John Ross (1842-1915) and the Korean Protestant Church: the first Korean Bible and its relation to the protestant origins in Korea

Abstract

This is a case study for the study of the relationship between the Word of God and other missionary means, through research on Ross and his Bible translation in Korean. For this purposes Chapter One generalnize the historical, socio-culturals, and religious conditions which the Word of God was introduced in Korea. Chapter Two deals with a biographical sketch of John Rossi and his initial contact with KoreansP which led him to do the translation of the New Testament in Korean. In Chapter Threes procedure of Bible translation is discussed: period of translations principles and methods of translationy and its publication and distribution. In addition to these) the major criticism and destiny of the Ross Version are also discussed in this chapter. Through analysis of the Ross Version in Chapter Four, the basis of translation is verified) and the intelligibility of the Ross Version is especially examined according to the major criticisms. In Chapter Fives the result of Bible translation is determined through the examination of the formation of early Korean Christian communitiesp which is useful to define characteristics of the Korean Protestant Church as being Bible centred, lay oriented, and self-support. In Chapter Sixp in order to find out where these characteristics came fromp the Nevius mission method is cross-examined with the Ross"s mission methods in relation to the so-called "three-self" principles. Through this case study of the Korean mission historyi the place of the Bible is reaffirmed as being the origin of the Christian Church.