MDIV

It is common to think that at the heart of questions of personal identity is the problem of how the self-at-one-time could be identical with the self-at-another-time. Some Christian theologians offer an altogether different approach to understanding personal identity. This paper describes F.D.E. Schleiermacher’s vertical approach to the self. I show how his thought offers an alternative framework that avoids many usual pitfalls by distinguishing the subjective self from the eternal self.

Christianity is a religion on the roads, with a story filled with wanderers and travellers. The history of Christianity consists of constant repetitions of departure and settlement, and it is on this road where its itineraries were specifically progressed. Paul was one of these missionary travellers, called from birth in the first century to this road, in order to spread the gospel of christianity to ‘the ends of the Earth’ and to ‘the Gentiles’. At that time, it was safe and convenient for a plethora of travellers to move around because of the reign of Roman Empire and Via Roma which the Roman empire built nationwide like a web. When travelling, Paul also went on Via Roma, including both land roads and sea roads in the Roman empire territories. Therefore, the author in this paper examines correlations between the routes of Paul’s journey on Via Roma, and reveals regional characteristics of the Christian gospel from a missional perspective. The author focuses specifically on Paul’s first journey among his three travels recorded in Acts. This paper traces detailed routes Paul and Barnabas had taken, and examines specifically the trail of Via Roma where their itinerary had actually taken place. Departing from Antioch Syria, Paul and Barnabas walked on Via Roma at Cyprus and preached the Christian gospel. In Asia Minor, they travelled on Via Sebaste and visited a number of cities, including Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, etc. On the Roman roads, Paul is confronted with Greco-Roman culture and religion, and reconsiders the way the gospel is being preached. Ultimately, this journey led to his theological maturity. The author claims that Paul experienced theological maturity as a result of the journey through Via Roma; he matures by understanding a deeper gospel and by taking on an altered missional outlook. Preaching at Pisidian Antioch and Lystra, he presents two different missional approaches, differing in regional traits and cultural acceptance of audiences. While he proclaimed the gospel and resurrection of Jesus Christ at Antioch, he emphasized only the living God at Lystra. In this way, Paul’s sermons were totally different according to regional traits and cultural and religious sensitivity. This is because he realized the religious and cultural characteristics of the Roman empire which he had encountered throughout the Roman roads. A look into the first missionary journey shows Paul’s maturity as his gospel encounters the religious and cultural sensitivity of specific regions.

This article discusses inculturation, focusing on two cases of Marian devotion in Japan and India. First, this essay examines the historical context of how Japanese underground Christians, during the time of persecution, strategically hid their devotion to the Virgin Mary by using the imagery of the bodhisattva Kannon, and analyzes how this visual and verbal change impacted their belief system. Then, this essay explores how the Italian Jesuit Costantino Giuseppe Beschi (1680–1747) introduced an inculturated form of Mary into Tamil Nadu and then studies its interaction with local converts in South India. Both Maria-Kannon in Japan and the Virgin mātā in Tamil Nadu demonstrate that inculturation is not just a strategy or a temporal adjustment; rather, it is the dynamic relationship between the Christian message and a particular culture, resulting from the insertion of the Christian life into a cultural community where it takes root and brings forth new life.

The article discusses the religious artworks of the Korean Catholic Sculptor Choi Jong-tae (1932-). Choi's artistic roots in the beauty of Korean Buddhist art led him to infuse Korean Buddhism's artistic elements into his Christian artworks, particularly Marian statues. Through this artistic inculturation, I contend that Choi's Marian statues have the face of bodhisattva Gwan-eum, positioning Mary not only in the Korean church but also of the Korean church. Additionally, the fact that two statues of Gwan-eum made by Choi were enshrined in Korean Buddhist temples, Gilsangsa and Bongseonsa, demonstrates that his art not merely crosses religious boundaries but also strives to establish interreligious dialogue and harmony in Korea.