The Gist of Japan Part 16

Christianity not only claims to be the only religion, but she can offer no hope to those outside of her pale. While the Bible does not demand that I teach the j.a.panese that their ancestors are surely lost, it certainly gives me no ground for a.s.suring them of their salvation. We all revere our forefathers, but none so much as the Oriental. He pays periodical visits to the tombs of his ancestors; he worships his father and commemorates the day of his death by mourning. A heaven from which his ancestors are excluded has little attractions for him. Often does the Shintoist say, "I would rather be in h.e.l.l with my ancestors than in heaven without them."

If Christianity could be less exclusive and more tolerant of other faiths she would find a much more ready acceptance at the hands of non-Christian peoples. But she cannot be so and be true {271} to her own nature and mission. In ancient Rome, when the church was called to pa.s.s through fire, the manifestation of a more tolerant spirit would have saved her from that awful persecution. The Romans had many G.o.ds and did not object to one more. They adopted those of all the conquered peoples, and were ready to adopt the Christians', and erect an altar to Him, if the Christians would acknowledge Him as simply one among the other G.o.ds. And from that day to this the exclusive claims of Christianity have brought upon her trials and persecutions, and have hindered her progress throughout the earth. Especially is this religious exclusiveness unpopular in j.a.pan, because there the native religions are very tolerant of one another.

These are some of the strongest hindrances to the rapid progress of Christianity in pagan lands. They belong to the very nature of our faith, and cannot be avoided. Their antagonizing influence is encountered wherever the gospel is preached.

2. But I think that the greatest hindrances to mission work in j.a.pan to-day are those which are peculiar to this field. Many circ.u.mstances conspire to make j.a.pan stand alone among mission fields. She has been p.r.o.nounced at once the most promising and the most difficult of all fields for evangelistic work: the most promising because of the life, force, and ability of her people; the {272} most difficult because of the host of peculiar hindrances under which the evangelist must labor there. I will proceed to point out some of these.

(1) Perhaps the most potent at present is the _extreme nationalistic feeling_, which has brought into disrepute everything of foreign origin. The Christian religion, being a foreign inst.i.tution, is therefore unpopular, and is thought to be less adapted to the people and less liable to nourish a strong national feeling than the native Shinto.

It is hard for us to realize the fanatical intensity of their patriotism. Having been taught for so many centuries that this is the first virtue, the people have exalted it above everything else. "j.a.pan first, forever, and always," is the universal motto. There is hardly a man, woman, or child in the empire to-day who would not be perfectly willing to lay down his life for the good of the country.

This extreme patriotism operates in several ways to hinder the progress of Christianity. It prevents the ready acceptance of the new religion.

There are a great many so ignorant and inconsistent as to hate Christianity just because it is of foreign origin, thinking that nothing good can originate outside of j.a.pan. Such people adhere to the native religion, in spite of its inferiority, simply because they think that to do so is patriotic. But there is a much larger and more {273} influential cla.s.s that is led to antagonize Christianity from patriotic motives other than this. They hold that a belief in the native religions is necessary to preserve their darling patriotic spirit, and that the adoption of any foreign religion would gradually destroy all patriotism and loyalty. Christianity is not national, but cosmopolitan. It teaches the Fatherhood of G.o.d and the brotherhood of man, both of which great ideas are repugnant to most j.a.panese, because they do not harmonize with their ideas of the divine origin of the imperial family, and their national superiority to the other races of the world. They want a religion which exalts j.a.pan above everything and inculcates patriotism and loyalty to her alone.

But the most hurtful influence of this extreme nationalism is felt within the pale of the church herself. Actuated by it, many of the native Christians, both clerical and lay, want to do away with everything foreign in connection with the churches. The more strictly national they can make their work the better satisfied are they. Not only do they antagonize the missionary and try to push him off the field, but they also antagonize foreign theology, and want to build up a native system with no foreign taint. The result is great friction between the native and foreign workers, strained relations, and in many instances {274} open antagonism. This want of cordiality and harmony, for which the national feeling is largely responsible, is very hurtful to the best interests of our work.

But the desire for a purely native theology, which this strong, benighted patriotism begets, is even more hurtful than its sowing seeds of discord among the workers. Many of the leading native ministers and laymen say that it is folly for their churches to perpetuate the theological divisions and creeds of the West, and they propose to develop a theology peculiarly their own. Now Christianity cannot be kept pure and sound without paying due regard to its historical development; and the j.a.panese, in cutting loose from this, have already run into heresy. The danger is that a Christianity may be developed which is lacking in all that is distinctively Christian, and which will be harder to overcome than the old heathenism.

(2) Another hindrance which has operated with great power throughout the whole history of Protestant missions in j.a.pan is the _past record of Christianity_. In a former chapter upon the "First Introduction of Christianity" I have told how Christianity was first introduced, how it grew to magnificent proportions, and how finally it was crushed by the secular arm. The fact that the government once felt constrained to extirpate {275} Christianity, at whatever cost, and especially the fact that the Christians dared oppose the government, have brought our religion into disrepute. Since, according to native morality, whatever government does is right and whatever government opposes is wrong, the mere fact of this opposition on the part of the government is enough to condemn Christianity in the eyes of many. Then the fact that the Christians at last rebelled gives color to the idea already formed that Christianity is disloyal to j.a.pan. That idea prevails widely, and in many quarters Christians are regarded with suspicion.

A memory of the past bitter persecutions and of the hated rebellion still lingers. The old people talk of them around the hibachi, as they sip their tea and smoke their pipes; the young read of them in the histories, and thus their memory is kept alive. Many are still living who saw and read the rigid prohibitions of Christianity on the sign-boards over all the country, and they cannot forget them. There are not a few people in the empire who to this day have hardly learned that the changed att.i.tude of the government toward Christianity is more than outward; and these still regard the foreign faith as the chief of all evils. It is really pathetic sometimes to hear them talk of it.

There was an old man living near a Christian chapel not far from here, who one day was {276} complaining of his woes and wishing to die. He said it had been a bad year, and none of his crops had done well, two of his children had died, his country had been insulted by a foreign power, and, to cap the climax, Christianity had come and taken up its abode next door to him. This last evil was too much, and he wanted to die. He still regarded our faith as the worst of evils. I once gave a few tracts to some old men in a mountain village near Saga, and they remarked that they remembered the time when it would have meant certain death to be seen with one of those little books.

(3) The _character of the education_ prevalent in j.a.pan to-day is also antagonistic to Christianity. The j.a.panese are a studious race and are capable of high mental development. The country is so well supplied with schools--nearly all of them government inst.i.tutions--that no one is too poor to receive some education. There is, on the part of the school authorities, no open antagonism to Christianity as such.

According to the regulations, no one religion is to be favored more than another in the schools, and complete religious liberty is to be allowed. But the general tenor of the education given is unchristian--an exaltation of reason above faith, of science above religion. Especially is the tendency of the higher education against any form of religion. The {277} educators of j.a.pan are training a nation of atheists and agnostics. The scientific schools of the West that have no room for religion are studied earnestly and copied by educated j.a.pan. In philosophy Herbert Spencer and his school have been acknowledged masters. Indeed, it never seems to have occurred to the minds of thinking j.a.panese that there are systems of philosophy other than the materialistic. All religious sentiment is crushed in the schools, other things being subst.i.tuted. Science, learning, is thought to be all that is necessary, and religion is left for old women and children. Men who still believe in religion are thought superst.i.tious and uneducated, and are regarded with a sort of lordly contempt. In a conversation some time ago with a graduate of the Imperial University I was dogmatically told that Christianity was acknowledged to be absurd by all thinking men everywhere, that all religions are only for the infancy of the race, and that full-grown men can dispense with them.

This man's views are the usual product of the higher education, of j.a.pan to-day. Hence it happens that few students of the higher schools are Christian, and frequently men go there with Christian sentiments, only to lose them before they leave.

(4) The _old religions of j.a.pan_ strongly oppose the march of Christianity. Men often speak as though the old heathen faiths had lost their power {278} and were no longer really believed. Their power is on the wane, but they lack much of being dead. They still possess enough vitality strongly to oppose the evangelization of this land.

The old Shinto faith, having the decided advantage of national origin, and fitting in exactly with j.a.panese ideas of their relative national importance and the nature of their emperor, is a strong opposing influence. Buddhism still possesses a strong hold upon the ma.s.ses of the people. It has the recommendation of age, has played a prominent part in the national history, and is dear to the hearts of the people.

It occupies a decided vantage-ground from which it opposes us and our work. To some in the West it seems almost incredible that these people should really believe and trust in these faiths. And yet be a.s.sured that they do believe and trust in them. There are about the same sincerity, the same confidence, and the same faith placed in Buddhism by its adherents as are placed in Christianity by its. The religious cravings and instincts of the people are, on the whole, satisfied by their native religions.

The opposition of Buddhism to Christianity does not consist solely in misrepresentation, nor is it founded on ignorance, but is an intelligent opposition. Some of the Buddhist priests study carefully our language for the purpose of reading {279} our theology and informing themselves as to our faith. It is said that one of the very best collections of books of Christian evidences and apologetics to be found in all j.a.pan is in the Buddhist library in Kyoto. Buddhism has learned some useful lessons from Christianity. She is now learning the value of stated preaching for the information of her people in Buddhist doctrine, and the value of organized, systematic effort. A Young Men's Buddhist a.s.sociation has been formed, after the model of the Young Men's Christian a.s.sociation, which is doing much toward holding the young men to the Buddhist faith. Buddhism is on the alert, is quick and active, antagonizes us at every turn, and is one of the very strongest hindrances to the progress of Christianity.

(5) The _social ostracism_ visited upon those who become Christians very much hinders our progress. Most of our converts, unless their relatives and friends are Christians, are ostracized; in many cases they are entirely cut off from their families and are disinherited. In America, when one becomes a Christian, he has the encouragement and sympathy of all good people, and his family and friends rejoice with him. In j.a.pan for a member of a family to become a Christian is considered a disgrace, and the united influence of family and friends is powerfully exerted to prevent such a {280} calamity. Influential men in our city have told me that perhaps the greatest hindrance to my work is that by becoming a Christian a man shuts himself off from his family and friends. I am convinced that many would take a stand for Christ much more readily if the home influence were not so antagonistic. A student in the Normal School of our city, who came to me for many months to study Christianity, told me that his family bitterly hated the Christian religion, and that he could not return home if he became a believer. In spite of this he was led by the Spirit to ask for baptism, and I baptized him. Afterward he wrote very dutiful letters to his home, trying to explain that he felt impelled by duty to take this step, and that Christianity was not so heinous a thing as they supposed; but no answers came. In course of time, being compelled to return to his own town on business, he went to his home to spend the night; but his mother and brothers would not recognize him, and he had to go away to a hotel. His father was dead, and his mother tried to disinherit him, but was by the law prevented. His family and friends have never forgiven him, and now he never sees them. Similar cases could be cited without number proving the same thing. Is it not natural, then, for a man to hesitate to take this step?

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(6) Another obstacle to the progress of missions in j.a.pan is that the _church is too much divided_. Almost every small religious body known has felt it inc.u.mbent upon itself to undertake work here. It may be true that denominations working separately are no hindrance to the cause of Christ in the home field, but I think they are surely a hindrance in the foreign work. It is a fine rhetorical figure to liken the various denominations and sects to different divisions of one vast army, all engaged under the same general, in the same work; but the figure does not represent the facts. We do not have one vast Christian army, each division occupying only its own field, directed by one mind, and moving in unison. The most optimistic cannot so regard the different denominations and sects of Christendom. Like other oft-used figures, this one is entirely at variance with the facts. Oftener is it true that these sects oppose one another, and much prefer their own welfare to that of the whole body of Christ.

You cannot satisfactorily explain to non-Christian people the reasons why you must have a Lutheran, a Methodist, a Presbyterian, and a Baptist church; and if they could be brought to understand our differences this would in no way recommend us or our creed to them. It is a great pity that each mission field is not allotted to some one denomination and left alone by all {282} the others. If this cannot be, at least only one body should work in one town. Then these complications would be partially avoided, and Christianity would more recommend itself to the thoughtful citizen.

We suffer in j.a.pan more from a superfluity of sects than of denominations. The Universalists and Unitarians are here with their heresies, and are poisoning many minds. Many other bodies are here, antagonizing the established order of things and teaching religious anarchy. I suppose there is no mission field in the world that has a larger number of sects and divisions.

But the regular orthodox denominations work more harmoniously in j.a.pan than in the home lands. Strifes and jealousies between them are rare, while expressions of mutual appreciation and of Christian courtesy are common.

(7) I think the _foreign communities_ in the open ports of j.a.pan are a hindrance to the work of evangelization. In the seven treaty ports there are regular concessions for foreign residence and trade, and thousands of foreigners live in them. These communities are largely composed of merchants and of those connected with the various consulates, most of whom have come here for purposes of gain, and are interested in nothing besides money-getting. A large per cent. of this population is very undesirable. As representatives {283} of Western civilization (the product of Christianity) the foreign settlements should be model Christian communities, and were they such they could exert a powerful influence for good. But as it is, their example does not recommend itself to the j.a.panese.

To say nothing whatever of the charges of immorality and dissoluteness preferred against these men, they are certainly not Christians. One would think, to observe them, that they had not come from Christian lands at all. Many who are here only temporarily, being away from all home influences and restraints, set a most unG.o.dly example. They will not attend church; they take no interest in religious work; they speak disparagingly of religion in general, and of the Christian religion in particular; and to them a missionary is an eyesore. While we are laboring to Christianize the people, our own countrymen, the representatives of Christian lands and the exponents of a Christian civilization, are in the foreign ports setting a most unG.o.dly example.

The natives are quick to notice these things, and they reason that, if our faith is as good as we represent it to be, why have our countrymen not profited better by it? The presence of these antichristian representatives of Christendom is a great hindrance.

But not all of the foreigners in the open ports {284} of j.a.pan are of this character. There are some good Christian men and women among the business cla.s.ses, who are interested in all kinds of Christian work.

And yet the prevailing tendency of the foreign business communities is against Christian work.

(8) The last but not the least hindrance I will mention is the _language_. It has been said of both Chinese and j.a.panese that they were invented by the devil to keep Christian missionaries from speaking freely with the natives. Whether that be true or not, it certainly is true that j.a.panese is one of the most difficult languages on the globe.

To know it well, three different languages must be acquired: spoken j.a.panese, written j.a.panese, and Chinese. The colloquial and the book language are quite different, the literary being partly Chinese. The latter is written by ideographs, and you must have a sign for each idea. About five thousand of these characters will enable one to get along, although there are probably fifty thousand in all. By a sheer act of memory to learn five thousand hideous characters is no little task. The colloquial itself is exceedingly difficult to use aright.

My readers may be surprised to learn that of the missionaries laboring in j.a.pan one third cannot speak the language intelligibly to the natives. It seems that many Occidentals, laboring never so hard, really cannot {285} acquire the language. One never feels sure in this language that he is saying just what he wants to say. If it were less difficult, so that missionaries could acquire complete command of it and use it as readily as they do their mother tongue, the work of evangelization would go on more rapidly.

These, as I understand them, are the princ.i.p.al things which at present hinder the progress of Christianity in j.a.pan. Some of them are inherent in the very nature of the work, and will be encountered to the end. Others, I believe, are transient, and will by and by pa.s.s away.

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XV

SPECIAL PROBLEMS

In the broad sphere of labor which the missionary must fill he daily meets most difficult problems, whose solution requires the exercise of consummate judgment, skill, and patience. Although these problems are not given a prominent place in mission reports, and are not therefore very well known at home, they loom up mountain-high before every missionary. They have a practical importance in the field surpa.s.sed by none other. Men differ so widely in regard to their solution that they not infrequently work division in a mission.

A brief presentation of some of these problems will enable the home churches better to understand our work and to sympathize with us, and will be of practical worth to those who contemplate coming to work in this field.

The first problem to meet the missionary is, _how to deal with inquirers_.

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In j.a.pan not one in three at first comes with sincere motives and good intentions. On the contrary, he comes seeking some material advantage, hoping in some way to profit by his a.s.sociation with the missionary, or vaguely expecting to be benefited by an alliance with what appears to be a stronger and more living cause. Those who from the first are impelled to come by real spiritual motives are indeed rare. How to deal with such inquirers is the question. To turn them away would be to send them back into heathenism. Manifestly we must hold them until they have more spiritual motives.

I suppose all missionaries would agree that, no matter how material and selfish their motives, inquirers should be encouraged to continue coming, with the hope of gradually leading them into the truth. We could hardly expect them at first to have pure motives, as such are practically unknown to them. Heathenism, with its degrading idolatries and immoralities, does not beget these, and we cannot expect to discover them until the old religions have been discarded and the inquirers have been brought under the instruction and care of the church. Therefore, whatever the motive, we should receive them, and after a long period of Christian teaching and discipline look for a change of heart. But the length of this probation before they are received {288} into the church, and whether it shall be required--those are matters upon which the practice of missions differs widely. Some have a prescribed time which must elapse before candidates are admitted to membership; others leave it to the judgment of the local evangelist or missionary. The latter seems the better plan.

Another question is, _Just how much shall candidates for church-membership be required to give up_? As to strictly heathen practices, such as idolatry and gross immorality, there can be no question. But what of practices about which the judgment of men differs? Some missions require total abstinence from all intoxicating drinks. Some, like the Methodist, require abstinence from the use of tobacco, especially on the part of pastors and evangelists. These churches urge in favor of their position the comparative ease with which such restrictions may be applied in the young churches of j.a.pan.

Shall we follow the lead of these more conservative churches, or shall we adopt a more liberal policy? Shall we require converts who are engaged in any way in the manufacture or sale of tobacco or liquor to change their business? The practice of our own mission (the Lutheran) is, except in the manufacture, sale, or inordinate use of intoxicants, to allow liberty of conscience.

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Another and a very perplexing problem we find to be, _what to do with honest inquirers who have no means of support_. This cla.s.s is numerous. There are a great many poor in j.a.pan--in fact, nearly all are poor. As j.a.panese custom--even more in ancient times than at present--made the poorer cla.s.ses look to the rich for their maintenance and support, many converts look to the missionary, not to support them outright, but to help them into positions where they can earn a living.

Not a few have their means of support cut off by the very act of becoming Christians. In such cases it seems but fair that the mission should do what it can to a.s.sist them. But how? To support them is too expensive, besides being demoralizing to them and the community. In some mission fields industrial schools, mission farms, and various other enterprises are established to provide employment for such, and in this way they are helped to support themselves. But in a country like j.a.pan, where industrial and commercial life is highly organized and developed, it is almost impossible for the missions to do such work. We have neither the means nor the skill to compete with the industries around us. This question of support for the poor of the churches is a pressing one, and causes the missionary much anxiety and thought. The native church can do {290} much more toward its solution than the missionary, and as the church grows in influence and resources the problem may solve itself.

After a body of converts has been gathered, and the time has come for organizing a church, the greatest problem of all arises--_the problem of the native church_.

This is not one problem, but is rather a combination of problems, some of which are the following: What shall be the form of its organization?

How shall its ministry be supplied? How shall it be supported? What is the relation of the missionary to the native church? What shall be its att.i.tude toward national customs? These are important and difficult problems, and on their right solution will depend in no small measure the prosperity and success of the native church.

Some missions do not seem thoroughly to grasp and give due prominence to this idea of the native church. They interpret their commission to mean the evangelization of the ma.s.ses rather than the building up of a strong native church. But the Christianization of any land will ultimately depend upon the native church, and not upon the foreign missionary. Therefore the first and chief aim of the missionary should be to call out and develop a strong, self-supporting, and self-propagating native church, in whose hands the {291} evangelization of the ma.s.ses of the people can ultimately be left.

In the organization of the native church, what polity shall be given it? Shall it be organized exactly as the home church which the mission represents, or shall it be free to develop its own form of organization? Both of these plans are unsatisfactory. Most churches are agreed that no special form of church polity has divine sanction, this being merely a question of expediency; and that therefore the new churches should, as far as possible, be left free to adopt a const.i.tution in harmony with the national character and habits.

At the same time, forms of church government that have been tried at home and approved should not be ignored. What has stood the test of time, and proved its worth in many lands, doubtless will in its main features be of substantial value in the mission field. It is but natural that Presbyterian societies should organize native churches under their own form of government, Methodist under theirs, and Episcopal under theirs. But, in the very nature of the case, a first organization will only be tentative. As the church develops it will probably develop a polity of its own. In view of this, the polity imposed upon the native church by the mission at its first organization should be as flexible as possible.