I once took a Japanese friend, who was in his 60's at the time, to a Franklin Graham crusade. Afterwards he said to me, "I know I'm a sinner, but I have to carry my own sin." In other words, he didn't feel it was right to accept the free gift of forgiveness which Christianity offers. I think he believed he was able to somehow make up for his sins by doing good deeds. He was not yet ready to face the fact that there is no way we can make up for our sins.
Right, that also reminds me of what I read years ago about the trickiness of explaining the Gospel to people brought up on the idea of karma. Some folks, I'm told, hear about what Jesus suffered and conclude He must have not only sinned but sinned grievously, because why else would He have such bad karma?
I wonder if I could come at that idea from the love of parents for children, and how children hide problems from their parents, but many problems are too big for children to handle themselves, so telling the parents and accepting their help is actually the respectful and loving thing to do? Again, hmmm.
It's definitely true that our sin is too big for us to handle. That is a really important thing to understand. Your reply reminds me of what Jesus said: we have to become like children to enter the Kingdom of God.
Have you heard about the Buddhist sect called Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land Faith)? There is a diety called Amida who offers salvation in the next life if one has faith. His attendant, Kannon, acts as an intermediary between the divine world and that of humans, almost like the role of Jesus vis-a-vis God the Father. Japanese who know about Jodo Shinshu notice the similarity in the teachings when they hear about Christianity.
I have! Years ago I first read about Pure Land Buddhism and was struck by how it paralleled the Gospel. I'm still turning over in my mind what to do with that, how to make use of it. I'm loath to say "the Gospel is a lot like Jodo Shinshu," just because one misconception I'm fighting is that all religions are mostly the same. Hmmm.
Rather than bringing it up yourself, I personally would wait and see if one of your students brings it up. Probably most of them don't know about the teachings of Jodo Shinshu. If someone brings it up, though, it's a good idea to be ready to explain the important difference. Christianity has a Savior who has died for us so that we can be saved by faith.
Superb point by you. If they cite it as supporting their impression that all religions are fundamentally the same, I need to be ready to explain why that's not true. Thank you for that!
I once took a Japanese friend, who was in his 60's at the time, to a Franklin Graham crusade. Afterwards he said to me, "I know I'm a sinner, but I have to carry my own sin." In other words, he didn't feel it was right to accept the free gift of forgiveness which Christianity offers. I think he believed he was able to somehow make up for his sins by doing good deeds. He was not yet ready to face the fact that there is no way we can make up for our sins.
Right, that also reminds me of what I read years ago about the trickiness of explaining the Gospel to people brought up on the idea of karma. Some folks, I'm told, hear about what Jesus suffered and conclude He must have not only sinned but sinned grievously, because why else would He have such bad karma?
I wonder if I could come at that idea from the love of parents for children, and how children hide problems from their parents, but many problems are too big for children to handle themselves, so telling the parents and accepting their help is actually the respectful and loving thing to do? Again, hmmm.
It's definitely true that our sin is too big for us to handle. That is a really important thing to understand. Your reply reminds me of what Jesus said: we have to become like children to enter the Kingdom of God.
Hi Doyle,
Have you heard about the Buddhist sect called Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land Faith)? There is a diety called Amida who offers salvation in the next life if one has faith. His attendant, Kannon, acts as an intermediary between the divine world and that of humans, almost like the role of Jesus vis-a-vis God the Father. Japanese who know about Jodo Shinshu notice the similarity in the teachings when they hear about Christianity.
I have! Years ago I first read about Pure Land Buddhism and was struck by how it paralleled the Gospel. I'm still turning over in my mind what to do with that, how to make use of it. I'm loath to say "the Gospel is a lot like Jodo Shinshu," just because one misconception I'm fighting is that all religions are mostly the same. Hmmm.
Rather than bringing it up yourself, I personally would wait and see if one of your students brings it up. Probably most of them don't know about the teachings of Jodo Shinshu. If someone brings it up, though, it's a good idea to be ready to explain the important difference. Christianity has a Savior who has died for us so that we can be saved by faith.
Superb point by you. If they cite it as supporting their impression that all religions are fundamentally the same, I need to be ready to explain why that's not true. Thank you for that!