Japanese Understanding of Salvation

Martin Heißwolf

Description

It is no secret that Christianity has been widely rejected in Japan with less than two percent of the population identifying as Christian. The dominant worldview in Japan is deeply animistic, with beliefs such as the Japanese mana-concept, ki (気), the Japanese soul-concept, and the concept of God/god(s), kami (神), being deeply rooted in the culture and fundamentally influencing society. Dr Martin Heißwolf, with his years of experience in Japan, critically examines Japanese animism in light of core Christian beliefs, such as the concepts of “peace” and “salvation.”
Central to Japanese people’s rejection of Christian truth is the diametric opposition of its supernatural message to the natural focus of Japanese animistic folk religion. Heißwolf’s meticulous study is framed squarely within missiological thought and praxis so Christians serving in Japanese contexts are better able to communicate the message of the gospel by more fully understanding Japanese people, people by whom God wants to be known.

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 14 février 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783683710
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Christian leaders of Japan need to read Heisswolf’s formative cultural analysis of contemporary culture. He makes overt religious beliefs that are typically hidden but become operational during times of illness and death. This book could reframe Christian proclamation and ministry and revitalize the church to disarm the principalities and powers.
Dr Gailyn Van Rheenen, PhD
Former Executive Director, Mission Alive
Author of Communicating Christ in Animistic Contexts
A virtual encyclopedia on animism and its impact on the everyday worldview and religious thinking of the Japanese. A valuable resource to be set alongside Nakamura’s Ways of Thinking of Eastern Peoples , consulted by anyone who desires a nuanced understanding of how to bring the gospel to Japan.
Randal Gilmore, D.R.S.
Director, Word of Life, Japan
Regional Director, Word of Life, Pacific Rim

Japanese Understanding of Salvation
Soteriology in the Context of Japanese Animism
Martin Heißwolf

© 2018 by Martin Heißwolf
Published 2018 by Langham Global Library
An imprint of Langham Creative Projects
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langham.org
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-370-3 Print
978-1-78368-371-0 ePub
978-1-78368-372-7 Mobi
978-1-78368-373-4 PDF
Martin Heißwolf has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan.
Translated from German into English by Martin Heißwolf. All quotations from the original German edition of this book are translated into English by the author.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78368-370-3
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and an author’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth here or in works referenced within this publication, nor can we guarantee technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

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Dedication
For my wife, Andrea
Contents

Cover


Abstract


Transcription and Pronunciation of Japanese Words


Transcription


Pronunciation


Timetable


List of Abbreviations


Introduction


1.1 Purpose of this book


1.2 Necessity of this book


1.3 Current state of research


1.4 Methodology


Part I


The Context of Salvation


1 What Is Animism?


1.1 What Is a Worldview?


1.2 Working Definition: Animism


1.3 Christian Faith and Animism


2 Japanese Animism


2.1 Japan and Animism?


2.2 The Japanese Mana -Concept Ki ( 気)


2.3 The Japanese God-Concept Kami (神)


2.4 The Japanese Soul-Concept


2.5 Sociology in the Context of Japanese Animism


“Ancestor Rituals” for Deceased Children


Part II


Peace as a Central Concept of Soteriology


3 The Japanese Peace-Concept Wa ( 和)


3.1 Word-Field Study of Wa (和 )


4 The Biblical Peace-Concept


4.1 The Hebrew Shalom -Concept


4.2 The Christian Peace-Concept


Part III


Four Aspects of Salvation in the Context of Japanese Animism


5 The Theological Aspect of Salvation


5.1 Preliminaries


5.2 The Experience of Unheil under the Theological Aspect


5.3 The Experience of Heil under the Theological Aspect


6 The Cosmological Aspect of Salvation


6.1 The Cosmological Aspect of Salvation in Japanese Animism


6.2 Discussion with Biblical Concepts


7 The Sociological Aspect of Salvation


7.1 The Sociological Aspect of Salvation in the Context of Japanese Animism


7.2 Discussion with Christian approaches


8 The Anthropological Aspect of Salvation


8.1 The Anthropological Aspect of Salvation in the Context of Japanese Animism


8.2 Discussion with Christian Concepts


Part IV


The Dimensions of Salvation


9 The Animistic Focus on Salvation in this World


9.1 An Outline of Gense Riyaku ( 現世利益), “This-Worldly Benefits”


9.2 The “Seven Auspicious Deities ” Shichifukujin (七福神)


10 Discussion with Christian Concepts


10.1 Salvation and Suffering


10.2 Between “This” World and “Yonder” World


10.3 Between “This” World and the “Coming” World


10.4 Between Redemption and Emancipation


11 Epilogue


11.1 Summary


11.2 Critique


11.3 Horizon


Appendices


Appendix 1 Incantations for reiki initiation-rites


Appendix 2 Japanese Bible Translations and Key-References of Wolff’s Anthropologie des Alten Testaments


Appendix 3 The Incantation of the “Great Purification ”


Appendix 4 The “Blessings” of the Shichifukujin ( 七福神)


Bibliography


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes

Index
Abstract
Cosmology and sociology show that animism is the predominant worldview of Japan. Concepts of God, the issue of controlling mana -power, implications of the Japanese soul-concept, the orientation of the conscience, and ancestor veneration are critically discussed in relation to Christian beliefs.
When compared to the biblical concept of peace, the Japanese concept of peace shows an aesthetic bias that has to be overcome by adding the concept of justice.
Japanese soteriology has no reference to God the Creator, whose proclamation is the basis of understanding human misfortune as rebellion against God and their salvation as reconciliation with him.
Cosmologically speaking, human beings experience misfortune as fear of superhuman powers. Salvation is sought through defensive magic and fortunetelling. Christianity acknowledges security as a basic human need but seeks protection and guidance from God.
The main focus of Japanese soteriology is in the field of sociology, which in Japan also includes the relationship with the living dead . Misfortune is mainly experienced as shame and ostracism, salvation as rehabilitation.
Defilement of naturally good humans is a central theme in Japan’s understanding of human misfortune. The Christian concept of sin, on the contrary, has a theological and an ontological dimension as well.
In Japan salvation is understood solely as this-worldly, with benefits such as health, happiness, prosperity, fertility, and longevity. But in Christianity suffering is a central theme of salvation.
An overly strong orientation on “this world” can lead to ethical shallowness, overemphasizing the “coming world” can lead to a dangerous ethical relativism. Christian soteriology must keep the tension between these two extremes.
The hope of the coming world must neither be robbed of its historical truth by its transformation into a principle, nor must it be historically ineffective.
As for humans’ relationship with God, people are solely the object of God’s salvation. But as for Christian acts, humans are called to act “in the Lord.”
Keywords: Japan, animism, Shintoism, soteriology, peace, eudaimonia, cosmology, sociology, anthropology, eschatology

Mienai maku-no mukou-ni
dare ka-ga
hohoende iru.
Behind the invisible curtain,
over there,
somebody is smiling.
Tomihiro Hoshino (星野富弘)
Transcription and Pronunciation of Japanese Words

Transcription
The Romanization of Japanese words follows with a few exceptions the widely used Hepburn System. [1] It focuses rather on easy usability for linguistically less-educated readers than on linguistic consistency. The following tables follow the fifty-syllable system of the Japanese language.


(according to Coulmas 1999, 201)
This table has to be suppleme