Japanese Understanding of Salvation

Japanese Understanding of Salvation PDF

Author: Martin Heißwolf

Publisher: Langham Publishing

Published: 2018-02-14

Total Pages: 534

ISBN-13: 1783683716

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It is no secret that Christianity has been widely rejected in Japan with less than two percent of the population identifying as Christian. The dominant worldview in Japan is deeply animistic, with beliefs such as the Japanese mana-concept, ki (気), the Japanese soul-concept, and the concept of God/god(s), kami (神), being deeply rooted in the culture and fundamentally influencing society. Dr Martin Heißwolf, with his years of experience in Japan, critically examines Japanese animism in light of core Christian beliefs, such as the concepts of “peace” and “salvation.” Central to Japanese people’s rejection of Christian truth is the diametric opposition of its supernatural message to the natural focus of Japanese animistic folk religion. Heißwolf’s meticulous study is framed squarely within missiological thought and praxis so Christians serving in Japanese contexts are better able to communicate the message of the gospel by more fully understanding Japanese people, people by whom God wants to be known.

From Salvation to Spirituality

From Salvation to Spirituality PDF

Author: Susumu Shimazono

Publisher: ISBS

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 9781876843120

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In this work, Susumu Shimazono investigates the development of popular religious and spiritual movements in Japan in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Christ in Japanese Culture

Christ in Japanese Culture PDF

Author: Emi Mase-Hasegawa

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2008-04-30

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 9047433211

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Shedding light on a wide range of cross-cultural concerns and encounters, going far beyond narrow theological specialisation, the author argues that any successful process of missiological inculturation demands a serious antholopological consideration of indigenous faith.

Belong, Experience, Believe

Belong, Experience, Believe PDF

Author: Noriyuki Miyake

Publisher: Wide Margin

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 112

ISBN-13: 0956594379

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Why don't Japanese people become Christians? Miyake brings a pastor's heart and a researcher's mind to a question that has been asked many times in Christian mission. After reviewing Japanese social and religious life and evaluating the history of mission strategies so far, he highlights two key ways that Japanese people relate to religion: first, they look for a sense of belonging to a community, and second they receive religious truth through first-hand experience rather than through abstract doctrine. From this basis he develops a new strategy for churches to reach out into Japanese community.

Handbook of Christianity in Japan

Handbook of Christianity in Japan PDF

Author: Mark Mullins

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2018-12-24

Total Pages: 435

ISBN-13: 9047402375

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This volume provides researchers and students of religion with an indispensable reference work on the history, cultural impact, and reshaping of Christianity in Japan. Divided into three parts, Part I focuses on Christianity in Japanese history and includes studies of the Roman Catholic mission in pre-modern Japan, the 'hidden Christian' tradition, Protestant missions in the modern period, Bible translations, and theology in Japan. Part II examines the complex relationship between Christianity and various dimensions of Japanese society, such as literature, politics, social welfare, education for women, and interaction with other religious traditions. Part III focuses on resources for the study of Christianity in Japan and provides a guide to archival collections, research institutes, and bibliographies. Based on both Japanese and Western scholarship, readers will find this volume to be a fascinating and important guide.

The Beginning of Heaven and Earth

The Beginning of Heaven and Earth PDF

Author: Christal Whelan

Publisher: University of Hawaii Press

Published: 1996-09-01

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 9780824818241

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In 1865 a French priest was visited by a small group of Japanese at his newly built church in Nagasaki. They were descendants of Japan's first Christians, the survivors of brutal religious persecution under the Tokugawa government. The Kakure Kirishitan, or "hidden Christians," had practiced their religion in secret for several hundred years. Sometime after their visit the priest received a copy of the Kakure bible, the Tenchi Hajimari no Koto, "Beginning of Heaven and Earth," an intriguing amalgam of Bible stories, Japanese fables, and Roman Catholic doctrine. Whelan offers a complete translation of this unique work accompanied by an illuminating commentary that provides the first theory of origin and evolution of the Tenchi. Today, the few Kakure Kirishitan communities still in existence view the Tenchi as strange and flawed, expressing a distorted form of Christianity. It is, however, the only text produced by the Kakure Kirishitan that depicts their highly syncretistic tradition and provides a colorful window through which to examine the dynamics of religious acculturation.

The Case for Christ

The Case for Christ PDF

Author: Lee Strobel

Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com

Published: 2010-11

Total Pages: 510

ISBN-13: 1458759202

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The book consists primarily of interviews between Strobel (a former legal editor at the Chicago Tribune) and biblical scholars such as Bruce Metzger. Each interview is based on a simple question, concerning historical evidence (for example, "Can the Biographies of Jesus Be Trusted?"), scientific evidence, ("Does Archaeology Confirm or Contradict Jesus' Biographies?"), and "psychiatric evidence" ("Was Jesus Crazy When He Claimed to Be the Son of God?"). Together, these interviews compose a case brief defending Jesus' divinity, and urging readers to reach a verdict of their own.