‘인간화’ 개념의 기원과 방향 = Origin and Direction of the Humanization Concept

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The term 'humanization' is one of the most crucial concept in ecumenical mission theology. This term officially appeared during the Uppsala wee General Assembly in 1968. When this meeting occurred the whole world was undergoing a serious turmoil. With the appearance of President Kennedy and Pastor Martin Luther King, people came to have a big expectation about the new world order. However, this dream disappeared by the death of the two by unexpected assassinations. Also as the Vietnam war was being prolonged, anti mood against the war became deeper and deeper. All these were connected to the view of anti Christianity. Facing these challenges, WCC felt a strong need to recover strong social justice and humanity, and thus it suggested the humanization concept as a major goal of mission. From then on ecumenical theology started to emphasize differenciating God's presence in the world. This paper seeks the theoretical background and history of the development of this term to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of it and to suggest a desirable direction of the concept.
The major basis that became a theoretical foundation of the humanization concept was 'missio Dei' and 'liberation theology.' 'Missio Dei' concept gave the idea that God's concern is in the world and He is carrying out his mission in the world not in the church, Himself, In other words, it can be said that 'missio Dei' concept taught the importance of the world and shalom of the world in mission theology. Liberation theology taught that the true change of the world is carried out by destructing the sins of the social structures. Based on these two concepts, humanization concept is interested in the transformation of the world by demolishing various social sins.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the concept? One major strength of the concept is to help the church possess the eye to see the social structure, not just individuals. Also it helps the church become more responsible for the world with deep concern about the issues of the world. Meanwhile, the concept also contains some weaknesses. One is a possibility of reducing the zeal of evangelization. As Moltman insists, when the church is interested in and related to the worldly matters, it falls into the crisis of identity. Hyung Kee Lee also expressed the tension in a similar way. "As long as the church stays in holding the identity of the gospel and the church, it neglects social work, while the church loses the identity of it when it focuses on social participation." Another weakness we need to think with the concept is the possibility of actualization. The work of humanization has not been successfully carried out even by communistic countries which insisted the achievement of humanization. In a sense, the work of humanization is beyond the capacity of the church. The best way that the church can contribute to the humanization is to spread the gospel which is the most crucial basis of true humanization.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Ⅰ. 들어가는 말
• Ⅱ. 인간화 개념의 이론적 배경
• Ⅲ. 주요 에큐메니칼 선교 대회에 나타난 인간화 개념
• Ⅳ. 인간화 개념에 대한 평가
• Ⅴ. 나가는 말