[Crispy]

One of the other students going to Japan on my program is going there to try to convert the locals, I know it. He does it all the time here with exchange students here in the States, he has quite a flock, and I know that his biggest motivation for learning Japanese and going to Japan is evangelism. I'm so divided on what to think of it, he is my friend of many years but we have grown apart since he recieved his mission from God only a few years ago, but he is taking advantage of the Japanese' complete and utter lack of experience with evangelists. Of course, I can't say right away that what he is doing to/for them is inherently bad, they seem to honestly be interested in the bible stuff. Whether or not they really understand what they would be getting into if they decided to be baptized and all that, I have no idea.

I'm so divided...

[cstaylor]

I can't say right away that what he is doing to/for them is inherently bad, they seem to honestly be interested in the bible stuff. Whether or not they really understand what they would be getting into if they decided to be baptized and all that, I have no idea

What's your friend's position on idolatry and ancestor worship? He knows about that, right?

[Crispy]

I don't actually know if he is trying to get the Japanese to forsake those things. I haven't asked him exactly how he is going about his evangelism, it would just start a big fight, like the ones that...limited our friendship years ago.

[befamfivh]

Wow, its great what the LDS missionaries are doing. They are working hard and helping and serving others. I hope more people will take the time to hear their message.

I disagree.

They are working hard to stamp out global multiculturalism. They serve no one but their own egos and those who outrank them in church. I hope they develop nasty rashes in hard-to-reach places.

[cstaylor]

Are you suggesting a celebrity deathmatch? Right-wing Japanese Ultra-nationalists pitted against the best-of-the-best-of-the-best LDS missionaries?

I'd pay to see that.

[GomiGirl]

There seems to be a group of Mormons living in my shotengai.. my drycleaner asked me if I was a member of the church - it took me a while to realise he was asking me if I was a missionary.. (I must have a wholesome look about me coz about the only missionary I know is....

Anyways, on asking around, it seems they are well regarded in the neighbourhood, nice clean-cut, polite young lads with their trademark white shirts, thin black ties and bicycles... but it always occurs to me that these guys are actively going for maximum market share.. everywhere there seems to be a dominant Catholic presence there is a group of Mormons as well - I noticed this in Vanuatu, a small south pacific island with bananas, karva, a few tourists, a big bank, relaxed tax laws, a large Catholic Church and Mormons..

Incidently, I was approached the other night in Akasaka by a very polite however somewhat persistant hari krishna (spelling?) - haven't seen one of those in a while.

Anyways, live and let live I say.. there is room for us all.

[kamome]

I don't hate missionaries as people, but I hate the idea of imposing a Western religion on another culture. There are few things as arrogant or as destructive than imposing your own religious beliefs on others.

One thing I respect about Japan is its outright rejection of missionaries and Christianity. The Catholics, Mormons, and other groups have been trying for centuries to convert the Japanese with very little luck. In the process, the Japanese have shown that religion isn't a necessary ingredient for running a society or maintaining a sense of identity.

By the way, "I'm Not a Super Hero...I'm a Latterday Saint!"

[cstaylor]

Also, am I the only person here that feels really sorry for the brain washing that must have happened when you see a Japanese (christian) nun walking down the street? I mean, for f*ck's sake! You take this person, make them believe a whole bunch of crap that isn't really going to bring them anything worthwhile, and you're so succesful in your job that they go out and spend the rest of their life to your religion!

In the process, the Japanese have shown that religion isn't a necessary ingredient for running a society or maintaining a sense of identity.

I would say the same for all of the right-wing claptrap you hear coming from the conservatives in this country... Emperor descended from the Sun gods? Please... it's just another mind control technique for abusing the working class...

[kamome]

Also, am I the only person here that feels really sorry for the brain washing that must have happened when you see a Japanese (christian) nun walking down the street? I mean, for f*ck's sake! You take this person, make them believe a whole bunch of crap that isn't really going to bring them anything worthwhile, and you're so succesful in your job that they go out and spend the rest of their life to your religion! It's sick if you ask me...

Hey, the Grinning Fool's back! I totally agree with you on this--it is very disturbing to see someone so brain washed that they shed their own cultural identity and wrap themselves in another after being fed that claptrap from early on.

However, Japan does pretty well resisting that stuff. Korea, on the other hand, swalled Christianity hook, line, and sinker. I knew many ethnic Koreans in the US who seemed to be plagued by guilt--they wanted to do things not normally stigmatized in Asian cultures (drinking, pre-marital sex, gambling, etc.) but their fundamentalist brand of Christianity kept them running to church on Sunday mornings to repent for their Saturday night sins. Pathetic.

[GomiGirl]

Please... it's just another mind control technique for abusing the working class...

To quote the late, great INXS singer..

"Whether it's God or the Bomb, it's just the same... only fear under another name."

Keep the people under control....

Not that I am a conspiracy theorist or anything...

[Mr. BIG]

....Japan does pretty well resisting that stuff. Korea, on the other hand, swalled Christianity hook, line, and sinker.

That's for sure!! I live just outside Chicago in an area with an extremely large Asian population....there's even an area called 'Korea-town' nearby. Anyways, out of all the Korean-American/Korean people I've met living in this area (or even at my university in Indiana), I've never met a Korean who wasn't Christian....and I've met a LOT of Korean folk in my time. I wonder why these two cultures took opposite sides on the issue of Christianity....other than that, both cultures are remarkably similar....