선교와 문화변화―평양 대흥운동을 중심으로―

서지정보

ㆍ발행기관 : 한국선교신학회 ㆍ수록지정보 : 선교신학 / 16권
ㆍ저자명 : 최형근

영어 초록

This article aims to analyze and apply to the Great Revival Movement of Pyugyang 1907 by using the revitalization movement model of Anthony Wallace with the complement of the innovation model of Homer Barnet. Socio-cultural change is the result of any transformation of customs, values, and ways of thinks or behaviors in a society. The religious meaning of this change is the worldview change in a society as a form of religious conversion. Wallace defines revitalization movement as “a deliberate, organized, conscious effort by members of a society to construct a more satisfying culture.” In the process of revitalization there are three factors presented: (1) the perception of the culture as a system; (2) dissatisfaction with that system; and (3) an organized effort to change that system. The process of revitalization movement shares a common structure, consisting of the following five stages: (1) steady state; (2) period of increased individual stress; (3) period of cultural distortion; (4) period of revitalization(in this period there are six functions: formulation of a code, communication, organization, adaptation, cultural transformation, and routinization); and (5) new steady state. Anthony Wallace’s anthropological model of revitalization movement, in combination with Homer G. Barnet’s model of innovation can provide a useful framework for examining and understanding of the Great Revival Movement of Pyengyang 1907. He defines an innovation as “any thought, behavior, or thing that is new because it is qualitatively different from existing forms.” The emphasis in this model is on the reorganization of ideas rather than on quantitative variation. Culture change takes place not when there is just more or less of the same thing, but when idea, a behavior pattern or a material object is qualitatively different from existing forms. He has contributed to the understanding of culture change as he suggested the theory focusing on the innovator’s behavior pattern. As an outsider the role of the missionary is important, but the change agent is the indigenous leadership, the one who mainly influences on the decision on the reception of the socio-cultural change. The change by the outsider(or missionaries) may be destructive so that the cross-cultural witness should attempt to contextualize the gospel through a careful examination of the local culture, because they are the persons who use to bring sociocultural changes as well as individual change. In the end of the Chosen Dynasty, people had experienced a religious vacuum. The reasons were because Korean traditional religions, Buddhism and Confucianism, has lost their ability to provide people mental framework. This religious vacuum caused people to desire for fervently seeking a new religion. Also the Tonghak revolution and Chinese-Russian war and following the assassination of the queen Min drove people into fear and frustration. The year 1884 was one of the darkest eras in the Chosen history because there was no sign to resolve the current situation. Endemic disease spread all around the country accelerated the crisis and fear felt by the people. So people were trying to seek some solution to resolve the crisis. The stress level of people became increased, in fact, facing the crisis the colonial Japan began to occupy the country with power. In this circumstances there was a candle ignited for a revival by American Methodist missionary Hardie from Wonsan in 1903 August. In his confession we can find a transforming code for overcoming the national crisis and desperate situation, which was radical and super cultural. The revival movement started from Wonsan became spread to Kangwon province, Seoul, Gaesung, Pyugyang, and all around the country. Finally this movement exploded at Changdaehyun church in 1907 January. At that time, there were around 1,000 men for bible studying meeting and missionaries gathered for noon prayer meeting. Then how can the code as a spiritual awakening be interpreted and communicated by the Korean believers? The revival movement as a renovative code was interpreted and communicated as means of salvation, and it was diffused to beyond Pyungyang. The leaders of the movement included Korean church leaders such as Kil Sunju, Chun Kyeeun, and Chung Chuhsoo as well as foreign missionaries. They had lead revival meetings with a clear motivation to breakthrough the desperate situation in faith, which were combined with the prayer meetings of the missionaries. In fact, the Korean church leaders were involved in the revival movement with a strong desire to find a clue of overcoming the crisis, while the missionaries started the revivals with repentance and reflect of their mission works. But these two different motives were directly connected to the Great Revival, and they were finding a new code and goal culture. The Great Revival movement had played an important role to rapidly grow churches and to encourage evangelism among Korean churches through making young people to commit their lives for ministry, and to develop church structure. A turning point made by the Great Revival movement was the organization of the church structure, the unity of denominations, and missionary endeavor such as working together for medical and educational mission works. The Great Revival was really successful, and it had influenced on the development of the church structure, theology, and church growth. It can be evaluated that not only did it include repentance and awakening in a spiritual dimension, but it was closely related to socio-cultural transformation. So it is a crucial factor to examine the socio-cultural and political dimensions of the Great Revival movement. From a missiological perspective, socio-cultural change must include a transforming factor of the gospel. Any socio-cultural change in Christianity is not merely the change of individual's mind and behavior, but should be extended to social and cultural movements. During socio-cultural changes, the role of the church is to provide a valid biblical framework in order for people to change their worldview to biblical one and to suggest an alternative theological agenda for a relevant contextual theology to overcome the gospel reductionism and syncretism. To some extent, critical evaluation to the Great Revival movement might be something that it had done in an American form of Christian faith. In this reason, from the beginning the Korean Christianity had difficulties to indigenize and contextualize the gospel, difficulty that it was to transplant the gospel message into the Korean soil. In this respect it is suggested a problem that the movement has hardly contributed to the contextualize the gospel for the Korean church. Though there are both positive and negative aspects to the Great Revival movement, it must be the crucial event that the Korean church today reexamines and rediscovers as the event that has a huge contribution for the formation of Korean believers’ faith pattern in the critical time when the country lost her national right and identity. The challenge the Korean church are facing is that the church has to attempt to discover a new code and ideal culture that can inspire in believers’ mind and diagnose the today’s crisis through the Bible and the church history.

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