보천교와 무극도의 신앙대상에 대한 고찰

Abstract

Bocheon-gyo and Mugeuk-do are religious orders of the same origin and similar history which share the object of belief along with the systemization of religious principle based on Jeung-san’s Reconstruction work of heaven and earth. Bocheon-gyo is a religious order founded by Cha Gyungseok. He became a disciple in 1907, 2 years before Jeung-san’s passing into heaven. Despite his late initiation, he was able to attend to Jeung-san’s Reconstruction work, observing the greatness of his omnipotent power. Upon Jeung-san’s passing into heaven, Cha Gyungseok has established a religious order helping lady Ko who had a dramatic experience. Yet, once lady Ko has moved to another place, Cha Gyungseok led that religious order. In Bocheon-gyo’s former religious order, he claimed Jeungsan as Okhwang Sangje(The Great Jade Emperor)based on Jeungsan’s own narrative during his reconstruction work. In latter religious order with its Confucianistic tendency, the object of belief has turned into heaven and God. In Confucianism, heaven is regarded as a form, Sangje as a supreme superintendent being and vice versa. Thus, Sangje is the highest sole existence which contains the conception of supreme presiding heaven and normative heaven altogether. Meanwhile, Doju Jo Jeongsan, despite his no acquaintance of Sangje Kang, has established a Meugeuk-do(“The Religion of Boundlessness”),a religious order with orthodox authority through receiving a mysterious revelation from Sangje, Doju Jo Jeongsan has constructed a Meugeukdo Dojang(temple complex) in dochang-hyeon, Gutaein, Jeonlabuk-do in 1925. The object of belief was enshrined as Gu-choen Eung-won Nweh-seong Bo-hwa Cheon-jon Kang-seong Sangje(the Great Creative God and Lord of the Ninth Heaven). And by pronouncing tenet, creed and object which consist of the core teachings of belief, all the conditions of doctinal system has completed. Reviewing on the characteristics of object of belief, which is an ultimate reality, it lies on the fact that absolute God, Sangje has descended to this world as a human-being, not as an immaterial entity. Seeing the fact that the world of humans are interrelated with the world of spirits, he clarify his status among the various names of Sangje-God. Finally, through his Reconstruction work, Jeungsan shows himself to be the Supreme Being who can freely wield the omnipotent power.