아돌프 폰 하르낙(Adolf von Harnack)의 복음과 문화와의 관계에 대한 비판적 고찰

Abstract

According to Claude Welch, the theme “Christianity and Culture” appeared throughout the 19th century, but more markedly at the end of the century to be blended into Kulturprotestantismus, which attempted to justify Christianity in a modern society. At this time, Adolf von Harnack(1851-1930) worked vigorously, discussing the relation between Gospel and culture by exploring the core of Christian Gospel.<BR> Being focused on What Is Chrsitianity?(Das Wesen des Christentums) published in 1900 from his lectures at Berlin University in 1899-1900. this paper makes an attempt to analyze Harnack’s position on the relation between Gospel and culture, and to give a critical review of it. For Harnack, there are both distinction and connection between Gospel and culture. The former is a kernel as an essential content, whereas the latter is a husk as a historial form or mode. And Gospel and culture work together with each other at each period of history. While culture is concerned with the external side, Gospel is concerned with the internal side to seek the inner transformation of humans. And Gospel is related to God the Father, but not directly to Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit.<BR> Though Harnack’s position might have been positive in his times, his reductionistic and essentialistic understanding of Gospel may cause an ignorance or indifference of diverse interactions between Gospel and culture. And it may cause an individualistic and inner escape or complacency, which may also disregard a complex approach to culture. And Harnack’s argument of the Hellenization of Christianity may not be persuasive any longer in terms of several critiques of it today.<BR> One of the implications of the critical examination in this paper is that the distinction and interaction between Gospel and culture are important, but that what is more important is how to understand the particular content of Gospel. Only then we may secure the relation between both more fully.