Japan: Land of Contrasts

Recently, a visitor to Japan asked me why it is that Japanese people frequent temples and shrines, yet claim that they do not have any religious beliefs. In the west we consider this to be contradictory or hypocritical, however to Japanese people this is normal. In the Japanese way of thinking going to a temple is not necessarily a matter of belief or unbelief, but more of a sense of honoring the past, honoring ancient traditions, and being respectful to ancestors as well as Japan itself. Imagine a typical American atheist coming into a church and having his children partake in Sunday school out of respect for America's culture, traditions, and history while at the same time refusing to believe in God! Imagine if he asked the pastor to pray for him, while not believing in God at all! This is just one of many examples of how Japanese people live.

To the Japanese person it is important to focus on, uphold, and show respect for the past. Traditionally, to them the past is held in reverence and should be considered most important when considering future decision making. So, even though the average modern Japanese person does not claim to have any religious beliefs, they will take their child to a religious dedication ceremony because that is what the culture and tradition demands. They will perform prayers and ceremonies (or pay others to) for their dead ancestors at grave sites because that is what culture and tradition demands, not because that is what they actually believe in. In this way Japan is a land of contrasts. In the west we often boldly believe that we should move into the future with little if any regard for the past. This occurs to such an extent that increasingly few people know about history or care to know about history. Of course, there should be a balance.

In Japan this balance is increasingly difficult to find as there is a rapid push for globalization, a large number of Japanese people who have traveled and lived abroad, and a new generation that desires to leave behind the heavy burdens of the past. So, as long as these concepts remain in a flux, Japan remains a land of contradictions. Japanese people increasingly have to decide whether they will modernize while abandoning the past versus trying to modernize while preserving the past. I personally believe that a major part of the spiritual powers controlling Japanese thinking come from the power exerted over the Japanese people from the worship of the past. Any visitor will recognize that Japanese people go to great extends to preserve the past. Japanese people take great pride in their past. (As opposed to recent American thinking which takes pride in hating its past.)

Concerning the ministry here it would appear important to show respect for the past within reason while balancing a healthy outlook on the future with God's help. Once a person becomes a born-again believer in Christ there is a definite pattern to personal growth with having all things become new and moving in a future direction toward becoming more holy like God. This is in stark contrast to focusing on the past to the point of being the most important thing to revere. A real challenge is finding the balance between past, present, and future with God as our emphasis. Our American churches are currently dealing with this as well. Completely focusing on the past or completely rejecting the past are both negative extremes with their own consequences. Part of our faith is a healthy focus on the past while moving into the future knowing the hope that God is in control with a future plan for humanity.