Pub Date : 2023-06-30DOI: 10.58302/madang.2023.39.223
Wa Gyit Brang Htan
The primary purpose of this research is to suggest how the Christian Church can restore Freedom, Justice, and Peace in the lives and history of Lu du (Masha Unawng in Jinghpaw Language), the major victims of the socio-cultural and political context of Kachin State. To carry out this research successfully, I will apply the praxis model of doing theology with the contextual approach. This model will be helpful to interpret the socio-political experiences of the peoples in the life of the Church. I will refer to the theological and historically significant of the church in solidarity with the oppressed. By applying the contextual model, I will construct a liberative theological mission of the Church which engages to the socio-cultural and political oppression in Kachin region. The mainstream education of Myanmar is the root cause of socio-cultural and political oppression in Kachin region. But, the Church has failed to extend its mission to engage the current challenges in Kachin region. In this paper, I will mainly cover the following contents: the negative impacts and challenges of the oppressive education in society, teachings and events of the Bible to conscientize Lu du (the oppressed), the Church as major role to realize Kingdom of God in the history of the peoples, critical reading on the role of the churches in Latin America and Minjung Movement, formation of Lu du (peoples) education, new understanding on Missio-Dei as educating and transforming the peoples, proposing new educational activities for the churches, and finally the new presence of the Church in the Kachin region. Through this paper, the Church in the Kachin region will find her new identity in witnessing the Good News of the Kingdom of God in the lives of the peoples.
{"title":"Doing Lu du Theology of Myanmar from the Kachin Perspective: Promoting the role of the Church in Educating and Solidarity with Masha Unawng Toward Self-Determination","authors":"Wa Gyit Brang Htan","doi":"10.58302/madang.2023.39.223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.58302/madang.2023.39.223","url":null,"abstract":"The primary purpose of this research is to suggest how the Christian Church can restore Freedom, Justice, and Peace in the lives and history of Lu du (Masha Unawng in Jinghpaw Language), the major victims of the socio-cultural and political context of Kachin State. To carry out this research successfully, I will apply the praxis model of doing theology with the contextual approach. This model will be helpful to interpret the socio-political experiences of the peoples in the life of the Church. I will refer to the theological and historically significant of the church in solidarity with the oppressed. By applying the contextual model, I will construct a liberative theological mission of the Church which engages to the socio-cultural and political oppression in Kachin region. The mainstream education of Myanmar is the root cause of socio-cultural and political oppression in Kachin region. But, the Church has failed to extend its mission to engage the current challenges in Kachin region. In this paper, I will mainly cover the following contents: the negative impacts and challenges of the oppressive education in society, teachings and events of the Bible to conscientize Lu du (the oppressed), the Church as major role to realize Kingdom of God in the history of the peoples, critical reading on the role of the churches in Latin America and Minjung Movement, formation of Lu du (peoples) education, new understanding on Missio-Dei as educating and transforming the peoples, proposing new educational activities for the churches, and finally the new presence of the Church in the Kachin region. Through this paper, the Church in the Kachin region will find her new identity in witnessing the Good News of the Kingdom of God in the lives of the peoples.","PeriodicalId":166154,"journal":{"name":"The Korean Society of Minjung theology","volume":"27 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115888257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-30DOI: 10.58302/madang.2023.39.199
Soonyang Choi
In this paper, I would like to criticize the view that tries to generalize Korean church women. I would like to do this from the point of view of Gayatry Spivak and Trinh T. Min-ha. Both theorists do not look at the female subject in common but try to imagine it in various and hybrid wys. Korean church women cannot be called Asian women or even European women because they resemble American Christianity in terms of Christianity, but belong to Asia in terms of race. Theology or sermons conducted in Korean churches are not for women’s equality and liberation. Rather, interpretations and contents that demand obedience from women are the main ones. Theology of Korea needs to be widened by gender sensitivity which addresses the issues related to ‘women and their lives.’ I believe Gayatri Spivak’ and Trinh T. Min-ha’s ideas can help expand the perspective of looking at church women. Church women are the majority of those who hold conservative views, but some young women and women have views that are different from traditional Christian positions if they are equipped with femininity. Therefore, in this article, I would like to briefly discuss how to listen to the voices of women in the church who have become more complex and diverse from the perspective of postcolonial women’s studies and through the voices of women in resistance.
在这篇文章中,我想批评那些试图概括韩国教会妇女的观点。我想从Gayatry Spivak和Trinh T. Min-ha的角度来讲。两位理论家都没有共同看待女性主体,而是试图以各种混合的方式来想象它。韩国教会女性在基督教方面与美国基督教相似,但在种族方面属于亚洲,因此不能称为亚洲女性,甚至不能称为欧洲女性。韩国教会的神学或布道不是为了女性的平等和解放。相反,要求女性服从的解释和内容是主要的。韩国神学需要通过性别敏感来拓宽,以解决与“女性和她们的生活”有关的问题。“我相信Gayatri Spivak”和Trinh T. Min-ha的想法可以帮助我们拓展看待教会女性的视角。持保守观点的教会女性占多数,但一些年轻女性和女性如果具备女性气质,就会产生与传统基督教立场不同的观点。因此,在这篇文章中,我想从后殖民女性研究的角度,通过女性抵抗的声音,简要地讨论一下如何倾听教会中变得更加复杂和多样化的女性的声音。
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Pub Date : 2023-06-30DOI: 10.58302/madang.2023.39.139
Heup-Young Kim
This article explores into Kim Yong-bok’s final reflections on Minjung Theology in dialogue with Theo-Dao, a theology of Dao. Kim’s groundbreaking assertion that Minjung Theology is a sociobiography of Minjung broadens the cosmological Zoegraphy (the narrative of life) beyond historical constraints. It matures into a sapiential Zoesophia (Wisdom of Life), envisioning a Seontopia (East Asian Utopia). Minjung Theology prompts preparation for the impending ultra-technological civilization, characterized by the burgeoning evolution of artificial intelligence, marking a stride toward the future. Kim’s profound insights into Seontopian Zoesophia could serve as foundational pillars for the revival of Minjung Theology in the Anthropocene era of technological civilization. Furthermore, it extends an invitation to future theologians and scholars of religion to perpetuate this line of inquiry.
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Pub Date : 2023-06-30DOI: 10.58302/madang.2023.39.9
Yong-Bock Kim
Theologically speaking, it is in this situation that we begin to sense the imminence of the KAIROTIC GEO-POLITICS. We begin with the Biblical geo-politics of God’s Reign, which would manifest itself in the geo-politics of globalization. In the Bible there are two distinct geo-political configurations: One is the imperial and royal geo-politics, and the other is that of the Reign of God. The latter we call the Kairotic geo-politics. The Kairotic geo-politics makes radical interventions for the new life in the OIKOS (household) of God. The OIKOS is the abode of the life, created by God. The geo-politics of the Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Greek and Roman imperial powers were subverted by the Kairotic geo-politics of the Messianic Reign of the new heaven and new earth in which the new and eternal life is celebrated in the new city (new Jerusalem) and in the New Garden (Rev.21 & 22). The creation of the cosmos and therein the life in the Garden is the original Kairotic act of God to overcome the forces and powers of darkness and chaos that cause to destroy the order of creation, the is, the order for the life. Christ is the decisive power of the new and eternal life. Christ has overcome the power of death to realize the Resurrection of the life. This is the Messianic Kairos. The Spirit is the ever-present power of life that renews the life and gives the power for new life in the universe and in all dimensions. The Messianic geo-politics of cosmic OIKOS in which the new and eternal full) life in the New City under the New Heaven and New Earth is celebrated is the paradigm to overcome the geo-politics that gives the power and basis to overcome the powers of death, present in the globalization process.
{"title":"“KAIROS OF Biblical Geo-politics for the New Life of the Minjung in the 21st Century”","authors":"Yong-Bock Kim","doi":"10.58302/madang.2023.39.9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.58302/madang.2023.39.9","url":null,"abstract":"Theologically speaking, it is in this situation that we begin to sense the imminence of the KAIROTIC GEO-POLITICS. We begin with the Biblical geo-politics of God’s Reign, which would manifest itself in the geo-politics of globalization. In the Bible there are two distinct geo-political configurations: One is the imperial and royal geo-politics, and the other is that of the Reign of God. The latter we call the Kairotic geo-politics. The Kairotic geo-politics makes radical interventions for the new life in the OIKOS (household) of God. The OIKOS is the abode of the life, created by God. The geo-politics of the Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Greek and Roman imperial powers were subverted by the Kairotic geo-politics of the Messianic Reign of the new heaven and new earth in which the new and eternal life is celebrated in the new city (new Jerusalem) and in the New Garden (Rev.21 & 22). The creation of the cosmos and therein the life in the Garden is the original Kairotic act of God to overcome the forces and powers of darkness and chaos that cause to destroy the order of creation, the is, the order for the life. Christ is the decisive power of the new and eternal life. Christ has overcome the power of death to realize the Resurrection of the life. This is the Messianic Kairos. The Spirit is the ever-present power of life that renews the life and gives the power for new life in the universe and in all dimensions. The Messianic geo-politics of cosmic OIKOS in which the new and eternal full) life in the New City under the New Heaven and New Earth is celebrated is the paradigm to overcome the geo-politics that gives the power and basis to overcome the powers of death, present in the globalization process.","PeriodicalId":166154,"journal":{"name":"The Korean Society of Minjung theology","volume":"36 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127526221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-30DOI: 10.58302/madang.2023.39.85
Küster Volker
First generation Minjung theologians frequently claimed that certain key notions of their doing theology like minjung or han could not be translated because they are particularly Korean. Honoring this language mysticism around things Korean, I have chosen four Korean terms – iyagi, juche, salim and madang – that are significant for Minjung Theology, as signposts along which I will explore the legacy of the last two recently departed representatives of the first generation, Kim Yong-Bock (1938-2022) and David Kwang-Sun Suh (1931-2022) and try to map out some future perspectives.
{"title":"Inheriting our forefather’s stories: Transforming Minjung Theology for the 21st Century","authors":"Küster Volker","doi":"10.58302/madang.2023.39.85","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.58302/madang.2023.39.85","url":null,"abstract":"First generation Minjung theologians frequently claimed that certain key notions of their doing theology like minjung or han could not be translated because they are particularly Korean. Honoring this language mysticism around things Korean, I have chosen four Korean terms – iyagi, juche, salim and madang – that are significant for Minjung Theology, as signposts along which I will explore the legacy of the last two recently departed representatives of the first generation, Kim Yong-Bock (1938-2022) and David Kwang-Sun Suh (1931-2022) and try to map out some future perspectives.","PeriodicalId":166154,"journal":{"name":"The Korean Society of Minjung theology","volume":"20 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124513227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-30DOI: 10.58302/madang.2023.39.23
Yong-Bock Kim
Theology used to be regarded as the queen of the sciences; now it is alienated from the main body of academic activities, especially the natural sciences. We need theological reflection that serves all the academic disciplines, as an integral part of the study of life. Theology is needed to help overcome the reductionism of the modern sciences and the fragmentation of the full reality of life. Theology should function as an integrative discourse to build a holistic relationship among the disciplines. Two tasks will be presented: (1) The Story of Life as an integrative discourse on life; and (2) Convergence of the Eastern Wisdom of life and the modern sciences of life as a way toward multi-disciplinary methodology. In the 21st century the universal issue is life: the life of all living beings, and how to overcome the powers that destroy life, such as war, poverty, hunger, disease, political oppression, cultural desertification and ecological disruption, in the context of imperial hegemony. The global empire and the global market, organized by modern technocratic power and based on modern scientific knowledge, have created an omnicidal threat on an unprecedented scale.
{"title":"The Study of Life in Doing Theology: Overcoming the forces of death","authors":"Yong-Bock Kim","doi":"10.58302/madang.2023.39.23","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.58302/madang.2023.39.23","url":null,"abstract":"Theology used to be regarded as the queen of the sciences; now it is alienated from the main body of academic activities, especially the natural sciences. We need theological reflection that serves all the academic disciplines, as an integral part of the study of life. Theology is needed to help overcome the reductionism of the modern sciences and the fragmentation of the full reality of life. Theology should function as an integrative discourse to build a holistic relationship among the disciplines. Two tasks will be presented: (1) The Story of Life as an integrative discourse on life; and (2) Convergence of the Eastern Wisdom of life and the modern sciences of life as a way toward multi-disciplinary methodology. In the 21st century the universal issue is life: the life of all living beings, and how to overcome the powers that destroy life, such as war, poverty, hunger, disease, political oppression, cultural desertification and ecological disruption, in the context of imperial hegemony. The global empire and the global market, organized by modern technocratic power and based on modern scientific knowledge, have created an omnicidal threat on an unprecedented scale.","PeriodicalId":166154,"journal":{"name":"The Korean Society of Minjung theology","volume":"144 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127560423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-30DOI: 10.58302/madang.2023.39.65
L. Philip
{"title":"The Future of Ecumenical Koinonia: Kim Yong Bock, Social Biography and Our Common Inheritance","authors":"L. Philip","doi":"10.58302/madang.2023.39.65","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.58302/madang.2023.39.65","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:p />","PeriodicalId":166154,"journal":{"name":"The Korean Society of Minjung theology","volume":"77 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115863896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-30DOI: 10.58302/madang.2023.39.113
Jin Kwon
This article discusses on the validity of conferring the subjecthood to the whole life by the late professor and minjung theologian Kim Yong-Bock. Dr. Kim’s theological journey can be characterized by such pivotal terms as social biography and zoegraphy. The first term, the social biography, was the central concept for his minjung theology during his earlier career as a minjung theologian. In the epoch of the Anthropocene, when the life of all creations is at the brink of total destruction, zoegraphy, the story of life, has become the reference point of theology. Kim argues that the whole life in the webwork of life has the subjecthood. The author of the article counterargues that life or the whole life is but an idea. As an idea this does not have the body and thus it is not yet the subject. In addition, the author claims that things and objects in the cosmos which have bodies, are subjects that interact and affect one another. But this author argues that they are weak subjects, because they do not have the capacity of transcending their own limitations. This author argues that minjung, as strong subjects, must take more responsibility for the integrity of the life of all creations.
{"title":"“A Friendly and Critical Appraisal of the Late Dr. Kim Yong-Bock’s Idea of the Subjecthood of the Life”","authors":"Jin Kwon","doi":"10.58302/madang.2023.39.113","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.58302/madang.2023.39.113","url":null,"abstract":"This article discusses on the validity of conferring the subjecthood to the whole life by the late professor and minjung theologian Kim Yong-Bock. Dr. Kim’s theological journey can be characterized by such pivotal terms as social biography and zoegraphy. The first term, the social biography, was the central concept for his minjung theology during his earlier career as a minjung theologian. In the epoch of the Anthropocene, when the life of all creations is at the brink of total destruction, zoegraphy, the story of life, has become the reference point of theology. Kim argues that the whole life in the webwork of life has the subjecthood. The author of the article counterargues that life or the whole life is but an idea. As an idea this does not have the body and thus it is not yet the subject. In addition, the author claims that things and objects in the cosmos which have bodies, are subjects that interact and affect one another. But this author argues that they are weak subjects, because they do not have the capacity of transcending their own limitations. This author argues that minjung, as strong subjects, must take more responsibility for the integrity of the life of all creations.","PeriodicalId":166154,"journal":{"name":"The Korean Society of Minjung theology","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116430957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-30DOI: 10.58302/madang.2023.39.165
Hyung M Choi
Freedom of thought and conscience are fundamental human rights and are guaranteed in a democratic society. The Constitution of the Republic of Korea states that “the state has the duty to affirm and guarantee the inviolable and fundamental human rights of individuals”(Article 10). However, in South Korean society, this common sense goes out the window the moment someone is labeled a “bbalgaengyi” (reds) or a “jongbukjueuija” (followers of North Korea). This is because the National Security Act legally supports a divided country with anti-communism at the forefront. When it was first enacted in 1948, it was seen as a temporary device to maintain authoritarianism under the divided system, but the reality was different. Even as political democratization has progressed and inter-Korean relations have improved, it has remained powerful as a device for restricting popular movements and unification movements and controlling ideas. It has not only restricted social movements but also controlled academic and artistic activities and regulated people’s inner worlds. The National Security Act has been controversial since the 1987 democratization, but it is still alive and well in 2023. For a long time, research on the National Security Act was a taboo subject that was not easily accessible because it could be considered a violation of the law. Adding to the difficulty of research was the lack of access to documentation of cases where the law was applied. With the democratization of 1987 and the development of the Northern Policy and inter-Korean relations in the early 1990s, the environment was ripe for rethinking the meaning of the National Security Act. Pioneering studies before and after 1990 and the Constitutional Court’s unconstitutionality review process, which began in 1990, led to a serious examination of its legal issues. Theological commentary on the National Security Act is scarce. Not only from the point of view of the church, which was responsible for integrating the public into the anti-communist ideology during the formation and development of the pro- American anti-communist state, but also from the point of view of Minjung theology. For theologians, too, it was not a simple matter to overcome the taboo of anti-communism. They were always conscious of the limits of that taboo, and when they crossed them, they were bound to face the swift blade of state power. In the absence of a theological response to the National Security Act, this article begins that discussion. Approaching it from a theological position is based on an awareness of universal human rights that can no longer be avoided as a theological task today. After articulating that position, this article briefly reaffirms the problems with the National Security Act and addresses the issues of the rule of law and human dignity.
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Pub Date : 2022-12-31DOI: 10.58302/madang.2022..38.71
Kyeong II Jung
In the 1970s and 80s, Korean Minjung theology and theology of religions(Inculturation theology) were in a tense relationship due to differences in their theological priorities. However, there was also a complementary relationship between the two theological movements in the Korean situation where the theological domination of the Western church and the political oppression of the military dictatorship were inseparably combined. Especially, Minjung theology, which included the minjung religious traditions of Korea as a theological paradigm, attempted a comparison and dialogue between religions from the beginning. Ahn Byung-mu, one of the founders of Minjung theology, was born and raised in a Confucian culture, and while studying abroad in Germany, he received a doctorate degree with a dissertation that compared the ren of Confucius with agape of Jesus. Also, he was interested in Buddhism and often wrote articles comparing Buddhism with Christianity. Throughout his theological journey, Ahn tried to overcome the subject-object dualism and personified understanding of God in Western theology through theological dialogue with Easter thought. More importantly, in his later years, Ahn applied the Eastern qi philosophy to understand the Holy Spirit. Though Ahn did not systematically theorize a theology of religions, he freely utilized the ideas of other faiths in constructing his theology in general and Minjung theology in particular. In addition, Ahn’s interreligious dialogue was conducted not only externally in his relationship with the religious other but also internally within his faith and theology. Therefore, in this article, I would like to explore the possibility of a Minjung theology of religions which is necessary for today’s religious pluralistic society by examining Ahn’s open, existential, and liberative understandings of other faiths.
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