The Making of Korean Christianity: Protestant Encounters with Korean Religions, 1876-1915 (Studies in World Christianity)

The Making of Korean Christianity: Protestant Encounters with Korean Religions, 1876-1915 (Studies in World Christianity)

A major catalyst for the growth of Korean Christianity occurred at the turn of the twentieth century when Western missionaries encountered the religious landscape of Korea. These first-generation missionaries have been framed as destroyers of Korean religion and culture. Yet, as Sung-Deuk Oak shows in The Making of Korean Christianity , existing Korean religious tradition also impacted the growth and character of evangelical Christianity. The melding of indigenous Korean religions and Christianity led to a highly localized Korean Christianity that flourished in the early modern era. The Making of Korean Christianity sorts fact from myth in this exhaustive examination of the local and global forces that shaped Christianity on the Korean Peninsula. The Making of Korean Christianity was recognized by theInternational Bulletin of Missionary Research as one of the top Fifteen Outstanding Books of 2013 for Mission Studies. A wealth of historical data from the turn of the last century on the formation of Korean Christianity is meticulously presented and carefully analyzed. -- S. Michael Ahn, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary ― Themelios [ The Making of Korean Christianity ] is a must read for anyone who wants to study world Christianity. -- Gun Ho Lee, The Presbytery of New Hope ― Interpretation The history of Protestantism in Korea is rich and complex, and Oak’s work makes a valuable contribution toward understanding its origins and initial development. -- Sean C. Kim, University of Central Missouri ― Sungkyun Journal of East Asian Studies In short, Sung-Deuk Oak has produced an insightful study of the history of Christianity in Korea. This outstanding book is a must-read for anyone interested in modern Korean history, cross-cultural interactions, and global Christian studies. -- Joseph Tse-Hei Lee, Pace University in New York ― The Asian Christian Review [ The Making of Korean Christianity ] is highly recommended not only for those interested in the development of Korean Christianity, but also for those who want to explore the 'creative combination of the principle of Christian universality (vertical transcendence) and that of inculturation (horizontal adaptation)'. -- Gun Cheol Kim ― Africanus Journal The Making of Korean Christianity is the most comprehensive and significant contribution to the study of Protestant Christianity in Korea that has appeared in a generation. Oak challenges the received academic discourse on the first generation of Christians and shows how early Korean Protestants dealt with sophisticated issues in theology and religious practice to arrive at their own solutions in the process of cultural encounter. This book will be the principal source in English on this period of Korean Church history for many years. -- James H. Grayson, Emeritus Professor of Modern Korean Studies, The University of Sheffield Sung-Deuk Oak is Dongsoon Im and Mija Im Endowment Chair, Associate Professor of Korean Christianity, University of California, Los Angeles. He lives in Simi Valley, California.