백색 순교에서 적색 순교로-손양원 목사의 순교와 신학적 의미 (From “White Martyrdom” to “Red Martyrdom”: the Ministry and Theology of Yang-Won Son)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국기독교역사학회
· 수록지 정보 : 한국기독교와 역사 / 40호 / 147 ~ 190페이지
· 저자명 : 이덕주

초록

한국기독교 역사에서 ‘대표적인’ 순교자로 기록되고 있는 손양원 목사는 경남 함안에서 장로교 신앙과 민족주의 의식이 강한 손종일 장로의 맏아들로 출생하였다. 1921년 일본에 유학하여 2년 동안 스가모중학에서 공부하는 동안 일본 동양선교회 창설자 나카다, 무교회주의자 우치무라 등으로부터 신앙적 영향을 받고 복음 전도자로 헌신할 것을 결심하였다. 귀국해서 경남노회 성경학원에 입학하여 신학 수업을 받으면서 나환자교회인 부산 상애원교회에서 전도사로 목회를 시작하였으며 경남노회 추천으로 평양 장로회신학교에 입학, 1938년 졸업한 후 나환자교회인 여수 애양원교회의 초빙을 받고 나환자 목회에 임하였다.
일제말기 신사참배 문제가 일어났을 때 손양원 목사는 신사참배를 강하게 비판, 거부하였고 그 때문에 1940년 9월 체포되어 1945년 해방되기까지 5년 옥고를 치렀다. 해방 후에 여수 애양원교회에 복귀하여 목회하면서 부흥사로서 전국을 순회하며 ‘한국 교회와 민족의 회개’를 촉구하는 메시지를 선포하였다. 1948년 ‘여순사건’ 사건이 터졌을 때 순천에서 유학 중이던 두 아들이 공산주의 학생들에게 희생되는 슬픔을 겪으면서도 가해자 학생을 용서하고 그를 양아들로 삼아 그로 인해 ‘사랑의 원자탄’이란 별명이 그에게 붙여졌다. 다시 2년 후 1950년 한국전쟁이 터졌을 때 “환자 교인들을 버려두고 갈 수 없다”며 애양원교회를 지키다가 공산군에 체포되어 1950년 9월 28일 여수에서 희생되었다.
나환자 목회로 출발하여 일제말기 신사참배 거부투쟁과 투옥, 그리고 해방 후 부흥사역과 순교에 이르는 손양원 목사의 생애와 신앙, 그리고 신학에서 발견되는 특징을 1) 성경 절대주의, 2) 종말론적 소명감, 3) 대속적 자기희생 등으로 정리할 수 있다. 그는 30여년 나환자 목회를 통해 ‘자기 비움’과 겸비를 경험, 실천하였고 성경중심적 복음주의 신앙과 종말론적 재림신앙에 입각하여 일제의 신사참배 강요에 저항하였으며 해방 후 민족분단과 좌우익 이데올로기 갈등으로 두 아들을 잃고도 가해자(원수)를 용서하는 ‘완전 사랑’의 본을 보였고 전쟁 중에도 “양을 위하여 자기 목숨을 버리는” ‘선한 목자’의 자리를 지키다가 순교자가 되었다. 결국 손양원 목사는 평소 목회자로서 자기 비움과 희생을 실천하는 ‘백색 순교’의 삶을 살다가 결국 피를 흘리는 ‘적색 순교’로 생을 마쳤다.

영어초록

Rev. Yang-Won Son is one of the most famous martyrs recorded in the History of Christianity in Korea. He was born and reared at a presbyterian Christian family in south Kyungsang and got nationalistic influence strongly from his father who was a builder of his hometown Church and imprisoned one year for participation in the March 1st independent movement in 1919. In 1921 Son went Japan for study on his way at a middle school in Tokyo. Then and there he contacted many non-presbyterian faiths and theologies such as Japanese non-Churchism, Methodism, and Holiness revivalism.
Two years later he came back home with an enthusiastic desire for evangelism and ministry and started theological study at the High Biblical School of Kyungsang Presbytery and later graduated from the Presbyterian Theological School in Pyeng Yang in 1938. He begun his ministry at Sang-Ae Won, a leper home founded by the Australian presbyterian mission in Pusan and finished it at Ae-Yang Won, also the other leper home founded by the American southern presbyterian mission in Yeo Soo. By doing ministry for the lepers he experienced and practiced his faith of kenosis, self-emptying and self-sacrificing love, embracing leper patients bodily, sometimes sucking their wounded bodies with his mouth.
Rev. Son had faith firmly on the Biblical text and eschatological adventism. In that faith he, in the late hard days of Japanese imperialistic colonialism, could resist against governmental compelling demand of worship of the Japanese Shinto shrine and Japanese emperor. He also preached openly to his adherents that worshiping of Shinto shrine was an idolatry guilt against God's commandment. Japanese religio-political regime regarded this anti-worshipping of the Shinto shrine and the emperor as an anti-governmental resistant movement not only in religious but also in political aspect. So the Japanese police had arrested Rev. Son in Sep. 1940, just after preaching at the Wednesday night prayer meeting of the Ae-Yang Won Church, and prosecuted as a criminal against the national security law.
At the national liberation of Aug. 1945 Rev. Son, releasing from his imprisonment of five years, came back to Ae-Yang Won Church and resumed ministry for the lepers. And he also performed nationwide revival meetings, proclaiming the message of repent to the unfaithful sins and non-Christian activities of the Korean Church leaders under the Japanese imperialism. He explained therefore the south/north division of the Korean peninsula was a result of not thoroughly repentance of Christians. And there were many civilian victims by the ideological violent conflicts and struggles between the communists and the non-communists in south Korea. Rev. Son also lost his two sons, Dong-Il and Dong-Sin, then students of the middle and the high schools in Soon Chun, killed by communist students in Oct. 1948, when Soon Chun and Yeo Soo were occupied several days by the communist rebellious soldiers antagonistic to the south Korean government. But Rev. Son forgave an offender student who had participated in massacring and adopted him as his son. This loving-enemy story was published in a book titled ‘Atom bomb of love.'Two years later form his two sons' martyrdom, burst out the Korean war in Jun. 25 1950, and Yeo Soo was occupied very soon under the north Korean communist armies. But Rev. Son remained at Ae-Yang Won Church, refusing advices and requests to escape of the neighboring pastors and Christians. He kept his pulpit with a mind of good shepard who must sacrifice his own life for the sheep in peril until Sep. 13rd 1950 when he was arrested by the withdrawing communist soldiers and killed finally with other anti-communist citizen at an orchard garden not far from the Ae-Yang Won in the night of Sep. 28th 1950. Thus Rev. Yang-Won Son with his two sons became a representative martyr family of Korean Christianity.
In the faith and theology of Rev. Son the martyr we can find out three characteristic points as follows: firstly, the Biblical absolutism which supported him a non-surrendering resistance against the Japanese coercion of Shinto shrine worship, secondly the eschatological calling-consciousness which kept him as a sincere pastor for the lepers and enduring to the long imprisonment hardship, and thirdly the redemptive self-sacrificing spirit which gave his own life for the sake of reconciliation and peace of the Korea people. Thus, in his kenosis ministry for the lepers, spiritual preaching at the revival meetings, practice of loving-enemy and final self-sacrificing martyrdom, Rev. Son could be awarded honor to be an example of perfectio Christi(Christian perfection) in Korean Church history.

참고자료

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