tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10759356.post6221100363384636425..comments2024-01-10T20:14:16.750+09:00Comments on Worship & the Arts: Tokyo::Passion -- Interview with Jake JelinekPaul Nethercotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08219155149867389211noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10759356.post-14181649133605182122008-10-16T12:29:00.000+09:002008-10-16T12:29:00.000+09:00Irene (Shakti),The Parliament of Religions seems l...Irene (Shakti),<BR/><BR/>The Parliament of Religions seems like an interesting idea, though I wonder about its effectiveness in Japan. Japan never went through anything analogous to the Great Enlightenment, so appeals to logic work much differently in this country than they do in Western nations. That's not to say that the Japanese are stupid and superstitious, but it does mean that their worldview is significantly different.<BR/><BR/>You asked, "Does it really matter to who pray if we are all united under the same One?" The short answer is "yes." Jesus made it very clear that He is "the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father (God) except through [him]." The long answer is much more complicated, as there is debate within Christianity about whether someone needs to consciously know the person of Jesus in order to be saved by Him, or whether throwing themselves on God's mercy is enough to be credited as righteousness, as it was in the Old Testament. But one thing that everyone agrees on is that "looking within" for God is not enough. It's true that God is in every creature that breathes. In "Christianese" we say that we are created in His image as a reflection of Him. The problem is that sin has clouded that image and reflection, to the point where we can no longer know God simply by knowing ourselves. It's like trying to discover the taste of fresh orange juice by drinking Tang. Sure, there is orange juice (or orange flavoring) in Tang, but that taste is clouded by all of the rest of the stuff there, and one does not lead to the other.<BR/><BR/>That being said, I do agree that this money, energy, and time could have been applied to something much more productive than what Passion World Tour did. I didn't have a chance to attend, but the other author of this blog, Paul, did. We're all waiting for his post about it.Scot Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536873144103672953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10759356.post-47963420125834208492008-10-15T13:03:00.000+09:002008-10-15T13:03:00.000+09:00This sounds like a modern form of evangelism mixed...This sounds like a modern form of evangelism mixed with a little rock. GOD is everywhere in everyone all the time! Much for interesting and needed would be putting this time and energy in a dialogue such as the Parliament of Religions. Does it really matter to who pray if we are all united under the same One? The phrase of "God in Tokyo today". Do you actually believe that God is not in Tokyo? God is in EVERY BEING that breathes! Our task is to simply become aware of it and discover this TRUTH. <BR/>IreneShaktihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15229818895875434159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10759356.post-64871522537643709212008-10-15T13:02:00.000+09:002008-10-15T13:02:00.000+09:00This sounds like a modern form of evangelism mixed...This sounds like a modern form of evangelism mixed with a little rock. GOD is everywhere in everyone all the time! Much for interesting and needed would be putting this time and energy in a dialogue such as the Parliament of Religions. Does it really matter to who pray if we are all united under the same One. The phrase of "God in Tokyo today". Do you actually believe that God is not in Tokyo. God is in EVERY BEING that breathes! Our task is to simply become aware of it and discover this TRUTH. <BR/>IreneShaktihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15229818895875434159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10759356.post-59758814090368510512008-05-23T23:31:00.000+09:002008-05-23T23:31:00.000+09:00Hey Scott…I agree with you concerning subtitles an...Hey Scott…<BR/>I agree with you concerning subtitles and foreign speakers and worshipers. Somehow “going international” seems to be confused with doing the same thing on foreign ground… But I really think this will be a great experience for the Passion team. (Especially I they are able to recognize the limitations of the actual event.) And hopefully they won’t be discouraged but they will be encouraged to work closely to local and experienced people in Japan. <BR/>I wonder if a worship event will be a great success concerning the small Christian population in Japan. (Maybe it will, hopefully it will). <BR/>But what do you think Japan needing now?<BR/>I was considering these kind events (Passion) but with an evangelistic perspective involving local churches. This way young Christians can be encouraged to invite their friends and share the Gospel. As a matter of fact, I believe that friendship is the best evangelistic strategy and the best discipleship. …<BR/>Anyway… Live is really beautiful and God is never wrong… Probably this is nice massage from God to missionaries in Japan. (If someone coming from the US does this, shouldn’t we organize the contextualized and Japanese oriented event someday.)<BR/><BR/>Take care… <BR/>Jose GabrielJosé Gabrielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11412507493630995594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10759356.post-7004813353028992762008-05-22T23:41:00.000+09:002008-05-22T23:41:00.000+09:00This interview is not encouraging to me. It sound...This interview is not encouraging to me. It sounds as if, by their use of subtitles and their lack of use of native talent, they are equating spiritual euphoria with worship. Spiritual euphoria is a good thing, but only in the right context. My impression is that they are expecting the "heart" to be conveyed, but are ignoring the fact that worship <B>begins</B> at the intersection of the heart <I>and</I> the mind. Reading their blog doesn't allay my fears at all. And there are far too many cases in the Bible where worship with all of the heart and none of the mind led to grave consequences (pun slightly intended).<BR/><BR/>I am sure that God can and still will work through this, but as a missionary and an ethnomusicologist with a heart for Japan, I can't help but think that this is <I>exactly</I> what Japan <I>doesn't</I> need right now.<BR/><BR/>If I were to draft a semi-academic letter to Passion headquarters, would anyone be interested in adding some comments?Scot Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536873144103672953noreply@blogger.com