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Christian ethical Critique on Dualism of Church and Secular World in Christian Tradition: Focusing on the Influence on Plato’s Dualism

SHIN, KYUNG SOO 1

1성결대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The notion of “Idea” provided a function to make all forms of the earth in Plato. Plato’s Idea means superiority over invisible beings can be found in his “soul theory,” which divides two categories such as immortality and mortality. The former is a natural principle to move physical body, while the latter is a human dimension of it. He argues that the immortality part has a ability more than reason, whereas the mortality has an impact on emotion or desire sphere. He also insists that material thing is bad, and spiritual one is good. Such a dualism affects onto St. Augustinus to believe two worlds respectively. To him, unlike the material world, non-material world was a interim space where is common ground to perceive God and invisible things alike. Boethius stands also on the line of same argument. Plato’s theory with reasonable ground in its legitimacy has contributed in making a great trend of thought, and it also serve as a meaningful apparatus to explain that the heaven is an ultimate reality and the earth is its derived reality accordingly, that is, the visible world of creation seems to be a realm of the evil; whereas the invisible “Idea”does the Supreme spiritual area with full of God’s grace and perfect morality. Dualistic comparison between form and material gave a wrong clue to distinguish body and soul and/or church and secular world as well. Such a dualism make a crossroad in which soul and church upgraded to sacred space, whereas body and world downgraded into negative and lower realm. Upon this wrong application, immoral criterion of ethics became rampant not only in mundane life but in the church as well.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.