The Sewol Ferry Tragedy and the Korean Church

1. You are What you love.

James Smith, a professor of philosophy at Calvin University in the United States, describes the identity of a person in his book, You are What You Love, in terms of what the person loves and worships.

In order to appreciate the spiritual significance of such cultural practices, let’s call these sorts of formative, love-shaping rituals “liturgies.” It’s a bit of an old, churchy word, but I want to both revive and expand it because it crystallizes a final aspect of this model of the human person: to say “you are what you love” is synonymous with saying “you are what you worship.” The great Reformer Martin Luther once said, “Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your god.” We become what we worship because what we worship is what we love. As we’ve seen, it’s not a question of whether you worship but what you worship—which is why John Calvin refers to the human heart as an “idol factory.” We can’t worship because we can’t love something as ultimate. - James Smith, You are What You Love, Kindle Location 419.

James Smith, based on Augustine and Luther, describes a person’s existence as loving and loving. According to him, a person’s identity is not defined by the person’s wealth or social status, but by the person’s most beloved. In other words, the one you love becomes the God you worship. Smith’s account effectively explains how the desires pursued by members of this society become idols of that society.

2. The Sewol Tragedy and the Korean Church

Six years ago, when numerous lives were lost in the Sewol ferry, some leaders of the Korean church paid more attention to something else than to care for the pain of the victims and their families. They began to make statements based on political interests, just like politicians. They even made accusations to victims’ families not to blame the government but to support the government. They also interpreted the Sewol tragedy directly in connection with God’s will, and criticized and regarded the victims’ families as politically impure. They even criticized or mocked the victims and their families.

    

 Although it may be dismissed as some remark, when these words were promulgated in the name of the church, it became an opportunity for the masses of Korean society to recognize that the Korean church was more concerned with political interests than those who were hurt. Also, by linking the tragic event to the will of God without clear grounds, they exposed the cross section of the Korean church indifferently and heartlessly about the suffering of the wounded to the Korean public.

3. Repentance of the sins of the Korean church who loved idols more than God

Ultimately, as James Smith said, we worship beings that we care for and love. Therefore our religion will be determined by the object we love and care about most. If God cares for those who are suffering and hurt in this world, if our mind moves according to political interests, this proves that the object we worship is not likely to be the God in the Bible.

    So what the Korean church needs to do about the Sewol tragedy is to apologize for the words and actions that hurt the families of the victims. Moreover, we must repent of our sins, who loved idols more than God. Although there may be many words to defend the Korean church, we must do it because what the Korean church has to do before God is repentance of our sins.

    On the day that many lives were lost in the sea, what was the Korean church paying attention to? It is difficult to deny that the Korean church was more concerned with worldly desires than It is difficult to deny that the Korean church was more concerned with worldly desires than those who were hurt due to the tragedy. That was our reality. Therefore, we cannot deny this: You are what you love and what you love is your God.

In the sea of ​​April 16, 2014, the things we loved the most were exposed to the whole world.