Summit Trails Theory by Kim Kyung-Jae

 

A Korean student who graduated from the theology department at Kosin University entered the graduate school of theology at Hansin University. One day, a professor of systematic theology invited him with some friends to his home on campus.

 

The professor asked one from Kosin University why they, who graduated from a conservative and orthodox theological institution, would enroll in a modern and liberal theological school to study to become a pastor. The student replied, "To spread the Gospel of Christ so that people may believe in Jesus as Christ and receive eternal salvation."

 

The professor asked, "So, does that mean that those who do not believe in Jesus cannot be saved?" While the student hesitated, the professor raised his voice and yelled at him, "Are you saying that your ancestors, who died without believing in Jesus, are now in hell while you alone will go to heaven?" The student later told the writer about this conversation.

 

Dr. Kim Kyung-Jae (born 1942), a Korean, is a religious pluralist. He taught systematic theology at Hansin University's Graduate School of Theology for 35 years before retiring. In his book, "The Nameless God" (2002), he criticizes exclusive and selfish Christianity, which blames all of our ancestors for being in hell because they did not know about Christianity and did not hear the name of Jesus.

 

Kim argues that such teachings condemn our ancestors to eternal damnation, and he condemns this viewpoint. The hostility towards religious pluralism as the denial of non-truth is what, in his view, portrays God as narrow-minded, aggressive, merciless, and devoid of compassion. He believes that many theologians and pastors in Korea lack the courage to teach religious pluralism to their congregations, leading to ignorance and confusion in the Korean church.

 

When Pastor Cho Yong-Ki of Yeouido Full Gospel Church made the statement that "there is salvation in Buddhism" during a lecture at DongKuk University's Graduate School of Buddhism Management (May 12, 2004), Kim Kyung-Jae praised him for expressing his views honestly, even if belatedly. He described Cho's statement of religious pluralism as a significant turning point in Korean Christian history and an event that paved the way for interfaith cooperation.

 

According to Kim Kyung-Jae, Korean Protestant Christians are trapped in the "intense and exclusive monotheistic faith of the Bible." All historical religions, including Christianity, are paths to salvation formed and confessed in specific and concrete life contexts.

 

No religion, whether Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, or Islam, can claim to be superior to other religions. The leading cause of religious conflicts around the world is the exclusivity of Christianity, which manifested in narrow-mindedness, conservatism, theology of fundamentalism, biblical inerrancy, and the absolute authority of the Bible among Christian pastors and church members.

 

Kim believes that having an open heart and respect for other religions while intensely dedicating oneself to one's faith is the proper attitude of faith. Misunderstanding God as a finite being trapped in the number one is wrong. In that sense, we can testify to the ultimate and absolute truth that transcends all historical and finite things.

 

God is an existence without a name. God's name is the language humans have attached to God in their history, culture, climate, and environment. Names like God, Allah, Vairocana, Brahman, Hanulnim(heavenly one in Korean), Logos, Dao, and Taekuk were assigned.

 

These names represent interpretive responses in the form of the ultimate divine reality present in the lives of specific human communities. Laozi's statement in the "Tao Te Ching," which says, "The name that can be named is not the eternal name," implies that the 'one true god' is nameless.

 

Kim examines how the name of God has been used in strongly monotheistic religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism). He discusses the beliefs in God in Korean traditional religions such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Donghak, and Wonbulgyo(a Korean sect of Buddhism) and the meaning of their existence.

 

The concept of 'absolute truth', as contemplated by the Chinese philosopher Laozi, is not bound by written characters or spoken words formed throughout human history, nor is it limited to a singular god or the 'true way' (Tao). The different names of the one true God that have emerged throughout human history are all-encompassing.

 

According to Kim Kyung-Jae, the word "one" in monotheism does not represent the concept of "one" as a number but the ultimate and infinite reality, the cosmic transcendence. Therefore, thinking that one God, including Yahweh in Christianity, is superior to other gods is wrong. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in Judaism is the God of the Jewish people and has intrinsic continuity with the God of the Korean people.

 

Kim seeks to understand the gods of various religions comprehensively based on the philosophical concept of the "ultimate divine reality." However, he interprets God in Christianity in the laboratory of religious philosophy. The God described in the Bible is not one who can be fully analyzed as a finite being who underwent a process of salvation.

 

Kim criticizes conservative Christians in Korea for believing in foreign gods, imported gods, and exclusive sect gods. He condemns the claim of Jesus, "No one comes to the Father except through me," as a highly selfish and exclusive assertion. He believes that the lack of an open-hearted and inclusive attitude in Christianity is due to the solid and exclusive monotheistic faith in the Bible.

 

Kim believes that there are various paths to salvation. Just as different routes lead to the summit of a mountain, all human beings reach the same salvation through different religions. Every path leading to the summit of a mountain may have different winds, light, and variations in the mountain's shape and climate. However, once one reaches the summit, it is like a vast and profound energy that fills the entire world, connecting." The paths may differ, but they all lead to the ultimate divine reality. Regardless of religion, one can encounter the Divine and receive salvation.

 

The Junnam Presbytery of the Korean Christian Presbyterian Church ordained Kim Kyung-Jae as a minister of the Word of God. Hi has been training Presbyterian pastors since 1970. He advocates a salvational path entirely different from the path of Christianity. He denies the exclusivity of Christian salvation.

 

Kim Kyung-Jae's religious pluralism combines the arguments of Western religious pluralists, such as Karl Rahner's "Anonymous Christ," John Hick's "Theocentrism," Paul Knitter's "Theocentric Christology," and Raimundo Panikkar's "Universal Christology." It provides insights into what contemporary theology confesses about theology, Christology, and liberal Christianity.

 

Rev. Doug Choi, Ph.D., President of Peniel Theological Seminary, Busan, Korea