Date of Award

2013

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Theology

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to point towards a Roman Catholic soteriology for the sinned-against creature that uses 'han' as a fundamental theological source. This dissertation is concerned with two main areas--Roman Catholic soteriology and intercultural theological dialogue--due to their growing importance in the 21st century in which globalization continues to be the driving force that organizes the economic, social, cultural, and political structures of the world, for the benefit of some and the dehumanization of many others.

I argue that Korean-American theologies and anthropologies of 'han' provide one important resource for supplementing and developing the relatively inadequate Roman Catholic soteriology that focuses almost exclusively upon the estrangement between the sinning creature and the Sinned-Against Creator. 'Han' assists in supplementing this soteriology through providing a more explicit focus upon God's work of healing the wounds of the "sinned-against" ctreatures in this world. I contend that 'han' can provide a "thick description" of the breadth and depth of human woundedness and in this way act as a fundamental cultural anthropology upon which to articulate a Roman Catholic soteriology for the sinned-against creature to a degree of relative adequacy within a globalizing and intercultural context. I utilize the theology of Edward Schillebeeckx, Andrew Sung Park, Wonhee Anne Joh, and the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et spes, in order to advance my argument. My method for bringing these diverse theologies into dialogue is based upon Intercultural Hermeneutics and the Semiotics of Culture.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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