Chrisitianity in Korea

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Nimble fingers, no editor, no spell check, and no idea how to edit a thread: pardon the misspelling--Chrisitianity should read Christianity

Well the evening news bares it out--there are devout, faithful Christians in Korea, and some of these fatihful have found their way into the arms of Afgan rebels. The story has been on the news for the last couple of days, and I haven't seen any post on the topic--so why not start one.

The news articles and reports confirm what I have observed in my few years in LA. Before coming to LA if asked if there were any major populations of Christians in East Asia, I'd have answered yes--in Vietnam Catholicism is a vestige of the French colonial system, practiced by many in exile and now more openly under relaxed communist party policy; and there are of course our Filipino Catholic friends who also can claim their devotion in part to the wonderous work of our good friends los Espa~oles. I knew there were Korean Christians and Christian like cults--not intended to offend all my Moonie friends, but I had not realized the important role Christianity played in the lives of such a large number of Koreans.

Since being here in LA, it would seem many a local city with a Korean population has at least one Korean Church, if not more. I've been to about seven one year birthady celebrations--a time for great feasting and honoring as I gather in Korean tradition--at these Churches, and it is not uncommon to see a group of Korean Christians singing and sharing the good word outside of the USC library on Saturday mornings as I drop my daughter off at Spanish school. From what I have observed Korean Christians are into the good word, and willing to go and press the flesh to ensure others' salvation.

In class when we discussed Korea it was mentioned in passing that Korea had a good deal of Christians, and in part the poularity of Christianity can be tied somewhat to Korean nationalist struggles. For instance Korean Christians were persecuted to the extreme by the Japanese during the annexation of Korea. A rather ironic twist, since it seems that in the 15th century it was the invading Japanese, many of whom where Christian, who brought some of the first Catholic Jesuits to minister to them.

What I always wanted to know was: why are most the Korean churches Presbyterian and Methodist. From my informal observation these two denominations seem to dominate the Korean church scene. I had always suspected it had to do with American missionaries during the third Great Awakening of the late 19th and early 20th century when many an American missionary ventured forth into the lands of colonial powers to minister to and save the masses. Some quick research confirmed my thoughts. I include the link to an intersting history of Christianity in Korea:

http://www.kimsoft.com/1997/xhist.htm.

My new question about Korean Christians is: 1) Is it safe to say that many a Korean Christian is a believer in a fatih system that is heavily influenced by a cultural history of oppression and struggle? 2) Does this history of struggle influence Korean Christians to fulfill the aims of the Social Gospel they were taught by early American missionaries--i.e. the righting of worldy troubles and indescretions (war, pverty, licor, gambling, etc. by applying Christian doctrine) in hopes of salvation during the second coming?

Could this be why the unfotunate, selfless, ultra-faithful Korean women and men now find themselves in trouble?

Love to hear your thoughts.[Edit by="chellmold on Jul 23, 6:53:47 PM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="chellmold on Jul 27, 7:02:54 PM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="chellmold on Jul 29, 12:38:17 AM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="chellmold on Jul 29, 2:12:30 PM"][/Edit]

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