Christianity in the Land of the Rising Sun

            In the mid fifteenth century the Jesuits arrived on the Island of Kyushu.
Japan today, has one of the smallest numbers of Christian followers among
Southeast Asian nations. Only 1%, small compared to Korea whose followers
are in 40% range.

Of the hundreds of missionaries that had committed their lives to spreading the
Message of Yeshua. I've wondered, of no fault, to the Japanese, or Christians who
came to spread the Master's Message. Why so few,  respond to the Master.
 
Kiyoshi-San (Clip 1 - Homeless in Tokyo), knows why.  He has met the Master.

22 Jesus also told them other parables. He said, ² “The Kingdom of Heaven can be

 illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. 

 ³ When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. 

But they all refused to come!

⁴ “So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and 
fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’ ⁵ But
 the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, 
another to his business. ⁶ Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed 
them.
⁷ “The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn 
their town. ⁸ And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I 
invited aren’t worthy of the honor. ⁹ Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone
 you see.’ ¹⁰ So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, 
and the banquet hall was filled with guests.
¹¹ “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing
the proper clothes for a wedding. ¹² ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without
wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. ¹³ Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his 
hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and 
gnashing of teeth.’
¹⁴ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”  ~ Matthew 22:1-14 NLT

Prophetic Dreams and Visions

In the Prophetic realm both the Old and New Testament attest
to Yahweh giving personal or general messages to his people.
These are commonly known as a Revelation. The most prominent
one being the Revelation of John.

Lately, on my mind. I was troubled by several things. Namely,
the idea of Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins. Also, the Hebrew
Nation's connection to Yahweh. Specifically, Modern Day Israel. 
Hebrews believe that the Dead transition from Gehenna a place of
spiritual purification for the wicked dead in Judaism to Olam Ha-Ba
(world to come). Islam purports that Allah weighs the Righteous Deeds
versus Evil ones on a scale to determine who goes to Paradise.
Mainstream Christianity is broken into Armenian versus Calvinist
Theology. In layman's terms both generally believe that the Blood of
Yeshua is the means whereby Sins are Forgiven once and for all.
How they differ, Calvinists believe in 'Once Saved always Saved'.
Armenians believe that 'Once Saved followed by Repentance Saved'.
Both have valid scriptural arguments. I did not write this to debate the
efficacy of one or the other, but rather, share a dream that i had.

In my Dream. A Dark Cloak enveloped me. It Scared Me in my mind
and i also heard a voice saying Luke 7.  These are two conclusions
i came up with. The Centurion represents the Goyim (Nations) and
his devotion to Yeshua's Brethren. The Woman with the Alabaster
Perfume Jar, came to the Master, in Sorrow, and received Unconditional
Forgiveness. Only the Master can Forgive Sin and her action of Loving
Much was the fruit of repentance. What do you think?

7 When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to 

Capernaum. ² At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer^[a] 

was sick and near death. ³ When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent 

some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. ⁴ So

they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help,

he does,” they said, ⁵ “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a 

synagogue for us.” ~ Luke 7: 1-5 NLT

³⁶ One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went 

to his home and sat down to eat.^{[h] 37} When a certain immoral woman from 

that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled

with expensive perfume. ³⁸ Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. 

Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept

kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. ³⁹ When the Pharisee who had 
invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would
 know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”
⁴⁰ Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have
 something to say to you.”
“Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.
⁴¹ Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—
500 pieces of silver^[i] to one and 50 pieces to the other. ⁴² But neither of them 
could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do
you suppose loved him more after that?”
⁴³ Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”
“That’s right,” Jesus said. ⁴⁴ Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, 
“Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer
me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears 
and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the 
time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You neglected the 
courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare 
perfume.
⁴⁷ “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown
me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” ⁴⁸ Then 
Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
⁴⁹ The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around
 forgiving sins?”
⁵⁰ And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” 
 ~ Luke 7: 36-50 NLT

Is Christianity Prejudiced Against Islam ?

Malaysia Bagus June 21, 2013 at 10:58 AM on Tun Dr. Mahathirs Blog Chedet (Racial Polarization) raised an interesting conundrum against Christianity and Judaism. Is Christianity, prejudiced against Islam. I would like to address the writers statements.

For the true Muslims. As far as social pluralism is concerned, Islam seeks for peaceful co-existence and mutual tolerance between the people of different religions and cultures. Among the three Abrahamic religions, it is only Islam which has accorded recognition to Judaism and Christianity. Judaism does not recognize Jesus as the awaited Messiah or the Prophet; and Christianity does not recognize Muhammad (S) as the true Prophet and Messenger of God.

Co-existing cultures, provide for equal access via meritocracy, for all its peoples, to all of societies benefits. Dhimitude “Second Class Status Citizens” and Jizya “ Taxes for Non-Muslims" are Islamic doctrines passed down directly from its inception. The writer either knows very well or is unaware of  how Non-Muslims perceive their status . Is Malaysia an equitable society? Do large numbers of Chinese, Indians or Native Iban, Kadazan,…. agree that it is so.
It appears to be some prejudice to the fact that Islam is left out by Christians and the Jews. Actually, I will allow the ‘Prophet’ to explain, why? ‘They’ referring to the Jews and/or Christians questioned him per his authority. This was his answer in the Quran

[29:50]   They said, "If only miracles could come down to him from his Lord!" Say, "All miracles come only from GOD; I am no more than a manifest warner." 

[29:51]   Is it not enough of a miracle that we sent down to you this book, being recited to them? This is indeed a mercy and a reminder for people who believe.

He himself failed to answer. His only answer was, he was just a warner, not a prophet with any sign or miracle except for his ‘book’. He admitted he was a warner with no prophetic or supernatural ties. Indeed, there are many Muslim Apologists today who can concoct references to biblical passages that foresaw the coming of the ‘Prophet’. Why didn’t he himself provide evidence. Why? because he didn’t have any direct evidence.

Yeshua himself was challenged by his Brethren whom he answered in  John 2:18-22

18The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?”Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”But He was speaking of the temple of His body.So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

Islam considers the Christian and the Jewish communities as “the People of the Book” or “the People of Scripture” (Ahlul Kitab). Islam has even allowed a Muslim man to marry a Christian or Jewish woman, but not those from the other faiths.

Christianity (New Testament) does not specifically dis-allow inter-marriage. It however, warns of the consequences of being ‘unequally yoked’ (2 Cor 6:14) and therefore burdened by strive. Moreover, Christianity sanctifies the un-believer in an inter-marriage so as not committing a greater sin by divorce. Unlike Islam it is not so easy to divorce in a Church. Committed Christians do not have the option of saying ‘I divorce thee’ 3X. The Mosaic Law allows for divorce because of Sin and Hardening of Hearts.

What is noteworthy is that Islam accorded this recognition to the Ahlul Kitab fourteen centuries ago when there was absolutely no talk of tolerance among people of different faiths or an ecumenical movement among religions.
On a socio-political level, a Muslim government would readily sign an agreement with its Christian and Jewish minorities. Imam `Ali Zainul `Abidin, the great-grandson of the Prophet, writes:
“It is the right of the non-Muslims living in a Muslim country that you should accept what Allah has accepted from them and fulfill the responsibilities which Allah has accorded them… And there must be a barrier keeping you from doing any injustice to them, from depriving them of the protection of Allah, and from flaunting the commitments of Allah and His Messenger concerning them. Because we have been told that the Holy Prophet said, ‘Whosoever does injustice to a protected non-Muslim, I will be his enemy (on the Day of Judgement).’”


Why did the writer not quote. Koran 9:29, says to attack the People of the Book until they pay the jizyah, the dhimmi tax, submit to Sharia law and be humbled. Imam Ali was murdered by the Sunni’s. Also, I could quote multiple passages in the Hadith that contradict with the sanctity of Muslim governance. For relevance, I will stick with the Quran. Specifically, with the following Quranic verse in Chapter 109 that the writer chose to magnify as to perceived Muslim Righteousness.

Although Islam does not accord to followers of other religions the same recognition that it has accorded to Jews and Christians, it believes in peaceful co-existence with them. One of the earliest messages of peaceful co-existence given by the Prophet Muhammad (S) to the idol-worshipers of Mecca is reflected in Chapter 109 of the Quran:

قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ. لاَ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ. وَلاَ أَنْـتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ. وَلاَ أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَا عَبَدتُّمْ. وَلاَ أَنْـتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ. لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ

Say: “O unbelievers! Neither do I worship what you worship; nor do you worship what I worship. Neither am I going to worship what you worship; nor are you going to worship what I worship. To you shall be your religion and to me shall be my religion.”

This is my transliteration of the text as I see it:

Qul̊ yā ạảyũhā ạl̊kāfirūna. Lạa ạảʿ̊budu mā taʿ̊budūna. Walạa ạản̊tum̊ ʿābidūna mā ạảʿ̊budu. Walạa ạảnā ʿābiduⁿ mā ʿabadtũm̊. Walạa ạản̊tum̊ ʿābidūna mā ạảʿ̊budu. Lakum̊ dīnukum̊ walīa dīni

Say O Infidel’s (al-kafiruna) . I do not worship what you worship. Nor do you worship what I worship. I'm not a Slave (abed) served. Nor do you worship what I worship. Your religion and I have mine

Al-Kafiruna is quite a despicable thing to call a Non-Muslim. This is evidenced by the large numbers of kafir’s murdered during Islam’s expansion. One only needs to Google Dr. Bill Warners statistics on the spread of Islam. I suppose that the writer is  also not aware that there are 40 arabic terms for a slave. ‘Abed’ being a Black Slave and the lowest of the low. Again, if you Google Islam’s involvement in Slave trading with an objective mind. One would be surprised at the extent of Islam’s involvement in Slavery. I must admit Christianity has exposed ‘sores and warts’. The difference is. Christianity moved from the Dark Ages to Enlightment, and had readily admitted to its involvement. Christianity spurred changes by the Quakers, American Abolitionist Movement, and Dr. Martin Luther Kings African-American Civil Rights Movement. Who does the writer think the early Slave Traders got their Slaves from. Think hard…..

From the historical perspective, the treatment that Muslim societies have given to the minorities under their rule, especially the Christians and the Jews, is comparatively better than the way minorities were treated in Christian Europe.

Again, checkout Dr. Bill Warner’s research.