THE KUKMIN DAILY

How should theology view capital? What is the role of theology in neoliberal society?

The “Distinguished Overseas Scholars Invitational Lecture,” held by the Education and Training Center of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) on October 20 at the Korean Christian Building, located on Daehang-no in Jongno-gu, Seoul, was an attempt to find answers to these questions.

South American liberation theologian and professor Jung-mo Sung (Science of Religion, Universidade Metodista de S?o Paulo), in his lecture titled “Liberation Theology and the Worship of Money,” emphasized, “The work of theology is to change people’s craving for money into a longing for God.” Prof. Sung is a second-generation liberation theologian who has led in developing liberation theology in the area of Jardim Angela, Brazil’s largest favela (slum).

From the start of his lecture, Prof. Sung targeted the “social inequality” problem, saying, “I am going to focus on an urgent problem facing our society.” He explained, “When all elements of society are poor, there is no problem…The real problem lies in the concentration of wealth, which causes poverty to spread.” He continued, “As a theologian, I looked at our reality in which 85 rich persons hold half the wealth of all humanity, and it was here that I found my calling and knew ‘I need to do something about this’ as a theologian.”

“Since the 1980s, with neoliberal policies sweeping the world, the market has replaced God,” Prof. Sung pointed out. “Looking at Friedrich Hayek’s speech at the award ceremony for his Nobel Prize in Economics, we find that its content resembles theology throughout…Hayek believed firmly in the market, and insisted that no one should interfere with its authority,” he explained. Neoliberalism has caused people to replace their faith in God with faith in the market and in capital.

Prof. Sung spoke caustically about the behavior of Christians who elevate the market to the position of a god. “Many Christians, thinking that those who are poor have been cursed by God, thoughtlessly strive to become rich…In this way, when you accept neoliberalism uncritically, it is difficult to liberate yourself from domination by wealth,” he asserted.

If one is a true Christian, Prof. Sung said, one tries to live life as Jesus did. “Becoming a Christian means not simply obeying doctrines, but following Jesus’ path…Jesus did not pursue success, but rather concentrated on helping people in difficulty,” he explained.

“The church should not be supporting people’s yearning after wealth, but instead should help them develop compassionate hearts towards the poor,” he said. “It is very hard to change spirituality in a capitalist society, but the church must work to help people discover the Spirit of God and to follow the way of Jesus.”

Reporter Jin Samyeol (samuel@kmib.co.kr), with Marion Kim (marionkkim@icloud.com)


Click here for the original article in Korean

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