Breaking Down Theological-Cultural Barriers

Advocating Social Justice in the Korean-American Church

Breaking Down the Theologico-Cultural Barriers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Seong Kim (G 10174396)

 

MD 524/ Advocacy for Social Justice

 

Dr. Tim Taylor/ Ms. Karin Finkler

 

Fuller Theological Seminary/ Summer 2010

Salvation and Social Justice

    Korean conservative evangelicals have been holding too narrow a view of salvation for many years, believing that salvation relates only to the ‘soul.’ I would like to appeal that we should be giving credence to the social, political and economical systems, and making attempts to improve these facets of our society as a form of ‘working out of our salvation.’ And to do so in order that they may reflect biblical and humanitarian values more substantially; an area that has usually been labeled the “Social Gospel,” so-to-speak. However, this notion is often condemned as a distorted and marred gospel by evangelical camps, and one that must be disposed of by those who confess true biblical faith in Christ. Many well-known leaders in the wings are very passive in thinking and acting socially.[1]

    Apart from social justice, ‘charity’ is believed to be the proper ｅxpression for Christians who are concerned that the power of sin is still prevailing in society. The question must be raised here as to whether this proposition could be maintained from the perspective of the Biblical authors. Is this consistent with the teachings of Moses, the Hebrew prophets, Jesus, his apostles, and the early Church, who were extremely sensitive about the reality of sin in society, possible more so than at any other time in history? 

    Before launching into full research on the biblical evidences, however, we ought to address one serious dilemma. For example, current critical issues that social justice activists echo - human trafficking, regional military conflict, child labor, prostitution, domestic violence, racism and sexism - prevailed significantly in Greco-Roman world as well. They were, frankly, more prevalent in that age, as it was commonly accepted that the absolute monarchy had the right to give and take away human life. However, some Biblical authors, and even Jesus himself, did not seem to accuse them at times, or focus heavily on these topics. Rather, they focused mainly on exhorting the audience toward personal internal ethics. Why then should we proclaim the biblical text as a solid foundation for social justice?

    We can offer a solution to this problem through bringing light to a current social justice example: patriarchy and male dominance in society. While some misunderstand the position of the biblical text concerning this topic - assuming that the bible substantiates the inferiority of women - , Godfrey argues that the bible never suggests that male-dictatorship is right, and actually discredits and scorns it in principle.[2] This perspective was derived mostly from the cultural and societal context which surrounds the biblical text and its authors, not from the intention of God’s design. To put it another way, the bible is basically reflecting the time as it was, not necessarily validating that male superiority was God’s true intention.

    As the problem of male superiority exists at the systemic level since the Fall to the present in society, so inherently emerges the need for biblical advocacy and social justice in the area. While the bible always holds a firm stance on the pertinence of social justice, it sometimes presents a practical and contextual flexibility, so as not to arouse unnecessary turmoil, and to focus on priority issues at hand. And Church history repeatedly evidences a long-suffering posture, rather than premature implementation of social justice activism, while patiently awaiting the intrinsic transformation of the society and its members toward a more biblical perspective and practice. In fact, the first American women missionaries who were sent to Korea in late 19^th and early 20^th centuries waited patiently for the best timing for advocating social justice in the “hermit kingdom.” Their patience was not understood or rightly rewarded until much later.[3] We, therefore, should proceed the wiser, learning how to shrewdly differentiate biblical truth from the status quo. “Because your hearts were hard” (Matt. 19.8a) must not be our disposition, blind or inactive to social justice concerns, but rather a biblical maturity based on awareness: “But it was not this way from the beginning” (8b).  

The Tradition of Social Justice in Exodus and Amos

    Historically speaking, the foundation of the Abrahamic faith did not originate from the Creation account, but from the historical events of the Exodus. The people of God were given revelation from Yahweh by which to understand the universe and history. Therefore it would not be an exaggeration to say that we could have known nothing about Creation, the Fall, and salvation if the Exodus had not occurred. The historical significance of exodus, as an archetype of holistic salvation, is foundationally pertinent. What then does the bible describe of the exodus? Was is purely a celestial event foreshadowing Christ and exemplifying salvation from sin alone, or was did it also demonstrate the importance of the gospel of social justice?

    Korean evangelicals are too often avoidant of the important politico-social lessons found in the exodus. This posture is understandable, for one of the highly contextualized theologies of the 1970s[4]rendered traumatic side effect on the Korean church.[5] However, “the baby was thrown out with the bath water” for the most part, and the texts of the Exodus challenge this mistaken posture. It is evident from Exodus 2:23, 3:9, 6:6, and 16 that Yahweh was compassionate toward the ‘politically’ oppressed and ‘economically’ exploited in that context.[6] God’s mercy is not to be restricted to the ‘spiritually’ poor. In addition, the covenant of God with Israel required them to be ‘just’ and ‘fair’ in all social relationships and interactions (Ex 21-23). These chapters play the role of an ‘appendix’ to the Ten Commandments, affirming that issues of social justice cannot brushed aside regarding the formation and guidance of the people of God.[7] God destroyed not only the Egyptian gods/goddesses with the plagues, but also dismantled the socio-economic system maintained by slavery, government-driven manipulation, brutal genocide, and a stubborn royal court that severely afflicted the people. Justice for both the people and the social structure mattered deeply to God, who governs and cares for all the nations.

    The Hebrew prophets were also champions of social justice. In fact, no other appeared more concerned with social justice than Amos. But we need to penetrate into his morale of advocacy to fully understand him. Why did he raise such a frequent voice for social justice issues? Amos hit home his points directly, starting with: “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt?” (9.7). This rhetorical question reminded Israel how they were treated under slavery and subjugation, and how then they should respond to God’s deliverance.

    Jesen cataloged the importance of social justice issues in the prophecies of Amos. Firstly, Social justice is a core ingredient of the covenant. The covenant between Israel and Yahweh promised protection and supplication. Therefore the covenant required moral obedience and response.[8] Secondly, “Justice and truth both denote the maintenance of covenant. Righteousness in the Old Testament does not refer to some abstract ethical standard but rather ‘righteousness has to do with living and acting in a way appropriate to a relationship.”[9] Lastly, Israel was poor (saddiq), weak (dal), and needy (ebyon) in Egypt. But Yahweh treated them with justice, mercy and kindness. Centuries later, Israel failed to imitate Yahweh, broke the covenant.[10] 

Jesus, the Radical Advocate of Social Justice

    Many in the conservative Korean evangelical wing might easily overlook the evidence that Jesus advocated for social justice in a radical manner throughout his earthly ministry. Some tend to over-spiritualize the teachings of Jesus to the extent that they become disconnected from society, erroring on a totally ‘other-worldly’ posture. This contradicts what Jesus really meant through his Kingdom teachings.

    In the Beatitudes, we face “hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Acknowledging that righteousness is slightly different from justice in definition, Stott indicates that the righteousness Jesus addressed in his Beatitudes is cemented in the moral/ethical concept of social justice.[11]  Subsequently, the Sermon on the Mount shows that his disciples must pursue a far better righteousness than the Pharisaic example - focused on the external and ceremonial. The righteousness Jesus demands of his pupils involves the following social implications: verbal communication (oath, cursing), interpersonal relation (contribution, contempt and hypocrisy) and marital/familial fidelity (adultery, divorce); and is the foundation on which all social practices of his disciples must be laid.

On the surface level his teachings seem to be individualistic or pietistic ethics, however they contain much deeper implications. For instance, Kim suggests that Jesus’ negation of divorce alludes to his lack of concern and advocacy for the rights of the women in Jewish society. Under a strict pro-nominal society like that of Israel, the divorced woman automatically is seen as a whore, concubine, or “sex toy.” Jesus intended to protect women’s rights, as well as to elucidate God’s original will of institutionalizing marriage.[12]

    We can detect Jesus’ focus on society even in his healing ministry. In the healing of the ceremonial impure, for instance the woman who suffered with hemorrhages, and the ten lepers, the healed were ordered to “go back home in peace” after they were claimed to be ‘clean’ (Mt 9; Lk 17:19). Their disease, by diagnosis of the Mosaic Law, cursed them to seclusion and separation. But Jesus restored the defected to the community in which they previously belonged, and demonstrated that his presence and ministry would bring healing not only to the body, but also to “social ostracism”[13] of human beings. This solidarity, by all means, is the root concern of social justice action.  

Paul’s Understanding of Slavery

    Many have raised their eyebrows over Christianity’s seemingly blind-eye to Roman slavery. Due to the limited scope of this paper, I will summate that the apostle Paul absolutely disagreed with the system of slavery. He emancipated a demon-possessed girl who was hired and worked for her merciless owner in Philippi (Acts 16;16-24). From the text we see that “She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled …,” (16). Paul was not ignorant of the potential aftermath of exorcizing her in this Macedonian port city where he felt he was called to preach the gospel to the entire European region. In other words, Paul almost forfeited his apostolic mission by casting demons out of one of the lowliest human beings in that culture. If this is the case, is it possible to interpret Paul’s gospel apart from a clear challenge to all the regimes which estrange and exploit humans? Is it not natural to conclude that Paul attempted to demonstrate the gospel of Jesus as a message that would ultimately liberate all forms of bondage[14], and that the full ｅxpressions of social justice would bring about God’s new society [church], whose identity keeps unfolding throughout history?

    We also see this chain of logic when Paul was dealing with onesimus, the runaway slave of Philemon. Paul was very realistic in urging him to go back under the authority of his old master again. By doing so, he avoided the vicious scandalization that could result from speaking against Roman slavery, which could have harmed his gospel at the time. Paul, however, did not trump the slave’s humanness. onesimus was supposed to return to his owner - not because he was destined only to live and die as a slave, but because he was now transformed, changed for usefulness (euchrestos) [15]. He will no longer behave ‘without Christ’ (a-Christos), for he had become ‘a good Christian’ (eu-Christos).

    For Philemon, Paul not only admitted his commercial right guaranteed by the Roman Empire, but also proposed that he accept onesimus as his brother, no longer as a runaway slave. This proposal was subject to the free will of Philemon, but we should note that Paul was leading him to see what Jesus Christ (Philemon’s new master in faith) offered, and what Paul (his new brother in Christ) was laboring toward to true freedom in Christ, who is headmaster of all in heaven and earth.[16] Paul neither endangered his gospel and mission, yet did not condone the sinful system either. In fact, true strides of justice were not seen until William Wilberforce (1759-1833) succeeded at enacting the anti-slave trade law in British parliament that Christians could openly argue the true wickedness of the practice.

    The apostle follows his master’s example in the tax debate (Mark 12:13-17). Jesus side-stepped an unproductive engagement with his antagonists, which would have most likely resulted in acrimonious political arguments, and instead pinpointed precisely the core principle. “……those who bear the image of God belong to him and owe him all that they are……man’s duty to God is something much more important than his duty to Caesar.”[17] It was likely that Paul was not obsessed with immature idealism, but he knew how to campaign the need and urgency of social justice. The more we are loyal to the biblical accounts, the less we find discrepancies between faith in the Trinitarian God in the bible and social action stemming from that faith.  

Liberating the Korean-American Church

      We have argued that the Bible does not dichotomize salvation from the responsibility of believers to plead for social justice. Advocating for social justice does not mar the genuineness of the gospel, but exposes its transforming power. Church history proves time and time again. Why then should Korean or Korean-American churches abandon this biblical call and privilege?  

From the Historical Barrier

    Only a few Korean church historians have traced the underdeveloped consciousness and basically inactive engagement in social justice by the Korean church to the history of Protestant missions to Korea. The early protestant mission in Korea was largely developed by conservative American missionaries. Documents, reports and missionary letters show us that their primary concern focused on evangelistic work. However, we must also consider the medical and educational works of the missionaries during the pioneering years. “Korea was opened at the point of the lancet.”[18] This quote hints what the American missionaries did among Koreans established a foundation for social transformation. They opened the first modern boys’ and girls’ schools and hospitals/dispensaries in Korea, and waited to see what fruits would be brought in. It is therefore unfair to point a finger at the American missionaries and their theological penchant as the primary cause for apathy toward social concern.

    Japanese imperial colonization (1910-45) invigorated Korean consciousness of social justice rather than weakening it. It is noteworthy that many social reformations exploded during this dark period. A great deal of Korean Christians played crucial roles in movements such as anti-governmental corruption, the halt of bribery, encouragement for financial shrewdness, national treasury compensation, and anti-Japanese militant rule. Considering that the Korean church was newly founded, it is amazing accounts in reliable documents of Christians leading the major transforming movements of the time, in comparison with other native religious groups with their long histories and great numbers of practitioners.[19]

    We must weigh the influence of the Korean War (1950-53) and subsequent military dictatorships (1961-92) as real backdrops which crippled the development of social justice advocacy in Korean churches. The War inflicted traumatic scars in the hearts of the people, and communism phobia lay heavy in the air. It is quite understandable when we estimate the casualties of the war - over five million. Even in current times, Korean seniors abhor socialism; and not by philosophical skepticism, but mainly by their own experiences during the War.

    The military tycoons have taken advantage of the people’s mental state in a cunningly manner, manipulating them to obey. Korean students have been educated in anti-communist ideology for over 40 years. Critiques on the military government were seen equal with rebellion against the people and nation. Feared and defeated, Korean evangelicals bargained away the biblical credibility of social justice, and retreated into the ghetto of individualistic piety. During this period, podiums in the evangelical churches were inundated with the messages of social conformity in the name of the ‘alleged’ Pauline view on government (Rom. 13:1-2). Much of the young generation abandoned their faith and sought after the another savior, Marxist thought and practice, since the conservative churches never satisfied their enthusiastic pursuit for social engagement. Meanwhile, the majority of Korean evangelicals attributed this apostate deviation to the influence of Min-Jung theology.[20]

From the Religious Barrier

    Christianity, brought in by missionaries, encountered the religious beliefs which already dominated Korea. Confucian, Buddhist, Taoism and Shamanism were the inevitable antagonists, fighting against Christianity for the people’s hearts and minds. In a short time, Protestantism in Korea did not seem to overcome the heathen affects of the opposing religions on the churches, and instead stymied the development of healthy ‘social’ perspective, and bringing a dangerous combination of dualism with the present amoral worldview.

    Confucianism, in general, ascribes to ancestral worships and formal feasts. It is sufficient in society if you observe diligently the old-fashioned, sophisticated etiquettes[21]. Buddhism, in theory, has no value system and social criteria of justice, besides the ‘denial of desire,’[22] which echoes Nietzsche’s Übermensch. Taoism badly impaired our notion of social justice. This foreign religious belief, imported from China, comparable to Epicureanism of western philosophy, is ultra ‘other-worldly.’ Doing justice to others is nothing less than vanity. This world is too transitory to care.[23] Finally, Shamanism, more present in Korea than any other location, save for South America and Africa, does not ascribe to any ethical standard. Having extended farther beyond antinomianism, shamans attest that winning favors proceeds to any morality and ethics. This belief leads us fatally to amorality.[24]

    Jumbled in with these religious beliefs, Korean evangelicals put social justice aside from the main goal of appropriating the gospel in word and deed. They deconstructed and trivialized Christianity into puppets of formalism/ritualism, self-help, dualism/monetarism, and amoral favoritism. Swayed by the four main heathen influences, Christians in conservative circles still think that it is nonessential to be involved in politics, current global issues, lobbying and legislation, peace-making at national/international level, fair trade, reforms in the social arena such as in medical and education, corporate social responsibility, or investing and nurturing social businesses.

    In truth, Korean evangelicals are running out of precious time to restore the other part of the holistic gospel; that is, its social implication. Evangelicalism in Korea has been heavily criticized by the non-believing, educated and socially-conscientious citizens. The church grew dramatically in numbers, funding, and extra-ecclesiological activities, but malfunctioned tragically when it came to boosting social consciousness of justice, cementing ‘haves’ and ‘not-haves,’ and inducing society to the healthier and anticipatable state. Statistics debunk and give alert to that fact that it will soon be too late if evangelicals do not make haste to correct their theological instability (dualism and amorality), and take prudent and well-balance action in society as a whole.[25]

    With hope, a last-minute move to action might turn out to be very heuristic and synergic. Given that our national motto is “HURRY UP!”, a sense of crisis in Korean evangelicalism can help to generate a great national awakening once again. This is quite plausible when we recall the first Korean Great Awakening (1907, Pyongyang), which emerged in a stormy climate of total deflation of national morale, and took root in about 20 years after the pioneering protestant mission began. If we focus on the forgotten side of biblical soteriology, emphasizing reconciliation, harmony and fairness in society, and commit to work out the journey together, an epochal turning point in evangelism can be surely made, even though demography casts a dark allusive shadow to the seemingly unrecoverable evangelical depression hanging in the air since the 1990s. 

Towards Action

    Koreans tends to think and live in a very collective manner. We can use this natural phenomenon as an advantage in breaking down the former theological-cultural milieu of the Korean believers, and bring awareness to more ‘social’ habits. A local church can produce a more centripetal force by disseminating and educating members about ideas of social justice in an efficient manner. But success hinges on two crucial factors: leadership and programs. Pastors and should be attuned to the theological/ecclesiological urgency and potential of social justice action. Secondly, they need to format courses and professional materials, given that Koreans place a high value on cutting-edge cultural products.

    I suggest a simple five-week program, “Carry Each Other's Burdens” (CEOB) (Gal 6:2), focusing on drawing the believer’s attention to the biblical concept of social justice, and to encourage their reflection and practice in their daily lives. CEOB must include all the necessary components (five weeks of sermons, bible study, small group discussion, prayer meetings and a to-do-list check up), lest the dough should fail to rise. With this tentative and provisional program, we hope to stimulate the church to move forward in social justice action.  

Sermon	Bible Study Focus	Discussion	Prayer Meeting & To-do-list
“Those Who Mourn” (Matt. 5.4)	(1) Divide the Beatitude into two parts (the first to 4th, and 5th to the last), and study what we find out as to the foundation and implication of being righteous and just, spiritually and socially.	Why does biblical salvation embrace social justice? Is it artificial or intrinsic to the bible message as a whole?	Prayers for the exploited (economically, sexually and militarily) children; their successful escapes and rehab from bondage; raising funds and human resources in local fields.   Watching video clips reporting child abuse of various kinds; telling the truth to friends and relatives, colleagues and neighbors.
“Thirst, Hunger for Righteousness” (Matt. 5. 6)	(2) Second session of the first Bible Study.	What Christian characteristics do we have to present when we do justice in society, as disciples of Christ?	Prayers for the battered women/children/and men; stopping verbal violence in homes; children in foster homes and women in shelters.  Writing to and visiting children’s bureaus dealing with domestic violence victims to give comfort to both the officers and the inmates in the institution.
“Their Slavery Went up to God” (Ex. 2.23, NIV)	God solves not only our root problem (sin) but also its symptom (slavery, for example).	How do we react to so many social injustices made in the global arena, in terms of our faith in Yahweh who is deeply concerned by injustice?	Prayers for the victims suffering in local wars and conflicts; refugees; participants in human trafficking in any form (marriage, slavery, labor, organ transplant).    Tending to needs of interracial/multi-cultural marriages and families; learining more about human smuggling (massage girls, gentlemens club workers); studying the live of club girls around U.S military bases in Korea.
“Let Justice Roll Down Like a River” (Am. 5.24)	Believers are supposed to reflect what they received from God (mercy) to the needy (justice).	How does advocating for social justice brings ultimate cherishing of our faith and glory to God?	Prayers for the Korean politicians, civil servants, business leaders, and higher-ranked educators, to not give in to bribes; alleviating the chronic habits of entertaining business partners in sensual night clubs.   Letter to public service personnel police and news agency to encourage their duty to investigate and report corruption scandals.
“The Nations Will Walk by His Light” (Rev. 21.24)	The biblical soteriology covers the whole universe; politics, diplomatic, global economy & environment.	Kingdom politics- doing politics with regenerated heart and mind - matters in a postmodern society like this. But how?	Prayers for raising useful and faithful leaders in politics and foreign service works; impacting the law community.   Letter to senator in my electorates to call for action to enhance social justice initiatives; inviting Christian speaker(s) to lecture on Christian views of politics and current foreign affair issues.

 

Conclusion

      The primitive church kept the Lord’s Supper and/or Love (agape) Meal sincerely when they came together as a believing community. The church celebrated the communal meals, and made them a symbol demonstrating that ‘apartheid’ in the world would fall down in the name of Jesus, the Liberator. Toward the world outside, they displayed their apparent love and compassion consistently. Christians in those times were said by historians to be those who adopted infants and children who were usually abandoned or killed by their parents without second thought.[26] They would be the last residents who evacuated from cities where epidemics spread, and they nursed as many patients as they could in their last moments of life.[27] The early church was not anti-social or negligent to needs of justice in to society. Evangelical churches, both in Korea and North America, should be poised to answer the warning her Master addressed to the Ephesians: “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (Rev 2:4-6).  

 

Bibliography

Individual Books

David Blankehom, et.al (eds.), Does Christianity Teach Male Headship?: The Equal Marriage

 Regard and Its Critics, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003

James Edwards, The Gospel According To Mark, PNTC, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002

John Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount: Christian Counter-Culture, Downers

Groves: IVP, 1985

Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel According to Saint Mark, BNTC, Peabody: Hendrickson, 1991

Murray J. Harris, Colossians & Philemon: Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament, Grand

Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991

Godfrey Ashby, Exodus: Go Out and Meet God, ITC, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998

Jonathan Z. Smith (gen. ed.), The Harper Collins Dictionary of Religion, NY: Harper Collins,

2005

Joseph Jesen, Ethical Dimensions of the Prophets, Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2006

Katherine Ahn, Awakening the Hermit Kingdom, Pasadena: William Carey, 2010

Nick Page, The Bible Book: A User’s Guide, London: Collins, 2008

Peter T. Obrien, Colossians & Philemon, WBC, Nashville: Nelson, 1982

T. D. Alexander and David W. Baker (eds.), Dictionary of the OT: Pentateuch, Downers Grove:

IVP, 2003

William H. Willimon, Acts, Interpretation, Louisville: John Knox Press, 1988

 

Individual Book- Korean

Se-Yoon Kim, A Woman God Made and Cared (Tyrranus Mission: Seoul, 2005)

 

Electronic Books (Available in Google Books)

Harold Ellens, et.al.(eds.), God’s Words for Our World: Volume II (Continuum International Publishing Group: NY, 2004)

R. E. Buswell Jr. (eds.) et.al. Christianity in Korea, (Hawaii University Press: Honolulu, 2007)

 

Articles on Website

Young-Han Kim, The Problem of Minjung Theology: Critics and Its Contributions. (Nov.,24,2009,Seoul)(http://www.veritas.kr/contents/article/sub_re.html?no=5381)

Joo-Il Lee, “Do Not Engage in Social Matters” (http://evangelical.tistory.com/247)

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[1] See, Joo-Il Lee, “Do Not Engage in Social Matters” (http://evangelical.tistory.com/247). This is a fine reformed reflection on the compulsive recession of Korean evangelicals as to social justice advocacy. Accessed on 5, Sep., 2010

[2] W. Robert Godfrey, Headship in the Bible, in Does Christianity Teach Male Headship?: The Equal Marriage Regard and Its Critics, David Blankehom, et.al (eds.), (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 2003), pp. 82-90

[3] See, Katherine Ahn, Awakening the Hermit Kingdom (William Carey: Pasadena, 2010)

[4] A Korean church was one of the battlefields where the Minjung (people) Theology was born indigenously and sought for flamboyantly, along with Black Liberation Theology (America) and Liberation Theology (Latin American).

[5] For a comprehensive counter-attack on Minjung Theology, see, Young-Han Kim, The Problem of Minjung Theology: Critics and Its Contributions. This article was read in a lecture (Nov., 24, 2009, Seoul), not published yet but accessible online (http://www.veritas.kr/contents/article/sub_re.html?no=5381). See also, Wonkil Kim’s Minjung Theology’s Biblical Hermeneutics: An Examination of Minjung Theology’s Appropriation of the Exodus Accounts, in Harold Ellens, et.al.(eds.), God’s Words for Our World: Volume II (Continuum International Publishing Group: NY, 2004), pp. 175-76, if you want to see how flawed its biblical interpretation is.

[6] Cf. T. E. Fretheim, Book of Exodus, in T. D. Alexander and David W. Baker (eds.), Dictionary of the OT: Pentateuch (IVP: Downers Grove, 2003), pp. 254-55

[7] Cf. Godfrey Ashby, Exodus: Go Out and Meet God (International Theological Commentary) (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1998), pp. 98-100

[8] Joseph Jesen, Ethical Dimensions of the Prophets (Liturgical Press: Collegeville, 2006), p. 70-71

[9] Ibid. 89

[10] Ibid. 90

[11] John Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount: Christian Counter-Culture (IVP: Downers Groves,1985), p.45

[12] See, Se-Yoon Kim, A Woman God Made and Cared (Tyrranus Mission: Seoul, 2005). This book is a groundbreaking approach to the place and role of women in the bible.

[13] James Edwards, The Gospel According To Mark (The Pillar New Testament Commentary: PNTC) (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 2002), p. 165

[14] Willimon clearly indicates that the girl was enslaved doubly; spiritually and socially. William H. Willimon, Acts (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching) (John Knox Press: Louisville, 1988), p. 139

[15] Murray J. Harris, Colossians & Philemon: Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1991), pp. 261-62

[16] For Paul’s careful and thoughtful treatment with this delicate matter, see, Peter T. Obrien, Colossians & Philemon (Word Biblical Commentary) (Nelson: Nashville, 1982), p. 290-303

[17] Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel according to Saint Mark (Black’s New Testament Commentary) (Hendrickson: Peabody, 1991), p. 281. Hooker grounds Jesus’ utterance in this debate in Gen. 1.26f.

[18] Ahn, Awakening the Hermit Kingdom, p. 80

[19] Cf. Wi Jo Kang, Church and State Relations in Japanese Imperialism Period, in Christianity in Korea (Electronic Book), R. E. Buswell Jr. (eds.) et.al. (Hawaii University Press: Honolulu, 2007).

[20] Lee, “Do Not Engage in Social Matters” (http://evangelical.tistory.com/247).

[21] See, Confucianism (Thought and Ethics), in Jonathan Z. Smith (Gen. ed.), The Harper Collins Dictionary of Religion (Harper Collins: NY, 2995), pp. 284-85

[22] Ibid. in Buddhism as a system of social relationships, 142-150

[23] Ibid. in Taoism (Mystical Taoism and Liturgical Taoism), 1054

[24] Ibid. in Shamanism (Korean Religion) 979-80

[25] See, GallupReport, Korean Religions and Their Religious Consciousness, (June, 22, 2005). Available on website, http://www.gallup.co.kr/gallupdb/reportContent.asp?seqNo=82&pagePos=1&selectYear=0&search=4&searchKeyword=2004

[26] Nick Page, The Bible Book: A User’s Guide (Collins: London, 2008), p. 321

[27] Ibid.