© 2020 Jisoo Han
© 2020 The Urantia Book Fellowship
by Jisoo Han
Rev. Yoon Seok Yi serves as a minister in the Way Jesusonian Church in Seoul, South Korea. He has been serving as a Prebysterian pastor for over 30 years, and in 2015 , he openly adopted the teachings of the Jesusonian Gospel, the Urantia Book, for his congregation. Here is the interview with him.
Could you tell me a bit about the church?
Rev. Yi: The church is called “The Way Jesusonian Family.” I refer to the Urantia Book as “the Jesusonian Gospel.” In paper 195 of the book, they are talking about the future of Christianity. Jesus talked about the true church, and he used a specific word, "Jesus
Brotherhood or Jesusonian." I interpret these words as the family of Jesus, which means the gathering of people who live the Jesusonian gospel with faith. All the religions in human history, including Christianity, are evolutionary religions. The Way Jesusonian Family is the community of people who strive to pursue revelatory religion. That is the direction The Way Jesusonian Family takes. Since we are bound in the cultural background, at this moment the church is preserving the form of Christianity. We may change the form along the way, though.
When did you start to adopt the teachings of the Jesusonian gospel in the church?
Rev. Yi: I found the Urantia book in the winter of 2013. I was preparing a sermon for Epiphany, January 6. That is the day when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. The date is known to Eastern Christianity as January 6, while it is January 14 as in the Urantia Book. Anyway, I was lookingonline about John the Baptist and I came across a website that contains all the stories in a quite precise and organized way. It naturally intrigued me, and I started reading.
I read and studied the book myself for a year and a half, trying to find a way to best integrate this teaching into what I had been doing. When it was clear, I proclaimed at the church that we would be dedicated to the Jesusonian gospel, the revelatory religion. That was on July 5th of 2015.
Was it difficult for you or the church members to accept the Jesusonian Gospel?
When I founded the church on June 9th of 2013, I had this faith-vision in my mind - that everyone is a child of God. The traditional Christian church only accepts Christian believers as brothers and sisters, and excludes others as non-believers, secular people, or even as children of evil. I had this thought that there should be at least one church that accepts anybody as brothers and sisters. Hence the church name, “The Way.” It has a two-fold meaning. First, the heavenly way - the way to ascend and second, the earthly way - the way to love everyone.
Only after six months of founding The Way Church, I found the Urantia Book. I was surprised and delighted to discover the book that contained exactly that vision and thought.
What is “church” to you, and what is your hope for The Way Jesusonian Church?
It is the place and community where we reveal God’s love to the world. I have one hope. I want The Way Jesusonian Family to become whole for the era of light and life. I hope the church produces many devoted believers who live the Jesusonian gospel and change the politics, culture, and the way people live. I hold the sense of responsibility to help the politics, society, culture, firms, schools, religious organizations, and family to be reformed in a way that people fully live the truth, the Jesusonian gospel.
What are you currently doing with the church, with the sense of responsibility?
First and foremost is to influence people in the community so that they can live the gospel. The starting point is sharing of the truth. Towards the end of the book, the revelators are talking about the emergence of people who are dedicated to Jesus’ gospel. It is not that important when that is going to happen. If you believe the gospel and live it, you are them. The one who proclaims is a prophet, apostle, disciple, and evangelist. There is no need to wait for other people to come. So, I am doing it now where I am. Worship and training people are the most important things to do. We gather on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Sunday for worship. I have made it clear since the very beginning that I will only share the Urantia Book teaching in worship. The book is not an object of intellectual study, but is the truth that we should live with faith. It is a much slower process than just reading and comprehending the book. It takes a longer time because living the truth takes time, energy, courage, and exercising the faith. It is not easy to resolve conflicts in various relationships. It is much harder to forgive and love a person than reading the book a thousand times. It is a must for a church member who believes in Jesus’ gospel to practice love by sharing the truth with patience. We are still just going through that process.
