Scripture-logy and Scriptural Performance in Canonical Criticism and the Theistic Confucian Thought

Abstract

Canonical understanding of Scripture has been the focus of recent scholarship in the West. Korean biblical scholars welcome this development for it saves the scriptural Bible from the distressing outcome of the academic Bible. It reminded us of scriptural studies of Dasan Jeong Yak-Yong (1762–1836), a scholar in the Joseon Dynasty of Korea, whose literary output was a theistic, exegetical, and hermeneutical consideration of the Confucian classics. Dasan was a keen observer of details in the scriptural texts. He assumed that the art of scriptural reading is an encounter that brings to life the scripture in the community. Dasan pondered Confucian scriptures through the lens of theistic Confucianism. He laid a foundation for hermeneutics called Scripture-logy. His work sheds lights on the gateway to Korean Christianity and the core principle of Korean biblical interpretation.