Speaking out in silence...

- Pendle Hill Class of 2005/6 -

Dear friends,

Warm greetings from CK, particularly to Jiae!
Thank you for the e-mail which reminds me again of the faces I met at Pendle Hill.

As the season turns to another Fall here, I recollect this morning of the Autumn days at Pendle Hill and the cool air and silence at the sanctuary I felt in a morning.

Since I left Pendle Hill, I was invited to Union Theological Seminary in Manila, Philippines, Tainan Theological Seminary in Taiwan, and Chinese University of Hong Kong. I spent one semester in each institution. Now I am teaching here in Chinese University of Hong Kong.

I have been a sojourner to my students and friends in Asia, seeing things little bit differently from my own perspective formulated through my past experiences. I saw thousands of suffering Asian people in Asia. I heard from my students about the sad history of western imperial colonization inflicted suffering upon Asian people. Now a new wave of capitalism has hit them again, forcing them into greedy competition. Greedy competition leads us to apathy as imperialists and colonizers did. So we are forced to become small colonizers to other Asians.

I had an opportunity to visit Okinawa two weeks ago. My Quaker friend, Takashi invited me to come to Okinawa. I went there to meet him and to learn Okinawan peace movement against the existence of an American Huge airbase. I never saw that kind of huge airbase. It was a symbol of American Empire, demonstrating its perception of "order" in its expansionism to the end of the world, coercive power, and subjection of others. America is going to build this kind of base in Pyung Taik, Korea!

I am deeply saddened to see the reality of American imperial militarism, even in a beautiful Okinawa, very far east in Asia! America has near 800 bases all around the world. Is America a fighter for freedom, as American Christian fundamentalists proudly believe, against all kinds of terror? America occupied this land before 1945. Militarism is, to me, a simple notion against humanity. It is apparently the successor of Roman Empire in modern era. In Philippines, I saw the American Embassy located in a beautiful seaside, armed with Tanks. But I cannot stop questioning that what they are doing in Philippines when 750 people were killed out of juridical killing during the last year. In Sri Lanka, the situation is worse. In last year, more than 850 families lost their beloved fathers or sons killed brutally out of juridical killing, well designed by hidden hands of domineering people. I do wish you all remember this situation while you pray.

Recently I renamed my "center for Christin social ethics" "Center for Human Rights and Peace in Asia." This is one of my conclusion that I am obliged to do something to work for peace in solidarity with suffering people in Asia. I opened my blog, peaceinasia. blogspot.com for sharing information and thought with my friends and students. Even though there is a clear limitation with my English, my blog is using bilingual: Korean and English. I invite you to visit. There you might notice that I am very much indebted to the spirituality of Pendle Hill. There I learned a radical notion of silence which does not admit any kind of violence. The teachers of Pendle Hill taught me that violence resides in language, system, dogma, ideology and even in our self interests for surviving. I feel always happy whenever I think of each of all, and of every corner of Pendle Hill I used to take a walk during my days at Pendle Hill.

I will not name each of you, but all of you are in my heart!
Wherever you are, stay in the Light!

CK

Do not conform to the silly politicized preachers...

Suddenly there appear some evangelists who are addressing their political opinions on the pulpit. It is strange to me because they were keeping silence when our society was dominated by domineering military power. At that time they chaired a number of prayer meetings for praising the dictators. Since the civil government established about 12 years ago, they came out and began to speak about politics from a fundamentalist perspective. They are mostly fundamentalists who pay attention to Christian interests. Once they had their hairs cut, requiring government of cancelation of the education law recently enacted. They identify themselves with anti-communists who are well prepared for fighting for religious freedom. But against whom are they are militant? Seen with a global perspective, the old ideology of communist revolution had already passed away. Nevertheless they are eagerly militant for waging an ideological war. They seem to be like the dogs barking at the shadows.

Using the authority of pulpit on the behalf of a political figure is so bad misconduct. According to the historical lessons, religious teachings should never be associated with the politics. It is not because politics is so bad, but because religion should be too radical to be in connection with politics. Politics is a skill for compromising aimed for grasping power regardless what the nature of means may be. If religion begins to serve politics, it means that the radical nature of religion turned out to be guided by political ideas. When a preacher delivers a speech on the pulpit, he or she is serving the Lord, God, not a politician who is a simple sinner. For this reason, it is wrongful to use the pulpit for propaganda of a politician. It is definitely a grime sin.

Going back to the era of the Nazi regime, the German Christians equipped with Luther's teaching on the two kingdoms ordained by God made a great mistake to acknowledge Hitler on the pulpit as a servant of God. We remember that German Christians were too obedient to recognize the vicious face of Hitler. In 1934 at Barmen, a number of theologians and pastors got together and declared the famous Barmen Declaration which addressed about the basic principle of the relation of Christian faith to politics. However, the German churches did not listen to it. Instead they honored Hitler as if he represents the authority of God. They were too much convinced with themselves, for their society was a total Christian. This brought them a huge historical mistake. They assisted Hitler to kill more than 6 million of innocent Jews.

Korean Christians, they are too much proud of themselves. They seem to be empowered through the rapid growth of Christian population in Korean society. Yet, unfortunately they are misleading to political messianism by politicized pastors. It is of great danger when religious community confuses messianic politics with political messianism. Messianic politics is a theological understanding of God's initiation in politics which is not yet revealed. But when Christian churches occupied by a political messianism, then Christians who are supposed to hope for the peaceful politics of Christ become to serve for a secular ideology proposed by a sinful politician who tries to take over the role of Christ. Thus a secular, sinful politician takes over the place where the gospel of Christ is to be proclaimed. This is why corrupt pastors do on the pulpit.

We should pay attention to the fact that Jesus was too radical to speak for a politician. It is of great mistake for spiritual leaders to partake in relative politics. If they want to stand for a politician, then they should give up their spiritual authority as a preacher. Preaching is only for proclaiming for the gospel. Otherwise their spiritual authority endorsed by God might be abused or misused for a certain political interests. Then Christian community might be misled by silly pastors who are blind for politicizing the body of Christ. It is very sad and sorry to admit that such politicized silly pastors are always there in human history. They are those who confuse their calling with the servant of a sinful politician. We should never conform to them in any circumstance. It is a clear sin before God because they lead God's people to an idol worship.