Consecuencias de la modernización sobre la cantidad de agua

Chosên society accepted ancestor worship as a social criterion and therefore, did not admit

Christianity for its attitude toward ancestor worship. However, a social desire to get rid of

Chosên’s old-fashioned system accompanied by a challenge of traditional value system after the

loss of social stability of feudalistic era, appeared as an acceptance of Christianity. Although,

Chosên had already experienced confrontation with Catholic on ancestral issues, ancestor

worship was still a huge obstacle for mission in Chosên.

The earliest document on ancestor worship found in the Korean Church is the one of 1904 from the Presbyterian Christian Church of Chosên (조선 예수교 장로회) established in 1893. The assembly decided that the Chosên Church, following the Chinese Church’s decision, should only perform funeral solemnly and replace ancestor worship with a memorial service (cf. Shu 1988:203). In the era between the end of Chosên and early Korea, the attitude of the church toward ancestral matters was that to serve God authentically, is real ritual,44 _{and to serve one’s}

living parents is authentic filial duty, as opposed to performing ancestral ritual for the dead with

44 _{The Origin of all Things (만물의 근원). Chosên Christian’s Bulletin (조선 크리스도인의 회보).}

lots of food.45

Beck (1973:230) concludes that “this was a natural consequence because most of the Western missionaries prohibited ancestor worship, and did not consider ancestral rituals essential to becoming a church member”. The stance on ancestral rituals got tougher in the Korean Church around 1915. According to Park H.S (1988:45) about the evening of the anniversary of a death, “it is not reasonable to prepare food and invite guests, because it is a sad day. Therefore each assembly elder may make recommendations, but if a member is found guilty of violating the church’s recommendation, then he is disciplined”.

In 1920, Dong-a, daily newspaper, printed the article An Ambiguous and Innocent Victim of

Christianity (애매무죄한 기독교의 희생자). It states that “to prohibit ancestor worship is not

to know the teachings of Christ, to follow the Western missionaries unconditionally is to ignore the traditions of Chosên, and to serve ancestors is not to transgress religious beliefs” (cf. Ryu 1988:100-8). Lee Sang-jae, who was a director of Y.M.C.A46 _{in Korea, wrote an article}47 _in

which he surmises that, “a filial duty is a basic virtue of human beings, and ancestor worship is an expression of it. Thus, there is no reason for Christianity, which insists on filial duty, to oppose ancestor worship. It is only when ancestor worship becomes superstitiously connected with fortune and misfortune that it cannot be accepted; otherwise it might be accepted as an expression of filial duty” (1988:102). As a counter-argument, Yang Ju-sam states48 _{that “filial}

duty is a principle of human beings, but ritual is merely a custom. Therefore, when ancestral ritual as a custom is not fit for modern life style, and has a corrupt custom, it has to cease” (:103). On this disputation, Dong-a daily newspaper published three separate reviews;49 _their

arguments were similar that of Lee.

There were other voices. In 1920’s, a leading figure in the Korean Church was Choi. Byung-hun was also esteemed as the first indigenous theologian, and both leaders dealt with ancestral matters in Korean context. In 1926, Pyon Young Tai circulated his article, My View on Ancestral

Matters. His opinion was that ancestor worship is not idol worship. Bowing down in Asia does

not signify worship but respect, and if the teaching of the Bible concerning bowing down has not

45 _{A Filial Duty of the President of America (미국 대통령의 효행). Chosên Christian Bulletin (조선 크}

리스도인의 회보). Vol. 2, no. 32. (10 Aug, 1898).

46 _{The Young Men Christian Association.} 47 _{See, Dong-a daily newspaper. (1 Nov, 1920).} 48 _{See, Dong-a daily newspaper. (4 Nov, 1920).}

been interpreted literally, then memorial rituals should be considered expressions of filial duty and ethical conduct. It is therefore, proper to use the term ‘memorial rituals’ rather than ‘worship’ (1926:7). Shu (1988:207) recalls Che Pil-gun’s view on ancestor worship that ancestral rituals of Asia are idol worship. Similarly, Shu (:207) opines that filial duty in Christianity is only for the living parents. Moreover, the negative stance toward ancestor worship, including preparing food and praying for them, became the official position of the Korean Presbyterian Church. In 1930’s and 1940’s in Korea, ancestor worship became completely related with Shintoism. When Korean Christianity was confronted with the pressure to engage in Shinto worship exerted by Japan (1910 - 1945), it actually encountered a bigger problem than Confucianism. Unlike most missionaries who forbade attendance in Shinto shrines, there was a division of opinion among the various Christian churches on the matter of Shinto shrine attendance, which occurred to some extent along denominational lines. In 1935, a Japanese official summoned and admonished church leaders in the following words:

The Shrine is a place where the spirit of our national father and veteran statesmen are dedicated; it is a public institution toward which we express our respect and reverence… From an educational viewpoint, it is necessary to worship such consecrated spirit, for it is an essence of national morality… Therefore, shrine worship is nothing more than a practical discipline of respect and reverence for ancestors (Kim.Y.S. 1956:171-6).

Initially, most denominations prohibited attendance in shrines. Under severe persecution, major denominations such as the Presbyterian and Methodist eventually yielded to Japanese pressure regarding observance at Shinto shrines while some Christians from those denominations separated themselves from them, rejecting Shinto worship.

After the difficult era of the Korean War of 1950’s, indigenous Korean theologies emerged in full-scale, and under this new circumstance, ancestral matters became re-evaluated. The Minjung theology of Hyun Young-hack, the Pungryu theology of Ryu Tong-sick, the theology of other religions of Byun Sun-hwan, and the theology of Sung were the most popular and leading indigenous theologies in Korea with regard to ancestral issues. The attitude of most of these theologies toward ancestor worship in Christianity is positive. In 1979, Cho Yong-ki (David), who ministers in the world’s largest church,50 _{addressed his church on ancestor matters stating}

that; “the dead parents are also parents. Thus, ancestor ritual is not idol worship because it is to respect one’s parents. If descendants do not use an ancestral paper tablet (jibang) or erect a cross,

their bowing down should not be regarded as idol worship” (Wi 1998:177). This sermon led to ‘the heresy disputation of Cho’, and the 68th Presbyterian assembly (1983, 9 Tonghap) confirmed him as a heretic. On the 4th _{of December 1981, a Korean daily newspaper published an article}

titled, ‘Ancestor Ritual Disputation among Christians (기독교계의 제사논쟁)’. The article points out the serious nature of the disputation over ancestor practice and mentions positive opinions of some theologians, such as, Jang-sick, Jun Teck-bu, and You Gyung-je.51 _{In another}

article, ‘Ancestor Rituals of Korea are not Idol Worship (한국의 제례는 우상숭배가 아니다

)’, the Joonggang daily newspaper in 1982 remarks that even if Protestanism in Korea became a

hundred years old, it would still not escape from the arguments and cultural discord confronting ancestral ritual.52 Again, the Asian Theological Association and the Taiwan Church Renewal Center co-sponsored ‘The consultation on the Christian response to ancestor practices’ in Taipei in 1983. Son Bong-ho, Ro Bong-rin, Lee Jong-yun and Kim Myung-hyuk who attended this meeting showed a “negative attitude, considering it as idol worship” (Ro B.R 1985).

Despite denominational differences, the stance of the Korean Church on ancestor worship has been negative, being influenced by the traditions of Western missionaries. Besides the memorial service (chudosick) for the dead,53 _{an indigenous aspect of ancestral worship prevalent in the}

Korean Church, there have been discussions and calls for indigenous ancestral rituals from certain quarters of the church. A 1987 survey of the practice of ancestral ritual in a Presbyterian Church (Tonghap) showed that 99% of ministers had consultations about ancestor matters from their members, and 61% of them recommended the practice based on the conditions of the members. Additionally, whereas 67% of them are thinking of reconsidering the current attitude of Christianity on ancestor matter, 67% of Christians consider it not as idol worship, but as cultural ritual’ (Ryu S.H 1987:123-55). This shows evidence of polarity in the Korean Church over ancestor practice.