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A Critical Analysis of the Relationship Between Salvation and Social Justice in the Minjung Theology Ilmok Kim Andrews University

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A Critical Analysis of the Relationship Between Salvation and Social Justice in the Minjung Theology Ilmok Kim Andrews University Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertations Graduate Research 2008 A Critical Analysis of the Relationship Between Salvation and Social Justice in the Minjung Theology Ilmok Kim Andrews University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations Part of the Christianity Commons, Korean Studies Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, and the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Kim, Ilmok, "A Critical Analysis of the Relationship Between Salvation and Social Justice in the Minjung Theology" (2008). Dissertations. Paper 75. This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the Andrews University Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses. Please honor the copyright of this document by not duplicating or distributing additional copies in any form without the author’s express written permission. Thanks for your cooperation. Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SALVATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN MINJUNG THEOLOGY A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Ilmok Kim January 2008 UMI Number: 3304592 Copyright 2008 by Kim, Ilmok All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 3304592 Copyright 2008 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 E. Eisenhower Parkway PC Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 I Copyright by Ilmok Kim 2008 All Right Reserved A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SALVATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN MINJUNG THEOLOGY A Dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy by Ilmok Kim APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: Faculty Adviser, Director, RnD./Th.D. Programs J. H. Denis Fortin Roy E. Gane Professor of Theology J^noiL, H- Miroslav M. Kis Dean, SDA Theological Seminary Professor of Ethics J. H. Denis Fortin P. Richard Choi Associate Professor of New Testament John T. Baldwin Professor of Theology ^ar\u .g^u ilQoS Jae Won Lee D^è Approved^ Assistant Professor of New Testament McCormick Theological Seminary ABSTRACT A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SALVATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN MINJUNG THEOLOGY by Ilmok Kim Adviser: Denis Fortin ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SALVATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN MINJUNG THEOLOGY Name of researcher: Ilmok Kim Name and degree of faculty adviser: Denis Fortin, Ph.D. Date of completed: January 2008 The intent of this study is to investigate the relationship between salvation and social justice in minjung theology. Minjung theology grew out of social awareness in the 1970s that created a desire to fight oppression and misery in Korea. The introductory chapter defines the problem, which is to critically evalutate minjung theology’s attempts to reconstruct the traditional Korean Christian notions of salvation. This study is primarily limited to the works of two representative minjung theologians: Nam Dong Suh and Byung Mu Ahn. Chapter 2 traces the historical context of Korea from which minjung theology emerged. The chapter particularly notes the religious traditions and the socio-political milieu of Korea that shaped the theology. Deriving from the theologians’ socio-political experiences and their Christian faith in the 1970s, minjung theology is a reflection of the past minjung movements in Korean history. Chapter 3 investigates the three foundations of minjung theology: the minjung's perspective on life, the han of the minjung, and the hermeneutics of liberation praxis. These ideas have made minjung theology attractive in a world where the evils of oppression, exploitation, injustice, and alienation are widespread. Chapter 4 critiques minjung theology’s hermeneutics and soteriology from the Christian evangelical perspective. In its particular hermeneutical approach. Scripture plays a secondary role in minjung theology. In their reaction against too exclusive an emphasis on the otherworldly in traditional theology, minjung theologians radically reformulate the Christian doctrine of salvation from the perspective of the minjung. They equate salvation with the struggle for socio-political liberation of the minjung. Minjung theology, however, fails to recognize that the source of social evils lies in the human heart and, thus, to grasp the “wholeness” of salvation. Salvation in the biblical witness is all-embracing and comprehensive—individual and social, eschatological and historical, and spiritual and temporal. The exclusive, one-sided emphasis minjung theology places on this world is a clear departure from the biblical understanding of salvation. In fact, the theology falls into the same trap as traditional theology in its one-sided understanding of sin and salvation. Such unbalanced views of sin and salvation in both minjung and traditional theology need to be brought in line with the understanding of sin and salvation in Scripture. The final chapter concludes by affirming the validity of minjung theology’s concern for the plight of the minjung and by reiterating Korean theology’s urgent need to develop a wholistic biblical soteriology capable of integrating personal salvation and Christian social responsibility into harmonious belief and praxis. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................. v Chapter I. IN TR O D U C TIO N ...................................................................................................... 1 Background of the Problem ................................................................................ 1 Statement of the Problem................................................................................... 11 Aim and Justification of the Study .................................................................... 12 Methodology............................................................................................................ 13 Limitations............................................................................................................... 15 II. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF MINJUNG THEOLOGY 16 Religious Traditions............................................................................................. 17 S ham anism ......................................................................................................... 19 B uddhism ............................................................................................................ 26 Confucianism ...................................................................................................... 31 T a o is m............................................................................................................... 34 The D o nghak ...................................................................................................... 36 Christianity ......................................................................................................... 42 Emergence of Minjung Theology....................................................................... 51 Social Milieu in Korea during the 1970s..................................................... 51 Reaction to Traditional Protestant Christianity........................................ 55 Sum m ary ................................................................................................................... 60 III. THE ESSENCE OF MINJUNG THEOLOGY ..................................................... 62 A Theology of the M injung................................................................................. 63 Minjung as Understood within Minjung Theology .................................. 63 Biblical References for Minjung ................................................................. 66 Hebrews as the Minjung .............................................................................. 67 Ochlos as the Minjung ................................................................................. 71 Anawim or Ptochoi as the M injung ........................................................ 75 The Concept of Minjung as Formative for Theology............................... 78 A Theology of H an................................................................................................ 80 The Reality of Han............................................................................................. 81 The Root Causes of H a n................................................................................. 88 Colonialism...................................................................................................
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