What kind of Christology?

In 2016, I published Messiah in Weakness: A Portrait of Jesus from the Perspective of the Dispossessed (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2016). The book's synopsis is as follows:

Kim raises a perennial question about Jesus: How can we approach the historical Jesus? Kim proposes to interpret him from the perspective of the dispossessed--through the eyes of weakness. Exploring Jesus' experience, interpretation, and enactment of weakness, understanding weakness as both human condition and virtue, Kim offers a new portrait of Jesus who is weak and strong, and empowered to bring God's rule, replete with mercy, in the here and now. Arguing against the grain of tradition that the strong Jesus identifies with the weak, Kim demonstrates that it is the weak Jesus who identifies with the weak. The paradoxical truth with Jesus is: "Because he is weak, he is strong." In the end, Jesus dies a death of paradox that reveals both his ultimate weakness demands divine justice, and his unyielding spirit of love for the world and the truth of God.

I have an issue with the "strong" Messiah, which is the Western view of Jesus characterized by triumphalism, colonialism, and supersessionism. In this view, he is fully divine and all-powerful. He defeated death and evil and completed salvation for humanity through his voluntary redemptive suffering. This is the Western Jesus of triumphalism. In this Western view, Jesus also appears as a colonial ruler who is the way. Likewise, John 14:6 ("I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me") is interpreted exclusively. All countries and cultures must accept him as the way and the truth. Non-Christians and their countries are forced to convert to the Western gospel of Jesus. It is our known history in the 19th and 20th centuries that commerce and Christianity went to other countries hand in hand. Colonialism and Christianity are hardly distinguishable in many colonized countries in Africa and the Caribbean. Similarly, this kind of triumphant, colonial Messiah opposes Judaism or Israel. Namely, the issue is supersessionism or Antisemitism in that Jesus replaces the old covenant with Israel. Jesus's sacrifice is perfect once and for all and completes salvation. The law's time ended with Israel. Now is the new time for the church through Jesus. Old religion and tradition are rejected and relegated to inferior things.

But Jesus was born into a poor abnormal family and experienced weakness as a poor Galilean Jew. He did his best to proclaim God's good news and was executed by the Roman authorities. He showed God's way and truth; nevertheless, his work is not complete. The end did not come yet with his resurrection, and his work must continue with his followers.


Jesus was a devout Jew who never denied his Jewish identity and his loyalty to God. He affirmed the law and prophets. He did not preach about the heavenly kingdom of God. Rather, his primary concern was the rule of God in the here and now. His claim is God rules, not the Roman emperor. He proclaimed "the good news of God," not that of Rome. He broke the laws of Sabbath and purity to advocate for the sick and the marginalized. This led to his death. In other words, he did not come simply to die for sinners but to testify to the truth of God (John 18:37). His death is the result of what he said and did in proclaiming God's rule, not Caesar's. His "dangerous" teaching and action cost him a life.


The Western view of Jesus with an emphasis on his power and glory is in error because we ignore his humanity with weakness in first-century Palestine where so many people suffer, including Jesus. There are physical ills, social ills, famine, economic exploitation, and slavery. Why should we deprive him of his humanity and his weakness? Why do we not talk about his struggle to understand the chaotic world lacking God's rule?


In 2 Cor 13:4a, Paul also admits the fact that "he [Jesus] was crucified 'by or from weakness' (eks astheneias)." That is, he insinuates that Jesus could not avoid or overcome Roman violence because he had to continue preaching God's kingdom against Rome. In this regard, the often-made translation of "in weakness" for eks astheneias does not convey Paul's meaning. In fact, Paul contrasts eks astheneias ("by or from weakness") with ek dunameos theou ("by or from the power of God") with that phrase. Paul's point is clear in 2 Cor 13:4: 1) Jesus was crucified because of his humanity, which is weak; 2). But he lives because of the power of God.


There are historical facts about Jesus's crucifixion that cannot be fabricated or oversimplified. History is one thing, and what it means to people after the event is another thing. We must know why he was brought to death. The main reason is that he said and did something against Rome. He could not overcome violence and torture.


Now all those who hear the story of Jesus and his crucifixion are challenged to live differently because of his tragic death. On the one hand, people must say his death is a tragic one and wrong. Evil and torture are wrong. How can an innocent person be crucified? Injustices must be named and those who were responsible for his death must be judged and condemned. It is not God's character that allows his innocent Son to be killed for vicarious death paying for sins. On the other hand, Jesus's terrifying death is a holy sacrifice of love for God and the world because he did not spare his life to proclaim the good news of God in the world.

Therefore, the statement "Jesus died for us" (Rom 5:8; 2 Cor 5:14) can be understood as a moral challenge, as opposed to the payment understanding of sins. Namely, the challenge is that people must live a moral life of justice for others, moving away from an egoistic lifestyle.


We need a correct interpretation of Jesus’s death. In other words, not all interpretations are valid. Especially, the problematic interpretation is found in the following lyrics, which show a most selfish form of religion: "The Lamb of God in my place, your blood pour out, my sin erased. It was my death you died. I am raised to life; Hallelujah, the Lamb of God." In other words, the point of the song is simple: “Jesus died for me, and I don't die. I am raised to life. All done and no worries."

Monotheism, Biblical Traditions, and Race Relations

Forthcoming
Monotheism, Biblical Traditions, and Race Relations
Cambridge University Press, Feb 2022
Pre-order: Cambridge || Amazon
In the Hebrew Bible, various aspects of theism exist though monotheistic faith stands out, and the New Testament largely continues with Jewish monotheism. This Element examines diverse aspects of monotheism in the Hebrew Bible and their implications to others or race relations. Also, it investigates monotheistic faith in the New Testament writings and its impact on race relations, including the work of Jesus and Paul's apostolic mission. While inclusive monotheism fosters race relations, exclusive monotheism harms race relations. This Element also engages contemporary biblical interpretations about the Bible, monotheistic faith, and race/ethnicity.

"To believe" in John's Gospel

"To believe" (pisteuo) in John's Gospel is more than to believe something or someone. Rather, it means to believe in God and also in Jesus. This means trusting and following them wholeheartedly. By the way, in this Gospel "to believe" occurs more than 80 hundred times while there is no occurrence of the word faith at all. Faith is expressed in all verbal forms. John takes 80-90% of the total occurrences of "to believe" expressions among the four Gospels. In John, trusting God requires to trust his Son. To trust his Son means to hear him and abide in his teaching. So he says like this in John 8:31-32: "Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’"
Similarly, he also says in 10:37-38: "If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand* that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.’"

John 14.11 also strikes a similar chord: "Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves."

"Believe" in John (59 matches):
1:7, 50; 3:12, 18; 4:21, 42, 48; 5:38, 44, 46; 6:29f, 36, 40, 64, 69; 8:24, 45; 9:18, 35, 38; 10:25f, 37; 11:15, 25, 42, 48; 12:36f, 39; 13:19; 14:1, 10, 29; 16:9, 30; 17:20f; 19:35; 20:25, 27, 29, 31

"Believed" in John (24 matches):
1:12; 2:11, 22-23; 3:18; 4:39, 41, 50, 53; 5:46; 7:5, 31, 48; 8:30-31; 10:42; 11:40, 45; 12:38, 42; 16:27; 17:8; 20:8, 29

Doing theology in times of science and climate crisis

Science reveals to us many things. We no longer think the earth is the center of the universe. Our planet is like one dot, like the dust, compared with the still-expanding universe in which there are about 200 billion galaxies in 2021. Each galaxy has about 100 billion stars. We belong to the Milky Way. We no longer think of two dimensions of heaven-and-earth. Scientists say Earth is 4.54 billion years old. According to big bang scientists, there was a big bang 13.8 billion years ago, which is the beginning of the current time.  The modern human species, homo sapiens, appeared around 200,000 years ago.

Our planet stands at the brink of collapse because of the climate crisis, which is human-made. What can we do? What theology do we need to explore? Enigmatic questions ensue. 

Adieu 2021

This year is special to me. I was promoted to Full Professor at my school. I reflect on the past 30 years of my relentless journey apart from Korea, my mother country. 

 

Teaching Philosophy

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

I foster and teach to engage in the knowledge of who we are in this world in which we see our diversity and differences. In my teaching, diversity is not a given but a source of critical engagement with each other. I value both a critical and self-critical stance toward any claim of knowledge, truth, and reality. I emphasize the following as pedagogical goals: learning from others, challenging one another, affirming who we are, and working for common humanity in differences. In my teaching, all in all, I communicate critical diversity and transformative identity in a variety of life contexts.

Life is a vapor, yet it is not vanity

Since 1991

In 1991, I never knew that I would live permanently in a foreign land. 

It has been thirty years during which I kept finding myself adrift. 

A life uprooted from the mother country is an agony that defies any treatment.

Against the tide of uncertainties and delays in my life, 

I have voyaged disparate seas of Panama due to my business assignment, 

Miami for my reassignment in business, 

Chicago for theological study in my second career, 

Nashville for a doctoral program, 

and Richmond for my first second-career job.

Through the hump and bumps, I have walked a tightrope. 

Thank God. I am here. I love what I am. 

Life is a vapor, yet it is not vanity.

Live in the Present (Poetry book)