The Weekly is a highlight of the work the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is doing to strengthen you and our churches for God’s glory.

5 Facts about North Korea and its dictatorial regime

On Thursday, ERLC hosted an event in Washington, D.C. called “Humanity Denied: Religious Freedom in North Korea.” The speakers included Kenneth Bae, the longest-held U.S. prisoner of North Korea, and Jin Shin, president of the Institute for Peace Affairs a researcher and educator who has spent over 30 years on issues relating to the peaceful reunification of North and South Korea, and Olivia Enos, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Institute who specializes in human rights and national security challenges in Asia.

Here are five things you should know about North Korea and the Kim family:

1. Since the mid-1940s, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been ruled by the autocratic and cultish Kim family: Kim Il-sung held power from 1948 until his death in 1994; his son, Kim Jong-il, ruled the country from 1994 to 2011; and his grandson, Kim Jong-un, has been the supreme leader since 2011. After taking control of his country, Kim Il-sung developed such a strong personality cult that under the DPRK constitution he remains, even in death, the “eternal President of the Republic.” Similarly, within a year of being appointed premier, Kim Il-sung was referring to himself as “The Great Leader” and erecting statues of himself (the country now has more than 500 statues of him). His birthday is a national holiday known as the “Day of the Sun”, and in 1997 Kim Il-sung even created a new calendar that recalculated time from the year 1912, when he “came to earth from Heaven.”

This Week at the ERLC

• The ERLC premiered a short film in D.C. titled “Humanity Denied: Religious Freedom in North Korea.” For more information, see the Capitol Hill section. 

• Pre-orders are available for Jason Thacker’s book, The Age of AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity.
   
• The ERLC and Sexual Abuse Advisory Group launched a Spanish version of the Caring Well website. You can view it here.
   
• The ERLC also released a Spanish version of Artificial Intelligence: An Evangelical Statement of Principles. View it here.
   
• Dan Darling writes at Facts & Trends about six ways you may be sabotaging your team.

   

What You Need to Know

• If you have or know a teenager (or are one!), then you are familiar with the unique challenges and pressures they face, especially girls. Lindsey Carlson has taken what started as a present for her 13-year-old daughter and turned it into an invaluable resource for growing in godliness during the teen years. Read her article here. 

The teenage years can be tumultuous. The constant pressure and pull of this hyperconnected society can magnify the angst some teens go through, especially girls. What these girls need most isn’t more likes on Instagram or more friends in their social circles; they need to know Jesus and grow to be more like him.

• There’s a troubling use of technology on the rise called the deepnude. Essentially, it can be used to create fake, yet realistic, naked pictures of people. Jason Thacker writes about this disturbing trend and its implications on our society. Read his article here. 

Fading are the days of Playboy magazine on the aisles of gas stations, centerfolds hidden in home closets, and even the videos in the private browser tab on your phone. We live in a world where the scandulous often fails to scandalize, and there is a pursuit of richer and more interactive pornography. The images and videos of men and women are leaving magazine pages and moving into our headsets, screens, and homes.

• How can a survivor thrive after sexual abuse? It may not seem possible, but it is. And Jenn Greenberg is a prime example and has some encouragement to offer through her new book. You can even download a chapter for free when you sign up. Check it out here. 

Jenn Greenberg . . . was abused by her church-going father. Yet she has retained her faith. She has recently written a courageous, compelling book that reflects on how God brought life and hope in the darkest of situations. Greenberg shows how the gospel enables survivors to navigate issues of guilt, forgiveness, love, and value. And she challenges church leaders to protect the vulnerable among their congregations.

News From Capitol Hill

This week in Washington, our ERLC policy team took part in the U.S. Department of State’s Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. The annual gathering is a time of collaboration with government officials, religious leaders, and civil society organizations from around the world on the critical issue of religious freedom. This year’s event more than doubled in size from the inaugural event in 2018 with nearly 200 countries sending representatives to DC this week.

Phillip Bethancourt and Chelsea Patterson Sobolik represented the ERLC at the State Department, while our Leland House policy and legal interns volunteered at the event.

Most notably, the ERLC was honored to host the only side event on North Korea, where we premiered our new documentary film titled, Humanity Denied: Religious Freedom in North Korea. The 10-minute film produced by the ERLC features North Korean escapees as well as church leaders and human rights activists in South Korea. In addition to highlighting the grave human rights violations carried out by the Kim regime, the film tells the story of an enduring faith and hope in the midst of suffering. The documentary is available to view here.

Russell Moore, president of the ERLC, commented on the film release:

“This short film tells the story of God’s people in North Korea, but it does more than that because the story of God’s people turns earthly power upside down. The anguish of the journey our brothers and sisters in Christ took to escape the horrors of the Kim Jong-un regime is what gives this film its force. Biblical courage redefines power and reshapes community. Those of us who belong to Christ find their power in the spirit of God and, as these brave Koreans teach us, that ought to embolden us to stand, even against a despot who denies our humanity. These men and women are a gift to the church and I hope many will learn from their example of courageous faith.”

The film screening was followed by an interview with a North Korean escapee who shared his personal story of fleeing the communist country for the first time publicly.

To watch the film and learn more about the ERLC’s work on religious freedom and human rights advocacy in North Korea, visit ERLC.com/northkorea.

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