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How to Overcome Christian Extremism: Christianity’s Accomplice in Rwandan Genocide and Its Implication for Korean Christianity

HOCHUL KWAK 1

1계명대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This article aims at how to overcome Christian extremism through the lessons from Rwandan genocide. The Most Christianized country in Africa killed at least 0.8 million people. In the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Christians killed their fellow Christians who had worshiped together. More than one tenth of the victims were killed in churches which should symbolize forgiveness and reconciliation, acceptance and fellowship. Three elements of the genocidal mentality are legitimation, the healing-killing paradox, and dehumanization. Rwandan Christianity legitimized genocide as a way of addressing Rwandan societal problems, dehumanized Tutzi as evil, which led to justification of the healing-killing paradox. Christian teachings that made Christians bystanders were negative view of reality based on pre-millennialist interpretations, the exclusive emphasis on other-worldly salvation, the preference of Rwandan Christianity for personal testimony, and the authoritarian teaching style of Rwandan churches. Christianity in general and Korean Christianity in particular can overcome Christian extremism only when it avoids the overwhelming temptation of demonization.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.