Toward an Authentic Korean Biblical Reading: Shamanism and the Bible in Dialogue

This thesis focuses on the binary opposition between Yahwistic prophecy and shamanistic practices and the coexistence of various religious professionals in the Bible - prophets, magicians and diviners - who continually challenge theological distinctions set by the central religious hierarchy. My research explores Korean shamanism: from its basic worldview to the characteristics of shamanic practitioners and rituals, and to its syncretism with other religions, in which compatibility with the Korean authentic spirituality is the key to the successful settlement of missionary religions. Various shamanic models are proposed to find resources for the parallel study between the biblical faiths and practices and Korean shamanism, such as: the spiritual calling of prophetic figures in the Bible and of Korean shamanic neophytes; the paradox of prophetic condemnation against magic and divination employed by ‘others’, when similar techniques are used by the Old Testament prophets as a sign of divine connection; and the rite of passage of prophetic and shamanic practitioners, as a bridge between the secular and the sacred. Through a close reading of the prophetic narratives, this thesis resists what appears to be the dominant voice in the interpretative tradition of the Bible in the Korean church - a polarity between a central or Christian religion and a popular or shamanic spirituality - and points out that the Bible itself is a rich depository of competing religious systems and models, with which Bible readers from various religious and cultural backgrounds can identify or compare in their own environments.