Female Images of God in Christian Worship: In the Spirituality of TongSungGiDo of the Korean Church

152 Pages·2014·8.156 MB·English

by  Kim MyungSil

2
Female Images of God in Christian Worship: In the Spirituality of TongSungGi-
Do of the Korean Church examines problems that arise from the use of exclu- F
e
sively patriarchal images in modern Christian worship. The author asserts m
a
that female images in the Bible could help worshippers find a relationship l
e

with God and provide encouragement and comfort in difficult situations. I
m
As a Korean Christian, MyungSil Kim explores the possibilities of employ- a Female Images of God
g
ing God’s female images in the services of the Korean Church, noting that e
s
Korea’s native religions, the ancient religions and Muism, had many female o
f
deities unlike patriarchal foreign religions such as Buddhism and Confu- G
in Christian Worship
cianism. These female deities have comforted the Korean people when they o
d
experienced han, a distinctive emotion of deep sadness and resentment that
i
n
is characteristically Korean. TongSungGiDo, the unique Korean prayer style C
of communal lament, provides an opportune space and time for the consid- h
r
eration of female images in the Bible. MyungSil Kim examines how female i
s
t
images could more effectively function in the context of TongSungGiDo in ia
n
accordance with traditional practices to express the complementarity among W
the concepts of han, lament, female images of God, and prayer. This book
o
is strongly grounded on biblical studies, feminist studies, Christian ethics, r
s
and religious studies, including principles of inculturation. The volume is hi In the Spirituality of TongSungGiDo
p
a valuable resource to pastors who are sensitive about language justice in
worship and to those seeking to explore feminist theology and particularly of the Korean Church
feminist liturgical studies.
MyungSil Kim is Adjunct Professor at Presbyterian College and Theolog-
ical Seminary in Seoul, Korea. She received her Ph.D. in liturgical studies
from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. At present, she is a member
of the local worship committee for WCC 10th Assembly. In addition, she
serves as vice-secretary of the Korean Society for Practical Theology and
was a past secretary of the Korea Association of Liturgy. She is a member of
the Feminist Liturgy Seminar of the North American Academy of Liturgy
and the Korean Association of Women Theologians. Before she earned her
doctorate, Kim worked as a member of the Board of Directors in the Korean
K MYUNGSIL KIM
Christian Women Counseling Center for victims of domestic violence and I
M
as a parish minister in Korea.
ISBN 978-1-4331-2154-8
P
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e
r
L
a
n
g
LiturgicaL StudieS
www.peterlang.com
LSR 02-312154_Kim_AM 150x225 HC NY.indd 1 13.05.14 16:32
2
Female Images of God in Christian Worship: In the Spirituality of TongSungGi-
Do of the Korean Church examines problems that arise from the use of exclu- F
e
sively patriarchal images in modern Christian worship. The author asserts m
a
that female images in the Bible could help worshippers find a relationship l
e

with God and provide encouragement and comfort in difficult situations. I
m
As a Korean Christian, MyungSil Kim explores the possibilities of employ- a Female Images of God
g
ing God’s female images in the services of the Korean Church, noting that e
s
Korea’s native religions, the ancient religions and Muism, had many female o
f
deities unlike patriarchal foreign religions such as Buddhism and Confu- G
in Christian Worship
cianism. These female deities have comforted the Korean people when they o
d
experienced han, a distinctive emotion of deep sadness and resentment that
i
n
is characteristically Korean. TongSungGiDo, the unique Korean prayer style
C
of communal lament, provides an opportune space and time for the consid- h
r
eration of female images in the Bible. MyungSil Kim examines how female i
s
t
images could more effectively function in the context of TongSungGiDo in ia
n
accordance with traditional practices to express the complementarity among W
the concepts of han, lament, female images of God, and prayer. This book
o
is strongly grounded on biblical studies, feminist studies, Christian ethics, r
s
and religious studies, including principles of inculturation. The volume is h In the Spirituality of TongSungGiDo
i
p
a valuable resource to pastors who are sensitive about language justice in
worship and to those seeking to explore feminist theology and particularly of the Korean Church
feminist liturgical studies.
MyungSil Kim is Adjunct Professor at Presbyterian College and Theolog-
ical Seminary in Seoul, Korea. She received her Ph.D. in liturgical studies
from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. At present, she is a member
of the local worship committee for WCC 10th Assembly. In addition, she
serves as vice-secretary of the Korean Society for Practical Theology and
was a past secretary of the Korea Association of Liturgy. She is a member of
the Feminist Liturgy Seminar of the North American Academy of Liturgy
and the Korean Association of Women Theologians. Before she earned her
doctorate, Kim worked as a member of the Board of Directors in the Korean
K MYUNGSIL KIM
Christian Women Counseling Center for victims of domestic violence and I
M
as a parish minister in Korea.
P
e
t
e
r
L
a
n
g
LiturgicaL StudieS
www.peterlang.com
LSR 02-312154_Kim_AM 150x225 HC NY.indd 1 13.05.14 16:32
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR

Female Images of God
in Christian Worship

“In this volume, MyungSil Kim explores the possibility of recognizing the
female dimension of God in Christian worship. She probes the Hebrew
scriptures to find traces of the divine female in ancient Israel, in other areas of
the ancient Near East, and in Korean history. Kim notes that many of these
images appealed to in times of trouble, comforting people who were oppressed
and suffering. Therefore she proposes bringing female images of God to the
Korean Christian prayer tradition named TongSungGiDo, in which people are
able to cry out to God with their deepest feelings, as well as in other worship
settings where people pour out their deepest feelings to God. This brilliant
interdisciplinary study is a hopeful and faithful contribution to all who seek to
renew Christian worship, to hold up women as equal partners with men in
relation to God, and to open new ways for people to express their true selves
before God. I highly recommend it.”
Ruth Duck, Professor of Worship,
Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois

“In this book, MyungSil Kim suggests that in Christian worship female images
of God should be provided for worshipping women who are seeking their
identities, their self-grammars in God. Kim’s principal concern is how to reveal
God’s wholeness and steadfast love to people. If any language diminishes God’s
whole image and our identities, we must consider its use in worship critically.
Kim’s discovery of the correlation between lamentable situations and divine
female images in many religious traditions as well as in the biblical traditions
would be appropriate in the practice of TongSungGiDo, a kind of lamenting
prayer based on Korean unique emotion, han. Most Korean Christians who are
praying within the lamenting spirituality of TongSungGiDo may find the
motherly comforts in God’s biblical female images.”
Unyong Kim, Professor of Preaching and Worship,
Presbyterian College and Theological Seminary, Seoul, Korea

Female Images of God
in Christian Worship
LITURGICAL STUDIES
Sylvia A. Sweeney
General Editor
Vol. 2
This book is a volume in a Peter Lang monograph series.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.
PETER LANG
New York ∙ Washington, D.C./Baltimore ∙ Bern
Frankfurt am Main ∙ Berlin ∙ Brussels ∙ Vienna ∙ Oxford
MyungSil Kim
Female Images of God
in Christian Worship
In the Spirituality of TongSungGiDo
of the Korean Church
PETER LANG
New York ∙ Washington, D.C./Baltimore ∙ Bern
Frankfurt am Main ∙ Berlin ∙ Brussels ∙ Vienna ∙ Oxford
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kim, MyungSil.
Female images of God in Christian worship: in the spirituality
of TongSungGiDo of the Korean church / MyungSil Kim.
p. cm. — (Liturgical studies; v. 2)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1.Women in Christianity—Korea. 2. Femininity of God. 3. Worship. I. Title.
BR1325.K56 231.09519—dc23 2013019998
ISBN 978-1-4331-2154-8 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4539-1171-6 (e-book)
ISSN 2155-6768
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data is available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.
© 2014 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006
www.peterlang.com
All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments / vii
Introduction / 1
1. THE IMAGE OF GOD: A SELF-GRAMMAR IN WORSHIP / 5
We are the Image of God / 7
Woman Identity Marginalized by Male / 18
Understanding the Sex/Gender Images of God Metaphorically / 22
Female-Women, Lament, and the Female Image of God / 31
2. IN HER IMAGE: THE TRACES OF FEMALE DEITIES / 37
Goddesses in the Ancient Near East / 37
The Asherah/ashreah in the Hebrew Religious Tradition / 53
3. FEMALE REFERENCES AND IMAGES FOR GOD IN THE BIBLE / 67
Anatomical Female Images / 67
Motherly Female Images of God / 70
Female Images based on the Professional Role / 79
4. FEMALE IMAGES OF GOD AND THE KOREAN CHURCH / 83
The Female Divine Worlds in Korean Myths and the Native Religion / 84
The Biblical Female Images of God in the Spirituality of TongSungGiDo / 97
Conclusion / 115
Bibliography / 119
Index / 127