By Shim Jae-yun
Two noted pastors of gigantic churches have come under criticism for their inappropriate remarks that triggered conflict and public wrath. They described the disastrous earthquake and tsunami in Japan as God’s punishment for idolatry and the 5,000-year history of Korea as tainted with the sin of staying away from God.
Rev. Cho Yong-gi, senior pastor and founder of Yoido Full Gospel Church, invited criticism by alleging the catastrophe in Japan came as God’s stern warning against “going a-whoring after strange gods, rampant materialism and atheism in Japan.”
Rev. Gil Ja-yeon, chairman of the Christian Council of Korea, dubbed Korean history “idol worship.” Gil also caught the people by surprise when he had President Lee Myung-bak fall to his knees to pray during a National Assembly meeting.
Their remarks are all the more problematic as they had far-flung impact upon society, given their status as leaders of huge churches representing the Protestant sector of the nation.
Their statements seem to result from “exclusive fundamentalism” prevalent in the Christian community and the big churches have been taking a leading role in expanding this trend.
But critics point out that such aggressiveness and exclusivity undermines the harmony of the society while inviting further criticism from the people.
As Cho pointed out Japan lacks a Christian base and has a strong practice of worshipping indigenous gods. But does Japan deserve such huge damages because of this?
New Zealand, a devout Christian nation, earlier suffered devastation from a 6.2-magnitude earthquake which claimed tens of lives. And coincidentally enough the name of the disaster-stricken village was none other than Christchurch.
How will the two pastors explain this? Natural disasters occur in many regions around the world regardless of the religious differences.
According to Cho and Gil, their God seems to be a very narrow-minded being who horribly punishes people who are mostly innocent. This also violates the Bible’s teaching that “God is Love.”
Gil has been condemned by civic organizations over the allegation he used some 1 billion won to again become the head of his Christian organization. With compelling evidence the activists embarked on a campaign to disband the organization.
Cho’s family members, namely his wife and eldest son, face legal disputes with employees of the daily Kookmin-Ilbo, an umbrella newspaper of the Full Gospel Church, on charges of their alleged embezzlement in the process of managing the paper.
Korea is famous as a nation where diverse religions ― Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, and even native ones like Chondogyo ― coexist peacefully. Against this backdrop, Koreans tend to be generous toward one’s convert to other religions. This compares with other countries ― in Europe, Middle East and other regions ― where people rarely convert.
Christians have created a stir, breaking the religious peace and forming conflicts with other religions. Some have barged into temples and even Islamic countries to spread their Christian belief, totally neglecting the others’ belief.
But the Protestants show an allergic response to the moves by other religions to come here as seen in the case of Sukuk legislation. Fundamentalism shows little tolerance to other religions, stubbornly sticking to one’s own belief.
According to Wikipedia, the term idolatry originated from Christianity and Judaism to refer to “a material object, representing a deity, to which religious worship is directed. It is also controversially and pejoratively used by so-called iconoclasts to describe the Orthodox Christian practice of worshipping the Christian God through the use of icons, a charge which Orthodox Christians reject.”
As such, idolatry is a highly controversial and disputable concept. It means Christians themselves can be the target of criticism for idolatry. It seems more rational to define idolatry as a perverted perception in one’s own mind, which leads to fundamentalism and aggressiveness, thus endangering the ground of co-existence and peace. Now Cho and Gil are cordially asked to look back on the real idol in their heart instead of attacking others, especially those who are suffering extreme despair and deep sorrow due to natural disasters.