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Confucius, Mencius, and Augustine in History This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Confucian Questions to Augustine Is My Cultivation of Self Your Care of the Soul? JunSoo Park Doctor of Philosophy The University of Edinburgh 2016 For Ezra Park 2 Signed Declaration I am the author of this thesis, and all the work within it is my own. This work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. ______________________ ______________________ Revd. JunSoo Park Date 3 Abstract In this thesis I compare the works of Confucius and Mencius with those of Saint Augustine. My purpose in so doing is to show Confucian Augustinianism as a new theological perspective on Confucian- Christian ethics and Augustinianism by discovering analogies and differences in their respective understandings of the formation of moral self, particularly the acquisition of virtue, and how they believe this leads to happiness. Using the method of inter-textual reasoning, and assuming continuity between Augustine’s early and later works, I compare Confucius and Mencius’s xue (學), si (思) and li (禮) including yue (樂) with Augustine’s moral learning, contemplation, sacrament, and music respectively from chapter two to four. For Augustine the formation of the moral self is the process of finding truth in God. For Confucius and Mencius it is the process of becoming a person of virtue, which follows from growth in self-understanding in relation to the Way (道). For Confucians humans already have potential self-in-heart bestowed by Heaven whereas for Augustine the self is the metaphor of the soul in the struggle of both body and soul to be directed toward the love of God in which true happiness exists. In the concluding chapter, I propose a Confucian Augustinian synthesis as a new theological perspective on Confucian-Christian ethics and Augustinianism which offers a useful medium for the formation of the moral self by mutually making up for their respective weaknesses as revealed by this critical intertextual and cross-cultural reading. I argue that Augustinians can learn the value of public ritual practices and the public political self from classical Confucians whereas Confucians can learn from Augustine the value of spiritual experience in the moral formation of the pubic self. Confucian Augustinianism is teleological, constructive, political, public, sacramental and sin-virtue oriented theology. Confucian Augustinianism which is based on virtue ethics as common ground between Confucians and Augustine not only shows methodologies for engaging in public issues with civil society for its articulation of theology in the public sphere, but also provides profound spirituality with the engagement of Augustinian biblical and systematic theology unlike liberation theologies. In contrast to modern Augustinianism such as Augustinian realism (hope), Augustinian proceduralism 4 (justice), Augustinian civic liberalism (love), and Radical Orthodoxy (love), Confucian Augustinianism highlights the virtue of humility and sincerity (誠) for the practice of love of God and neighbour by offering specific methods for cultivating self. Contrary to Confucian theology according to understanding of Heaven in the Confucian tradition, Confucian Augustinianism focuses on how to embody the Way of Heaven by cultivating virtue (德) rather than the theology of Heaven (天) or lists of virtues. By linking the self to family, community, nation, and transcendent God Confucian Augustinianism shows distinguishing ways for sanctification. Confucian Augustinianism is to seek true happiness by cultivating virtue and promoting inward, outward, and upward self through moral learning, contemplation, sacramental ritual, and music on the basis of biblical truth in a pluralistic global context. It can rectify the limit of Protestant individualism. Confucian Augustinianism is an own angle of Asian Christians on Augustinianism in the rapid growth of Christians in Asia contrary to previous Western Augustinianism. Confucian Augustinianism could make Asian Christians happy in truth. 5 Acknowledgments This thesis is a product of four years spent as a doctoral student at New College, the University of Edinburgh, undertaken with financial support from the University of Edinburgh New College School of Divinity and the Catholic Foundation of Scotland. Thanks go first to my supervisor, Rev. Prof. Michael Stafford Northcott, for his strict academic supervision. I will never forget about how he enthusiastically reshaped me as Christian ethicist. He is my true friend. His wife, Jill, did her best for me as my English teacher. Their efforts for me were a kind of family project. Particularly, it was great pleasure for me as a translator to visit to several universities and churches with him in Korea in October 2013 such as Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary where I studied theology (BTh, MDiv) from 2002 to 2009.1 It is also noteworthy that he and I contributed to making a documentary film on the Scottish missionary John Ross in cooperation with Scottish Bible Society, Centre for the Study of World Christianity, St Michael’s Parish Church, Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church and CTS in 2016.2 I am also grateful to David Fergusson, Joachim Gentz, Aaron Janklow, Anne & Bill Duncan, Byung Sik Nam, Doug Gay, Eilie & Douglas Blackwood, Ian Paterson, Iain Torrance, Janet Straub, Jeremy Kidwell, Kook Il Han, Michael Orr, Myra Lawson, Ok Su Shin, Oliver O’Donovan, Paul Nimmo, Robert Ross, Sam Hwan Kim, Scott Mckenna, Sung Bihn Yim, and Yong Man Chun. I would like to say a special thanks to my supporter Young Sang Ro. When I was an undergraduate student at PUTS after losing my right eyesight, he introduced Michael Nothcott’s Environment and Christian Ethics and the value of virtue ethics to me as Professor of Christian ethics and supported me as Head of theology 1 Michael Northcott, “Loving God and Caring for Creation,” trans. JunSoo Park, PUTS, Sungkonghoe University, Daeshin University, Honam Theological University and Seminary, October 2013; Michael Northcott, “Who is Jesus Christ for us Today?” trans. JunSoo Park, Pomo Church and PUTS, October 2013; “Sermon by Michael Northcott at PCTS,” YouTube video, 51:31, posted by “Jun Soo Park,” May 10, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEXU1IN-2Ns&t=2s; “Prof. Michael Northcott's Lecture at PCTS (Loving God and Caring for Creation),” YouTube video, 1:09:48, posted by “Seen Kim,” October 24, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSPjYCqjnOw&t=5s; “Rev. Prof. Michael Northcott's sermon at Pomo Church in Korea (13th Oct 2013),” YouTube video, 53:53, posted by “Pomo TV,” October 25, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8ixwbnV6yw; Sung Kook Lim, “Professor Michael Northcott: The Erudite Scholar in Environmental Ethics,” Hankuk Gidoggongbo, October 21, 2013, Assessed May 1, 2016. http://www.pckworld.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=61689 2 Korean Bible wakes up Cho-sun, Directed by Jae Sun Lee (Seoul: CTS, 2016). 6 department with Soong Hong Han, Sa Moon Kang, and Yoon Bae Choi.3 Together we served as minister at Myungsung Presbyterian Church. When I applied for the University of Edinburgh, he was my referee as Dean of PUTS with President Emeritus Jong Sung Rhee (1922-2011). Ro and I were honoured to be invited to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland as emissaries of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) in May 2014.4 When he was invited to a keynote speaker for ICPR conference, we had fruitful time in York and Manchester in June 2015. As President he invited me to the national conference of Korea Association of Christian Studies and Honam Theological University and Seminary in October 2015 as a speaker and translator with David Fergusson, Brian Stanley, Stewart Gillan and Elma Birrell in order to commemorate the centenary of the demise of John Ross (1842-1915).5 As Director at the Research Center of PCK, he appointed me as a researcher in 3 Young Sang Ro, “Life Theology as the Foundation of Environmental Theology,” Understanding Theology 18 (October 1999), 199; Yoon Bae Choi, Introduction to the Reformed Theology (Seoul: PUTS, 2015), 10; JunSoo Park, An Introduction to the Old Testament (Seoul: PUTS, 2002), 2-3; JunSoo Park, A New Covenant in Studying Theology (Seoul: PUTS, 2005), 3-8; JunSoo Park, ed., History of Korean Theological Thought (Seoul: PUTS, 2007), 3. 4 “The Church of Scotland General Assembly: Order of Proceedings,” 20, Assessed May 1, 2016. http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/20666/Order-Of-Proceedings-2014.pdf. 5 David Fergusson, “Church, State, and the Secular,” trans. JunSoo Park, in the 44th Conference of Korea Association of Christian Studies (2015), 16-40; Round-Table Discussion with David Fergusson titled “To Future Ministers,” trans. JunSoo Park, in the Journal of Christian Thought (Dec 2015), 201-212; David Fergusson, “Scottish Reformed Theology after the Reformation,” trans. JunSoo Park, in Lecture for Commemorating the Centennial of the Demise of John Ross: John Knox and John Ross in Scottish Theology (Gwangju: HTUS, 2015), 28-68; David Fergusson, ‘True Patriotism,’ trans. JunSoo Park, in Lecture for Commemorating the Centennial of the Demise of John Ross: John Knox and John Ross in Scottish Theology (Gwangju: HTUS, 2015), 136-148; Stewart Gillan’s Sermon titled “Pilgrimage toward Partnership,” trans.
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