고범서가 본 라인홀드 니버(Reinhold Niebuhr)의 기독교 사회윤리

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to see Reinhold Niebuhr's Christian Social ethics through Goh Bum-seo. He is a pioneer who opened a Christian social ethics and he founded Korean Christian ethics. He not only introduced Niebuhr to our Korean scholars, but also he showed that Niebuhr's Christian social ethics is right to our reality. This article have interests in seeing Niebuhr in the sight of Goh Bum-seo. For that, I will set three principles about how Goh Bum-seo studied Social ethics. The first principle is that his social ethics have ground in reality. He never leave the reality. The second is that his social ethics focuses on praxis. He strived for the question which comes from reality, and he thought about the possibilities of praxis. This kind of interest developed to system and politics. The third seem to be natural, but it is that he is a Christian. He thought that only Christians can activate these social politics in this society. Niebuhr thought that love which is the core of Jesus' ethics is impossible to practice in the reality. As a result, he insist Christian realism. It is impossible to practice in human society, but he thought that going there near is possible. This is called as a approximation, and Goh Bum-seo thought that this is the core of Christian realism. And this kind of impossible love is replaced as justice when it is adapted to society or nation. If justice is can be realized in society, then he thought that is the best way which Jesus' love is realized. Go Bum-seo accepted this kind of Niebuhr's realism, and he tried to adapt justice to system and politics. Goh Bum-seo take highly of Niebuhr's realistic ethics. That is because there are three principles before his social ethics.