New book projects

These book projects are in progress. I don't mean that I'm writing all of them at the same time, but rather that they are all currently on my plate.

 

도덕경 명상집

성서학자가 번역하고 묵상하는

도덕경 명상집

어떻게 살아야 할 것인가를 깨우쳐주는 살아 있는 고전

성서학자의 눈으로 고전을 읽으며 교감하는 책

다시 읽는 도덕경: 성서학자의 비평과 묵상

동양과 서양, 고대와 현대의 경계에서 읽는 노자

도덕경 명상집 (Google e-book ) | Read online (free)

성경공부: 에수의 비유편

이 책은 예수의 비유를 역사와 문학 비평적으로 접근함과 동시에 현재의 삶의 정황을 동시에 다룬다. 비유는 예수의 가르침의 중요한 수단으로 당대의 문제점을 꼬집고 도전하는 이야기이다. 그것은 단순히 개인의 구원을 다루는 것이 아니다. 비유를 잘 이해하기위해서 그 당시 세계의 정치, 경제, 사회지식이 요구된다. 또, 비유해석의 다양한 방법론도 필요하다. 결국은 비유를 통하여 오늘을 재조명하는 것이 목적이다. 이 책은 새로운 성경공부용으로 개발되었다.

본인이 쓴 학구적인 책으로는 영어로 된 책 2권이 있다. 한권은 개론용에 해당한다: Jesus’ s Truth: Life in Parables. 다른 한권은 정의와 비유의 접점을 다루는 책이다: Justice and the Parables of Jesus: Interpreting the Gospel Stories through Political Philosophy.

성경공부: 비유편 (paperback) | Read online (free)

시집: 태초와 나, 그리고 삶과 죽음

나에게 시집은 세상과 소통하는 가장 자연스럽고 의미있는 통로이다. 이를 즐기고 아낀다. 시인이 전문은 아니지만 시를 사랑하고 시를 통하여 나의 이야기를 하고자 한다. “너는 먼지다”라는 시집은 도덕경에 바탕을 두고 썼으며 몇년 전에 출간하였다. 조금의 반응은 있었고 많이 고무되었다. 그걸로 한국시집은 처음이자 마지막이라 생각했다. 그런데 또 다른 작은 시집을 마련하게 되었다. 나도 모르게, 자연스레.

이 시집은 나의 지난 날의 학문여정을 반영하며 개인적인 관심사인 태초와 우주, 그리고 우리의 불안정한 삶과 죽음의 문제를 다룬다. 이것은 나의 불완전한 시이며 이야기이다. 여기에 실린 사상은 오직 나의 불완전함을 전제로 이야기한다. 나는 누구를 설득하거나 내 것이 맞다고 말하지 않는다.

독자는 이것을 읽음으로서 자기와의 대화를 하길 바라고 자기의 이야기를 담아내길 기대한다.

시집: 태초와 나, 그리고 삶과 죽음 (paperback) | Read online (free)

Poem: Acorns

The Body is our ultimate destiny

What Remains: Why the Body Is Our Ultimate Destiny

—Yung Suk Kim, PhD

Strip away the job titles, the milestones, the accolades, and even the painful stumbles, and what are you left with?

When the noise of daily ambition fades, a quiet, undeniable truth remains: my body is the only thing that stays with me until the very end. Success will eventually leave me, or I will leave it behind. Failure, too, is a transient visitor that loses its sting over time. These metrics are fleeting social constructs—here today and redefined tomorrow. But my physical form is the constant companion of my consciousness. It is the sole medium through which I experience every breath, every joy, and every moment of existence on this earth.

Sowing Today for Tomorrow's Architecture

There is a literal, biological law at play in our everyday lives: what we sow for our body today shapes our future body. Every cell in our physical form is in a continuous state of renewal. How we nourish ourselves, how we move, how we rest, and how we handle stress today serve as the literal blueprints for how we will inhabit the world tomorrow. Caring for the body isn't merely a routine maintenance task or a superficial pursuit—it is an investment in the very architecture of our future agency.

The Myth of Separation

We often live as though the mind and body are separate—as if the mind is merely a tenant renting space in a temporary house. But human experience is deeply embodied. How we think, feel, create, and love is tethered to the vitality of our physical vessel. Tending to the body is honoring the ground upon which all our mental and emotional life rests.

Honoring the True Destiny

Realizing that our body is our ultimate destiny brings a profound sense of peace. It frees us from chasing external horizons at the expense of our health. When success and failure lose their tight grip on our self-worth, we are returned to the quiet dignity of the simple, tangible present: breathing, walking, resting, and caring.

Ultimately, taking care of you body isn't about vanity; it is about honoring the one home you are guaranteed to live in for the entirety of your life.

Reflection Question:

When you look at your daily routines today, are you sowing seeds for the body you want to inhabit tomorrow?

Silent Eloquence

Houseplants are my love,
my companions, and my inspiration.
Wordlessly,
they speak to me with eloquence.
Their beauty is unparalleled—
far beyond a thousand fine garments.
Gently, I water them,
look upon them, and feel their touch.

  

  

Day 10: Living in the Tension (The Art of Being Time-Bound)

Reflection Question

We are time-bound beings who experience both physical decay and profound cognitive hope. How does accepting your temporal limits actually free you to live more fully today?

Day 9: Memory, Narrative, and Tradition (The Living Past)

 

Day 8: Apocalyptic Time

Reflection Question:

When you let go of the idea that a future event or timeline will "fix" your current struggles, how does that change your approach to your own mental health and trauma processing today?

Day 7: Immanent Eternity

Reflection Question:

If we stop looking for the divine in miraculous interruptions and start looking for it in the ordinary laws and rhythms of life, where do you see the sacred showing up in your daily routine?

Once Again, Pistis Christou: The Case of Galatians 2:20

Yung Suk Kim, PhD

Galatians 2:20

• NA27 GREEK: ζῶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγώ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός· ὃ δὲ νῦν ζῶ ἐν σαρκί, ἐν πίστει ζῶ τῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντός με καὶ παραδόντος ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ.
• NRSVue: "...and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
• NIV: "...and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
• My Translation: "...and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

What exactly does Paul mean when he uses the Greek genitive phrase pistis Christou?

Traditionally, this phrase has been rendered as an objective genitive, meaning the believer's faith in Jesus. However, critical Pauline scholarship has increasingly leaned toward the subjective genitive, translating it as Christ's faith or faithfulness.

The primary argument for this reading is that throughout his authentic letters, Paul establishes a consistent pattern of emphasizing Christ's own work and faithfulness. Paul's overarching view is that Jesus, as the Son of God, manifested God's righteousness through his own faithful obedience, not merely by being a passive object of our belief.

The Precedent in Romans
Take Romans 3:22 as a prime example. Here, we see a clear formula dividing the work: "the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ for all who believe." This phrasing suggests that the believers' faith is modeled after and dependent upon Jesus's faith.

In this single verse, there are two distinct forms of faith at play: Jesus's and the believers'. If Paul had meant only the believer's faith, appending the phrase "for all who have faith" would be entirely redundant. Furthermore, if Paul simply wanted to describe a believer's faith in Jesus, he easily could have used the prepositional phrase en (like "in" in English) combined with the noun pistis. Instead, he uses the genitive form. Romans 3:26 further reinforces this subjective reading: God justifies the one who has "the faith of Jesus," rather than the one who has "faith in Jesus."

(I have discussed these grammatical and theological points at length in my previous works, including How to Read Paul and A Theological Introduction to Paul's Letters. See my publications)

The Decisive Case of Galatians 2:20
When we bring this framework to Galatians 2:20, the verse becomes one of the most decisive indicators of the subjective genitive.

Paul’s central point here is crystal clear: he is no longer the active agent. He has been crucified with Christ, and it is now Christ who lives in him.

Notice how Paul parallels the preposition en ("in") twice: he lives "in the flesh" (en sarki) and "in the faith" (en pistei). He continues to exist physically in the flesh, but he no longer decides or acts on his own autonomous behalf. Instead, he is sustained and animated by Christ's faith and love. This is why he declares, "I live in the faith of the Son of God."

I emphasize the preposition "in" to illustrate that Paul is enveloped by and living by means of Christ's faith. Christ is living in him, empowering his very existence. If we read this verse in the traditional objective sense ("by my faith in the Son of God"), it creates a glaring theological awkwardness. How can Paul claim that his own autonomous faith is the driving force if his ego has just died on the cross and he is "no longer living"? The faith that animates the believer must be the faith of the Son of God.

Conclusion
The more I reflect on Paul's letters, the more convinced I am of the subjective sense of pistis Christou. Frankly, it is a profound theological loss if we fail to recognize the vital importance of Jesus's own faith in bringing about God's righteousness.

It is time to reconfigure Paul's theology in its proper, original context—and by doing so, we can constructively relive the faith of Christ in our own time.

Day 6: Chronos and Kairos

Reflection Question Options:

What "season" of life are you currently in, and where might you be causing yourself unnecessary suffering by fighting against it instead of practicing radical acceptance?

Publications in one page

Day 5: Time and Mental Health

 Reflection Question: 

When you feel most stressed or overwhelmed, where does your mind tend to go—are you occupied by the past, or worrying about the future? How can you gently bring yourself back to the decisive present?

Day 4: Cognitive Time

Reflection Question:
Think of a deeply meaningful memory. How do your intellect (the facts of the event), your emotion (how it felt), and your volition (how it shapes your current choices) work together to keep that past moment alive in your present?

Jesus and Paul: Shared Visions, Divergent Paths

Long ago—perhaps ten years ago—I first envisioned a book on Jesus and Paul. Since then, I have occasionally revisited the idea and even drafted an initial proposal, but I held back because the project didn’t yet feel ripe. Recently, however, the idea has resurfaced with renewed clarity and appeal. My plan is to critically examine both figures through their theological teachings, their relationship to tradition, and their core similarities and differences. Most importantly, I want to explore their distinct personalities and leadership styles.

Day 3: The Arrow of Time (Entropy and Renewal)

Reflection Question: 

If my life is a temporary "localized rebellion" against the universe's drift toward disorder, what specific kind of order, beauty, or love am I choosing to build with my limited energy today?

A new book project on science, religion, and faith

I am slowly yet steadily developing a future book project that addresses a broader scope than my previous work: the intersection of science, religion, and faith. The tentative title is The Horizon of Trust: Science, Religion, and the Practice of Faith in an Uncertain World. The fundamental objective of this book is to explore the nature of belief and trust in an age of reason and scientific dominance coupled with existential crisis. This volume demonstrates that science and faith are not mutually exclusive; instead, it reframes the discourse on faith through an interdisciplinary lens, arguing that we can—and should—hold science and faith in creative tension. Ultimately, this book seeks to answer what it means to live meaningfully in a scientific era marked by profound uncertainty.

Day 2: The Definition of Time

Reflection Question: 

If the physical universe is driven by entropy and the constant flux of anicca (impermanence), how might accepting decay and change as fundamental laws—rather than failures—alter my relationship with control and attachment?