2011, Vol., No.21

Moon, Si Young | 2011, (21) | pp.7~30 | number of Cited : 4

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A Critical Reading of Stanley Hauerwas's Ecclesial Ethic

김현수 | 2011, (21) | pp.31~70 | number of Cited : 7

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This article intends to read Stanley Hauerwas’s ecclesial ethic in a critical manner. To do this, firstly, I try to unpack Hauerwas’s dualistic understanding of the relationship between the church and the world. For Hauerwas: (1) The world is the world of violence. According to him, the world after the tower of Babylon has become the world full of violence and war because together with the division of language the fear of others came into play in the world. (2) Since the modern period, the world has been governed by the spirit of liberalism. For Hauerwas, liberalism is considered the same as the freedom of individuals. As a result, in the liberal world, there is no common story that people share with one another, and the world is left with atomic individuals and their desires. (3) Unfortunately, according to Hauerwas, the church has imitated the characters of the world. It has served the world by dedicating itself to make the world better with the social programs of the world. The result was the dilution of the spirit of the Gospel. In so doing, the church has lost its distinctive identity. To overcome these trends, Hauerwas argues that the social task of the church is to be the church itself. This means that the church can serve the world by being an alternative community for the world or a contrast model with the world. For doing this, according to Hauerwas, (1) the church must become a peace-making community. (2) In order to be a peaceful community, the church is formed by the story which is Jesus Christ. This is why the cross of Jesus Christ is the embodiment of peace. (3) In this sense, the social task of the church is to nurture the people of virtue who knows the peaceful story of Jesus Christ. Secondly, I criticize Hauerwas’s ecclesial ethic in the following three ways: (1) Hauerwas overemphasizes the distinctiveness of the church from the world. This may result in sectarianism though Hauerwas denies it. (2) Hauerwas does not recognize the importance of justice. According to him, peace does not go together with justice because the latter always implies the logic of force and violence. However, the Bible says that peace is the result of justice. (3) Hauerwas’s ecclesial ethic supports the authoritarian system of community in which master sits over disciple. In this sense, Hauerwasian community can be an unequal and unjust one. This article comes to a conclusion that for the church to be the church needs both its identity and its socio-political responsibility.

Medical Ethics In The Decision of Terminal Treatment For Dying Patients and Roles of Medical Personnel

Lee Sang Koo | 2011, (21) | pp.71~101 | number of Cited : 1

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The place where people meet the end of their lives is changing in medical institution and the incidence of medical decisions in relation to the terminal treatment is increasingly made by health care providers. According to bioethics that is required in health care providers, medical treatment in purpose of extending valuable life is considered undoubtedly necessary. However, the maintenance of unnecessary treatment in un-revivable patients is considered medically futile treatment that can arouse social and ethical problems. Also, termination of life-sustaining treatment in un-revivable patients leads to death of the patient, which can bring up problems related to death with dignity or euthanasias. In the actual medical field, it is not easy to make a terminal treatment decision as in to which extent is a patient un-revivable, and to which extent should the treatment be done. The consequence of the decision, ethical conflicts, and legal problems are even more complicated. Therefore, in this paper, we will look at objectives in terminal treatment and the structures in decision-making process for treatment plans, and inspect social status by looking into current trends and issues in termination of life-sustaining treatment. Also, we will analyze the Medical ethics and ethics in the Bible for the making of decisions in selecting patients in need for terminal treatment, and the role and limitation of Christian health care providers in making that decision. Conclusively, Christian health care providers should not rely on objective probability of revival or scientific knowledge, but treat the patient, that God has entrusted us, according to the Bible ethics. The patient should be treated not only physically but also spiritually, and effective communication method is needed with the patient’s family in order to be a professional who can provide all information needed for making the best decision in future treatment.

The Sucide As a Christian Ethical Issue

이종원 | 2011, (21) | pp.103~132 | number of Cited : 7

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Korea society’s suicide ratio is the top of OECD nations. This high suicide ratio reveals a fundamental problem of our society. The prime cause of suicide is a result of economic crisis and a radical change of the structure of our society since 1998. So our society filled with a shadow of death instead of life and hope. It is evident that our society prevails to have a trend to neglect-life. In this paper, I want to survey the prime cause of suicide and then to seek the solution and prevention of this suicide problem. Also I want to stress an importance of proper bio-culture and suggest establishing bio-culture. Individual causes of suicide are a shocking accident, conflict, a lose of hope, a feeling of helplessness, painful torture, extreme property ect. Also an irrational socio-structural contradiction results in suicide. Committing suicide is not only an individual issue but also society’s disaster and reveals failure of our society. Suicide brings social damage and collapse of the family because they destroy their life themselves. Some support suicide base on the right of ownership of their life and respect for autonomy and the final exit of pain. But we should consider that life is given as a gift and duty. We should take notice the priority of the principle of non-maleficence over respect for autonomy. Suicide damages themselves and badly affects their family and their community. So preventing suicide is the duty of a community and ethically moral. Above all, to prevent suicide from spreading the movement to respect life based on the dignity of life, and positive motivation for the meaning of life must precede and should recover real solidarity of communities. Also education of suicide prevention should go ahead and a suicide prevention system must be established. These are the main roles of church for suicide prevention. First, the church recovers solidarity by establishing a proper viewpoint. Second, the church and cares for the living family of the one who committed suicide. Third, the church respects alienated people and gives love and care to them. Forth, the church notices contradictions of our society and makes effort to seek diverse solutions for these problems by long-term perspectives.

Establishment of Unity in Variety: Multi-cultural Country

Hee-Soo Kim | 2011, (21) | pp.135~164 | number of Cited : 3

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A Study on Reading of Racial Discriminations and Prejudices in Cyberspace

박우영 | 2011, (21) | pp.165~198 | number of Cited : 0

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A Way of Building Bridges between Eastern-Western Ethic: Suhak Ethics

O, Ji-Seok | 2011, (21) | pp.199~227 | number of Cited : 5

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Gender Budgeting–from an ethical Christian point of view

Meehyun Chung | 2011, (21) | pp.229~252 | number of Cited : 1

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Gender Budgeting, a practice internationally introduced in the 1980’s, was implemented several years ago by the government of South Korea. Since 2009 it has been recognized in official reports to parliament. Gender budgeting consists of two parts: a gender-based assessment and analysis of the situation; and the promotion of gender equality and sensitivity throughout all levels of the budgetary process by restructuring revenues and expenditures. As we move towards implementing greater gender justice and equality through financial processes, both the Korean Church and Korean theology have an opportunity to develop an understanding of the practice from an ethical Christian point of view. While the practice has been adopted from the secular woman’s movement world wide, its implications are not limited to secular institutions. I review the concept and methods of implementation, as well as their theological implications. Further, I reflect on how we might read the Bible through fresh eyes regarding these themes. Gender budgeting has the potential to help define and correct injustices affecting both women and men within the distribution of resources within the church, church based organizations and theological institutions. There are four critical aspects to the program: transparency, efficiency, responsibility and justice. Resistance to economic injustice was central to the spirit of the founding of the Presbyterian Church in the 16th century – the origin and antecedent of the majority of today’s Korean Protestant churches – and an important aspect of the Reformation. God seeks to renew the whole of creation and desires abundant life for all. God’s plan for the socially marginalized and weak is the ground for economic justice. In this way, God’s revelation through the Cross of Jesus Christ calls us to reveal the economic injustice within our Churches, para Churches and theological institutions. Gender budgeting is a responsible tool and suitable practice which will help us achieve Christian justice. We are called to participate in this dynamic processnot only as a timely financial practice, but to further Christian living and understanding within our communities.

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The Korean Journal of Chiristian Social Ethics 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.58

2011, Vol., No.21