"난민"에 대한 기독교적 이해와 한국교회의 대응 방안

Abstract

The number of refugees moving around the world far exceeds the number of the Korean population. Most of the refugees are joining the journey of evacuation as they are threatened by their nation's long civil war or political and social unrest. The recent Yemen refugee crisis in Jeju Island shows that Korea is no longer be an exception in the face of this global diaspora of refugees. God commanded, through the revelation of the Bible, that all refugees must be welcomed and cared for regardless of race, region, and identity. Moreover, if the refugees were converted and circumcised, they would enjoy the same benefits as the people of Israel and receive the spiritual grace as people of the covenant. However, if the people of Israel including the refugees worshipped idols or follow foreign customs, instead of God, they would be cut off from the community in order to preserve Israel's identity and purity. Inheriting such thought, many people of God have greatly served refugees, including John Calvin and Nicolaus Zinzendorf. Calvin, a former French refugee himself, made Geneva a holy city and accepted refugees from all over Europe through the Genevan Church, eventually making them legal citizens of Geneva. In addition, through the Genevan Academy, he nurtured refugees well both spiritually and theologically, and reverse-sent them to Europe as ministry workers. Calvin greatly contributed to the European evangelization and also played an important role in sending missionaries to Brazil which was the first Protestant mission activity in South America. The seeds of the refugee ministry planted by Calvin in Geneva are now bearing fruit as the UN Refugee Agency(United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) headquarters are in Geneva. Despite pressure from the Catholic Church, Zinzendorf also aided the settlement of Moravian refugees in his land and formed the Herrnhut Brethren. This mission-oriented church, founded on Pietism, developed into a religious community that was fully Bible-oriented and became a mission community that played a key role in the Protestant world missions. There is a missional group of evangelicals that practice the biblical teaching and the ministry of Calvin and Zinzendorf for refugees, called the "Lausanne Movement." The Lausanne Movement, through the statement of three meetings, declared that refugees are to be important subjects of world mission and requested "the Whole Church" to participate in refugee ministry for "the Whole Gospel." Modern Christian missions should be holistic, combining the social and evangelical mandates. Thus, the ultimate goal of mission should be spiritual salvation but the point of contact should be care for refugees from the social perspective. We must abandon all negative prejudice and abuse against refugees. Rather we must provide various welfare benefits within the limits of social interest and law, and respect their human rights without discriminating or marginalizing them so that they may live as citizens of Korea and citizens of God's Kingdom. In order to do so, the Korean church should actively participate in refugee ministry. God commanded the people of Israel to welcome the refugees, repeatedly reminding them, "You yourselves were aliens[refugees] in Egypt." Likewise, our country has history and experiences as refugees as our ancestors were dispersed to other nations with the fall of the Korean Empire, during the Japanese occupation, the 6.25 Korean War, and the history of Korean-American immigration in the US began with refugees in Hawaii. Also, the UNKRA(United Nations Korea Reconstruction Agency), the predecessor of the UN Refugee Agency, was an organization designed for refugees in the Korean War. Given this historical background, the Korean society, especially the Korean Church, must not deny or neglect refugee ministry. However, Muslim refugees who do need care but prioritize Sharia law over domestic law should be thoroughly examined and prevented for national security and public safety. Currently, the problem with Muslim refugees is becoming serious around the world, and due to such, the European Union is shaking. Therefore, the government, which has the right to approve refugees, should carefully examine Muslim refugees to determine whether they are capable of being responsible for the safety of the people and the nation, and urgently revise the current fragile refugee law. Thus, for those accepted as legal refugees by the government, the Korean Church must unite to formulate a systematic and professional strategy for the refugees and thus carry out holistic ministry.