Humans cannot find rest in time.
It is difficult to escape the fate of anxiety.
Although I experience occasional moments of peace, I spend most of my time in a state of anxiety.
What should I call this? Words like "restlessness" and "loss of home" come to mind.
Since the creation of Eden, humans have always lived in fear.
The Bible says that after Cain killed his brother, he left the land where he was living and settled in Nod, east of Eden (Genesis 4:16).
'Not' means 'to be free' or 'to wander'.
A life of constant wandering, this is our existence.
When will this anxiety cease? Augustine answers, "When our hearts rest in you."
It is only when we anchor ourselves in God's embrace that we can escape the fate of anxiety.
---「First lecture.
From "The Mystery of Humanity"

As we live, there are times when we inevitably face limitations.
At that time, I couldn't do anything.
My family is going through mental or physical difficulties and I can't do anything about it.
I can't help but tear my hair out in helplessness.
When faced with such a limiting situation, some people simply collapse.
In contrast, there are those who attempt an existential leap.
A leap is to overcome that limit.
The moment you take a leap, your horizons expand.
People who only hiked Mt. Bukhan or Mt. Dobong near Seoul will find their abilities improve after they decide to hike Mt. Jirisan.
The same goes for the reading experience.
Earlier this year, I made a firm resolution to read Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time.
This is a book that I always thought, 'I have to read it this time,' but never had the courage to read.
That book is not an easy read.
The quantity is also not small.
I read all thirteen books in about three weeks.
After reading such a book, a 300-400 page book becomes a little easier.
Sometimes, I need to read books that really challenge me, books that test my patience, to improve my reading skills.
It's a different case, but that's also a kind of leap.
You have to take a leap to expand your world of experience.
But no matter how much you jump, there are times when your feet don't touch the ground.
These are unavoidable events.
When people have such experiences, they finally realize, 'Ah, there is a larger world in this world that cannot be integrated by human reason or experience.'
That is how our connection with the greater world, our encounter with the sacred, begins.
The first line of Ham Seok-heon's poem bursts forth only because of such an experience.
---「Second lecture.
From “Born in God”

As we have seen, Noah was a righteous and blameless man, a model of obedience.
But why didn't God open the way to salvation through Noah? Why didn't He make him the source of blessing? Why did He make him the father of all nations? For this purpose, God chose Abraham.
Abraham may not be considered a blameless man, but he was obedient to God's calling.
Even when he was told to leave his familiar world and go to an unfamiliar one, he obeyed, and even when he was later told to sacrifice his son, whom he had at the age of one hundred, he tried to obey in the midst of chaos.
Abraham is also a champion of obedience.
But there was one thing that Abraham had and Noah did not.
That made the difference.
It is a sense of responsibility towards the typist.
---「Third lecture.
From “Walking with God”

Narrow-minded believers create their own framework for understanding God and then say that anyone who doesn't fit that framework is wrong.
Of course, we must distinguish between heretics.
They draw people into their own web of teachings, ultimately devastating their inner selves.
Many people have lost their ability to communicate with people outside their social selves.
Heretical sects deprive people of the ability to think for themselves and force them to blindly follow their doctrines and leaders.
In her book, Eichmann in Jerusalem, American political philosopher Hannah Arendt says that “not thinking,” or lack of thought, is the root of evil.
While we must be wary of such cases, we must also acknowledge that our experiences of God can be diverse.
The person who confesses, “The Lord is my shepherd” should not argue with the person who confesses, “God is my lamp.”
Our experience of God becomes richer when we listen to each other's stories.
---「The fourth lecture.
From “Going Towards God”

Today, we must reflect on whether we are fixated on the image of a God who cares for us meticulously, while forgetting the God who looks upon history and is angry and judging.
There is still a deep darkness over the world.
“If there is a God, how could this happen?” People ask this question even though they know there is no answer.
Can we believe and trust in God without knowing the answer? Is it even okay to trust? We can't give up on life just because there's no right answer.
Life is ultimately about choices.
You can either crash into the absurd world and be shipwrecked, or you can break through it and reach a better world.
You can live a fatalistic life, crushed by the meaninglessness of the world, or you can resist the pull of fate and leap toward a new life.

---「Fifth lecture.
From “My Life, My God”