Reformation from Below (el. knyga) (skaityta knyga) | Youjin Chung | knygos.lt

Aprašymas

he writing of any history is a complex task. Whose stories get

told? What sources are used to construct a particular historical

narrative? What are the power relationships that contributed towards

the construction of particular historical narratives instead of others?

Why are some narratives given a higher qualitative value than others?

In contemporary historical scholarship there is an important focus

upon unearthing and telling "people's histories". Such projects are

predicated upon an ideological commitment to "re-read" the events and

historical sources of historical narratives, and of course to include new

perspectives and new sources, to tell a different story or focus on a

different element in the telling of the story. In church history, and the

history of Christianity, such approaches are described variously as

liberative, de-colonial, contextual, or social histories (among others).

The re-telling of history from differing perspectives invites the reader to

adopt a different vantage point in her or his understanding of persons

and events that constitute the narrative. This has the possibility to

unlock new meaning, to ask deeper and more critical questions, and to

gain a greater appreciation for the complexity of the task of the

historian. Of course, it can also create space for silenced persons to

speak, and marginalised communities to be seen.

Dr. Youjin Chung invites us into such a process as he seeks to "reread"

the histories of the Anabaptist Münster traditions through the

hermeneutic lens of Korean Minjung Theology. He is uniquely qualified

to undertake this task given his own theological tradition, his cultural

heritage, and his academic training. All of these elements serve to

enrich his scholarly contribution in this text.

This book poses some important methodological questions for

scholars in the field of church history. A primary question is, "To what

extent should Christian history give the ordinary people their voice?" His contention is that it is the responsibility of the academic Church

historian to seek to identify, listen to, and present the voices of the

"ordinary faithful" in their research.