October 30th Where are Bob & Chris in Japan?

"God's Fingerprints in Japan"

We worship a God greater than anything in the universe. After all he created it all. So surely the God who came to the Hebrew people must have in others ways come to other people. Our God is not culturally limited. This is the premise behind some work of Rev. Danile Kikawa and a video that has come from his colaboration with other religous scholars. "God's Fingerprints in Japan" is a video that reveals the results of their work. Bob & Chris were in a lecture given by Dr. Toshifumi Uemura, Professor of Christian Studies at Japan Lutheran Theological Seminary on October 30th. This video and it's implications were the heart of the lecture. It was a fascinating look at how God is not culturally limited. God has been understood within the Japanese culture in ways tantalizing similar to the understandings as recorded in the Bible from creation. The video revealed writings in oldest known Japanese book on relgion, the Kojiki. These writings seem to have a striking parallel understanding to creation as recorded in the Bible. The implication is that God in both is the God we worship in the first person of the Trinity

The lecture and the video also went on to show parallels in the Tea Ceremony and Holy Communion. The practices from the washing of hands and vessels to the act of eating both bread or a cake and wine or tea bore interesting similarity. The tea ceremony is known to have been used during the 200 year period when Christiantiy was illegal in Japan as a secret way to celebrate Holy Communion by underground Christians. This and many other parts of the lecture were fascinating for Bob & Chris. The video that was shared is availble from a website at Aloha Ke Akua Ministries. A google search for anyone interested would be well worth your time.

Keep praying,

Zen Ben