A theological appraisals of the Korean pentecostal pneumatoloy and its ement

- A Comparison of the Five Fold Gospel with Baar statement of WCC-

Dr.  Kyoung Jae Kim

Prof. of Hanshin University

http://soombat.org

I. Introduction

This thesis will attempt to have an analytical approach to the theory of spirituality of korean pentecostal church and its missionary movement from the view point of an open spirituality of KNCC's "Baar Statement" and its new theology of mission. More specifically, the main object of this study is theological investigation and judgment on the essence of korean pentecostal church movement with focusing on the pneunmatology of Rev. Cho Yong Ki, who is founder and the leading priest of The Korean Assembly of God which has gained the result of skyrocketing increase of the number of believers in the period of 1960-1990s. A church of them, almost 150 thousands people now.

The key subject of this argument is the understanding and criticism of the fact that the remarkable dynamics of korean pentecostal church movement is absolutely rooted in the literal inspiration of Holy Scripture and the first aim of their mission and its sphere are limited to the Gospel spreading and church growth. And through this investigation we would confirm that WCC ecumenical missionary theology, as definitely shown, is accepting the critical study of Bible, and that the ultimate aim of Holy spirit is universal salvation and creative reformation of history. Therefore the field of action of Holy Spirit is not church-in-only but being-in-world-possible. So that problem of korean missionary field in which we shall deal with may be reconciliation and mediation between ideality and its actuality of them.

Korean protestant churches have been divided into two bodies and have developed through mutual effects and tension in that relationship. The one is conservative part who regard themselves as 'evangelists'. Remaining outside WCC, they are interested in individual salvation and church prosperity. 'Pure Gospel Central Church' led by rev. Cho Yong Ki could be a representative of that conservative religious society. The other body is progressive protestant society who supports KNCC's ecumenical theology and its doctrine. Trying to play the social role of Gospel, they have been interested in human rights, eco-environmental movements, unification activity, labourer-peasant rights movements. These are, in short, all the missionary lines of "Missio Dei."

Meanwhile, a unbelievable event broke out in July 1996. 'Korean assembly of God' become a regular member of KNCC, who has been a representative of korean pentecostal church having achieved also a remarkable quantitative development of church. In fact, it is not so sensational event in the meaning of WCC and KNCC who are not interested in dogmatic unity but in ecumenical movement. So there is no reason that Korean assembly of God should not join in KNCC. But, when the process of conflicts and tensions between two bodies until now is apprehended appropriately, KAG's joining is definitely striking and very refreshing event in the history of korean christianity.

It does not just mean the addition of one member of KNCC as one of church-political events. We can find, without difficulty, very historical fact that, if it does not understood enough, the theological discord and each dogmatic self-righteousness of missionary theology between conservative and progressive bodies have already reached new stage of reflection and self-recognition. Korean christianity has suffered from inveterate dichotomy in the parts of soteriology and missionary theology, which is like Individual Salvation vs. Social Salvation, Inner Liberation vs. Social liberation, Divine Kingdom Above vs. His Nation Below. Surely, this process would be the sign of the settlement of freer and more mature missionary theology.

However, the newly formation of missionary theology is more deeply related to pneumatology than any other theological dogmatics. Although Korean Assembly of God's joining in KNCC is most historical and wonderful thing, we cannot understand this as one of sincere unification of separated churches due to this fact that korean pentecostal church's understanding of Holy Spirit has an insoluble gab with that of KNCC's progressive society. This thesis has an innate motivation to make this problem as the subject of discourse. And with this work, we are going to search for more mature ecumenical movement and missionary theology settlement.

The procedures of this essay is this. In chapter 2, we are going to know analytically about how and why pentecostal movement did come to show such a blasting growth of church in the context of their historical-cultural situation and korean religions. In chapter 3, we are going to evaluate 'The Five Fold Gospel' of korean pentecostal church which is widely known as 'Pure Gospel Church' with the analysis of pneumatology of the charismatic leader of that church, rev. Cho Yong Ki. In chapter 4, 'Missio Dei' of WCC's other missionary theologies and its influence on korean christianity, and 'Baar Statement' which is the fruits of ecumenical theology in 1990s and its theological meaning in the missionary field of the third world, are going to be studied. In chapter 5, epilogue, we come to find the possibility of theological dialogue between two sects, and of new missionary task and its prospect in east asia.

[2] Religious-Culturally and Political-Socially Historical Analysis on Korean Pentecostal Movement in the Period of 1960-1990s.

In my faith, korean pentecostal church's explosive growth and other korean church's energetic development in spiritual movement are the result of gracious work of Holy Spirit, and of unselfish devotion and efforts of every christians in 1960-1990s. Above all, I think this truth must be recognized before any studies. And it is right time to discourse on the korean pentecostal movement and revivalism in the religious-cultural and social-political contexts and other social situation at that time.

Firstly, the koreans, as one of people in far east asia, has experienced the unity of nation, language and culture for almost 2000 years. In case of koreans, the emotional part among the basic attributes of nation like intellect, emotion and justice, is said to be more developed. We know that religious attribute does not lack philosophical depth and moral sincerity. In the characteristic of koreans, however, aesthetic sensibility could be regarded as more developed than the depth of speculation and moral sincerity. In this kind of logical process, we can find it not so strange thing that dynamic religious experience tends to be preferred to systematic organization of theory and rigid discipline of religious commandment at sphere of korean collective unconsciousness.

For example, laying aside korean ancient shamanism, some buddhist ceremony of india and china which represent the observance to eight ascetic commandments, had turned into an indigenous religious festival which is combined with original korean worship for heaven. The same phenomenon could be caught in the process of settlement of Sung confucianism in korea. It is  neo-confucianism of china. Reading over a series of discourse on inseparable relatedness between Li-Ch'i in that cosmology, we can find that Chi primary ontology had have more definite traces in the case of Yul-Gok Sung confucianism and Sil-hak idea in the later history. However Chi, as an ontological substance, is very something dynamic like western pneuma, and positively related to emotional experience of humanity. Korean national religion, Dong-hak, which appeared as a national resistance movement against western colonization in 19th century, has unique religious experience, Worshiping God, which is integral experience through one's own body rather than rational understanding. Especially in the course of christian settlement in korea, this characteristic of korean spirituality did not have any difficulty in accepting pentecostal experience as their own religious phenomenon.

Secondly, I think it is not overstatement that protestant theology which was transferred mainly, in the late 19th century, by american methodist missionaries and then their missionary theology to the world, was not far from revivalism originated vigorously from great awakening movement in the states during 18- 19th centuries. That methodist missionaries trained Wesleyan theology in the far east asia of the late 19th century and even the presbyterian priests were the people whose heart was, if their mind disciplined to the puritan and calvinist fundamentalism, full of something like Inspiration of Bible, Baptism in Holy Spirit, Divine Healing, Holiness movement, Missionary activity which were evoked by revivalists of 19th century like Dwight L.Moody, R. A. Torrey, J. W. Chapman.

One of representative historians of korean church, prof. Min kyung bae, also designates that one of the reason for the success of korean protestant christianity is the fact that western missionaries in the late 19th century had the belief and theology of Pietists, Revivalist and Evangelicals, and that their very evangelical and revivalist attribute geared properly into korean sensibility. The appearance and character of the beginning of great revival movement in Pyung yang, Korea in 1907, testifies to the nature of korean early missionaries' theology and belief. The series of big scale of congregation from Pyung Yang revival gathering in 1907 to 'Great Mission to World Congregation' which was organized beyond any religious sects in Yoido, Seoul in 1980, have followed the style of 'Mass Evangelistic Revival Movement.' This historical fact of korean church demonstrates this very impressive point that korean protestant was wonderful soil with every ingredients for the growth of pentecostal movement.

Thirdly, we cannot miss the social-historical background of great scale of growth in korean pentecostal movement. In the period of 1945-1960, there were a lot of people like homeless lambs wondering around the situation of chaotic politics and desperate economics after the korean civil war as the tragic result of Cold War. In the early 1960s, military government after their successful coupe carried out a lot of policies about modernization, industrialization to overcome the absolute poverty and these transition caused boisterous changes of the life situation of common people. Many people had migrated from a rural community to factories in cities, from a traditional shelter to the wild world called competitive market. In that turbulent time, almost every koreans suffered inevitably from the psychic discomfort, insoluble destitution, socio-political alienation, physical illness and religious ambiguity. Korean must have undergone what the western civilization had have experiences for 300 years, like modernization, industrialization, urbanization etc, so rapidly only for 30 years of 1960- 90s.

In that situation, most koreans were afflicted with the crisis of the loss of their own identity. So people tried to look for the new shelter away from profit oriented competition in capitalist market. If we understand and feel the pain and difficulty in that situation, we might not be surprised that the rise of new religious community in pentecostal movement which had not only power of consolation but also the gospel of healing and good health, the whole blessing faith, the positive attitude toward the life and heart warming solidarity, had become a direct gospel and samaritan inn on earth for the people suffering "Geheimlosigkeit". Obviously, in the thought of korean pentecostal movement and the rapid growth of Pure Gospel Church, the upper stated factors must be perceived, which was religious cultural, church historical, political-social backgrounds of 1960- 90s.

{3} The Pneumatology in Korean Pure Gospel Church's 'The Five Fold Gospel' and its Theological Evaluation.

3.1. A Short History of Pure Gospel Church ministered by rev. Cho Yong ki.

In the name of church, Pure Gospel Church, 'Pure Gospel' is translated as 'Full Gospel' according to their opinion. But it is out of generality that the designation of theological emphasis on the gospel integrity itself would be exposed directly in the form of name. This attempt, whether is willing or not, implies the criticism to the conventional korean church's partiality, unfulfillment and imperfection. Because, in korean usage of word, Sun means 'Pure' rather than 'Full'. Undoubtedly, Sun contains diverse meanings as 'Pure, Whole, Full, Perfect' in adjective semantics of korean language. But general implication of it which is shared with the simple ear in ordinary life is 'Pure'. So Sun Gospel means 'Pure Gospel'. Therefore, due to linguistic restriction which is basic attribute of language, the name of Pure Gospel Church gives koreans a nuance of accusation and criticism on the defectiveness of conventional churches. The Korean Assemblies of God, which this church belongs to, has a head office in Springfield, Missouri, USA.

Pure Gospel Church led by charismatic rev. Cho Yong Ki has a short history but its development can be arranged into definite three periods. Sprouting (1958-1961), Growth (1961-1973) and Maturation (1961-1973). In the sprouting period, rev. Cho Yong Ki who was not ordained at that time and Choi Ja sil as a parter started their ministry with 5 persons in the tent in Dae Jo Dong, one of the outskirts of Seoul in 1958. Rev. Cho looks back the picture of that time like this "the beginning of tent church was wretched, depressing and so poor." But these two young evangelical leaders, with the absolute confidence on God's words and complete obedience to God's will, have taken a passionate and superhuman efforts and gained tremendous results in the successive course. In 1964, the number of believers was beyond 1000 and the Soe Dae Moon Church was constructed at the center of Seoul. In 1970, the member of them was almost 18000. After the construction of Yoido church which has capacity for 100 hundreds, we can find the biggest church over the world beyond 130 thousands believers as a single one.

3.2. The Theological Evaluation of the Meaning of 'The Five Fold Gospel' in the Korean Pentecostal Movement.

Rev. Cho Yong Ki who gains the approval about his charismatic leadership not only from korean church history but also from the world pentecostal church history, said this in the memory of the past 40 years of his priesthood.

"Wherever I put my best efforts in preaching 'The Five Fold Gospel' which God allowed me to be aware, the people came to experience rebirth, spiritual life change, the healing of body and mind, and divine freedom. They are The Gospel of Salvation, Fullness of the Holy Spirit, Divine Healing, Blessing, and of Second Coming. These five gospels are the core of my message as well as the essence of Gospel in Bible. The Five Fold Gospel can be the theoretical part of Pure Gospel belief as The Three Fold Blessing, the practical part."

According to this rev. David Cho's remark, we can conceive that the theological theory and practical purpose of korean pentecostal movement are put into The Five Fold Gospel and The Three Fold Blessing. So through the arrangement of outlines of their essence, we are going to take a theological meaning of those thoughts.

Before the explanation of The Five Fold Gospel, rev. Cho is pointing out the wrong interpretations of Gospel which the conventional church and theology have made until now. The first of them is only salvation of the spirit. The second is only moral or ethical norm. The third is the idea that gospel is another moral commandment. The forth is that gospel is against commandment. The fifth is the subject of study or the principle of reformation from gospel. The sixth is the shamanistic method from gospel. And he insists that they are all the distorted interpretations and understandings.

And this kind of distortion and deterioration of Gospel, he thinks, are caused by wrong theological attitude toward Bible which is God's words. Therefore the essential basis for The Five Fold Gospel and The Three Blessing and the heart of Cho Yong Ki's evangelicalism is biblical literalism as the literal inerrancy of Holy Scripture. He said that Pure Gospel means Full Gospel which accepts God's words 'fully' and 'totally'. Therefore we can find critical fact that the crate from which the passion and dynamism of korean pentecostal movement has erupted is Bible absolutism, and the real cause of the problematic limits in their theologies is the exclusive dogmatism rooted in the literal inerrancy of Holy Scripture which tends to regard every critical approach to the bible as a heretic.

To be sure, rev. Cho's literal inerrancy of Holy Scripture is not stiffen literalism. His can be taken for the understanding of Bible which has been found in the reformists like Luther, Calvin, as a creative spiritual experience. But his hermeneutical stand point which does not want to take a step out of biblical literature, nor to talk another thing beyond the biblical episodes, involves a very serious danger to make a mistake that the work of Holy Spirit, according to his thought, would be confined to Ecclesiology. From that feature, we can induce some strange meaning that Bible is superior to God. To be sure, the Holy Trinity and gospel of salvation reveals Totem Dei in the biblical manifestations. But Bible is not positive document that reveals Totem Dei exclusively. Therefore, in the case of some of protestant theology which insists on almost the idolization of Scripture in which Bible is absolute being like God. This kind of belief, in fact, is in opposition to Protestant Principle which could be explained like this 'Let God be God'.

The first of The Five Fold Gospel is The Gospel of Salvation as Atonement. The essence of salvation is Regeneration or Rebirth of human being through the grace of crucifixion and its redemption.

This Gospel of Salvation is supposing original sin and redemption. And rev. David Cho follows only the biblical testimony because his belief in the inerrancy of Holy Scripture. All the creatures, as he said, are being not born by accident and developed evolutionally but created by God. He interprets the creation myths in ch. 1-2, Genesis as historical facts. Before the Fall, human being created with body, soul and spirit, was an eternal being who could communicate with God. And after the Fall, the spiritual being of human died, so that death, guilty and illness took the place of them. To revive one's life form that destitution, he asserts that only the holy body of Jesus Christ and its redemptive death would be everything for that work.

This Gospel of Salvation of The Five Fold Gospel is not the property of evangelical community. And the discrimination of that gospel as justification, sanctification and glorification is not different from the traditional soteriology. If we want to point out any difference between them, the methodology of biblical interpretation can be stated. In the case of the Fall in ch. 3 Genesis, their work cannot discern the real meaning of that story in history due to literal interpretation of the chapter of satan as the simple image of satan. So we can find that the symbolic or figurative interpretation of Bible is impossible in their understanding.

The second theme of the Five Fold Gospel is the Gospel of Fullness of the Holy Spirit. The second gospel is the most distinguished attribute of pentecostal church' theology and Cho Yong Ki 's Pure Gospel Church to understand. The Gospel of the Fullness of Holy Spirit has a close relationship with the pneumatology of pentecostal church. In terms of dogmatics, their pneumatology keeps its own territory in the trinitarian principle which was settled in Nicea- Constantine Council. Holy Spirit is the third divine person who has personality and every divine attributes also like eternity, omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence as the Comforter (parakletos). In traditional confession, this Holy Spirit is being enough to be accepted with divine  glory, exaltation and service.

However the very peculiarity of The Gospel of the Fullness in Holy Spirit is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit which distinguishes the work of Holy Spirit in it from that of rebirth experience. In their thought, the rebirth experience would be bodily unification with christ, and the birth of new life through the power of Holy Spirit and Words. But Baptism in the Holy Spirit is the experience to gain a wonderful rights and power of devotional activity. Therefore, they say that, if believers and church want to live a life together successfully, Baptism in the Holy Spirit as well as rebirth experience should be carried out. This is Cho Yong Ki's statement about this.

"Rebirth experience and Baptism in Holy Spirits are something which can be simultaneously but another thing each other certainly. Baptism in Holy Spirit is the experience to be captured by Holy Spirit to make regenerated person cope with the divine work." The testimonies of this experience are speaking tongues, the ability of spreading Gospel etc.. And the state of believers who are experiencing 'the grace of Holy Spirit' and 'the fruit of Holy Spirit', is called The Fullness of Holy Spirit."

We can find two particular points in the Gospel of Fullness of Holy Spirit. The first is the definite differentiation of rebirth experience from Holy Spirit experience. And the second is that the ultimate concern of the believer who have experienced Holy Spirit is something like missionary activity, church building and attendance, and expansion of the influence of church. In this principle of faith, we cannot find any motivations of Missio Dei in trying to create and reform this world and history. This is an actual reason for the outstanding growth and expansion of Pure Gospel Church for 1960-2000 years, and also for the silence and inactivity of this mammoth church to other social activity and reformation movement against the military dictatorship during 1960-90s. At that time  the progressive christian society had been oppressed by cruelty. I think it is not over statement that the inactivity of this so great church was, as a result, so beneficial for the fascist regimes. In the western history of church we can find without difficulty the examples about that. Yoachim's or Thomas Munzer's spiritual movement testified to the fact that authentic movement in Spirit has been necessarily transformed into a vigorous activity for the social reformation. But in the case of korean pentecostal movement, the meaning of The Gospel of the Fullness in Holy Spirit is confirmed into the literal meaning and repetition of the biblical verses. This kind of near sightedness of their biblical interpretation makes this gigantic church paralyzed with important political issues, and, as a result, support military government.

The third of the Five Fold Gospel is the Gospel of Divine Healing. Divine healing is the holy event in which someone who suffered from bodily or mental illness would be liberated with the help of divine power.

According to the belief of Cho's Pure Gospel Church, human life was, in origin, the unity of spirit, soul and body but, after the Fall, spirit came to lose divine communication with God, and  soul became a self-centered being and body became just trouble cause of greed and guilt, and fragile being suffered a lot of illness. Atonement in crucifixion and Advent of spirit is the authentic and integral possibility of salvation of human being so that God is still endowing the grace of divine healing to someone who believes in God sincerely, and making people experience that grace through him in spite of most developed medical science in our time.

They say that Divine Healing is not medical cure nor hypnotic psychiatry. Necromancy and its mysterious power are not absolutely. Divine Healing is not the ambiguous result of God's will but the gracious event performed directly by Holy Spirit with someone who is endowed with that grace. This kind of Divine Healing Gospel was shown and accepted as a strong message from Heaven to the people who were afflicted with every diseases severely. In the actual situations, some miracles like healing out cancer of patients who were said not to be treated anymore in hospital, were not rare in the services. With this image and acknowledgment, rev. Cho's charismatic leadership had achieved the rapid growth of Pure Gospel Church during 1960-90s.

Cho Yong Ki himself does not think of medical cure as satanic activity or something against Bible in his emphasizing Divine Healing Gospel. But his understanding of illness is uncommon. In spite of the development of bacteriology or anatomy, he takes evil, crime and curse for the three main cause of diseases. He said " the condition of growth of every illness like bacteria is originally supported by satan. The root of illness is evil and satan." This kind of understanding could be interpreted positively that human being is mysterious unity created with spirit, soul and body so that if we explain this multiple dimensions of human being beyond the rational causation, we cannot reject this symbolical expression. But we cannot also deny this kind of understanding of human condition is the necessary result of literalism in the interpretation of Bible.

The forth of the Five Fold Gospel is the Gospel of Blessing. This Gospel of Blessing as well as the Gospel of Fullness in Holy Spirit are the main feature of the understanding of gospel and pneumatology of korean pentecostal church, Pure Gospel Church. As contrary to the fact that Holiness theology descended from American Wesleyan church has four gospels which are Rebirth, Holiness, Divine Healing and Second Coming, korean pentecostal theology adjusts those gospels with importing the Fullness in Holy Spirit instead of Holiness. And the theme of Blessing is added to them.

The Gospel of Blessing has given korean pentecostal church. The most dynamic and affirmative image of that is very influential. According to this doctrine, God's work of salvation through Jesus Christ's redemptive death, Rebirth and Advent of Holy Spirit is not related only to the sphere of spirituality but also to the sphere of materiality or nature. Therefore, to enjoy the material blessing and bodily health is the substantial understanding of gospel. This new theological opinion gave the shock to the believers who feel guilty of material prosperity in existing ascetic christianity.

Blessing Gospel would be more concretely expressed as The Three Fold Blessing based on v.2 3 John. The Three Fold Blessing is the actual application of the Five Fold Gospel but more specifically realization of The Gospel of Blessing. The Three Fold Blessing means The Spiritual Blessing (as thy soul prospereth), The Daily Blessing (all things that thou mayest prosper) and The Blessing of Health (and be in health). However it does not depend on this quotation but seeks to find its foundation all over the scriptures and insists that soul, spirit and nature will be all participated in salvation with blessing(Acts 53:5, 53:4, 1Cor 15:42-45, 2Cor 8:9, Gal 3:13) as, with depravity, soul and spirit would be destined to death and nature in curse(Gen 2:16-17, 3:19, 3:17-18).

Of the Five Fold Gospel in korean Pure Gospel Church, The Gospel of Blessing had played a so productive role in the mind of korean christians who have taken a lot of pains in the period of transition of society from the absolute destitution to capitalistic market competition for the wealth. In opposition, the people like competitors adapted well to the changed society come to desire for the more blessing of wealth from the church. This kind of amazing interchange had been an another source for the growth of Pure Gospel Church. But Pure Gospel Church's Blessing Gospel is little bit away from the puritanism in the early capitalism which was, in character, like purity in belief and vocational sincerity in job which are well explained by Max Weber. Disregarding christian prophetic role as a social morality for justice, their emphasis on the Gospel of Blessing came to bring about a lot of happenings. One of them was that the uprising of estate price in the process of development and its windfall income was interpreted as the result of God's blessing. This kind of immoral rationalization has been frequent thing whether Rev. Cho intends this or not.

The fifth of the Five Fold Gospel is the Gospel of Second Coming. This is a literal belief in the prophetic words of the end of the world in Revelation. The main contents of that are Advent in Heaven, Rapture of church and 7-year tribulation, Advent on earth, millennialism, the Last Judgement and the realization of New Heaven and New Earth. Repeatedly speaking, the pneumatology and soteriology of Pure Gospel Church are based on literal inspiration of Bible and inerrancy of Holy Scripture so that they refuse to accept this idea that Revelation is the symbolic scripture reflecting apocalyptic literature and belief at that time, which is one of the result of the critical study of Bible.

Then, there is another peculiar thing. They understand that Rapture, the uprising of the people glorified at the end of the world, is not an individual event but the event of whole church. If church be raptured, the Holy Spirit also shall leave the earth so that this world, in their view, shall become discarded and judged into totally perishable city of guilt. This is called the righteous judgment on the evil. But this idea of Eternal Judgment on evil, guilt, satan, death, unbelievers against Holy Spirit is nothing to do with Universalism which is Whole Salvation of World and History. But its soteriology is in essence to be apprehended as Salvation from the World and History. We can discern that the binary oppositions like church/world, the sons of light/ the sons of darkness, the army of angel/the army of satan and the chosen/the discarded, could not be reconciliated in their belief.

As stated above, we have studied the Five Fold Gospel at the core. The theological judgment on this Five Fold Gospel is to do with the understanding of the pneumatology of korean pentecostal church and movement. Firstly, korean pentecostal church have played so invaluable role to give the message of salvation, consolation and hope to the people who had suffered from the lost of identity and social alienation in the process of industrialization, urbanization of society for the past 30 years of 1960-90s. Particularly, their advocacy of the integration idea of body and soul in soteriology must be evaluated.

Secondly, belief in the inerrancy in the verbal inspiration of Holy Scripture defines contemporary critical study of Bible as an impious behaviour. We know that the presbyterian calvinsit as one of the original protestantism, has a lot of similarities with fundamentalism, conservatism, spiritualism, revivalism and pentecostal movement in the korean church history, which are together against the progressive bodies. The common denominator between them is that belief in the inerrancy in the verbal inspiration of Holy Scripture.

Thirdly, the theology of korean pentecostal church is thoroughly the theology of Acts which has bestowed strong missionary enthusiasm, settlement and expansion of church, a great scale of revivalism, ardent prayer, divine healing and glossolalia and other dynamism of gracious work to korean protestant church. Therefore, pentecostal belief of Pure Gospel Church and its spiritual movement has made a great contribution to the growth of christianity which was almost a million in the early 1960s and become 10 millions just in 30 years.

Forthly, the critical problem of pneumatology of korean pentecostal church, which put an emphasis on the Fullness in spirit, is the work of Holy Spirit hanging around church yard so that their ecclesiology brings out the comprehensive and universal work of Holy Spirit as a spirit of creation, life, universal being, ecological healing and working christ would be hampered by the restrictions of their church centurism. The primal subject of Holy Spirit is to settle and manage the church. This kind of pneumatology does not understand and wants just to have a distance against political theology and liberation theology as well as feminist theology and ecological theology.

Fifthly, the literalism of Bible in Pure Gospel Church does not find the value of asian traditional  religion and culture, and identifies this universal religions of east asia with the pagan culture     in the region of Canaan at the time of Moses, which should be conquered for the Yaweh's will. Their illiteracy in the hermeneutical dimension makes themselves despise the efforts of indigenization of Gospel as religious syncretism. And this poverty and exclusiveness in their theology does not make out the meaning of dialogue between religions so that they regards the traditional religions like the Buddhism, Confucianism and Chondokyo as idolatry ones. As a result, the korean protestant christianity becomes the alien to the culture and society of korea, and the aggressive trouble maker in every cultural conflicts.

[4] The theological significance of the Baar Statement regarding with        the work of the Holy Spirit

At the World Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh in 1910, the leaders of the Christian ecumenical movement asked what the Christian message means to other religions. But only in 1975, at the World Council of Churches meeting in Nairobi, 10 years after the Roman Catholic Second Vatican Council(1962-1965), did church leaders take up the question seriously. Up to  that time, the Protestant churches in the WCC had tried to engage in dialogue with other religions, while maintaining a Christocentric theology. In Guidelines on Dialogue(1979) openness, courage, generosity to other religions, and Christocentric confessions are specified.

However, in the 1980's and 1990's the theology of religions and interreligious dialogue in the Protestant churches took a different turn. Mission policy went a step further than the Second Vatican Council 1n 1965. The Dialogue Committee of the W.C.C. took the theme □My Neighbor's Faith and Mine - Theological Discoveries Through Interfaith Dialogue□, and gathered together at Baar located near Zurich. After four years of study, they finally produced the historic Baar Statement in 1990. In this study not only Protestant theologians, but also Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox theologians took part.

) W.C.C., Current Dialogue, No. 18 , June 1990, pp.3-9

The Baar Statement consists of the following six sections: ⅰ) an introductions; ⅱ) a theological understanding of religious pluralism; ⅲ) ambiguity in the religious traditions; ⅳ) christology and religious pluralism; ⅴ) the Holy Sprit and religious pluralism; and ⅵ) interreligious dialogue: a theological perspective. Among these chapters 2, 5 and 6 are especially important.

The reason why the Baar Statement is important in comparison with other thelogical statements concerning other religions is that it signified a change from Christocentric thinking, which dominated the Christian church up to 1990, to theocentric and pneumacentric thinking. Thus this document opened up new horizons for theological insights regarding with the works of Holy Spirit. However, this statement does not weaken the decisive meaning of the revelation in Jesus Christ. Christocentric theology affirms that in the incarnated Jesus Christ the whole human race is being united, and that God's redeeming salvation event takes place in the Christ event. Theocentric thinking and pneumacentric thinking surround Christocentric theology. So in part 4, □christology and religious pluralism□, the Baar Statement says:

We find ourselves recognizing a need to move beyond a theology which confines salvation to the explicit personal commitment to Jesus Christ. We affirm that in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word, the entire human family has been united to God in an irrevocable bond and covenant. The saving presence of God's activity in all creation and human history comes to its focal point in the event of Christ... This saving mystery is mediated and expressed in many and various ways as God's plan unfolds toward its fulfilment. It may be available to those outside the fold of Christ(Jn. 10:16) in ways we cannot understand, as they live faithful and truthful lives in their concrete circumstances and in the framework of the religious traditions which guide and inspire them. The Christ event is for us the clearest expression of the salvific will of God in all human history.(1 Tim. 2:4)

We would like to summarize the fresh thelogical insights of the Baar Statement, for such insights will serve as a foundation for future theological prospects regarding reformulated pneumatology and interfaith dialogue in Korea.

(1) Our theological understanding of religious plurality begins with our faith in the One God who created all things, the living God, present and active in all creation from the beginning. People have at all times and in all places responded to the presence and activity of God among them, and have given witness to their encounters with the living God. We cannot set limits to the saving power of God.

(2) We see religious plurality not so much as an obstacle to be overcome, but rather as an opportunity for deepening our encounter with God and with our neighbours as we await the fulfilment when □God will be all in all□.(1 Cor. 15:28)

(3) We find ourselves recognizing a need to move beyond a theology which confines salvation to the explicit personal commitment to Jesus Christ.

(4) We affirm unequivocally that God the Holy Spirit has been at work in the life and traditions of people of various living faiths. We need to respect their religious convictions, different as these may be from our own, and to admire the things which God has accomplished and continues to accomplish in them through the Spirit.

(5) Interreligious dialogue is therefore a □two-way street□. Authentic dialogue opens both partners to a deeper conversion to the God who speaks to each through the other. Through the witness of others, we Christians can truly discover facets of the divine mystery which we have not yet seen or responded to.

The above five points in the Baar Statement are the focal points of its creative theological insights. If these statements form the basis of the theological orientation for future encounters with other religions for the World Council of Churches, then in them the Christian mission in East Asia will find its proper theological foundation just as a fish finds ample water to swim in. The theological position of the Baar Statement is similar to the theme of this present study in that it suggests the creative salvation event of God should be expanded to all human beings, for the Holy Spirit is also operating in the spirituality of other religions.

If we approve the theological assertions of the Baar Statement, then we should not confine the Holy Spirit to the churches, a particular race, culture, locale, canon, set of symbols or doctrines.  Most mature Christians will discover facets of the divine mystery, which we have not yet seen or responded to, in Mahayana Buddhism and other faiths of Korea. Furthermore, through the praxis of justice, peace, and the integrity of creation, Christian theologians in cooperation with other faith neighbours, will constitute a true locus theologicus, i.e. both a source and basis for theological work in this turning point of world history.

[5] Epilogue

The pneumatology of korean pentecostal church and its movement following the kerygma of Eary Church has played very dynamic role and has done much for the rapid growth of korean church within the period of 1960-90s. And Korean Assembly of God who has been a representative of conservative society and church growth movement, joined in KNCC as a regular member. Therefore korean protestant christianity has to draw new map of missionary work in this 21th century.

Nonetheless, the Five Fold Gospel of korean pentecostal church and its pneumatology of Pure Gospel Church are, as we have acknowledged, to be interpreted as the mission centurism, church centurism and its expansion of secular authority. Therefore, they cannot confess that Holy Spirit's work area and the method of activity is the world of all creatures, the indigenous religion before the immigration of christianity and the consistency and conservation of nature in ecological system as the proclamation of WCC's Baar Statement. In addition, the most precious idea like prophetic spirit, incarnation belief and ultimate victory of grace over the world, are not found in their thoughts and life. As a result, we cannot find 'Christ as the Transformer of Culture and its creative reformation theory in that pentecostal theology, which is one of main titles in Richard Niebur's work, <Christ and Culture>.

Despite that rev. Cho Yong Ki stresses also the sanctification of christians and social responsibility as the fruits of Holy Spirit, as wells as the Baptism in Holy Spirit and rebirth experience, the undeniable fact that the korean pentecostal belief is entirely based on No fallacy in Holy Scripture as the conventional understanding of Bible which has been a dynamic force for the missionary settlement and growth, now makes the conflicts with other older cultures and traditional religions, and keeps the believers away from the salvational work of Holy Spirit in the whole creatures beyond the fences of church.

The perspective of biblical interpretation in Pure Gospel Church disregards the difference caused by historical change between the time of Paul and our present time. On the contrary, the progressive society involved in WCC tends to attenuate and relativize the essence of kerygma of the ever so new gospel beyond vicissitudes of secular things. Then what can we do? The problem is linked to the appropriate biblical hermeneutics. If we bring this to a successful settlement, the strong solidarity between korean conservative and progressive bodies which have each their own theology of Holy Spirit, will be new tradition with the help of productive inter-recognition of their theologies.

To reconciliate this antagonism between these understandings of only one Bible, which is main subject for the korean churches nowadays, then what can we do? At this time, I want to suggest carefully this quotation from the preface in the first edition of Karl Barth's Sermon on Romans instead of trying to answer that question.

Paul, as a child of his age, addressed his contemporaries. It is, however, far more important that, as Prophet and Apostle of the Kingdom of God, he veritably speaks to all men of every age. The differences between then and now, there and here, no doubt require careful investigation and consideration. But the purpose of such investigation can only be to             demonstrate that these differences are , in fact, purely trivial. The historical -critical method of Biblical investigation has its rightful place: it is concerned with the preparation of the intelligence - and this can never be superfluous. But, were I driven to choose between it and the venerable doctrine of Inspiration, I should without hesitation adopt the latter, which has a broader, deeper, more important justification. ............................................

Fortunately, I am not compelled to choose between the two. Nevertheless, my whole energe of interpreting has been expended in an endeavour to see through and beyond history into the spirit of the Bible, which is the Eternal Spirit.

) karl Barth, The Epistle to the Romans, The preface to the first edition,p.1 (Oxford University Press, 1933,1968)