A Historical Development of OT Studies in Korean Presbyterianism, 1884-1960, with Specific Focus on the History of the Appropriation of Western OT Hermeneutic Method

This thesis investigates, both historically and theologically, the effects of the appropriation of introduced Western methods of OT interpretation by the Presbyterian Church in Korea, which resulted in conflict. The Protestant church in Korea commenced through the reading of the Bible, translated into Korean from outside the country, before any active missionary penetration and influence. In this historical context the reading of the Korean Bible has been of inestimable significance in the development of the Korean church and its theology. Conflict arose when missionaries introduced and used in theological training differing interpretive approaches. This thesis historically traces these streams of influence and the resulting theological clashes within the Presbyterian Church. Chapters one and two delineate the basic issues for understanding the historical background to the formation of the Korean Church and its theological orientation. Chapter one surveys the rise of Christianity in Korea. Chapter two discusses the background of OT hermeneutics in Korean Presbyterianism. In chapter three, the first period of appropriation of introduced OT interpretative perspectives is delineated as the first two decades of the twentieth century (1901-1920). During this period OT interpretative perspectives were introduced and diffused only by western missionaries to Korea. Chapter four then examines the first Korean response to the appropriation of those perspectives (1921-1931). A review then attempts to measure the extent of influence of that particular hermeneutical method. During this period it appears that there was only a slight movement toward a distinctive Korean response and a distinctively indigenous Korean hermeneutic. Likewise the paired chapters, five and six deal with the second period of appropriation (1932-1945) and the Korean response (1946-1960). This second period was the introduction and appropriation of the historical-critical method by some Korean scholars within Korean Presbyterianism. The endorsement of the method by a number of Koreans during this period raised strong and widespread conflict. Chapter six goes on to discuss the response to this second appropriation (1946-1960). It investigates the response of that period from the historical perspective of ‘the ecclesiastical schism’ which resulted, and further hermeneutical and theological development. Chapter seven does two things. First it analyses the whole of the earlier discussion retrospectively. Then, in prospect, it will offer a suggestion for a possible way forward for reading and interpreting the OT in a non-Western context. This research is expected to give not only to Korean Presbyterian hermeneutical scholarship a relevant and useful method, but also to the third world of OT interpretive method, similarly to that which is appropriate to Korean Presbyterianism