North Korea and Christianity

I have written before about North Korea and its implications for Christianity in the Asian region. My thoughts in the previous article had surrounded the idea of a rapture and seeing the signs of the times. I had written another article regarding the idea that Christianity will never have a chance in North Korea unless the North falls. Of course it was all theory. It looks like we'll now see some practical implications of spirituality in North Korea.

With the death of a strong, dominant Kim Jong Il, the questions abound. What does Kim's Death mean for the military situation on the Korean peninsula? Will the South find a way to unify the peninsula? Will the North push the button and go for unification under their flag? Will the North modernize under a new leader? Will the torture, the human rights abuses, and the starvation end?

Unfortunately, we'll have to wait and see. It looks like his third son is going to take charge. However, whether his son can maintain the family control or not is still to be seen. His father was able to court the military leaders in a way that the son may not be able to.

But the implications for Christianity are even more open-ended. Whereas the line of succession was already established by Kim once his health started failing, there is no information on how Christianity will fare in the new regime. In fact, no one is even talking about it.

Well, that's what Navy Christian is for! The sailor side of me is just about to pop with ideas on how this might affect the military landscape in the North Asian area. The believer side of me (which accounts for more of me than the sailor) is uneasy. I want to hope that an army of Christians has been waiting at the border between China and North Korea for the death of Kim. Yet I am concerned that there is now Christian army at the border, that Kim's son will be more of the same, or that the military will take over and there will be more of the same.

In these times, during situations like this, my heart aches for what must be a desperate situation. I have to remember at that God is sovereign. If ever there was hope for North Korea, then it goes through Christ to the Father.

Bottom line: I am hopeful that North Korea will open up to the Gospel because of the death of their supreme leader. I'll keep updating as I learn more.