In what respects was the Gulf War justifiable, in what respects was it not, and why, from a Christia

Introduction

        As most Christian thinkers believe, the appropriate attitude toward war is thought to be love--love for the need of neighbors and by the demand of God.  In this respect Christian love must satisfy two requirements: both for neighbors and  God.  It means that, when neighbors are in need of some help, a Christian should respond to them by love and her/his way of loving them satisfy what God really wants him/her to do.  Here the problem is that what way of loving is best is as much uncertain as what God really wants us to do.

        The uncertainty makes us have various attitudes toward war among which there, as Joseph L. Allen suggests in his book War: A Primer For Christians (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1991), are three main attitudes: the crusade, the pacifist, and the just-war.  What is the best way of Christian loving for neighbors in the case of the Persian Gulf War?  In my view the just war position is thought the best because it includes the consideration of the power of self-interest, the responsibility for the unjustly suffering neighbors, and the recognition of the necessity and limits of using force as love for them, while the first two positions cannot respond to the needs of neighbors adequately.¹⁾  For these reasons I believe that the just war theory is the most appropriate attitude toward the need of neighbors at wartime.

        Then, what are the criteria for the just war theory?  Although there are various views on, the just war tradition seems to have broadly two sets of moral criteria: the six or seven of "the jus ad bellum ('war-decision law,' the rules that determine when the resort to armed force is morally justified), and the two criteria of the jus in bello ('war-conduct law,' the rules that govern the justifiable use of armed force in combat)."²⁾  Either of two sets alone can never evaluate whether a war is justifiable or not, so the combination of them is necessarily required for the evaluation of war.  By examining the Persian Gulf War according to these just war criteria this paper seeks the answer to the topic question, "In what respects was the Gulf War justifiable, in what respects was it not, and why, from a Christian standpoint?"

I.      War-decision law

1.      Justifiable cause.       Iraq's attack on Kuwait was obviously unjust and barbarious to violate "the most fundamental norms of international public life"³⁾ in that it was done without a just cause and the declaration of war aims, in that after its occupation of Kuwait Iraq revealed the typical patterns of brutality which an aggressor nation may show,⁴⁾ and in that Iraq menaced an international peace and order in the Middle East.   Defenseless Kuwait called for help from the international community, and the United Nations under the leadership of the United States took charge of responding to the conflict between Iraq and Kuwait.  The intervention of the world allies in the conflict between Iraq and Kuwait has a justifiable cause in order to protect Kuwait people from the unjust attack from Iraq, to restore the Kuwaiti rights that have wrongly been taken away, and to reestablish the international peace and order in the Middle East surrounding Kuwait.⁵⁾

2.      Legitimate authority.     This principle is concerned mainly in whether the legal process in decision for going to war was legitimate or not.  This question may be constitutive of two subsequent questions: first, who was in the authoritative position to decide for waging war in the Persian Gulf, and then, what the authority did on the legal level.  First, the authority is each government of the coalition, not the United Nations because it is not a government.  Especially, important is the United States government because it took the lead in mobilizing the coalition, securing resolutions in the UN, and carrying out military actions.⁶⁾

        The use of the military power was authorized by the President of the United States, supported by its Congress, and sanctioned by the Security Council of the United Nations.  In addition, the action was continuously reassured by the relevant legitimate authorities.⁷⁾  In this respect, it is clear that the decision for waging the Gulf War was made by the legitimate authorities and according to the legitimate procedures.

3.      Last Resort.    The first issue here is whether the economic sanctions against Iraq⁸⁾ would have been effective in restoring the international disorder within a short term.  This is doubtful because in spite of the comprehensive sanctions Saddam Hussein was unwilling to alter his position.  Secondly, it can be asked whether five and half months was sufficient to bring about the peaceful resolution for the Kuwait incident instead of resorting to war.  This is a serious question because war should be avoided as far as possible. 

        It is not certain whether five and half months was sufficient to bring about the peaceful solution for the Kuwait incident instead of resorting to war.  But the United States and the coalition had clear reasons to resort to war: first, the prolonged process for the peaceful resolution might have strengthened Hussein's position in Kuwait; second, there was no advance in the negotiations between Iraq and the United States because of Iraq's insincerity and recalcitrance.  For this reason it seems to be appropriate for the United States and the coalition to resort to war after the failure in bring about the peaceful resolution for the Kuwait incident.

        Finally, it can be raised a question, "whether the diplomatic process was pursued with sufficient vigor and commitment."⁹⁾  The attitude of the United States and the coalition in negotiation with Iraq seems to have been vigorous and serious because they tried to contact with Iraq on both official and non-official channels.  On the contrary, Iraq seems to have been stubborn and calculated in that it asked the unjust demands such as a demand concerning the national border or the geographic division and shook off the continuous efforts of France to mediate between Iraq and the United States and the coalition right before the outbreak of war.  In this respect, the principle of last resort seems to have been well performed on the level which might be understood by the public.

4.      Declaration of war aims. George Bush, the President of the United States and the supreme commander of the coalition troops, declared that the war aim was to terminate hostilities and to impose restrictions upon "Iraq's ability to develop more weapons of mass destruction."¹⁰⁾  In this respect, the United States and the coalition fulfilled the principle of declaration of war aims.

5.      Proportionality of Ends. As Allen teaches in his book War, "this criterion prohibits resort to war if the evil effects of doing so will likely exceed the evil to be prevented (and the good to be attained) by going to war."¹¹⁾  In order to satisfy this criterion it needs to be asked "What would have happened if Iraq's aggression of Kuwait had not been checked by the coalition troops?"  The answer may be that Iraq might have been strengthened in his political-military position, that its infliction upon Kuwaiti rights, human and non-human, might have aggravated, and that its growing power have been a great threat to the just and peaceful order of the Middle East as well as the world community.  On the basis of these assumptions the evil effects of going to war would have not exceeded the evil committed by Iraq.  In this respect the Gulf War satisfies the principle of proportionality of ends.

6.      Reasonable chance of success.         The coalition troops were the collection of various troops and its ground forces were relatively less experienced in combat than the Iraq's.  In addition the weather condition of the desert was never favorable to the coalition troops.  However, its air forces was overwhelmingly superior to Iraq and its ground troops were supported by the high-tech weapons and the strategic defense system.  In this respect it seems that the coalition was in almost certain prospects of success.

7.      Right intention. According to Allen the principle of intention is constitutive of two respects: the motivation for going to war and the objective of such an action.¹²⁾  First, the issue of motivation may begin with the question whether the United States, as well as the coalition, was was solely noble as the President Bush mentioned at the beginning of the Persian Gulf War.¹³⁾  When taking into account the reality of international relations largely based on self-interest, we can hardly deny that the United States, as well as the coalition, was motivated by both the solidifying friendship with the victimized Kuwaiti and the national or supranational self-interest.

        For this reason some radical critics argue that the former motivation (friendship) is specious and the latter (self-interest) is real and conclude that the Gulf War was an unjust war totally motivated by national and supranational self-interest.  They believe that the United States has taken inconsistent policies concerning international conflicts in the sense that the United States didn't intervene in some international conflicts such as China's invasion of Tibet, Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan.   So they conclude that the Gulf War was waged entirely according to the prudently calculated self-interest, national or supranational.

        Behind this conclusion there may be two assumptions: first, that the stable order of the Middle East is directly related to self-interest, national or supranational; second, that the cost of waging war would not be high because Iraq is not so much powerful as China and the Soviet Union.  These assumptions are true in that self-interest is a basic motivation for all international relations.  But they are not sufficient to explain the United States' inconsistencies in dealing with international conflicts in that the inconsistencies may also be constituted by other reasons such as the different policy line of each President, domestic political situation, and the approval or disapproval by the Security Council of the United States.

        Especially it should be noted that the approval by the Security Council may be a significant variant in deciding whether to go to war or not.  For example, in the Korean War in 1950, the use of the military force against North Korea was approved by the Security Council because the representative of the Soviet Union was absent.  If he had been present, the representative would have vetoed a bill for the military action against North Korea and the United States could not have sent troops to South Korea.  In this respect it is certain that the United States, as well as the coalition, was motivated by both altruistic and self-interested causes, not totally by self-interest.¹⁴⁾

        Second, there seems to have been mainly two objectives of waging war: to liberate Kuwait from Iraq and to bring about more stable and peaceful order in the Persian Gulf.  Concerning the objectives the coalition seems to have been divided into three groups: one group took the former objective only; second group took not only the former objective but also the ambitious objective to aim at removing Hussein from his regime¹⁵⁾; and third took the middle of the first and the second group.¹⁶⁾  The United States finally seems to have taken two objectives of waging war as a compromise among three types: to drive out Iraq from Kuwait and to impose restrictions upon Iraq's weapons capability to bring about mass destruction.  Here the compromised objectives has the revised objective¹⁷⁾ of the ambitious¹⁸⁾.  The revise objective is less destructive (=more moral) and more reasonable¹⁹⁾ (=more realistic) than the ambitious one.  In this respect, the United States, as well as the coalition, had the right objective.

        On the basis of the motivation test and the objective, it can be, therefore, concluded that the Gulf War on the whole was rooted in right intention.

II.      War-Conduct Law

1.      The principle of discrimination.  According to Allen, this principle is concerned in the question: whether there were the direct and intentional attacks upon non-combatants.²⁰⁾  Unfortunately, the Gulf War made a multitude of civilian casualties even though the coalition troops used the high-tech weapons having high precision to focus on the aimed military targets and endeavored to concentrate on the clearly discerned military targets.  This irony seems to be derived from two reasons: first, Hussein's wicked tactics to camouflage the military facilities in the civilian areas; second, the UN troops' ignorance of it.  As a result in the Gulf War the bombing on some military targets seems to have been unintentional but direct attacks on non-combatants.

        In addition, the coalition air forces' attacks on the electricity and water supply were unintentional but direct attacks upon civilians.  First, the attacks on electricity are weak attacks upon civilians in that electricity is essential to modern life even if it may be one of the legitimate military targets.  Second, the attacks on the water supply are strong attacks upon non-combatants in that water is essential for human survival and water deficiency provokes the prevalence of diseases.  In this respect the principle of discrimination in the Gulf War were fulfilled unsatisfactorily.

2.      The principle of proportionality between means and ends.       This principle is concerned in the best achievement of the war aim by the least destruction of the enemy.²¹⁾  This seems to be the least accomplished principle in the Gulf War.  First, the war made too many casualties, both combatant and non-combatant.  If it is to be a just war, a war should try to minimize casualties of both our troops and the enemy's.  Then, the Gulf War was careless about this issue. 

        Second, the coalition air forces attacked the retreating Iraqi troops who did not surrender to it.  In a sense this attack seems to have been done according to the anxiety that the fleeing troops might be rearranged for the immediate threat to the coalition troops.  Of course, the soldiers who refuse to surrender may be legitimate military targets.  But in that situation it was unlikely that the retreating Iraqi troops would be the immediate and powerful threat to the coalition troops when the military overwhelming power of the coalition is taken into account. 

        Third, the coalition air forces attacked such infrastructures of Iraq as communication, electricity, and the water supply.  It is, of course, true that all these factors are directly and indirectly involved in Iraq's ability to wage war.  However, they are necessary for modern life.  Especially the attacks upon the water supply, as examined in the previous principle, resulted in the direct attack upon civilians.  When he discriminated Iraqi people the victims from Hussein the victimizer, George Bush implied that they had unjustly suffered by and should be liberated from the cruel oppression of Hussein.  Nevertheless, the United States and the coalition tried to harm Hussein by imposing new and unbearable sufferings upon the innocent victims.  For this reason the attacks upon such infrastructures is not different from the direct attacks upon civilians.  On the basis of three respects, the coalition troops deeply violated the principle of proportionality between means and aims.

Conclusion

       The Persian Gulf War well satisfies the seven criteria of war-decision law.  On the contrary, it was executed very unjustly to the extent that it deeply violated the principle of discrimination and of proportionality.  In this respect it is, therefore, concluded that in the just war criteria the Gulf War is basically just in determining to wage war but largely unjust in executing war because it was considerably cautious of applying the principle of discrimination and of proportionality to the War.

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1)       The crusade attitude toward war is an inadequate way of Christian love because it seeks the absolute justice without mercy by making use of irresponsible force upon the opposite side.  Allen's indication concerning this error can be summarized as follows: it ignores that the enemies also are our brothers and sisters in God's universal love; it forgets that all are involved in some degree of both good and evil before God; it expects an illusion that the perfect forms of peace or order can be brought in history; and it inflicts indiscriminate attacks upon the opposite side including civilians.  Joseph Allen, War: A Primer For Christians (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1991)        pp. 13-15.

        According to Allen the pacifists are classified into two: the pragmatic and the witnessing pacifists.  The former cannot respond to the needs of neighbors adequately for the following reasons, as Allen points out: it fails to see human nature as deeply and recalcitrantly sinful; it confuses the commandment of non-resistance in the Scripture with the spirit of non-violence; it tends to be victimized by the pretentious evils; and finally it inflates the efficaciousness of non-violence, as one of various ways of Christian loving, which may be effective only in some situations.      Ibid., pp. 24-27.

2)       George Weigel, "From Last Resort To Endgame: Morality, the Gulf War, and the Peace Process" in But Was It Just?: Reflections on the Morality of the Persian Gulf War, ed. by David E. Decosse (New York: Doubleday, 1992)  pp. 20-21.      It should be noted here that this paper selects the seven of the jus ad bellum as Joseph Allen does, while Weigel suggests six.

3)       Ibid., p. 20

4)       Concerning this point Richard B. Miller mentions: "Soon the international press and Amnesty International reported that occupying forces engaged in widespread destruction and looting of Kuwaiti property, including medical establishments and supplies.  Reporters also accused Iraqi forces of torturing and executing civilians, including children, detaining without trial hundreds of Kuwaiti citizens and deporting thousands more, and raping numerous Kuwaiti women before executing them"(War in the Twentieth Century: Sources in Theological Ethics, ed. by Richard B. Miller [Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/ John Knox Press, 1992], p. 441).

5)       Joseph L. Allen points out the types of just cause: "(1) to protect people from unjust attack, (2) to restore rights that have wrongly been taken away, and (3) to defend or reestablish a just political order"(Joseph L. Allen, War, p. 36).

6)       This is Allen's teaching on the issue of 'legitimate authority' in my first draft.

7)       Concerning this point George Weigel says: "At every significant decision point between August 2, 1990, and February 28, 1991, the United States engaged in extensive consultations with its principal allies, including major Arab states.  In short, the Gulf War was authorized, not just once, but in a continuing process of international agreement, by all the relevant 'competent authorities.'" (George Weigel, "From Last Resort To Endgame: Morality, the Gulf War, and the Peace Process" in But Was It Just?: Reflections on the Morality of the Persian Gulf War, p. 22)

8)       Here it may be asked, "Why did the United States put immediate pressure upon Iraq by the economic sanctions just two weeks after Iraq's occupation of Kuwait?"  It may be because the United States required to cut off the close connection between Iraq and Soviet Union in weapons, military training, and so on.           See: John Langan, "An Imperfectly Just War" in War in the Twentieth Century, p. 461.

9)       John Langan, S.J., "An Imperfectly Just War" in War in the Twentieth Century p. 460

10)      Ibid., pp. 458-9

11)      Joseph L. Allen, War    p. 41.

12)      Joseph Allen, War       p. 43

13)      George Bush says of the liberation of Kuwait: "the principle of a just war is that it support a just cause.  Our cause could not be more noble" (But Was It Just?, p. 129).

14)      In addition, to seek self-interest is not always evil.  Really evil is to seek self-interest consistently over against, at the expense of, other's.  See chapters 10 and 12 of the book, Essential Reinhold Niebuhr: Selected Essays and Addresses, ed. by Robert McAfee Brown(Hew Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1986).

15)      According to John Langan, this type was supported by "Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States" (John Langan, "An Imperfectly Just War" in War in the Twentieth Century, p. 461). 

16)      Langan says that this type was supported by "France, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union" (Ibid.).

17)      The revised objective is to impose restrictions upon Iraq's weapons capability to bring about mass destruction.

18)      The ambitious objective is to remove Hussein from his regime.

19)      Here the word 'reasonable' implies two connotations: first, 'having reasonable prospects of success.'

20)      Allen, War pp.43-45.

21)      Ibid., p. 46.

Preaching Clinic for Laity: Focused on Lay Leadership Development

1. Title

Preaching Clinic for Laity: Focused on Lay Leadership Development

2. Problem

Lubbock Korean UMC has had seven pastors for nineteen years. Subtracting the vacant period when the former pastor went and a new pastor came, the average pastoring period of each pastor is less than three years. From the beginning the majority of the congregation has been TexasTech students. The mobility of pastor and laity has made it difficult for the laity to have any leadership development program. Consequently the lay ministry of Lubbock Korean UMC is so weak and underdeveloped. That is the point of the problem.

3. Purpose

The purpose of this project is to describe and evaluate the preaching clinic for Lubbock Koreans focused on lay leadership development. Gifts, talents, and interests may be different from person to person. The discipleship-making program of Lubbock Korean UMC has been developed in threefold: the first and basic program is the 'New Life Class' designed for the confirmation of faith and an incentive toward effective lay ministry; the second the 'Bible Teaching Class' for bible teachers; and finally t the third the 'Preaching Clinic' for lay speakers. Among the four programs this project will be focused on the Preaching Clinic program for Lubbock Koreans and deal with how lay leadership has been developed among them.

4. Scope

⑴. General Research:

a. Collect the materials concerning discipleship, lay leadership, and preaching. 

b. Investigate the materials concerning Korean immigrants in general and concerning

   Lubbock Koreans in particular.

c. Read all materials.

⑵. Planning:

a. Establish the period of the program.

b. Make student texts and preaching materials for the program.

c. Preparing questionnaire.

⑶. Action

a. Distribute the first questionnaire concerning lay leadership. The questionnaire will be used  

   for the data to find out whether there is any process after the Preaching Clinic program.

b. Distribute the curriculum of preaching clinic and inform the program through bulletins, 

   brochures, and newsletters.

c. Recruit the Preaching Clinic members from March 5, 2000 to March 26, 2000 (4 weeks).

d. Distribute and gather the first questionnaire before the beginning of the class April 2, 2000.

e. Run the Preaching Clinic from April 4, 2000 to June 27, 2000 (12 weeks except Memorial       Day Break).

f. Distribute and gather the second questionnaire after the Preaching program July 2, 2000

⑷. Evaluation

a. Analyze the replies of the questionnaires before and after the Preaching Clinic.

b. Evaluate how much lay leadership has been developed through the program for the given

   period.

5. Writing Phase

May 29 - Jun 10, 2000 

        Collect the additional materials for the project.

Jun 11 - Jul 10, 2000 

        Complete Reading of all materials.

Jul 11 - Jul 24, 2000  

        Introduction.

Jul 25 - Aug 7, 2000  

        Chapter I. My Theology of Ministry: definition, biblical and theological background.

Aug 8 - Aug 21, 2000

        Chapter II. The General and Particular Context of Korean immigrants: cultural texture,

                religious characteristics, and special issues.

Aug 22 - Sep 18, 2000

        Chapter III. The Significance of Lay Leadership Development and of Preaching Clinic

                as the Prerequisite for Developing Lay Leadership in Lubbock Korean: biblical

                background, Wesleyan Heritage, and contemporary reports and prospects.

Sep 19 - Oct 2, 2000

        Chapter IV. The Infrastructure for Lay Speaking Program: "New Life Class" as the

                confirmation of faith and the incentive for lay ministry; Class" to

                make the participants equipped with basic skills such as typing, using

                word-processor, and collecting stories on the internet websites; "English Bible

                Class" prepared for them to be well adapted to the English-based computer

                and web environments and to speak in both Korean and English.

Oct 3 - Oct 23, 2000

        Chapter V. The Practicum of Preaching Clinic: methodology, processure, and content.

Oct 24 - Nov 18, 2000

        Chapter VI. The Evaluation of the Practicum: questionnaires and outputs, sharing

                experiences and discussion.

************Thanksgiving Break*********************

Nov 27 - Dec 20, 2000

        Conclusion: the weaknesses and strengths of the programs, aftermath.

        Appendix.

        Bibliography.

Dec 2000

        Completion and submission to DMin office of all documents necessary for processing

                final project.

6. Bibliography (See Attachment)

7. Contribution to Ministry

This project will make a significant contribution to lay leadership.

1. Challenges the congregation to grow up in faith, devotion, and leadership in that there has

   never been such an organized project for them.

2. Makes the lay ministry of Lubbock Korean more effective through providing them with

   methodological tools to develop their leadership.

3. Will give me some knowhow to help my congregation more effective in lay ministry.

Biblipgraphy

Weems, Lovett H. Jr. Leadership in Wesleyan Spirit (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1999)

Miller, Herb, The Vital Congregation (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1990)

Heizenrater, Richard P. Wesley and the People Called Methodists (Nashville: Abingdon Press,

        1995)

Robinson, Wayne Bradley, ed., Journeys Toward Narrative Preaching (Pilgrim Press, 1990)

Lowry, Eugene L. The Homiletical Plot: The Sermon as Narrative Art Form (John Knox Press,

        1980).

Craddock, Fred B. Preaching (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1985)

The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church (Nashville: United Methodist Publishing         House, 1996)

Barclay, William. The Letters To Galatians and Ephesians (Philadelphia: Westminster Press,

        1975)

The Person and Role of The Minister

 Introduction

        Throughout the course, "The Person and Role of The Minister," I could think again myself, especially focused upon my call, authority, office, and gifts.  It was both exciting and painful experience.  It was exciting in that I could feel I was being integrated by class journeys.  It was painful in that I had to remind bad memories that I wanted to bury in the river of forgetting.  Under sorrowful memories my-self was broken and scattered into pieces.  I needed wholesome integration of my-self, even though I did not know that necessity.  I could recover the real self buried behind my stories.  It seems that maturation goes together with pain.

        Other difficulty during this January session of DMin program was time management.  Some opponents in my congregation were still preparing claws behind their smile and re-attack over against me.  In weekends I had to return to Lubbock, deliver a sermon on Sundays, give a sermon to one of my church members so that he could lead Wednesday praise worship on my behalf.

I and My Family

        Throughout this January session I felt deepest sorry for my family.  I couldn't spend time with my wife and two boys.  I really love them.  In actuality I was, however, a bad husband and father.

        I came to the United States in order to seek Ph. D. degree.  I studied so hard in order to get the highest score in the classes that I took.  I was so nervous and even neurotic to my family.  I yelled many times.  My life was extremely selfish.  When I applied to the Ph. D. program of Perkins, I was rejected because my GRE and TOEFL scores were not sent to the office of Ph. D. program.  It was later on that I found that I mistakenly wrote my credit card number on the score request sheets.

        After having been rejected, I saw around and found what I have done.  I was ruining my family.  I, wife, two active sons were living in a very small one bedroom apartment of Hawk Hall.  Two sons had been scolded because they prevented me from concentrating on study.  They were like imprisoned birds to yearn freedom.  I used to charge my wife of not disciplining two boys.  I was so cruel to my family.  For this reason I decided to stop my academic career and to work in a local church.

        My first visit to Lubbock was so impressive.  The city was so quiet.  Especially the church parsonage was so cool.  It was a house having three bedroom, a large kitchen, dining room, living room, garage, backyard with fence.  I'd never lived in that kind of house.  I thought that this might be a new beginning of my family happiness.

        Two weeks after the visit, I was offered to work for Lubbock Korean UMC.  I was hesitating in my mind because of desire for academic achievement.  But I decided to go there, after taking into consideration family value.

        September 1996, my family moved from Dallas to Lubbock.  A half of the congregation scattered because the former pastor was so cruel to them.  They expected me to pastor generously.  I was their exact type.

        In spite of my expectation for happy family I failed in making happiness.  During 1996 fall I had two jobs, ministry and study, because I spent my final semester of MDiv program.  I commuted by air flight.  I had no time at all with to spend with my family.  In addition, right after finishing my final semester, Mrs. Paik began to attack me.  From that on I brought ministry problems into my family.  I yelled and was so cruel to my wife and two sons.  I so hated myself.  But I couldn't find out how to resolve this circumstances.

        When I received brochures concerning the first two classes of DMin program in Perkins, my eyes were twinkling at the course tile, "The Person And Role Of The Minister," since at that time I was deeply doubting my personality and role as pastor.  I wanted to be checked about my personality through that course and to be reshaped into better person.

        Even if there was no discussion of family issues in that course, I became to retrospect what I have done to my family.  In the second and third week I purchased some gifts for my wife and two sons.  After finishing the course, I have spent much time with my family.  We went to cinema once, to CiCi's pizza house which enables my sons to play computer games.  My wife, Jin, asks, "Are you sick?  What had your teachers taught you?"  "They taught nothing about family business.  But they helped me to retrospect what I have done to my family," said I.  I do not yell and try to be a good friend of Jin and two sons.

        The old oriental proverb says, "A ruler must first rule his own family."  Another oriental proverb says, "If you want to be great, first be happy in your family."  Jesus said, "If you want to be great, serve your neighbor."  I was a tyrant in my family as most Korean fathers were.  Right now I am moving toward being a good friend with my family.  I persuade, rather than yell or scold, my sons not to do bad things.  Everyday I help my wife by washing dishes that was one of my disfavors, by picking up my sons from their schools in the afternoon.  I am growing up as a husband and father since through the first session of DMin program I could see who I was.

I and Mrs. Paik

        The greatest dilemma in my recent ministry is my relationship with Mrs. Paik.  Many times I was so serious about it.  That seriousness made me too empathetic, unable to keep emotional distance and to take a coaching role in my ministry.  For this reason the congregation was getting more dysfunctional.  The situation was getting worse.  The triangle was interlocking.  If I have some distance from that issue and keep  could have coached my congregation to take a role of the third.  But I didn't know how to do.  So I had direct conversation with Mrs. Paik three times.  But those made worse our relationship.  At that time I felt my authority was threatened by her, so that I couldn't endure any more, since I had the combined style of consensus-charismatic leadership.  Under normal situations I exercised consensus style of leadership, while, when times went worse, I exercised charismatic style.  I was confused and my congregation too.

        I as a coach must have cooled down and seen what's going on.  Such self-differentiated stance could have enabled me to coach my congregation to do something for the whole.  It probably took time because Mrs. Paik and the congregation had close tie.  Mrs. Paik was clearly  a serious problem to me.  But I should have ignored it because that issue was really a small portion of my ministry.  Mrs. Paik was a victimizer in that she really hurt me and a victim in that I was not a proficient coach.  Through Mrs. Paik's case I became to reconsider my leadership.  My reconsidered leadership remarks, "The harder I suppress a ball into water, the higher the ball comes forth on the surface.  Direct defenses against attack provokes strong reactions.  Let them play.  Coach them to play better."

        Before this DMin program I just thought my job is to preach and to teach the Bible.  After the program I began to reconsider what my job is.  My role is not simply to give some information of Christian faith but to coach my people to live christianly.

I and My Father

        Most shocking and affecting in the course, "The Person And Role Of The Minister," was Robert Bly's "Gathering of Men."  As Bly said, my father did not know how to talk with me and how to share his own grief.  He was married three times, divorced once, separated by death once.  He has lived rough life.  He had no college education.  When I was entered Methodist Theological Seminary, he was so glad and proud of me.  He has tried to be successful in business but just manage to live.  When I became a pastor, he said, "When I was young, I 've never been taught how to live.  Now you are walking toward a meaningful life.  I bless your future."  Our talk was always one way, his saying and my listening.  I and my father as Koreans did not know big bear hug, sharing grief feelings.  We were men, strong men, so had to conceal our own grief and sympathy.

        When he was divorced with my mother, I was deeply sorry.  But I couldn't participate in his grief.  After cremating the corpus of his second wife, he visited me at Hawk Hall.  He just wanted to see his son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons.  He mentioned his desire toward me, "I heard a counselor helped ten thousand couple in marriage crisis to live well together.  There are a lot of couples in marriage crisis among Korean immigrants.  I am a failure.  I married three times.  Be a good counselor to help people in any kind of crisis retrieve their own happiness."  I said, "Yes, I will."  But I thought in my mind, "I understand you.  But I will study Christian ethics in Ph.D. program.  I have no concern in counseling."

        Now I regret that I neither expressed my sorry feeling nor shared his grief.  I feel I have enormous resources inherited from my father.  I will send him letters sealed with gratitude and love.  And I will inherit to my sons the precious treasures that I inherited from my father.

        After seeing Bly's tape, I found my new role as a counselor.  First of all, I want to participate in my father's grief.  Second, I want to be a good coach to myself.  And then I will be a good husband, father, pastor.  Now I am moving from simple role of preaching-teaching toward more integrated role of preaching-teaching in coaching.

        Morton says, "Journey is home."  My home is my dad.  He taught me skating, dancing, fishing, joking, liberal thoughts...so forth.  I always needed him.  But he was too busy to spend time with me.  I find I was the same father to my sons.  My father is home.  He is the beginning and the end of my journey.  I will live as a good son, father, husband, pastor, as he always wishes.   I love you, dad.

Conclusion

        Throughout this paper I have highlighted my integration of self and role.  Whenever I was attacked by BMWs, I doubted my call.  Now I am confident in my call to ministry.  I feel I can do something better in my ministry.  My previous understanding of authority was the combined style of consensus-charismatic leadership.  Now I found the self-differentiated coach style of leadership.  My previous understanding of role was just preaching and teaching the gospel.  But now I understand my role as preaching and teaching in coaching.  My previous understanding of gifts was just about preaching and teaching the Bible.  Now I am considering counseling.  I want to learn more about pastoral care.  Now I feel I am being renewed and moving toward integration.  Thank you, Ron.

Human Service

I.      The Human Service Strategy

Description

        According to the author, the "authentic, competent Christian service" (146) are fivefold.

1.  "The first sign of Christian service is a bridging of class cleavages and racial-ethnic diversity in common action to meet human need--in other words, wherever Pentecost happens and people act for the common good" (147).  So the author mentions the interfaith efforts of the clusters of the churches in Washington D.C for coordinating the human service (147-8).

2.  "A healing ministry is as interested in the causes of social problems as it is in the effects" (148).  This implies that we must deal with not only immediate needs but structural conditions pervasive in the broad social context.

3.  "Service involves stewardship of resources: buildings, people, talent, organizational energy, commitment to the poor, hope for a viable future" (Ibid.).  This signifies that all the resources we have should be maximally used and shared for achieving the common good.

4.  "As public funds for basic social services are reduced, it behooves the church to develop more competence in assessing social needs and fostering community programs" so that it may effectively help the needed claim public benefits such as "federal food program benefits, general relief, aid for dependent children, health care, social security, legal aid, and employment opportunities" (150-1).

5.  "Competent Christian social service educates people for survival and self-development as much as it offers emergency aid" so that their predicament may not be perpetuated and that they may grow up responsible and enriching (152, 4).

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

1.  The strategies arouse our immediate responses to our fellow neighbors' needs as far as we acknowledge that we are friends beyond all the differences, race, ethnic origin, religion, culture, sexuality...and so forth.

2.  The strategies concern not only basic human needs but a life of shared quality insofar as living as a human being means more than mere surviving.

3.  Through the strategies the conception of "healing ministry" can be extended to genuine care for others' life and therefore to real change of their life conditions as far as healing includes communities as well as individuals.

Disadvantages

1.  There may be struggle between meeting the church's immediate needs and responding to human needs.

2.  When Jesus emphasized service for others, his society was basically God believing community.  Contrary to this, our society is situated in religious plurality.  In this situation there may be conflicts between gaining souls and serving them.

When would they be appropriate for the church?

        The strategies may be appropriate when the church is going to move from survival to maturely growing congregation.  Through them it may share the grace of God in its amidst with the world around, extend Christian spirituality to a social dimension, and bring about God's liberating and righteous ruling over the world.

II.      Social Action Strategy

Description

        The author explicates social action strategies as fivefold.

1.  "Public issues are explored openly in Christian education and expressed in the congregation's worship" (164).  We have rich resources for social action strategies, that is, Christian education and public liturgy.

2.  "Personal troubles are translated into public concerns that grow out of pastoral care and organizational know-how" (Ibid.).  This means, "The church's social preaching, teaching, and pastoral care can help people discern the unhealthy results of projecting their personal fears into the public arena and the consequences of ignoring the public sources of their 'private' agonies" (165).  Therefore, social action must aim at working through "social fear, anger, grief, and aggression to reach a point of communal creativity somewhere between apathy...and anger" (Ibid.).

3.  "Participants experience group support in this ministry" (165).  The needed are not simply in need of resources but in supportive love and care.  So social action requires enhancing group support and broadening the "base of local church involvement" (166); and also "face-to-face koinonia" (167)

4.  "Congregations have timely opportunities for significant advocacy and dialogue with public officials, based on careful homework" (165).  This means that "the congregation can be led into responsible public policy action by a small group of persons who are willing to...engage legislators in face-to-face dialogue, by visiting them and hosting their presence at community forums" (168).

5.  "Leaders offer a sound theological-ethical rationale for Christian participation in public affairs, and work for consistent social goals" (165).  Public policy action may meet both nation-wide and local concerns.  But sometimes one is in conflict with the other.  So all participants in public policy action must grow up ethically mature.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

1.  The strategies help the congregation act politically right and responsible as far as human life is fundamentally social as well as political.

2.  The strategies concern not only social structures but individual suffering in their amidst.

3.  Through the strategies the conception of "pastoral care" can be extended to genuine care for others' life and therefore to real change of their life conditions as far as human psychological pathologies are deeply involved in social, economic, political distortions.

4.  It is often very difficult to discern group egoism from public good.

Disadvantages

1.  When the socio-political structure is clearly divided into two groups, the oppressor and the oppressed, the strategies may draw the dividing line more clearly so that reconciliation in a community or congregation may be urgent.

2.  Some or the majority of the congregation may be reluctant to be educated in public action if they are interested in enjoying acquired privileges.   Those people are more powerfully motived by self-interest rather by political preference like political liberalism.

When would they be appropriate for the church?

        The strategies may be appropriate when the church desperately needs political freedom under tyranny or social justice under malfunctional welfare.

III.     Community Development Strategy

Description

        The author asserts that solidarity with others is not simply the "exhibition of a private virtue of being helpful, or simply defining one's life as a helper" but the participation in a "common struggle against oppressive powers which threaten the common life" (154-5).  In this sense, "advocacy is a matter of standing with powerless others, to plead their cause, to intercede, to espouse change" (155).  The reason why community should be reorganized is the necessity of "shift from...individual effects of the social system...to a community" of "liberation and justice" (Ibid.).  "The community to be organized and developed is any social entity" (Ibid.).  It is here noted that the author uses the word, "community," in a broad sense, like "a neighborhood, a city, a county, or a community of worshipers, workers, business people, or scholars," not simply organizations or institutions.  The author explains "an inclusive model: types and methods of organizing for social change/stability" as following diagram (156).

Social Change Axis

Social Change

        Reform oppressive laws,

        structures, administrators.                               Power for the Have Nots

                Advocacy/Reform                       Mass Based Community

            speaking for the victims                     Organizing of Victims

                Elite                                                    Grass roots

          Decision-makers                                           Decision-makers

                                                        Community Development

          Social Service Organizations              by people who

                to help victims                             acquire power

        Provide needed services                                 Develop new

        and maintain institutions                             Community Structures

Social Stability

        "The model highlights initiative in, and a flow between, all four sectors (or quadrants).  The arrows suggest a cycle or spiral of response to a social condition, starting in any sector.  The different aspects of community organizing are brought together in coalitions of groups concerned with the same or similar issue...Effective community organization in all four sectors requires continuous education and evaluation, as well as linking of private and public resources in coordinated action for change/stability" (155).

        The strategy for community development is "both 'bottom up' and 'top down'; it assists those who now have limited access to power and it utilizes access to those who hold power" (156).  Such organizing must begin with "trustful listening and consciousness-raising," be extended to allies of "leaders, researchers, and interpreters of low-power groups," and "build political strength and to coalesce institutional energy so that people can enjoy dignity and justice" (157).

        According to the author, important in community organizing is "power" which is constituted by "knowledge and constituency" (158).  People must have knowledge and consistency, so that all their efforts may be focused upon specific issue{s) with condensed energy and power.  The author suggests three steps for productive style of social action: problem, issue, and action.  Social action must move "from the problem to an issue and into an action" (159).

        In community organization alliance with other congregations or secular organizations may be much effective.  That kind of coalition "begins with simple task-oriented efforts to obtain better delivery of services; it moves toward coalition-building and institution-forming (Ibid.).

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

1.  The strategies teaches social action are so organic and complex that enemy and friend is a movable line.  Sometimes my friends can be enemies, other times my enemies friends.

2.  The strategies warns any victim group may be victimizer group from the perspective of change/stability.

3.  Through the strategies group action can be intensified and maximized with allied energy and power.

Disadvantages

1.  There may be struggle between the similar, competing, groups.  In group action human nature as significantly self-interested betrays optimistic expectations and consequences.

2.  Just as liberal middle class of 17th century became the privileged after winning victory over the feudal lords, the-have-not and the powerless may quickly turn into the-have and the powerful.  In that case advocating some group possibly becomes very dangerous.  For example, in the old Russia the proletarian class quickly turned into the oppressing group, under whose rule majority of people had suffered.

When would they be appropriate for the church?

        The strategies may be appropriate when the church is concerned in social justice and power balance while very sensitive to social fluctuations

IV.     Advocacy, Education Strategy

        The author suggests "guidelines for effective advocacy groups" as follows (199).

1.  Must be recognized by, and report to, the social ministry committee of the

congregation's governing board.

2.  Shall not commit the congregation or its governing board in actions it

takes, but may request official support, and should expect activities to be

reviewed by the governing board.

3.  May use the church bulletin boards, newsletter, mailing lists, "within

reason" as determined by the governing board.

4.  May be related to or include groups from other churches and knowledgeable

persons from secular groups similarly concerned.

5.  Shall receive at least minimal support from professional church staff, and

may be given space on a limited time basis.

6.  May not solicit funds independently, but may secure temporary line item

support in the church's budget.

7.  Shall normally conduct open meetings, with adequate public notice.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

1.  The strategies foster self-reliance and mutual responsibility rather than perpetuate dependency and irresponsibility.  And they help the educated recover self-esteem and produce creativity.

2.  The strategies can be adopted by even a small congregation.

3.  Through the strategies the helped may be less humiliated than immediate assistance.

Disadvantages

1.  This may be a time consuming job which achieves little consequences.

2.  Those who need much more help or dependency are likely to be excluded.

When would they be appropriate for the church?

        The strategies may be appropriate when the church has restricted resources, both material and human, but effective organizers and educators who can handle such strategies.

Proposal for My Case Study

Topic: Fellowship with the Mentally Retarded

Why would this be a useful case study?

        When I visited the apartment subsided by the government, I could meet many mentally retarded persons.  They live alone or as a couple.  If living as a human being is mere survival, they are living well.  But they don't know even to wash their own body.  They just live on food pantry provided South Plains Food Bank.  Mr. Lester Shaver, my friend and church member, has served them for years.  His non-profit organization for the deaf and the mentally retarded is called the "House of Hope."  When he began to serve them, he was not a Christian.  But Lubbock Koreans were far from being friends with them while proclaiming love for others, especially the poor, the sick, the marginalized.  To be friends with them is a good opportunity for us to practice the love of God who empowers us to give ourselves to others.  This is the reason why I choose this topic for my case study.

What opportunities are available to me to examine its philosophy, goals and work?

        When Mr. Shaver began this social work, he was not a Christian.  So his motivation was made by humanitarian purpose.  But right now he establishes its philosophy as "love for others," its goal as "being a good friend with my neighbors in need," and its work as "helping them take food from the Food Bank and purchase daily necessities from market, treating them home made meals in a month, assisting them to washing their bodies and to claim social benefits, going picnic."  A few months ago I could make them assured the philosophy, goal, and work.  Whenever I want I can take chances to access all of those.

What resources are available to me?

        Mr. Shaver has many resources for the mentally retarded; their names, addresses, personality, temper...and so on.  He has close relationship with the Food Bank and some know-how about claiming social benefits on their behalf.  His organization is not run by the government, though.  He spent his own money for this program and receives donation: food, money, and labor.

How will I proceed in conducting the case study?

        First of all, I will introduce this organization to my congregation.  For this I am going to encourage my people to take chance to visit the mentally retarded in the Thanksgiving week.  And I will find out volunteers among us for being friends with them, by inviting to homemade meal, helping them take food from the Food Bank and purchase daily necessities, assisting them to wash their own body, having fun time with them.  After that I will encourage my people to share their own experience with one another in the small group meetings.  Their responses may be both positive and negative, which may teach me what are the obstacles, what are most needed, what must be reshaped in our activity, Fellowship with the Mentally Retarded.

What framework do I propose?

1.  Explication of The Case: History, Background, and Present Feature.

2.  Biblical and Theological Basis for The Case.

3.  Analysis of the Shared Experience: Obstacles, Most Needed, Reshaping

4.  Feedback

5.  Final Assessment

The Mission of the Church

 The Mission of the Church

       My center of theology is reconciliation.  Ministry of reconciliation concerns in those in cultural, racial, ethnic, religious, ethical conflicts.  As far as human beings are fundamentally free and their expressions of freedom are unique and diverse, conflicts are natural and necessary in human society.  Problematic is not that there exist conflicts but that our society is less perceptive of the causes of conflicts and therefore less successful in resolving conflicts.  What is the best attitude for reconciling conflicts in modern society?  There seems to have so far been three normative types of mission.

1. Exclusivism: Karl Barth

        According to Barth, we cannot know God by ourselves because of our total depravity.  For Barth it is nonsense to insist a general revelation.  In this sense, "religion is unbelief."¹⁾  Only when God reveals himself to us, we can know him.  Inasmuch as religion in general is unbelief, so is Christianity.  But Christianity is the true religion because of the once-for-all revelation and salvation offered only in Jesus Christ.  So the difference between Christianity and other religions is decisive, even if there are a lot of similarities.  There is no other name, except the name Jesus, to save us.  Therefore, we can't and don't need dialogue with other religions.

        This has such insights as: 1) Barth's premise, "that we are 'sinners,' that there are limits to the human condition, that sound reason and good will of themselves do not automatically insure progress,"²⁾ gives us a realistic view of the world; 2) by presupposing the qualitative difference between God and human beings, Barth tells us the importance of the mystical traditions.  However, this type has such oversights as: 1) by regarding the Word of God as absolute authority, he excluded the human experience as nothing; 2) by presupposing the revelation of Jesus Christ as the only authentic revelation, he excluded other religions as worthless; 3) by interpreting the Christian faith only in the light of sola fide and sola gratia, he violated "the nature of grace, to the capacities of human nature, and to the meaning of the incarnation"³⁾; 4) therefore, this type of mission nothing but aggravates diverse conflicts in the world rather than functions as reconciling power.

2.  Inclusivism:  Karl Rahner

        For establishing his fundamental theology, Rahner analyzes "man as transcendent being"⁴⁾ who pursues something ultimate beyond his ontological restrictions.  This transcendentality can be called "a 'transcendental revelation' built into our very nature"⁵⁾ which is his starting point for the theology of religions.  Rahner's verdict on other religions is that "religions are ways of salvations."⁶⁾  So he says that "the non-Christian religions can be 'a positive means of gaining the right relationship to God and thus for the attaining of salvation, a means which is therefore positively included in God's plan of salvation.'"⁷⁾  But there is a limitation that Christianity has an explicit name, Jesus, while other religions have no name, anonymity, because the revelation of Jesus Christ is "the 'final, unsurpassable, irreversible' historical realization and manifestation of what God is doing in history,"⁸⁾ and because "The church is 'the continuation of the mystery of Christ.'"⁹⁾

        This attitude of mission has such insights as: 1) he regards other religions as "possible ways of salvation."¹⁰⁾; 2) he understands "Christ and the Church as a sign or sacrament of salvation"¹¹⁾; 3) he "engages in a dialogue with other religions."¹²⁾  But this has also such oversights as: 1) his assertion on the uniqueness of Jesus Christ is contradictory to our contemporary diverse experiences; 2) his assertion on the unsurpassibility of the revelation of Jesus Christ does not have the full evidence in the Bible; 3) if the revelation of Jesus Christ is the full meaning for our salvation and so sufficient for human salvation, we can't and don't need dialogue with other religious groups; 4) therefore, this attitude of Christian mission looks apparently embracing but is in nature imperialistic over all diversities occurring in the world.. 

3.  Pluralism: John Hick

        Hick who insists the "Copernican revolution in theology" "proposes a 'new map for the universe of faiths.'  In designing this map, he speaks repeatedly of the one Spirit, the one Divine or Absolute, the one Logos behind all the religions.  Although religions conceive this Reality either theistically(as personal) or nontheistically(nonpersonal), Hick implies that such differences are only historical, cultural, or psychological  adaptations."¹³⁾  By reinterpreting the myth of God incarnate not as "totum Dei, 'the whole of God'" but as "totus Deus, 'wholly God,'" Hick reaches to the conclusion that "God is truly to be encountered in Jesus, but not only in Jesus.¹⁴⁾

        This type of mission has such insights as: 1) he can insist that "Jesus is the center and norm for our lives, without having to assert that he be so for all other human beings"; 2) his assertions are credible to our global experience; 3) his attitude leads us to the positive dialogue with other religious groups.  But this has such oversights as: 1) considering Buddhist rejection to conceptualize the ultimate reality as God, even his presupposition of the one Divine rooted in theo-centralism is still dogmatic; 2) by presupposing the one true Reality behind all religions, Hick pursues the common essence beyond particular religions--but this eradicates the uniqueness of each religion and culture.  What we have to do in our mission is to pursue not a uniformity beyond particular religions and cultures but a reconciliation among conflicts of religions and cultures.

        Then, what would be an alternative to the existing three types of Christian mission?  It is confessionalism.  First, confessionalism proclaims Jesus as the reconciler confessionally, not dogmatically, since it recognizes that all religious expressions of faith is basically confessional, that is, that others may have definite confidence in their own faith as much as we may do in our faith.  So we witness our faith with confidence but respect other's religious convictions and cultural expressions.  This is a way of reconciling Christian mission.

        Second, confessionalism is well aware that it is as a part that Christian faith can contribute to reconciliation of the whole world.  This means that other faith may function as parts of effective reconciling agents in the world.  In this respect Christianity can be cooperative with other religions and convictions.

        Third, confessionalism is directed toward continuous growing up.  Confessionalism is neither self-centered system nor self-less system but self-growing up system.  Confessionalism is based upon the definite conviction of God's salvific grace through Jesus Christ.  But since it well knows that such grace can be given by diverse ways, it always opens self to others and continues to grow up.

        Fourth, confessionalism contributes other's maturation.  Confessionalism not simply continues to grow up by learning from others but contributes to other's growing up.  As far as human world is a nexus of organic interactions, being contributed by and contributing to others is necessary for living and growing up.

Ministry of The Church

        Based upon my theological center of ministry, Jesus is defined as the reconciler.  Mentioned in the previous section, 'the mission of the church,' Jesus as the reconciler should be proclaimed confessionally so that all religious groups and cultural expressions may contribute to one another's growing up and getting harmonious reconciliation.  Then, how can we bring about such growing up and harmonious reconciliation?  There can be three answers to this question: exclusivistic, inclusivistic, and pluralistic.  As seen in the previous section, three typologies of Christian ministry are not good enough for wholesome growing up and harmonious reconciliation. 

1. Jesus as the exclusive norm.  This type of ministry undercuts the existential-situational character of the biblical witnesses by asserting the ontological-dogmatic character alone.  This is the result of misunderstanding of the nature of revelation--revelation from God as infallible, yet a receiver of it as fallible.  The exclusive type of ministry makes absolute relative cultural values, as the clothes of divine revelation, which were peculiar to that age.  This type nothing but causes much more conflicts rather than resolves.

2. Jesus as the inclusive norm.  This type of ministry presupposes Christ as "final, unsurpassable, irreversible," so that it comes to the conclusion that Christ is the full actualization of salvation.  But in this case there can be no change, no increase in value, so communication or exchange of images or conceptions are impossible and meaningless.  In the inclusive type of mission a well organized integration is possible, but growing up can be done in a very low level and harmonious reconciliation can not be done in a true level, since one faith that has a high position tries to control over all other faiths. 

3. Jesus as the plural norm.  This type of ministry seeks a common essence beyond all religions and thereby reduces all particularities to insignificance.  But to get rid of all particularities is not to be rich but to be poor.  In this case harmonious reconciliation may be successfully asserted, but growing up is underdevelopment.  Without contribution to each other, our seeking of growing up together and getting harmonious reconciliation is less possible and meaningful.

4. Jesus as the confessional norm.  This type of ministry witnesses Christ as the norm of growing up and harmonious reconciliation.  But this witness is confessional, not dogmatic.  This means that other faith is possibly recognized to have such confidence as much as we do.  So all faiths are respected as what they are.  Without this respect self-growing up and contribution to other's growing up is an empty slogan and getting harmonious reconciliation goes away from the conflicts with which we are confronted in our ordinary life.  Jesus as the confessional norm of the ministry affects our practice and reflection of ministry so that we may obtain genuine growing up and harmonious reconciliation in the world full of conflicts, cultural, racial, religious, ethnic...so forth.

---

1)  Paul F. Knitter, No Other Name?: A Critical Survey of Christian Attitudes Toward the World Religions(Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1985) p. 84

2)  Ibid., p. 88

3)  Ibid., p. 94

4)  Karl Rahner, Foundations of Christian Faith: An Introduction To The Idea of Christianity, trans. by William V. Dych(NY, NY: Crossroad, 1986)  p. 31  Knitter describes that "Rahner sees our very 'existence' as 'supernatural': nature is more than just human nature."  Knitter, No Other Name  p. 125

5)  Knitter, No Other Name  p. 125

6)  Ibid., p. 126

7)  Ibid., p. 127

8)  Ibid., p. 129

9)  Ibid. 

10)  Ibid., p. 140

11)  Ibid., p. 141

12)  Ibid.

13)  Ibid., p. 147

14)  Ibid., p. 152