한국감리교회의 신학적·역사적 정체성 연구 = A Study on the Theological and Historical Identity of Korean Methodist Church

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

There are several interpretations on the theology and historical traditions of Korean Methodist church. The first interpretation presents the church to have laid the cornerstone for modern education and healthcare enterprise in Korea, and boasts that it is the church that has led the country’s modern ideology. For that reason, it specifically explicates Henry G. Appenzeller as the forerunner of the education mission.
The second interprets the theology of the church to be encultrational, with Appenzeller’s evangelist Choi Byung-hun’s thoughts serving an example.
The third construes that Korean Methodist church has led Minjung theology, for hospital and dispensary(시약소) of the medical mission by William B. Scranton. It also connects the church with the anti-Japanese movement for national independence, for Sang-dong church, founded by Scranton himself, was the vanguard of the save-the-nation and mass education movements. This interpretation leads to the claim that the Methodist church should play a leading role in tackling problems of the people and the country.
The fourth concerns the theology of the Great Awakening, led by Robert A. Hardie, that the major theology of Korean Methodist church is evangelism that swept the 19th century Britain and America. It therefore puts a great emphasis on revivals and spiritual experiences of conversion. At the same time, it asserts that the church should not directly intervene itself in matters of the politics. The fifth interpretation is the argument that social evangelism, as put forth by Korean Methodist church when it separated from American Methodist church, has become the identity of the faith.
In fact, there have been three broad interpretations on the tradition of Korean Methodist church. They are the one concerning national and social matters, and another that disregards political matters. There is also the other that tries to reconcile the two. On the one hand, there is the claim that the Kingdom of God should realize itself on earth, representing justice and democracy. On the other hand, there is the other claim that political matters should be left in the hands of natural providence, with emphasis on His transcendence and historical providence. Still others argue that the mission for salvation and the redemption of nation should go hand in hand.
However, most Methodist ministers and local churches pursue the tradition of the Great Awakening, which has rather neglected political matters. They revere revivals and cherish spiritual experiences and the teachings of the Scriptures. Relatively few are those who insist an active participation of the church in national or social matters, since their ideas are beside the major concern of Methodists and general ministers. Though some call for Minjung theology and encultrational theology, or insist prioritizing national interests such as reunification of the two Koreas, most local churches remain quiet.
Korean Methodist church has begun with the evangelist traditions of the Britain and America. Presbyterian church is no exception. When the gospel first budded in Korea, it not only saved souls of the Korean people but also changed the society. The Western religion that could have remained as a strange, foreign culture has become a Korean one. It has become a modern ideology and gave birth to a moral culture. It has led the modernization of the country and rescued the isolated.
The gospel of Christianity is the response to the very fundamental concern that is salvation. It is also the only solution. Thus, salvation makes itself the sole purpose of the gospel. It gives a calling to honor one’s soul and to save his life. Yet the gospel relates to the “Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt 6:33). The mission of salvation needs to manifest on earth and its nations. In this way, the gospel has taken its course to change history. Hence for the matters of salvation, the spiritual realm and the matters of the living cannot be separated. While the very mission of salvation must remain intact, the matters of the living should not be neglected by the church. This is also the theological proposal of John Wesley, who did not fail to care for both the spiritual and social aspects of the gospel.