The Beauty of Balance : A Theological Inquiry into Paradox

These essays examine the significance of balance between the opposites in order to understand God and the world. The author argues that opposites-the subject and object, mind and nature, good and evil, truth and falsehood-are not separated from each other but interdependent in the relational paradigm. Each cannot exist without the other. Creative advancement is achieved by their dynamic tensions. The paradoxical relationship between the opposites is not posited in the mechanistic model in which opposites are recognized as separate entities and thereby antagonists; rather, they are dialectical and creative in the organic model. Based on this organic model, the relationship between God and the world is not hierarchical but interdependent. In the organic model, God is not described simply as a transcendent reality in a dualistic structure of God and the world. God reveals God-self in harmonious order and pattern as the ultimate principle formed in the world. In other words, God reveals God-self in the relative contexts of the opposites good and evil, true and false. Unlike Aristotle's Law of Contrast, God is both A (transcendent) and -A (immanent), which is the basic logic of the organic model. In this context, God is different from eternal reality such as Plato's Idea or the transcendent God developed in the Western tradition. In this text, the author explores how the complex of divine reality entails the dialogue of differences in a constructive way, using inter-religious dialogue and religion-nature dialogue as examples. The author also brings the theme of paradox into his discussion to connect the West with the East and explore how it can be a positive method of understanding God and the world in the organic model, which can in turn be a key to the understanding of the common good.