Yesterday I introduced you an interesting magazine by the family K.
The essay I was most intrigued in the latest issue is “Sich vertraut machen (To make intimate relations*)” written by Dr. K. S. D., the daughter. (* The English title is translated by me.) Actually, this essay is a continuation of the previous issue, which arrived at my home on Christmas last year. Since that time, I have been thinking about what she wrote. Just recently I have got permission from her to publicize the contents of the essay, so I would like to discuss it including my humble experience and musings for a while.
What she wrote about is her exciting church-going experiences in Sarawak, Malaysia and in Ithaca, the US.
In Sarawak where she is planning to do research in the near future, she visited a very simple but amusing local free church with her local Chinese Christian friend. The church was extraordinary full of people, and she sang their pop-style hymns together with the congregation, being impressed deeply by their way of religious expression. The hymns moved her more by knowing the discriminatory situations based on ethno-religious characteristics and the unsolved lower living circumstances in the region.
As for the US, she stayed again in Ithaca, her favorite town, from February till March for the purpose of research collaboration with Cornell University following the last year. Except for the research objectives, she tried to visit the same Lutheran Church on Sundays during the five weeks, where she did so in the previous year.
At that time, although she was encouraged by the pastor's sermon, she felt herself being isolated a little while when the Holy Communion was held in the Church, because she was not baptized as a church-less-church member, thinking that baptism itself is not the condition of salvation.
This year, however, she gradually became more familiar with the Church members thanks to her various efforts. Also, the pastor told her that the Church is always hers on the final Sunday. That reminds me of an often-used Spanish phrase “Aqui tiene su casa.” which literally means “Here you have your home.” This is a kind of greeting which indicates a good start of friendship towards the new person.
Very interesting! But I wish to give more attention to one sentence from her essay today.
She wrote in German that‘Im Vergleich zu Deutschland oder Japan waren die Kirchen in den anderen Laendern, die ich besucht habe, meist gut besucht.’
I think it means that not only in Sarawak and Ithaca but also in other countries such as Russia, the Philippines, and Greece where she has so far visited, people fill the churches, compared with Germany and Japan.
I agree with her statement, but I want to ask “Why? What is the reason?”
Aging churches are truly worrisome and big burdens for Christians in today’s Japan. Once upon a time I heard from a professor of the Bible that if the German churches become less active and less powerful than before, the Japanese churches will follow the similar direction accordingly, because most of the mainline Japanese churches have been greatly influenced by the German theology. He cited some examples of historical criticism and liberal theology in Germany as a reason for church declining. He also told me that it is a scholastic agreement among the modern scholars of the Bible that ‘Jesus is not Christ.’ He added furthermore, the notion of ‘demythologization’by Rudolf Bultmann turns out to be the renewal notion of ‘remythologizaiton’now in academia.
Aside from this contemporary academic trend of the Biblical studies, I was quite naively astonished and discouraged to learn that Carl Hilty(1833-1909), a highly- respected lawyer and a Christian philosopher is almost forgotten in his home country, Switzerland today. Actually, I make it a rule to read daily his “Fuer Schlaflose Naechte” and “Glueck” in the Japanese translation versions repeatedly for the last twenty years. His work and life lessons based on deep Christian faith supported and encouraged me all the time until now, though. Also, I know that he still attracts faithful readers in Japan.
But, but, but …. Should we then apply ‘Bad money drives good money out of circulation’ by Gresham’s Law to this phenomenon?
I will continue the discussion later regarding her essays.
