© 1987 Robert Reno
© 1987 ANZURA, Australia & New Zealand Urantia Association
In this article Robert Reno tells us of his experiences as an army chaplain in South Korea.
Because of its length we had the unenviable task of deciding whether to bring it to you in greatly abridged form or to publish it in its entirety, but in two or more parts. Since the 6-0-6 is now published only bi-monthly, we felt we had to settle for two parts.
PART 1.
By Robert Reno
Dedicated to Meredith Sprunger and Clyde Bedell
There are two individuals who have by far made the profoundest impression upon my life, with it’s increasingly growing desire to somehow serve the revelation. I consider them to be pioneering leaders within the movement, and a source of inspiration for many, including myself. I am sure that I am not alone when I express this, so if I may say this for the many, we are deeply grateful and appreciative for your inspirational leadership and examples Although I believe it goes unsaid, these two individuals, are Clyde Bedell and Meredith Sprunger. It is to them, that I would like to dedicate my efforts here in South Korea, for their inspirational outreach ministries and their selfless spirit of evangelism.
My last year and a half here in South Korea, has largely been an experiment in outreach ministry carried out under very difficult conditions due to the Army’s severe demands on my time and energies. It has proven to me though, that the potential for some form of intentional, evangelistic outreach ministry is a very needed and viable endeavour, capable of bearing many fruitful readers of The URANTIA Book on the international and world-wide level.
From my personal experience, I believe it is literally possible to establish thousands of readers here in South Korea. The level of receptivity that I have found here is truly amazing. These young Koreans are far less materialistic and far more idealistic and spiritually minded than the average Westerner. They are enthused to examine new truth and to pursue an understanding of the teachings of The URANTIA Book beyond my initial expectations.
The fundamental guiding idea of my vision for the dissemination of The URANTIA Book here in South Korea and even Asia enlarge, has been to “establish a readership and nurture a leadership.” There are many factors unique to the Korean culture that makes this vision a phenomenal opportunity of service for the development of the revelation’s mission throughout South Korea and the Asian world.
To use the words of several eminent Asian religious leaders in attendance at the Asian Conference on Religion and Peace: “Asia is the mainspring and matrix of almost all the great religions of the world. Spirituality which activates the higher nature of humanity abounds in Asia. It is a force that makes us one in spite of our diversity in the ways of expressing it. It is en uplifting force of higher quality within us which makes ourselves fit and worthy channels for great love and compassion as witnessed and proclaimed by all religions, as the blessing and gift from on high. We have to proclaim a renewed humanity rooted in spirituality, in the midst of a spiritual crisis of the acutest kind…” “Asia is rich in its spiritual heritage. It has a history rich with sublime religious thought and activity. This dimension of its inner resources is full of vast potential…” “The awakening of religious values that one sees here in Asia and in many parts of the world is inextricable linked to humankinds yearning for a more peaceful, just, and meaningful existence at a time of global crisis.” “The key words of human evolution are faith in God and love or sense of identity among humans.” “People of religious belief look forward to a new dawn as we near the twenty-first century.”
To briefly summarize my activities in South Korea:
I arrived in this country a year and a half ego and was stationed in the northern portion of South Korea, boarding the DMZ of South and North Korea. I immediately set about to establish a readership and found this far easier then I ever expected. Through a series of lengthy conversations, I introduced The URANTIA Book to a young Korean soldier, who was very interested in the teachings I had been sharing with him.
Kim Suk Su and I began to study together on a regular basis. Soon thereafter he presented me with several of his friends wham he had told about our studies and who were very interested in the study of this “great book!”
We initiated a study group that met on a weekly basis as regularly as was possible due to Army constraints. I was impressed by the spiritual truth hunger of these young Koreans, their depth of spiritual insight and their many insightful questions they posed throughout our study groups. While some of the physical cosmology and celestial hierarchies presented in The URANTIA Book were a little difficult for them to understand at first, they were sincerely responsive to the spiritual truth contained therein. It was this area of personal realization that most impressed their minds and hearts.
All of these Korean readers of the 2nd Infantry Division study group have since returned to their respective homes throughout south Korea to continue their educations or to resume work. I have been able to maintain contact with several of these readers, one of which is Kim Suk Su who has become an active evangelist of The URANTIA Book in his area. He has been presenting The URANTIA Book to Buddhist monks in his surrounding area, which happens to be one of the major centres of Buddhism in South Korea. The last I heard from Kim Suk Su, a number of his friends have become interested in the study of The URANTIA Book through his personal efforts. Kim Suk Su has expressed to me his desire to see a translation of The URANTIA book become a reality, as well as the commitment of his life to the realization of this endeavour.
Since the middle of July I have been stationed here in Seoul. The establishment of a study group here in Seoul took no longer than three weeks of my arrival. The young Korean soldier Yum Sa Sung, whom I worked with here in the chapel, soon became interested in the study of the book through our many conversations. Once again, Yum Sa sung presented me with several of his civilian friends, who through his recommendation and enthusiasm, were interested in the study of The URANTIA Book.
Our first few study groups focused mainly on clarifying the basic terminology of The URANTIA Book, exploring some of the fundamental differences between the teachings of The URANTIA Book and Jesus as presented therein, compared to the teachings of Christianity as it has been taught them by Christian missionaries. Kim Suk oh and Lee Jong Kun both come from a Christian orientation, and Lee Jong Kur in particular, is exceptionally well studied in the scriptures and the teachings of Christianity. He is a leader within his religious community, and is open to further spiritual growth and the examination of new religious truth. Even now, Lee Jong Kun is applying these new insights and truths he is learning through his study of The URANTIA Book within the religious training course he teaches on the junior high, high school and college level.
The two experiences of studying with Lee Jong Kun that stand most out in my mind, was when we covered, the first paper on the Universal father and erroneous concepts of God, and the sections discussing the meaning of Jesus death on the cross. It was these studies, that played a key role in answering several questions that had been in the back of Kun’s searching mind. Kun had long before thought about and questioned the atonement doctrine, and whether science and religion really were two opposing forces.
The next area of outreach ministry that I would like to talk about, one that I believe has vast potential for future development here in South Korea, is the pen-pal sponsorship program initiated by Melissa Wells and the Nashville study group.
The goal of this project is to put one Korean reader in contact with one American reader through a pen-pal relationship. The guidelines of this sponsorship program are that the American reader agreed to supply a copy of The URANTIA Book to the Korean reader, and support their ongoing studies through the pen-pal relationship. The Korean reader agrees to study The URANTIA Book and also to maintain cor. respondence as required for support in the study of The URANTIA Book. There are currently five young Koreans being sponsored in such a manner, one of whom is Buddhist.
This form of outreach ministry offers a unique opportunity for developing a personal relationship with a reader from another culture very different than our own. It is a relationship in which it is possible to share with each other our personal experiences with spiritual truth within our respective cultures and practical everyday lives, and to learn of each other’s spiritual life goals.
Another area of outreach ministry I have endeavoured to carry out since I have been here in South Korea has been the placement of gift copies of The URANTIA Book in university and public libraries. To date, 22 universities and 13 public libraries throughout Seoul have received gift copies. This has been a very rewarding experience and I was received warmly by all the directors of the libraries concerned.
One of the highlights of my experiences here in South Korea was the opportunity to attend a major gathering of many of Asia’s most eminent religious leaders attending the Third Assembly of the Asian Conference on Religion and Peace held here in Seoul Korea.
It was in this way that I had the opportunity to meet and converse with religionists hailing from every part of Asia and from diverse faiths. There was even a sizable delegation from mainland China. One of the most fruitful contacts that I was able to make though, was with a Korean won Buddhist minister named Yoo Song Tae. As a result of our brief meeting at the conference, we were able to initiate a dialogue through correspondence, and it was in this way that Yoo Song Tae requested to publish my letter of introduction in the major Won Buddhist journal. In his latter he says: "The reason why I’ve made up my mind to do so is due to your meaningful and significant writing suitable for the core of Won Buddhist doctrine. Among the doctrines of Won Buddhism there is a motto as follows: “All truths lead to one (Buddha, Toa, God). So do the cosmic worlds. All human races are one family. The world is the same workshop. Let’s open up one world.”
Won Buddhism is one of the major sects of Buddhism in Korea, and was founded by Park Chung-bin (Ven. Chongsam) in 1916. There are approximately 500,000 followers in Korea, with missionary activities overseas, including the USA.
The teachings of Won Buddhism strive for universality, and profess that the essence of truth is the same in all religions. In Won Buddhism, the circle is the symbol of ultimate reality and the source of all being. On the individual level they strive to become enlightened to one’s own original nature (Buddha nature or Il won which means One Truth), and hence to personally realize the source of all beings in the universe.
On the social level they aspire towards the ideals. of public service and the spiritual transformation of the world’s civilizations. Ven. Chongam says: “In the future, those who are truthful and work for the public good will become the noblest men in the world…” The founding motto of their Ven. Master is, “As material civilization develops, cultivate spiritual civilization accordingly.” They teach that “When the development of our inward spiritual civilization can keep pace with the development of the outward material civilization, perfect peace and tranquility will be brought forth in this world.” They teach that religion is a personal experience, yet that people must play a leading role in the transformation of society. The three principles of Won Buddhism are, modernization, popularization, and practicality. They search for the truth and harmony of all the religions of the world, and don’t hesitate to appreciate truth from, and use as reference the scriptures of the world.
Yoo song Tae is even now studying The URANTIA Book as I am studying the Won Buddhist teachings and scriptures. In the future, we hope to exchange articles focusing on spiritual life goals and interfaith sharing, to be published in each other’ respective journals.
Over the last few years I have had the growing conviction that there are two great commissions for those who choose to serve the revelation:
For the latter, we have the superb example of Jesus own life, as revealed in the story of his life and teachings, but alas, for the former, by and large we have only challenge, opportunity, and uncertainty. I have pondered this issue, this question, this challenge for most of my years of reading The URANTIA Book. For myself, I have found two areas of thought to shed valuable light upon this issue. These two areas of thought are, the religious challenge of this age, and the solutions thereto as revealed in The URANTIA Book.
The reason I have found so much insight in this concept of the religious challenge of the age, is simply that the religious challenge of the age, “is” the religious challenge of the world today. If we look around we will find within the world today many “forward looking groups” striving to solve the religious challenge of our age.