This dissertation seeks to identify the characteristics of dispensational theology as formed primarily through North American missionaries who entered Korea in the late nineteenth century, and to examine the influence they exerted on the Korean church...
This dissertation seeks to identify the characteristics of dispensational theology as formed primarily through North American missionaries who entered Korea in the late nineteenth century, and to examine the influence they exerted on the Korean church. It also aims to analyze how the Korean church maintained and embodied the dispensational faith tradition inherited from these early missionaries during the period from 1885 to 1945. In other words, this study seeks to contribute to a clearer understanding of the characteristics of dispensational theology as established within the Korean church between 1885 and 1945 and of its impact on the Korean church as a whole.
In contemporary Korean Christianity, dispensational theology is often met with misunderstanding and negative assessment. This tendency appears largely to stem from a long-standing interpretive framework that has understood the theology of the early missionaries and the early Korean church primarily through the dual systems of Calvinism and Arminianism. In this process, traces of dispensational theology evident among the missionaries who came to Korea have frequently been deliberately excluded or dismissed. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to move beyond the presuppositions embedded in existing theological frameworks and to examine, from a more objective perspective, the theological orientations present in the early Korean church, thereby offering a clearer and more accurate assessment.
To this end, the dissertation first defines dispensational theology and examines the historical background through which it was introduced into the Korean church. This includes an investigation of the missionaries who came to Korea and the late-nineteenth-century American revival movements that directly influenced them. The study then examines the activities of these missionaries, who played a central role in the founding of the Korean church, and identifies the dispensational ideas evident in their thought. Furthermore, it analyzes how Korean church leaders influenced by these missionaries received dispensationalism and how the Korean church applied it in practice. By examining major events from each historical period, this dissertation seeks to provide a detailed analysis of dispensational thought as manifested in the early Korean church.
Ultimately, by illuminating the influence and contributions of dispensational theology in the formative process of the Korean church, this study aims to offer a balanced perspective on the role of dispensational theology in shaping the theology and praxis of the early Korean church.