why try christians to compare Amaterasu with Virgin Mary?

[AkiraYamato]

I saw it many many times, that christians started to say, that our sun godess Amaterasu is similar to their Virgin Mary.
They even make studies about that in their universities and then show pictures like that:

Such things worry us in japan. I know christians don´t want it in a bad way, but i think they should show more respect to us. Amaterasu is NOT virgin mary.
We serve Amaterasu longer, than christianity exist.

 

[Futuwwa]

It would be absurd to claim that such comparisons would be in any way meaningful. Depicting deities and saintly characters with auras of brilliance is something found in many cultures through human history, it's not like anyone claims that Virgin Mary actually looked like that.

 

[arunma]

I saw it many many times, that christians started to say, that our sun godess Amaterasu is similar to their Virgin Mary.
They even make studies about that in their universities and then show pictures like that:

Such things worry us in japan. I know christians don´t want it in a bad way, but i think they should show more respect to us. Amaterasu is NOT virgin mary.
We serve Amaterasu longer, than christianity exist.

Seems to me like it would be very wrong to compare Amaterasu to the virgin Mary. I'll be perfectly honest: it isn't because I respect your religion. In fact, while I respect you as a person, I'll go on record as saying that I don't respect either your religion or any other non-Christian faith. We believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no man comes to God but through him. Therefore any religion which does not center on Jesus Christ is just plain wrong, and will lead a person to eternal condemnation.

I notice that you intimately tie your religious belief to your culture. But judge reasonably: is this a valid reason for abandoning truth? Every culture in the world has had superstitions that turned out to be false. If you stand before God and say, "I did not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because my cultural belief is incompatible with him," will this be reasonable? This is as absurd as for me to say that I believe the universe to have been born out of Brahma's belly because I am Indian. For that reason I would challenge you to not dismiss the Lord Jesus because you don't believe that he fits into your culture.

 

[AkiraYamato]

Seems to me like it would be very wrong to compare Amaterasu to the virgin Mary. I'll be perfectly honest: it isn't because I respect your religion. In fact, while I respect you as a person, I'll go on record as saying that I don't respect either your religion or any other non-Christian faith. We believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no man comes to God but through him. Therefore any religion which does not center on Jesus Christ is just plain wrong, and will lead a person to eternal condemnation.

I notice that you intimately tie your religious belief to your culture. But judge reasonably: is this a valid reason for abandoning truth? Every culture in the world has had superstitions that turned out to be false. If you stand before God and say, "I did not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because my cultural belief is incompatible with him," will this be reasonable? This is as absurd as for me to say that I believe the universe to have been born out of Brahma's belly because I am Indian. For that reason I would challenge you to not dismiss the Lord Jesus because you don't believe that he fits into your culture.

I would say, you have very onesided view of the world. And you should be careful what you say, some people could be hurt from your hateful words.

 

[Secundulus]

It would be absurd to claim that such comparisons would be in any way meaningful. Depicting deities and saintly characters with auras of brilliance is something found in many cultures through human history, it's not like anyone claims that Virgin Mary actually looked like that.

In the case of that particlar picture, many people would claim she looked like that. Our Lady of Guadalupe

 

[Fuzzy]

Or both of them look like an artistic convention of showing energy/light/glory streaming around a figure in a static, two dimensional medium.

Yay, art.

 

[arunma]

I would say, you have very onesided view of the world. And you should be careful what you say, some people could be hurt from your hateful words.

I think the folly here is that you are arguing for people to believe whatever feels right to them, even if it's wrong. I do have a one-sided view of the world, but I would contend that you do as well. For example, you believe in a round earth, and do not tolerate the flat earth alternative. You believe that murder is wrong, and you do not tolerate people who disagree with you. Likewise, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that anyone who does not believe in him will be condemned to hell, no matter what culture he happens to come from. For you to say that this belief is "hateful" simply because it is irreconciliable with other worldviews is, I dare say, very closed-minded.

You may be hurt that the Bible declares your religion to be false, but this doesn't make the prophets wrong. The question you need to ask yourself is: if the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the true path to God, then what are you going to do about it? Hiding yourself behind cultural traditions isn't going to work.

 

[AkiraYamato]

Shinto says, the bible is wrong. Why you denie Amaterasu and follow a middle easter desert cult?

Why you follow it? Just because your culture is mostly christian?
I don´t blame you, i´m not here to bring you on the right path, but you should think about it.

 

[arunma]

Shinto says, the bible is wrong. Why you denie Amaterasu and follow a middle easter desert cult?

I'm fairly certain it doesn't, at least not explicitly. When you came to this forum, you hoped to promote a spirit of coexistence, in which Christians and followers of Shinto could respect each others' faiths. This leads me to believe that you do not believe in the exclusivity of your religion. However, Shinto teachings are irreconcilable with the Gospel of Christ, so this religion does ultimately imply that Christian teachings are false.

You've said so yourself: your faith and the Gospel cannot simultaneously be true, at least one is wrong. Therefore you might want to examine why you hold to your beliefs. Do you believe in the Shinto religion for no other reason than because you are raised with it and would face cultural pressure if you were to abandon it? If so, then this is great cause for concern, because you are holding to a belief that will determine the ultimate fate of your soul for no particular reason.

Why you follow it? Just because your culture is mostly christian?

No, actually. I've already told you that I am Indian (in fact Buddhism, which influences your Shinto beliefs, came from my home country). If you are not aware of the statistics, only between 2-3% of the Indian population adheres to Christianity. Obviously my culture plays little role in my religious belief. But this is besides the point. The point is that culture does not determine truth. Believing in something simply because you wish to hold to cultural tradition is a most dangerous philosophy.

I don´t blame you, i´m not here to bring you on the right path, but you should think about it.

I did think about it. You often attribute your religious belief to your cultural influences, and this is an issue that I have pondered for many years. Now I'm asking you to consider my line of reasoning. If not for the sake of your cultural tradition, would you even practice the Shinto religion?

 

[AkiraYamato]

I believe in Shinto. Its not a religion, its the way of the gods.
I can see Amaterasu (the sun godess) evry day on the sky. She is always there. She created evrything and she let us all live. She watches over us.

As some humans wrote the bible and your christus died at the cross, who was on the sky? Right-Amaterasu!
Amaterasu see you all the time and she painted you, gave you your life.
She is real and she don´t care if you honor here. She smiles about your wrong ideas but hold no grudge against you.

 

[arunma]

As some humans wrote the bible and your christus died at the cross, who was on the sky? Right-Amaterasu!

Sorry, but this is not the case. This is what the word of God describes about the day of the crucifixion of Christ:

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. (Matthew 27:45)
​

It would seem that when Christ was crucified, the Lord of all the earth demonstrated his superiority over all sun gods by darkening the sun itself. If you worship the sun instead of the crucified and risen Christ, who created the sun, then you will not be saved.

 

[AkiraYamato]

Sorry, but this is not the case. This is what the word of God describes about the day of the crucifixion of Christ:

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. (Matthew 27:45)
​

It would seem that when Christ was crucified, the Lord of all the earth demonstrated his superiority over all sun gods by darkening the sun itself. If you worship the sun instead of the crucified and risen Christ, who created the sun, then you will not be saved.

It seems your god is not almighty then, because there was no darkness in japan at that time.

 

[arunma]

It seems your god is not almighty then, because there was no darkness in japan at that time.

And you know this...how?

Actually some historians claim to have evidence for a worldwide darkening of the sun at the time of Christ's crucifixion. But I'm not here to have apologetic debates. I'm here to ask you to consider the Gospel of Christ on its own merits, and not hold to your current religious belief for no other reason than cultural allegiance. Culture is a terrible reason to condemn your own soul to hell.

 

[AkiraYamato]

And you know this...how?

Actually some historians claim to have evidence for a worldwide darkening of the sun at the time of Christ's crucifixion. But I'm not here to have apologetic debates. I'm here to ask you to consider the Gospel of Christ on its own merits, and not hold to your current religious belief for no other reason than cultural allegiance. Culture is a terrible reason to condemn your own soul to hell.

HA HA HA
sorry buddy but our scientists wrote evrything about evry event at the sky. We even know about a super nova 3000 years ago.

But nothing about dark sun.

Is your god so weak?

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

HA HA HA
sorry buddy but our scientists wrote evrything about evry event at the sky. We even know about a super nova 3000 years ago.

But nothing about dark sun.

Is your god so weak?

Nah. Darkness in the Bible can signify a great evil occuring that is blocking the Light from shining on them. Read the verses in my siggy and you can see the Jewish/Hebrew symbolism in it.

 

[arunma]

HA HA HA
sorry buddy but our scientists wrote evrything about evry event at the sky. We even know about a super nova 3000 years ago.

But nothing about dark sun.

Is your god so weak?

Apparently not so weak that you could discredit him with the truth. There is, to my knowledge, no evidence of any supernova 3000 years ago. Even if there were, I doubt you properly researched it in such a short time.

But that's not the issue here. You've made an argument on the basis of supposed silence. Even worse, your general line of thinking seems to be completely arbitrary. Statements like "I see Amaterasu in the sky every day" and "the Japanese knew about a supernova 3000 years ago" don't become true simply because you say them (the latter isn't even a big deal, anyone with one eye open could see a supernova if it occurred in our galaxy and wasn't obscured by interstellar dust). You don't seem to be basing your beliefs on truth. Christians believe in our Lord Jesus Christ because he is a historical person who lived among others and made a covenant with his church. Your worship of Amaterasu, on the other hand, consists of giving reverence to a sphere of plasma in the sky for no other reason than because it is bright. You can't justify it simply by saying that it's the duty of all Japanese to worship Amaterasu. If objective truth doesn't mean anything to you, then you might as well be building a house on sand.

 

[AkiraYamato]

Apparently not so weak that you could discredit him with the truth. There is, to my knowledge, no evidence of any supernova 3000 years ago. Even if there were, I doubt you properly researched it in such a short time.

But that's not the issue here. You've made an argument on the basis of supposed silence. Even worse, your general line of thinking seems to be completely arbitrary. Statements like "I see Amaterasu in the sky every day" and "the Japanese knew about a supernova 3000 years ago" don't become true simply because you say them (the latter isn't even a big deal, anyone with one eye open could see a supernova if it occurred in our galaxy and wasn't obscured by interstellar dust). You don't seem to be basing your beliefs on truth. Christians believe in our Lord Jesus Christ because he is a historical person who lived among others and made a covenant with his church. Your worship of Amaterasu, on the other hand, consists of giving reverence to a sphere of plasma in the sky for no other reason than because it is bright. You can't justify it simply by saying that it's the duty of all Japanese to worship Amaterasu. If objective truth doesn't mean anything to you, then you might as well be building a house on sand.

reported for constant flaming and trolling against others

 

[indianx]

Much of it is done in the name of interfaith relations, but when you strip away that facade, it is pretty evident that it's just another tool in their attempts to convert us. For example, there are a number of Christian churches nearby my hometown in India that have recently assimilated Hindu customs and practices in order to make their alien theology appeasable to Hindus and to try to reel in new converts. That's pretty much how they see our religions - bait.

 

[Steezie]

First off, I have NEVER heard this. In MANY years of being around Christians I have never heard a Christian compare the Virgin Mary with ANY other god or goddess.

Second, the comment about university classes that study it is RELIGIOUS ARTWORK. There are discussions about the religions themselves but the comparison is visual only

Third, the site you got the picture from ( http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/ ) isnt a religious site

 

[AkiraYamato]

Much of it is done in the name of interfaith relations, but when you strip away that facade, it is pretty evident that it's just another tool in their attempts to convert us. For example, there are a number of Christian churches nearby my hometown in India that have recently assimilated Hindu customs and practices in order to make their alien theology appeasable to Hindus and to try to reel in new converts. That's pretty much how they see our religions - bait.

I know that. In Japan they had 0 sucess with that. They just want win more members, to press the money out of them.