GENERAL INFORMATION
about GST
1. Founding Philosophy
Galilee School of Theology was founded on the tradition
of Christianity and brought to life by the educational vision of Dr. Jeremy J.
Hong.
In August 1978, Dr. Jeremy J. Hong came to the United
States in order to investigate the unique nature of Christianity among world
religions. After completion of his studies at Southern Methodist University and
Emory University, he arrived at the conclusion that the core of Christianity is
the life and vision of the Galilean Jesus. According to his faith, Jesus’
vision could be implemented here on earth, and thus it is be possible for any
person to live his or her life as Jesus did. After more than 20 years of
teaching experiences in Seoul, Korea and Southern California, Dr. Hong
progressed to another chapter of theological thinking. He now believes that we
are in serious need of a new paradigm of theological education, focusing on a
sensible Christian message, social credibility for Christian life, and user-friendly
Christian values.
2. Vision Statement
The
vision of Galilee School of Theology is to build a beautiful
community of Christians with intellectually sensible Gospel and practically credible
social life.
3. Mission Statement
The mission of Galilee School of Theology as
a professional, graduate-level school is to improve the credibility of the Christian story and Christian life
4. Value Statement [Commitments]
To accomplish our mission, we commit to the following
values as educational outcomes. Understanding:
Let students do their very best to understand their own
Christian traditions, not merely to repeat and confess them.
Critical Thinking:The “Three Big Questions” [In what sense? On what
ground? For what/whom?] exercise in various contexts will lead
students to a newlevel of critical thinking.
Readiness
to Learn from Others:
Readiness for constant learning is essential to be ever-maturing
people in this global and postmodern age. We must be ready to learn from
everyone with self-confidence, respect and dignity, while valuing individual,
cultural, and religious differences.
Empowering
to Commit:
We will empower students to commit to the vision and
cause by discerning it for themselves.
Sustaining the Vision of Jesus:
We will do our best to sustain the vision of Galilean
Jesus, which was anchored on passionate criticism of the established and
compassionate hospitality of the underprivileged, but which was so unfortunately
and prematurely crushed under the violent and self-righteous wings of Christendom.
*Mission Statement and
Commitments, revised and adopted by the Board of Trustees, GST, January 12, 2014.
