Sangtai Shim / The Korean Understanding of 133

❚Special Issue❚ Understanding God in the Asian Context □ Catholic and Thought, Vol. 77, Summer 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.21731/ctat.2016.77.133 ISSN(print) 1225-4924; ISSN(online) 1225-2564

The Korean Understanding of God*

1 Emeritus Prof. Msgr. Sangtai Shim 〔Suwon Catholic University, ; Director of the Korean Christian Thought Institute〕

Ⅰ. Opening Remarks Ⅱ. Pre-Modern Korean Concepts of God Ⅲ. ― The Korean Understanding of God in Ⅳ. The Theological Significance of the Korean Understanding of God Ⅴ. Concluding Remarks

I. Opening Remarks

I am grateful to the College of Theology, Catholic University of Korea, and the organisers of this symposium on the Asian Understanding of God for the invitation to prepare and present this paper. As I begin I wish to take a brief moment to express some personal observations and the basic directions of my presentation.

*1This research paper is commissioned, supported, and originally published by the Founda- tion of Theology and Thought, 2016. This paper was translated from the original Korean by Patrick McMullan, SSC.

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1. In early 1976, forty years ago, I began my professional career as a public theologian and professor. In those days, unlike today, there were few qualified scholars which meant from the beginning of my appoint- ment I had to lecture in, amongst other theological disciplines, Concep- tions of God and the Trinity, Soteriology, Mariology and Eschatology. However, and despite moving in 1990 to the newly established Catholic University in Suwon, I have consistently taught the Conceptions of God and the Trinity tract. Moreover, for forty years I have dedicated myself to teaching believers about the topic of “Who is God?” In both my immedi- ate and reflected experience I have come to deeply appreciate how “the more I know about God, the less I really know”. I had planned, since about the turn of the Millennium, to make up for this paucity of knowledge by writing a series of books on Dogmatic the- ology starting with concepts of God and the Trinity. Unfortunately, I am now nearing the age of eighty and feeling quite dissatisfied academically because I have yet to fulfil my long cherished plan. It is, therefore, with mixed feelings that I have accepted this invitation to present my paper on “The Korean Understanding of God”. Some of the roots of this presentation include the work of the theolo- gian, Gotthold Hasenhuettl, whose writings on God and the Trinity I have translated.1 I also draw on many articles that I have written over the years. Of particular importance here is my own passionate advocacy for the examining of the internal state of the Church during its remarkable exter- nal expansion during the 1970s and 1980s. In this respect, since the 1980s I have published many articles on the Theology of Inculturation. Further- more, in 1987, I took responsibility for the Pastoral Research Institute of Korea. Established under the auspices of the Catholic Bishops Conference

1 Cf. G. Hasenhuettl, Einführung in die Gotteslehre, Darmstadt (1980).

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of Korea (CBCK), our inaugural publication was entitled “Prospects for Inculturation in the of Korea”. In the summer of that same year the Institute established an “Inculturation Research Unit” which, up until October 2002, has published a total of 58 issues of the Journal, Pastoral. This venture, through the lens of Inculturation, was an attempt to put a professional and academic focus on a variety of topics: including , , catechesis, mission, concepts of God, the nature of Christian community, concepts of the human and community. I have personally authored many of those articles. Two of my articles, in particular, would seem to be pertinent to the topic of this present symposium and especially my presentation. The first, “Prospects and Problems for Inculturating Images of God”, is an article which was part of a 1997 collection entitled, Inculturating Images of God. The second, “Korean Concepts of God”, is to be found in an edited collection entitled “The Meeting of Eastern and Western Thought” which was published on the occasion of Rev. Dr. Yu Bong-jun’s sixtieth birthday in 1991. Of these two papers, the latter remains a very good summary of the genesis of ideas which continue to endure and find expression amongst today. The former paper, on the other hand, is a synthesis of the salient points made in a series of thirteen papers sponsored by the Sub- committee for Inculturation and published under the title of “Researching the Inculturation of Concepts of God” (April 1991 until July 1993). This body of research was critiqued and reviewed by both theologians and academics in related disciplines. In terms of this symposium as a result, and given the rich body of research I have already proffered, it really has not been possible for me to produce a new thesis on the Korean understanding of God. Nevertheless,

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this presentation is not simply a summation of past research. Rather, I pro- pose to explicitly re-evaluate our conceptions of God in light of the exigencies and dynamic changes of both the 21st century and the historical context of the Asian Churches ― and the Korean Church in particular ― within the Universal Church. Such a task will be, I believe, more satis- fying.

2. One of my starting points for this present manuscript is the exi- gencies of contemporary change which are, at the same time, not only a fundamental concern for theology but also revealing of the edges of the Korean conception of God: including, in particular, the heavy emphasis on the fatherly aspect of God to the detriment, if not exclusion, of the mater- nal dimension. Thus, my first order of business is to indicate briefly some of the enduring historical and cultural characteristics of the local concept- tualization of God. Following this review, I turn to an examination of aspects of the 21st Century conceptions of God in both Asia and Korea. At the local level, the genesis of these concepts are, I argue, to be found in the New Religious Movements of the 19th Century and, particularly, in the influence of the of Cheondogyo or Cheondoism (天道教: 천도교: literally, “Religion of the Heavenly Way”).

II. Pre-Modern Korean Concepts of God

It is my contention that the concept of God held by Koreans prior to the 19th Century embraces, in distinction to the Semitic (Juda- ism, , and ), not only a transcendent, paternal God but also a maternal God who was immanent within all things.

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1. Ancient Korean Concepts of God

Ancient civilisation on the Korean Peninsula was agricultural and nat- urally receptive to transcendent and cosmological order. Subject to the struggles of survival and fear of extinction, people were open to the idea of Haneul [하늘/천 (天: Cheon): the heavens, sky], a power greater than their own skill and effort. Haneul, for the ancients, is not simply a reference to the space known as the sky or heavens but is a designation connoting awe and reverence, and thus it was called respectfully Haneul- Nim as a ‘person’. Notably, the “immanent reality” of this land, and its embrace of Haneul, gives way to a “transcendent immanence”: namely, this land has not only provided a suitable location for an agricultural civilization to flourish over the eons but, even more so, this civilization has been permeated with the presence of the Spirit of the one, transcen- dent God. There is, because the Spirit infuses the Cosmos, nowhere where God is not.2 There dwells, I contend, within the archetypal imagery for God em- braced by ancient Koreans both father and mother imagery. The myth- ology of (단군신화: 檀君神話) supports this contention: a view that is also consistent with a large body of research from academics across the board. Dangun, along with the Jumong (주몽: 朱夢) and Hyeokkose (혁거세: 赫居世) legends, are collectively classified as the foundational myths of the Korean Nation. These ancient archetypal stories are descent-

2 My opinion aligns with Karl Rahner and his theological work on the universality of salvation and the notion of the “Anonymous Christian”. Rahner, who spent much of his life delving into the biblical and theological implications of God’s universal salvation, is one of the most prominent Catholic theologians of the 20th century. His profound insight, which was to become axiomatic for the Church after Vatican II, posited every human being lives in a -existential reality that is penetrated by the divine salvific will in which God is always giving of Himself. Cf. Shim Sang-Tai, Anonymous Christian: A Critical Study on Rahnerian Theology, : Pauline Press, 20082, pp. 93-140.

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myths associated with the Constellation of Lyre and the appearance of its brightest star, Vega. Many academics, myself included, agree that these myths have three substantive characteristics: an epiphany of the heavenly , regeneration and transformation associated with the mother God- dess, and the union of heaven and earth leading to the foundation of the nation. In the first instance, an important observation must be made about the Dangun myth: namely, the etymology of Hwanin (환인: 桓因) as found in the myth, dates back to the roots of the Gojoseon (Ancient ) Kingdom (2333 BC-108 BC). The Hwanin epithet, which long predates the entry of into Korea (372 AD), was adopted as the name for Śakra (제석천: 帝釋天), or Lord of the Devas, because of the similarity of sound of the Chinese characters used in the Buddhist Sutras. In Buddhist cosmology, Śakra is the one who is Lord over the vicissitudes of life and death.3 In previous research I have proposed a tripartite character for understanding the essence of Hwanin: namely, as Father and Lord of Heaven (천부군신: 天父君神) who oversees the world and directly en- countering earthly history through his son, Hwanung (환웅: 桓雄). The nature of ancient agrarian religious sensibilities, and the importance of farming for survival, is manifest in the myth of the descent to Mt. Taebaek of Hwanung accompanied by three “heavenly officials”. Theses three “Officials” are entrusted by the heavenly God to act as incarnate, func- tional ― the demiurges of Wind (풍백: 風伯), Rain (우사: 雨師) and Clouds (운사: 雲師) who sustain agricultural productivity.4 Hwan- ung can be seen as a kind of divine prime minster (주재신: 主宰神) of

3 Cf. Lee Byeong-Do, Ancient Korean History, Jindan Hakhoe (ed.), Seoul: Eulyoo Publish- ing Co. (1959), p. 74. 4 Cf. Lee Eun-Bong, Ancient Korean History of Religions: The Structure of Heavenly God, Earthly God and Human God, Seoul: Jipmoondang Publishing (1984), pp. 90-98.

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fecundity who, along with these three officials and 3000 followers, establishes 360 “government ministries” which govern the vicissitudes of life. These Gods, and other divine beings, found within the Dangun Myth were believed to be manifestations of, what is categorised as, the fertility .5 Furthermore, the ancient Korean in the sacredness of, among others, trees and mountains (tree Gods and mountain Gods) were valued as tutelary of agriculture and incarnations of a transcendent God. Mythology, which manifested the Gods, dominated the thinking of people across the ancient world. Whilst seemingly children’s stories, myths come from the dawn of history and convey wisdom particular to the ancients.6 These child-like stories espouse, practically and pictorially, profound truths concerning the lives and of the ancients. The significant content of these myths furnishes a narrative of ancient experi- ence and ultimate truths. Namely, an objective and descriptive narrative about the dawn of the cosmos and the emergence of human beings.7 Thus, within the mythic horizon can be seen the ancients’ experience and understanding of the present as well as the transcendent reality of the Gods which is concretized in human likeness, the so called personification of the divinity. Human or non-human, the Gods are given human char- acteristics and personified as father, king, lord, mother and other feminine

5 Cf. Ibid., pp. 90-126. 6 For the concept of mythology, see M. Eliade, Der Mythos der ewigen Wiederkehr, Düssel- dorf: Patmos, 1953; Myth and Reality, New York: Macmillan, 1963; K.W. Bolle, “Myth: An Overview”, in M. Eliade (editor in chief), The Encyclopedia of Religion X, New York: Macmillan, 1987, pp.261-272; F. Stolz, “Mythos/Mythologie”, in König/Waldenfels (Hrsg.), Lexikon der Religionen, Freiburg: Herder, 1987, 441-446; Jeong Jin-Hong, “Structural Analy- sis of Mythology”, in Introduction to , pp. 109-116. 7 Eliade’s opinion, which is commonly accepted by most historians, is that mythology’s most important role is to provide every single human act, including the , with a of relevance. Cf. M. Eliade, Myth and Reality, p. 8; Jeong Jin-Hong, ibid., p. 112.

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entities. In this, the other-worldly, out-of-time, reality of the Gods and the after-life is manifested in this world. To those living in time and space, the jump to God, and the transcendent world of God, appears as a distant real- ity, a special space immanent within the world. In this, ancient Koreans were no different from other peoples. They too, personified God with images of men and women. On the one hand, they held a masculine image of God which emphasised the divine attributes of particularity and severi- ty, and, on the other hand, a feminine image which expressed universal love and fecundity. The feminine dimension of God is confirmed in the mother-like attributes of caring for, and nurturing, humanity. Intimately and inseparably associated with sacred and special places, belief in female Gods, including mountain, water, and ‘sea Gods’ (용신: 龍神), were un- derstood to govern not only the vicissitudes of life and death but also ensure the bounty of agricultural production so necessary for survival.8 In general, the religiosity of the ancient Korean agrarian society is extensive- ly pictured, and conceived of, in terms of a mother rather than a father Godhead. Within the corpus of Dangun mythology, Hwanin, the heavenly God, was seen as a sublime and distant being which prompted the need for a utilitarian God who was close to the lives of the people. For example, the mountain God, who is a manifestation of God’s son on earth, is the utili- tarian God who controls life and farming. Ancient Koreans, whose in the descent of God’s son to earth in order to care for and bless human beings, naturally developed particular kinds of harvest thanksgiving rit- uals. These rituals, which also honoured the ancestors, were regularly offered to the Heavenly deity and commemorated the son’s descent to earth by offerings to the mountain and tree Gods.

8 Cf. Lee Eun-Bong, op. cit., pp. 260-265.

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2. The Korean Understanding of God ― From the Three Kingdoms to the Present

During the Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE-916 CE) indigenous Ko- rean of the heavenly God significantly transformed itself through encountering the three major religious of China: , Buddhism, and Daoism.9 Both linguistically and in historical practice a new complexity began to emerge as the Confucian concept of heaven, the Buddhist concept of Sakra devānām Indra (천제석: 天帝釋), and the Daoist concept of the great Jade Emperor (옥황상제: 玉皇上帝) were appropriated into the indigenous religious framework. Semantically, God began to be addressed with the titles drawn from these religious traditions. Amongst the more important and influential of which are: the Creator [in Heaven] (천제: 天帝), Emperor of Heaven (상제: 上帝) Sangju (상주: 上主) and Cheon or Heaven (천: 天). Ancient Koreans, naturally reverential to a heavenly deity, had yet to become aware of the concept of an immanent divinity. However, follow- ing the Three Kingdoms Era and through the influence of the Chinese religions, the Divine Will was manifested and a deeper understanding of God was appropriated by the people. The wisdom of Confucius provides a good example: “[The Lord of] Heaven places virtue within me (天生德 於豫).”10 The presence of God’s spirit within people awakens the duty of mutual respect, the service of God, and reveals the normalisation and uni-

9 Cf. Lim Dong-Gwon, “Korean History of Primitive Religions I: History of and Shamanism”, in Anthology of Korean Cultural History VI, vol. 5, Seoul: Research Institute of Korean Studies (1969), pp. 43-64; Kim Gyeong-Tak, “Korean History of Primitive Religions II: Developmental History of the Understanding of God” in Anthology of Korean History of Culture, vol. 6, Seoul: Korea University Research Institute of Korean Studies (1970), pp. 131-135. 10 Confucius, “Shu R” Ch. 22, in Analects & The Doctrine of the Mean, (ed.), Han Sang-Gap (tr.), Seoul: Samsung Publishing (1976); Ryu Seung-Gook, op. cit., pp. 44f.

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versalisation of humanitarianism and a loving relationship with God. Koreans of the Goryeo Dynasty worshiped a myriad of Gods, include- ing the God of Heaven (천신: 天神) as the supreme God who presides over the cosmos; as well as Mountain Gods who resided on certain special mountains, the Sea God who caused the rain to come for the major rivers, the God who protected the nation (사직신: 社稷神), household Gods who protected the family, and a series of . The code of clan relations (종법사상: 宗法思想), or the national unifying principle, was derived from the close relationship between ancestor worship and the Lord of Heaven. It was believed that the national genealogy could be traced back to the original ancestors who were born of the heavenly deity (천신상제: 天神上帝). Gradually, moreover, Koreans began to solemnize their funda- mental sense of gratitude to the ancestors and worship of the Gods, in- cluding the Lord of Heaven, mountains and water, in various seasonal rites such as rituals for rain and for thanksgiving. During the Joseon Dynasty, the ancient understanding of God began to coalesce around Confucianism and its ideas of a Supreme Being shaped by the concepts of purpose and fate; righteousness (Mencius); Yin, Yang and the five elements (Dong Zhongshu; 동중서: 董仲舒); and the neo- Confucianism of the Cheng-Zhu school based on the teachings of Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao and Zhu Xi.11 Neo-Confucianism became mainstream with the advent of Joseon. This cosmic , with its ideas of nat- ural law (천리: 天理) and propriety (이법: 理法), was different to the ori- ginal ethical-sociopolitical teachings proposed by Confucius and Mencius, and their ideas of a Heavenly Being. For Koreans of this time, living the Way of Heaven meant living with “Li” (the basic principle or pattern of the universe, 천인일리: 天人一理) and virtue (천인합덕: 天人合德).

11 Cf. Lim Dong-Gwon, op. cit., pp. 77-107; Kim Gyeong-Tak, ibid., pp. 149-173.

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Such a society is naturally governed by the virtues of reverence (경: 敬) and honesty (성: 誠). Respecting heaven through the practice of the virtues of reverence and honesty not only reveals the nature of moral virtue but of religion as well. Towards the end of Joseon, this Confucian view of the Divine, which promoted an already existing sense of the transcendent in the human heart, became a stepping stone for prominent scholars to facilitate the introduction of from China and through texts of Western learning translated into Chinese.12

III. Donghak ― The Korean Understanding of God in Cheondoism

Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Catholicism, and Christian thinking, began to make inroads into Joseon society. Moreover, by the end of the nineteenth century, nationalistic religious movements including Eastern Learning or Donghak (동학: 東學) and Jeung San Do (증산교: 甑山敎) began to emerge.13 Up until modern times, there was little ac- knowledgement of the ancient understanding of the divinity which tended to be submerged in . However, the impact of Western thought and the ravages of the Japanese imperial conquest created a crisis which increased the distress of the people already suffering under an inept and pitiful monarchy along with a corrupt civil service. Suddenly, within a context of a steadily worsening national crisis, there emerged from a-

12 Cf. Lee Sung-Bae, Confucianism and Christianity, Waegwan: Benedict Press (1979). 13 Park Chang-Gun, “Su-un’s Philosophy and Cheondogyo”, Cheondogyo Central Church (1970); Jeung San Do, “Korean People and Cheonjigongsa (The work of renewing heaven and earth)”, Seoul: Tae-gwang Publishing (1976); Park Jong-Cheon, “Theological Interpret- ation of Coexistence Philosophy in Dangun Mythology II”, pp. 108-124.

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mongst the people new religious movements which achieved an incultura- tion of the diverse Asian religious traditions already present in Korea, including Shamanism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, as well as Western Christianity and . With Donghak to the fore, these indigenous movements promoted the rejection and expulsion of foreign powers and religion in order to relieve the sufferings of the people.

1. It has been one of the key contentions of my research that Donghak creates a convergence of the historical understandings of God with essen- tial elements of Western Christianity. Within this convergence, which helped people to deal with past crises, we can also discern important truths to help us overcome contemporary crises including the ecological catastrophe we now face.14 Choe Je-u (1824-1864), often called by his pen name, Su-un (water cloud), founded the Donghak Movement in the late Joseon period. Em- ploying the seminal phrase, Si Cheonju (시천주: 侍天主) which ex- presses the idea of carrying God in one’s heart, Su-un posited a faith in which people could have a direct, first-hand experience of God, called Hanul-Nim (天主: 한울님), within the people.15 The essential core idea

14 Cf. Lee Jung-Bae, “Comments on the Inculturation of Protestant Theology” (1991), in The Inculturation of the Understanding of God: Research Materials, Seoul: Catholic Conference of Korea (1995), pp. 215-236; Kim Gyeong-Jae, Hermeneutics and Theology of Religions, Seoul: Korean Theological Institute (1994), pp. 172-186; Anonymous God: Criticism on the , Seoul: Sam-in Publishing (2002), pp. 210-216; Park Jong-Cheon, “Theological Interpretation of Donghak”, in Christian Thought 427 (July 1994), pp. 160-176; Ibid., 428 (August 1994), pp. 107-123. 15 Cf. Choi Dong-Hee, “History of Donghak and of Cheondogyo in Korea”, in Korea Univ- ersity Institute of National Culture (ed.), Anthology of Korean Cultural History: History of Religions and Philosophies II, Seoul: Korea University Institute of National Culture Press (1982), pp. 705-866; Moon Myung-Sook, “Donghak’s Understanding of Human”, in Incultur- ation of the Understanding of Human, Seoul: Catholic Conference of Korea (1995), pp. 153- 194; Lee Jung-Bae and Yoon Suk-San, “Contracted and General Discussion on Moon Myung- Sook’s Paper”, pp. 194-207; Kim Ji-Ha, Life, Seoul: Sol Publishing (1992), pp. 17-73, 202-

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of Donghak, concerning a humanist experience of God, has remained constant even though followers have developed this religious vision in many different ways. In the year 1860 AD, on the fifth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, Choe, after a long period of sustained study and spiritual exer- cises received, in a vision, the “Do” (도: 道) from the singular God, Cheondo or Sangje).16 Su-un asserts the nature of God is humanistic and intentional, as opposed to the assertions of which po- sits God as the organising principle of heaven and earth. In his writing he respectfully applied the honorific title of Haneul-Nim (하늘님) /Haneunim (하느님) as a liberal translation of the Chinese logogram, Cheonju (천주: 天主) or Lord of Heaven. His choice of the pure Korean Haneunim (하느 님) was, he believed, an inherent expression of the authentic, indigenous, and popular religious sentiment. Su-un, in evoking a direct, interior, experiential God, was redefining the God-human relationship.17 For him, Si Cheonju means that we carry, or bear, God. He explained this meaning in the following way: “‘Si’ means having the Divine Spirit within and expressing the vital force of life when people realise this they will keep it in their hearts without change (侍者 內有神靈 外有氣化 一世之人 各之不移者也).” 18 In the same passage he does not refer to “Cheon (Heaven)” alone but uses the phrase “Lord of Heaven” to further explain his choice: “‘Ju’ refers to respecting, honouring, and serving God like one’s own parents” (主者 稱

208; For the text and its translation of Compendium of Eastern Scripture (Compendium here- after) and of Story from Dragon Pond (Story hereafter) by Choe Je-u will be used Choi Dong- Hee (tr. & annot.), “Compendium of Eastern Scripture and others.” in Il-Yeon et al., Folklore and Religious Philosophies of Korea, Seoul: Samsung Publishing (1976). 16 Cf. Choi Dong-Hee, op. cit., pp. 728ff. 17 Moon Myung-Sook, op. cit., p. 67. 18 Compendium “On Learning” X; cf. “Compendium”, pp. 458ff.

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基尊 而與父母 同事者也).19 Rather than an ontological abstraction of Heaven, Su-un points to a God-experience which defines the Lord of Heaven relationally and humanly, i.e. as serving one’s parents. He that this God is the subject of our and is made manifest in the cultivation of the generosity of heart, respect, and faith. Su-un’s God is not an absolute ruler but is within our hearts teaching humanity the path of right behaviour. The distinguishing characteristic of the Donghak-Cheondogyo vision of God is found in Choe Je-u’s insistence that God’s being is not separate from humans. God is, for Su-un, both the Lord of Heaven and Chigi (지기: 至氣). He explains this latter idea as follows: “The vital force (Chigi) is like the mysterious Spirit, and it is vast and full in the universe. It touches and governs all things. It looks like it has form, but it is difficult to describe. It seems to have sound, yet it is difficult to understand” (至者, 極焉之爲至 氣者 虛靈蒼蒼 無事不涉 無事不明 然而 如刊而難狀 如聞而難見 是赤渾元之一氣也).20 Su-un posits a God who is the one Ultimate Energy that unites and harmonises the vast Universe.21 Choi Je-u proffers two characteristics for the universal nature of Chigi and the Heavenly Lord. His idea of Chigi/Heavenly Lord cannot be explained exclusively in the traditional Christian idea of a transcendent essence because Chigi is not simply the source of all energy and the Heav- enly Lord is not simply a universal essence. Everything in the Universe and on earth is in harmony with Hanul-Nim (한울님) and being trans- formed by Mu-wi-E-hwa: “acting nature’s non-action” (무위이화: 無爲而 化). He understands God’s essence is a harmony of creation and evolution,

19 Ibid. 20 Compendium “On Learning” IX; Kim Gyeong-Jae, op. cit., pp. 181ff. 21 Cf. Lee Don-Hwa, New Philosophical View on Humankind, Cheondogyo Central Church (31982), p. 30.

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where both creative action and creative process are the breath of God’s life. In this way, Choi understands the transformation of all things is, at one and the same time, both immanent and transcendent. Moreover, Hanul-Nim (한울님) is not solely a being outside of humanity but is, at one and the same time, the cause which is outside and inside of all. As a consequence, God, for Choi, cannot be understood as a supernat- ural being. Thus, within contemporary Cheondogyo, Hanul-Nim (한울님) cannot be understood as being governed by particular knowledge or understanding. That is, Hanul-Nim (한울님) is not an abstraction that can be conceptualised but, just as with one’s parents, experienced in the service of the one, holy “Nim”. The deity is the personalised essences of all, transcendent but immanent, absolutely infinite yet, at the same time, the relative genesis of all change. Furthermore, Su-un draws a distinction of what can be humanly known and not known. In the Buryeon Giyeon (불연기연: 不然其然: “Not so, yet so”) the last body of teaching in the Dongkyeong Daejeon (東經大全, the Great Scriptures of Eastern Learning), Su-un ponders the epistemological and metaphysical significance of the question of origin. “Did all these events happen because some leaders had knowledge from the moment of their birth, or because knowledge developed itself? Even if one says that they have knowledge from the time of birth, at that stage our minds are still in darkness, and even if one says that all things happen by themselves, the Truth is far away and hard to reach.”22 Whilst the origins of all matter are difficult to trace, Su-un posits all reason ultimately leads to a creative demiurge. “Therefore, those things which are difficult to determine may be called ‘unknowable’ and those things which are easy to determine may be called ‘self-evident’. If we

22 Compendium “Buryeon Giyeon (Not So, Yet So)” I; “Compendium”, p. 470.

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search for the distant source of all things, it appears again and again to be ‘unknowable’. But if we consider the Creator as the sense of all things, they appear to be very much ‘self-evident’ and their origin becomes ap- parent.”23 The pre-condition of oneness with a Creator-Lord of Heaven sustains the unity of humans with the Universe and, consequently, know- ing the origin of all things is to know the moral path. The answer to the ultimate question of humanity and all things is not just to be found in a Creator-God but must also include the awakening of moral duty. Su-un insists that all people must cultivate a moral life. “What is a superior person who does not cultivate the moral life, or understand the validity of ethics, nor abide by the Samgangoryun (the three bonds and five relationships in Confucianism)?”24 While respecting the traditional morality of Confucianism, he sought to establish that this morality was not inherently static. “Humaneness, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom (인의예지: 仁義禮智) are the virtues taught by former sages. Keeping a good mind and having the right spiritual force are the virtues established only by me.”25 In teaching personal morality as the “morality of the Heavenly Lord”, Su-un moves beyond traditional Confucian morality and advocates that the way to union with God is found in attending to one’s true heart. This attending to one’s true heart is achieved through the practice of being mindful of God and avoiding wicked behaviour (수심정 기: 守心正氣).26 Su-un’s understanding of morality must be seen through the lens of his experience of the deity.

23 Compendium “Buryeon Giyeon (Not So, Yet So)” V; “Compendium”, p. 472. 24 Story “On Paving the Way” v. 2; cf. “Compendium”, p. 513. 25 Compendium “On Developing the Virtues” IX; cf. “Compendium”, p. 467. 26 Compendium “On Learning” VIII reads, “The “Do” that I received naturally influences the world according the divine providence (Mu-wi-E-hwa). Anyone can be naturally influenced by it when one attends to one’s true heart, follows one’s nature by straightening the tempera- ment and receives the divine teachings”, in “Compendium”, p. 457.

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From Su-un’s perspective, human instinct naturally adheres to the fundamentals of the Universe which conforms to the will of heaven. Moreover, his respect for social norms and traditional morality is not the same as blind obedience because the humanistic experience of God is an experience of the fullness of the universe within and, hence, the expec- tations of the deity are felt to emanate from deep within his own person. Humans may be forced to break with social and even pay the price of life on account of their oneness with Hanuel-Nim. He spoke of achieving this high virtue as like something that becomes vapour.27 Chigi is, at one and the same time, externally an evaporating, vaporising vital energy, yet also immanent within all humans and things. Chigi is precisely the insight of respecting the God who is within all humans and things: humans carry God through Chigi, and we live within God. This paradox- ical truth lies at the heart of Su-un’s humanism. This insight forms the basis of Choi’s idea of Si Cheonju, “I serve or bear the God within me”. While external to humans, God is not an abso- lute controller but is intimately present and teaching rightly within the heart of humans. Therefore, humans are capable of reaching the highest realms, to become superior persons, because they bear Haneul-Nim (하늘 님) within and return to Hanul-Nim (한울님). Furthermore, his insistence that every person bears God and can serve that God, as with a parent, with utmost devotion can be seen as not just a rebuke of the rigid exclusivism of Neo-Confucian dominated Joseon society but, more importantly, the proclamation of a fundamental human equality.

2. Choe Sihyeong, known as Haewol (1829-1898), became the second leader of the Donghak-Cheondogyo movement. This revered teacher, in

27 Cf. “Compendium”, pp. 473ff.

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the 70th year of his life, was arrested in July 1898 and eventually executed. Until then, Haewol, despite the persecution of the civil authorities, not only propagated but, in the light of the demands of his society, developed Su-un’s teaching of Si Cheonju.28 Thus, in his teaching he proclaimed that not only humans bear God but likewise all creation bears God. That is to say, by asserting that heaven is in all things then all things are heaven, he makes the of heaven into a type of . Professor Choe Dong-Hee, a specialist in Donghak, interprets Haewol’s preaching as a kind of deterministic or willful providence. “That is to say, it is a praise of God’s omnipotent providence for all things, since all things bear God and therefore must follow God’s providence.”29 Importantly, Haewol developed the idea of reverence. He did not limit reverence to God alone but, in the Samgyeongseol or Teaching of Three Reverences (삼경설: 三敬說), expanded reverence to include reverence of Heaven (경천: 敬天), reverence of humans (경인: 敬人) and reverence of things (경물: 敬物). Hence, contained in the Samgyeongseol and its command to “reverence humans just as one reverences Hanul-Nim (한울 님) (사인여천: 事人如天)” is the establishment of the idea that “the human is Hanuel-Nim (하늘님)”, or Injeukcheon (인즉천: 人卽天). “The human is Heaven (Cheon) and Heaven (Cheon) is a human; outside the human there is nothing and outside of God there is no human.30 This idea of Injeukcheon naturally reveals the union of God and humans and, crucially, there is no need for some kind of third-party, supernatural mediator between God and humanity. Haewol extends the concept of Si Cheonju to include the idea of

28 Cf. Choi Dong-Hee, op. cit., pp. 749-759. 29 Choi Dong-Hee, ibid., pp. 754. 30 Cf. Choi Dong-Hee, ibid., p. 757; Lee Don-Hwa, The Founding History of Cheondoism, Seoul: Cheondogyo Central Church (1933), p. 36.

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cultivating God, or Yang Cheonju (양천주: 養天主). Since all things, in- cluding humans, originate from God, then there exists reason within all things. It is only right, since God’s reason exists within, to reverence all things. This respect, according to Professor Choe Dong-Hee, which makes manifest the nature of each and every thing, is not only important but also different from the form of respecting humans. For example, “Even one grain of rice must be protected and stored because it nurtures human or animals”.31 Haewol taught the idea of E-Cheon-Shik-Cheon (이천식천: 以天食天): that is, “Humans eat rice to grow, God eats God to grow”. Cultivating moral humanism is achieved through reverencing the reason within all things: so too, humans bear God within them by cultivating Hanul-Nim (한울님). Son Byong-hi (1861-1922) known as Uiam, became the third leader of the movements. In 1905, he was responsible for changing the name of the movement from Donghak to Cheondogyo. He developed the movement into a modern religious system which engages in propagation and socio- cultural activitism.32 It was, moreover, at this time that the idea “the per- son is Haneul (Cheon)”, Innaecheon (인내천: 人乃天), began to develop. For Uiam, this designation meant that the idea of bearing Haneul (Cheon) was, in fact, cultivating one’s heart. Here, the word “heart” carries the sense of a pure empowerment which “governs” the person (perhaps, it could be translated as an “affective rationality”). If the heart of all creation is infused with God, that is Haneul (Cheon), so too, the heart of humans can be called Haneul (Cheon). Thus, it can be said that the human is God, or Innaecheon. Indeed, the meaning of Hanuel can be said to be, Innaecheon, In other words, the logic of Innaecheon is conveyed in the idea

31 Choi Dong-Hee, ibid., p. 758. 32 Cf. Choi Dong-Hee, ibid., pp. 765-780.

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that humans are understood as limited heaven, or Sobuncheon (소분천: 小分天), but the essence of human nature is moving towards Heaven, Cheonji-ri (천지리: 天之理).33 The concept of Innaecheon conveys the sense that the deity is carried within the individual nature of all people; and in the discovery of this God is the discovery that the individual’s subjectivity is God. Son Byong-hi’s idea of Innaecheon is the codification of Su-un’s Si Cheonju and Haewol’s Injeukcheon and Yang Cheonju.

IV. The Theological Significance of the Korean Understanding of God

It is my intention in this section to briefly sketch the theological sig- nificance of the history, from ancient times to the present, of the Korean understanding of God. I seek to draw on both the archetypal imagery and the understanding of God present in Donghak-Cheondogyo.

1. The Theological Significance of the Traditional Understanding of God

In previously published research on “the Korean Concept of God” I proposed that it is possible to discern aspects of the Christian concept of God in Korean reverence for God since ancient times. It is my published opinion that the monotheism of Israel and the manifestation of Hwanin in the Dangun Myth are not that dissimilar. At the time of the conquest of Canaan by the Chosen People of YHWH, there was a synthesis of the God

33 Cf. Choi Dong-Hee, ibid., pp. 771-773.

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of the Chosen people with the “El”, the “Father God” worshipped by the indigenous population. YHWH became YHWH-El. The God worshipped by Christians is precisely this YHWH-El. Christians, following Christ the Lord who cried out, Abba Father, recognise the God who speaks and acts as YHWH-El. YHWH-El is one and the same God whom the Christian Church confesses to be Lord, all powerful and ever living, infinite and immutable, beyond compare and supreme.34 Hwanin, of the Dangun Myth, can be compared with El of the Hebrew Scripture. Like El, Hwanin is a Father God who is supreme in heaven and rules over the whole universe. Hwanin, Lord of all, who maintains the harmony of the world, displayed his benevolent fatherhood by sending his son Hwanung along with the three demiurges for the benefit of humanity. Comparatively, the essence or “godness” of Hwanin and El is expressed as the will of a father directly binding themselves through their sons, Hwanung or Baʿal respectively, with humans and their fortunes. Given the identification of the father God, El with YHWH, the one and only Al- mighty God of Israel, and the one whom Christians too confess as Lord, Creator, and God, it has been my long held opinion that theologically speaking there is no reason why Hwanin of the Dangun Myth (who sent his son, Hwanung, to earth along with the three demiurges to spread good work amongst humans), does not provide sufficient evidence to equate Hwanin with YHWH -El and the Almighty God of Christian belief.

35 Cf. DH 3001; Gotthold Hasenhuettl, Einführung in die Gotteslehre, Darmstadt (1980), pp.137-142.

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2. The Theological Significance of Donghak-Cheondogyo and the Korean Understanding of God

In previous publications I have expounded upon the following aspects of the Korean concept of God in the light of the Donghak movement and Cheondoism.

1) There emerged, within the Donghak movement and the Cheondo- gyo, a syncretic inculturation of the ancient Korean concept of God with the Asian religions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. However, to my mind, the emergence of this new religious is no simple matter but was shaped by the strengths of various religious traditions interacting with specific historical and material conditions and the new ideological structures corresponding to the “signs of the times” emerging within the transitions taking place in Joseon society towards the end of the nineteenth century. As we examined above, the God of the Donghak Movement and Cheondogyo can be understood as the underlying sense of existence: the transcendent source of all creation who, at the same time, carries the sense of the inherent uniqueness of being. Separate from the externality of humans and the world, this God is not the absolute principle subject of existence but is immanent within humans and the world. The understand- ing of God emphasised in the Donghak Movement and Cheondogyo embraces the idea of unity and oneness: particularly, Si Cheonju, Injeuk- cheon, and Innaecheon. The emphasis of harmony and fusion within this understanding of God are formative ideas within the East Asian mind . This kind of dualistic thinking is not to be understood as a contradiction of opposites but a

Sangtai Shim / The Korean Understanding of God 155

harmony of opposites; thus, for example, reason and the life force (이: 理; 기: 氣), yin with yang (음: 陰; 양: 陽).

2) For many years, I have been engaged in discerning the undertones of the Christian theology of Inculturation to be found within the Cheon- dogyo concept of God. This work, especially during the 1980s in the research and publishing unit on the theology of Inculturation affiliated to the Journal, Korean Pastoral, was carried out through engagement with the views of Korean Protestant theologians and at the particular urging of the writer and commentator, Professor Lee Jung-Bae of Methodist Semin- ary. Professor Lee has consistently argued the need to start from an his- torically sensitive understanding of the impact on civilization from mas- sive changes in the money system as a means for beginning to understand the concept of God within the Donghak movement and Cheondogyo.35 Lee points to the patriotism of the Donghak Movement which appear- ed during the breakdown of the 500-year-old Joseon Dynasty at the end of the 19th Century. He argues that, in the wake of breakdown of the ruling of Joseon Society, including its Monism, Neo-Confucianism and the policy of suppressing Buddhism, there emerged a redefinition of the human-nature-cosmic relationship; namely, an awakening of an inclusive cosmic and ecological consciousness. For him, the concept of Chigi pro- moted by Cheondoism is not a simple adoption of the Chinese concept of “Gi” (기: 氣) but, absorbed into Si Cheonju, is a form of Korean style pantheism which both critiques the personal God of Western Christianity and is a challenge to scientific civilization. Both Chinese Philosophy and Donghak-Cheondogyo tend to agree in designating “Gi” as the power that

36 Cf. Lee Jung-Bae, “Comments on the Inculturation of Protestant Theology” (1991), in The Inculturation of the Understanding of God: Research Material, pp. 215-236; Koreanized The- ology of Life as Systematic Theology, Seoul: Methodist Theological University Press (1996).

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generates heaven and earth and the source of all extant life. However, Neo-Confucianism and other Chinese philosophies accentuate Gi as an inevitable attribute of nature. On the other hand, Donghak conceives of ‘Gi’ as developing into a personal God. “Chigi, which permeates humans and all things and evaporates into external reality, is not only the funda- mental energy within all things, living and inanimate, but also is the Almighty, Living God.”36 Realising that all life is one and inter-related, this theory of Chigi has the objective of overcoming any individualised concepts with the respectful awareness of Si Cheonju, as the Living God present within all beings; the energy of the universe is one and the same energy which is within the individual. That is to say, the idea of Si Cheon- ju implies the existence of God within the individual and is not only the prerequisite for personal relationship with God but also inter-human re- lationships: namely, “the awakening of the universe, the awakening of so- cial community and the awakening of the ecosphere”. Lee interprets Su- un’s of Si Cheonju as a desire for the people to obtain the highest level of virtue.37 Lee holds that the theory of Chigi, with its personal but not personal aspect of God, must be interpreted from within the dynamics of discover- ing God within the Korean historico-cultural reality and not from the perspective of Western Environmentalism. More fundamentally, we must pay attention to the fact that this theory must be seen as an expression of the East Asian idea of the fundamental oneness of all life and is, in fact, a Korean expression of God saving the world. The Cheondogyo idea of Si Cheon is, as mentioned earlier, accom- panied by the idea of Yang Cheon which supports the realization of con-

36 Cf. Lee Jung-Bae, “Comments on the Inculturation of Protestant Theology” (1991), p. 233. 37 Cf. Lee Jung-Bae, “Discussion on Moon Myung-Suk’s The Concept of Human of Dong- hak”, in The Inculturation of the Concept of Human, pp. 194-199.

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scious morality as well as the cultivation and growth of the cosmic energy which is within all things. The nature of cosmic life means, above all else, that all cosmic beings have their own interiority and purpose to which humans have an active role and particular responsibility. Professor Lee in evaluating the appropriateness of the Christian symbolic system observes that a truly indigenous viewpoint would widen the horizon of Christian self-understanding. He asserts the God-centred perspective of Christianity results in a fundamental misunderstanding of the concept of “Si” which comes about from a false dogma of life that causes a misreading of the Korean foundations of the concept. A Korean view of God would be not only simultaneously humanistic yet not humanistic but also promote an eschatology which places God within the ecosphere. To sum up, Professor Lee, in his search for an appropriate Christianity for the Korean context, turns to Donghak-Cheondogyo as his starting point in discovering principles which are, at the same time, both culturally specific and globally engaged. For him, Chigi is the Spirit of God which can be re-mythologized or remodeled as a mother Goddess. This remodel- ing, he asserts, means re-envisaging God through the metaphor of “Mother” which, unlike the traditional understanding of a transcendent being governing the external relationships of the universe, embraces an organic reality that voluntarily eschews self in order to affirm an essence of immanent love. Professor Lee, at this juncture, turns to examine the issue from the per- spective of a Christian academic. “God, who is like a mother, is organi- cally related to everything and has an essence of self-giving, and Jesus is the great life of the world and the essence of joy, thus churches are places where the spirit of “si” is fostered and realized. Taking this one step further, Donghak guides the way Christianity is realized. While Christian-

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ity tries to extricate itself from the idea of the world of mythology and god/human feedback relationship, Donghak, which does not sit comfort- ably with the moribund religions of Asia, presents a God who is Chigi: namely, the rediscovery of the dynamic of the personal which is not per- sonal. Therefore, in the 21st Century and this second axial period, an en- lightened Donghak, having taken on aspects of Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Western thought is, in practice, Christianity’s teacher of grace (faith).”38 Having reflected deeply on Professor Lee’s insights, I have to say that I agree, for the most part, with his position.

V. Concluding Remarks

My intention in this paper, as I said at the outset, is to outline and establish, through an historical review, the Korean context for the contem- porary desired-for-image of God. From the perspective of Dogmatic Theology, I have personally been involved in seeking to understand and research the “signs of the times” which have been presenting themselves in this unique historical moment of change. Indeed, since the 1970s I have taken seriously the call by the Federation of Asian Bishops Conference (FABC) for an evangelization which promotes the message of the Gospel by taking seriously the cultural, religious, and social of Asia. In particular, I draw attention to the Extraordinary Synod of Asia (1988), prior to the FABC’s Year of Dialogue in 2000. At this inclusive yet autonomous event, the Bishops expressed a wish for a creative engagement with the religious spirit of the Continent in order to develop a theological stance which gives proper expression to the

38 Lee Jung-Bae, ibid., p.185.

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face of the Church in Asia. Many of the Bishops remarks are pertinent to this present Symposium. The Bishops, at the Extraordinary Synod, expressed the need for a theological vision of God for the Asian Churches which emphasised “cre- ative harmony” as opposed to the traditional Western concepts of “distinc- tion” and “difference”.39 They, and I have long cherished a similar under- standing, promote the view that the God of Asia embraces a God of Com- passion for all things. In practice this means the Asia Church, in its teach- ing and art, tends to place more emphasis on the motherhood of God in contrast to the Western Church’s perspective of an explicit separation between God and the Cosmos and an emphasis on the fatherhood of God. In this 21st Century moment of considerable and profound change, I believe that, whatever else, the contours of debate and discernment of a theology about God for the 3rd Millennium must be grounded in the concrete experience and reality of humanity and, indeed, all creation, especially the experience of the poor, alienated and oppressed people as well as the severely desecrated environment. Moreover, it will be necessary to create a new theological paradigm: a Pneumatology which respects a multiplicity of charisms and prioritises the integrity of not just humans but the whole of creation. I pray you can discover these values in my paper. Finally, I wish to conclude my humble manuscript with a quotation from the international theologian, Cardinal Walter Kasper who was a guest speaker at an International Symposium honouring the Year of Faith hosted by the Institute of Korean Christian Thought. As part of his contribution

39 The National Catholic Reporter, an American weekly paper, carried the official response of the Japanese Church to the Vatican. I have used the Japanese response as the source of this paper: cf. “Official Response of the Japanese Church to the Lineamenta”, in National Catholic Reporter, March 27, 1998, pp. 10-12.

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entitled, “Discerning the shape and direction of faith and culture in the Korean Church” (October 2012), the Cardinal offered the following re- flection: “[…] In the first instance, we cannot easily overlook the under- standing of God in the East and the West and its impact upon formation of a life of faith. Traditionally, Western Christianity makes an explicit distinction between the transcendence and immanence of God in relation- ship to the Cosmic world, emphasising the fatherly dimension of God expressed as a vertical relationship along with a legalistic approach to the world and church order. Eastern Asians, however, tend to privilege the compassion and immanence of God in creation over the transcendent dimension. That is, the understanding of the truth of the human life world and, indeed the essence of all created reality is a “transcendent imam- nence” which, since time immemorial, is a transcendent God who cannot be separated from the undivided energy that embraces and permeates all existence. Therefore, it is possible to find within the long history of the indigenous agricultural society of this place an extensive array of religious art which portrays images of the mother Goddess as opposed to those of a transcendent father God. The Church of Christ finds within the landscape of a convergence of the unifying and universalising feminine dimension of God. This dimension, which is more than an invitation into the presence of a benevolent deity, becomes, for those who seek the truth of salvation in a context of alienation and insatiable thirst for redemption in this world, a joyful engagement with the all-encom- passing fellowship of God.40

40 Cf. “Special Discourse between Cardinal Walter Kasper and Msgr. Shim Sang-Tai”, in Korean Christian Thought 21 (2013), pp. 335ff.

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Bibliography

Bolle, Kees W., “Myth: An Overview”, in M. Eliade (editor in chief), The Encyc- lopedia of Religion X, New York: Macmillan (1987), pp. 261-272. Choi, Dong-Hee, “History of Donghak and of Cheondogyo in Korea”, in Korea University Institute of National Culture (ed.), Anthology of Korean Cultural History: History of Religions and Philosophies II, Seoul: Korea University Institute of National Culture Press (1982), pp. 705-866. Confucius, “Shu R” Ch. 22, in Analects & The Doctrine of the Mean, Zhu Xi (ed.), Han Sang-Gap (tr.), Seoul: Samsung Publishing (1976). Eliade, Mircea, Der Mythos der ewigen Wiederkehr, Düsseldorf: Patmos (1953). , Myth and Reality, New York: Macmillan (1963). Hasenhuettl, Gotthold, Einführung in die Gotteslehre, Darmstadt (1980). Jeong, Jin-Hong, “Structural Analysis of Mythology”, in Introduction to Religious Studies, pp. 109-116. Jeung San Do, “Korean People and Cheonjigongsa” (The work of renewing heav- en and earth), Seoul: Tae-Gwang Publishing (1976). Kim, Gyeong-Tak, “Korean History of Primitive Religions II: Developmental His- tory of the Understanding of God”, in Anthology of Korean History of Cul- ture, vol. 6, Seoul: Korea University Research Institute of Korean Studies (1970), pp. 131-135. Kim, Gyeong-Jae, Hermeneutics and Theology of Religions, Seoul: Korean The- ological Institute (1994). , Anonymous God: Criticism on the Monotheism, Seoul: Sam-in Publishing (2002). Lee, Byeong-Do, Ancient Korean History, Jindan Hakhoe (ed.), Seoul: Eulyoo Publishing (1959). Lee, Don-Hwa, New Philosophical View on Humankind, Cheondogyo Central Church (1982). , The Founding History of Cheondoism, Seoul: Cheondogyo Cen- tral Church (1933). Lee, Eun-Bong, Ancient Korean History of Religions: The Structure of Heavenly

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God, Earthly God and Human God, Seoul: Jipmoondang Publishing (1984). Lee, Jung-Bae, “Comments on the Inculturation of Protestant Theology”, in The Inculturation of the Understanding of God: Research Material, Seoul: Meth- odist Theological University Press (1996), pp. 215-236. , Confucianism and Christianity, Waegwan: Benedict Press (1979). , “Discussion on Moon Myung-Suk’s The Concept of Human of Donghak”, in The Inculturation of the Concept of Human, pp. 194-199. Lim, Dong-Gwon, “Korean History of Primitive Religions I: History of Polythe- ism and Shamanism”, in Anthology of Korean Cultural History VI, vol. 5, Seoul: Korea University Research Institute of Korean Studies (1969), pp. 43- 64. Moon, Myung-Sook, “Donghak’s Understanding of Human”, in Inculturation of the Understanding of Human, Seoul: Catholic Conference of Korea (1995), pp. 153-194. Park, Chang-Gun, “Su-un’s Philosophy and Cheondogyo”, Cheondogyo Central Church (1970). Park, Jong-Cheon, “Theological Interpretation of Donghak”, in Christian Thought 427 (July 1994), pp. 160-176; 107-123. Shim, Sang-Tai, Anonymous Christian: A Critical Study on Rahnerian Theology, Seoul: Pauline Press (2008). Stolz, Fritz, “Mythos/Mythologie”, in König/Waldenfels (Hrsg.), Lexikon der Re- ligionen, Freiburg: Herder (1987), pp. 441-446. The National Catholic Reporter, an American weekly paper, carried the official re- sponse of the Japanese Church to the Vatican. I have used the Japanese re- sponse as the source of this paper: cf. “Official Response of the Japanese Church to the Lineamenta”, in National Catholic Reporter, March 27, 1998, pp. 10-12.

Received: 7 April 2016 Reviewed and Edited: 19 May 2016 Finalized for Publication: 11 June 2016

Sangtai Shim / The Korean Understanding of God 163

❚Abstract❚ □

This paper begins with a discussion of the contours of ancient . The starting point is an analysis of the indigenous mythology of Dangun and the divine image of Hwanin along with the concept of Haneul. The focus then turns to the transformation of the concept of God, espe- cially noting the emergence of the word, Cheon (천: 天), which came with the arrival of the Chinese religions: Confucianism, Buddhism, and . This overview is given in order to establish an important conten- tion of this paper that the concept of God held by Koreans prior to the 19th Century embraces, in distinction to the Semitic Religions (, Chris- tianity, and Islam), not only a transcendent, paternal God but also a mater- nal God who was immanent within all things. Moreover, it is contended, there is sufficient evidence to equate Hwanin of the Dangun myth with YHWH-El and the Almighty God of Christian belief. The central concern of this paper focuses on the understanding of God which emerges within the new religious movements that appeared towards the end of the 19th Century. The particular focus is on the Donghak (East- ern Learning) movement founded by Choe Je-u (Su-un). Su-un, the paper contends, established a faith based on the concept of a God (Lord of Heaven) called, Si Cheonju, whom is conceived as a direct experience of “carrying or bearing God”. God is Chigi, the vital force or energy pervad- ing the universe, which is both the transcendent and the immanent Lord of all. God is the paradox within all humans and things. We carry God through Chigi, which is, at one and the same time, externally an evaporat- ing, vaporising vital energy, yet also immanent within all humans and

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things. Other key concepts of the Donghak divinity which are developed and analysed are Hanul-Nim (天主: 한울님), Haneul-Nim (하늘님), Injeukcheon (인즉천: 人卽天), Yang Cheonju (양천주: 養天主), and In- naecheon (인내천: 人乃天). The inspiration of Donghak leads to a funda- mental insight ― the idea of “transcendent immanence”. Using these fundamental insights, this paper turns to examine the con- temporary moment and its issues of injustice, poverty, alienation and eco- logical collapse. A Korean view of God, it is argued, would be not only si- multaneously humanistic yet not humanistic but also promote an eschat- ology which places God within the ecosphere. In order to adequately ap- preciate the opportunity which is provided by an enlightened Donghak, the reader is challenged to re-envisage God through the metaphor of “Mother” which, unlike the traditional understanding of a transcendent being governing the external relationships of the universe, embraces an organic reality that voluntarily eschews self in order to affirm an essence of immanent love. The essay concludes with the words of Cardinal Walter Kasper commenting on the Mother Goddess image which is not just a sat- isfying image but an invitation to all those who seek the truth of salvation in a context of alienation and insatiable thirst for redemption in this world, a joyful engagement with the all-encompassing fellowship of God.

▶ Key Words: Dangun, Hwanin, Haneul, Cheon, Donghak, Eastern Learning, Choe Je-u, Su-un, Si Cheonju, Chigi, Hanul-Nim, Haneul-Nim, Injeukcheon, Yang Cheonju, Innaecheon, Transcendent Immanence, Mother Goddess.

Sangtai Shim / The Korean Understanding of God 165

❚국문 초록❚ □

한국인의 하느님 이해

심 상 태 몬시뇰

〔수원가톨릭대학교 명예교수 · 한국그리스도사상연구소 소장〕

본고는 한국 고대 종교의 윤곽을 논하는 것으로 시작되며, 그 시 점은 단군신화와 하늘의 개념과 함께 환인의 신성한 이미지에 대한 분석이다. 이어, 특히 ‘천’이라는 단어가 중국 종교인 유교와 불교 그리고 도교의 유입과 더불어 부상했음에 초점을 두어 하느님 개념 의 변형을 살펴본다. 이 개관은 셈족 종교(유다교, 그리스도교, 이슬 람교)와 달리, 19세기 이전에 한국인들이 지니고 있던 하느님 개념 에는 초월적이고 부성적인 하느님뿐만 아니라 모든 곳에 내재한 모 성적인 하느님의 모습까지 포함되어 있다는 점을 이야기한 본고의 중요한 논점을 수립하기 위해 정리되었다. 더군다나 단군신화의 환 인이 그리스도교 믿음의 막강한 하느님인 ‘야훼’-‘엘’과 동일하다는 주장에 충분한 근거가 있다는 내용도 싣고 있다. 본고는 19세기 말 일어난 신흥종교운동에 깃든 하느님에 대한 이 해, 특히 수운 최제우에 의해 일어난 동학운동(Eastern Learning)에 초점을 맞추고 있다. 수운은 ‘시천주’라고 부르는 하느님의 개념을 바탕으로 수립되었는데, ‘시천주’는 ‘하느님을 지니다 혹은 품다’의 직접적인 표현이다. 하느님은 ‘지기’인데, ‘지기’는 우주에 만연한 생 명의 힘 혹은 에너지이자 초월적이고도 모든 곳에 내재한, 만물의 하느님이며, 하느님은 모든 인류와 사물에 깃든 패러독스다. 우리는

166 Understanding God in the Asian Context

‘지기’를 통해 하느님을 품으며, 이때 ‘지기’는 외적으로 증발해버리 는 생명 에너지이며, 역시나 모든 인류와 사물에 깃들어 있다. 동학 에서 발전되고 분석된 신성의 또 다른 핵심 개념들에는 ‘한울님’ ‘하 늘님’ ‘인즉천’ ‘양천주’ 그리고 ‘인내천’이 있다. 동학의 영감은 “초 월적 내재성”이라는 근본적 통찰로 이끈다. 본고에서는 이러한 근본적 통찰을 통해 현 시대의 순간과 부조리, 빈곤, 소외와 생태 붕괴의 문제들을 살펴보고자 한다. 논쟁에 따르 면, 하느님에 대한 한국인의 관점은 인도주의적이기도 하고, 비인도 주의적이기도 할 뿐만 아니라, 그 안에는 하느님을 생물권 내에 위 치시키는 종말론적 사상도 있다. 계몽된 동학운동에 의해 생긴 기회 에 충분히 보답하기 위해 독자들은 우주의 외적 관계를 주관하는 초 월적 존재에 대한 전통적인 이해와 달리, “어머니”의 은유를 통해 하 느님의 모습을 상상해 보아야 하게 되었다. 여기서 “어머니”는 내재 적 사랑의 정수를 단언하기 위해 자발적으로 자아를 기피하는 유기 현실을 수용한다. 논문은 지모신의 이미지는 그저 만족스러운 이미 지일 뿐만 아니라, 소외의 맥락에서 구원의 진실을 추구하는 모든 이들에 대한 초대이자 이 세상 구원에 대한 끊임없는 갈증이며, 하 느님과 맺은 모든 유대감의 즐거운 약속이라고 한 발터 카스퍼 추기 경의 말로 결론을 맺는다.

▶ 주제어: 단군, 환인, 하늘, 천, 동학(Eastern Learning), 최제우, 수운, 시천주, 지기, 한울님, 하늘님, 인즉천, 양천주, 인내천, 초월적 내재성, 지모신.