Visiting temples and shrines as tourism

[buzuxi02]

I would personally love to see The Patheon in Rome, Parthenon in Athens, Ang

The parthenon was a christian church for just as long as it was a pagan temple.

 

[Rhamiel]

I think maybe the desire to learn English will lead them to the bible, but if the Bible is translated into Japanese that would help..if its more widely distributed. Also Japanese love karaoke so..learning songs about Jesus can be a witnessing tool.

If the Japanese are hungry for Jesus then definitely think about how best to witness, I think with the whole zen buddhist thing they might be surprised to learn Jesus suffered the most on the cross and didn't need to be reincarnated, instead He gave us the gift of eternal life. And he definitely taught righteousness that out-buddhas buddha.

the Japanese seem interested in Christian symbolism but not really Christianity

like they have the "gothic Lolita" style and a lot of animes have Christian symbolism in them

but a very low percentage of Japanese are Christians

 

[Goodbook]

Well symbolism isnt really what Jesus was about. But yes the Japanese communicate with symbols as its their language..kanji or whatver its called.

As far as temples go, well Chrstianity sees no need for temples made with human hands.we are the temples of the holy spirit. So, its really the people you should be seeing for their beauty, if you can see people that way, as potential temples for Him to dwell in.

 

[CCHIPSS]

If you are fine with it, you can go ahead. I would avoid grabbing any books or materials from these temples. If you want to sent time reading on spiritual things, spent time reading the bible instead. =)

I know a Christian who was perfectly fine going into Buddhist temples. But then there was this one particular Buddhist temple where she felt very uncomfortable once she entered. She felt this overwhelming pressure on her chest, as if some evil spirit was pressing on her. Finally when she walked over to see a relic of Saria from some monk, she can't take it anymore and had to run out of the temple.

Pretty scary stuff! Note once again she never had these kind of feelings in other Buddhist temples. Something evil was in that particular one.

 

[Julie.S]

I say go to as many as you can. They are a part of a places history and they are important for that reason.

 

[Julie.S]

I don't have any issues with others doing visiting to view the buildings, as long as they are strong in their faith. However, I don't recommend it, either. It could confuse a new Christian. For me personally, I was saved out of the New Age, which co-opted much of those sorts of religions, so I wouldn't be comfortable or enjoy it.

How could it confuse a person?

 

[buzuxi02]

You may visit for historical reasons, or educational reasons as a tourist. You cannot participate in their worship, or have joint prayers or particiapte in their rituals. Of course I dont know what congregation you belong to but these are millenia old canonical rules in my church.
Japanese are not interested in christianity for many reasons. First they are a collectivist people, even if a few believe in Jesus they will not convert because its more important for the japanese to have a monolithic community that share the same beliefs and holidays than tear away the fabric of their familial relations into opposing sects.
Also many of them simply dont believe in any exceptionalism of christianity after we (who claimed to be christian) exterminated the japanese christians in Nagasaki. Nagasaki was the largest christian city in all of Japan so we decided to drop the A-Bomb on the Urakami Cathedral, over 75% of the city's christian population perished. This is not an omen that the Japanese will forget.

 

[Goodbook]

Really? I didn't know that about nagasaki.

With participating in worship. Well I have heard, if you take your shoes off at a mosque which is what is generally required to do, you are in a way participating as you are showing respect for the spiritual powers in the mosque. Not to say you should disrespect it but it would be better not to go in.

As for taking photos, well, I don't see what is pretty about idols, to take photos to keep of them, no, not for me.

 

[Goodbook]

If you are fine with it, you can go ahead. I would avoid grabbing any books or materials from these temples. If you want to sent time reading on spiritual things, spent time reading the bible instead. =)

I know a Christian who was perfectly fine going into Buddhist temples. But then there was this one particular Buddhist temple where she felt very uncomfortable once she entered. She felt this overwhelming pressure on her chest, as if some evil spirit was pressing on her. Finally when she walked over to see a relic of Saria from some monk, she can't take it anymore and had to run out of the temple.

Pretty scary stuff! Note once again she never had these kind of feelings in other Buddhist temples. Something evil was in that particular one.

With shrines they keep dead remains in there. So its really someones grave you are visiting, that would creep me out a bit. Evil spirits can hang around the dead.

 

[John Davidson]

I have been to Japan twice and am going back again in a month.

Japan is well known for its beautiful temples and shrines, and I have visited quite a few of them, including the huge Buddha in Nara.

My question is, what do others think about visiting places of non-Christian religious significance for purely aesthetic purposes?

I would not recommend visiting shrines, for the Christian it serves no purpose.

 

[buzuxi02]

Really? I didn't know that about nagasaki.

Sad but true. It was an overcast day and the church was the most visible target as it had a tall steeple. Dropped on a Sunday morning. Christianity has never been able to recover in Japan ever since.

 

[grandvizier1006]

I feel that MacArthur's biggest mistake was he did not make the Japanese convert to Christianity.

Would it have been possible, though? South Korea has a lot of Christians in it today, and they flourished even under Japanese occupation. U.S. involvement in regards to evangelism was less than you'd think. They were more concerned with making sure the South Korean government wasn't communist (although it wasn't Democratic for a long time, either).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Korea

 

[Sketcher]

Also many of them simply dont believe in any exceptionalism of christianity after we (who claimed to be christian) exterminated the japanese christians in Nagasaki. Nagasaki was the largest christian city in all of Japan so we decided to drop the A-Bomb on the Urakami Cathedral, over 75% of the city's christian population perished. This is not an omen that the Japanese will forget.

I wonder if the Korean church would have better luck reaching them through a missionary endeavor.

 

[Xalith]

ok not to make you paranoid, but..there is this

https://withchristianeyes.net/2014/09/07/hello-kitty-is-popular-but-is-she-evil/

If hello kitty is a girl not a cat, or a girl/cat, well...I dunno. Romans says people worshiped creation more than the creator and turned his likeness into animals etc. I mean you just don't see real cats walking round on two legs wearing clothes all the time right?
and apparently she does make $7 BILLION a year.

Tell that to the fur fandom...

Either way, I wouldn't touch a temple or a shrine. The origin of all false worship is Satan, and he's got legions of demons at the ready to wage spiritual warfare against people, Christian or non-Christian.

He tries to keep people from becoming Christian, and he tries to hinder Christians, or get them to sin and separate them from God to limit their effectiveness at being Christians.

Going to a shrine, or a temple is just asking some uglies to latch onto you. These places are cursed and they aren't anywhere a Christian should be unless you are strong in the faith and even then, I would pray and be cautious of your mind, thoughts, and motives the whole time.

Curiosity about the enemy and his ways has no place in a Christian's life. If you're going there to witness to the people there, keep your guard up. If you're going there to familiarize yourself with the enemy's ways, then keep your guard up. If you're going there for curiosity or entertainment... your time is best spent elsewhere.

 

[Goodbook]

Was it Paul that went to the temple of athens or was it mars hill or anyway somewhere on his missionary journeys...and he didn't go there to site see and say the idols looked pretty. In the OT the good Kings literally smashed up all the idols the israelites had set up, because they were worshipping them.

As a christian, we can't go into other lands and start smashing up their idols but once people become christians they will get rid of any idols they had been worshipping in their own homes etc. I know quite a few indian christians who did this and they won't go to hindu temples and shrines for this reason, and they did get rid of their household gods.

 

[AnneY]

They worship Hello Kitty there. I mean seriously. Hello Kitty may not be a doll or teddy bear, but she is an idol. If you going to Japan I think aesthetically be prepared for an onslaught of Hello Kitties.

Hello Kitty is just a cartoon character. It's everywhere because it's considered "cute", and the Japanese (and Chinese) love "cute" things. Anime is also everywhere. Anything remotely considered popular is plastered everywhere for one reason. Money. Popularity sells. Some people do go overboard, but to say the Japanese people as a whole worship Hello Kitty isn't factual. Japan isn't the only country obsessed with Hello Kitty. There's a maternity ward in a hospital in Taiwan that is completely decorated in Hello Kitty style. It's silly, but there's nothing wrong with it.

As to going into the shrines and temples for tourist purposes...to each their own. Others have mentioned the spiritual side of temples, I'll mention the physical side of them. I've been to them on several occasions and have never liked going in, mainly because, to be blunt, they stink. An active temple will be having incense and other stuff burning, they're dark, dirty, and there's not much airflow. Often the outside is in disrepair. I'm not familiar with Japanese temples or their culture, but if it's anything like Taiwan, then the active temples are not attractive places to visit. Especially during Ghost Month. Or whenever animal sacrifices are performed. However, there are probably a lot of pretty temples in Japan that are basically for tourists to take pictures of. I'm sure those are in abundance.

 

[Goodbook]

I was joking about hello kitty, its a generalisation, the way americans gave us american idol and worship pop stars.

Completely silly, but still idolatry.

 

[miss-a]

How could it confuse a person?

We know as Christians there is one God. Eastern religions have hundreds, thousands, and I think even millions of gods depending on the religion. Multiple gods are represented in the artwork and workmanship of the temples and shrines. This could confuse someone new to the faith who isn't quite clear yet on Who God really is.

 

[MehGuy]

the Japanese seem interested in Christian symbolism but not really Christianity

like they have the "gothic Lolita" style and a lot of animes have Christian symbolism in them

but a very low percentage of Japanese are Christians

Who can blame them? Lol. The symbolism from Christianity is pretty cool.

 

[Travelers.Soul]

I have visited a couple of temples but not as a tourist, I was doing ethnographic research at the time.