I came across the following New York Times article today: “Koreans Agog as Off-Screen Soap Becomes Courtroom Drama.” Being of Korean descent, it captured my attention immediately. The article details the affects of the South Korean adultery law, “which prohibits extramarital affairs and can land those found guilty in prison for up to two years.” South Korea is one of the few non-Muslim countries with such a law making adultery punishable with a jail sentence. Who knew?
As I read the article, I started wondering how to look at the situation in terms of the different uses of the Law–Civil, Theological/Pedagogical and Didactic (the last one is debatable, I know!). One of the main purposes of the South Korean adultery statute is to protect women in a culture that has traditionally given adulterous men more rights. Clearly, such laws seek to protect, just like the 10 Commandments. Yet, they also indicate how morally bankrupt we are. Who would need the law if we weren’t prone to commit adultery and other harmful acts? Yet, I’m also aware that although laws may prohibit behavior, they can never change our inward dispositions.
So with that said, take a look at the article and feel free to comment on how the different uses interact. Click here.
While we are on Korean things, check out this tasty goodness from South Korea, now available in the United States. Why does “South” and “Fried” always go together?
3 comments
Bonnie says:
May 19, 2008
Oh boy that chicken looks good…
BTW, does anyone know what the divorce rate is in Korea? I wondered if a law like that would give people more incentive to divorce (instead of having an affair).
I want some chickennnnn…..
Clifford Swartz says:
May 19, 2008
Thank you for posting the article and raising the issues, Marc.
Your observation highlights Luther’s description of the two kingdoms, that of the church and of the state.
Reflecting his own setting (Germany, early 1500’s) that the “kingdom of this world” will enforce morality consistent with the Bible, he can say without much qualification that “Christians are necessarily bound to obey their own magistrates” (Augsburg Confession, XVI, 6).
Against the backdrop of the order in society being enforced by a Christian magistrate, it falls to the church to awaken the heart with faith by the preaching of the gospel: “The power of the Church has its own commission to teach the Gospel and to administer the Sacraments. Let it not break into the office of another; let it not transfer the kingdoms of this world; let it not abrogate the laws of civil rulers; let it not abolish lawful obedience.” (Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 12ff).
The tricky thing today is that one might posit a law-gospel theology which no longer stands in relief against the background of the two kingdoms, at least in the way Luther observed. That is, the state no longer enforces the moral law, at least in much of the West.
And so the theologian of Law&Gospel may wag his or her finger at national laws against adultery and so forth. But Luther would applaud them because, in his theology, the state must do this so that the church can bring the healing balm of the gospel to bear. And the preaching of the gospel is the only way to bring true obedience (heart and action), even though the magistrate who “wields the sword” may constrain behavior through force (or society may as we yearn to find approval through conformity to social norms).
It also means that the church must watch out for periods when the state is diabolical, because then the gospel demands the magistrate not be obeyed (as with Germany in the 1930s rather than 1530s).
Choi says:
May 20, 2008
Hi bonnie! That chicken IS good! I crave it fortnightly!
the divorce rates in South Korea have increased significantly since the 1990s. It was almost unheard of prior to that, and it always was a source of social stigma. The cultural changes in South Korea has been very quick compared to Japan or the West. Prior to the cultural shifts, the law wasn’t used as an excuse to get divorced, but as a tool to lessen the burdens on women in the event that divorce happened.
Cliff! Thanks for the response- a lot of good stuff to chew on. I read Augustine’s “City of God” this past year, and I’d be interested in comparing Augustine and Luther on their ideas on the two different kingdoms/cities and how grace/law operates.