Mission life: THE KUKMIN DAILY

SCU: Dismissal was for “discordant faith” vs Prof. Sohn: “Unjust, will take legal action”

2017-02-24 18:05

Criticism is rising over the dismissal of a professor at a Christian university who apologized and led a fundraising movement to compensate a temple, after a Christian believer destroyed its Buddha statue.

At its board meeting on February 17, Seoul Christian University dismissed Prof. Sohn Wonyoung (52) of its Graduate School of Theology, for an incident that originated more than a year ago. In mid-January last year, a Christian church member in his 60s entered Gaeun Temple in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, and went about smashing its statue of Buddha and other properties, saying, “Temples are based on superstition, and Buddha statues are idols.” The incident caused approximately 100 million won worth of property damage to Gaeun Temple, and was a big shock to the temple’s priests and believers.

Prof. Sohn says that when he heard this news, he felt so ashamed and embarrassed that he couldn’t sleep at night. He worried over it, asking himself, “Can such a thing happen in a democratic country?” and “How can Christianity, a religion of love and peace, degenerate into a religion of violence and hate?” He wrote a message on Facebook requesting Buddhists’ forgiveness. Together with several friends, he carried out a “fundraising campaign for restoration of the temple,” for which 100 persons donated a total 2.6 million won.

In response, the Association of Christian Churches and Churches of Christ (Rev. Shin Jo-gwang, moderator) sent an official letter to Seoul Christian University asking it to investigate Prof. Sohn’s faith beliefs. In addition, the university’s alumni association demanded an investigation into Prof. Sohn’s fundraising activities.

The official reason given for Prof. Sohn’s dismissal was “his words and actions in discord with the faith beliefs of the Association of Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, and his insincerity as shown by his failure to act on his promises.” A university source explained, “The fundraising movement was not the main reason for the dismissal decision…In a number of cases he has not followed the school’s founding concepts, so it can be said he was insincere in his work.”

SCU Chancellor Lee Gang-pyeong elaborated, “Prof. Sohn’s liberationist, revisionist theology is in theological conflict with Seoul Christian University, which follows the direction of the Stone-Campbell movement…It can easily make the students confused about their faith, and can even negatively affect mission activities.” The school said that Prof. Sohn had apologized to Chancellor Lee and had written a memorandum on his faith beliefs, unrelated to the fundraising incident.

In response to this, Prof. Sohn held a press conference (photo) on February 20, in front of a church in Jongno-gu, Seoul. “I cannot accept the reasons given for the dismissal. I will take legal measures against the unjust dismissal decision,” he said. “The school, going on and on about idol worship, has dismissed me for raising funds to help Gaeun Temple.” Sohn continued, “This is something that should never happen at a university, the sanctuary of learning and the treasure house of conscience…It is an anti-Constitutional action, an infringement of both academic and religious freedom.” He added, “I hope this will be an opportunity to raise people’s awareness of how important religious peace is for Korean society.”

Article and photo by reporter Yeong Dae Yoo (ydyoo@kmib.co.kr), with Marion Kim (marionkkim@icloud.com)


Original Article in Korean:
서울기독대 “신앙 정체성 불일치” 파면 vs 손원영 교수 “부당한 징계에 법적 대응”: 어떻게 생각하십니까 │ ‘사찰 물품 훼손’ 대신 사과하고 모금운동한 신학대 교수


Related Article:
“I hope the temple restoration fund will help bring peace between our two religions”


*Full text of Prof. Sohn Wonyoung's remark made during the press conference:

February 20, 2017

1. Greetings

Good morning everyone. My name is Wonyoung Sohn. I am a professor in the department of theology at Seoul Christian University. At the university, I have served as the dean of academic affairs, the dean of the graduate school of theology, and also as the president of the professors’ association. Despite the cold weather today, I deeply thank all of you for coming out and for showing great interest in my current circumstances.

2. The Status of Discrimination

On February 17th, the board members of Seoul Christian University(SCU) made the decision to expel me on the basis that I did not fulfill the “faithful duty” of the school. Although this is extreme and equivalent to imposing a death sentence on my academic career, the truth is I still do adore Seoul Christian University. I especially adore the motto and original spirit of Seoul Christian University, such as “Go Back to the Bible,” “Back to the early church,” or “Back to Jesus,” which has key phrases of the “Restoration Movement,” strive to re-unite the divided churches of today into a single body of Christ, as it was at the beginning of Christianity. I also adore and miss the students of Seoul Christian University, who are full of passion for learning and sharing joyful academic experiences together. For the reasons above, I have devoted my life for 18 years, as a professor of theology at Seoul Christian University, despite many challenges.

However, for the last few years, I have suffered from harassment and discrimination by the board and the president of SCU, not only because I come from a different denomination and theological perspective, but also because I had criticized the president in past years for his embezzlement of school funds. This type of harassment occurred on a number of different occasions. For instance, I was denied full professorship on five separate promotions, despite having scored the highest marks in terms of academic contribution among professors at Seoul Christian University. In response to my criticisms of the president, I was not only suspended from my position for two months (which is considered a very serious punishment), but also explicitly prohibited by the president himself from preaching and giving sermons in my dual calling and role as pastor. Finally last week, I was expelled from my position at school, because of my involvement in raising funds for the recovery of a Buddhist temple that was vandalized by Christians. Despite these examples, my primary reason for being here is not to vent about my personal experiences of discrimination, but to prevent any further discrimination to others in this school and in the Korean church at large.

3. The Greatness of Seoul Christian University and Christian Churches

Just as a singer who loses his or voice is no longer a singer, I feel a little lost as a professor no longer able to lecture and guide students. Nevertheless, I still love Seoul Christian University and the Christian Churches, and here are the reasons why. First, Seoul Christian University has a history of 80 years. Although it is considered one of the smallest universities in Korea with 1,000 students, our students possess an unmatched passion and eagerness to learn and contribute to society.

Secondly, as a denomination linked to Seoul Christian University, the Christian Churches are a great fellowship of congregations. In an era in which Christianity was being torn up into many different congregations and was characterized by vicious infighting, the Christian Churches sought a different way. They sought a restoration movement, in which the desire was to re-unite and restore the divided church. This is precisely why this movement goes by a specific name or title, like Presbyterian or Methodist, and is simply known as “the Christian Churches.” Currently, this denominational movement is very small in Korea, the reason being that the missionaries of these congregations focused their efforts and spreading the Gospel to suburbs and countryside villages, such as Haenam or SamChuck, in obedience to the Bible and to the command to spread the Gospel all around the globe.

For these reasons, Seoul Christian University and the Christian Churches always preach: “Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scripture are silent, we are silent;” and “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, love.” These mottos represent the foundation of the Restoration Movement and this foundation is precisely why I love Seoul Christian University. Furthermore, this foundation is also why I devoted my life to this school, and why I still cannot help but continue to love the school despite being discriminated against. The reason why I want to make my love and respect for the school and the Christian Churches clear is because my intention is not to hurt those two entities. My criticism is not for those two entities in general. My criticism is specifically directed at the incompetent and corrupt leadership. It is directed at the entity that calls themselves, the “Korean Association of Christian Churches.” It is directed at the board members who play politics, and especially the current president of Seoul Christian University, so please keep this in mind today.

4. “Idolatry,” as the cause for disciplinary action

Last week, I was expelled for not fulfilling the “faithful duty” of the school. As the president stated to the disciplinary committee, the most significant reason for my punishment is that I have committed idolatry, which is one of the worst sins for a Christian to commit. Let me explain the circumstances around this incident. In January of 2016, a zealous 60-6ear-old Christian man intruded a Buddhist Temple in KimChun, called GaeUnSa, and destroyed a number of statues of Buddha in the temple. The estimated damage was about 100 million won ($100,000), and the bhikkhuni (Buddhist nuns) of the temple suffered from mental shock, for which she was treated in the hospital.

After I encountered this story through the media, I was embarrassed as a Christian, as a pastor, and as a professor of theology, who trains pastors. How is this even possible in a democratic society like Korea? Furthermore, how can Christianity, which preaches love and peace, because so full of hatred and violence? I was utterly shocked. As a professor of theology who emphasizes “praxis,” I could not sit still with such embarrassment. So, I posted an apologetic letter to the bhikkhuni of GaeUnSa and to all the Buddhists on my Facebook. As I believe actions speak louder than words, I also raised funds for the purpose of donating towards the recovery of GaeUnSa with a few others. As a result, we were able to raise about 2 million 600 thousand won ($2600), and planned to deliver it on Buddha’s Birthday. However, GaeUnSa politely rejected the donation and requested that we donate these funds towards religious peace and understanding in Korea, especially for religious dialogue between Buddhism and Christianity. After a discussion, we decided to donate to “RePes (Religion and Peace) Forum,” which is an association for religious peace. In effect, a symposium for religious peace was hosted last January. Personally, I felt it was a worthwhile experience. My hope is that these dialogues for religious peace will continue in Korea. Many social and religious figures and the media both commended and praised this donation. Unfortunately, the president and the board used this occasion to accuse me for committing “idolatry,” which they state is against the school’s academic motto and encourages liberation theology, which is against the school’s founding principles.

5. My Stand

This incident has been covered by the media and the internet very quickly and substantially. There have been many posts and comments insulting Christianity as well as Seoul Christian University and the Christian Churches. Thus, I thought it would be very important for me to clarify my stand. I want to make 4 clarifications today.

First, the school’s decision to expel me for my involvement in helping out GaeUnSa cannot be justified in any sense. The university is a sacred place where learning occurs through the mingling of different perspectives. Furthermore, under the constitution, everyone is free to seek his or her own academics and religion. Therefore, it is clearly an unconstitutional act for the school to expel me on this basis. If Seoul Christian University is a university dedicated to the constitution and to the ideals of Korean education “Hongik Ingan”(humanitarianism, 弘益人間), it must reverse the decision of expulsion. I believe this is the only way to recover the integrity of Seoul Christian University which reputationally has been seriously hurt by the spread of the news.

Secondly, Christianity in Korea has been viciously attacked by the media after the expulsion. It saddens me to think that perhaps my expulsion may have led to something bigger than just the school. Perhaps it has led to the degradation of the whole Korean church. However, I believe that the Korean church is not “Gae-Dok”(ugly Christianity) which is a term commonly used by the media to describe extremely dogmatic Christians. Furthermore, it is not a terrorist group as some other members of the media would describe it to be. Nevertheless, I believe that such actions taken by the board members of Seoul Christian University is contributing to these negative and segregative connotations. Therefore, I politely request the board members to withdraw the “investigation of faithfulness”, not for myself, but for the reputation of Christianity in Korea.

Thirdly, the part that makes me most bitter about this incident is that in essence, it was an act of bashing and re-wounding the bruises suffered by GaeUnSa’s Bhikkhuni and other Buddhist members just as they were about to heal and recover. Who will take care of their scars? Who will comfort their hearts? I apologize for this deeply as that is all I can do. I am seriously concerned that this incident will contribute to further conflicts between different religions in Korea. As the earth becomes more hardened after the rain, I sincerely hope that this incident will lead to a more respectful atmosphere among religious groups in Korea.

Lastly, the leadership of the Korean Association of Christian Churches which accused me of idolatry and the current president of Seoul Christian University who carried out the expulsion, must be questioned for their decisions. However, I want to remind you that the association does not represent the entire Christian Churches/Churches of Christ in Korea and the president does not represent the whole of Seoul Christian University. There are members of the Christian Churches and of Seoul Christian University who are faithful and kind-hearted. As such, please do not insult or criticize the entirety of the Christian Churches and of Seoul Christian University.

6. Conclusion

Hans K?ng, one of the most important theologian of the 20th century, once said, “There is no world peace without religious peace.” That is very true. I am not here to complain about the unfair decision of expulsion. Rather, I would accept any loss or sacrifice, if it will lead to more awareness in our society of how important “Religious Peace” is and how Christianity should be represented with love rather than hate. I pray that this incident will spread the importance of healthy religious practice for the sake of society’s peace, especially for students and teachers in academia who are confused and challenged. I pray that this incident will be remembered as a righteous act as a theologian. With this, I would like to conclude my brief address with the words of Jesus:

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”(Mt 5:43-45a)

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."(Matthew 7:12)

Thank you very much.

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