종교체험의 해석적 성격: 스힐레벡스의 해석학으로 본 대순사상

This article examines the process of how Daesoon thought keeps its own identity while being practiced as a religion in Korean culture through the perspective of theological hermeneutics of E. Schillebeeckx, a representative theologian in 20th century, especially on the centering of the matter of experience.

Schillebeeckx says that an experience is an occurrence of perception by encountering something different from oneself. According to him, 1) the occurrence of perception is premised on a framework or form of interpretation which prescribes experience as the experience in the perceptive dimension. 2) A framework of interpretation is subject to pre-existing system or structure which already has formed a basis to the experience. It consists of various interpretative elements such as social form, general knowledges, various experiences, theoretical models in their society, etc.. 3) The experiences take place in the reflection of contemporary situation, and it is understood by a society, thus making it a social stream. This experience is expressed historically, gains historicity in the process of being handed down from person to person, from generation to generation. In this way, an experience starts to form a tradition. 4) The tradition is a historical stream which gives rise to, admits, and integrates various experiences, religious revelation, and faith etc. In this way, the tradition as a historical stream becomes a field of religious actuality such as revelation, salvation, etc.

Conclusively, a religion takes place, is formed, only when it is understood anew by the people who live in that cultural tradition through their languages. The ground Daesoon thought takes place, is formed, is in this way. Daesoon thought takes place in the core of traditional Korean culture, undergoes changes when it encounters the other stream of traditional Korean culture, and the vice versa. Because of this inevitable change, ironically enough, Daesoon thought can maintain its own identity as Daesoon thought, and Korean culture its own identity as Korean culture, avoiding falling into the tertiary which is neither Daesoon thought nor Korean culture. It is in this way that any religion can be in the faithfulness to its starting point to be enriched and transformed in its interaction with the other tradition. At here is the reason Daesoon thought has to have an openness to the changing world.