Yesterday, August 15th, was the 76th anniversary of the end of the World War II.
Memorial events were held all over the country, including the Atomic Bomb Memorial Day.Various documentaries about that war are also being broadcast.
It's been 76 years, so there are very few people who remember the war, but it is very important to pass on the tragic reality.
I think now is the time for us Japanese to think again about the war.
Also, as Christians, how did this war destroy Christian faith? Let's consider this using historical examples from Japan and Germany.
1. Idolatry by Japanese churches
Many people experienced extraordinary tragedies during World War II.
So what happened in Christian churches in Japan?
Let's listen to the story of the Pstor Oyama Reihito of the Bible Christian Church.
日本のキリスト教会が戦時中に犯していた罪を告白します - YouTube
Here is a brief summary of the content.
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- As the government's control grew stronger, in order to gain control of churches, Protestant denominations were united and the United Church of Christ in Japan was born.
- The government began to request Emperor worship and shrine visits nationwide. This was enforced on schools and organizations, but churches also began to receive such requests.
- Fearing the government and the Special Higher Police, the United Church of Christ in Japan instructed its members that "Pilgrimage to the Imperial Palace (Emperor worship) and shrine visits are national rituals (Japanese culture) and do not constitute idolatry," and the members followed suit.
- Each church installed a Shinto altar and enshrined talismans from Ise Shrine, and the members followed suit.
- Many churches do not want to talk about this fact. Decades later, the United Church of Christ in Japan finally issued a confession of war responsibility, but this is not war responsibility, but a fundamental sin that violates the Ten Commandments, "You shall have no gods before me." Unless this idolatry is repented of, there can be no blessing for the Japanese church.
-Elders and pastors who rejected Emperor worship and shrine visits, calling them idolatry, were arrested, imprisoned, and tortured. Some were even martyred.
-This is not someone else's problem. Anyone would have reacted in the same way if they were in this situation. Pastor Oyama is praying for his own sin.
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Why did we justify "idolatry" at this time?
Jesus Christ said the following.
"Be careful that no one misleads you. Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah,' and will mislead many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but be careful that you do not become alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is not yet."
Matthew 24:5-6
Also, the policy that "Shinto is not a religion" was a policy of "freedom of religion" that had continued since the Meiji government, but in reality it was State Shinto, which united church and state.
Like Pastor Oyama, I would like to think about this sin as my own and pray.
2. German Christians who supported the Holocaust
Who on earth carried out the Holocaust by Hitler, a famous tragedy of the same World War II?
Of course, it was the German people. In other words, it was the many Christians in Germany.
Hitler said that he "supported active Christianity." This "positive Christianity" excluded all Jewish writings from the Bible and denied that Jesus Christ was Jewish.
And he insisted that "Judaism should be fought thoroughly."
It is unfortunate that there were many churches and Christians who followed this horrible "Christianity." And these people cooperated in the genocide of the Jews. What is frightening is that many of them did not feel that it was wrong.
Of course, there were Christians who raised their hands against the Nazis, such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer - Wikipedia
Recently, the movie "Sinners of the Holocaust," based on the true story of Norwegian people who cooperated in the Holocaust, has also been a hot topic.
Betrayed (2020 film) - Wikipedia
In Poland, 60 years after the war, the facts of people who cooperated in the Holocaust were revealed. . .
沈黙の村 ～ユダヤ人虐殺・60年目の真相～ - NHKスペシャル
Why did this happen?
I think that is a weakness of us humans, and unfortunately, it has been repeated throughout history. We are easily swayed and end up doing terrible things along with everyone around us.
"They will expel you from their synagogues, and the time will come when anyone who kills you will think he is serving God." John 16:2
3. Think of it as your own problem!
Why not take this in the War Memorial Day as a good opportunity to think of war as something that concerns you, not someone else? and of prpblem of the Air(atmosphere)
-If I were living in the same atmosphere, would I do the same thing with following the Air?
-Perhaps such sin is lurking within me? Because it is too natural to recognize.
-It's okay now, but if in the future we find ourselves in the Air(atmosphere) like Japan or Germany during the WW2, won't I follow everyone else in idolatry and genocide?
-Perhaps we are already being swayed by global Air into the ultimate idolatry, the worship of the Antichrist in the end times? !
Now that the harsh end times have not yet arrived,
let's think and discuss this issue waiting for the second coming of Jesus Christ!
