The Christian church was begun in 19Ih century in the traditionally multi-religious
society in Korea. Christianity holds a major position in Korea today and has for the past
20 years been growing rapidly in numbers. Despite its phenomenal growth, the churches.
and Christianity in general, have been suffering from several ailments, of which
dualistic thinking is not the least. Anthropological dualism amounts to not only
distinguishing between soul and body, but also ascribing a separate and independent
existence to each of these "components" of the human being.
This dualism (as well as others) developed in the church under the influence of
traditional Korean religions such as Buddhism, Confucianism and Shamanism that have
been teaching such dualisms. The Korean Christian mindset has to this day been
dualistic both as a result of such cultural and philosophical influences and o€ ideas
brought by the early missionaries to Korea. The influence of Platonic dualism is still
widespread in the conservative and gospel church.
This study focuses on:
+ examining the nature of the problem of anthropological (and other forms of)
dualism
+ how the problem has been manifesting itself in Korean churches and in church
education
+ the most momentous influences on Korean Christianity and churches resulting in
a dualistic mindset regarding life in general and the human being in particular
+ the impact of anthropological dualism on church life and especially on education
in the context of the church
+ the Biblical view of the human being, and on
+ how the pervasive problem of anthropological dualism can be eradicated.
It was found that, although the Bible uses a whole variety of words that somehow relate
to or describe the human being, these words or t e n s do not refer to "parts" or
"components" but rather to different facets of the human being, much like one can refer
to the different facets of a polished diamond. Whenever a word is used, it refers to a
particular perspective from which the human being is approached or viewed but in the
final analysis, it refers to the whole being. Discovery of this perspective was important
in view of the dualistic tendencies in Korean churches and in church education.
Application of a holistic view of the human being enables one to approach education as
the guiding, leading, enabling, equipping and discipling of educands (those who are
being guided etc.) as whole, total and integrated persons. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/94 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Kwon, Kyong Ho |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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