Nathan's blog
Good news out of China Daily
2010-03-22T10:53:21Z
Reading the Desiring God Blog today I stumbled upon a great testimony of a Chinese student. And what is even more amazing -- it is in the China Daily -- China's official English language newspaper!
Being a learner
2010-03-20T09:51:08Z
I’ve been slowly reading a book by Michael Griffiths, Lamb’s dancing with wolves.1 Something he points out in a chapter entitled “Lambs bond with wolves” got me thinking. He says
To start with, all of us begin as cultural morons and linguistic idiots. We all all familiar with the pregnant phrase: ‘You must be born again!’. Entry into a new country or culture is indeed like starting all over again as a helpless baby.2
The point he is making is that in order to cross a culture we need to be learners. A learner feels inadequate and often as if they are acting like a fool. When you think about it kids are a good example. They regularly bump up against their inadequacies in language and skill set. But somehow when we grow up our inadequacy tends to be forgotten.
Yet Christians need to retain this sense of inadequacy for two reasons. Firstly in order to approach and know God through His son Jesus Christ; and secondly, in order to communicate clearly with our neighbours and across cultures. Not that we can not develop some sense of adequacy like a child does, yet the danger is that if we loose all sense of inadequacy that faith becomes mere intellectual assent and relationships become a telling rather than a doing. The question isn’t so much are you willing to cross cultures, because you already have! The question is how much are you willing to feel like a helpless baby?
Japanese Youth Culture
2009-08-15T11:04:42Z
Dance With Me | Japan: Below the Surface from OMF Media on Vimeo.
Japan mission history
2009-03-19T21:53:22Z
I haven't posted in a very long while, so I thought that I would start the ball rolling again with some brief notes about mission in Japan. I have been trying to find our more about mission in Japan, so as I find more sources I'll keep the posts coming.
A basic history of mission in Japan
The Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier began Christian mission in Japan in 1549. Since that time, Christianity has grown, particularly during Japan's transitional periods. However, when the country gained stability the growth stopped “and traditional culture and religious powers began to counter the Christian influence.”1
The century, 1549-1639, is often called the Christian Century of Japan. It saw great growth of Christians, about 300,000 by the end of the 16th century.2 A significant number of leaders showed interest in Christianity, however they soon began to see it as a foreign ideology and disruptive to society. The end of the Christian Century of Japan saw bloodshed, culminating in the Shimabara Uprising of 1637-38 with 40,000 massacred.
After the western powers broke Japan's seclusion policy Christianity again began to be introduced. In 1868 the Meiji Restoration restored power to the emperor and lifted official sanctions against Christianity in 1973. This opened opportunities for mission again in Japan; Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox were successful and in 1912 there were about 66,000 Catholics and 32,000 Orthodox. Protestants were also successful with about 90,000 Christians in 1913. Japanese Christianity, at that stage, had a number of leaders from the former warrior class, who were “intellectual, independent, non-denominational, and Bible-oriented.”3
Christian education had a notable influence upon society. However, nationalism and a revival of Confucianism and Shintoism led to government intervention. The Education Ministry, in 1899, prohibited religious education and worship in accredited schools, even as extracurricular activities.
After World War II, there was an influx of missionaries following General MacArthur's call for 1000 missionaries. This led to more than 200 Protestant denominations being established. Shinto ceased to be a state religion and a period of Christian resurgence occurred. The post-war Japanese church can be characterised by ecumenism and internationalism, but to all appearances this has not led to rapid growth. Christianity, with only 0.7% Christians of 127 million,4 still remains on the periphery of society with much work to be done.
1 A. Scott Moreau et al., eds., “Japan,” in Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions (Paternoster Press, 2000), 513-514.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid. Some of these leaders were: Uemura Masahisa, Uchimura Kanzo, and Nitobe Inazo.
4 “CIA - The World Factbook -- Japan,” https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html Estimated July 2008.
