{"id":843,"date":"2020-07-29T15:07:49","date_gmt":"2020-07-29T06:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rac-network.com\/?p=843"},"modified":"2020-07-29T15:08:41","modified_gmt":"2020-07-29T06:08:41","slug":"witnessing-approach-adapted-to-the-needs-of-the-japanese-people-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rac-network.com\/?p=843","title":{"rendered":"Witnessing approach adapted to the needs of the Japanese people 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Menu<\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The three needs of Japanese people<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Approaches that respond to these needs<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Making use of the three approaches<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”\u00a0(1 Peter 3:15)<\/span><\/p>\n

    These words are not to be practiced only by so-called \u201cclergy.\u201d The key to the opening of this country for the Gospel will be when every part of Christ’s body begins to boldly and joyfully share their faith \u201cfor the hope that you have.\u201d We need to have approaches that meet the varied needs of those who hear the Good News from us. As an example, Paul became aware of a graven altar \u201cto an unknown God\u201d in Athens. He was able to discern the needs of the people there who feared retribution if they omitted a god from their \u201cworship list.\u201d Paul proclaimed that this \u201cunknown God\u201d was the Creator God Himself, who wouldn’t drop them from His \u201clist.\u201d Instead, He made them His own ancestors.<\/p>\n

    In this article, I would like to propose a framework for witnessing that can be done by \u201cordinary people,\u201d through analyzing the types of needs Japanese people have. Then I would like to show how to meet those needs with various approaches. In other words, my goal is give \u201chints\u201d on what is common to these persons so that when we explain the Gospel to them they will think, \u201cif that’s Jesus then I want to follow Him.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/a>The three needs of Japanese people<\/h4>\n

    I believe the Japanese people have three needs, spiritually speaking. Two of them are comparatively superficial while one is a fairly deep need.<\/p>\n

    The need to be filled with spiritual power<\/h5>\n

    The most representative example of this among 70-80% of modern day Japanese people is the assumption that a \u201ccurse\u201d will follow certain actions. This can be seen in the use of amulets for prayers to ward off evil, or the \u201cmizuko kuyo\u201d which is widely practiced to show penitence and to remove a mother’s guilt when there has been an abortion. This same theme of \u201cwarding off evil\u201d can be seen in director Hayato Miyazaki’s animated film, \u201cThe Princess Mononoke,\u201d which swept the world in its popularity.<\/p>\n

    As can be seen in the expression, \u201cwatching over me from the grave,\u201d the traditional Japanese view of life and death has no clear boundary between this world and the next. It is believed that the spirits of the dead have influence over the living. It is for this reason that so many Shinto purification rituals, such as \u201charai\u201d and \u201cmisogi,\u201d are deeply rooted in people’s lives – they help to guard these \u201cborders.\u201d People feel a need to acquire spiritual life forces that can guard against such \u201ccurses.\u201d<\/p>\n

    In the Japanese mind, a prerequisite for being filled with spiritual power is to become pure. This cannot occur except through unmarried women who function as mediums (\u201cyuta\u201d or \u201citako\u201d) since sexual intercourse is considered unclean. In fortune-telling or in animated films where characters act by calling upon \u201cgood luck\/goodfortune\u201d or where someone is wrapped up in \u201cki\u201d (\u201cenergy\u201d), one can observe the reciprocal nature of the relationship between purity (or, cleansing) and spiritual power.<\/p>\n

    The need for warm fellowship<\/h5>\n

    Another need is the longing for a welcoming (or, warm) community. During the rapid growth era of Japan, the Japanese businessman became \u201cmarried to the company.\u201d Because of this, their wives became overly attached to their children. And the children of these absentee, overworked fathers and lonely, meddling mothers began to have questions about their value of their own existence, unable to have any hope for their futures. They drifted about searching for \u201ca place to belong\u201d to be accepted just as they were.<\/p>\n

    Many of those who are drifting now have confined themselves to \u201cfortresses\u201d inside of themselves. A \u201cshower\u201d of negative criticism came upon them under the perfectionism of their parents who said, \u201cdo everything to your utmost.\u201d But this is the cause behind what stole away their confidence and their desire to try. As a result, quite of few of these persons are now inhibited in expressing themselves and do not seek to have deep relationships with other people. They have a tendency to stay inside their own self-erected \u201cfortresses\u201d where they cannot get hurt.<\/p>\n

    One line from the hit song, \u201cSekai ni hitosu dake no hana\u201d (\u201cYou’re my only flower in this world\u201d), by the popular singing group, SMAP, struck a chord with a wide audience because it said, \u201ceven if you don’t become No. 1, you were always my special Only One.\u201d One could interpret this as a cry from the Japanese who want to be able to act freely in a non-judgmental community. For the person who is barricaded in the fortress of themselves these words say, \u201ctalk to me nicely and tell me that I have value, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The need to be true to oneself<\/h5>\n

    I believe that the reason why baseball is a national sport in Japan lies in the framework of a game that focuses on a \u201cmoment of glory\u201d after a long period of preparation. I’m talking about the glory of the home run. It is a momentary event in the game. Yet everything else is the set-up, like just before a charge is set off by a spark. In the same way, spiritually speaking, the impetus or \u201cspark\u201d behind shaking up the hearts of normally well mannered Japanese citizens lies dormant and ready within their souls, waiting to be set off (like the excitement of a home run).<\/p>\n

    In the midst of a day-to-day life which follows the crowd and fears rejection or ostracization from others, the impetus for the explosive deliverance of someone’s innermost feelings (their heart of hearts) comes in that moment when they can affirm who they really are. It is in that moment where a person can \u201cbe true to oneself\u201d even when they are in a conforming society that says, \u201cthe nail that sticks out gets pounded back in.\u201d These kinds of moments for continuing reflection in one’s day-to-day life can be seen as where people \u201clive life as it really is.\u201d<\/p>\n

    People who seek to \u201creally live life\u201d often get the reputation with other people that they are \u201ctruly honorable\u201d because they always \u201cgambaru\u201d (exert themselves). But they cannot carry that original \u201cspark\u201d back into their day-to-day lives so it is easy for them to feel guilty for not being able to still have that original \u201cspark\u201d experience. Moreover, they easily get caught up in seeking for a universal \u201csomething\u201d by which they can relax and to which to open up themselves.<\/p>\n

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