About KMC

Our Beleifs

 

Korean Creed, 1930

 

1. The fundamental principles of Christianity have been set forth at various times and in various forms in the historic creeds of the Church, and have been interpreted by Mr. Wesley in the Articles of Religion and in his Sermons and Notes on the New Testament. This evangelical faith is our heritage and glorious possession.

 

2. Upon those who desire to unite with us as members we impose no doctrinal test. Our main requirement is loyalty to Jesus Christ and a purpose to follow Him. With us, as with Mr. Wesley in the earliest General Rules of the United Societies, the conditions of membership are moral and spiritual rather than theological. As long as his character and his works approve themselves as consistent with true godliness, we sanction the fullest liberty of belief for the individual Christian.

 

3. It is fitting, however, that we should state the chief doctrines which are most surely believed among us.

 

1. We believe in one God, Maker and ruler of all things, Father of all men; the source of all goodness, beauty, love.
2. We believe in Jesus Christ, God manifest in the Flesh, our Teacher, the Example and Redeemer, the Savior of the world.
3. We believe in the Holy Spirit, God present with us for guidance, for comfort, and for strength.
4. We believe in the forgiveness of sins, in the life of love and prayer, in grace equal to every need.
5. We believe in the word of God contained in the Old and New Testaments as the sufficient rule both of faith and practice.
6. We believe in the Church as the fellowship for worship and for service of all who are united to the living Lord.
7. We believe in the Kingdom of God as the divine rule in human society; and in the brotherhood of man under the Fatherhood of God.
8. We believe in the final triumph of righteousness and in the life everlasting. To the extension of this Gospel of life, freedom, joy and power to all people and to realms of thought and action, our Church is consecrated. – In the First General Conference of the Korean Methodist Church, 1930

 Korean Creed, 1997

 

1. We believe in one God, holy and loving Father, who creates, sustains and rules the whole creation in the universe.
2. We believe in Jesus Christ, incarnated Word, our Redeemer and Savior who came to proclaim the Kingdom of God among us, crucified and died on the cross, resurrected and ascended into heaven.
3. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Comforter and the Source of power who abides with us, making us regenerated, sanctified, and perfect.
4. We believe in the Holy Scripture as the Word of God, written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which leads the way to the true salvation and the sufficient standards of our life of faith.
5. We believe in the calling of God to participate in God’s work of salvation by being forgiven and sanctified by the grace of God through our faith.
6. We believe in the Church as one community, the body of Christ, for the purpose of worship and fellowship, education and service, and evangelism and mission.
7. We believe in the fellowship of all humanity before God who works for the peace of the world by sharing justice and love through the proclamation of the Gospel.
8. We believe in the Second Coming and the judgment of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of our body and eternal life, the final victory of righteousness, and the everlasting Kingdom of God. Amen. – In the General Conference of the Korean Methodist Church, 1997

Social Creed, 1930

We believe that mankind is the same child of God, who presides over heaven and earth without discrimination between the world and the country, and that mankind under brotherhood makes this society an ideal society of Christianity, so we declare the following social creed.

 

1. To believe in equal rights of race and equal opportunities.
2. To believe in the elimination of discrimination between race and nationality.
3. To believe in the sacredness of monogamy only for the sake of family life, and to believe that there is no discrimination between men and women in the issue of fidelity, and that it is natural to know the misfortune of divorce and to devise and implement measures to prevent it.
4. To believe that women’s present status should be improved and developed in various fields of education, society, politics, and unemployment.
5. To believe in the child’s natural right to education, striving for education, and to believe in the abolition of the child’s labor.
6. To believe that it is natural to oppose an open or concealed prostitute system and other social systems of human trafficking by acknowledging human rights.
7. To believe that it is natural to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and use of alcohol, cigarettes, and opium that destroy the mind and body.
8. To believe in the divine nature of labor and to believe that protection and treatment suitable for workers are natural.
9. To believe that it is natural to have legitimate living expenses and working hours that do not harm health.
10. To believe that one out of seven days requires suspension of labor and rest.
11. To believe that there is a need for a fair arbitration system in labor disputes.
12. To believe that it reduces poverty and promotes industry.
13. To believe that wasting money and time due to unhealthy entertainment and vain luxury is a sin against society.

Social Creed, 1997

 

The Methodist Church has the tradition of its deep concern for the realization of social justice according to the will of God. In 1930 at the first general conference the Methodist church adapted the social creed for the practical direction of our faith and contributed for the realization of a better society. Now we have reached to the point in which we have to adapt the new practical principles for our social life, before many new problems in this age.

The Methodists who believe Jesus Christ as the savior in order to carry out the role of the light and salt in the family, society, nation, the world and the environmental situation by the power of the grace of God who gives us a good intention declare as follows.

We have the call of God to realize the will of God in this land with the faith in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit who created the world and keeps it good in his providence.

 

1. The creation of God and the preservation of the environment: We have the calling of God to preserve the whole creation and overcome the crisis of the environment with responsibility, according to the commandment of God.

 

2. Family, sex and the population control: We believe family and sex as the important order God instituted for us. It is our responsibility to keep our family and the purity of sex. And facing the population crisis of the world, we recommend for the establishment of responsible population policy.

 

3. The individual rights and democracy: We believe the  freedom and rights of human beings, as created in the image of God. Therefore, the government should be established according to the democratic procedures by the consent of the people. It should be responsible before the people. We oppose any government which oppresses the people and threatens the freedom of the press in order to prolong the political power.

 

4. Freedom and equality: We reject any discrimination because of sex, age, class, region, and race. because all the human beings are free and equal before God.

 

5. Labor and distributive justice: We believe the dignity of labor as the realization of self and profession as God-given calling. At the same time we devote ourselves for the realization of distributive justice by correcting the radical imbalance of the rich and the poor in the process of production.

 

6. The construction of welfare society: We reject the laissez-faire capitalism which goes against the balance of society by monopolizing the wealth by the rich. At the same time we also repudiate the totalitarian socialism which oppresses the freedom of human beings. We affirm the construction of the welfare society in which each tries to help each other with the spirit of love and service.

 

7. Humanization and the restoration of morality: Today the extreme scientific technologism seems to result in the dehumanization and the excessive materialism which bring the moral corruption (sexual morality, moral deterioration, drug abuse, etc.) We commit ourselves for the formation of new moral values and the restoration of morality through the wholesome personality education, the right living, and the temperance movement (such as non-drinking and non-smoking etc.)

 

8. Life science and medical ethics: We emphasize the urgent need of establishing the responsible policy towards the life science and the medical ethics for the organ transplantation. Because the rapid development of the life science seems to intervene the order of God’s creation and destroy the dignity of human beings, and the development of modern medicine seems to bring many moral problems in medical ethics.

 

9. The uniqueness of the salvation of Christ and the realization of social justice: We believe in Christ as the only Savior for us. At the same time we cooperate with other religions for the construction of just society at the present situation.

 

10. Peaceful unification: We feel our deep sadness on the division of the Korean peninsular into north and south against more than 5,000 years of national history as one nation, owing to the internal and international reasons. In order to overcome this tragedy we commit ourselves for the fast realization of the unification of Korea through the restoration of national identity and the reconciliation with the principle of people, democracy, self-reliance, and peace.

 

11. Restraining wars and the peace of the world: We not only oppose any of traditional wars but also the production and proliferation of nuclear weapons which might bring the total destruction of human beings. At the same time we devote ourselves to the peace of the world by cooperating with all other nations for the solution of hunger problems, the militarization of food, the national disputes, and the problems of hegemony.