Book to help Japanese non-Christian

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Reformed_Rob

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Hello,

A Japanese friend from college is back here for a few days, and me and friends evangelized him, but no conversion occured.

But he’s back now, and I realize that again it’s difficult to discuss things with him, not merely because of the culture/language difference, but also because he is not religious at all. He says he doesn’t even know what Shinto and other Japanese religious people believe/do.

Is there a book (preferably Catholic) that perhaps would help him understand God and salvation in Christ as a Japanese person would understand?

Thanks,
Rob
 
C.S. Lewis wasn’t Catholic, but he believed a lot more like a Catholic than a great many Catholics. 🙂 Anyway, his books “Mere Christianity” and “Miracles” are often recommended for those interested in the truth of Christianity.
 
Thank you VociMike!

I recently got “Mere Christianity” and should read it soon!
 
Crazy!!!

I’ve got only 2 G.K. Chesterton books!!

Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man

And you two recommended them both!

Maybe I should re-prioritize my reading list?
 
Hi,

I currently reside in Japan. I am wondering if a book written in Japanese might be helpful. I know of a very good Catholic bookstore in Tokyo and have bought some good books there. They have some basic ones as well. Some Japanese have some big misperceptions about Christianity. I can also look for some free online materials and for some Japanese language brochures at church. Is your friend a native Japanese? What is his approximate age? (That way I can try to find something most suitable).

I have been researching this myself because I am trying to learn of better ways to explain and share my faith to my Japanese friends. I know there is a priest at my local Church who teaches an “Introduction to Catholicism” class every weekend.I can ask him if he recommends anything specific.

Sincerely,
Maria1212
 
Maria1212 said:
Hi,

I currently reside in Japan. I am wondering if a book written in Japanese might be helpful. I know of a very good Catholic bookstore in Tokyo and have bought some good books there. They have some basic ones as well. Some Japanese have some big misperceptions about Christianity. I can also look for some free online materials and for some Japanese language brochures at church. Is your friend a native Japanese? What is his approximate age? (That way I can try to find something most suitable).

I have been researching this myself because I am trying to learn of better ways to explain and share my faith to my Japanese friends. I know there is a priest at my local Church who teaches an “Introduction to Catholicism” class every weekend.I can ask him if he recommends anything specific.

Sincerely,
Maria1212
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Thanks Maria! That’s sort of more along the lines of what I was asking, something that’s for the Japanese mindset specifically. Though I am glad to know that I’ve got a couple books that are highly recommended that I need to read myself.

Lets see, he is a native Japanese guy, single, he’s about 25-27 years old. He lived in America for I guess 3 or 4 years to study. Which is how we got to be friends, through Campus Outreach (Evangelical Christian college ministry).

I bet he’s more in tune with things than he sometimes seems to be, which may mean he just likes to have American friends but not really be interested in the Gospel. But hey, we all did the “relationship evangelism” and he is one guy that certainly got evangelized!

He says he doesn’t know anything about Buddhism or Shinto or any of that. He’s not religious at all. I asked him what do most Japanese people believe in for like guidance from a higher power, and he said that mostly they believe in themselves. But he does seem to understand that only a few generations ago, Japanese were for the most part more religious, and that the modernization of their culture probably has a lot to do with the suppression of traditional religions in Japan.
 
Hi Reformed Bob,

What you wrote will help me a lot because it will better enable me to find a book he can relate to. I will go to the Catholic bookstore and try to pick out something good and then I can PM you and send you a copy if you like. I will also speak with the priest who teaches the Intro to Catholicism class for Japanese and let you know what he recommends. I will also keep my eye out for stuff online. Our Japanese brothers and sisters definitely need to hear the Gospel.

I will post some more general thoughts here later. Work keep sme pretty busy during the week, so I have more time to post on weekends. But I will definitely let you know what I come up with. I am very interested in this myself, and have seen it come up on the forums every once in a while.

Sincerely,
Maria1212
 
Reformed_Rob said:
Hello,

A Japanese friend from college is back here for a few days, and me and friends evangelized him, but no conversion occured.

But he’s back now, and I realize that again it’s difficult to discuss things with him, not merely because of the culture/language difference, but also because he is not religious at all. He says he doesn’t even know what Shinto and other Japanese religious people believe/do.

Is there a book (preferably Catholic) that perhaps would help him understand God and salvation in Christ as a Japanese person would understand?

Thanks,
Rob
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RR,

I have followed Japanese Buddhism for some time and studied the people also. From what I have gathered and from the people I have spoken with, the Japanese people are very open to religion, but do not feel it important generally to be focused on one specific one. They may have a Shinto ritual for birth and death, but live an agnostic or Buddhist life.

Japan is primarily Pure Land Buddhists with Shinto as the ancient family tradition. They are more interested in honoring their ancestors and living a basic moral life than getting caught up in theology and dogma.

Amida Buddha is the Buddha of devotion in Japan. There is a large Amida statue there and he is highly revered and “worshipped” (unlike the Western ideal, this ideal is more of respect and honor). Amida has a Western Pure Land in which he resides and offers salvation to all who call on his name.

A good “in” to dialogue might be to ask him about Amida and his thoughts about a “savior” and this may begin some fruitful discussion. I realize he’s not a Buddhist, but this is a huge part of their culture and so may yield results.

If you have anything else you would like to discuss, I would sure try to help in any way I could. I’m no expert 😃 , but I’ll try 🙂

Peace…
 
ahimsaman72 said:
Japan is primarily Pure Land Buddhists with Shinto as the ancient family tradition. They are more interested in honoring their ancestors and living a basic moral life than getting caught up in theology and dogma.
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Interesting you should say this. In my (limited) experience with Asians in general who convert to Catholicism, the two things that seem to be signal factors are the Church’s beliefs about 1) the Communion of the Saints (honoring them and imitating their example), and 2) the fact that Catholicism has profound, and ancient traditions of serious spirituality, prayer, and growth in holiness, again epitomized in the spiritualities of great saints like St. John of the Cross, St. Benedict, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Therese of Liseiux.
 
Fidelis said:
Interesting you should say this. In my (limited) experience with Asians in general who convert to Catholicism, the two things that seem to be signal factors are the Church’s beliefs about 1) the Communion of the Saints (honoring them and imitating their example), and 2) the fact that Catholicism has profound, and ancient traditions of serious spirituality, prayer, and growth in holiness, again epitomized in the spiritualities of great saints like St. John of the Cross, St. Benedict, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Therese of Liseiux.
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They are a very honorable and respectful people who see their ancestors as living (invisible) people that surround them and help them. Piety is a central theme in their culture and filial piety is the utmost moral actions they can perform.

So, yes, that all makes sense with the points you mention.

This is especially true in China where filial piety and holiness are expected from the cultural stanpoint which spills over into their practice of Buddhism. The great sage Confucius and his teachings have these two things as a central focus.

I have a profound respect for the Japanese (in particular) and also for the Chinese who have brought so much to the world in philosophy and health.

Peace…
 
ahimsaman72 said:
RR,
…

Amida Buddha is the Buddha of devotion in Japan. There is a large Amida statue there and he is highly revered and “worshipped” (unlike the Western ideal, this ideal is more of respect and honor). Amida has a Western Pure Land in which he resides and offers salvation to all who call on his name.

A good “in” to dialogue might be to ask him about Amida and his thoughts about a “savior” and this may begin some fruitful discussion. I realize he’s not a Buddhist, but this is a huge part of their culture and so may yield results.

If you have anything else you would like to discuss, I would sure try to help in any way I could. I’m no expert 😃 , but I’ll try 🙂

Peace…
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Thanks a lot, that was helpful, Ahimsaman!

It’s so hard to “connect” you know! I just have to learn to not be nervous to ask more questions and sort of connect with their existing beliefs.

Thanks again, to you and others. We can certainly keep this thread going for a little while.

Rob
 
Reformed_Rob said:
Thanks a lot, that was helpful, Ahimsaman!

It’s so hard to “connect” you know! I just have to learn to not be nervous to ask more questions and sort of connect with their existing beliefs.

Thanks again, to you and others. We can certainly keep this thread going for a little while.

Rob
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Glad to help, friend. 🙂

Peace…
 
Hi,

I thought you might find these links, with a history of the Catholic Church in Japan, interesting.

cbcj.catholic.jp/eng/ehistory/heade.htm

cbcj.catholic.jp/eng/ehistory/jphis.htm

I did alittle research on the Japanese language site, and they sell the Catechism of the Catholic Church in Japanese. But I will try to locate something that is more fitting for someone just beginning to explore the the Catholic faith etc. I will keep you posted.

Sincerely,
Maria1212
 
Reformed_Rob said:
Hello,

A Japanese friend from college is back here for a few days, and me and friends evangelized him, but no conversion occured.

But he’s back now, and I realize that again it’s difficult to discuss things with him, not merely because of the culture/language difference, but also because he is not religious at all. He says he doesn’t even know what Shinto and other Japanese religious people believe/do.

Is there a book (preferably Catholic) that perhaps would help him understand God and salvation in Christ as a Japanese person would understand?

Thanks,
Rob
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there are bibles on the internet that are translations to japanese.
look on google.

and I find it interesting that he doesn’t know about Shinto…though does he know about Buddhism?, cause that is another major religion.

Shinto…maybe actually would be possible, though he could be doing the traditions that he has been doing, but some of them are long time/age past traditions from Shinto, though most of them don’t matter much (aka: don’t go and say I worship you, Shinto gods or something like that) from what I learnt/can see.|
 
Like Maria, I am also a resident of Japan. You might suggest that your friend read Endo Shusaku’s A Life of Jesus as an introduction to his study of Christianity. It is easily ordered through most book stores in Japan and provides a view of our Lord from a Japanese Catholic perspective. There is actually quite a bit of material on Catholicism available in Japanese, but most of it is found in small shops that cater to Catholic parishoners at the larger Catholic churches in major cities. If your friend is truly interested in Christianity, it would not be very difficult for him to find numerous sources of information in Japan and many good folks who are willing to help him learn more. Of course, it goes without saying that a translation of the New Testament in Japanese might also be helpful to him.
 
I’m a Japanese-American Catholic. For what it’s worth I found the bible, particularly the Old Testament, to be a very helpful read because of it’s description of who God is. In particular Genesis, Exodus, Job, Ecclesiastes and the Psalms portray a breathtaking vision of God as unbounded, untaimed and soverign.

Anyway I’m posting so that I can stay subscribed to the thread. I’d like to learn more about Japanese Christianity too! :cool:
 
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