A Hermeneutical Diverse Matrix of Peace, Justice, and the Gospel

Abstract

Though peace is the most important theme in human history and also in church history, it is not so easy to lead to peace or to discuss on peace. In the previous discussions on peace, there have been some diverse positions such as holy war, just war, pacifism and so on. And recently a new discussion on just peace has been increasing especially centering around the World Council of Churches (WCC). This article explores a brief trajectory of the new discussion on just peace centering around the WCC and its subsequent relation to Korean church. Then this article investigates theological discussions on peace in Korean church, by taking a close look at four famous and influential figures, each of whom represents one position of the whole spectrum. This article pays special attention to the gospel in those discussions, because it is obvious that the gospel of the Scripture is about peace, which is ‘ shalom’ (םולשָ‎) in the Old Testament and ‘ eirene’ (εἰρήνη) in the New Testament. In so doing, this article argues that a robust theological discussion on peace in the future requires a more elaborate matrix of peace, justice, and the gospel, though with an open hermeneutical diversity.