Dei ........................................ 128 3.3.2 The Ongoing Missiological Polarity ................................................................... 132 CHAPTER 4: CONTEXTUALIZATION AS ESSENTIALITY OF MISSIO DEI .... 140 4.1 Christianity in the Pilgrim and Indigenous Principle ............................................... 142 4.1.1 Gosple and Culture: Basic Assumptions ............................................................ 143 4.1.2 Gosple and Culture: Manifold Relations ............................................................ 147 4.1.3 Gosple and Culture: Cross-cultural Communication ......................................... 152 4.2 The Development of the Contextualization Paradigm ............................................. 159 4.2.1 The Ecumenical Case .......................................................................................... 160 4.2.2 The Evangelical Case .........................................................................................
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