As the Korean hostage drama nears an end, debate over evangelism and questions about terrorism have re-emerged from the sidelines, promising to occupy attention long after the Korean hostage story fades out of the headlines.
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(Photo: AP Images / Lee Jin-man)A South Korean woman walks past a TV showing a program displaying pictures of the remaining South Korean hostages in Afghanistan at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2007. Taliban militants were expected to release seven remaining hostages after 4 p.m. (1130 GMT) on Thursday, bringing to an end a six-week drama that saw two captives executed, an Afghan elder involved in the talks said.
The question over whether missionary activities should take place in dangerous territories was largely suppressed to focus on the release of the hostages held by Taliban militants since July 19. But discussion was reignited this week after the South Korean government pledged to stop Korean Christian missionary activities in Afghanistan as part of the deal to free the hostages.
Protestant organizations in South Korea have said they will respect the new law banning missionary activities in Afghanistan after voicing appreciation for the government’s effort in freeing the Christian volunteers.
The Korea National Council of Churches in a statement Tuesday night said it was “right to respect the government’s agreement with the Taliban,” according to Chosun Ilbo – the largest newspaper in South Korea.
Furthermore, the church body added that it will use the hostage crisis to reflect on Korean churches’ overseas mission strategies and formulate more effective as well as safer ways to conduct missionary activities abroad. South Korea is currently the world's second largest missionary sending nation after the United States.
Other South Korean bodies which vowed to respect the government’s agreement with the Taliban include the Christian Council of Korea and the Institute of Asian Culture and Development.
However, the head of the Institute of Asian Culture and Development, Choi Han-woo, noted that the Taliban apparently wanted to define missionary work to include Korean volunteer activities as well and “to justify their abduction,” according to Chosun Ilbo.
Still, Choi said his organization will pull out its workers from Afghanistan in compliance with the agreement.
Family members and the group’s home church in South Korea, meanwhile, have denied accusation that the captives were in Afghanistan for evangelism. They say instead that the group of volunteers was only offering free medical services to poor Afghans and was on its way to do just that when their bus was hijacked by Taliban militants on July 19.
Since the kidnapping – the largest abduction of foreigners in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 – two male hostages have been killed. The leader of the group, Bae Hyung-kyu, was found dead on July 25, and the body of 29-year-old Shim Sung-min was found July 30. Prior to the latest releases, two females – 37-year-old Kim Kyung-ja and 32-year-old Kim Ji-na – were freed on Aug. 13.
After the Taliban-South Korea agreement Tuesday, 12 more hostages were released on Wednesday.
The freed men have been identified as Go Se-hun and Yu Kyung-sik, and the women as Lee Sun-young, Im Hyun-ju, Yu Jung-hwa, Lee Ji-young, An Hye-jin, Lee Jung-ran, Han Ji-young, Seo Myung-hwa, Lee Ju-yun and Cha Hye-jin, according to The Korea Times.
South Korea, besides promising to ban Korean missionaries from Afghanistan, also pledged to pull out its 210 troops by the end of the year – a move it was already planning to make prior to the hostage crisis.
Although there were earlier reports that suggested the involvement of money in the negotiations, an Indonesian government official who took part in the negotiations Tuesday between three South Korean officials and two Taliban commanders where the deal was struck said money was not brought up. Continue >>
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God bless our Korean brothers and sisters!!Doing Gods work in a country so in the grasp of the enemy.They are a shining example for all of us who see the need for the advancement of the gospel to all the nations.They live the very words of Christ by being willing to lose this life to gain the next.I pray that they continue to get the opportunity to let their light shine as an example to us all.
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Exodus 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
Joshua 23:15
Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the LORD your God promised you; so shall the LORD bring upon you all evil things.
Judges 9:23
Then God sent an evil spirit
1 Samuel 16:14
But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
2 Samuel 12:11
Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house
1 Kings 9:9
...therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.
1 Kings 14:10
Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam
2 Kings 6:33 ...Behold, this evil is of the LORD;
2 Kings 21:12 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.
2 Kings 22:16 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place
2 Chronicles 34:24 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof...
Nehemiah 13:18 Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city?
Jeremiah 4:6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
Jeremiah 6:19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people
Jeremiah 11:11 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them
Jeremiah 25:29 For, lo, I begin to bring evil
Jeremiah 35:17 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them:
Jeremiah 44:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah
Jeremiah 45:5 ...behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD:
Jeremiah 49:37 ...I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:
Micah 1:12 .... evil came down from the LORD
Micah 2:3 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil
Annie… with all do respect I have to completely disagree that the core of mankind is evil. I believe the core of mankind is actually quite good and that evil is primarily perpetrated by otherwise good people acting in the name of god. Hate is not a family value, it is a religious one. In fact, according to your own scripture god himself conducts in and even created evil. Therefore by your own belief, it is not man who is evil, but god himself since he created evil to begin with. By your own tenants there can be nothing without god, and therefore there can be no evil without god and by any logical supposition of that fact then god is the root of all evil. But don’t listen to me, you only need look as far as the Bible (which I have read cover to cover twice, and have a strong belief that if 1/5th of Christians actually read the book they so fervently support there would be no Christianity because the entire thing is absurd, however out of all the Christian zealots I have met, maybe 2 have actually read the whole thing and those are the ones who don’t take it literally).
People who travel to other countries to feed and care for the poor are wonderful, and secular non-Christian organizations make up the vast majority of these. I think it is dishonest at best and evil at worst to offer care and clothing and food to a people only in an effort to witness to them. You would say that it’s a completely selfless act because you are spreading salvation, but as someone who has spent extensive time in the third world I would argue the exact opposite. It is a completely selfish and foolish act to take advantage of disadvantaged people in order to spread your own system of belief… again the example is more important than the message. By luring people in to hear your message with bread you are no worse than the serpent luring in Eve with the promise of the apple. Charity is an act of selfless sacrifice, not a quid pro quo, eat our food hear our message endeavor.
Hello Smells: No one can change another person, we cannot even change ourselves. The core of mankind is rotten, evil and when you look around this world, it is cleary visible how evil mankind is becoming daily.
I used to have no belief until I had tried everything this world offers and found NOTHING! I decided to give Jesus Christ a chance; and Wow am I glad that I did! I discovered the truth about this world, about my own place in life. It's amazing how the world believes in all the lies, including myself. We've gotten so acustom to the lies, we don't even know truth when we hear it.
Well, Jesus Christ, changed my life and I thank Him for that! Jesus never said to ram faith down anyone's throat. Going into all the world and preaching the Gospel, is a mandate to share the love of God with people. That is what the Gospel is all about, the love of God..we were created to love and be loved by God. How man interprets the Bible apart from The Holy Spirit isn't even accurate. Without The Holy Spirit man cannot discern the Word of God, it is a SPIRITUAL Book, and the natural man rejects it! I know because I sure did!
Now for the missionaries, NO one deserves what happened to them. People travel in countries every day, health missionaries, etc. They are going in and aiding people who are DYING of starvation, and health issues. Jesus Christ, went to the poor, the outcasts of society and this is our calling today. To be witnesses of the love of God, and to show that JESUS CHRIST is real and HE is returning. You are free to believe God or not believe Him, just as all mankind is.
You quote Scripture in your text and yet you yourself are judging others.
I'm lifting you up in prayer to Almighty God right now that HE will show you just how real He is and that He will turn your heart to Him, just as He has me and so many others.
It is not dumb to go and share the love of God with others, so many in this world are waiting for someone to show them how real God is and that HE truly loves them.
Mankind could NOT help itself, and thus God sent HIS Son to redeem us out of the PIT that we got ourselves into. Now, my prayer is that my life is a living testimony for Jesus, how HE took a beat up, broken, foster child, and turned my life 180 degrees around. I praise HIM for that! and if HE can do that for me, HE can do that for anyone! For HIS Glory! - Annie
Christianity is the Kingdom of God on earth. Its King is Jesus Christ of Nazareth whose father is Jehovah. Jesus died on the cross as an atonement for our sin and everyone who believes in him shall not perish in the lake of fire but shall have everlasting life. In Matthew 28:18 - 20, Jesus set the Great Commission for all Christians until he returns in the Second Coming. Jesus says, " I have been given authority in heaven and on earth. Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age." This is the reason that Christians will continue to go into hostile countries at great personal risk to themselves to tell people about Jesus and how they may receive the gift of eternal life. For Christians, winning souls for Christ in countries like Afghanistan is worth the risk! I pray, Abba Father, that you will create a new heart for anyone reading this message and that you will renew the right spirit within them. Amen.
This is another fine example of how regardless of the god in question; every religion in its fundamental form is equally despicable. All of them thrive on the same purpose, to convert others to the same system of belief to supposedly “save” them from themselves. Whether you are converting somebody by the sword or in the case of most Christians these days, by luring in the poor with promises of food and infrastructure, you are participating in a campaign to destroy another culture and the only outcome will be exactly what we have gotten, violent resistance. Then, when trespassing on another people’s land to trick them into Christ the Christians look on in amazement as people are kidnapped and murdered. Going into Afghanistan to remove the Taliban was the absolute right move, but then for Christian missionary organizations to piggy back on that effort to get in and exercise their own brand of religious extremism is absolutely ridiculous and these people got exactly what they deserved and should have never been released. Even worse than that, for their government to come in and bail them out and pay a ransom to free these zealots is criminal. How many others will be kidnapped or murdered now that the Islamic extremists know they can profit from it? How many criminals who aren’t even Islamic will use this as an opportunity to make a buck in a country where the largest economic opportunities come from harvesting poppies to make opium? How many new terrorists will sign up for service now that the cat is out of the bag on these Christian organizations operating in their countries?
Armageddon is a self fulfilling prophecy as long as the nuts who believe in it continue working towards it by imposing themselves on other people’s affairs. If Christians and Muslims and Jews and like had at least enough sense to follow their own systems of faith we wouldn’t have any of these problems. The Bible and the Koran are both adamant that the believer’s responsibility is to focus on their own salvation and relationship with god and to spread the word to those open to it, not to force it down people’s throats or lure them in with promises of sustenance in an effort to witness to them. The way you change other people is through example, not through evangelizing. If any religion collectively had its junk together and its people actually practiced what they preached people would gravitate to it without the need to go around making a scene of it. Unfortunately all major religions are more of an assemblage of people covering their own faults up by shouting every chance they get how messed up everyone else is. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, and let he who is perfect give advice on how other people should live, and let he who is dumb enough to travel to a third world Islamic country to spread his own brand of nonsense get exactly what’s coming to him.