No. 3

#3 what do mission organizations do for these people?

Throughout the world there are varieties of different missionary organizations helping out the “untouched” people. Brining them closer to the context of what is “right,” some organizations tend to invade and annihilate their cultures. Yes, it is true that missionaries do destroy cultures, as Don Richardson proclaims, “That [missionaries] destroy certain things in culture, just as doctors sometimes must destroy certain things in a human body if a patient is to live.”

The organizations attempts to give new values in life, of something that is worth living for. But as they struggle to bring new values into their life, the uncivilized people sometimes do not understand or misinterpret what the organizations are trying to accomplish.

Missionary organizations are interacting with these people by learning their language, customs, and values to find a cultural key which will guide them into Christianity. The missionary organizations also provide them with provisions and with the knowledge they lack; hoping to make them understand what the true values are and also hoping to light a new spark into their souls to bring them closer to God by spreading the gospel.

No. 2

#2 How does Faith relate to the world in which we live?

Faith is having trust, belief, or confidence in a person or a thing. Faith is something intangible.

Without faith what can be done? Can someone accomplish their dream? Can there be promises? Can there be Communication? No!

Faith is essential to the world we live in today.

Without faith no one can be trusted. There would be no love, nor relationships. I believe that through faith people have a purpose in life, and through faith people could look forward to things and be delighted. The fact that a person has no faith in someone or something would make a person feel extremely lonely and depressed. But if that person has someone to trust and have a relationship, they would rather feel firm and joyous.

Humans are imperfect. Therefore there are many things that people can’t do with their own abilities. So people like myself tend to depend on God. People pray to God to ask for wisdom and for help. We live in hope, we have expectations and we look forward to it. A person will meet many adversities in life and sometimes we will be overwhelmed by it and it will be hard to overcome. Without faith who can we depend upon and who will be our pillar of support?

No. 1

#1. What factors of your native culture have informed your religious world view? Explain the impact of these factors...

I am indeed a Christian...

I was born in a Christian family and was raised to be a Christian. I also lived in a Korean culture where superstition was present. I was taught by my parents and grand-parents that when going to church, we must be dressed formally. I was taught to bow my head under God and to always be obedient. I always had to offer new money and had to strictly obey the Ten Commandments.

Living almost ten years of my life in Korea, I have accepted its culture. Things were strict and rigid, and I became a self-disciplined child. I also became self-dependent which limited my reliance on God. At this point of my life, I knew who God was and attended church my whole life, but I was merely a Christian. I saw the world as meaningless that we are destined to be who we are and have to live according to our destiny.

Few years later, my life was filled with complexity and I happened to end up in America. I did not know why I was living in America, but I accepted as my destiny. America was a place where things were simple and just. There wasn’t much superstition and violence, but a place of freedom. I could attend church comfortably and be more open minded. I could now be dependent on someone like Jesus. Now I saw the world entirely different that everything has a purpose and meaning, and now I understood why I ended up in America.

My native culture impacted my religious world view by turning me into a fully-fledged Christian. I now understood that God has purpose for everything for each individual and learned that “Destiny is not a matter of chance, but a matter of choice and also it is not a thing to be waited for, but a thing to be achieved.”