Is it sinful to like another culture?

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Hi,

It’s me again Amy. Sorry if I post too much. But I have a question on if liking another culture is sinful? I really like the Japanese culture, I like the clothes, the music, the art work, and the writing. I am hoping to stay in Japan for a year or two after I graduate college I am a sophmore in high school right now. Is it a sin to like another culture? I am also taking german in school, I really like it my mom was born in Germany and I want to know everything I can about my German heritage, we might try and find her family too. I also want to try to learn to speak Japanese too sometime. Is this a sin under the first commandement liking a different culture and everything? I have a lot of DVD’s that are anime and I watch them in Japanese a lot lol, I also like foreign films, but no one else in my family does:D . I have a necklace as well it’s Japanese or Chinese I am not sure, but it’s a sign for protection, the lady I bought it from said it’s suppose to ward off evil spirits. I wear it everyday with my cross. Am I sinning for wearing this necklace, am I sinning under the first commandement for wearing this necklace? I just become really scriptoulous at times, I have trouble spelling that word sorry again. I thank you for reading this and replying back to it, thank you so much.

God Bless you. From, Amy.
 
Oh, Amy: I hope it isn’t a sin to like other cultures. There is so much in the world to enjoy and it’s great that you want to learn so much.
My husband is from India and he has had friends from Egypt and Arab countries. People have given us gifts from their home lands and we have all kinds of things in our home. We even have a small statue of Buddha sitting on the fireplace in our living room. It was brought to us by a relative who was visiting from India.
Enjoy other cultures and learn as much as you can of our brothers and sisters in other countries.
 
Personally, I wouldn’t think it’s sinful to like another culture, as we are all God’s children.

As far as wearing a necklace to ward off bad spirits - I wouldn’t put any stock into that as Jesus is stronger than anything and anyone. 🙂

I’ll be praying for you - hope this helps.
 
As far as liking another culture: I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it I don’t see why there would be anyway. I absolutely love the German language and culture (and the only German I have in my heritage is so far back that I really can’t count it).
 
It is not sinful at all to like another culture. I am an American, but I like British culture, especially British literature. When I was in college, I took British literature classes as electives, rather than American literature, because I like the British authors better than the American authors.
 
I like other cultures too. The Church itself being a universal people is made up of many cultures. But I think priority have to be given to the Church Culture. I think what you are confused about is on the spiritual side of cultures. I think we can like all cultures we want, but combining many ‘spiritual’ cultures with our Christian Culture would be a sin. If those necklaces or status from those other cultures have with them some sort of ‘spell’. I would think it is a sin. Also wearing them with the hope of them bringing something on the spiritual side may be something of idoraty and superstition…I don’t know you may want to think about it.
But as someone said. Jesus is powerful enough for you.
If you wear them because you just like them, it think it is okay.
 
I don’t think it’s sinful to like another culture. I’m a devout traditionalist Catholic of Irish and Italian descent and I like Arabic culture and music, I do however dislike Islam. I am trying learn how to speak Arabic as well.
 
As long as the culture is compatible with Catholicism, it’s ok. Loving a Satanic cult or one of those poison-taking cults, for example, would not be ok.
 
Good News! It is a protestant aberration to equate God and America. Catholics rarely have such a hangup.

The only caveat is that you must keep your guard up to discern between genuine goodness in other cultures and elements of culture that spring from erroneus religious ideas. But today that guard is at least as necessary in America as in Japan!

Go, enjoy and learn!

There is a book called IIRC “Silence” about the suffering of early missionaries in Japan you might like. Learn a bit about the small, but long lived catholic minority in Japan before you go. (Sadly it was most heavily concentrated in a town called Nagasaki, perhaps you’ve heard of it 😦 )
 
Of course is is not sinful to admire and appreciate, or even adopt, a different culture, as long as your faith in God and the Church is not compromised.

As for the Nihonophilic interests, I have some experience there, but I am no Nihonophile. I studied Japanese language for many years. My company sent(enced) me there for a year several years ago. After living and working in Tokyo for a year I still was unable to speak Japanese well enough to get by. When I would go shopping, I could not even identify the fresh vegetables and fruits.

All the food there seemed to be made from fish, soybeans and rice. Even the pizza.

Tokyo is a very clean and well organized city. You can get with 10 blocks of anywhere by subway or train. It is very convenient and easy to get around and a car is worse than useless. But it is frightfully expensive.

I found the Japanese people to be very polite but very cold to foreigners. The Japanese have a reputation for being a rather racist people to non-Japanese. In my experience, I found this reputation to be accurate, widespread, and in some cases, enacted into law.

Finally, I am a moderately tall man with a very large build (think line-backer). I was constantly hitting my head on doors and could never find a chair that I fit in.

Yes, my year in Japan was not so pleasant.
 
reader16 said:
Hi,

It’s me again Amy. Sorry if I post too much. But I have a question on if liking another culture is sinful? I really like the Japanese culture, I like the clothes, the music, the art work, and the writing. I am hoping to stay in Japan for a year or two after I graduate college I am a sophmore in high school right now. Is it a sin to like another culture? I am also taking german in school, I really like it my mom was born in Germany and I want to know everything I can about my German heritage, we might try and find her family too. I also want to try to learn to speak Japanese too sometime. Is this a sin under the first commandement liking a different culture and everything? I have a lot of DVD’s that are anime and I watch them in Japanese a lot lol, I also like foreign films, but no one else in my family does:D . I have a necklace as well it’s Japanese or Chinese I am not sure, but it’s a sign for protection, the lady I bought it from said it’s suppose to ward off evil spirits. I wear it everyday with my cross. Am I sinning for wearing this necklace, am I sinning under the first commandement for wearing this necklace? I just become really scriptoulous at times, I have trouble spelling that word sorry again. I thank you for reading this and replying back to it, thank you so much.

God Bless you. From, Amy.
Click to expand...
Well, there is certainly nothing wrong with liking other cultures. But I think your question is more oriented at the neclase you got from your friend.

Let me ask you a question, why do you wear it? This is a very essential question. If you keep it because you want to ward off evil spirit then let me tell you that the Devil is stronger than that. This would be nothing more than pagan superstition, which has no place in Christian lives. We are to put our faith in God and not pagan charms.

Now, you might be wearing the necklace not because you believe in it but simply because you like it. If it’s not one of those yin yang things and it’s simply a Chinese letter (I’ve seen many like these) I think you should be fine. I don’t think people would know that it’s actually some kind of amulet. You see, my concern is that wearing a pagan amulet might give a scandal. It’s hard to judge and I would be careful. But I think it might be OK if it’s not something people associate with superstition.
 
<<< Now, you might be wearing the necklace not because you believe in it but simply because you like it. If it’s not one of those yin yang things and it’s simply a Chinese letter (I’ve seen many like these) I think you should be fine. I don’t think people would know that it’s actually some kind of amulet. You see, my concern is that wearing a pagan amulet might give a scandal. It’s hard to judge and I would be careful. But I think it might be OK if it’s not something people associate with superstition. >>>

What’s wrong with ying yangs? Just curious. 🙂
 
RenaissanceMare said:
<<< Now, you might be wearing the necklace not because you believe in it but simply because you like it. If it’s not one of those yin yang things and it’s simply a Chinese letter (I’ve seen many like these) I think you should be fine. I don’t think people would know that it’s actually some kind of amulet. You see, my concern is that wearing a pagan amulet might give a scandal. It’s hard to judge and I would be careful. But I think it might be OK if it’s not something people associate with superstition. >>>

What’s wrong with ying yangs? Just curious. 🙂
Click to expand...
Yin-yang represents eastern philosophy that is incompatible with Christianity.
Wikipedia:
The Taijitu (pictured at top of page; Traditional Chinese: 太極圖; Simplified Chinese: 太极图; pinyin: Taìjí tú; Wade-Giles: T’ai4 chi2 t’u2; literally “diagram of the supreme ultimate”), often referred to as yin-yang in English, is a well known symbol deriving from Chinese culture which represents the principle of yin and yang from Taoist and Neo-Confucian philosophy. The term Taijitu itself refers to any of several schematic diagrams representing these principles.

The taijitu represents an ancient Chinese understanding of how things work. The outer circle represents the entirety of perceivable phenomena, while the black and white shapes within the circle represent the interaction of two principles or aspects, called “yin” (black) and “yang” (white), which cause the phenomena to appear in their peculiar way. Each of them contains an element or seed of the other, and they cannot exist without each other. There are other ways that Chinese schools of thought graphically represented the principles of yin and yang, an older example being the solid and divided lines of the I Ching.
Click to expand...
 
Wearing amulets to ward off evil spirits is ok just for the novelty, what is not OK is to believe in it to actually ward of evil spirits, there is nothing wrong with liking other cultures.
 
There’s nothing wrong with liking other cultures and can’t picture why anyone would think so.
ATM I’m obsessed with medieval Germany, and the medieval HRE got into all sorts of stupid wars with my ancestors.

As to the “charm” stuff: if you think it actually wards off evil spirits, you’re wearing it for the wrong reasons and relying on something other than God to protect you from evil. Which is bad. Superstition and reliance on magic is a no-go.
If it’s just that you think it looks cool, no bother, as Yotsuba would say (do you read Yotsuba? If not, you should. Every good Wapanese-American should read it, because it’s just that genius.).
 
No, not at all. Cultures vary across the world. Even the inter-Church culture varies around the world with many local variances.
 
reader16 said:
Hi,

I have a necklace as well it’s Japanese or Chinese I am not sure, but it’s a sign for protection, the lady I bought it from said it’s suppose to ward off evil spirits. I wear it everyday with my cross.
Click to expand...
If you wear it because you like the design, that’s fine. If you wear it to ward off evil spirits, that’s a form of idolatry, depending on a false “god” to protect you.

As far as you interest in other cultures, that’s fine otherwise, and pretty cool to learn about the rest of the world.
 
Liking another culture is not a sin.

That being said, you have to be careful that you don’t go overboard. Some of my friends like Japanese pop culture to the point where they have this idealized attitude towards Japan. To them, Japan is all about giant robots, sugary pop music, gadgets, and bizarre TV shows.

But, Japan is a real country, just like the US. There is a nasty dark side to Japanese culture – husbands and wives who can’t communicate, racism, gambling addictions, suicide, excessive drinking, anti-individualistic attitudes and conformism, plus the second-lowest birthrate in the world (few couples are having children).

My point is, the Japanophiles that I know have a very one-sided viewpoint on Japanese culture, and my attempts at discussing these aspects of Japanese society with them were met with blank stares. They were more interested in anime and giant robots.

So, I encourage you to research every aspect of Japanese culture, so you can get a true understanding of what Japan is like. 🙂
reader16 said:
Hi,

It’s me again Amy. Sorry if I post too much. But I have a question on if liking another culture is sinful? I really like the Japanese culture, I like the clothes, the music, the art work, and the writing. I am hoping to stay in Japan for a year or two after I graduate college I am a sophmore in high school right now. Is it a sin to like another culture? I am also taking german in school, I really like it my mom was born in Germany and I want to know everything I can about my German heritage, we might try and find her family too. I also want to try to learn to speak Japanese too sometime. Is this a sin under the first commandement liking a different culture and everything? I have a lot of DVD’s that are anime and I watch them in Japanese a lot lol, I also like foreign films, but no one else in my family does:D . I have a necklace as well it’s Japanese or Chinese I am not sure, but it’s a sign for protection, the lady I bought it from said it’s suppose to ward off evil spirits. I wear it everyday with my cross. Am I sinning for wearing this necklace, am I sinning under the first commandement for wearing this necklace? I just become really scriptoulous at times, I have trouble spelling that word sorry again. I thank you for reading this and replying back to it, thank you so much.

God Bless you. From, Amy.
Click to expand...
 
reader16 said:
Hi,

It’s me again Amy. Sorry if I post too much. But I have a question on if liking another culture is sinful? I really like the Japanese culture, I like the clothes, the music, the art work, and the writing. I am hoping to stay in Japan for a year or two after I graduate college I am a sophmore in high school right now. Is it a sin to like another culture? .
Click to expand...
No it is not. Actually, it can be a virtue if one finds good in another culture.
However, superstition is wrong.
 
I think one can appreciate other cultures, as long as they remain centered on Christ (aka not getting involved in practicing false religions, etc.). I personally find a lot of the things here in India very beautiful. I even own a long Kurta, aka a long shirt-like garment and matching pants. Below you can see me wearing it (I wear it with jeans too, pants just got finished up).



However, that doesn’t mean I go and donate money/perform puja at the local Hindu temples by any means. I think it’s all about not getting so wrapped up in a culture that you lose your own Christian identity. That’s my $.02 (or 0.78 rupees) worth anyways.
 
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