그리스-로마 문화의 χάρις, 데리다의 불가능한 선물, 그리고 로마서의 χάρις

χάρις in Graeco-Roman Culture, Impossibility of gift by Derrida and χάρις in Romans

This research paper aims to study Charis (favor / grace / gift) from the ancient Greaco Roman culture and investigates the influence on the charis in Romans. Charis is certainly not a 'timeless construct', but should be understood within the background of the term's usage in its Graeco-Roman context, the context of benefaction ideology, the Graeco-Roman reciprocity system. Charis is today understood as a free gift, which has its roots in Kantian idea that for an act to be truly other-regarding and altruistic, free from any self interest. So, a true gift is not involved in any exchange or charge since it is not a loan. However, a venerable modern French thought, such as Mauss and Derrida, has questioned this concept of gift and discussed that this kind of an ideal gift is an impossibility. A genuine gift be done for the sake of the receiver, even without any thought of being paid back(in ideal sense), is not possible. Evey gift is involved in some kind of exchange in various forms. Harrison argue that the covenantal grace of Christ in Romans is "unilateral" different from the Greaco-Roman benefaction ideology. However, this is not true, since the covenantal charis is understood in the reciprocal system too. Charis is surely and enabling power to respond to God's grace in the form of thanksgiving. but never in unilateral sense. Since divine gift-giving is only nullifying by returning grace to God from the recipient, the believer. Surely our giving does never match the abundance of God's covenantal grace, but without response and giving back for our thankful heart, his empowering grace does not enables us to respond.