In the past, priests taught, sanctified, and guided believers. This method does not seem appropriate in today's liberal democratic worldview. Additionally, in the hierarchical church society of the past, the priest's leadership and will were considered important, not only in doctrine but also in spiritual life, community management, and people's lifestyles. However, today's horizontal relationship culture based on individual freedom places more importance on individual thoughts and free will than ever before.
Believers not only do not unconditionally follow the priest's thoughts and decisions as in the past but rather evaluate the priest based on their own thoughts and standards. It is not an easy situation for the priest. Therefore, there is no choice but to place more importance on the believers' position and community opinion not only in preaching and pastoral management but also in relationships.
The Synod Church or Synodalitas (Walking Together) takes on the character of a church-wide movement to maintain church traditions while adapting to a culture of individual freedom and equality and to seek a church mission appropriate to the changing social environment. Nevertheless, in church life, if we respect and listen to the positions and thoughts of all believers, the community often falls into confusion. Didn’t they say that if there are many boatmen, the boat will end up in the mountains?
Common discernment is what the Synodalitas Church wants as a methodological element to avoid going to the mountains. In today's society, where individual subjective opinions, values, and emotions are important, it is not easy for everyone to agree on objective justice and truth.
Philosopher Lee MacIntyre described this reality as ‘post-truth.’ Post-truth is defined as “a phenomenon which appeals to personal beliefs and emotions which have greater influence than objective facts when forming public opinion.”
The problem is that this is not simply a lie or a political tactic, but is recognized by people as such. Aristotle defined truth as follows: “If you say that something exists that exists and that something that does not exist, does not exist, then it is true.” For people today, truth does not exist objectively but rather exists within the framework of their subjective interests and cognitive biases. So people do not hesitate to subvert the truth in various ways.
Synodalitas (walking together) The method chosen by the church to avoid going to the mountains is joint discernment.
This can be divided into four types. First, there are cases where one accidentally says something that is not the truth. Second, there is intentional avoidance of recognition by pretending that information is true without checking whether it is true or not. Third, there is lying, which is making false statements to deceive others. Fourth, it is a case of falling into cognitive bias and delusions of self-deception and believing that untrue words and facts are sincerely true. Cognitive bias is particularly dangerous and widespread.
Examples of the post-truth phenomenon can be easily found around us. Ideologically biased reports distributed through broadcasts and the Internet do not initially consider verification to determine whether they are true or not. Just as there is no need to explain in detail the propaganda used by former President Trump of the United States using voters' emotions and situations, or the public incitement techniques of South Korea's left and right politicians.
Humans tend to find a point of harmony between their beliefs and actions and experience anxiety when this harmony is broken. So, they either ignore the truth or justice that does not match their values and thoughts, or distort it and accept it and act on it. This is where the so-called cognitive bias phenomenon comes from. The reason for joint discernment in the Synod Church is also because the truth and teachings of the Church can be distorted due to our individual cognitive biases. Especially when the decisions of those in positions of power in the church are absolute, the risk is bound to be great.
In the past, the opinions and thoughts of those who had power in society were the truth and justice. An example of a method of traditionally identifying right and wrong is the 'Wonnim trial'. The village councilor, who is responsible for the judicial and administrative affairs of the village, has the sole and absolute authority to determine whether there is a crime or not and what is reasonable. The magistrate drags the person he presumes to have committed a crime and makes him sit down, and then he shouts out loud, “You made your sin known!” With this cry, the person is already no different from a convicted prisoner. Due to the cognitive bias, the judge has regarding information about the person and the situation, he has already judged the person guilty in his mind even before the trial takes place. The next step is to check your own cognitive biases. In historical dramas, intimidation, torture, and cajoling are often used to get rid of the rumors. In this way, correct identification of the truth is difficult to expect in a structure with a person or group that monopolizes power at the top.
No one can be free from cognitive bias. That is why common discernment is important in synodal churches. Community members can exchange ideas with each other as they work, live, and interact together. This is because, in the process of talking to each other, we are inevitably exposed to diverse opinions, which naturally enrich our thinking and judgment.
In his book "Infotopia", Cass Sunstein argues that when individuals interact, they can reach conclusions that they would not have noticed on their own. In other words, “a phenomenon in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” can occur, and this is the power of joint identification in the process of forming a synodal church.
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