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2007年09月19日
The Church In Japan: The Nestorian Mystery
Christianity was first introduced to Japan by the Nestorians around the same time or before Buddhism was. In spite of this early introduction to Japan, there seems to be hardly any Christian influence remaining from those days. Why is this? Carl F. H. Henry offers an explanation in his book, "God, Revelation, and Authority Volume III". He says, "The gospel has taken poor root, and the life of faith has become vulnerable to many vagaries, wherever and whenever the church has lagged in translating the Bible into the language of the people.This was the case when the Nestorians carried the gospel across Asia to China but neglected Scripture translation."
As a result, the fact that the Nestorians brought the gospel to Japan is known, but not one word of Christian teaching or of the Christian gospel or of the Bible remains in Japan from that age.
This is in contrast to the Roman Catholic Church which brought Christianity to Japan in the 1500s. As a result of Christian teaching and portions of the Bible being available in Japanese, Japan was on the verge of becoming a Christian country. In reaction to this, the Japanese government expelled all foreigners and outlawed Christianity for nearly 400 years. During those 400 years there were still Christians who did not give up their faith and their influence remains to this day.
Which all shows how important the Bible-the Word of God-is for our faith and for the church in Japan. It would seem that the life of the church in Japan would depend on the extent to which the Bible-the Word of God-is believed and followed.
投稿者 bethany : 2007年09月19日 14:53
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After having read your article, I felt like learning more about History of Christianity in Japan and looked up some informations on my computer. It was very, very interesting. For I had a rare opportunity to study about Christianity so far, there are lots of facts/theories of which I have never known. Thank you, Paul sensei.
Well, it is Monday noon, Sep. 24, 2007. I am, as well as our church members else, praying for both you and Reiko san.
投稿者 Mayumi : 2007年09月24日 11:41