2011, Vol., No.22

Responsibilities of the Korean Church and the State toward the Homeless, and the Cooperation between them for their Welfare

Hye-Ryung Kim | 2011, (22) | pp.7~48 | number of Cited : 1

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In korean society, organized services such as the provision of free meals or shelters to live for homeless people in only began to be provided in 1997, following the financial crisis. Prior to this, some churches and other Christian organizations were involved in providing social welfare for the homeless population. The local government and the State only supported them indirectly by providing emergency aid. In 2005, the enactment of special laws for the managerial regulation of shelters for the homeless made this division of roles between the Korean church and the State more firm. However, only a few churches and Christians have participated in this social mission; most of the population has ignored the existence of the homeless, and the current socio-economic system has contributed towards producing this trend. To overcome the disparities between the churches in Korea and to aim for more active responsibility in public spheres, this study aims at creating a new system of Christian ethics founded on the beliefs of Paul Ricoeur, who stressed on the relationship between politics and ethics, the government and the church. From the point of view of this protestant philosopher, who was one of the greatest leaders in the movement for Christian socialism in France, the modern welfare State based on humanity is not in opposition to the kingdom of God, but is rather a form of the realization of his kingdom. This study researches whether this Ricoeurian argument follows the traditional point of view on politics and the Church, like the arguments of the saints Paul and Augustine. With regard to solving the problems of the homeless that are beyond the scope of the ethical capacity of churches and individual Christians, this study agrees with Ricoeur that the social mission of the Church must work with the social welfare policies of the State. This study contains four chapters. In the first two chapters, we compare Ricoeur and the non Christian philosophers Heidegger and Levinas to more explicitly justify the theological validity of the Ricoeurian ethics. The first chapter examines the ontology of habitation, and the second chapter examines the ethics of the Other. The third chapter, which is the main chapter in this study, examines the relationship between the State and the Church according to the ethics of Ricoeur. The last chapter will analyze the extent of the social services provided by Korean churches to the homeless, and propose reform measures.

Sociology of Religion and "Sociology of Society": Social Transformative Aspect of Christian Sociology

Chull Lee | 2011, (22) | pp.42~79 | number of Cited : 0

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The Christian Social Ethics Thought of Yun Chi-Ho in the Transition Period to Modern Times

김권정 | 2011, (22) | pp.75~101 | number of Cited : 8

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Yun Chi-Ho who was born in the transition period to modern times at the end of nineteenth century had grown as a Confucius intellectual through traditional education of Confucianism. Within the social trend of modernization, he experienced modern civilization by studying in Japan. He had to go on an exile to Shanghai, China along with the frustration of 1884 coup. At that place, he had converted to Christianity on the level of personal ethics. Studying in the United States afterwards, he started accepting the social ethics of Christianity. He established the strategy of reformation movement on the level of Christian social ethics. Afterwards, he had spread out social practices through reformation of system and independence association movement. He had also spread patriotic enlightenment movement to awaken Korean people and raise the skills of national community. In the period of japanese occupation, he tried to reconstruct the collapsed national community through Christian youth movement, women’s movement, press movement and education movement, etc on the level of Christian social ethics. Yun Chi-Ho attempted to break with Confucianism related view of the world in the transition period to modern age and insisted on Christian faith as a new substitute. He emphasized on the ethical severity on the level of paradigm of life. He systematized the ethical paradigm on this basis. Also, his social ethics originated from the practicality and practice of Christianity. In this aspect, his Christian faith had brought the result of concentrating on this life than afterlife. He recognized Christian ethics as realistic practical ethics. He considered this as providing the social ethics of common good having awareness of mission in the social improvement and reformation. And he realistically accepted the theory of social evolution dealing with the law of the jungle. But he did not accept the ‘God of Christianity’ as ‘God of destiny’. He had overcome this through the stewardship in Christianity. This had become a driving force of having the hope to develop our race without getting frustrated within a hopeless political reality under the oppression of Japan’s imperialism.

A theistic Response against Dawkins' Scientific Atheism

Jongkyunn Park | 2011, (22) | pp.103~133 | number of Cited : 2

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The design argument is simply put as follows: 1. Some things are very complicated. They contain many parts which fit and work together in an orderly and regular manner to achieve their end. 2. This complexity is evidence of design - the parts could not have come together in this way by chance - they must have been put together deliberately to achieve their purpose. 3. Where there is evidence of design, there must be a designer. In the case of a watch, this is the watchmaker. 4. The universe shows evidence of design. Nature has many complicated parts which work together to achieve their end (e.g. the eye, the pollination of flowers by bees, the orbits of the planets, the conditions of the Big Bang). They could not have come together in this way by chance. 5. If the universe shows evidence of design, then it must have a designer. Therefore God exists. But Dawkins claims that Darwinism made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist. It is improbable that organised complexity should exist unexplained. Atheistic Darwinism is able to explain how organised complexity arises from simple, physical ultimates. God is useless as an explanation of organised complexity since he must have organised complexity and God's organised complexity would exist unexplained. So, God is both unnecessary and useless as an explanation of organised complexity and improbable in his own right. There is certainly no God. McGrath criticizes Dawkins' claims as follows: Darwinism does not explain everything. and no explanation of God's complexity is needed. God is not complex, but simple. From this, Swinburne argues that God hypothesis is very simple and requires few complicating assumptions that invite further explanation. Finally this paper argues that God's knowledge of the world can be explained in terms of his irreducible ability to choose among alternatives based on their value need not be organised improbable.

Anarchy of God et Levinas

sang-woo SHIM | 2011, (22) | pp.135~165 | number of Cited : 4

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The purpose of this paper is to understands the anarchy of God in the thought of Levinas that come form the Hebrew's world view. After the advent of the post-modern era of Western culture, Levinas wants to explain this contemporary with the spirit of Hebrew. And he tried to solve the violence of totality. Where the originality of Levinas's interpretation of the biblical passages do not rule out a variety of information. He is an distinction of ontological theology thought "Spoken differently, God". This innovation opened a door to the theology that would not be themed speech about God, but a testimonial hermeneutics of speech preserving the anarchy of transcendence in the ethical responsibility of the subject. Also, the Jewish tradition constantly underlines the importance of the responsibility for the other and the feeling that one has to be liable for what one does or does not do. It stresses the impossibility of forsaking one's neighbor. Ethics has responsibility pre-anteriority for the orther. In other words, responsibility is an obsession that come from a past that a man does not remember. It describes the situation of a man facing another man. Responsibility in obsession is a responsibility of the ego for what the ego has not wished, that is for the others. Here, man is not only responsible for himself but also for his acts before others, he is responsible for others in such a way that he loses his innocence when he looks at them. He really becomes human when he is ready to answer, "Here I am" to the call of the other. "Here I am" is also the beginning of humanity, since humanity begins in the alertness of mind that helps man understand that the calling is indeed. The theological relation leads directly to the ethics of relations with another person. This is clearest message that God's love for us commands us to love our neighbor. We have to the infinite responsibility and it commits us to approach the one nearest us, the neighbor. Through good influence of responsibility, we can make our world as Christian community like the idea of the Jewish community.

The Concept of Happiness in the Context of Christian Ethics

Yeon Yo Han | 2011, (22) | pp.167~184 | number of Cited : 1

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Ethics of Reconciliation and Win-Win in the Sojourning Life of the Old Testament: An Ethical Reading of Abraham Narratives

이사야 | 2011, (22) | pp.185~212 | number of Cited : 2

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An Aristotelian Analysis of Gender Role Stereotypes in the Korean Context

Lee, Sang-Hoon | 2011, (22) | pp.213~240 | number of Cited : 0

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This paper will attempt to analyze gender role stereotypes in the Korean context from an Aristotelian perspective and come up with a reasoned approach to dealing with them. The private/public dichotomy mostly entails the husband dominance/wife subjection structure in the family setting. Feminists may argue that marital relationships in the Korean society under influences of the Confucian tradition are closely associated with the private/public dichotomy that is substantially caused by unjust gender role stereotypes. This unjust gender-structured family system brings about dehumanizing husband dominance/wife subjection relations in marriage life. In an attempt to overcome these undesirable social and familial trends, feminists try to apply justice in marital relationships while redefining agapic love as complete mutuality based on equal regard. However, application of justice in connection with egalitarian ethos, in spite of its partial contribution to rectifying unjust family situations,manifest its limitation in the sense that human relations are not enforceable by way of justice or laws but rather considerably out of their reach. This paper introduces tentative proposals derived from the Aristotelian “friendship of virtue” and the Korean “inseparable consciousness” both of which exhibit great respect for community as well as for individuals. Since neither of these models are easily put in practice, the husband and wife need to devote constant effort to improve their relationships. A mature marital relationship,possessive of moral virtues and mutuality, emerges only with full-grown character by the implementation of good habits. A co-maturity may not arise until and before the husband and wife set free from socio-cultural bondage of stereotyped gender-roles which are deeply related to the husband dominance/wife subjection structure. Within these relations, the husband realizes his self through maturing the personality of his wife in full mutuality. Therefore, ideally within marital relationship, no one󰡑s dignity need be disregarded nor his or her worth underestimated in favor of any particular person or community.

A Critical Reflection on the Issue of a Christian Political Party in Korea

Janghyung Lee | 2011, (22) | pp.241~263 | number of Cited : 0

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Differences and Points of Correspondence between God’s Love and Human Love

Lee, Chang-Ho | 2011, (22) | pp.265~301 | number of Cited : 1

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The Tasks of the Christian Ethics in the Multicultural Society

Yong-Hun Jo | 2011, (22) | pp.303~330 | number of Cited : 10

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2011, Vol., No.22