Ham's Approach to Religion

The intersection of Western Christianity and East Asian philosophy was important to Ham as a Korean, living in a multifarious religious-philosophical background. Although Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) maintained that "East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet", that was not the case for Ham. Ham's Universal-Christian philosophy view is a poly-dimensional merging of Western Christianity with East Asian philosophies. From his early life Ham came into contact with a variety of ideas and experiences. As a Korean, he was familiar with Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and traditional Korean shamanism. Moreover Ham directly experienced various "isms" throughout his turbulent life. For Ham, Japanese colonialism represented imperialism as against pacifism. North Korean Communism emerged as atheistic-materialism as against his own Christo-solifidianism. Syngman Rhee's Christian regime came forth as pro-Christian favouritism as against his Universalism. And Park Chunghee's re-enforcing of Confucianism appeared as an absolute paternalism against his liberalism and transcendentalism.

In this socio-philosophical environment, Ham tried to reinterpret East Asian classical philosophies in relation to Western Christianity, in the light of the contemporary needs of his fellow Koreans. In particular, Ham's emphasis on individual responsibility has done a great deal to break down the traditional concept of Christian 'atonement' and inherited Korean Confucian subservience to authority. Hence the harsh rigidities of Puritanism were progressively softened by a latitudinarian Quaker, Ham.

As an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi and his non-violence movement, Ham also studied Hinduism and regarded Gandhi as the greatest man in modern history. Traditionally, Koreans have not been influenced by Hinduism, but in the case of Ham, his interest in Hinduism was due to his personal admiration for Gandhi. Ham even considered Gandhi "as a man of example in showing the essence of Christianity." Considering that Hinduism comprised a tendency for religious pluralism as opposed to the monotheism of Christianity, Ham felt he shared an intimate common ground with it. Due to his affection for both Gandhi and Hinduism, Ham translated the following books: The Biography of Gandhi in 1964, A Thought for the Day: Memoirs of Gandhi in 1981 and The Bhagavadgita in 1985, which helped his understanding of Hinduism and Gandhism in a universal sense.

Owing to his early experience with the Presbyterian church, Ham was also deeply interested not only in traditional Christianity, but also in the Non-Church Movement and Quakerism. Moreover Ham translated the history of Quakers, Howard Brinton's Friends for 300 Years in 1970, and Kahlil Gibran's (1883-1931) writings including, The Prophet in 1960 and Jesus, The Son of Man in 1976, which greatly helped Ham's eclectic understanding of Christianity. In particular, Ham liked Gibran's mysticism since he tried to intermingle the West and East.

Although Ham was constantly 'religious' throughout his life, it can also be argued that his religious-philosophical tendencies 'jumped around' somewhat erratically and it seems he was easily swayed by each new influence he met. Nevertheless, it is this absorption of many different thoughts and views which led him to his own philosophical and religious standpoint and even to socio-political reform. This may be why Ham summed up his life as 'Kicked by God'.

For the Korean mentality, being a Christian meant also overwhelmingly embracing the Western-centric view of Christianity. In opposition to this concept, Ham created the idea and image of an indigenous Korean Christianity. A prominent non-Christian journalist, Song Konho, summarised the uniqueness of Ham as an East Asian-Christian: "When I imagine the semblance of a Christian in Korea, they look like and act like 'semi-Westerners'. But in the case of Ham, he appears to me as an idyllic and countrified Korean grandpa."

Song's comment on Ham is not surprising when one considers the legacy of the nineteenth century missionary's fundamentalism on Korean Christianity. Ham could not or did not want to reduce, disregard and oppose the Asian spirit (religions), in particular philosophical Taoism and Gandhism. Although Ham recognised himself as a Christian, at the same time East Asian religions were not just superstitions for him. Rather, through the various East Asian philosophies, Ham's understanding of Christianity widened and deepened.

Besides the Western-centric view of Christianity, there is another problem with Korean Christianity. The Korean Church, although 'Western' in its formality and appearance, is certainly quite shamanistic in its notion and conduct. In terms of its characteristics the Korean Church has also identified itself as shamanistic. In Koreans' shamanistic 'monotheism' there is no perception of history, social justice, the prophetic role, or the moral awareness of a Supreme Being. The shaman notion of Hanu-nim (God) is ahistorical and amoral. To this ahistorical, amoral and moreover asocial conception of Hanu-nim, the Judeo-Christian God was combined, shaping most of Korean Christianity as conservative in doctrinal matters, ahistorical and asocial in several ways.

In this respect, Ham criticised Korean Christians' proclivity to a shamanistic nature: "Korean Christians have a larger respect for their creeds and dogmas than for what they are capable of experiencing. They pray for their own bliss and welfare, so showing that they have not cast out shamanism." The act of praying is not in itself spiritual. I regard praying for one's own bliss and welfare as shamanistic and materialistic. Only when one prays for the bliss and welfare of others is one's prayer spiritual. Hence in my view, Korean Christians are materialistic and shamanistic, regardless of their 'dynamic' prayers.

The problem with Korean Christians is that they have no socio-political consciousness nor historical awareness. In my view this is related to the 'de-politicisation' and suppression of Korea. Their predominant concerns are to obtain secular blessings, material wealth and physical health. Hence today's Korean Christians are also the defenders of wealth and material property. Because of these inclinations of the Korean church, Ham warned Korean Christians to be more 'spiritual' than material. Jesus was also a friend of poor people and identified himself with the underprivileged, prisoners and the downtrodden. Christianity used to be a religion of the poor rather than of people with vested interests. As Jesus put it: "Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

An East Asian Interpretation of Western Christianity     Table of Contents