In Korea, about 1/4 of the population declares their religion as Christianity, and there are many people with the religious identity of being Christians, but about 23% of them are called CANAAN Believers who do not attend church. So called “Believin...
In Korea, about 1/4 of the population declares their religion as Christianity, and there are many people with the religious identity of being Christians, but about 23% of them are called CANAAN Believers who do not attend church. So called “Believing without Belonging“ has become one of the trends in Korean Church. Social trust of the church has recently dropped to around 18%. After the introduction of Christianity at the end of the 19th century, the church was regarded as the cradle of the so-called theology embracing the spirit of freedom and equality, and there was a time when it was trusted by the public as a resistance against Japanese oppression. Until the middle of the 20th century, the church was recognized as a religion beneficial to society and a religion that opened eyes, and people overflowed the church hall through brief evangelism when the door was opened. However, as the threshold of the church was lowered and many conversion cases occurred, conversion became a light process like a kind of rite of passage. This study began with a reasonable suspicion that there are more and more nominal Christians in Korea these days, and I wondered what kind of shape Christians who live and experience true conversion will have in their lives.
To this end, the conversion stories of Ganzo, Lewis, Kuyper, and Ju Seon-ae were explored and found the seven relevant elements of Smith's conversion (intellectual conversion, repentance and repentance, emotional conversion, volitional conversion of determination-loyalty-dedication, sacramental elements, and spiritual conversion). and Lonergan's conversion theory. In the end, it was concluded that true conversion must overcome prejudice and stubbornness, transform from self-centeredness to value-centeredness, and meet the true self through the Holy Spirit through a process of growth accompanied by fierce, holistic, and sincerity toward self, neighbors, and God. Conversion should be accompanied by fierce self-struggle and should never be a summary process. Only through true and complete conversion will they find their heart's home, and as Christians who respond to God's calling throughout their lives, they will become holy people and establish God's kingdom in the world, and gain trust from society after all.