earticle

영어

The purpose of this paper is to compare the two different contexts based on a hermeneutic of dynamic analogy. The way of this hermeneutic helps provide mutual interpretation and analysis of the two different contexts by seeking generic similarities, although these two different contexts in many cases are obviously separated and disconnected from each other. The hermeneutic of dynamic analogy presupposes comparative analysis on the two different contexts with social scientific strategies and categories in order to ultimately reconstruct the meaning of a certain dimensions of the compared contexts. With this hermeneutical premise, the goal of the study was to read and compare both biblical Israel and historic Korea, hoping that this study might expand our hermeneutical horizon. For example, the detailed historical records of a Korean agrarian society made me realize that the possession and distribution of the land is deeply related to the power structure of the privileged in an agrarian society. This discovery led me to reconsider the social and political situation of ancient Israel, which was also typical of an agrarian society. Concretely speaking, the comparison was for the two important kings, David and Wang Kon, who lived in the different contexts of biblical Israel and historic Korea. With the method of dynamic analogy, the study focused on the stories of their rise to the throne and then criticize the historical descriptions of the two kings that may have been colored by royal apology. Therefore, this paper argues that every historical description of a monarch is somehow deeply related to royal apology or royal propaganda. On the other hand, the fruit of the comparative analysis of this paper can be relevantly related to the current pastoral ministry of the Korean Church, which needs to imagine and develop the creative and responsible ways of different hermeneutic skills. My argument is that some aspects of the Korean Church have been influenced by the problem of royal apology, so it needs to be redressed by critical interpretation. In particular, it is true that the numerical growth and the building of huge churches have made Korean Christians proud of them, appreciating of God's blessing and favor. However, in this situation, we need to be cautious of whether our Korean Church is faced with some patterns similar to the royal apologies of David and Wang Kon, which always tend to praise and legitimize all the achievements and success without a critical view. In recent times, the Korean Church has been generally criticized because it seems that they have lost the power of prophetic voice, particularly toward social and political reality. Rather, they have given legitimacy to unjust and unfair policies of their irresponsible governments, numb with their ideology of other-worldly faith and prosperity theology. Now, it is time for the Korean Church to recognize and regain the critical and creative voice of the Church for which it came into being and was called in and for the society of Korea. Thus, the Korean Church will have to exert itself to have a critical and creative interpretation of reality and to proclaim it in its aspiration to build always a better and new reality. Authentic reality will come from the criticism of the ideology of the power and privilege, which always tend to be covered and colored by a contemporary royal apology.