THIS CITY NEEDS YOU NOW (BLEEEEH, BLEEEH, ELECTRIC GUITAR, DRUMS, REALLY LOUD XYLAPHONE)

Dec. 12, 2009

This City Needs You Now

One of the things waiting for me upon my return to America was a CD that I have been anxiously anticipating for nearly two years: The Protomen, Act II. The first act of The Protomen's epic Megaman-based rock opera was something that enthralled me a couple years ago while I was still in San Luis Obispo, so I'd been waiting to hear the next chapter. This one was a prelude: the story of Drs. Thomas Light and Albert Wily as they develop their robots. If you are interested in this CD, this whole article will be a bunch of spoilers, so I urge caution. Go listen to the CD, first.

**********SPOILER ALERT*********

This CD is filled with emotion. Anger is there: that's what rock music communicates really well, after all. Also the passion to change the world. And the sad pitifulness of a society living for comfort and brainwashed by media.

At the end of Father of Death, Albert comes into Dr. Light's apartment and finds Emily leaving a letter for her lover. This is, to me, one of the most passionate scenes.

“What are you doing here?” – Emily

“Let me take you away.” Wily wants her for himself.

“I'm not going anywhere.”

“He will be nothing when this runs its course.”

“He will be everything that a man is supposed to be.” Rebuking Wily's dismissal of her love, Emily belts out:

“If a shadow blots out the sun... THERE WILL BE LIGHT.

“If it stays till the sun it set... THERE WILL BE LIGHT.

“If the sun never shows its face again... THERE WILL BE LIGHT.

“No matter how dark this city gets...”

Dr. Wily orders his robot to kill her.

The Power

Aside from the passion of the music, this is powerful to me because it is something that all men desire deeply, I think. They desire a woman who will have absolute faith in them, no matter what. And that's what Emily did. The phrase “There will be Light” is a play on words. She could be talking about light in the general sense, but she's also saying, “No matter what, you can't get rid of my love, Dr. Light.” She had incredible fidelity to sacrifice her life rather than betraying her love by going with Wily.

Upon finding her dead, Dr. Light grabs her final letter and runs from the police as he is framed for her murder. Without Emily, he falls into a deep depression and is eventually exiled from the city, leaving it to Wily.

The Sleeping City

The CD's constant references to “This City” also contain a strange power and, whether the Protomen realize it or not, a deep understanding of our society. After Wily's takeover, he makes an army of robots to take over the labor of the city. Mankind retires to a pleasant lifestyle of leisure, and Wily controls the media and uses it to brainwash them and pacify them with how good life is in this new world.

Basically, it's how Satan is at work in the American church. We sleep. We are content with our comforts and riches, not realizing that the Devil is tightening his grip on society all around us. Yet we do not fight. We play. It's not that leisure is the problem, it's that we worship it.

Breaking Out

I listened to the demo track of Breaking Out from this CD months ago (a leak on the Internet). I see America in it, but it describes Japan perfectly. Everything is quiet and people think that the city is fine, running perfectly, but it is slowly dying. It was eerie once as I listened to it riding on the central train line in Tokyo and then wrote a poem along the same lines.

There is such power in that music. Our minds are slowly being transformed and controlled by the media and society around us, and we don't even realize it. We do not live out our true identities in Christ as warriors. As a friend of mine put it today, “When I hang out with my church friends, we're Christians, so we don't do things like go out drinking, look at porn, or talk about sex, but no one says, 'Hey, let's study the Bible,' or 'Why don't we pray?'”

I think that one of the sentences from the Breaking Out narrative sums up this and American society very well: “But the familiar sound of the telescreens reached even here. Joe stood watching the face on the screen. It babbled incessantly, but said nothing.”

Such is how many of us spend hours every day. TV doesn't say anything. It just babbles. Entertainment, advertising, even news... it's usually mindless. And slowly but surely, it creates a strong tide of turning our hearts (note that I do not say “minds,” which it bypasses) to the world's way of thinking. And sadly, immersed in it, we do not even realize it.

The Last Song

Skip to the last song: Here Comes the Arm. Joe has died in front of Dr. Light, and Wily's army of evil robots is coming out to make order by force. All of Light's plans have failed, and as he prepares to die, he says that he will stand against this thing, but that it will overwhelm him and he will die without making a difference at all. And then he finally opens Emily's last letter:

“Thomas, please don't cry for me... I love you completely... He could never cage the world... and soon the darkness will pass. I want so much to be with you but in my heart I know, this city needs you now. This city needs you now.”

And the music explodes to life suddenly: “THIS CITY! THIS CITY!”

To me, this is my call to Japan, a thoroughly urbanized society. This city, this city. Images of Tokyo, nearly 30 million strong, flash to my mind. Trains and subways and towers to the heavens... When I hear those words, “This city needs you now,” I feel that I will return to Japan and to my destiny. Especially with the last line of the CD:

“Joe, if you see Emily, tell her to wait for me. 'Cause I still have work to do...”

Again, we men (or maybe just me) long for this kind of woman who is capable of so encouraging us that even 20 years after her death, a letter from her makes all the difference. At the point of Light's surrender, Emily's last letter turns him around and makes him realize that he has a mission to do. I long for love like this, love that is not about making one another mutually happy in our complacency and uselessness for the kingdom. No, rather it is about spurring one another on in a way that no other human can to fulfill God's call in our lives.

To me, it's about far more than a girl who will make me happy. It's about finding one who expresses absolute confidence and love and thereby enables me to be the man that God has made me to be. And it's about someone for whom I will do that, just as much as she does it for me. Together we will form an unstoppable team and save the world from Wily's army of evil robots... or evangelize Japan. Something like that.

Star Trek

Saw the new Star Trek movie. It didn't disappoint my thirst for:

a) Non-sense science If we eject the warp cores (a mysterious quasi-science object that can do anything you ever need in a pinch) then the resultant shockwave may be enough to get us out of the black hole, somehow mysteriously without damaging the ship!

b) Rehashed plotlines Oh no, a BMSO (Big Mysterious Space Object) has appeared and is attacking earth!! What shall we do?


c) Scantily clad Starfleet officers - Apparently, they start wearing miniskirts at the academy as a part of the training.

d) A Military completely without discipline or common sense - Let's put the cadets on the bridge of our new flagship!

e) Vulcans

Regarding the latter, a friend of mine, when I described how Japanese people do not show emotion, said, "So, basically, it's like living on Vulcan." Yeah, more-or-less. Except that Japanese people don't believe in logic, not when it comes to human relationships, at least. But the whole thing where Vulcans don't show emotion... yeah, that's basically Japan.

Also noticing how many Roman references are in Star Trek: Romulus (the founder of Rome), Nero (Roman emperor), James Tiberius Kirk... and probably others.

And more imporantly, Remus, as in Remus Lupin, was the brother of Romulus. That has nothing to do with Star Wars though, and everything to do with Harry Potter, which is way better. The books, that is. The movies basically suck in comparison.

Good night, everybody!

Live long and prosper.

SLO and Zion

I actually wrote this post a week ago, but just posted it today. If you'd like something sarcastic and cynical, please scroll down to my previous post about being in love. If you'd like something serious, read this post.

Nov. 23, 2009

SLO Times

This past weekend, I went up to San Luis Obispo for a visit. Since leaving America a year and a half ago, SLO was constantly on my mind. And there I was... in that place again.

Home?

As much as any place on earth could be considered home, SLO is my home. I have not been able to come to a place of calling Japan “home,” yet (even in the earthly sense). SLO is still home to me. This isn't meant as a slight against my parents. Their place is like a second home. It was home as a child, but as an adult, we find homes in new places away from our parents. And I feel too out of place in Southern California. I feel like those on the Central Coast understand who I am and are like me. And my church is there.

In that place, I have experienced deeper bonds of friendship and deeper wholeness than any other. They are my tribe, my family. I have a place of belonging there.

And so, quite predictably, as soon as my jet lag was recovered enough to drive those 260 miles, I made my way up to San Luis for a weekend. It was a good weekend. My heart still burns from it.

I've been nervous what it would be like going back, whether I would feel utterly out of place or whether I would be received into the waiting arms of my friends. It was the latter.

What I found

Going back was not as emotional as I imagined over the last year and a half, when it was always on my mind. Rather, SLO is, after all, an earthly city, so my emotions were still mortal emotions and the people were mere humans. It is not heaven, though it sure feels close, sometimes.

It was a joyful time. With those I was closest to, it was like just picking up our relationships where they left off. It was as though there were nearly two years of news to catch up on, but they hadn't changed that much. Some were married, some had babies, but they were still those I have loved.

It is the revival that defines that city to me, the work that God is doing. The passionate prayer of the saints. The ministering saints. God is at work, and it's like stepping into the Great Awakening when I go there. There is no place like it on earth. It's not the beauty of that valley that was so wonderful, neither the laid back atmosphere. No, the uniqueness is in the revival, that which I was swept up in and left stranded by on the mission field.

That revival is still happening, and it was good to step into it for a weekend. The fact that so many people were doing well made for a good visit. It was also fun surprising people who thought I was still 7000 miles away. I feel refreshed and more ready for what is next (my deputation down south, here). And of course, I can't wait to go back for a few months starting in January.

The departure

A year and a half ago, leaving SLO was the hardest experience of my life. I've never lost a parent or close family member, but that departure, that 出発 was like the death of all my best friends, followed by my entering a strange and lonely society alone. I suppose that's one reason why I expected my return to be so emotional: it was like receiving them all back from the dead.

Why must I continue on this path? I do not know what leaving that place again will be like when I do so in March to return to Japan in April. How do my feet continue down this road?

Whatever my feelings are; wherever my heart is at, I am a realist. The ideal is one thing, but I know enough of human existence and life to know that our good memories are always better than the events themselves.

And in addition, even if we do find ourselves in an ideal state, that state cannot last. What would I do for a job in SLO? How would I emotionally deal with the constant departure of college students? Even if I had stayed, it would not have been as good as I imagine. Despite that I am envious of those whom God blessed to stay, I know that they have life problems, too. If I would have clutched SLO like a treasure of mine, I would have lost it in the end. Perhaps now that I have left, it shall remain as a place of refuge for me to return to in times of need.

In addition, once we have left a place, it falls into an axiom that I live by: There is no going back to the Shire. You cannot return to the glory days or whatever happy memories you have. You're better off pursuing new ones. But yes, I have written of that in the past.

The Road Ahead

It always comes to this point when I mourn leaving a place, does it not? To me, SLO is like an earthly picture of the Eternal City, that which I long so intently to see. The affections that I have for it are those that only that City deserves. So, then, in my mind, the New Jerusalem and San Luis Obispo get confused at times, and that's why that town means so much, too much to me. For however fine, it cannot hold even the basest comparison to where I journey.

So then, I have my reason to press on. I leave the place of my desires and longings because I know that it is not the true place of my desires and longings. I can leave that good city because I journey to a better one. I can leave that earthly city to journey to an eternal one. I have the strength to leave that valley, because my destination is Zion.

Even today, driving home, I was longing more intently for another departure, the departure to that City. Perhaps because I experienced such beauty this weekend, I was able to imagine and long for it more clearly. It is that ability to imagine that keeps me longing.

Oh, my friends, my loved ones. Do not weep for me. Our parting is but brief...

In Love

Nov 29, 2009

In Love. Something Like Driving With an Opaque Windshield

I've begun reading The Five Love Languages. I'd heard that it's a really good book. It's also pretty short, so I should get through it quickly. Tragically, I'm not in a relationship at the moment, but it's good to be prepared for that sort of thing.

On being in love

One of the first chapters in this book was on the idea of being “In love.” It confirmed something that I've formed suspicions about. The infatuation that we so often associate with being “in love” or with young love is a euphoric state where everything is perfect, and it lasts an average of two years. When it ends, you're married, and you begin to wonder why you made that choice.

For myself, I believe that there is more than one woman out there who I am capable of falling in love with. Specifically, there are probably about 800 million of them. So, finding a person that I am in love with is not a major priority for me. Sooner or later, if I spend enough time with any girl, anywhere, there's about a 63% chance that I'll fall for her. Heck, even if I'm looking for someone who will feel the same way about me... out of the 800 million women in the world that I'm capable of falling in love with, there's probably at least a few hundred thousand who will reciprocate.

Bah, being “in love” is simply an emotional trick to get us to have babies. I call it “infatuation.” Real love is in caring for the other above yourself, rain or shine, with blood and sweat and tears. Agape. I'm sure that you can find some puritan sermons on the Internet about it.

The real task

To me, the supreme problem to be solved is this: get a good wife. I've read through Proverbs enough times to realize that's what I'm looking for. I'm not looking for a girl who I'm “in love” with, because then there would be 800 million potentials out there. Searching for “The One” is just an American myth. This isn't the Matrix. Unless a voice from heaven should say, “Joey, this is the woman you are to marry,” I should not think I have found the One. And even then, it's probably just the hormones getting to me. No, the one I marry is the One. And when the knot is tied, then I can say that I have found her.

So, to me, it's all about finding someone with the same vision and same passion for God as me who will support me and enable me to be all I can be for God. And just as significantly, it's about finding a woman who wants to be all she can be for God and who I can enable towards that end. It is about finding the person who will enable me to maximally glorify God with my life and who I will enable to maximally glorify God with her life. In the end, the one with whom we will both find utter satisfaction in God through a happy marriage.

The cruel shackles of love

However, I do not presume to be a god, not even a superhero. Perhaps if I were, I could escape the negative effects of being “in love.” However, being a mortal, I will suffer under the terrible bondage of infatuation like any other man. I call it a bondage, because I have seen it destroy lives. I have seen friends, for a girl of ill character, sacrifice all on the alter of “love.” You see, when you are infatuated with someone, your reason flies out through your ears. You cannot make wise choices. You cannot see the faults in that person. You do not realize that she is destroying your life. You abandon all other friendships because they keeping telling you: “Dude, she's an emotionally manipulative, codependent witch.” And even though she wears a steeple hat and is followed by a raven familiar, you don't realize that they're right. You're in love.

Anyways, as I ponder the effects of infatuation on my brain (due to my lack of superpowers), I realize that once I fall for a girl and get in a relationship, it's all over. I will be utterly blind to whether she is a good mate or not. It's like the harpy's song of the Odyssey. Or the imperious curse. I will not be able to trust my senses... at all. So, when you are dating someone and unable to ascertain her character accurately, what in the world are you supposed to do?

Well, I suppose that number one is to maintain such a close walk with God that you are able, to some extent, to hear from Him and not be totally under the spell.

But we also have to take some pointers from Ulysses. When he was passing the harpies, he knew that he would fall under the song, so he had some friends literally chain him to the mast of the ship so that he was physically unable to go to his death. If you don't have people to chain you to the mast of the ship, then you'll follow the harpy's song. What we really need are friends who will bodily tear us from bad girls and lock us in a dark room for a few months.

Well, unfortunately, the police usually arrest friends that good. And we'd probably stay in touch with her through text messenging anyways, these days.

However, maybe it would be good to have some friends around who we trust enough to actually... uhh... listen to. If everyone you talk to says a person is not good for you (and a witch), perhaps they're right. And even if God seems to be saying that she is good for you... well, again, hormones

I suppose it is something like a blind person going out on a date. He has to ask someone else what she looks like.

Russian roulette

The scary part about thinking of dating on the mission field is that I won't necessarily have all that healthy community around me. I don't want an exclusive relationship with a girl (in the sense of having no mutual friends), but if we both have no friends in Japan to start out with, I may not have a choice. So I suppose that dating on the mission field is something like playing Russian roulette. It's a really fun game... 83% of the time. The problem is, you can't tell which time you play will be one of those “not so fun” times. You just spin the barrel and hope that the girl you wind up married to isn't one who's going to totally screw up your life.

Man, an arranged marriage would make life so much easier. Why'd I have to be born American...

Well, hopefully someday God will give me the “OK” to step forward into a relationship. Despite the mortal peril, I'm greatly looking forward to that day.

Returning tomorrow

November 10, 2009

After a long journey, I returned to my homeland to find...

I leave Japan tomorrow. It has been a long, arduous 18 months, and though I intended my first term on the field to be longer, difficulties have been used by the hand of providence to thrust me home sooner. In the states, I hope to refresh myself, reconnect with my supporters, and raise up prayer and laborers and support. And get married, if I can within 5 months. That one seems unlikely at the moment.

But oh, the uncertainty that grips me righ now. I have some vague plans of my stay, but I do not know what awaits me there. I do not know what God has planned for me. I do not know if the odiousness of my own culture shall drive me to insanity or if I shall weep with joy at the pleasure of finding myself once again in familiarity. I do not know if I shall be isolated to extremity or enthralled by the warm embrace of friends. The future is dark, but I am thine, Oh Lord.

I return to the land of my birth which is no longer home.

Adoniram Judson

You may wonder why I'm typing up these quotes now. Well, the reason is that I'm leaving Japan on Wednesday, so I really don't want to carry the actual book with me, good as it was, and I may want to have one or two of these quotes handy for use during my deputation. See you soon! Please feel free to leave a comment if you'd like to get in touch with me while I'm in the states!

 

This is a quote from a letter that Judson wrote that I don't agree with, but it's interesting nonetheless with regards to the tons of short-term missionaries and few long-term missionaries that are going out these days. It's a quote he wrote in response to some missionaries who came out only to serve for a few years:

“I much fear [he complained to the Corresponding Secretary at home] that this will occasion a breach in our mission. How can we, who are devoted for life, cordially take to our hearts one who is a mere hireling? ... I have seen the beginning, middle, and end of severeal limited term missionaries. They are all good for nothing. Though brilliant in an English pulpit, they are incompetent for any real misisonary work. They come out for a few years, with the view of acquiring a stock of credit on which they may vegetate the rest of their days, in the congenial climate of their native land... The motto of every missionary, whether preacher, printer, or schoolmaster, ought to be “Devoted for life.” (pg. 435)

As I said, I don't agree with his criticism of others. However, this is an example of a spirit that used to exist in missions but has, to a great extenet, disappeared: “Devoted for life.” To Judson, that was the missionary calling: to go and not return. Though I believe that in the modern age there is a place for short-termers and such, I nonetheless am fascinated by this old attitude that men like Judson had.

A short quote that fascinated me as I was pondering sanctifation while reading this book a while ago is this, which he wrote to one of his daughters: “If you trust in the Savious and try to be good, he will make you good.” (pg. 457) That's it! I thought. That's sanctification right there. We trust Him, we try, and He makes us good!

During a brief period of time in the states (after he had lived overseas for over 30 years), the biographer wrote this about him:

“Everywhere Adoniram had gone, people had insisted on regarding him as something more than human. On platform after platform he was extolled, much to his own distaste. In reaction, he had been cold, almost insulting, to the man and women who persisted in viewing him as a plaster saint. Time after time, he had disappointed audiences by refusing to discuss his adventures and instead repeating to them the simple message of the Gospel they heard every Sunday from their own ministers. They could see for themselves, so he thought, that he was a man like other men, with a family and family cares, with the failties and foibles of other men. Nevertheless, many preferred the legend to the man.” (pg. 461)

Finally, a quote from Adoniram himself: “'Trust in God and kep your powder dry' was Cromwell's word to his soldiers. 'Trust in God and love one another' is, I think, a better watchword.” (pg. 474)

All quotes taken from To the Golden Shore, by Courtney Anderson, (c) 1956, 1987, Judson press

More of Judson.

Tonight, I'm going to type up some quotes from the ordination of Adinoram Judson and the missionaries who went out with him. These quotes have some incredible perspective for the modern American church. However, before I do, I must make some statements about the word “Heathen.”


In modern English, “Heathen” has an incredibly negative, judgemental nuance. However, even as late as 50 years ago, it wasn't such a strong word as it is today. The meaning was a people that had not heard of Christ or where Christ was virtually unknown. Generally these nations were much more primitive, since for so long the center of gravity of Christianity rested in Europe, so there was definitely an image that went with the word as a less developed nation.


“Heathen” didn't have the powerfully negative nuance that it does today. Often there was a genuine compassion for the heathen, just as today NGOs show a genuine compassion for AIDs-infected Africa. When these people said “heathen,” they weren't looking down in judement so much as anyone who uses the word today. Perhaps a modern equivalent would be “unreached people group.”


So, the word “heathen” is going to pop up a lot in these quotes. I know you'll wince, but understand that English has changed a lot in the last 200 years.


This first quote was given by a Parson Allen who spoke in Nancy's (Adinoram's wife) hometown.

'My dear children,' he told them, 'you are now engaged in the best of causes. It is the cause for which Jesus the Son of God came into the world and suffered and died. You literally forsake father and mother, brothers and sisters, for the sake of Christ and the promotion of His Kingdom.'

He had some special advice to them, as women and wives, concerning their duty to the heavhen women. To convert these women 'will be your business, my dear children, to whom your husbands can have but little, or no access. Go then, and do all in your power to enlighten their minds, and bring them to the knowledge of the truth... Teach them to realize that they are not an inferior race of creatures, but stand upon a par with men. Teach them that they have immortal souls; and are no longer to burn themselves in the same fire, with the bodied of their departed husbands.'

He had words for the girls' parents, too, and for the congregation, but at the end of his discourse he turned again to Nancy and Harriet and concluded in a voice nearly breaking: “To the care of the great Head of the church I now commit them. To His grave I also resign you all. May He gather you together in one. And may you also return and come to Zion with a song, and with shouts of everlasting glory.

Here's a hymn that Parson Allen composed especially for that service. People wept unashamedly as they sang it.

Go, ye herals of salvation;

Go, and preach in heathen lands;

Publish loud to every nation,

What the Lord of life commands.

Go, ye sisters, their companions,

Soothe their care, and wipe their tears,

Angels shall in bright battalions

Guard your steps and guard your fears.

Landed safe in distant regions,

Tell the Burmans Jesus died;

Tell them Satan and his legions,

Bow to him they crucified.

Far beyond the mighty Ganges,

When vast floods beyond us roll,

Think how widely Jesus ranges

Nations wide from pole to pole.

While from heathen nations blended

Light and peace within shall rise;

When your days on earth are ended,

Christ receive you to the skies.

To his grace we now resign you,

To him only you belong;

You with every Christian Hindoo,

Join at last th' angelic throng.

That was their first ordination service, but their second was the big one, in Salem! At least 1,500 people were there, and the church was packed to the max. People walked long distances through the snow in order to see this, the commissioning of the first overseas American missionaries. Dr. Samuel Spring said the following words, and this is one of my favorite quotes from the book:

No enterprise comparable to this has been embraced by the American church. All others retire before it, like stars before the rising sun.

Dr. __Worchester gave the following conclusion:

You are but the precursors of many, who shall follow you in this arduous, gloruious exercise; for the Gospel shall be preached to all nations, and all people shall see the Salvation of God.

So let it be Lord, amen.

Thoughts from the life of Mr. Judson

Posted another post on holiness (see directly below).

However, in the meantime, I'm trying to record some good quotes from the life of Adinoram Judson, who set out with the first party of overseas American Missionaries. This is from the book To the Golden Shore by Courtney Anderson (male).

In his younger years, as he was thinking of taking a major pastorate in Boston:

As he [Adinoram] toyed with this pleasing prospect, half-smiling as he imagined the sea of admiring faces staring up as him from the crowded pews, he began to be aware of a feeling of uneasiness. Without realizing how it happened, he found himself comparing this minister with an obscure country pastor, humbly striving only to bring his congregation and himself to God, without any thought of self. The minister in whose place he had imagined himself was really no better than any other ambitious man, anxious only for fame. What would the judgment be on him in the next world? If he achieved heaven, he would certainly not achieve fame in heaven. It would be the obscure country pastor whose fame would ring out there through eternity, even though he were never heard of here. The world was wrong about its heroes. The world was wrong in its judgments. The fame of the unknown country pastor was really the greater - so much greater that any worldly accomplishment shrank into insignificance. This was the only fame that triumphed over the grave...

 He had always wanted to be truly religious. He had been learning the lessons of religious since he first understood words. Yet how could he be religious and accomplish any ambition in this world?

And this is an excerpt of the letter that he wrote to the father of his future wife (Nancy), asking for permission to marry his daughter:

I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure of the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degredation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left his heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?

I have the sudden urge to do likewise (well, if I had a girlfriend).

Cleanness and Holiness

October 21, 2009

Holiness as Cleanness

I've taken a longer break than I wish at this whole holiness exploration thing due to moving and so forth. It's good to be back meditating on this, and I can only pray that God will give me insight.

In my analysis of the Hebrew word(s) for holy, I concluded by saying that holiness is a kind of separate-plussness, but I wasn't sure what that “plus” was. I believe that it's a combination of things. Tonight, I'm going to write about a part of that “plussnness,” namely, holiness as cleanness. As I've read through Leviticus and pondered other things that I've heard in the past, I believe that God gave us the distinction between clean and dirty, in part, as a means of understanding holiness.

In the OT times, the distinction between clean and dirty was a powerful one. It goes back, in some form, at least as far as Noah, who was commanded to take different numbers of clean and unclean animals into the ark. It was recorded in writing and cemented in the Jewish law. Cleanness/uncleanness became a religious, ceremonial concept. If you were unclean, you had to stay away from the temple, and if you were clean, you could enter it (^{reference needed}). If you were unclean, you would stay away from people, because if you touched them, they became unclean. Objects you used also could become unclean.

Leviticus 10

I'll pick up in Leviticus 10 for some more specifics. Chapter 10 is a continuation of the narrative of Chapter 9, which records the dedication of Aaron and his sons as the first Hebrew priests. Chapter 10 begins with Nadab and Abihu (sons of Aaron) being consumed with fire from the Lord for disobeying His commands in how they burned incense in their censors. Why did God do this? Because He would be honored and show Himself holy before all the people (10:3). It was like another, small-scale, golden calf incident.

We're given an interesting command regarding the priests in verses 10-11. The priests, during their service, are not to drink wine or other fermented drink. I think this is a matter of respect for God, primarily, that they must come before a holy God in utter reverence, not drunk.

Whatever other reasons there may be, the next command is that the priests must teach the people to distinguish between holy and the common, clean and the unclean. They must also teach the Israelites the commands of God.

As I read this, I say, “aha!” Right there, we see holiness and cleanliness next to one another as things the priests must teach. And this is not the only time.

Leviticus 11: dietary laws

Chapter 11 is where it gets really interesting to me. It's where God starts writing about dietary laws. He divides certain animals as clean and certain animals as unclean for the Israelites, then tells them to detest and not eat the unclean ones.

In verses 24 and 25 (and elsewhere), we see regulations concerning the touching of unclean things. People also become unclean, clothing becomes unclean, clay pots they touch must be broken (11:33), etc.

These clean/unclean laws often come with something like the following pattern: 1) The process of becoming unclean (i.e. touching a carcass of an animal) 2) An inspection by a priest (in non-dietary laws) 3) The cleaning process or what to do with unclean things (i.e. washing people and clothing, breaking pots, etc) 4) A time period for the uncleanness after the washing (usually till evening).

The relationship between holiness and cleanness.

I believe that verses 43-45 show that there is a certain relationship between holiness and cleanness: “Do not defile yourselved by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. I am Yahweh your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. I am YHWH who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore, be holy, because I am holy.”

Again, the famous “Be holy, because I am holy.” However, look right above it! Ponder the implication of that statement, “Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground... Be holy...” The implication is that if they were to be made unclean by means of these unclean animals, they would also be spoiling their holiness. I take this to mean that their holiness included cleanness. That cleanness is a part of holiness.

Another great example of these two concepts closely tied together is chapter 21, which contains regulations for priests. Again and again priests are said to be holy. And at the same time, they are told that they must not make themselves unclean, even when a relative dies, because as priests, they're especially holy. The two are intertwined.

Why cleanness?

I said from the beginning that the holiness of God is a mystery too high and grand for us to grasp in its entirety. An assumption that I have made is that therefore, to help us understand it as best we can, He has given us analogies in the Scriptures. Separateness I think is the analogy that captures the essense of it best, but cleanness also helps us in our understanding.

Why cleanness? What is it about being clean that is supposed to help us understand that “plusness” of holiness?

First, cleanness is a good thing. In that ancient culture, and in all cultures I know of, being clean is good, and being dirty is bad (whatever clean and dirty mean in that culture). So with holiness: it is separateness, but separateness in a good way! It's an inherently good thing!

Cleanness is also a purity. If you are clean, you are not polluted by bad things. God, as supremely clean, is not polluted by sin or anything else in the world: He is clean and telling His people to be clean.

I think that another part of this analogy is that dirt gets on other things. This was repeated in various ways with the different regulations. For example, anyone who entered an unclean house became unclean till evening (14:46-47). Just as things that touch unclean things become unclean, so it is with unholiness. Holiness, when it is mixed with unholiness, becomes dirty, defiled. That's why God constantly tells His people: “Be holy because I am holy.” It's so easy to become unholy!

Well, I still have more to write about cleannness and holiness, so stay tuned!

More Livingstone

Another quote about Dr. Livingstone:

"[A prayer] - not, to be noted, for his own safety (he never prayed for that) - but only for the furtherance of his enterprise and the salvation of hethen Africa."

And a quote by Livingstone:

"...And [in India], as well as in other lands where missionaries in the midst of masses of heathenism seem like voices crying in the wilderness - Reformers before the Reformation - future missionaries will see conversions following every sermon. We prepare the way for them. May they not forget the pioneers who worked in the thick gloom with few rays to cheer except such as flow from faith in God's promises. We work for a glorious future which we are not destined to see - the golden age which has not been, but yet will be...
"For this time we work; may God accept our imperfect service."

His attitude in the last quote reflects my attitude towards Japan, though I am far from a pioneer. Yet it may be that my work is to prepare the way for another. And look at the results of the preparation of men like Livingstone! The gospel has exploded in Africa, and the center of gravity of the church has shifted there and to East Asia. These words were prophetic indeed.

Livingstone

I'm currently reading a book on David Livingstone. "David Livingstone, His Life and Letters," by a guy named George Seever, Copyright 1957. Livingstone was definitely one of "The Greats," if such a title means anything. He was a missionary through and through, and he endured things that modern missionaries would find unfathomable. He seemed to be a rather serious, dry person, but nothing stopped him. He lived 1813-1873. I'll give you a couple quotes by him:

"I am spared in health, while all the company have been attacked by the fever [malaria]. If God has accepted my service, then my life is charmed till my work is done."

Later, he had "Seven attacks of malaria in nine weeks." However, he kept travelling while sick with malaria.

"It is not the encountering of difficulties and dangers in obedience to the promptings of the inward spiritual life, which constitutes tempting of God and Providence; but the acting without faith, proceeding on our errands with no previous convictions of duty, and no prayer for aid and direction."
-I think by "tempting of God," he's referring to putting God to the test. i.e., it's not when we encounter insurmountable difficulties (7 attacks of malaria in 9 weeks) that we're sinning by putting God to the test, but it's when we act without faith and proceed forward without prayer or conviction of what God wants us to do that we are testing His providence. In other words, if we go forward in obedience and encounter dificulties, there is no testing of Him involved: He is sure to come through. I think that's what he's saying.



"Can the love of Christ not carry the missionary where the slave-trade carries the trader?"

"I shall open a path to the interior, or perish."

If you want to read more about David Livingstone (for free), I recommend this site: http://www.missionaryetexts.org/#davidlivingstone It has his journals, some memoirs, and a few biographies, all of which are now public domain. You can print them out and bind and read them as a book, if you want. I'm wanting to take advantage of that site more. Public domain stuff is amazing on the internet.

The quote most assicoated with him is "Dr. Livingstone, I presume." He was deep in the jungles of Africa, and he met another Caucasian, HM Stanly. Stanly instantly knew he'd found Livingstone (because there were no other white men in those jungles) and said the above quote (so the story goes).

I sometimes feel like that in Japan, though not so much in the Tokyo area. But sometimes, you can say, "I'll be waiting for you at the station. I'll be easy to spot, because I'm a foreigner."

"Mr. Stoll, I presume?"

Good life

October 16, 2009

The Good Life that God has Given Me

Arriving home just now and walking into an empty house, I found myself meditating with simple thanks that God has given me a good life to live, and I am thankful for this. He has given me a good life for the living.

I found myself walking to the train station today singing hymns quietly to myself with a sense of gratitude for the cool air on my skin and the silence occasionally punctured by screeching trains along the tracks.

I had a good family growing up.

I was given an experience of true love... not the romantic kind yet, but a deep family of loving Christians in San Luis Obispo. And I saw a revival in action in that place. Not many have experienced that.

I have now felt true pain and loneliness, and on the other side of it, life is the sweeter and my joy double-rebounded from knowing it.

Naked Men and Simple Testimonies

Oct. 11, 2009

Naked Men and Simple Testimonies

Sunday night

Well, here I am in Chiba-ken, relaxing and seeking what the Lord has for me upon my return to Japan (next year). I've wanted to get back to writing about the holiness of God, but with all the moving and such, this is one of the first times in the last couple weeks that I've sat down to actually write. My author's heart weeps because of this.

Yesterday, I went to a retreat with Jesus Community Chapel (a.k.a. Calvary Chapel Kokubunji), and I just got back. It was a marvellous experience.

It was also a tough experience: there were hours and hours of Japanese sermons (Calvary Chapel pastors talk just as long in in Japan), and though there was a translation, I tried to listen in Japanese, and I picked up somewhere around 50%. It was pretty awesome to listen to a sermon in Japanese and actually get something out of it. However, I was short on sleep and so really struggled, especially during some of those sleepy, mid-afternoon messages. However, I really had a good time communicating with a lot of people in Japanese.

The most powerful part was spending time with men. Apart from just being darn-lonely in Kagawa, I was really short on fellowship with men. And I realized just how powerful that fellowship is this weekend. “As iron sharpens iron.”

The Bath

After all the sessions were done last night, we went to our room (13 guys in one, big room; only me and one other were foreigners) and started donning hotel-provided yukatas (a type of Japanese robe). I knew we were headed for the onsen (Japanese bath).

Now, I've done Japanese baths and know the etiquitte, though I'm still afraid that some rule I don't know will someday stab me in the back. The first and most important part is to walk into the bath labelled “men” (unless you happen to be a woman, of course). Thankfully, I've never screwed that one up. Inside, there's a changing room. The only thing you change into is your birthday suit; welcome to the onsen.

In the actual bath-room, there's a bath and showers. You're supposed to shower before you soak in the bath, so as to keep the water clean. That's another one that would be really rude to screw up. The bath is just for boiling... err... soaking. Anyways, in all this, the one thing you have to cover yourself is a small, white towel (well, till you hop in the bath, at least).

The 4 or 5 times I've done a Japanese bath, it's been alone or with only one or two others. This time, there were about 15 of us. And you know, that's a whole different experience. Working up the courage to go into a public bath isn't quite as hard when you're going in with that many guys, but I still haven't got used to people carrying on a conversation with me while we're all naked. One of the guys commented how cool it was that I shaved with a razor (Japanese men aren't known for their ability to grow beards).

After I was well-boiled, I went out, dried off some, and started putting on my clothes and brushing my teeth. At about 10:00, the official closing time for the onsen, the other foreigner came into the room and took his bath once almost everyone else was out. Somehow, mysteriously, he'd gotten separated from us on the way there. Yeah, foreigners tend to be shy about this sort of thing.

By now, I'm used to the whole onsen concept, but I still get nervous every time I go into one. This time, I realized that it's not being seen naked that bothers me as much as having to see other guys naked. That's just one of those things in this life I'd rather pass on. When you're alone, you can avoid it, but with 15 others in small room... Well, still getting used to that very revealing part of Japanese culture.

Men's Fellowship

After our bath, we went back to the guy's room and played a card game called Cucco (apparently made in 16th century France or something like that) until late at night. Later than was healthy: I really needed some sleep.

However, sometime in the middle of playing that game, I felt a strong sense of peace and goodness. And I realized how much I have been lacking in male fellowship and how much I've been longing for it. Just being a part of that group and having some guys to hang out with, from a couple middle-school-age kids to a man in his 50s, was an experience of sublime contentment for me. And despite everything else, I gotta say that the onsen contributed to it. Some kind of bizarre bonding happens when you're without clothes.

Men need other men for fellowship. I've been on the other side of that (having little fellowship and virtually no time for men to be men). And though I can't yet prove it from scripture, I gotta say that I now know from experience that men need fellowship with other men in a group of only men. You just can't escape that part of human nature.

I give glory to God for that night. We'd been praying in one of the earlier sessions for a filling of the Spirit, and it seems that God answered my prayer to Him, but in a totally different way, not with a spectacular experience of a new depth of knowledge of Himself, but with the simple, incredible pleasure of a guy's night.

The Testimony

I'll tell you about another fascinating experience I had. I spoke to a woman at lunch today, and she told me about the women's evening. They stayed in conversation till deep in the night. Each had talked about how they each came to know Jesus. The testimony that really impressed this lady was another woman's, and it was really a rather simple testimony. She had always felt like there was something wrong in her, so she went to church, and now she's a Christian. I mean, that was basically it. I was surprised that this was the testimony that had stuck out so much from that night.

Here's why it stuck out: when a Japanese person hears about something like a yakuza (Japanese mafia) who repents and becomes a Christian, it's an amazing story, but it doesn't connect in the sense of, “Oh, this is just like me.” It's too big, too grand. A yakuza is a real criminal who deserves to go to jail. But most Japanese are very respectible, kind people.

“Tsumi” is the Japanese word we use for sin. It's not used very often, but I've heard it on the news before when they were talking about a criminal. And that's more how the word comes across when people hear it. Crime. A tsumi-bito (sinner) is like a criminal. So, when they hear one of these testimonies that we Americans would call amazing, the concept of “I'm a sinner” is not understood.

However, when Japanese hear a simple testimony like the above one, it hits home. It's a normal, ordinary Japanese person telling this, not someone on the fringes of society. Apparently, that has some power to break down the “I'm not a sinners” wall that keeps Japanese people out of the kingdom. They realize that even though they're normal members of society, they have sin, and some of the emotional repression of Japanese society begins to crack.

People in Japan who have not had a Christian upbringing are all-but terrified of walking into a church for the first time. Often (most of the time?) they have some huge problem. The ladies who heard that testimony were surprised, and I also was surprised to hear that a women with no major crisis in her life saw a church sign and went to church. That just doesn't happen in Japan. It almost always takes something really, really big (like attempting suicide or something) for a Japanese to come to church.

That woman's testimony was powerful because it says that you can become a Christian without coming to the brink of your sanity.

My wife is ugly

In America, we play things up. That's part of our culture. In Japan, you play things down. Japan is a very modest culture. When you give someone a gift, you say something that translates roughly to: “It's a boring thing, but...” When someone says to you, “Your wife is beautiful,” the proper response is, “No, she's actually ugly.” And when someone says, “Your son is really good at math,” you should reply, “Not really, he's rather stupid.” Why?

In Japan, if you say that your wife is beautiful or your child is actually good at math, you sound really boastful. I personally think that it's best to just say “thank you” rather than scarring your child for life, but that's not what the culture expects. You always make things seem small. You try not to stick out.

So, the testimony. This is a perfect, Japanese testimony! It's small. It's modest. “I felt like something was wrong, so I started going to chuch, and I got saved.” The big testimonies are too loud, too boisterous for Japan. They probably even scare some Japanese off. What self-respecting Japanese wants to go to a church with a bunch of ex-yakuza running around? Most people here manage their lives very well in absolute plainness and don't want anything big or flashy to happen (unless it's a promotion at work). They're really quite like hobbits.

Well, hopefully soon I can return to my meditations on holiness, but I hope you've enjoyed my little account of the retreat.

In Chiba

If anyone is curious, I've arrived in Chiba (which is near Tokyo). Here's a map!


View Some places I've been in October, 2009 in a larger map

I'm staying with the head of my mission for about a month and will be exploring options for future language school and service in the Tokyo area. I just visited Osaka and had a good time there after saying my farewells in Kagawa.

Please pray for wisdom with what I should do and that I'd be able to keep myself busy here!!!

Holiness and the Golden Calf

Sept. 26, 2009

Holiness as Cleanness

For the moment, I'm going to skip my Greek exploration of holiness and look at God's reaction to His holiness being violated by His people. In Exodus 32, we read of the tale of the golden calf, and I think that we can learn a lot about God's holiness from this. Or rather, what His holiness wasn't.

The Golden Calf

In this period of time, the giving of the law, God was revealing to Israel things never revealed before. He was showing them who He was and what He wanted of them. So, I do not think it is too far a stretch to say that from the golden calf incident, God chose to show things about His character.

A first interesting thing to note is that Aaron was not making a new god, He was saying to Israel, “This is your God, oh Israel, who brought you out of Egypt!” (32:4) In verse 5, he even said that they would have a feast to YHWH, meaning that the golden calf (in his opinion) was an idol of YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He did not seek to create a new god, but simply to give a form to the invisible God.

Why was this such a great sin? After all, it seems like he was just trying to help the people worship God! Well, yes, but there are a lot of problems with the way he went about it. God had already commanded them (Ex. 20:4) not to make idols in the form of anything in heaven above or earth below. Srike one. In addition, it sounds like they were indulging in an orgy. Strike two. But perhaps the greatest strike (and the list could go on) is that this was a violation of God's holiness.

First of all, it's interesting to note that to Moses, the calf was not a perverted version of God, it wasn't God. He said, “They have made for themselves a god of gold.” (32:31). I wish I had the Hebrew knowledge to say for sure, but it sounds like Moses is saying “that's something other than YHWH.” Why? Why didn't he just say that it wasn't right to worship an idol and call it YHWH? Why was the golden calf something that was entirely not YHWH?

I believe the greatest part of that answer is that the idol was not holy. Remember, holiness is separateness. It is the other-worldliness of God. No animal could capture that essential part of God. Not only is a calf an every-day animal, but by worshipping the invisible God as a statue, you make him just like all the gods of the surrounding nations, who are worshipped as idols. In other words, by making him every-day, you strip Him of His holiness.

Perhaps more than anything, that is what the Israelites got wrong at the golden calf. That is why the anger of God burned against them. And so, from that incident, we see the essenense of holiness (separateness) displayed again. This is the negative of it: what holiness is not.

One more interesting note

One more interesting note about the golden calf incident is the description of the tablets which the law was written on: “Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.” That is appropriate. The tablets were not God. They were not an image of God. They were His writing, and in them people could learn of Him, but they were not objects of worship.

The tablets maintained God's holiness. They were holy, but there was a layer of separation between them and most holy God. They were just His work. Because they were not an object of worship, in a sense, they were an antithesis of the golden calf.

Another interesting part of this story is where Moses intercedes, in verses 11-14. Because Moses pleaded for the people, God relented and did not bring the calamity He was threatening. It's just like Jesus. Because He intercedes for us, God relents and does not punish us as our sins deserve. By not worshipping Him and serving Him as He deserves, we are just as guily as the Israelites. We do not treat Him as holy: no one does. And when you violate the holiness of God, you deserve wrath, a plague. However, like Moses, Jesus steps in the way, and God gives us His mercy.

Hidden Face of Japan (part 2)

Here's a few more quotes from the Hidden face of Japan. Scroll down if you want part 3 of my series on holiness (hopefully, part 4 will be up soon!).

At least a  third of the Japanese population in some areas have visited a Christian church at some time in their lives, if only to attend a wedding or funeral. between a quarter and a third of the population possess Christian literature in their homes, and at some time in their lives have read it either regularly or occasionally. However, official statistics, based on church membership figures, show that less than two percent of the Japanese population are Christians. Sociological surveys, on the other hand, consistently show a rather higher percentage who call themselves Christians. This is because many of those who have attended a Christian school or university feel more identified with Christianity than with any other religion. They therefore call themselves 'Christians.'
 I can testify that there is a lot of Christian literature that has been distributed throughout Japan. In most of Japan, if people want to hear the gospel, there is some way to. However, there is no salt and light in their lives. There are no Christian witnesses, just perhaps the occasional literature.

Finally, a fascinating paragraph about Father Organitino, a Roman Catholic missionary to Japan in the mid-sixteenth century: 

He [Father Organitino] had a feeling that spirits lurking in the mountains, woods and houses were always intent on preventing the spread of the gospel in Japan. Then he had a vision of the indigenous gods of the country. One of them, a minor deity, told him how they absorb but change the foreign gods out of all recognition into Japanese ones. This spirit concluded by commenting: 'Perhaps in the long run, your Christian God will be changed into an indigenous god of this country. As Chinese and Indian gods were once changed, the Western god must likewise be changed. We spirits of the land are always haunting you in the trees, in the wind that passes over a rose, or even in the twilight which lingers on the walls of temples. We are here everywhere and always. Beware of us, beware of us.

Holiness, part 3

Sept. 14, 2009

Qadowsh

Holiness, part 3

Using Blue Letter Bible, I've begun to do a little research into the word holy. My first question is: is it the same as the word “sacred?” Is there a difference between the two concepts? Doing a quick search, I've found three words: qadash (172 appeareances in the Hebrew OT), qadowsh (116 appeareances), and qodesh (468 appearances). Qadash seems to be used more for sanctify and it is a verb, and qadowsh is used more for holy, and it is an adjective. Qodesh is a noun with a variety of meanings.

The three words

Qadash (sanctify) seems to be used in terms of “sanctify something or another,” as it is a verb. It is used for sanctifying priests, a firstborn, or the sabbath day. It seems to me that the meaning of this word (or the English sanctify) is to make something holy.

Qadowsh (holy) seems to be used in terms of a holy place (in the temple), God as being Holy (Isaiah 6), Israel as a holy people, more or less as an adjective. It also describes God (in English) as the Holy One of Israel and is used for OT references to “Saints.” Interestingly, Exodus 29:37, the people are ordered to qadash the alter to make it qadowsh. Sanctify it to make it holy. So, from a quick reading, it seems that sanctifying is the process of making something holy. Therefore, a sanctified thing, like the alter, is a holy thing.

Qodesh is our noun. It's used to describe holy gifts or holy things (which are literally, “qodesh”, or “holies”). It's used as a word that we translate sometimes into sanctuary in the English (when referring to the tabernacle or temple), meaning that the sanctuary was literally the “holy” of God. There's also another word used about half the time for sanctuary which seems more literally to mean “sanctuary.” As near as I can tell, when something in the Bible in English is “most Holy” (like the holy of holies), it's qodesh qodesh (holy holy). I suppose this makes the holy holy holy of God (despite being three Qadowshes) rather significant: even one more level of holy.

I believe it's interesting to point out that God is often described as qadowsh, but He is never quadashed. God has no need of sancifying (being made holy), because He is inherently holy. Because He is holy, nothing can be done to make Him more holy. However, things that are sanctified are sanctified TO HIM.

In short, in the Hebrew, I think that these are all different forms of the same word: holy, holiness, and to holy (adjective, noun, and verb).

But what does it mean?

These words have a strong nuance of seperateness. This makes sense: when you make something holy, you seperate it to a god. So, the meaning of holy itself implies seperateness. Perhaps this is even the root meaning of it... not sure, gotta research that one some more.

However, I'm going to place a theory that all true holiness is derived from the holiness of God. All seperateness is derived from the separateness of God. Hmm... interesting when you put it that way. Because there's lots of other serparateness in this world. Separate tubes of toothepaste for married couples; doors that separate different rooms. A very big wall to separate the US and Mexico. There are all kinds of separateness in this world. However, I wouldn't describe the wall between the US and Mexico as a sanctifying wall. It's just a separating wall. I wouldn't describe my shoes as holy because I'm the only one who wears them. They're just separated to me. So, there is a difference between separateness and holiness.

Indeed, there is a different Hebrew word used for “separate” when it's used in the plain sense (not holiness). This is parad and comes out 26 times in the OT. It's used for rivers that part in Genesis 2. It's used for nations dividing and covering the earth in Genesis 10. Abram and Lot parad. And the like. In my very quick survey, I find a suspicious lack of the word from Exodus to Deuteronomy, where holiness and sacredness are used all over the place. So, in short, there is a separate word for separate, so holiness, despite being separateness, means something far, far more.

Back to the point

Anyways, about all holiness in the world being derived from God's holiness. I'm going to use “separate-plus” as a running definition for holiness. This separate-plusness exists as a primary atribute of God. And things, such as those in the temple, are called holy. In this case, I think what's being said is that when a person is made holy (like a priest), they are pulled out from unholy things (things that are unified, not separate) and united with God in his holiness.

In other words, picture a line. To the left of the line is everything. To the right of the line is God and only God. When something is sanctified, is is taken from the everything-side and put on the God-side (separated). A holy thing is something that is on the God-side of the line, meaning that it is cut off or separated from all other things.

Conclusion

So, where have I come?

I've come to the conclusion that sacredness and holiness are the same thing but different parts of speech.

Holiness is separate-plusness.

However, I don't understand what that “plus” is. What is it that makes holiness different from separateness? I believe that as I find that, I will get to the point where no word (in any language) can accurately describe holiness. That “plus” is what I'm seeking more than anything and where I believe a great blessing lies.

My working theory is that holiness is inherent to God and that all holy things are holy because they are separated to Him from other things. This will probably have some significant meaning when it comes to Christian sanctification the command that we should be holy.

One of the next things that I plan to do is to do a similar word search to this of holiness as it appears in the New Testament.

Until then...

A diversion

Taking a brief diversion on my writing on holiness, I want to give some insights on a question I am often asked. Why is Japan so closed to the gospel? Why are there so few Christians here?

I want to throw up some quotes from a book I recently finished called The Unseen Face of Japan by David C. Lewis. It's a book about Japanese culture, specifically Japanese religious practices.

At first [1870s] the Christians were drawn primarily from among the sons of the former Samurai class who studied in the mission schools and were most easily accessible to the missionaries. The samurai had lost the privileges which they had enjoyed under the Tokugawa regime [for over 250 years], so that, in comparison with other classes, the younger samurai became less attached to traditional social norms... For the most part, Japanese Christians were drawn from the educated, urban population.

However, the social characteristics of these early Christian converts 'have sown seeds of such highbrow nature in Japanese Christianity that they have erected a barrier against the broad propagation  if Christianity among the common people.'Because the early Protestant converts came from the bureaucrats of the samurai class who had served under feudal domains which had been affiliated with a deposed shogunate, there developed in Japanese Christianity a 'certain aloofness from the establishment... Once a body of believers had been drawn from the urban middle class, and once these people had organized and established churches, they promptly made their churches miniature closed societies. People of other classes, coming into contact with these cliques, felt shut out and rejected... Several studies by different scholars have shown how in subsequent decades there continued to be a conspicuous tendency for Christianity to be confined largely to the urban, educated, white-collar classes.

The next paragraph is about one of the biggest barriers to Christianity taking root in Japan. It also describes the late 1800s and hasn't changed much:

To a large extent, evangelism was left to the professional clergy. Yamamori suggests that this could be a cultural legacy of the Buddhist and Shinto services in which the lay people are passive recipients. Missionaries and pastors were regarded as the trained specialists on Christianity. For the predominantly white-collar Japanese Christians, the heavy emphasis places on learning meant that many of them had a view of Christianity which was psychologically colored by traditional Japanese attitudes towards the 'master-disciple' (sensei-seito) relationship. This reinforced the monolithic leadership structure of most Japanese churches.