This essay is to explore the life and work of Dr. John Scudder (1793-1855), a missionary to Ceylon and to discuss his theological place in the history of missions. He studied at Princeton College and then at College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York. As a successful physician, he realized God’s calling to missionary work abroad while he was reading a religious tract in a patient’s home. Together with his wife, Harriet Scudder, and three other missionaries, Dr. Scudder sailed to Ceylon, today’s Sri Lanka, where he worked thirty six years for mission. His primary choice was India, but the East India Company opposed any missionary work in their ruling territories. That was why he had to the northern part of Ceylon where he was free to preach, teach, and treat. Dr. Scudder was the first medical missionary sent by American Church to foreign countries. He was also a forerunner of the medical mission and the most distinguished model for later medical missionaries. He launched a ministry of intensive evangelism by establishing hospitals and schools. He trained natives to become medical doctors. He also founded several churches after he became a ordained pastor in Ceylon. Dr. Scudder made religious small tracts about biblical stories which were written in Tamil to distribute to numerous people. He had to suffer and overcome countless obstacles and hardships against his missionary work. Ecological diseases, famines, economic burdens, family matters, natural disasters, persecutions from other religious groups, and other troubles could not hinder his ministry. He even suffered the losses of his two daughters in the missionary fields. Nevertheless, his mission was very successful and his wife, Harriet, was also wonderful partner to this missionary work. In 1836, he moved to Madras, India in order to supervise young missionaries. During his later days, he visited many missionary posts in South Asia and Africa in order to share his missionary experiences. His last visiting place was the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, where he went into eternal peace in 1855. Later generations of numerous missionaries were impressed and influenced by his deeds and words. While visiting North America, more than one hundred thousand young people heard his lectures and sermons about mission and foreign cultures. Influenced by Scudder's mission, James Taylor made a resolution to become missionary to American outcasts and westerners. David Coit Scudder also became a missionary after having been impressed by Dr. John Scudder's Mission. Furthermore, his heritage includes forty two missionary descendants, whose years of ministry service in mission fields are close to almost one thousand. One of the most famous medical missionaries out of his descendants was Dr. Ida Scudder who also worked in India.

The aim of the article is to outline the history of the mission of the minjung church from 1983 to 2005 and to identify its new missionary tasks in a changed world. At the end of the cold war, the minjung movement in general, the minjung mission in particular, seemed to be unnecessary any more. After the economic crisis of 1997, however, the minjung mission played an important role for taking care of victims of the structural adjustment programs of many corporations, and for establishing alternative communities. Its history divides into four periods: the formation period (1983-1987), the development period (1988-1992), the transformation period (1993-1997), and the professional period (1998-2005). Each period deals with its socio-economic, political, cultural background and minjung mission’s main contents, characteristics, and limitation. The history of the mission of the minjung church is interpreted by the results of the social biographies of 26 minjung pastors. According to their social biographies, minjung pastors changed themselves in the process of the minjung mission rather than changed the minjung. They rediscovered the importance of the Bible and religion in relation to the social change. Also they found negative aspects of the minjung. They regarded spirituality and life as pillars for the forthcoming minjung mission. Some reflections on mission of the minjung church was carried out through analysing the relationship between faith and ideology, the dilemma of identity-involvement, positive understanding of religion, understanding of minjung, and theories of community organization and conscientization. In a changed world, spirituality, the minjung and life are identified as new tasks for the minjung mission.

This dissertation was embarked upon for the historical examination and the missiological academic analysis of ‘The state-political character of the mission of the Russian Orthodox Church, which has been mentioned widely without any academic examination. This kind of study is necessary to understand rightly the Eastern Orthodox world which was drawn to the Korean church immediately after the collapse of USSR, and to establish the proper relationships between the old USSR and the Eastern European people as well as how best to evangelize them. The researcher analyzes the Russian archives in relation to the missions of Russian Orthodox Church. He carefully examines and analyzes closely the historical materials from 1860 till 1917(Bolshevik Revolution) including the mission of the Russian Orthodox Church to the immigrant Koreans and those between 1897 and 1925 in relation to the mission to the Koreans in the Korean peninsula. In the result of this analysis, it could be said that the mission of Russian Orthodox Church was a reverse movement to the mission of Trinitarian God transcendent to man-made boundaries. It was mission as an instrument not for serving the interest of God toward the whole world, but for serving the interest of his or her own country alone. It was a distorted mission far from demonstrating the love of God because of absolutizing the nationalistic political ideology ‘russiani-zation’ As a result, it became heterogeneous apart from the right motif, goal and method of God’s mission. In the result of this study, it became possible to describe concretely the character and mode of the state-political mission of Russian orthodox church which has been vaguely mentioned and to have a theoretical prospect the general results which might happen in the process of the state-political missions. This study could probably be an available knowledge not only for those who are participating in missions to the people who has lived in the state-political mission world, but also for those who wish to evangelize it, cooperate with the Eastern Orthodox churches as well as offer invaluable suggestions to the mission scholars around the world.

It is essential that we have appropriate missions to share and communicate the Gospel, and to understand the interests, needs and world views of those we are trying to communjcate with. However, the big issue of today's missions seems to be the problem of cotextualization. During the mission history of two thousand years, there were so many experiences and attempts of the cross-cultural missions, questions like, "How the Gospel can be communicated effectively and relevant" figure prominently in the discussions of contextualization. The old forms or pre-stages of contextualization are accommodation, adaptation, and indigenization. It is enough to note some of that kind of approach, i.g. the missions of Mateo Ricci , Roberto de Nobili, etc. Although there has been much work on the subject of contextualization, the author will trace in this paper the historical background and theory of the contextualization. and try to show contextualization as a paradigm shift in mission theology. Then the author suggests to consider the theoretical basis of the contextualization, like principles, I) creative tension or complementarity of Gospel and cu ltures, 2) "indigenizing principle and pilgrim principle", 3) "critical contextualization", and "transcultural or supral cultural theology", and 4) "the prophetic, hermeneutical, and personal challenges of contextualization." However, contextualization is not the only method of missions, it has also limitations. Contextualization of the Gospel should be always reflected and reaffirmed in the process of mi ssions, by the "the international hermeneutical community"( ecumenical co-worker and local church leader, missionary and theologian), with the principle of theologia viatorum.

유명한 예일대 역사가 케네스 스코트 라투레트(Kenneth Scott Latourette, 1884–1968)는 기독교의 전 역사를 ‘확장’(expansion)이라는 맥락에서 해석하며, 특히 ‘예수의 영향력 확장’이라는 주제를 자신의 역사관으로 설정하고 이 사상을 일평생 유지했다. 그렇다면 그는 이 사상은 언제 그의 역사관과 선교관으로 확정했을까? 일반적으로 1937년 이래 수년에 걸쳐 출판된 『기독교확장사』(A History of Expansion of Christianity, 1937-45)가 그의 이런 역사관이 구체화되는 시기라고 주장되는데, 그렇다면 그 이전에는 라투레트에게 이런 역사관이 없었을까? 1937년 이후 확고히 정립되는 ‘예수의 영향력 확장’으로서의 기독교 역사라는 표현 자체는 1929년에 출판된 첫 기독교 역사 관련 저작 『중국기독교선교역사』에는 등장하지 않는다. 그러나 라투레트가 이 책에서 기독교 선교사를 중국 사회에 영향을 끼치는 서구의 대리자로 묘사할 때, 독자는 그가 1937년 이후 저술에서 등장하는 ‘예수의 영향력 확장’으로서의 기독교 선교역사라는 개념과 거의 같은 인식을 하고 있음을 쉽게 파악할 수 있다. 이 책에서 ‘중국에 끼친 서구의 영향력’이라는 표현으로 자주 등장하는 명제는 사실상 ‘서구’를 ‘기독교’로, 또 ‘기독교’를 ‘예수’로 바꾸어도 무방하다. 즉, 1937년 『기독교확장사』 이후에 구체화되는 명제가 이미 1929년 저작에서 배아의 형태로 표명되어 있었다는 것이다. 『중국기독교선교역사』는 단순히 ‘명제’에서만 1937년 이후 작품들의 선구적 배아가 아니었다. 공정하고 편파적이지 않기 위해 기독교역사 해석은 반드시 여러 교파를 통합과 비교의 방식으로 분석해야 한다는 에큐메니컬적 역사기술, 또한 예수의 영향력은 교회에만 머무는 것이 아니므로, ‘교회사’가 아니라, 반드시 교회 바깥의 모든 영역을 포괄적으로 기술하는 ‘기독교사’가 되어야 한다는 인식, 기독교 신앙이 선교를 통해 퍼져나갈 때, 이는 마치 파도의 고저, 밀물과 썰물의 반복되는 양상처럼 진보와 후퇴를 반복하지만 결국에는 전진한다는 믿음 등, 1937년 이후 작품에서 구체화된 라투레트의 모든 역사기술 방법론과 관점은 사실상 1929년의 『중국기독교선교역사』에도 흔적이 두드러진다. 따라서 선교사와 선교활동의 공헌을 지나치게 긍정적으로 보고, 결국에는 기독교의 확장으로 역사가 진보할 것이고 윤리가 개선될 것이라 믿는 이상적이고 순진하고 낙관주의적인 승리주의 역사관이라고 라투레트의 후기 저작을 비판하는 목소리 또한 이미 1929년에 출판된 『중국기독교선교역사』에도 적용될 수 있다. 이 점에서 『기독교확장사』(A History of Expansion of Christianity, 1937-45), 『아노 도미니: 예수, 역사, 하나님』(Anno Domini: Jesus, History, and God, 1940)과 『꺼지지 않는 빛』(The Unquenchable Light, 1941), 『기독교사』(A History of Christianity, 1953), 『혁명시대의 기독교』(Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, 1958-62), 『기독교의 역사』(Christianity through the Ages, 1965) 같은 라투레트의 후기 대작은 모두 『중국기독교선교역사』에 빚을 지고 있다.

한국 기독교 선교의 기원에 관해 관심을 갖고 있는 몇몇 개신교 단체들은 최근 올해 2014년을 한국기독교 130주년으로 정하고, 이를 기념하려고 노력하고 있다. 그러나 이러한 중대한 역사적 사건을 기념하기 전에, 우리는 1) 용어 사용의 문제, 2) 역사관의 중요성, 그리고 3) 첫 번째 선교사에 대한 논쟁 등과 같은 문제들을 주의 깊게 연구해 보아야 한다. 가장먼저 우리는 ‘기독교(Christianity)’의 의미를 고려한 후, 우리가 사용하는 용어가 과연 적절한가를 살펴보아야 한다. 일반적으로 기독교란 ‘예수를 그리스도로 믿는 사람들의 모임이나 그 상태’를 의미한다. 그래서 기독교는 로마 카톨릭 교회, 동방정교회, 성공회, 그리고 개신교회를 모두 다 포함하는 매우 포괄적인 용어이다. 만일 한국에서 가장먼저 선교역사가 시작된 천주교의 역사의 시작점인 1784년을 한국기독교의 시작점으로 본다면, 올해는 한국기독교 130주년이 아니라 230주년이 되어야 할 것이다. 그러므로 만일 올해 2014년도를 한국 기독교 전체가 아닌 개신교 차원에서만 기념하려 한다면, ‘한국기독교 130주년’이 아닌, ‘한국개신교 130주년’이라는 슬로건을 사용해야 할 것이다. 또한 우리들은 역사를 이해함에 있어서 역사관의 중요성에 관해서 반드시 인지해야 한다. 일반적으로 말해서, 한국에서는 한국교회사 혹은 한국선교역사를 연구함에 있어서 크게 ‘선교사 중심의 역사이해’와 ‘한국인 중심의 역사이해’라는 두 개의 역사관이 존재한다고 볼 수 있다. 한국인 중심의 역사이해를 하려는 사람들은 1884년 이전에 주로 중국이나 일본에서 초기 선교사들과의 만남을 통해 개신교 신앙을 접한 초기 한국인들(예를들어, 백홍준의 아버지, 이응찬, 김진기, 서상륜, 서경조, 이수정)에게 관심을 많이 갖고 있다. 물론 이들 한국인들은 한국 개신교 신앙의 개척자들로서 한국개신교 선교를 위해 다방면에서 공헌을 한 점은 인정한다. 그러나 그들이 진정한 기독교인 이었는지, 그리고 한국에 교회를 설립한 것이 맞는지는 의심의 여지가 있다. 바로 이런 점들 때문에 어떤 이들은 한국개신교 역사의 시작은 외국 선교사들의 한국입국과 깊은 관련이 있다고 생각한다. 그러나 한국에 온 첫 번째 개신교 선교사가 누구인가에 관해서는 여전히 논쟁점들이 존재한다. 찰스 귀츨라프는 1832년에 그리고 로버트 토마스는 1866년에 한국에 처음 도착한 것은 역사적으로 분명한 사실이다. 그럼에도 불구하고 이들이 과연 진정한 선교사였는가에 대해서는 명확한 입장이 아직 정리되지 않았다. 왜냐하면 그들이 한국에 올 때, 서구 제국주의 혹은 식민주의자들과 함께, 그리고 그들의 조력자로 한국에 왔기 때문이다. 바로 이런 이유 때문에 한국 교회사학계와 교회들에서는 1880년대에 한국에 온 선교사들 가운데에서 그 첫번째 선교사를 찾으려고 한다. 한국감리교의 초대 총리사였던 양주삼은 1880년대 한국에 온 선교사들 중에 로버트 매클레이를 첫 번째 개신교선교사로 보고 있다. 왜냐하면 매클레이가 1884년에 고종으로부터 감리교를 포함한 모든 개신교 선교사들의 선교(의료, 교육)에 관해 공식적으로 허락을 받았기 때문이다. 특히 매클레이가 보여준 한국정부와 한국 사람들을 대하는 정중한 태도는 오늘날 한국 개신교회들에게 매우 긍정적인 교훈을 주기 때문에, 우리는 매클레이를 한국에 온 첫 번째 개신교 선교사라고 고려할 수 있다고 생각한다.

Horace N. Allen, a missionary, established the first Western hospital in Korea, Je Jung Won, when he arrived at Jo Sun in September 1884. He also opened the first medical school to teach Western medicine. The hospital and medical education was developed rapidly by Oliver R. Avison. In the history of Severance Medical Center, Avison’s greatness can be found in three aspects. Firstly, he served the Korean people by his medical work throughout his life. Secondly, he developed an autonomous system for handing down Western medicine to Korean people, ensuring the continuation of his medical work to Korean people. Thirdly, he prepared and educated the Korean people in Western medicine without any pause or reservation for himself. Of these three, the third is the most distinctive achievement of Avison. He regarded the Koreans as the initiater of the medicine in Korea, not as child-like objects for education as other missionaries generally viewed them. It was because he was free from the confining racial prejudice of considering the Korean people as the inferiors to be pitied. Then what was the power in Avison’s faith that distinguished him from others? It was his understanding that the essence of faith was the power of the Christian passion that deeply sympathizes with the sick, the weak, and the alienated, as their own suffering, and lovingly serving neighbors to improve their lives as humans. He also had the political and religious convictions of democracy, that everyone was equal as the children of God. Cultivating the Severance Medical Center into a large tree was not the blind desire of efficacy and profit, which is the general perception. Paradoxically, it has grown through the power of non-profitable, loving commitment and serving. This is the very reason to pursue the spirit of the Severance Medical Center and to faithfully adhere to its historical tradition. Even today, Jesus Christ is calling us to the Word of the truth that human beings can not live by bread alone.