July2015 “Better Right Than Mennonite”

July2015ErdelEgly.pdf

“Better Right Than Mennonite”: From “Egly Amish” to the Defenseless Mennonite Church to the Evangelical Mennonite Church to the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches1 TIMOTHY PAUL ERDEL*

 Abstract: 

The gradual evolution of the nineteenth-century “Egly Amish” into the twenty-first-century Fellowship of Evangelical Churches may be interpreted as a classic case of the Anabaptist-Mennonite declension thesis, with evangelical contacts and commitments serving as the catalysts for eclipsing any obvious Anabaptist identity. The Fellowship of Evangelical Churches, for example, no longer goes by an Anabaptist name, retains Mennonite affiliations, or maintains a consistent peace witness. Nevertheless, a closer look at the “Egly Amish” story may suggest a slightly more complicated history that is difficult to reduce to a single, pessimistic thesis about the baneful effects of evangelicalism. Nor is it obvious that sincere biblical discipleship favors only the paths mainline Mennonites follow as over against those taken by groups, congregations, or individuals who seem to have left mainline Anabaptist orbits.

백승종 [예수 평전 - 인간적인, 너무도 인간적인 예수의 삶>>(김근수, 동녘, 2021)

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<<예수 평전 - 인간적인, 너무도 인간적인 예수의 삶>>(김근수, 동녘, 2021)

1.

예수는 과연 누구일까. 그의 삶이 나와 무슨 관계가 있을까. 예수의 가르침대로 산다는 것은 도대체 가능한 일일까.

이런 질문을 한 번도 가슴에 품어보지 않은 사람도 아마 있기는 할 테지요. 그러나 대개는 그렇지 않을 것입니다.

“예수의 문제”를 생각하며 사는 많은 사람 가운데, 저도 끼어 있습니다. <성서>를 틈틈이 읽어보기도 하고, 관계되는 글도 찾아서 읽어보는 편입니다. 그러나 아직 만족할 만한 답을 발견하지는 못하고 있었습니다.

2.

새로 나온 김근수 선생의 <예수 평전>을 읽었어요. 제 눈에서 비늘이 떨어지는 것 같은 기분이 듭니다.

자신이 처한 시대의 고통을 외면하지 않았던 사람, 예수가 이 책에서 저를 기다리고 있었군요. 2천 년 전 예수 시대의 문제가 오늘날 우리의 현실과 맞닿아 있다는 점을 김 선생처럼 평이하고도 생생하게 서술한 이는 보지 못했어요. <예수 평전>에서 제가 만난 예수는, 그 무엇이기에 앞서 가난한 이웃의 친구였습니다.

<<예수 평전>>은 정의를 실천하는 예수의 모습을 감동적으로 묘사합니다. 하느님 나라가 이 땅에 오게 하려면, 악의 세력을 물리치는 것 못지않게 할 일이 있다는 점, 그런 사실을 분명하게 강조하고 있다고 하겠어요. 병든 사람들, 그리고 세상이 소외하기 마련인 여러 부류의 사람을 이해하고 힘껏 도와주라는 외침입니다. 그 무엇보다도 사랑을 몸소 실천하는 일이 곧 정의로운 세상을 만드는 길이다, 이러한 점을 뚜렷이 보여주는 책입니다.

3.

저자 김근수 선생은 성실한 학자입니다. 이 책을 쓰는 과정에서 그는 정말 많은 문헌을 읽고 분석하고 비판하였어요. 이 책의 주석을 자세히 살펴보면, 김 선생의 노고가 그대로 피부에 와 닿습니다. 독일어와 영어를 비롯하여 서양의 여러 언어로 발표된 논저가 보입니다. 각국의 신학자들이 얻은, 귀중한 학문적 결실을 이 책처럼 충실히 반영한 책이 과연 국내에 또 있을지 모르겠어요. 대단한 학자라고 생각합니다.

이 책에는 더욱 큰 매력이 있어요. 김 선생은 기존의 교리적인 틀에 안주하지 않아요. 그 대신에 오늘날 우리 한국의 문제를 풀기 위하여 무척 고심하고 있어요. 그 흔적이 역력합니다. 김 선생처럼 전문적인 공부를 많이 한 학자가 기성의 종교 또는 학문 권력에 가담하지 않고, 종교적 정의를 실천하려고 광야에 홀로 나서기란 참으로 어려운 일입니다. 김 선생은 지난 수십 년 동안 많은 저술과 실천 운동으로 우리를 일깨우고 있다고 생각합니다만, 앞으로도 많은 가르침을 베풀어 줄 것으로 기대합니다.

4.

이 책을 읽으면서 책도 책이지만, 정말 훌륭한 저자라는 생각이 거듭 들었습니다. 군데군데 연필로 줄 그어 표시한 구절이 많은데요, 그 일부를 아래에 적어보렵니다.

“예수를 만나는 데 돈이 들지 않았다.” (오늘날 우리는 교회에서 예수를 만나려면 적잖은 돈이 드는 것이 아닐까 합니다.)

“가난은 정치·경제 문제 이전에 신학 문제다.”(아마도 저자 김근수 선생의 공부는 이 한 줄에서 시작되고 마무리될 것으로 생각합니다.)

“예수에게 가장 많이 혼난 사람은 부자인데, 그리스도교에서 부자가 과연 가장 많이 혼나는가.”(교회가 타락하면 어떤 모습이 되는가를 이보다 더 간결하게 말하기는 불가능하겠지요.)

“나는 예수처럼 인간적인 사람을 알지 못한다. 인간성을 보면 예수는 신성을 갖춘 분이 틀림없다고 고백하고 싶다.”(김근수 선생이 말하는 “인간성”은 사실 신성이라는 점도 눈치 챌 수 있어요. 정의를 추구하는 인간의 행동은 가장 인간적이며 신적인 것으로 볼 수가 있다는 뜻이지요.)

“예수는 유다교 지배층의 종교적 이해와 로마 군대의 정치적 이해가 얽혀 처형됐다.”(상식적으로 이해할 수 있는 부분인데요. 아마 대개의 신학자와 목회자는 이런 현실을 외면하기 쉬울 것입니다. 그들은 현실의 바깥에서 종교를 찾기 때문이지요.)

“예수는 그리스도교와 유다교를 이어주는 끈이다.”(현대사회는 아직도 이런 문제를 풀지 못하고 있습니다. 지금도 반유대주의가 유럽에 팽배하지요. 또, 유대교 역시 기독교를 이해하려는 노력은 거의 없어 보입니다. 아니, 우리가 모두 차별과 배제의 낡은 관습에 젖어 있습니다.)

“예수는 민족 문제와 민중 문제에서 가장 큰 적폐 세력을 정확히 알았고, 타협하지 않고 저항했다.”(저자 김근수 선생의 해방신학적 관점을 한마디로 요약하면 아마 이렇게 될 것입니다.)

“하느님 나라를 전하는 자, 먼저 자기 십자가를 져라. 예수처럼 자기 십자가를 지고, 악의 세력에 용기 있게 저항하고 싸워라.”(이 책의 결론인 동시에 저자가 얻은 평생의 신조가 아마 이 말씀이 아닌가 합니다.)

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‘It's in our DNA’: tiny Costa Rica wants the world to take giant climate step | Costa Rica | The Guardian

‘It's in our DNA’: tiny Costa Rica wants the world to take giant climate step | Costa Rica | The Guardian


The road to KunmingCosta Rica


Interview
‘It's in our DNA’: tiny Costa Rica wants the world to take giant climate step
Patrick Greenfield


President says the time is finally right for international agreement to tackle biodiversity loss and global heating

Costa Rica’s president, Carlos Alvarado Quesada: ‘Our approach is to lead by example.’ Photograph: Marco Valle/Bloomberg /Getty Images

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When it comes to the environment, few countries rival Costa Rica in terms of action and ambition.

The tiny Central American nation is aiming for total decarbonisation by 2050, not just a “net zero” target. It has regrown large areas of tropical rainforest after suffering some of the highest rates of deforestation in the world in the 1970s and 1980s. Costa Ricans play a major role in international environmental politics, most notably Christiana Figueres, who helped to corral world leaders into agreeing the Paris accord.



Now Costa Rica has turned its attention to securing an ambitious international agreement on halting biodiversity loss. In January, more than 50 countries committed to the protection of 30% of the planet’s land and oceans as part of the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People, spearheaded by Costa Rica, which is a co-chair alongside France and the UK.

The coalition hopes the target will become the headline aim for an international agreement on halting biodiversity loss for this decade, set to be negotiated in Kunming, China, later this year.
As Mandela said, 'It always seems impossible until it’s done'Carlos Alvarado Quesada

“Our approach is to lead by example. As Mandela said, ‘It always seems impossible until it’s done’,” the Costa Rican president, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, told the Guardian. “Conservation is one of the key factors that scientists point out as relevant for protecting biodiversity and also for addressing the climate crisis. But working alone, it’s not as effective.”

The world has never met a single target to stem the destruction of wildlife and life-sustaining ecosystems. But the 41-year-old leader believes this time might be different.
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'Sweet City': the Costa Rica suburb that gave citizenship to bees, plants and trees

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Alvarado swept to power in April 2018, defeating a conservative evangelical pastor who had campaigned against same-sex marriage. It was a rare victory for a centre-left candidate in a time of rising global rightwing populism and led Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz to conclude that Costa Rica was a beacon of enlightenment for its commitment to reason, rational discourse, science and freedom.
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But the pandemic and resulting blow to Costa Rica’s ecotourism industry forced Alvarado to enter painful negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, raising fears of large cuts in a country that puts human development at its core, alongside environmentalism.

Costa Rica, now an OECD member, has no standing army, invests heavily in education and boasts a universal healthcare system. The prospect of internationally enforced austerity caused rioting in October last year, and Alvarado pulled out of talks. In January, the IMF and the Costa Rican government agreed a $1.75bn (£1.25bn) package that avoided some of the more controversial proposals.
Environmental policies are ‘the dominant DNA’ of Costa Rica, says Alvarado. Photograph: Jeffrey Arguedas/EPA

Despite the difficult choices, the president said he was encouraged that global action on the environment will result from the pandemic, especially after the election of Joe Biden as US president, with whom he spoke recently.

“It was a very close conversation. We have lots of things in common. We talked about working together in addressing the climate crisis,” Alvarado said. “I think the message of appointing Senator [John] Kerry as ambassador in this area is very strong. It’s going to be a key priority.”
More and more, the real impacts of the climate crisis on our societies is evidentCarlos Alvarado Quesada

Alvarado did not speak to Donald Trump during the latter’s presidency. But the Costa Rican president said the climate crisis and the breakdown of nature were already causing significant problems in the region, including the migrant caravans heading to the US border that often dominate the concerns of US Republicans.
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“More and more, the real impacts of the climate crisis on our societies is evident. Just in this past year, Central America was hit by two consecutive hurricanes: Hurricane Iota and Hurricane Eta. Particularly in Nicaragua and Honduras, not only in terms of deaths but also in terms of production and the potential in terms of unemployment, the migrations that it could produce mean you cannot only see the storms in isolation as hurricanes,” he said.

“Scientists say that hurricanes in the region have become more frequent and stronger. This is going to have effects in our societies in terms of economic growth, of jobs, of inequality, of inequality in terms of women, on migration.”
Devastation caused by Hurricane Iota in Haulover, Nicaragua, in November 2020. Photograph: Inti Ocón/AFP/Getty Images

Alongside larger partners, Costa Rica will continue to encourage other governments to take bold action on biodiversity at Kunming through the HAC for Nature and People. But the road ahead is not easy. The negotiations cover conservation and the sustainable use of nature – a topic that will involve difficult choices about agriculture, chemical use and resource extraction by far more influential powers.
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Alvarado acknowledges these challenges but says that although such issues also exist in Costa Rica, he will continue to focus on being an example.

“Environmental policies do not necessarily have unanimous consensus. For the past decades, they have been the dominant DNA of Costa Rica but there are also some people saying that perhaps we should be exploiting more. But still, I believe that’s very far away from our DNA.”

Find more Age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on Twitter for all the latest news and features

• This article was amended on 25 February 2021 to correct the surname of President Alvarado.

Many forms of Quaker ministry

 Many forms of Quaker ministry

What Is Ministry? 

by Virginia Schurman, Baltimore Yearly Meeting 

Often among Friends, we think first of vocal ministry in Meeting for Worship. Yet in addition to this ministry are many other forms of ministry among Friends. All of us are called to a variety of ministries and, at different times to different ministries. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service but the same God. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all people. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (I Corinthians 12) 

1] The ministry of “being.” 

This is the ministry of those in our Meetings who are called to be a faithful person to God and to others, and whose lives quietly radiate that centeredness on God. All of us share in this ministry: to be a “ground” or “anchor” for the Meeting in Meeting for Worship, Meeting for Business, and at other times. Those called to this ministry help to deepen and center the worship just by their very presence. Their gift is one of love and faithfulness, and a life grounded in the Spirit. They may also be led to nurture others in the spiritual life. 

2] The ministry of prophesying. 

This is the ministry of those who are led by the Spirit to be an instrument to say or to do what God wishes for this particular time and situation. Giving a message in Meeting for Worship is part of the vocal prophetic ministry. There is also a social prophetic ministry, being led by God to bring God’s justice, peace, and righteousness to the world situation—for example, to the poor and hungry, the homeless, the battered, the lonely and forgotten. These are Friends who are led to be an instrument of God’s love and justice to others in work for peace, prison work, and many other forms of “social” ministry. 

3] The ministry of serving and contributing to the needs of others. 

There are those in our Meeting communities who are led to express the compassion of God by serving the needy, both physically and spiritually. They are sensitive to the needs of others and responsive to them. They provide support in many ways (large and small) to others—for example, bringing a casserole to someone who is ill, or baby-sitting for busy parents. The ministry of teaching. This is the ministry of those who know the Quaker tradition and are led to help the community appreciate who they are, where they came from, and where God is leading them now. Those called to this ministry rely, like all of us, on the Inward Teacher. This ministry is important today, when Friends no longer come from a tight-knit community who worked and lived together, where “teaching” was done by “osmosis.” 

4] The ministry of encouraging. 

This is the ministry of those led to provide care and nurture by helping others in their spiritual lives, and those in spiritual torment and difficulty. Their gift is one of truly listening to others, and to help them discern where God is leading them. This ministry goes beyond individualism to a shared experience of God. 

5] The ministry of leadership. 

This is the ministry of those led to be a facilitator—our clerks, those on Ministry and Counsel, and other Friends. There is a different kind of leadership among Friends, where the leader takes on a servant role. We are reminded of when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. These Friends are given the gift of helping the Meeting’s discernment of God’s direction for the Meeting community at this time. Perhaps there are other ministries in your Meeting. It seems that we are given different ministries at different times, and are sometimes called to ministries that stretch us beyond what we perceive as our gifts, which can help us to grow. 

— Adapted from an article in Baltimore Yearly Meeting “Interchange,” September, 1992.

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 Fostering Vital Friends Meetings, Part Two: Resources for Working with Quaker Meetings, © 1999 by Quaker Press of FGC

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