tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366204.post1116562578828165753..comments2024-03-28T08:05:40.149-08:00Comments on Courageous Joy: Culture StudiesDeEtta @ Courageous Joyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06726346272268287588noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366204.post-49737915777068712942010-03-07T22:03:41.598-09:002010-03-07T22:03:41.598-09:00Julie and Lois, thanks for sharing. I think you ar...Julie and Lois, thanks for sharing. I think you are right that your religion DOES affect your daily life - even if you think it doesn't. <br /><br />Kim, my friend whose lived in Japan forever, shared with me last night that they've found evangelism totally different in Japan. I'll have to wait until I can think a bit clearer - just got home a bit ago - and share. I found it very insightful.DeEtta @ Courageous Joyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06726346272268287588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366204.post-14499274249373998342010-03-07T22:00:42.488-09:002010-03-07T22:00:42.488-09:00YES - we do need missionaries sent to America, I t...YES - we do need missionaries sent to America, I think. AND....I know of several from other countries who believe they ARE missionaries to America. LOL I agree Janette. <br /><br />Still thinking and praying....DeEtta @ Courageous Joyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06726346272268287588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366204.post-51528165613802481722010-03-06T13:51:30.602-09:002010-03-06T13:51:30.602-09:00Love your insight! I'm so glad the Lord is giv...Love your insight! I'm so glad the Lord is giving you the opportunity to share your faith as "fact" with the motive of befriending and not alienating. We knew a Chinese family whose daughter was 12 at the time. She was so open to American ways and culture. Her parents were completely disinterested in spiritual things, only in our "culture and traditions". I don't think they believed a person could ever know God, if there even was one. If you could know Him, it didn't make any difference to them. They were probably in their late 30's.Loisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366204.post-79313799379171825702010-03-06T12:07:40.895-09:002010-03-06T12:07:40.895-09:00De'Etta,
Your post has been spinning around i...De'Etta,<br /><br />Your post has been spinning around in my head. What an opportunity you have! And you may be right, that this younger generation may very well be more open to Jesus than previous generations.<br /><br />I've also been thinking about your friend's comment that for most Japanese, their religion has no impact on their daily life. <br /><br />Oh... but it does...<br /><br />You've lived in many cultures. I'm sure you've seen it. Though America can't be called a "Christian nation" in the sense that most people are practicing Christians, still, Christianity has shaped our nation and our values.<br /><br />It's the same with Buddhism in Japan. It's just that we're all "fish" in our own cultures, and we don't realize we're "wet".<br /><br />For instance... one of my sons is mostly deaf, and I'm very watchful of how he is received and treated by others. For the most part, wonderfully.<br /><br />My Japanese friend Keiko (about my age - so probably born in the late 60's or early 70's) has a different story. She is a hearing person born to deaf parents in Japan. All her life she and her parents have been discriminated against and looked down upon. Buddhist belief in karma and reincarnation (and I know I'm oversimplifying here) shaped the mindset that, "these people obviously <i>deserve</i> to be deaf. They're being punished for their bad karma from a previous life."<br /><br />All that changed when she was in 7th grade, and her parents became Christians. The church accepted them and loved them.<br /><br />I'm not saying that "all Japanese discriminate against the disabled." Indeed, that attitude may very well have changed in the last 30 years - and I hope so!<br /><br />I'm just saying that our and their religious beliefs undoubtedly affect our daily lives much more than your young lady realizes.<br /><br />All the more reason to pray for this generation to find their answers in God's Word :0)<br /><br />JulieHerding Grasshoppershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15668974245505544238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366204.post-11534874331421368722010-03-06T07:11:45.361-09:002010-03-06T07:11:45.361-09:00I agree with some of your last comments. the US a...I agree with some of your last comments. the US as a nation, is not Christian in binding. We fight about who has the responsiblity to care for those who cannot care for themselves. We choose to follow the dollar instead of a healthy way of getting enough and moving on. We do not cling to our partners. I do not see a difference between the current generation of children and what you describe of the younger generation of Japanese (you could insert here almost any first or second world nation name).<br />The question comes- should someone be sending the US missionaries? We say that people have a choice here- but if they have never truly experienced theWord- how can they live it?Janettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10054888725603183006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16366204.post-49093281292475516852010-03-06T05:39:58.556-09:002010-03-06T05:39:58.556-09:00Sis:
God bless you for you insight and love. -lo...Sis:<br /><br />God bless you for you insight and love. -love/prayers -- Mom T.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com