Dear Jesus
Dear Jesus,
I don’t know much about you. My neighbors, my children, and I are starving and oppressed. I’ve heard rumors about other places like America where there is freedom and plenty, but we are not allowed to leave. We can only whisper of such things here.
Then one of your followers told me that I was better off this way — that all this suffering was good for me. He told me that freedom and abundance were bad because they made it harder for him to follow your teachings.
Since I don’t know your teachings and since he desires to experience my suffering, can we please switch places? I’m so cold and hungry.
Sincerely,
Anonymous in North Korea
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January 28th, 2006 at 1:44 pm
Dear Anonymous Korean, Since you are Korean, and perhaps English is not your first language (although you do write fairly well), I will not think poorly of you for mis-reading my blog, or at least misinterpreting my meaning.
First of all, if you could send me your address, I will try and send you a copy of the Bible (in your own language), so that you can get to know Jesus a little more. Of course, you probably wouldn’t want to be a strict biblicist, so I hope you would join up with one of those underground churches we keep hearing about so much over here, so that you can experience Jesus through his body. Communion is a very important part of all this.
Now, it wasn’t me that first said suffering was good for people. It’s somewhere in the Bible I will send you. Pay special attention the the story of Israel in the wilderness. Good stuff. There’s even stuff in there about being refined in fire. Sure doesn’t sound pleasant to me, but we’re told it’s good.
And as far as me WANTING you, or anyone else to suffer, that is a flat out misinterpretation. Since you and I don’t have this brief history in which you despise everything I write, I will not accuse you of maliciously twisting my words. If you would read more closely, you’ll notice that I said suffering is not something to be avoided at all costs, especially when the means for preventing that suffering appear to conflict with the way of Christ. I can see how a non-English speaker could miss the subtlety, but since you’re not an educated person, I won’t hold it against you.
Surely you can see my point…even Jesus (I’m pretty sure he makes a good example for us) refused to react violently in order to preserve his saftey and freedom. As a follower of his, I think perhaps we should do the same. It seems evil to wish pain and suffering on someone, but refusing to prevent it, by any and all means, by dropping bombs and putting sniper scope cross-hairs on the skulls of people made in the image of God…
Well, those are two vastly different things. I hope you understand what I was saying, now.
January 28th, 2006 at 4:30 pm
So, I guess that’s a big fat “no” on the switching places thing.
January 28th, 2006 at 7:37 pm
Dear Korean,
As a Christian who lives in America, let me assure you that our ’so called’ freedom is not Christian because our Government insists that our freedom is dependent upon our Government rather than God.
The truth is… regardless of whether I am allowed the freedom of religion, speech, etc… or not, I am free. I am free not because of any human political/governmental system that grants me freedom but rather I am free because God grants me freedom in Christ. And God has assured me of my freedom in the death and resurrection of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Because Jesus has died and risen, I know that I too can have life through my faith in him. And since my faith is in Jesus, I know that I have a living hope of life beyond death. Because of that hope, I can live as God wants me to live regardless of whether my government permitts me to or not, just like the first three centuries of Christians lived under the Roman government. Therefore, there is nothing that any person or group can do to take away that freedom. That’s why this freedom is called the “good news of God.”
What I wish so desperately for many of my fellow Christians in the U.S. is that they would realize their freedom is dependent on God alone and not whether their governemnt can shoot a big enough gun at its enemies. Such thinking is what Israel thought. They thought the kingdom would be restored by revolution and looked for a Messiah who would lead that revolution, but surprise of surprises… The Messiah chose a Roman cross which does not make sense in human terms. The Messiah now calls his followers to also pick their cross (not their swords, guns, polotics, etc…) and follow after him.
I know there is much suffering out, much injustice in the world and much pain. Though it is different, I have experienced some of this pain when my son died. I sometimes ask God why he allows a world to continue when their is so much suffering and pain that goes on? I have never been given a definite answer to that but I think it has something to do with God wanting everybody to hear the good news and experience his salvation. At least that is how the Apostle Peter (2 Peter 3.8-9) responded to another group of Christians who were experiencing pain and suffering. That is why I have committed my life to helping others come to know God, so that they too can have and experience this living hope even in the midst of these present sufferings.
January 28th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
Dear Korean,
I am sorry you are under the rule of the “Dear Leader”. In addition, I am sorry that people like Greg and Rex would rather complain about the tactics of my country than give two poops about trying to help you. Further, I am sorry that my government gave your leader the capacity to build nuclear weapons. I don’t know about Rex, but if Greg had his way, the party of the guy who armed your leader would again be in power here in my country. Scary, I know.
You see, Korean, Greg has it easy. He doesn’t have a real job; but the country he lives in has plenty of jobs if he wants one. Even being essentially jobless, this country has provided him with at least three (you heard that right) full meals a day! I know, I know - your people have to eat grass from time to time.
It’s quite easy for Greg to allow you to suffer and claim it is for the cause of Christ. Greg lives in the richest country in the world. He knows he will probably never have to suffer - especially the way you do.
What makes his position difficult to sustain is that he doesn’t think people in America should suffer - just North Korea! I think I am correct in believing that Greg thinks the poor in America should be taken care of by the government by means of wealth redistribution. (Apparently, Greg hasn’t figured out how well that has worked out in your neck of the woods.)
Korean, take comfort in the fact that people who think like Greg are out of power in my country…
January 28th, 2006 at 9:54 pm
Oh believe me Baron, I do want to do all that I can to help the rest of the world… I just want to do it in a way that bears witness to the kingdom of God which I belong too rather than another temporal kingdom of this world.
As for the cheap shots on Greg… I gues when one has no real substantial rebuttle to make in defense of your own posiiton or to make against an alternate position, then the next best thing to do is attack the persons character.
January 29th, 2006 at 12:11 am
Dear Anonymous North Korean,
I am very sorry about the misunderstandings which have resulted from your having read the letter to Jesus written by GKB. There are so many worthwhile blogs out there and you had to go and stumble upon one written by a twenty-something Christian graduate student for whom snarky sarcasm and cynicism is a well-recognized trademark. Most unfortunate, since snarky sarcasm and cynicism often have the effect of obfuscation and drowning out anything potentially good that one might have to say. Oh well, what’s done is done.
Please rest assured that not all Christians who live in America hold in contempt the leadership of this country and the military which guards her and has helped make her a haven and a beacon of hope for oppressed people such as yourself. Moreover, many Christians are very active in government and the military and see no inherent conflict between their faith and their work. GKB would likely contend that they just haven’t thought it through deeply enough, but I believe that’s simply not the case.
The way I see it, many of these Christians are very intelligent and thoughtful people who know full well that there are potential conflicts between faith and citizenship. But they refuse to navel-gaze to the point of paralysis and instead move on with their lives, believing that to the extent that “love of neighbor” seasons their words and actions they are following the way of Christ, however imperfectly in this “veil of tears.”
They also know, because they are wide-awake and sober in thought, that under certain difficult and regrettable circumstances, “love of neighbor” could necessitate the use of deadly force to protect innocent life. This is a fact of life for police officers in places like Abilene, Texas and for our young warriors scattered across the globe, most of whom would step in front of a bullet aimed at GKB if that is what their commanding officer ordered them to do.
Such acts might appear anachronistic and quaint to sophisticated and learned divinity students, but to many Christians living in America they are considered an honored sacrifice, a living (and dying), in-the-flesh, decidedly non-academic example of the “greater love” spoken of in scripture.
I hope that someday you too will have the freedom to read the Bible that GKB will send you without your stomach grumbling or hearing that dreadful knock at the door in the middle of the night (if they even bother to knock at all). I hope and pray that your freedom comes about without bloodshed–but I fear that a terrible price will be required.
I know that if my country becomes involved, there will be many young men and women–some Christian, but others Muslim,Jew,agnostic and atheist–who will volunteer to come to your aid and to lay down their lives if necessary to secure your freedom from temporal tyranny and oppression, which, as far as my non-divinity schooled mind can discern, is never spoken of highly in scripture.
Oh, and rest assured, GKB will not be among them.
Sincerly, A Christian living in America
January 29th, 2006 at 2:03 pm
Dear Korean,
A Christian living in America said this:
“Please rest assured that not all Christians who live in America hold in contempt THE LEADERSHIP of this country and THE MILITARY which GUARDS her and has HELPED MAKE HER a haven and a beacon of hope for oppressed people such as yourself.” (Capitolized by me for emphasis)
That is just our problem. There is too many Christians who have in part, if not in whole, traded in their sole hope and reliance in Jesus for the security and protection that our government and military can provide. The misunderstanding comes because we have failed to realize that we cannot rely on Jesus when it is convenient but then resort back to our reliance on the nation/state when Jesus and the cross seems to be foolish or irrelevant among th present circumstances.
And as for “…potential conflicts between faith and citizenship.” There would be no conflict if we would ever come to grips with the reality that as Christians our citizenship is not American, Korean, Arabian, etc… “But [rather] our citizenship is in heaven” (Philip. 3.20). The apostle Paul understood this and that is why it did not bother him to have a life philosophy of “living is Christ and dying is gain” (Philip 1.20). Because Paul understood that dying meant gaining the reward promised to him in Christ, he was willing to suffer — even suffer death for the cause of Christ. In fact Paul felt so strongly about this that he wanted “to know Christ and the power of His resrrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like Him in death” (Philip. 3.10). Paul may seem too radical, but believe me he’s not. Rather Paul believed that Jesus Christ had already died on a cross for the entire world and had been raised in victory over death and sin making the reality of the hope of eternal life in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ a reality for all people in every nation and culture.
That is true freedom — and there is no government, ruler, or military that can provide it. Such freedom only comes through Jesus Christ. And even better, such freedom is available to all people whether they live in a free world society or an oppressed society like the Jews and Gentiles who became followers of Jesus Christ while living under the oppression of the Roman government.
If you become a follower of Jesus, you can rest assured that God will vindicate those who oppress you. It may not happen in you lifetime, just like it did not happen for Paul in his lifetime, but God has promised that Jesus will return to this earth again and bring about the promise of eternal life to all who belong to him.
In the meantime I will pray for you knowing that God DOES hear my prayers and WILL answer those prayers in his time and his way. That may not sound to comforting to some people, but since the death of my son I have learned to trust in God in a whole new way. In the meantime, please take comfort that many Christians are praying for you — even those who disagree with me.
Because of the cross,
A Christian who lives in the U.S.
January 29th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
Hmmm, it seems that Paul had no problem bringing up his Roman citizenship when he was about to be flogged… (Acts 22:25-29).
Yes, my citizenship is in heaven. And I long to be there with my Lord. But while traveling through this life, I am a citizen of the USA. And I am thankful for that, as this nation remains “a haven and a beacon of hope for oppressed people.”
–
January 29th, 2006 at 3:27 pm
Dear Rex,
So am I to take heart in my suffering and salute the Dear Leader? Are you saying I should be happy that I am forced to eat grass because the Dear Leader won’t give me any food? Should my family being tortured in the gulags be happy?
I have a question for both you and Greg: Do you believe that people in America should be taxed to care for poor Americans? Or is your position on American poverty consistent with your position that Korean starvation and suffering is good for the soul? Should force ever be used to free others?
Korean
P.S. Will you buy a plane ticket to Pyonyang and send me to America? I would like to see how a real American Christian tolerates his own suffering…
January 29th, 2006 at 4:15 pm
Baron,
I will tolerate my own suffering the way in which I have been doing so for the last three and a half years since my Son died. By my hope in God.
The difference between death of a loved one and oppresion from evil minded people is that when someone dies (at least under natural circumstances) there is no one to whom we can use our worldly weapons against to reverse the suffering.
I do not know how a Korean world view sees suffering but I know that in our western world view suffering is the worst of any experience while honor and shame is virtually irrelavant to how we conduct our lives. Unforunately, that is why we misunderstand the Middle East. In the Middle East, suffering for God is considered an honor (hence, that is why a Muslim is willing to be a suicide bomber) and there is something far worse than the experience of human suffering and that is to be shamed.
I don’t think anyone should be happy to eat grass or experience any sort of suffering. But if the experience of suffering will eventually allow me to open myself to the life God is calling me to live then I consider suffering to be redemptive and worth the price. I wish my son would have lived, but I also know that I am much more the person God wants me to be because through the death of my son I became open to God in a way that I had never been open before. While I never wish for anyone to experience the death of a child or any other form of suffering, “it was good for me to be afflicted, so that I might learn [God’s] statutes” (Ps. 119.71).
January 29th, 2006 at 4:18 pm
Instead of just asking hypothetical questions as an attempt to expose any preceived incoherrency in my position, try and put forth a coherent biblical argument that is consistent with God redemtive and kingdom values.
January 29th, 2006 at 4:31 pm
Jeff, you are right that Paul invoked his Roman citizenship while in custody. But he never allowed or used his Roman citizenship as a means of determining the moral/ethical stances by which he lived his life by. And it is precisely the moral/ethical sphere which we are discussing.
Further more Paul never invoked his Roman citizenship in order to defend the “rights” and political favor of the Roman government.
And just to add to the discussion, I wonder what how Revelation 14.9-12 might apply to the way we as Christians relate to our own governemnt. (This seems to be a passage that for some reason is never mentioned as discussions of how Christians should relate to the government are discussed.)
January 29th, 2006 at 6:20 pm
“Instead of just asking hypothetical questions as an attempt to expose any preceived incoherrency in my position, try and put forth a coherent biblical argument that is consistent with God redemtive and kingdom values.”
Translation: Dang, Baron. You stumped me. Let’s take this conversation back into the realm of the abstract where answers don’t really have any practical value.
January 29th, 2006 at 6:50 pm
The face (or, rather, the back of the head) of the anti-war movement.
Rex, you should be so proud to be associated with her…
January 29th, 2006 at 9:29 pm
No Baron, because I am a Christian, I must operate out a Christ-centered, biblically oriented, culturally relevant system.
But believe me, you have yet to stump me.
January 30th, 2006 at 9:11 am
Then answer my questions…
January 30th, 2006 at 9:37 am
Baron,
As for your question about taxation to aid the poor. Yes, especially when the poor are children, disabled people, elderly people, and other people who live in poverty not by choice but because they do not have the ability to provide for themselves.
Why? Because that is “freely giving as I have been given too.”
Now, how does a society undertake such a task in an equitable manner. I don’t know and I wish there was an easy answer to such a question. But I believe the attitude of “let them help themselves” is not only wrong, but presumptious of those who have wealth. Where would those who have wealth be if God had dealth with them applying the same attitudes that some of the have’s apply to the have-not’s?
January 30th, 2006 at 11:11 am
So you are a fan of government run by religious values?
January 30th, 2006 at 1:29 pm
Yes, especially when there is a historical precedence of that Government and the country it represents being Christian.
So let me qualify. When the mojority of the voters who vote in government elections claim to be Christian, I believe that the voting results should reflect at least to a certain degree the fact that thos who voted were Christians. Another words, as a Christian I believe that I should not shed my faith and conviction when I enter the voting booth.
Now I say that an election should reflect the belief system of the majority voters (Christianity in our case) to a certain degree because I realize that even Christians do not agree 100% on what constitutes the moral/ethical vision of God.
From where I stand as I humbly and prayerfully read scripture, stive to discern the will of God, and apply it to the contemporary world, I see wrong doing, selfish interests, and immoral/unethical decisions being made by both Republicans and Democrats alike. I am called to be simply a follower of Jesus Christ — not a Republican follower of Jesus, nor a Democrat follower of Jesus, nor any other party line in addition to being a follower of Jesus. That is why the Apostle Paul considered whatever partyline gains he accumulated in this world to be worthless in his pursuit of following Christ (Philip. 3.4-6).
January 30th, 2006 at 3:22 pm
So, to be consistent, you believe that the Palestinian election leading to a Hamas-run government should pursue the goals of Jewish eradication? If, that is, a majority of Palestinian voters believe that the will of Allah is to eradicate Israel…
Do I have that right?
January 30th, 2006 at 4:57 pm
Now look who’s putting a spin on what I am saying?
Obviosly, I disagree with any government who thinks it has the right to destroy another nation — including our own Government.
January 30th, 2006 at 6:28 pm
I’m sorry - I must have misunderstood you when you said “that an election should reflect the belief system of the majority voters.”
February 11th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
Wait just a second…
That’s not a REAL letter from a REAL North Korean!
Someone was dastardly, and made it up!
This topic is thrown out on the grounds that pretend people don’t count.