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교의학과 인문·사회과학에 대한 관계를 중심으로 살펴본 한국기독교사회윤리학의 학문적 위치

  • The Korean Journal of Chiristian Social Ethics
  • Abbr : 기사윤
  • 2009, (18), pp.39-76
  • Publisher : The Society Of Korean Christian Social Ethics
  • Research Area : Humanities > Christian Theology

Kang, Won Don 1

1한신대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Christian social ethics make reflections on earnest attempts of the Christians to realize a better and more righteous life by regulating institutional things. Almost all relations of human beings to their inner lives, other persons and their environments are institutionalized; therefore there must be ethical approaches to these institutional aspects of human relationships from a Christian perspective. I define such attempts as Christian social ethics. In the article I would locate them in relation to dogmatics and to human and social sciences. Firstly, I deny the traditional thesis that ethics are defined as tasks of dogmatics, as Karl Barth has asserted it strongly. Even if Christian social ethics interpret institutions from a dogmatic perspective, such interpretations cannot take the place of analytical approaches to the reality of institutions. Christian social ethics stand on their own feet if they use dogmatics autonomously in articulating theological foundations of their ethical principles. Secondly, Christian social ethics can find out the place to integrate human and social scientific analyses of reality into ethical reflections if they distinguish criteria of ethical judgment from maxims of ethical praxis. The former is concerned in the transparence of the world to the kingdom of God and it must make clear what should be done in such a perspective. In the meanwhile the latter is, even in the vision of the Kingdom of God, rather interested in suggesting guidelines or alternative concepts to regulate institutional things under historical conditions of reality. In such connections Christian social ethics cannot escape from analyzing institutional realities with help of human and social sciences. Thirdly, Christian social ethics must be selective in using human and social scientific analyses of reality. They accept human and social sciences which can help to disclose ideological disguises, to break superstitions of laws which are suggested to be prevalent in history and society, to be responsible for the future and to promote democracy and public integrity through discourses in the civil society.

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