North Korean Defectors’ Angry Response To The North Korean Government’s Angry Response To The US State Department’s Angry Report (And Why None Of This Is Helpful)

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Pastor Foley

In Underground University class this past weekend Dr. Foley and I showed our students the video released by the North Korean government this week refuting the U.S. State Department’s allegations this week of egregious violations of religious freedom in North Korea.

The video is in Korean, but you don’t have to understand Korean to catch the gist of it. The video shows the newly renovated Chilgol Church, one of the four state church buildings (two Protestant, one Catholic, one Russian Orthodox) operated by the North Korean government. If you understand Korean, you’ll be able to hear the North Korean reporter explain that North Korean Christians have been afraid to worship openly because of U.S. bombing of North Korean church buildings during the Korean War. There’s also the “truer-than-he-knows” statement from Chilgol Church minister Baek Bong Il that

Our esteemed Premier [Kim Il Sung] taught us what Christians should believe, thus setting new ground for our religious lives.

The video is characteristically outlandish, and, predictably and understandably, raised considerable ire among our Underground University students. “We need to record a video in response, exposing these lies!” shouted one usually timid UU student, rising to her feet and slicing the air with emphatic gestures. “Complain to our pastors!” shouted another. “Denounce Baek Bong Il!” called a third.

But scripture is decidedly obtuse when it comes to dealing with our enemies. Consider a representative sampling:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12, NIV).

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matthew 5:44, KJV).

 

“Do what is beautiful to the one who hates you” is how the Aramaic Bible translates it.

Some of my colleagues tell me it is hard enough to get the people in their own country to even be aware of or pay attention to Christian persecution in other countries. True, sadly. But my colleagues and I also know that Hebrews 13:3 doesn’t stop at our raising awareness of atrocities committed against Christians. We know that scripturally it is not enough to simply change our Facebook icons to identify with Christians in Mosul. It may start there, but if it does not end with us returning blessings for cursings and doing what is beautiful to the ones who hate us, then we have prematurely aborted our trip down the rabbit hole.

As Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and Cho Man-Sik knew, following Jesus in loving our enemies does not mean avoiding mention of their sins while enjoying a warm communion repast and pleasant Bible study (more on that next week), but it is safe to say that if we loved our friends the way many Christians love their enemies, most of our friends would rather we not love them.

That’s why at Underground University we are asking the students: What would it mean scripturally to bless Baek Bong Il? What would it look like to do what is beautiful to Chilgol Church without our being in league with it? How do we raise awareness of atrocities and identify with our suffering North Korean Christian brothers and sisters not only without demonizing their persecutors but with loving them the way we love ourselves?

For that, there is only one Facebook symbol.

Cross-FS

 

Posted in Bible, Doing Good, Forgiving and Reconciling, North Korea, persecution | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Video – How Do We React When Our Sin Is Exposed?

Posted on August 1, 2014 by tdillmuth

Pastor Tim Dillmuth notes that when confronted with their sin, many Christians try to defend themselves, deny their sin, or even succumb to deep depression.  In 1 Timothy 1:15-17, we see how the Apostle Paul took a completely different approach.  Paul identified himself as the worst of sinners.  Paul wasn’t exaggerating but rather was admitting to what was clearly true – he had persecuted Christians, thus persecuting Christ himself!

To listen to the full sermon and other Seoul USA Podcasts, visit the Seoul USA Podcast Page!

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What’s More Important Than Protecting Your Childrens’ Right To Read The Bible During School Recess?

Posted on July 30, 2014 by tdillmuth


Recently young Giovanni Rubeo was refused access to his Bible during his school’s free reading time.  I was interested to learn more about his response to his teacher in light of the theology of persecution and suffering we teach to North Korean defectors who are training to be missionaries to their own people.

Last week I shared with them the above video and asked them what they thought about Rubeo’s situation. I thought it would be helpful for the defectors to compare/contrast Rubeo’s response with how Scripture tells us to respond.

Surprisingly, all of the North Korean defectors agreed that Rubeo was indeed being persecuted for his faith.  They noted that the persecution wasn’t extreme and wasn’t physical in nature, but that nonetheless it was persecution.

But there was also a consensus in the class that young Rubeo and his father didn’t respond quite right to the persecution.

In The Shadow of the Cross, by Glenn Penner, points out that Scripture models three primary responses to persecution.

Flee – There are certain times when the Bible says that it is appropriate to flee or run away from persecution. The reason for the “fleeing” is important though, because the Bible never tells us to run away from persecution only for the purpose of avoiding suffering. God’s mission and God’s timing are always the most important things to consider. A good example of this are the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:23. He says,

When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes (Matthew 10:23).

Jesus tells his followers to escape to another city, not because he is seeking to save them from having to suffer, but because his mission was for them to go from city to city telling the people about Jesus. If they were to get trapped in one city then they wouldn’t be able to spread God’s message to the other cities that Jesus wanted them to go.

Courage – This is the most common response to persecution that we see in the Bible. For example, shortly after Jesus suffered, died and rose again, He gave a surprising command to his followers. He told them to “stay in Jerusalem,” (Acts 1:4) which was the very place where all of these terrible things had happened. I’m sure his followers may rather have received a command from him to flee to another town or village where they might have been safer, but Jesus told them simply to stay.

Fight – There are also times when it is okay to defend yourself. Jesus at one point in his suffering defended himself, not to protest his suffering but rather as a testimony to his innocence.  The Apostle Paul is also a good example. Paul was regularly being persecuted and thrown in prison for telling others about Jesus Christ. One time, however, Paul told one of the high officials that they didn’t have the right to arrest him and that he had done nothing wrong.

But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar (Acts 25:10-11).”

Again, it’s important to point out that Paul never fought in order to avoid suffering or even to maintain his own personal liberty. And it’s interesting to note that he didn’t even fight for his right to engage in private Christian activity, e.g., studying the Bible in public school.  He did it to spread the message about which he was preaching.

After watching the video, the UU students felt that Rubeo had most closely resembled the “fight” response mentioned above.  But the students (and myself) were uncomfortable with the way the Rubeos demanded an apology from the teacher.

Personally, I respect the courage that it took for young Rubeo to read his Bible in school, but I also sense that the outrage the Rubeo’s expressed had less to do with spreading the gospel and more to do with personal liberty.

The Bible promises that if we truly follow God, we will be persecuted, but my challenge to you is to respond to persecution, (flee, courage or fight) with an aim to make disciples by proclaiming the gospel and not simply with an aim to protect your right to be a disciple.

Posted in North Korea, persecution, Videos | Tagged , , | 5 Comments