"The Juche idea is a new philosophical thought which centers on man. The Juche idea is based on the philosophical principle that man is the master of everything and decides everything. The Juche idea raised the fundamental question of philosophy by regarding man as the main factor, and elucidated the philosophical principle that man is the master of everything and decides everything. That man is the master of everything means that he is the master of the world and his own destiny; that man decides means that he plays the decisive role in transforming the world and in shaping his destiny. The philosophical principle of the Juche idea is the principle of man-centered philosophy which explains man's position and role in the world."

There you have it. Doesn't get more official than that.

Can a mere school counselor like myself dare to take issue with the learned scholar Kim Jong Il (most of whose work is ghost-written)? There are some glaring problems with the above description, beyond the NK tendency to be repetitive. I will narrow it to two words.

1. The word "new." The man-is-the-master-of-all concept has been around a LONG time! Self-centered God-defying humanism began in fact in the Garden of Eden and has never once slackened its pace.

2. The word "decide". If man is the master and decides everything, then all men should be in on the decision . The Chinese and the Americans and the Japanese are men. But Juche does not apply to them. The South Koreans are men, and they are making decisions too. But not Kim's decisions. So they don't count either. If the North Koreans were allowed to decide between what they have and what there is to have globally, they too would not determine their fate to be poverty, torture, and imprisonment. In fact the word "decide" in this definition only applies to one man, and at present it is the man Kim Jong Il.

But we declare that all other men are free to decide, and that Juche's decision is faulty. And if, as Juche demands, we must abide by the decisions of one man, many of us choose the Man Christ Jesus, whose concepts admittedly are also not "new" yet they make individual men and women and children all over the world to sing a new song, live a new life, participate in a new hope.

For the truth is that this Jesus is the "Master of everything" and ultimately decides everything. He is the "main factor." He is the "Master of the world" and its destiny. He alone will transform this universe into a new heaven and a new earth. It is Christ-centered philosophy which "explains man's position and role in the world."