Shamanism in korean christianity.

This book describes and evaluates the influence of shamanism on spiritual power in Christianity of Korea. Research methodology employed includes both fieldwork and literary surveys. The author posits that Christianity in Korea is separated into two categories: orthodox belief and belief based on folk tradition - or, official Christianity and folk Christianity. The former is heavily influenced by the perspective of Western scientific tradition and the latter by shamanism. Where the gospel has been accepted, its core contents have sometimes been syncretized with shamanistic thought. This book is composed of eight chapters, including "Perceptions of Spiritual Power in Korean Shamanism," "Perceptions of Spiritual Power in Korea Christianity," "Biblical Perspective and Spiritual Powers,¡± "Syncretistic Adaptations from Korean Shamanism," and "Authentic forms of Contextualization." Having researched the relationship between Christianity and shamanism for 20 years, the author has dealt with the theoretical and practical relationships that exist between shamanism as a culture and the Christian gospel. The author also says it is important to understand how a great many of the religions imported from foreign countries have been largely influenced and affected by shamanism. The author strongly recommends that Christian readers further contextualize the gospel in Korea's shamanist context.