Christianity in Japan

some good points.

bossel said:

I don't know if they hated the pope so much, maybe. But one of the main reasons for the split was one of those trivial things: selling of indulgences.

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Trivial?
I think that is one of the most important points of religion.
And its not so much pope that protestants hated its what he claimed to be.
But, lets not get into religion.

I will never understand how somebody can really believe in two different religions.
OK, there are lots of people who practice different religions, and I understand that. But no one can really believe in two different religions. You are either a christian or believe in evolution. You either think there is one god or many gods (or everyone is a god, or we are all part of some cosmic force or...). And so on.

Also best way to proselitize is by example. I think that should be a definition of tolerant christian. They talk if they are asked, live a pure and happy life and so show by example that their faith is true. OK, maybe I didnt express myself so great. :/
Oh, and by tolerate I do not think about ecumenism. Ecumenism is something totaly different.

Shinhan7 said:

Trivial?

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That was ironic, commenting on nikkis "few other trivial things".

OK, there are lots of people who practice different religions, and I understand that. But no one can really believe in two different religions. You are either a christian or believe in evolution. You either think there is one god or many gods (or everyone is a god, or we are all part of some cosmic force or...). And so on.

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Evolution is not a religion but a scientific theory. Some people may believe in it like in a religion, but it is not.

Since religion itself is hardly logical, it's hard to expect logical reasoning from believers, IMO. Hence there may be people who believe in one god but also in some other gods (there are always work-arounds for the absoluteness claim of the one god).

Well, I believe that humans can never truly understand what created them. Things like the bible and religion are really interpretations of events created by humans, and such have inherrent errors. I don't really belive that there is a god, and I don't believe that there ISN'T a god. For all I know, there could be one god, several gods, no god but several smaller entities, some sort of energy force, etc. However, I do believe that there is something beyond death.

But, one of my main beliefs is that you do NOT try to convert people to your religion or your way of thinking. I hope that christian influence doesn't grow in Japan too much. I'd hate for that to happen.

berean_315 said:

Hello,

I know the population of Christians in Japan is very, very small (less than 1% I think). I would like to hear any experiences from Japanese Christians living in Japan.

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Well, there are quite a lot of Christinas around me. I've met several priests, visited their churches (catholic and something), and top ranked Japanese universities are actually Christian formed. For example, ICU and St. Sophia known as Jochi. I've even met Jesus Freaks in Japan.

So, the population of Christians in Japan are quite high, I think.

The Christian population of Japan is generally thought to be around 1%, but creditable research has put it around 0.4%.

Christianity has been influential in setting up educational and medical institutions in Japan, but I then in my experience, I don't think you would find many staff people who expressed belief in a Christian ethic in these establishments.

Inuyasha-the-kid,

???

In Japan , there were a number of cruel martyrdom up to '1870 age.
For example, it was persecution in 1868.
This is called "Urakami No. 4 collapse."
All believers of the Urakami village in Nagasaki , Kyushu were arrested (3414 persons),
and 664 persons became a martyr (martyrs?).
According to my memory,"the 1st time of martyrdom"
was "26 saints martyrdom"in Nagasaki , 1597.
Jesuit missionaries, Franciscans , a Japanese boy 13 years old ,and so on.

All of foreign missionaries became deportation from Japan, Japan closed the country.
People were made to step on Christ , Mary and cross of copperplates ,
in front of government officials at shrines or temples once a year during hundreds years .
People who refuse,they were killed with some cruel methods for make a lesson to people.

Christianity was told to Japan by St.Francisco Xavier on August 15, 1549.
There was also a time when St.Maximilian Mary Kolbe was in Kyushu as a missionary.

I thought that I had to write these,too.

The ST.MARIA appeared in one of the persecuted young man of the Urakami village.
The missionaries of Catholic , Protestant ,they sent letters of protests to each mother country.
The anti-Christian edict was abolished in 1873 (Meiji 6).
And the atomic bomb exploded right above the Urakami Catholic church on August 9, 1945.
http://www1.city.nagasaki.nagasaki.jp/na-bomb/museum/exhibit/exhibit_b02.html


The Urakami parish has most believers in Japan today.

komachi said:

And the atomic bomb exploded right above the Urakami Catholic church on August 9, 1945.

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Not quite correct. From the site you linked:

"Located about 500 meters northeast of the hypocenter, it collapsed and burned as a result of the atomic bomb explosion."

Can't see any miracle involved, anyway.

bossel said:

"Located about 500 meters northeast of the hypocenter, it collapsed and burned as a result of the atomic bomb explosion."

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thank you for your point out.
I forgot to add "almost".

however ,we must not forget that less than 1km is the "center" from the exactly point of an explosion.
because Houses of ordinary from the place which exploded in a less than 1km place became in pieces.
http://www1.city.nagasaki.nagasaki.jp/abm/qa/heiwa_j/record.html#a

bossel said:

Can't see any miracle involved, anyway.

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It was expression which causes misapprehension.
I apologize to you and God.
They were my private comment.
Of course, I did not mean " an atomic bomb".
Much distress of the Urakami parish did not set the number of believers to 0.
I wanted to say that there must have been a blessing of God.

anyway ,"martyr's blood is the seed of faith. "

The day which Christianity visited to Japan was "The Assumption of Blessed Virgin".
In Japan, Christianity is accepted "truly " is still about only 50 years.
i think Japan needs all of us,and all of your Rosario pray.
i'm sorry . i Corrected a fault description.
there are still few believers now,
i believe that a big flower blooms in the future.

THE HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN JAPAN
カトリック中央協議会

The APPARITIONS of St.MARIA to a young man"Yasutarou" who was put in "90cm jail" at last, at otome-touge,tsuwano in about 1867.
http://www.iwami.or.jp/tsuwanok/otome/otome.htm

Sorry, just gonna add in my two cents. one of the things I dislike is when people try to convice another person to join their religions, specifically when they target people who are easier to convince. I find that they do that quite a bit in Japan. For example, I've seen new-convert fanatics using loud speakers and just recently, people handing out bibles. This wouldn'T normally irk me, except they were forcing them into the hands of the people that went past the high school gate. So when us kids were walking up to school, we had people trying to convert us.

I talked to a Moslem guy before, he said religion is just like fashion in Japan. Sort of an adopted way of life, but on really a profession of Faith. I haven't met many religious Japanese myself, so I sort of agree with him.

ax

...Japan is a country founded on the ideals of Buddhism and Shintoism not European values and religion. Christianity is seen as a very narrowly focussed religion and this is why it is not widely excepted in Japan. Not only that Christianity is Eurocentric by nature and is not compadable with Japanese lifestyles--- the two views cannot be harmonized.

It truely saddens me to see Japanese Christians. I respect all religions, but yes Western people do Push there ways and faith on others and expect them to bend.

Moon Child said:

It truely saddens me to see Japanese Christians. I respect all religions, but yes Western people do Push there ways and faith on others and expect them to bend.

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Somehow your post reminds me of Job who didn't like it when his god wanted him to go the Nineveh to proselytise, his reason being it's such a good thing to give away to the enemy heathens.
But he does go, not without a struggle, and dies there wishing the worst for them.
His mission was accomplished regardless of his wish to fail.
At least that's what's recorded, and I was surprised to know there is a mosque on top of his tomb.
It's hard to make out the exact meaning of this.

EDIT: I've read something about Nestorian Christianity Keikyo ﾃｻQﾃｺﾃ (an obvious confusion with the Persian Zoroastrianism) coming to Japan in the 800's. Supposedly several Mongol Khans, their queens, and even some Japanese Princes were believers in the Keikyo sect of Christianity...some say Keikyo is difficult to distinquish from Buddhism, or some say Keikyo influenced Mahanaya Buddhism, but the Chinese inscription on 窶佚･ﾂ秦ﾅ｡ﾂ?ﾅ段ﾃｺﾃ坂?敕ｨ and certain Dunhuang 窶愿姪?ﾅ? documents state clearly the distinctively Chirstian ideas of Keikyo. Incidentally, there were many Jewish communities and Muslim communities set up in the coastal cities of maritime China between the 800's and 1300's. Are there any records of these three regious groups in Japan during those times?

A tithe in the Japanese Christian churches

Hi, does anybody know whether there is a 10% tithe obligation in the Japanese Christian organizations? My Japanese husband was baptized a couple of days ago by a Japanese priest in the Moscow river, and from now on he is supposed to pay 10% of his income to this priest or her church (if there is any at all). Is it a normal procedure, or could it be a profanation? How can I check? Thanks.

Hey Whenua,

A lot of Christian churches ask for a minimum of 10% of any earnings (hence the term 'tithe' meaning 1/10) it is not just a Japanese Church culture thing but probably more or less universal in most dominations.

The practice of requesting a tithe is justified by Bibilical scriptures. It was a Jewish practice recorded in Jewish law (the book of Deuteromony, somewhere is ch 26 I think...) and eventually became part of the Christian tradition.

Some Christians are heavily opposed to this though

Religiously speaking, Jesus said (when asked about taxes) 'render to Ceaser what is caeser's and render to God what is God's'. A qoute which many Christians see as support for tithing.

Tithing is a religious act but above all, a choice. So I think you should tithe based on what you believe or think is right.

However, to ask for the tithe is not sacrilegious, it is biblical based tradition, although some would disagree (sorry, but questions of a religious nature do not often have a single answer.

If you have anymore Christianity related questions feel free to PM me. I am agnostic but spent 15 years of my life in very strict Christian schools.

During my stay in Kyoto, I was hardpressed NOT to find a Christian church.

Most of the ones I went to were quite old fashioned (even by Church of England Standards)

I do not know about the rest of Japan but I get the impression that in Kyoto there is a slowly growing Christian movement lurking in the shawdows like a teetotalling non-smoking virginal white-dressed ninja

Oh, and I got gang-pressed by mormons. There is a mormon church near Imadegawa street quite close to kamo river

Oh, and at Karasuma-Imadegawa, just at the top of Gosho is a nice litle church which does early morning communion of a Sunday with a free breakfast.

You can say what you want about Christians, but they are always good for free food (yes, I am a shameless moocher)

bluepilot said:

Religiously speaking, Jesus said (when asked about taxes) 'render to Ceaser what is caeser's and render to God what is God's'. A qoute which many Christians see as support for tithing.

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I have never heard this before and I have been christian my whole life!
Before saying that, Jesus asked, "whose image is in the coin" (the coin had the cesar's profile imprinted on it). So this refers to Genesis which tells how God created the human in His image.
I don't think it is quite right to use this passage for tithing..

I'm not against tithing but still feel that I give too little money to my home church but often I don't have much money to spare..
Students are always the poorest of people. Atleast here..

I think about tithing this way; I have gotten very much good from God and tithing is only something that I can give back. When I give it to my home church, I know that it is used for good things. In a sense some of it also comes back to me because it is used to the many expenses the church has. Rent, electric bill's, gas, water, salary of the pastor, etc. Perhaps even to better the services the church offers!

In Japan I saw many protestant christians because I was there in an exhange program kind of thing with missionaries of a Finnish missions organisation and I mostly visited the churches of the organisation. I also studied the Japanese religions through guided visits to many temples and shrines.

I don't think, the people who criticise the outward behaviour of the people ,who have relatively recently become christians, see the whole picture and frankly I think it is pretty short-sighted.

I know for a fact that becoming a "reborn christian" can be emotionally a powerfull experience and often the people who have recently experienced it tend to be "fanatical" out of the sheer wish to share this revelation with others. Sometimes they don't think much about what would be the appropriate way to do it.
I do think that there is a place for speakers too and this kind of enthusiasm is a good thing!
The shinto shrines and buddhist temples have their own festivals. Should christian churces not have theirs? Although everything needs to be done with good taste.

Spreading the message is in the core of the christian faith and teaching (has been for 2000 years!) and without it something very vital is missing.
I still don't think that tryin to convert people is a good idea. It is brutal and even dishonors the beutiful message of the gospel. The gospel essentially is "good news" that every person needs to decide for themselves if they accept it or not. The duty and a privilege of a christian is to give these news to people but it is up to them to decide if they accept it or not and their decision does not alter or diminish their value as people in any way.
I have met people who seem to have weird delusions about this though..

I think the best thing is to just live your life as who you are and honesty tell people what you think when the subject comes up.


Someone asked if other religions in Japan do the preaching with speakers and megaphones!
I spent three months in Japan getting to know the work conducted by a missions organisation that has worked in Japan since the 50's. I visited a dozen churches and participated in their outward ministry and the only time I saw this megaphone style, it was by Tenrikyou youths! So it isn't charecteristic of all christian missions work in Japan.


Just some thoughts on the subject.
It's an interesting thread!

bluepilot said:

Hey Whenua,
A lot of Christian churches ask for a minimum of 10% of any earnings (hence the term 'tithe' meaning 1/10) it is not just a Japanese Church culture thing but probably more or less universal in most dominations.
The practice of requesting a tithe is justified by Bibilical scriptures. It was a Jewish practice recorded in Jewish law (the book of Deuteromony, somewhere is ch 26 I think...) and eventually became part of the Christian tradition.
Some Christians are heavily opposed to this though
Religiously speaking, Jesus said (when asked about taxes) 'render to Ceaser what is caeser's and render to God what is God's'. A qoute which many Christians see as support for tithing.
Tithing is a religious act but above all, a choice. So I think you should tithe based on what you believe or think is right.
However, to ask for the tithe is not sacrilegious, it is biblical based tradition, although some would disagree (sorry, but questions of a religious nature do not often have a single answer.
If you have anymore Christianity related questions feel free to PM me. I am agnostic but spent 15 years of my life in very strict Christian schools.

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The church is to be a place of teaching the gospel not giving it money. Martin Luther got after the Church for doing so. I would read up on him and decide what is truth.

Gackt21 said:

The church is to be a place of teaching the gospel not giving it money. Martin Luther got after the Church for doing so. I would read up on him and decide what is truth.

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It is ironic that the evangelic lutheran state church here gathers involuntary church tax from its members..

It has come a long way from the original spirit of Luther.


Even though I do agree with your point, If no-one puts any money to it, there would be no place for it..

Hey Alantin,

You will find what I wrote 'Render to Ceaser what is.....' e.t.c. in Mathew 22 vs 15-22.

But, I agree with you when I say that this passage should not be used for tithing. I was just using it is an example of what some people consider to be a basis for tithing/tiding (gaaah, Old English!!)

Sorry to incite religious offence (scuttles back into her agnostic pink cloud)

bluepilot said:

I was just using it is an example of what some people consider to be a basis for tithing/tiding (gaaah, Old English!!)
Sorry to incite religious offence (scuttles back into her agnostic pink cloud)

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Oh. That's how I took your first post!

I was just commenting on the topic.
No offense taken or meant! :sorry: