Introduction … 7
1.
God… 13
2.
Incarnation… 51
3.
Cross…93
4.
Human… 131
Q&A...
165

This book is based on lectures given at the 2023 special lecture of the Institute for Pastoral Studies.
The most important thing discussed in the lecture was that faith is not a dichotomous understanding of believing or not believing, or believing or not believing, but rather a matter of growing and maturing through the process and experience of reality.
Growing up means maturing through the accumulation of each special experience, mistake, and regret, including age.
The idea that true faith should be free of self-reproach and despair is merely an expectation and wish, but in reality, everyone is in a state of self-reproach and despair.

God is not like a judge who distances himself from us and rewards and punishes us according to our good and bad deeds.
We must understand that God holds us, guides us, and enlightens us to achieve perfection and glory.
Here, perfection and glory are not a matter of honing one's skills or achieving success, but rather the honor and satisfaction that comes from being human.
These results are created in reality, and they are so different from our expectations that they are disappointing and even suspicious.

Reality is not simply a place where we triumph over sin and death or choose what is morally right. It is a place where we realize what God requires of us, enter into a relationship of love and faith with Him, and acquire the status and ability to do so.
We must understand that God, beyond the role of judge, allows us to navigate the course of reality with His will and purpose, and that the perfection of faith goes beyond simply being divided into right and wrong, but rather involves possessing abilities befitting the honor and glory of a believer.

This ability is built through discernment, good deeds, and responsibility, and it bears fruit in character and personality.
Taking responsibility properly requires wisdom, and wisdom comes from trial and error through experience.
Christian faith is not a nominal abstraction of morality and virtue, but something to be lived out in practice, an existential responsibility to be exercised, and ultimately to attain insight and become a praise to the glory of God.
This is the mystery of the Christian faith.

February 2024
Park Young-sun