Asked to comment on the Japanese earthquake disaster in a Sunday interview, Yoido Full Gospel Church senior pastor David Yonggi Cho told the online newspaper, News Mission, that, “Japan sees a lot of earthquakes, and I think it is regrettable that there has been such an enormous loss of property and life due to the earthquake.” He then added, “Because the Japanese people shun God in terms of their faith and follow idol worship, atheism, and materialism, it makes me wonder if this was not God’s warning to them.”
“I hope that this catastrophe can be turned into a blessing and they take this opportunity to return to the Lord," said Cho. "We in Korea look at Japan and think that at this juncture, more than a physical earthquake, it is in need of a holy spiritual earthquake.” (quotes from the Korean news service, The Hankyorah)
From the Korea Herald:
Netizens rushed to accuse the pastor of being blindly self-righteous and lacking the basic charitable virtues required of a religious leader.
Jin Joong-gwon, a leading social critic widely known for his pointed remarks, lashed back at Cho via his Twitter, calling the pastor a "lunatic."
"While pastors speak nonsense, true Christian virtues are taking place outside of the church," Jin said, referring to the relief aid dispatched to Japan from all over the world.
Sigh... where is Pat Robertson when you need him? To have to go all the way to Korea to find a megachurch pastor spouting this kind of silliness is generally unecessary but maybe Robertson's ears are still burning from the reaction to his comments blaming the Haitians for their earthquake in 2010.
On the plus side though, David Yonggi Cho is a celebrity in his own right. He's the founder and senior pastor of the Yoido Full Gospel Church (denomination: Assembly of God) and it's the largest megachurch in the world with a membership of over one million people (as of 2007). Criticisms of him and his remarks are starting to come in via the Internet from well beyond Korea's borders too; this despite the fact that the online newspaper News Mission has already removed the controversial remarks (according to the Korea Herald).
Like Pat Robertson, Cho is no stranger to controversy. He believes the soul exists in the 4th dimension and that it controls what happens in the 3rd. Other controversies have been theological or personal -including accusations of extramarital sex, personal use of offering money and using influence to secure an exemption from military duty for his son (see his Wikipedia entry for details). He wields enormous political power too; most recently balking a plan by Korean President Lee Myung-bak to boost Islamic finance in the country and threatening to fight for Lee's resignation (Wall Street Journal).
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