hankyoreh

Well-known Korean philosopher and critic Do-ol Kim Young-oak’s arguments against the literal interpretation of the Bible and in support of doing away with the Old Testament have sparked controversy. He made these comments in a lecture broadcast over the Internet as well as during an interview with the Hankyoreh. The Head of the Christian Council of Korea described his campaign as "a conspiracy to slander the church" and Catholic bestselling author Father Cha Dong-yeob has also vocally criticized Do-ol.

In an interview with the Hankyoreh on February 13, Do-ol said:

"The Old Testament describes a contract made between the Israelites and their G-d Jehovah, that if they believed only in him he would free them from Egypt and take them to Canaan, the land of milk and honey." [Note: vowel has been omitted due to the belief in Jewish tradition of the inability to know the "name" of the higher power.]

Do-ol continued, "The New Testament on the other hand, with the advent of Jesus, describes a new contract, invalidating the old one."

In regards to this position, the Christian Council of Korea declared that "it is a mistake to speak of the Bible as if it only refers to the New Testament."

Do-ol asserted that the early Church also seriously considered doing away with the Old Testament, but decided to keep it around for reference in regard to ceremonies. "In the Book of John" he said, "Jesus asks whether his followers believe in the laws of Moses or in himself. If you think that the faith of the Israelites is that of Christianity, you better think again. If you believe in the laws of Moses, then convert to Judaism. [A Christian following the laws of Moses] is like a modern day [Christian] Korean devoting himself to seong hwang dang, a sacred site for shamanism in Korea."

Do-ol declared that he would be more than happy to engage in public debate with a representative from the conservative Christian community. Facing the old age of 60, he declared his desire to walk the straight and narrow path, and start a revival while he is at it, shrugging off any criticisms.

Father Cha Dong-yeop said during a broadcast on the Catholic radio program Today’s Open World, hosted by Jang Seong-min, that "one cannot simply cut off history. History develops amidst continuity and ruptures with the past. It is the height of ungratefulness to simply get rid of that which served as the scaffolding for advances." Father Cha added that "it would seem that in attempting to expand upon his own view of the cosmos, Do-ol has decided to rebut the conventional views on divinity and the cosmos.

Though Do-ol’s assertions first brought criticism from the conservative Protestant Church, Catholics have also been sensitive to his remarks. In his recent meetings with presidential Candidates, Cardinal Jeong Jin-seok has presented them with copies of his book, "Leader of Israelite Liberation, Moses" and asserted to them, "Moses is the best leader in the history of mankind." This shows just how highly Korean Catholics regard the Old Testament.

Yet Do-ol asserted that "believing in Moses is no different from believing in seong hwang dang." Moreover, he said, "the first Catholics in this country converted of their own volition, but with the influx of imperialistic missionaries, the original Catholic life force here was trampled over." As evidence, he referenced the excommunication of Korean hero An Jung-geun and the lack of a single Catholic among the 33 leaders of the 1919 March 1st Independence Movement.

Many other scholars of divinity have entered into the debate.

Visiting scholar at the Christian Culture Research Center at the College of Theology at Yonsei University, Lee Sang-seong wrote in the online newspaper Oh My News that "[Do-ol] probably evaluated the Old Testament that way as its contents are cruel and unethical, primarily related to the history of the Jews. However, those who lived as slaves in Egypt were less ethnic Hebrews than Habirus under oppression, and we should view the contract offered by G-d not as one of liberating the Hebrews, but rather one applicable between any man or creator and any person in need of liberation."

Seoul Theological University Professor of Theology Yun Cheol-won criticized in the Kookmin Ilbo the view expressed by Do-ol that "the Bible is less fact than gospel." He explained that "in order to write about Jesus, the authors of the gospel such as Josephus and Philo, carefully chose which incidents to include, and so it is not surprising that there is some difference in their writings. However, it is nonsense to go so far as to declare their records to be completely different.

While expressing opposition to Do-ol’s criticism of the Old Testament, Professor Kim Gyeong-jae asserted in an interview with the Hankyoreh that "Do-ol’s criticism must be listened to, to the extent that we must escape from political messianism concerned with worldly riches and recover the original essence of Christianity, which can be found in charity and a community of service." Though this assertion of Do-ol’s found great sympathy in cyberspace, experts are conflicted.

Emeritus Professor at Hanshin University Kim I-gon wrote to the Hankyoreh in regards to the proposition that Do-ol can become the Martin Luther or Calvin of Korean Christianity. Within his letter, he said it was reasonable to suspect Professor Kim Gyeong-jae for "being a sort of scholarly lackey [to Do-ol.]"

Ryu Sang-tae of the Saegil Institute for Christianity and Culture criticized Kim Gyeong-jae for a separate reason. In regards to Kim’s letter to the Hankyoreh, he wrote "the revelations of the heavens and the limits of man are contained in the Bible, but to believe that all atrocities, contradictions, and self righteousness are a product of divine revelation, as well, is to make religion into an opiate. I wonder the reason why Professor Kim does not clearly write about the limits of the Bible," he wrote.

Do-ol plans to release a book in May containing his interpretation of the Bible, entitled "Understanding of the Christian Bible." Debate will no doubt ensue.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]