This research into the early Korean Presbyterian Church is from a missiological perspective. Until recently it has been assumed that the formation of the early Korean Church was based on the Nevius Mission method, which was adopted as the mission method by foreign missionaries in Seoul in 1893. Although John Ross-the Scottish missionary to Manchuria-is mentioned in the history books, he is known for his work in translating the Bible into Korean. It is less well known that Ross started his mission to the Koreans in Manchuria when he visited the Korean Gate for the first time in 1874. This thesis argues that even before the first foreign missionaries arrived in Korea for mission, the first Korean Presbyterian churches were founded by the efforts of the indigenous evangelists, who had been influenced by John Ross and his mission method. Hence it will be argued that the mission method of Ross, rather than the Nevius Mission method, had the greater impact on the early Korean Church. The mission method of Ross and the Nevius Mission method were both based on the Three-Self principle. However, it will be argued that Ross possessed a more comprehensive understanding of the mission principle than Nevius did. Whereas Ross took a balanced approach in indigenising the Three-Self principle to the Manchurian mission field, Nevius' 'New System' was less so. Nevertheless, in accordance with the spirit of the Three-selfs (self-supporting, self propagating, self governing), the Korean Church could rapidly grow into a truly independent Church from the formation stage. Therefore, the Korean Church was founded in a way that produced long-term results; something that is not often found in the mission fields nowadays.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:592050 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Bae, Peter Ahn-Ho |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk/R?func=search-advanced-go&find_code1=WSN&request1=AAIU602056 |
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