연희전문학교 정관의 작성과 기독교 정체성의 확립

조재국(Jai Kook Cho) 연세대학교 신과대학(연합신학대학원) 2016 신학논단 Vol.83 No.-

일본 문화의 종교성과 선교방향에 관한 연구

조재국(Jai Kook Cho) 한국기독교학회 2001 한국기독교신학논총 Vol.21 No.-

This study analyzes Japanese culture in the light of its religious substance in order to find out the method and direction for christian mission. Korean churches are calling for a new strategy for long term mission for other countries due to their experience abroad. Particularly, the mission to Japan is different from 3rd world countries, because Japan`s economic situation is better than Korea`s. This thesis aims to understand the necessity for a new strategy for Korean christian mission in Japan. For this, we must understand the underlying structure of the Japanese culture and religions and then analyze the process of secularization of Japanese traditional religions and the basic ground of spirituality in Japanese popular culture so that we may understand the religious substance of Japanese cultures. Also the study analyzes the hisitorical characteristics of christian reception, and the necessity of christian missions in order to explore new directions for christian missions in Japan. Mr. Shuich Kato points out competitive collectivism, secularism and a present-centered attitude as the underlying characteristics of Japanese culture. According to him, Japanese collectivism is not a class-oriented society but a goal-oriented society. The religious elements are strong in Japanese high culture as well as in popular culture. However, during the process of modernization, Japanese traditional religions have been transformed into as secular institutions. Buddhism, which is the biggest religion in Japan, has been mocked as "the funeral religion," and Buddhist temples have been reduced into sightseeing places as well as funeral service places. Shinto shrines are no longer respected by people because of their supports for World War Ⅱ. In the meantime, arguments about the religious characteristics of Shinto shrines have continued. Mr. Yamaori Tetsuo said that the collapse of religion has resulted in atheistic intellectuals in modern Japanese society. While Japanese religions can not give people religious satisfaction due to secularization, Japanese popular culture and cult groups may appeal to people and respond to their religious demands. This essay discuss Yonka(popular music), cult religion and the Yakuza, Japanese gangsters, which may contain the characteristics of their religious needs. Japanese churches need to respond to the demands of the Japanese people to solve the problems of christian mission work in those situations. The Japanese United Christian Churches which is the biggest denomination, numbers about 68,000 throughout all the congregation of worship service on Sunday, and its number is less than the number of one church in Korea. We can mention several points as causes; In the beginning, Christian missions had targeted intellectuals, therefore Japanese churches were formed as elite churches. Early Japanese christians rejected denomination and churchcentered idea and took to the non-church movements. In conclusion, we can suggest three points of direction and strategy; Japanese churches have to plan their strategy to respond to the religious demands of low-class people and for more effective mission, churches must take useful methods from cult religions while analyzing them critically. Today`s churches must plan to reduce knowledge church` of elite people into behavior church` of the masses.

에큐메니칼 신학의 한국교회 수용에 대한 성찰

조재국(Jai Kook Cho) 한국기독교학회 2000 한국기독교신학논총 Vol.18 No.-

The ecumenical movement had begun on the process of cooperating churches and mission boards in order to achieve the efficient christian mission toward to 3rd world. Recently, the World Church Conference which is one of the big organizations of the ecumenical movement, should enforce its reform generally due to request from the member churches including the Greek Orthodox Church and passive commitment from the 1st world churches after post cold war. At the same time, Korean National Council of Churches can not but face the similar problem, so that it may deepen the character of the associated movement centered in big denominations of churches and result to weaken issues from the movement organizations for social mission. In fact, the growth of Korean churches has closely connected with the improvement of ecumenical movement in modern time, and the theology of Korean churches has been established by the debate upon the world ecumenical theology. This study researches into the theological issues raised by world ecumenical movement history, and analyzes how to understand those issues in ecumenical movement. And then this study researches into how to interpret the theological agendas from the world ecumenical movement and how to reflect the Korean ecumenical agendas on the world churches. As the main contents, the essay analyzes a historical background as well as the theological methodology of the ecumenical movement and contains its theological achievements such as Missio Dei, Religious Pluralism, Sustainable Development, Feminist Theology in Asia, Ecumenism of churches etc. in the light of their application to Korean situation. In conclusion, the Korean churches historically have been influenced by the world ecumenical movement and its ecumenism after the second world war. Somehow, the leaders of Korean churches were sensitive to the world ecumenical agendas, and the socio-political situation in Korea such as the situation human rights supplied the new tasks to the ecumenical organizations. Particularly, the Korean churches have taken the most of ecumenical issues relevant to history and cultures in Asia as their theological agendas, and had sent the theology of Korea back to the world churches as new agenda. These days, the sectionalism is being deepened and the ecclesiasticism wide-spreaded in Korea. In order to solve those problem, Korean churches should reinterpret ecumenical theology to realize the cooperation of churches for mission with ecumenism.

중세 일본의 천주교 선교와 신 개념의 수용에 관한 연구

조재국(Jai-Kook Cho) 연세대학교 신과대학(연합신학대학원) 2012 신학논단 Vol.68 No.-

This article aims to analyze the characters of Jesuit Christian mission and the acceptance of the concept of deity in Japanese middle age. In particular, the history of Japanese Kirisitan indicates how to accept the concept of Christian God to Japanese in Kirisitan community and how to accommodate Christian God and Japanese religious gods. At first, we analyzed the process of introducing the concept of Christian God to Japanese people in order to understand characters of Japanese acceptance of Christianity by the relationship with Japanese traditional religions. At the latter, we revealed the characters of practice and belief in Kirisitan communities of Ikitsuki and Urakami which had molded two different characters under long religious persecution by Japanese Shogunates. After 400 years persecution, Ikitsuki community was not recognized as Christian community even if Urakami community was permitted as Christian community by Roman Catholic Church at 18 century. The first Jesuit missionaries had taken thousands of Christians in a short time through conversion of Samurais due to admiration of Japanese traditional and life cultures. Unfortunately, the their accommodative method could not adjust to the biblical education as core contents of Jesuit mission. Jesuit missionaries had to make Japanese understand the concept of monotheistic God in Christianity against their syncretic tradition of religious pluralism and polytheism. Japanese scholars insisted that God of Jesuit Christianity was appeared as a temporary appearance of Buddha by Bonjisujuk theory which means Buddha’s accommodation to local gods in various religions. However, Kirisitan members believed God in Christianity as the Creator or the Governor over the other things. Therefore, they thought to suffer martyrdom as possible as sacrifice for God. To willingly suffer martyrdom of Kirisitan members might be from the attitudes of Samurais in Japanese traditional ethic. Todays, we could seek the two different characters from the cases of Ikitsuki community and Urakami community in Nagasaki prefecture. The two communities had to pretend to be Japanese religious communities by usage of the symbols of Buddhist or the rites of Shinto shrine so that the concept of God might make an amendment to the concept of Japanese traditional gods. They pretended worship to Tea ceremony and work for district leader of members to the head of village residents. Ikitsuki community members thought those kinds of amendment as a method to keep their belief of Christianity. They handed down Geredo(Creed) very well even though they did not take Conchirisan (confession) as a condition of redemption in Christianity, which might be from Japanese traditional religions without confession. At least, the symbols and images to express the belief in Ikitsuki community as a statue of St. Mary had been amended as traditional fetishism which could be seek from holy things as possession of Anima(Spirit) during long persecution period. However, Urakami community members handed down the monotheism of Christian belief according to rituals as the baptism and the confession even to pretend traditional religious rituals in the villages. Recently, Ikitsuki community members handed down their amended Christian calendar according to lunar calendar of agricultural villages or see villages in Japan so that scholars might take argument on an indigenous theme from the cases of two different Kirisitan communities. This article aims to analyze the characters of Jesuit Christian mission and the acceptance of the concept of deity in Japanese middle age. In particular, the history of Japanese Kirisitan indicates how to accept the concept of Christian God to Japanese in Kirisitan community and how to accommodate Christian God and Japanese religious gods. At first, we analyzed the process of introducing the concept of Christian God to Japanese people in order to understand characters of Japanese acceptance of Christianity by the relationship with Japanese traditional religions. At the latter, we revealed the characters of practice and belief in Kirisitan communities of Ikitsuki and Urakami which had molded two different characters under long religious persecution by Japanese Shogunates. After 400 years persecution, Ikitsuki community was not recognized as Christian community even if Urakami community was permitted as Christian community by Roman Catholic Church at 18 century. The first Jesuit missionaries had taken thousands of Christians in a short time through conversion of Samurais due to admiration of Japanese traditional and life cultures. Unfortunately, the their accommodative method could not adjust to the biblical education as core contents of Jesuit mission. Jesuit missionaries had to make Japanese understand the concept of monotheistic God in Christianity against their syncretic tradition of religious pluralism and polytheism. Japanese scholars insisted that God of Jesuit Christianity was appeared as a temporary appearance of Buddha by Bonjisujuk theory which means Buddha’s accommodation to local gods in various religions. However, Kirisitan members believed God in Christianity as the Creator or the Governor over the other things. Therefore, they thought to suffer martyrdom as possible as sacrifice for God. To willingly suffer martyrdom of Kirisitan members might be from the attitudes of Samurais in Japanese traditional ethic. Todays, we could seek the two different characters from the cases of Ikitsuki community and Urakami community in Nagasaki prefecture. The two communities had to pretend to be Japanese religious communities by usage of the symbols of Buddhist or the rites of Shinto shrine so that the concept of God might make an amendment to the concept of Japanese traditional gods. They pretended worship to Tea ceremony and work for district leader of members to the head of village residents. Ikitsuki community members thought those kinds of amendment as a method to keep their belief of Christianity. They handed down Geredo(Creed) very well even though they did not take Conchirisan (confession) as a condition of redemption in Christianity, which might be from Japanese traditional religions without confession. At least, the symbols and images to express the belief in Ikitsuki community as a statue of St. Mary had been amended as traditional fetishism which could be seek from holy things as possession of Anima(Spirit) during long persecution period. However, Urakami community members handed down the monotheism of Christian belief according to rituals as the baptism and the confession even to pretend traditional religious rituals in the villages. Recently, Ikitsuki community members handed down their amended Christian calendar according to lunar calendar of agricultural villages or see villages in Japan so that scholars might take argument on an indigenous theme from the cases of two different Kirisitan communities.

일본종교의 신개념의 습합적 성격에 관한 연구

조재국(Jai-Kook Cho) 연세대학교 신과대학(연합신학대학원) 2011 신학논단 Vol.66 No.-

This article aims to analyze an understanding on the concept of gods according to the history of religions from primitive to middle age in Japan. The concept of Japanese gods has unique characteristics by acceptance and assimilation, amalgamation of Buddhas from ancient Korea in early history of Japan. At first, when we analyze symbolic elements of Dogu (clay figure) and Myth of 5 grains in Kojiki (the oldest extant chronicle) which contain Japanese religions and their faith, we can understand that the gods in Jomon period are related with the power of birth that is to recognize the birth of life by overcoming the death as the power of gods, and people in Yayoi period accepts holy ministry of the religious priests to connect mankinds with gods by an ancient Japanese tomb of a circular shape with a rectangular frontage or a myth of decent of gods from old Korean influence to form and set up of tribal state and clan society. Secondly, the syncretistic concept of gods is popularized to people by the Bonjisoojek theory that the Japanese Jingi gods (the god of heaven and earth) are secondary manifestations of certain Buddhas or Bodhisattvas after introduction to Buddhism in Nara period, and also Buddhism are syncretized with the movements of Yin and Yang, mountain deities, the vengeful spirits, to take Kaji (attaining union) with gods or Bodhisattvas. Thirdly, when we generalize the process of the concept of Japanese gods and the discourses of Japanese scholars on Japanese gods, Japanese gods have polytheistic and syncretistic concept. According to Mr. Motoori Norinaga, the Shinto scholar, Japanese Kami(gods) in ancient usage, is whatever seemed strikingly impressive, possessed the quality of excellence, or inspired a feeling of awe. Meanwhile Prince Shotoku(574-622), the Buddhist scholar emphasized that all of humankind had the capacity to achieve enlightenment, Mr. Honen, the Monk of Pure Land Buddhism urged the only one; calling on the name of Amida as the single-minded recitation of the Yembul (the phrase namu Amida Bul, meaning “Praise to Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Light and Light), so that Buddhism and Shinto tend towards a harmonious fusion. In conclusion, because of syncretization of Shinto gods and Buddha, Japanese religions can maintain the traditional polytheistic concept of gods in order to regard the Emperor as a sacred god under the nationalism. This article aims to analyze an understanding on the concept of gods according to the history of religions from primitive to middle age in Japan. The concept of Japanese gods has unique characteristics by acceptance and assimilation, amalgamation of Buddhas from ancient Korea in early history of Japan. At first, when we analyze symbolic elements of Dogu (clay figure) and Myth of 5 grains in Kojiki (the oldest extant chronicle) which contain Japanese religions and their faith, we can understand that the gods in Jomon period are related with the power of birth that is to recognize the birth of life by overcoming the death as the power of gods, and people in Yayoi period accepts holy ministry of the religious priests to connect mankinds with gods by an ancient Japanese tomb of a circular shape with a rectangular frontage or a myth of decent of gods from old Korean influence to form and set up of tribal state and clan society. Secondly, the syncretistic concept of gods is popularized to people by the Bonjisoojek theory that the Japanese Jingi gods (the god of heaven and earth) are secondary manifestations of certain Buddhas or Bodhisattvas after introduction to Buddhism in Nara period, and also Buddhism are syncretized with the movements of Yin and Yang, mountain deities, the vengeful spirits, to take Kaji (attaining union) with gods or Bodhisattvas. Thirdly, when we generalize the process of the concept of Japanese gods and the discourses of Japanese scholars on Japanese gods, Japanese gods have polytheistic and syncretistic concept. According to Mr. Motoori Norinaga, the Shinto scholar, Japanese Kami(gods) in ancient usage, is whatever seemed strikingly impressive, possessed the quality of excellence, or inspired a feeling of awe. Meanwhile Prince Shotoku(574-622), the Buddhist scholar emphasized that all of humankind had the capacity to achieve enlightenment, Mr. Honen, the Monk of Pure Land Buddhism urged the only one; calling on the name of Amida as the single-minded recitation of the Yembul (the phrase namu Amida Bul, meaning “Praise to Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Light and Light), so that Buddhism and Shinto tend towards a harmonious fusion. In conclusion, because of syncretization of Shinto gods and Buddha, Japanese religions can maintain the traditional polytheistic concept of gods in order to regard the Emperor as a sacred god under the nationalism.

연희전문의 설립에 따른 에비슨의 교육 선교에 관한 연구

조재국(Jai-Kook Cho) 연세대학교 신과대학(연합신학대학원) 2015 신학논단 Vol.80 No.-