earticle

영어

In 1991 a Korean theologian, Chung Hyun Kyung provoked controversy at the assembly of the World Council of Churches by presenting a theology of the Holy Spirit in the form of a Shamanist exorcism. Korean theology of the Holy Spirit has been significant not only in the growth of Christianity in Korea but also in its contribution to Korea’s national development in the twentieth century. This article offers some background in the religio-cultural traditions which lie behind the distinctive Korean approach to pneumatology. The article goes on to examine three different strands of Korean Christian thinking about the Holy Spirit—the theologies of Suh Nam-dong, Cho Yonggi, Ryu Tong-Shik—which appropriate meanings of ‘spirit’ in traditional Korean culture and religion. Through a dialogue between the Korean theologians, the article highlights distinctive aspects of Korean theology of the Spirit, which represent a constructive Korean contribution to the important global Christian debate about pneumatology.