Western Christianity's Biggest Problem: A Narrow Understanding of Faith

 

Knowing the dominant form of Western Christianity was influenced by Augustine and Luther, we must point out the weakness of these Christian theologians who failed to see the diverse aspects of faith in the New Testament. So much so their understanding of faith and salvation is very limited. It may be summarized as follows: 
1) Individual salvation or justification: imparted or imputed righteousness (forensic salvation); 

2) Introspective, inner faith out of guilt rather than public faith; 

3) Invading, exclusive gospel: colonialism and exclusivism. 

But the prevailing aspects of Christian faith have to do with “participatory faith,” as in the four Gospels and Paul’s 7 undisputed letters. There are also other minor aspects of faith: faith as knowledge, faith as works, and faith as a conviction.

"Race, Ethnicity and the Gospels"

 Finally, my article "Race, Ethnicity and the Gospels" was accepted for publication.

Atonement theology and Paul

Jesus's death is not required for atonement; it is unwanted yet unavoidable because of his testimony to God's righteousness. Not his death as such but his life and death together prove that he was faithful to God. God considers Jesus to be the place of reconciliation because of his faithfulness. Jesus--not his sacrifice--is the locus of reconciliation that humans must come to participate in his faithfulness. The radical concept of atonement requires human participation in Jesus's life and death.


For more about this idea of atonement theology, see my book:

Jesus as the Locus of Reconciliation: Paul's Theology of Atonement

Body metaphor

Are those who insist that Paul's body metaphor is about unity/concord (homonoia) different from white supremacists? Does Paul talk about unity at all? Or does he talk about the status of a union that embraces solidarity and diversity?

   

Faculty Spotlight Interview

 

Yung Suk Kim is Associate Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Virginia Union University. Dr. Kim received a Ph.D. in New Testament study from Vanderbilt University and an M.Div from McCormick Theological Seminary. He was a recipient of the Lilly Theological Scholars Grant for research on John's Gospel in the context of pluralism (2011) and also received a research fellowship from Wabash Center and researched transformation and the Bible. In 2013, he also received a presidential citation for outstanding service and unselfish commitment from the VUU (2013). He also received the Scott & Stringfellow Outstanding Professor Award from Virginia Union University (2019). Dr. Kim is the author of 15 books and edited two volumes. His most recent book is How to Read Paul: A Brief Introduction to His Theology, Writings, and World (Fortress, 2021). He also co-authored Toward Decentering the New Testament with Mitzi Smith (Cascade, 2018). This is the first introductory text to the New Testament written by an African American woman biblical scholar (Mitzi J. Smith) and an Asian-American male biblical scholar.

QUOTES from Yung Suk Kim

"A good teacher satisfies students, a wonderful teacher teaches what they need, and an ideal teacher teaches them with love, helping them to teach themselves" (Yung Suk Kim, 4/8/2021).

"A good student follows the teacher's instruction, a remarkable student asks critical and self-critical questions, and a formidable student knows that learning is limitless" (Yung Suk Kim, 4/8/2021).

"A good author satisfies readers, an admirable author stimulates their interest, and an exceptional author creates new needs for them" (Yung Suk Kim, 4/7/2021).

"I am not a pure academician who is merely digging in the past as if I have the truth about it. Even history is not obvious; it must be interpreted carefully. I am a bit of everything: historian, theologian, humanist, realist, lover of wisdom, and advocate of justice and love." --from my YouTube video: https://youtu.be/VRF4zmee5uE

"I don't admire an ivory tower thinker, let alone a shallow thinker with a big mouth" (Yung Suk Kim, 4/15/2021).

“Truth is more than trustable knowledge; it is deeply experiential, confessional, and contextual. It should be engaged in a community that he or she lives, embodied in a world ... requires a life that engages the way.” --Yung Suk Kim, Truth, Testimony, and Transformation (Cascade Books, 2013).

What is New Testament Theology?

 

“New Testament theology involves both what the New Testament says about God, the Messiah, and the world, and how the reader evaluates, engages, or interprets diverse yet divergent texts of the New Testament, including difficult, sexist, and oppressive texts. The reader’s task is not merely to discern what is good and acceptable in the New Testament, but also to surface its limitations by examining early Christians’ disparate positions about God, the Messiah, and the world.” --Yung Suk Kim, Resurrecting Jesus: The Renewal of New Testament Theology

"I am not a pure academician who is merely digging in the past as if I have the truth about it. Even history is not obvious; it must be interpreted carefully. I am a bit of everything: historian, theologian, humanist, realist, lover of wisdom, and advocate of justice and love." --from the video

Textual criticism matters!

Textual criticism matters! An example is John 1:18: “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known” (NRSV). In this verse, there are variants of a Greek phrase; so "God the only Son" is not the only option. Variants include:
(1) ho monogenēs huios (“the only begotten son”)
(2) monogenēs theos (“the begotten God”)
(3) ho monogenēs theos (“the only begotten God”)
(4) ho monogenēs (“the begotten one”)


Which one do you go for? Why?


I prefer option (1): ho monogenēs huios (“the only begotten son”)


1. This form of “the only begotten Son” goes well with 3:16 & 3:18.


“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (3:16).


”Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (3:18).


2. This form also fits the Johannine theology of Jesus's embodiment of the Logos (1:14; 3:16; 14:6).


-The Logos became flesh (1:14), which means Jesus embodies the Logos.
-Jesus as the Son of God was sent by God to do the work of God: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (3:16).
-“I am” sayings of Jesus as the description of Jesus’s work (for example, 14:6).


Regarding my view of Christology in John's Gospel, see my book Truth, Testimony, and Transformation.

"It is finished"

Jesus said the last word in John 19:30:

"When Jesus had received the wine, he said, 'It is finished.' Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

What is finished? How? This is a critical interpretation question. What do you think? My interpretation is to read Jesus as the Logos incarnate.

Walking Trails and Thanking God

 

I love to walk trails and listen to birds singing. I walk and feel pensive. Sometimes I write a book while walking. I thank God for seeing the beauty of nature and walking peacefully without falling down. I notice colorful flowers and fallen trees and logs. Nothing in nature stays the same. They all change according to seasons. We also change.