Power, the world dominion of capital and the nature of the church

By Eun Young Hwang

1. The Myth of Globalization and Its Hidden Face

What is globalization? Is it the beginning of the emerging New Jerusalem where the novelties in the process of history are looming over political, economical, and cultural convergences of various peoples scattered all over the world?¹ Stackhouse's view is that "globalization….more profoundly the result of a complex set of social, cultural, technological, spiritual and ethical developments, some of which are threatening, but more of which are promising?"² Though there may exist some transient negativities which make it difficult to proclaim the advent of the new age, are they not going to give way to the splendor of the emergent new civilization? Where various nations are exchanging their goods and resources in mutual and complementary collaborations (with the ideal of free market, the division of the labor and rapid communication of capital), sharing the universal values such as democracy and human rights, and finally appreciating diversity and plurality in the pursuit of shaping the global community, are we not able today to celebrate the inauguration of the universal history of the humankind? In the midst of the celebration of this looming cosmopolitan democratic New Jerusalem, Christianity is, and should be, honoured and respected as the protector and guardian of this new global civilization, "addressing the moral and spiritual architecture of an encompassing, comprehending civilization"³ and providing a meaningful blueprint of the new global society out of such cultural and religious bequests as "covenantal political theory" and "federalism."⁴

However, the present myth of contemporary globalization as the time of fulfillment can be misguiding as well as misguided, considering that contemporary globalization is the continuation of the project of exploitative dominance over the world. The expansionary process of "the formation of European global empires" throughout the world from the 16^th century to 1850, which is now described by some as "early modern globalization",⁵ was affirmed not only as the expansion of Christian civilization but also as an instance of universal human progress. As this quantitative expansion of the European empires was conjoined with qualitative progress such as scientific, technological and cultural advancements, which were largely grounded on "access to wealth and surplus of the New World and the demographic relief provided by transatlantic migration",⁶ a messianic belief in western modernity came to be unshakably and undeniably ingrained in western consciousness. During the period of modern globalization from 1850 to 1945, "the global networks and flows under the control of European powers" dominated virtually the whole world, constituting "a truly global network of interconnections, albeits fragmented by imperial rivalries."⁷ Basically, the current globalization is nothing but the continuation of the previous world system with its dominance transferred to "the only single potential hegemonic power, the U.S," though the current global dominance of the U.S does not seem to be as overt and direct as those of the several imperialistic empires.⁸ As Kurien points out, "while contemporary globalization has distinguishing features of its own, it is basically a manifestation of the capitalist economic order which emerged in Britain a few centuries ago, spread fairly soon into Europe and then to other parts of the world…what I have referred to as economic globalization is the ongoing multifaceted engagement of the capitalist economic system in different parts of the globe."⁹

In this respect, the myth of contemporary globalization is not that different from the messianic self-affirmation of western civilization in embracing the global empire of the 19^th century under the title "the Christian century", as well as "die Neu-Zeit (connoting modernity in the meaning of a new age)".¹⁰ Theological reflection must be fully and thoroughly responsive to the underlying exploitative world system of globalization. Western Christianity once failed to take a critical stance in regard to the global dominion of capitalistic greed even though we could hear some voices from many conscientious Christians speaking out against slavery and unfair trade as well as witnessing humanitarian involvements of the churches; however, we also see that Christianity has justified and sanctioned the status quo and supported an imperialistic world system. Moltmann writes that Christianity in the Neu-zeit went bankrupt due to the theological support by prominent German theologians for the First World War as it was waged among imperialistic Christendom and so-called Christian civilizations.¹¹ They failed to raise sound theological critiques against the fatal power of imperialistic capitalism and the inner mechanisms leading to the eruption of world war by appealing to western Christian civilization. The "public theology" of western Christianity still tends to argue with optimistic naiveté that the current globalization is the inauguration of "a world wide civilization," "a novelty of history"¹² or "the formation of the material basis of global civil society"¹³ whose core value is based on the western Christian legacy as well as liberal democracy, without first taking a critical stance against the underlying economico-political reality. However, every theological attempt which tries to situate globalization only in the uniqueness of new civilization yet overlooks its economico-political exploitative structure might discover the same fate as Kultur-Protestantismus in the great century of Christendom and its civilization, which failed to criticize imperialism and its exploitative structure.

In this respect, it is crucial to analyze the challenges of contemporary globalization in the context of its economico-political aspects, which is having great impact on common people living in the world. As shall be elaborated later, the economic impact that the global capitalist system inflicts upon a nation is not merely confined to the economic dimension, but is far more penetrative and prevalent, domineering over the whole realm of the life of common people.

2. Globalization- The World Dominion of Exploitation

We return to the question: What is the most basic definition of globalization? Globalization can be defined as "the deepening of the economic ties worldwide resulting from intensified cross-border movement of capital and labor force, increased transactions of commodities and services through trade and expanded overseas investment."¹⁴ Superficially, this seems to imply that every nation-state scattered throughout the world could collaborate with each other by communicating their capital and human resources effectively and efficiently with the least institutional hindrances, and on account of the technological advancements of communication and transportation. On condition that this would be a truly free market situation, de iure et de facto, mutual prosperity between the parties gained from free trade would not be impossible. However, the real trade market in the world is functioning quite far from this ideal state, the so-called competitive market. In fact, the international market in global trade is a "quasi-monopoly market" which is totally regulated by the rule of the minority of the hegemonic cores holding monopolies on rare and profitable "leading products," or "core-like products." In so far as the market is functioning monopolistically, it is functioning quite adversely to the majority of the peripheries which have to suffer competitiveness in the less profitable "periphery products".¹⁵ In this respect, the international market itself is "unequal exchange".¹⁶ Thus, being affiliated into the contemporary globalization implies exposing a national market to this unequal exchange of "quasi-monopoly market", no matter whether a nation is elevated to the position of a predator or devoured as a prey. Up to this point, this face of contemporary globalization is not that unfamiliar to those who knew the face of modern exploitative structures in the 20^th century. In so far as today's globalization is a phenomenon of western modernity, it also shares a by-product of modernity, which is "the contradiction between the modern and the sub-modern," and between "the beautiful messianic upside of history" and "the hideous apocalyptic downside".¹⁷ Only 20 percent of the whole world's population possesses 86 percent of the total amount of the wealth, while the lower half of the world population possesses only 1 percent of the total amount of the wealth.¹⁸

In addition, the most salient aspect of the current globalization is its volatility and rapaciousness. In this "modern world system as a capitalist world economy", some leading states situated in this "quasi-monopoly system" have been trying to maximize their profitability not only by developing new leading products, but also resorting to the speculative manipulation of financial markets by means of currency exchange and stock trading (financial and capital market liberalization) and reducing the possible costs by means of roving over the globe to find more cheap labour and profitable markets (labour market liberalization).

On the one hand, this capital market liberalization causes great negative impact on the most of peripheral countries because "the influx of hot money into and out of the country" makes the economy of small-sized countries very vulnerable to the external factors and unprepared for providing stable investments to encourage development of the domestic market.¹⁹ Naturally, this volatile influx and efflux of capital imply that a domestic market cannot be stabilized and strengthened enough to maintain stable job markets. Consequently, common people are exposed to the high rate of unemployment, which means they had to suffer chronic threats of losing a job, voluntary assimilation and self-alienation to the exploitative structure, all in the name of enhancing of marketability, leading to maladjustment and impoverishment, and finally spiritual and ethical degeneration. In this situation, democratic civil society might be too far from reality. As Stiglitz points out, "the result (of capital market liberalization) for many people has been poverty and for many countries social and political chaos."²⁰

On the other hand, labour market liberalization also causes a more direct impact on the life of common people living on the peripheries. Capitalists try to reduce remuneration costs by utilizing the labour force with the lowest price possible. Various means of reducing labour costs such as slavery, colonization and dependency have been pursued. Nowadays, the capitalists are trying to reduce costs by regularly moving out their production facilities from one periphery to another, wherever may utilize labor forces at a lower cost (the so-called run-away factory tactics).²¹ The so-called labor market liberalization striving for labour flexibility is core policy of the global capitalist world system. Multinational corporations (MNC) originating from the cores of the advanced capitalist modern world systems, so called the states in advanced capitalist societies (SIACS), are the most significant agency and beneficiary of this policy. Instead of contributing to the development of the host countries by promoting the domestic economy with various policies such as long-term investment and stable employment,²² most of the MNCs tend to seek only to maximize the profits by implementing more labour market liberalization, through which they could release employees with ease and promptness whenever they wish, as well as reducing remuneration costs significantly by hiring "non-regular workers" instead of regular workers. It would not be that difficult to figure out what all this means to the life of common people: precarious daily lives apprehensive of sudden discharge, high labour intensity, submission to the power of capital, the inevitable trap of debt, bankruptcy, as well as subhuman life conditions among the homeless, dissolution of families, suicides, riots and bloody suppression through institutionalized violence. These conditions proliferate in many nations.

Some might argue that the international institutions such as the WTO and IMF are functioning in preventing all of these inequalities and instabilities and moderating conflicting interests among the nations.²³ However, Stiglitz points out how these international organizations are totally controlled by some financial and trade elites who are not interested in representing the interests of people in the third world, but are fervent in directing policies for the benefit of the banks and capitalists, the MNCs and the U.S. treasury hurling away their public accountability:²⁴ "The policies of the international economic institutions are all too often closely aligned with the commercial and financial interests of those in the advanced industrial countries…...the net effects of the policies…has all too often been to benefit the few at the expense of the many, the well-off at the expense of the poor."²⁵

In sum, we are facing the vehement dominion of the global empire, the capitalist modern world system, which is eager to devour the weak, the poor and the peripheral for the benefit of the few, while expanding all over the world. Various international institutions such as the WTO, IMF and World Bank, multinational corporations, some of the financial elites controlling policies of the nation state and mass media are unanimously trying to organize the world according to their own interests. Globalization and interdependence among the nations itself are not inherently evil. What makes the current form of globalization culpable and suspicious is nothing but what it is striving for. It does not seek to be "a force for good" and provide "sustainable, equitable, and democratic growth."²⁶ Rather, it strives to be a useful instrument to concentrate money into the hands of the few by squeezing the profits out of the sacrifices of people living in the third world and peripheries, virtually becoming "an artifact of dehumanized and dehumanizing exploitation that needs constraint or dissolution."²⁷ This kind of globalization cannot help being anathematized as demonic. Kurien argues: "When aggressive capital roam about the globe seeking whom it may devour, it is demonic globalization that needs to be steadfastly resisted."²⁸ Moreover, what makes contemporary globalization more threatening and monstrous is the influence and impact that are now being exerted over the whole area of life. This could make a great impact on the ordinary life of various common people as well as the national policy in that what globalization seeks to pursue is a more penetrating and pervasive exploitative system and structure under the abstract name of "financial, capital, and labour market liberalization."

This capitalistic global dominion, which may be named Mammon, cannot be confined to just one among the principalities such as the Mars of institutional violence, the Eros of sexuality, and Muses of culture, as Stackhouse states.²⁹ Rather, it would be the arch-devil, Baalzebul, the most threatening and heinous visible presence of anti-Christ which suppresses the spirit of life immanent in humanity and the creation. The exploitative structures and corollaries such as intense labour, precarious daily life and unemployment sap the lives of people, taking away hope, love, and faith in humanity and pushing them to the internecine jungle of competition. Literally, globalization kills people. For example, in South Korea, the suicide rate has doubled, soaring from the 11.8 suicide cases per ten-thousand in 1995 to 26.1 per ten thousand in 2006; this took place within a decade in which globalization policy was successfully and intensely implemented in the Korean economy and has been significantly influencing the life of common people.³⁰ Those raising voices for equity and justice are usually muted by institutionalized violence which serves the interests of capital, whether it may be surreptitious violence of capital or more brutal violence of the state. Many of the uneducated and deprived females who are denied to access to employment are driven into the sex-industry, which becomes one of the main national industries in some countries. Mass media culture and advertisements are diverting people's attention from the structural inequality to fabulous fantasy of virtual reality, making them feel as if they are living the life that is projected in those media. Many of common people are becoming domesticated by "a socially engineered arrest of consciousness, and by the development and satisfaction of needs which perpetuate the servitude of the exploited."³¹ Mammon is the underlying force of all the principalities and authorities. Globalization is not only the empowering process of the expansion of Mammon's Messianic dominion, leading it to be ubiquitous and absolute, but also the enervating process of the initiation of apocalyptic exploitation, leading people to be more dehumanized.

3. The Ecumenicity of "Heraldship" and a Predicament for Addressing Globalization

The church is the anticipatory reality which presages God's eschatological dominion of the whole creation, including human society. The church represents God's eschatological future which has been penetrating human history and which guides the whole of human history and brings the whole creation to fulfillment. In this respect, as Pannenberg puts it, the church is "the eschatological congregation of God which embodies the future of human destiny through its religious mission for the present humanity."³² Therefore, we can affirm that "the church is sign and instrument of God's intention and plan for the whole world."³³ In this regard, the church's proclamation of the kingdom of God should encompass the whole scope of reality. The essential role of the church lies in this proclamation that the death of Christ and his resurrection are the beginning of God's eschatological kingdom, anticipated in the resurrected Christ and established through his covenant people, and this kingdom will encompass the whole creation and the whole of humanity. This role of proclamation is apostolicity, or "heraldship" (Heroldsdienst),³⁴ as Barth puts it. This missionary proclamation may be the essential nature of the church, which should appear as the ecumenical characteristic of all the churches scattered all over the world, transcending all kinds of diversities. To the society suffering the unlimited dominion of the global capitalist system, this message proclaiming liberation and peace is imperative. However, we are witnessing that this ecumenical heraldship proclaiming the coming kingdom of God in this world is sometimes overshadowed and obscured by parochialism and localism.

Surely, the gospel should be incarnated in the culture and life of each nation. Every different culture has accepted the gospel in different ways in conjunction with their own cultural framework and mindset. In this respect, "Problems are created when one culture seeks to impose its expression of the gospel on others as the only authentic expression of the gospel."³⁵ However, when one culture imposes its pre-existing value-system and world view on the gospel, without allowing the gospel to transform its pre-existing culture, this might incur digression from the apostolic church as well as syncretism, trapped in parochialism and localism. When a culture just assimilates Christianity into their own pre-existing or existing worldview without any tension or conflict or any experience of transformation, this form of Christianity might risk apostolicity for the sake of parochialism and localism. In this respect, every indigenization process entails the danger of parochialism in some degree.

Regrettably, the thing that hinders concerted ecumenicity from being responsive to global dominion of capital today might be attributed precisely to parochialism and localism. According to Philip Jenkins' analysis, there is an increasing tendency of polarization of Christianity into two groups, although he also warns against the increasing tendency of stereotyping on the basis of racism: western Christianity "espousing the values of humanism, ornamented with the vestiges of liberal Christianity" and the Southern Christianity of "have-nots" branded as "fundamentalist and enthusiastic religion."³⁶ In fact, this tendency is quite perceptible in terms of various theological and practical debates such as syncretism, gay ordination etc., though distorted stereotyping should be cautiously avoided. In fact, both parties are also enmeshed in parochialism, which prevents "the quest for visible Christian unity,"³⁷which should be more substantial, tangible and concrete at the grass-roots level than abstract and institutional, from resisting the global dominion of the capital and having hope for the divine future beyond it.

On the one hand, the western church's parochialism is apparent: she has kept being swayed constantly by the compulsion of relevancy to the secular western culture, with less sensitivity in biblical narrative's function and the identity of Christian community shaped by this narrative.³⁸ Assimilating the gospel to the culturally dominant secularism, the western church tended to resort to philosophical trends and psychological therapeutic skills, instead of proclaiming immanent-transcendental dimension of the future in historical dimension. In fact, the gospel has been trapped within the parochial secularist culture of Europe and America. In western Christianity, there might be a myriad of the church's intellectuals and leaders taking critical stances against the current capitalist and consumerist society, in conjunction with various forms of critical theories. However, there seemed to be not that many churches which could also stand firm in maintaining their identity as the people of God by resorting to the Christian narratives and waiting for God's eschatological future. This means that the church has been failing to keep producing influential Christians who could promote God's moral dominion over the public square by transforming culture and institutions.³⁹ Nor can Western Christianity be smugly proud of its decline of church membership as an inevitable by-product of rationalized society, nor rash to proclaim eschatological fulfillment in this rationalized and secularized society. Instead, the rise of superstition, new religious movements (NRM) and the rise of paganism and occultism in the secularized west signify that the religiosity of the common people itself has not been quenched but always strives for transcendence, whatever its meaning may be.⁴⁰ Moreover, this implies that the churches' cultural parochialism obsessed by the dominant culture of secularism has failed to respond to their spiritual hunger and was unsuccessful in transforming this spiritual thirst for transcendence into a meaningful dynamic for establishing the moral dominion of God and resisting against the exploitative dominion of the capital.

On the other hand, the Southern Christians' parochialism was also quite significant. Still, the message of the gospel and its implications in history, humanity and the whole realm of the creation has not been implanted in Southern Christianity enough to address the challenges of the capitalist world system. In many cases, the gospel is mixed with shamanistic tradition directly related to prosperity theology,⁴¹ or confounded with magical rituals of healing and exorcism,⁴² or assimilated to the indigenous religiosity.⁴³ Being confined to only the spiritual or material well-being of an individual Christian, the myopic understanding of the gospel has really impaired the pivotal message of the historical, corporate, and cosmic dimension of the future of God's kingdom. In this respect, we could witness various cases that the charismatic and evangelical movements or indigenized hybrid sects in the Southern sphere have been coupled with political quietism, the affirmation of the status quo, and moreover the suppression of the liberationist catholic Christians. In Latin America, Pentecostal and Evangelical churches are supported by local agents as well as US agencies such as the CIA, and conservative Evangelical groups in the US, to dampen people's call for justice by distracting their focus from the social and historical dimension to individualistic spirituality.⁴⁴ "To many, the proliferation of Protestantism in Latin America is proof of the complete U.S cultural conquest of the religion, a conquest bought - not won - by money, political influence and consumer good."⁴⁵ In Korea, the trans-denominational coalition of the Evangelical and Pentecostal churches is looming as a powerful alliance to the privileged classes, and increasingly gaining political hegemony in the public square. The gospel, trapped in the parochial concern for the spiritual and material bliss of the individuals, cannot function as a meaningful alternative to the dominant capitalistic culture without generating various economical, social and political contradictions.

The western church has not been fully faithful to the gospel in making the Christian narrative virtually defunct and failing to consolidate the identity of the church as the visible presence of God's future, while the Southern church was not loyal enough to the gospel in rendering the work of the Holy Spirit as only confined to the immediate, individual and material aspects of individuals' lives, and in failing to identify the church as an eschatological community anticipating the fulfillment of the whole creation as well as the humanity. Without understanding how the Christian narratives delineate the redemptive history, it is totally impossible to assess the significance of recent globalization and the world dominion of the capitals which represses the life of the Spirit within the historical dimension of the humanity as well as the creation. Without perceiving how God's Spirit has been transforming humanity and the creation starting from God's people and extending to the whole creation as well as humanity, it would be inconceivable to offer ourselves as the instruments of the Holy Spirit to transform this cosmic power of the global capitalist world system according to God's good pleasure.

4. Rebuilding Ecumenicity on the Basis of the Narrative and the Holy Spirit.

In this respect, the recovery of the Christian narratives as well as pneumatological concerns is quite important for establishing the ecumenicity of the church, so that we may address the current dominion of capital. This is not a new project recently invented. Rather, this was already clarified when theology began to deal with the nature of the church: the church as creatura verbi et creatura spiritus.⁴⁶

The vision of church as a new covenantal people of God is strongly based on the Christian narratives, the written word of God. This narrative reshapes the identity of the audience and community by inviting them to be incorporated into the structure of the story.⁴⁷ This identity reshaped by the story is the identity of God's eschatological people who are elected to be the salvific representatives of the whole creation as well as of all humanity, this new identity having been initiated from the death and the resurrection of Christ and starting to grow to encompass the whole humanity and finally extending to the whole creation.⁴⁸ In this respect, "in so far as church anticipates the destiny of the whole humanity and the goal of history in its life and represents these for the sake of the human, the church is faithful to her vocation."⁴⁹ In short, the Christian narratives of the creation, humanity and history shape the identity of Christians as the new creation following Christ. Thus, the Christian community embracing this identity is created by the narrative, the word of God.

The church's self-understanding as new creation based on the narratives is also closely related to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the binding force that provides "the continuity between the Christ and the church,"⁵⁰ which is a continuity between the first fruit of the new creation and God's people waiting for the fulfillment of the new creation. Based on the mystical union with Christ through the Holy Spirit, the church could be also the new creation of God in the world. Thus, we can justly say that the church is created by the Holy Spirit.

The two pillars that constitute the community of God are the Christian narratives and the Holy Spirit. These two pillars are complimentary with each other. On the one hand, within the framework of the Christian narratives, the Holy Spirit is the main agent that drives the plot of the redemptive story into the consummation. On the other hand, through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, the Christian narratives came to be recognized as a valid and veritable interpretation of humanity, the creation and history.

If the church could restore these two schemes as a common ground for ecumenicity, she could also restitute a meaningful foothold of hope for the alternative world system as well as a stronghold of resistance against the present world order.

5. Narrative and the Holy Spirit: the sole Ground of our Resistance

The present world order, the capitalist world system, raises quite a significant theological question, just as the Roman empires did to Paul. Paul situates the omnipotent and ubiquitous dominion of the Roman Empire in the eschatological "old aeon", and its agents were the various stoicheia dominating the cosmic order.⁵¹ The Roman Empire, as a part of this old aeon, was not confined only to political power. Within the Roman political dominion, every kind of human activity such as culture, economy and even religion is interrelated with each other and sustained and supported under the order of empire professing to embody peace and security. The Caesar cult, which was not simply an official state cul, but a dominant cult in a large part of the empire, subliminated the Roman world system into the divine world order and also dominated people's consciousness so that they could admire the Empire as inviolable as well as absolute.⁵² In this respect, the Roman Empire could be considered as the powerful embodiment of the cosmic world order of the old aeon. Against the Empire's self-assertion, Paul's euangelion was quite subversive and dangerous to the contemporary world order in that its message that "the crucified and risen Jesus of Nazareth is Israel's Messiah and the world's Lord" was quite in contrast to the imperial euangelion that the emperor, the visible presence of the divine, protects the peace and security of his empire.⁵³ The radicality of Paul's gospel goes further. He claims that the old aeon, which the Roman world order embodies, was already put to an end, and it has been superseded by the new aeon of Christ's sovereignty. The cosmic order incarnated in the Roman Empire is only "a false power (Scheinmacht)."⁵⁴ Caesar and his empire is only a parody of the Christ and his kingdom, as the present power bound in the old aeon has been being superseded by the Kingdom of Christ within the tension between "already fulfilled but not yet accomplished."⁵⁵

How could Paul's radical denial of the Roman world system as well as his impending hope for the time of accomplishment be possible, in the midst of the heyday of the Roman empire's prosperity and power? At this juncture, we can justly situate the ground of his hope and resistance in his framework of the Christian narrative concerning the humanity, the creation and history as well as in his confidence in the Holy Spirit recreating and restoring the whole creation since the time of the resurrection of Christ. Confronting the magnificent power of the empire, Paul never doubted Christ's true kingship, knowing from the narratives that God will restore the whole creation and the humanity by means of the covenantal people of God, empowering them through the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, he was sure of God's eschatological fulfillment overshadowing all the dominions of the old aeon because he was also sensitive to the present life-giving work of the Holy Spirit which had been anticipated in the resurrected Christ.

Paul's context and his gospel shed lights on church's understanding of today's globalization and her strategy. We are witnessing an even more splendid economic empire than the Roman Empire. We are seeing the rise of the global capitalist world empire which devours all the things into its guts, capitalizing and commercializing virtually everything: natural resources, scenery, air, sex, friendship, religion, spirituality, academia, art, culture, government, army, international government and finally even Christianity. It seems that all the aspects of our lives are kneeling down to the omnipotent and ubiquitous power of capital. Under this dominion of capital, even the so-called people of God are enlisting in the cult of Mammon by trying to expand the size of the churches, increase the membership and survive others in a market system, while resorting to various marketing techniques, show business and coalescing cartels.⁵⁶ Moreover, "the fiery air of the nostril" of capital consumes all living things into ashes. Many people are being squeezed by global systems to produce a little bit more margin. And the creation is also groaning under limitless exploitation and pollution, aroused by human greed. What could we hear from Paul when we address the contemporary globalization?

First of all, we have to be awakened, not dazzled and deceived by the splendor of globalization. We are still living in an age of the tension between "already fulfilled" and "not yet accomplished." The situation may seem to be so auspicious in terms of the expansion of the civil society, the interrelatedness of the countries, the rise of sensitivity to diversity; we have to say that none of this is not accomplished reality. We must not view globalization romantically, but sometimes we have to glower at its negativities from a critical stance. If there is some kind of exploitative structure within globalization in which some humans or creation are suffering for the sake of some other's happiness, the church should neither beautify nor sublime globalization. Further, if the current form of globalization has exploitative systems as pivotal to its structure, the church should resist and criticize it. Just as Paul warned of the false security and peace that the Roman Empire claimed to grant, we should also warn of romanticizing globalization as opening of new chapters in redemptive history.

Secondly, we also should be mindful not to wax apocalyptic in the present context. Hope is a more appropriate attitude. Although globalization seems to be so powerful, basically the validity of the old aeon dominating this realm is due to expire and be replaced and superseded with God's moral dominion, which is the dominion of Christ, since Christ is resurrected from death as the first fruit of new creation. We could hope that the demonic face of globalization is just a false power and parody of God's moral dominion thrusting from the future into the present. Actually, Wallerstein views current global exploitation as just a sign that the present capitalist world system has reached at its final crisis, unsolvable within its structure, and the choice for an alternative system would be unavoidable.⁵⁷ We may never be sure whether the next phase of world history is the inauguration of the New Jerusalem or not, unless we stand at the end of history. However we can have a hope that the diabolic atrocity of the present world system is only a transient phase destined to succumb to more positive changes in so far as it retains contradictions within it.

Thirdly, we could participate in the divine redemptive drama of rectifying the contradictions of a certain phase of history. As we have a hope that every aspect of reality is being incorporated in the fulfillment of the new creation, we have to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling." It is God who is at work in the creation and humanity, enabling humanity to will and to work for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-3). Just as Paul views the Roman Empire as an institution established by God for suppressing evil and also encourages Christians to participate in this structure through obedience to authority (Romans 13:1-7), the church could regard, in some respect, the current globalization as God's instrument through which Christians could contribute to the transformation of this global system into a more humane form, along with the other neighbours who are seeking for the alternative form of life. Out of the current form of globalization, we can make out the possibility of a more "people-centred globalization" … "enabling human beings separated by space and by many other factors to dwell together in unity."⁵⁸ This task cannot be achieved fully through mechanical or technical change of the institutions. Actually, the project of making globalization more humane and people-centred could be achieved by means of changes of our contemporary mindset.⁵⁹ When people begin to change their mindset in addressing to globalization, from utilizing it as an exploitative instrument to reconfiguring it as a salvific means to God's end, then we might be able to build up true oikoumene in which the Holy Spirit resides among all the different peoples, unified in peace and security of the kingdom of Christ. Until that time, the church should recite the great epic of God's redemptive work boldly while participating into the Holy Spirit's transformative re-creation.

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