"Why some anxiety is good, even though it feels bad"

I was listening to the NPR program "On Point" and the topic was anxiety. Anxiety as an emotion brings data about uncertainties in life. The key is how we can use it wisely, developing life skills.

*Excursus 

1) Anxiety is an emotion caused by uncertainties in life.
2) Stress is extreme tension/feeling caused by one's situation that one can hardly find options to deal with it. 
3) Affliction includes all kinds of hardships, tragedies, and difficulties in life. 

Wisdom

My working definition of wisdom:

 
"Wisdom is practical, insightful knowledge, experience, attitude, life skills, or abilities conducive to wise living in various contexts. It responds to complex human conditions and deals with all spheres of life. It has existed ever since humanity lived, but its manifestations differ from culture to culture." (Yung Suk Kim)

 

Meditation on 1 Cor 12:12-27: Deconstruction and "the Body of Christ"

My alternative interpretation of 1 Cor 12 may be summarized as follows: 

Paul's point is not that the church is the body of Christ but that "you (ὑμεῖς, plural "you") are the Christic body." The key is the ethical union with Christ, not merely existential or mysterious relationships with him. That is, the Corinthians must follow Christ and honor one another. Then, they can maintain a Christ-like community. Christ is not the owner of the church, but its foundation. The point is not mere membership to the church but impregnable participation in Christ and his faith. --From my talk on "Deconstruction and the body of Christ"

Also see my books: Christ's Body in Corinth and How to Read Paul.

Cross-cultural Wisdom

Simple truth
-Jesus: “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you, for this is the Law and the Prophets" (Golden Rule, Matt 7:12).
-Hillel: "What is hateful to you, do not do to others. This is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary" (Talmud Shabbat 31a).
-Confucius: Zi Gong asked: “What is the single word that we can take as a moral guide for our whole life?” Confucius said, “Is it not reciprocity? What you don't desire don't impose on others” (Analects 15:24). 子貢問曰。有一言而可以終身行之者乎。子曰。其恕乎。己所不欲、勿施於人。

Human-centered thought:
-Jesus: “The Sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:28).
-Confucius: The person unfolds the way; it is not the way that unfolds the person" (Analects 15:29). 子曰。人能弘道、非道弘人。

The Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being

I made the acronym SABAD (Security, Accomplishment, Belonging, Autonomy, and Dignity) to remember this diagram "The Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being," which was released by the US Surgeon General. 

*Source  

Paul's Gospel, Empire, and Race/Ethnicity: Through the Lens of Minoritized Scholarship

I am excited to finish editing the volume and submitted the final submission files to the publisher. I wrote in the Introduction: "Contributors to this volume represent diverse cultures and perspectives of Asian descent, African American heritage, and Latin American culture. This collective volume is the clarion call that biblical interpretation is not an arcane genre in the ivory tower but engages current issues in the real world of America, where we must tackle racism, the Western imperial gospel, and the rigid body politic." I hope many readers across the board will benefit from this book.

A Peek into the Table of Contents

 

1. Introduction
Yung Suk Kim

Part I. Paul, Gospel, and Empire
2. The Politics of Interpretation: Paul’s Gospel, Empire, and Race/Ethnicity
Yung Suk Kim
3. Paul the Apostle of the Nations and Pedro Albizu Campos, the Apostle of Puerto Rican Independence: A Comparative Study of Empire & Resistance
Efraín Agosto

Part II. Paul, Empire, and Race/Ethnicity
4. “Let This Mind Be in You”: Paul and the Politics of Identity in Philippians—Empire, Ethnicity, and Justice
Demetrius K. Williams
5. Mainstreaming the Minoritized: Galatians 3.28 as Ethnic Construction
Sze-kar Wan

Part III. Paul, Empire, and Community
6. The Pursuit of Impossible Hospitality: Reading Paul’s Philoxenia with Jacques Derrida
Jeehei Park
7. From Alienation to Inclusion: Reading Romans 3:21-26 from a Diaspora Lens
Ekaputra Tupamahu

New Testament Theology

In the gospels, Jesus's death is not for the forgiveness of sins. In Mark, forgiveness is possible through water baptism and repentance. Jesus was put to death by Rome because he challenged the status quo. His radical teaching of the kingdom of God, which embraces the most marginalized, brought him to death. He came to serve, not to be served (Mk 10:45). In Luke, Jesus's death is prophetic death, seeking out and saving the lost. In Matthew, Jesus's death is the result of his radical teaching of the law and his fearless proclamation of the kingdom of God. In John, Jesus's death is the result of his truth-speaking and living. See more about my view of Jesus and the New Testament: Resurrecting Jesus.

Paul deals with sin's problem in Romans. It may be overcome when persons die to it through "the body of Christ" (Rom 6:4). Here, "the body of Christ" may be understood as Christ's crucifixion. In other words, through the way of Christ who lived faithfully to embrace the love and justice of God, one can live away from sin or its power. Otherwise, Paul never says that Christ's death alone resolved sin's problem. Rather, Paul's logic is because Christ died, all who follow Jesus have to die with him. Then sin's power will be dismissed. Paul says in 2 Cor 5:14: "For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died." For more see Rereading Romans from the Perspective of Paul's Gospel or Rereading Galatians from the Perspective of Paul's Gospel. Jesus's death is the result of his faithful obedience to God, which means the cost of demonstrating God's righteousness (Rom 3:22). Also, see my latest book: How to Read Paul.

The Johannine Jesus is portrayed highly as close to divine. But the Fourth Gospel never claims that Jesus is God. Rather, Jesus says the one who sent him is greater than he. Also, he always makes it clear that he does the work of God. He does not do his work. His primary identity is the Son of God. Even when he says "the father and I are one," this does not mean that he is the same as God. It means "union" relationship between the two. If I say our family is one, it does not mean all members of my family are the same. The point is our family is united with the same love and solidarity. In the Fourth Gospel, there are lots of "embodiment" language by Jesus that can be understood metaphorically as his living of the Logos. That is, he embodies God's love in the world. "I am" sayings of Jesus, accordingly, must be understood as the description of his work, rather than as signs of his divinity. For more, see my book: Truth, Testimony, and Transformation.