Podcast: "The origin of the gospel"

Life is like a river

Life is like a river. A scholarly life flows, mindful of its end.

Life is like a river. A scholarly life flows, mindful of its end.
Here is a look at my upcoming book projects. As someone who is naturally organized, I’m constantly refining and updating my work—staying open to changes and progress in hopes of a "harvest" someday.
There is a clear trend in these works: a critical study of the mind at the intersection of biblical studies and other related fields.

I have made a promise to myself: I may not achieve everything, and that’s okay. I’m not going to burn myself out. I do this work simply because I love it.

"Thinking Meat"

Quote from "Mind" by Daniel Siegel

 

-Yung Suk Kim, PhD

I was struck by the concept of "thinking meat," a term quoted in The Mind & The Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force by Jeffrey M. Schwartz and Sharon Begley (p. 21-23). This phrase originated in Terry Bisson's 1991 Omni magazine article. The idea presents a profound paradox, yet also a fundamental truth about our reality. We are meat that thinks. This implies that the thinking part is not separate from the flesh. This is, indeed, a radical notion; it challenges various forms of traditional dualism, notably Cartesian dualism. It also complicates a purely materialistic interpretation often associated with scientific positivism. When we consider the mind, it is not merely a separate machine, often equated solely with the brain, as some scientific views propose. Contemporary scientific understanding suggests that the mind represents the totality of our being. In this integrated view, mental elements interact with the entire body—including the brain—and the external world, encompassing spiritual dimensions. In this sense, neuropsychiatrist Daniel Siegel's observation is particularly apt, as he defines the mind (Mind: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human, Norton, 2017).

"By mind, I mean all that relates to our subjective felt experience of being alive, from feelings to thoughts, from intellectual ideas to inner sensory immersions before and beneath words, to our felt connections to other people and our planet. And mind also refers to our consciousness, the experience we have of being aware of this felt sense of life, the experience of knowing within awareness." (1)

"Mind is the essence of our fundamental nature, our deepest sense of being alive, here, right now, in this moment." (1)

"Yet beyond consciousness and its knowing within awareness of our subjective felt sense of being alive, mind may also involve a larger process, one that connects us to each other and our world. This important process is a facet of mind that may be hard to measure, but is nevertheless a crucial aspect of our lives we'll explore in great depth in the journey ahead." (1)

"Though we may not be able to quantify in numerical terms these facets of our mind at the heart of the experience of being here in this life, this intrinsically felt subjective phenomenon of living, and the ways we can feel our connections to one another and the world, are subjective phenomena that are real. These non-measurable facets of the reality of life have many names. Some call this our essence. Some call this our core, soul, spirit, or true nature. I simply call this mind." (1-2).

The idea of “thinking meat” also resonates with Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutics and ethics, both of which take the location of the flesh seriously. He emphasizes that our genuine understanding of something does not arise from thinking alone; it must emerge through our bodily experience in the world. See his work Oneself as Another (University of Chicago Press, 1995).

The points above highlight four pillars of mental health: biological, psychological, social, and spiritual. This implies that a robust mind requires balance across all four: the body, the psyche, the social, and the spiritual.

The Double Embrace

I progressed to a refined book proposal. It has been on my mind for months. What remains is a matter of quality research time.

Hebel

Commentary on John 20:19-31 (Working Preacher)

Working Preacher

Second Sunday of Easter

Faith is an act with significant social risk
Commentary on John 20:19-31

Knowing the self

Laozi says, "Knowing the self is enlightenment." He is right; knowing the self is the basis of our understanding of both ourselves and the world. But the critical question remains: how do we know who or what we are?  

Rooted in Love, Resilient in Mind

True study begins with the self. Everything we perceive is an emanation of who we think we are. This means the driving force is the mind, through which we perceive, feel, and act. This book encapsulates my initial deep exploration into the meaning of existence, the frailty of life, and the enduring power of hope.

 

New Testament Ethics

If you are interested in a book that goes beyond history or theology, this is the one for you, as it dives deep into ethics. Specifically, how can we read the New Testament as a source of ethics? I was honored to contribute to this volume, New Testament Ethics: Revisiting The Moral Vision of the New Testament, with a chapter titled "Ethnicity and Race: Union with the Body of Christ." I just received my gratis copies from Eerdmans—a big shout-out to the publisher and all my fellow contributors. I’m thrilled to be part of this project. The book officially releases on April 7. Please help spread the word!

  

 

The 30th anniversary of my new journey into theology

It occurred to me that 30 years ago, in 1996, I decided to study theology. My family—my wife and three daughters under 7—and I moved from Miami to Chicago; at the time, I was a branch manager for LG in Miami. After earning an M.Div. at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and a Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, I got my first second-career job at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia, in 2005. I’ve taught here for more than 20 years now, and I was promoted to full professor a few years ago.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of my new journey into theology. These have been such successful years, teaching thousands of students, writing more than 20 books, and still blooming with so many book ideas. I know I won’t stay here forever. All I know is I am here and alive. The next moves will come someday, whatever they may be. Thank God.