[KS] Re: Sources of Korean Christianity

[sung-deuk oak]

Dear List, 
      Thanks for Dr. Driscoll's comment. I received a similar note from another scholar. Terms do always bother us, don't they? Some of you remember that one of my interests is "the term question" in Korea. Actually the sourcebook has some documents related to the Catholic, Anglican, or Russian Orthodox Church. Yet I bet that most are of Protestantism. I was well aware of this problem, so I used "Protestant Christianity" in the first sentence of the Preface: "Since the first introduction of the Korean Scriptures from Manchuria into Korea in 1882 and the arrival of the first American missionaries in 1884 and 1885, the progress of Protestant Christianity in Korea was phenomenal and properly praised as 'the miracle of modern missions.'” 
    Here is another paragraph: "The history of Korean Christianity can be roughly divided into two periods: the Roman Catholic century (1874-1883) and the Protestant century (1884-1983). Its third century will have a better name in the reunified Korean society. This book has only a few Roman Catholic materials, including some Anglican and Russian Orthodox materials. This volume covers only the first half of the Protestant century, namely from 1884 to 1945. We hope that the second volume, which covers the period from 1945 to 1983, will be published as a better form and a result of the co-work of many scholars." 
      I know the above paragraph has some controversial issues and bias that may be more "offensive" to some. I must have used the "Catholic century" instead the "Roman Catholic century." But I have no intention to offend Catholic Christians. Believe me. In fact, in the Postscript I expressed my wish that the revised edition will have more Catholic materials.  However, I know that some of you are not satisfied with this excuse. Then, forgive the prematurity of the book and my schoarship.
    Sincerely,
    Sung-Deuk Oak
    sungoak at hotmail.com
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