Japan's gracious and dignified people

[Ella Edric]

Has anyone noticed the amazing kindness of the Japanese in this horrible tragedy that happened to them? From what I've heard there has been no looting, violence, or anything like that in Japan. Wheras, in America with hurricane Katrina and whenever we have a major tragedy there is violence, and looting. :/

To me it's kinda sad how a rather Godless country like Japan can have better values than us, the supposed, "Christian" nation America. And honestly, I have a lot of respect for the Japanese and the way they are handling this.

Any thoughts?

[Atria35]

Having God =/= having good values.

A lot of it is cultural. Think of the respect and values that have been around and rigidly enforced for generations there. You respect your neighbors and elders, etc. Whereas over here, you have individualism and going all out when you think you can get a bargain or money- things that are valued and probably indirectly cause things like looting and riots.

[aliveinHim]

I found that quite embarrasing quite frankly. Why does a sinful nation behave better than a once Christian one?

[Dante]

Godless? Who is Godless, the ones that declares the truth of God's will but don't do it, or the ones that deny the truth of his will yet do his will? Of course, I'm thinking Matthew 21:28 here. Overall, I would say that the difference in outcomes is a consequence of differences in culture. In Japan, people form deeper relationships and the community is valued more then the individual (that kind of returns to them like a karma - if everyone values the community, your net value from your neighbors and friends is greater even then the value you place in your self - which has to feel good to know). In American on the other hand, we have a very individualized society - where the value of the individual is paramount above everything else. Some of us don't even know the names of our neighbors. Because we are taught that survival and success are things we get on our own and not things that others help us get, we view our neighbors as 'unimportant' or even 'competition' (keeping up with the Jones anyone?). We may value our friends, but more and more friendship is being replaced by the soulless 'networking'.

So if you're living in a location after a disaster in America - your mindset is that you may as well loot to survive, because "no one else is going to help you out - if you don't do something yourself you deserve your outcome". Japan wins dividends here though, because they can come through a similar tragedy and say, "I may have lost everything, but I have others that care about me and wouldn't let harm come to me - they'll help pull me back up and bring me out better then before. We must help each other, because if something happens to them - it will ultimately destroy everything I value."

Maybe wrong, but it's just a thought. EDIT: And it seems Atria35 beat me to it.

[goldenspines]

Every nation is a sinful nation because everyone is sinful. Japan is not more terrible than any other nation because it's main religion is not Christianity.
No nation is "Godless" either. God is at work everywhere whether everyone accepts Him or not. And Pascal beat me to that point, but it doesn't hurt to repeat it, I suppose. ^_^

But Atria explained it quite well. The Japanese live in a very different culture and grew up learning to respect one another and value the whole rather than the individual.

[MrKrillz0r]

Having God =/= having good values.

A lot of it is cultural. Think of the respect and values that have been around and rigidly enforced for generations there. You respect your neighbors and elders, etc. Whereas over here, you have individualism and going all out when you think you can get a bargain or money- things that are valued and probably indirectly cause things like looting and riots.

True. ^^

And I think what Pascal said is 100% correct as well.

[Yamamaya]

Pascal pretty much said what I was going to say. However, I would like to mention that there is no such thing as a Christian nation, there are only Christians who are citizens of particular nations.

[Nate]

Keep in mind that Japan as a country (not every single individual) is fairly racist and xenophobic. This helps contribute to their strong sense of national identity and common cultural values, as opposed to somewhere like the United States where people are different races and have different cultures, so there's not as strong of a sense of identity.

[Yamamaya]

Keep in mind that Japan as a country (not every single individual) is fairly racist and xenophobic. This helps contribute to their strong sense of national identity and common cultural values, as opposed to somewhere like the United States where people are different races and have different cultures, so there's not as strong of a sense of identity.

Well I wanted to look at it through a more positive lens, but that's definitely one way to put it.

[Lynna]

Honestly, I don't think America or any other nation has ever been truly christian. After all, if everyone was christian, people would just be christian for conformity's sake, so it wouldn't be christian by anything more than name.
As to why the Japanese seem better, I agree with what others have said.
I wonder, though, weather God is at work in a nations that needs him so much...

[ShiroiHikari]

I cannot believe what I'm reading. This thread fails on so many levels.

It doesn't matter who's more "Christian". Being a "Christian" doesn't make you a nice person, as evidenced by some of the posts in this thread. OH, HOW CAN NON-CHRISTIANS BE SO NICE AND KIND? ONLY CHRISTIANS ARE "GOOD". And people wonder why nobody likes Christians!

[Yamamaya]

I cannot believe what I'm reading. This thread fails on so many levels.

It doesn't matter who's more "Christian". Being a "Christian" doesn't make you a nice person, as evidenced by some of the posts in this thread. OH, HOW CAN NON-CHRISTIANS BE SO NICE AND KIND? ONLY CHRISTIANS ARE "GOOD". And people wonder why nobody likes Christians!

These "Christians" have probably never read the story of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan was no Jew or Christian.

In addition, the whole point of Christianity is recognizing that you're not a perfect great person, and you are no better than anyone else.

[Ella Edric]

Okay, I wanted to clearify: when i said Godless, I meant more like the majority arent Christian. And I'm NOT saying non-Christians can't be nice. But I'm saying that it's pathetic that America is supposedly, "Christian" and don't really act like it. Sorry if i offended anyone. I didn't mean it like that. XD;;

[Kaori]

Keep in mind that Japan as a country (not every single individual) is fairly racist and xenophobic.

It’]http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j414/kohakuiro/soldier-japan-earthquake.jpg[/IMG]
Grace and dignity.

[Yuki-Anne]

America hasn't been a "Christian" nation for a long, looong time.

I am impressed by Japan's heart and community. Believe me, though, I have encountered a couple of cowards since this started. But as a whole, the nation is together in this, and that is a really amazing thing to see.

It is interesting to note that the very traits that were holding Japan back and keeping her people from hope (the loss of the individual as well as other socio-psychological issues that I am too tired and distracted to go into right now) in the years leading up to the quake are the very things that are sustaining her now.

[Nate]

It’s true that racism and discrimination does exist in Japan, but you seem to be saying that Japanese people in general are racist and xenophobic, and I really must beg to differ.

No, no, that's not what I was saying at all! It came out poorly. I wasn't talking about people, I was talking about culturally. You know, stuff like how if a person isn't Japanese, and they went to Japan and got a job working for Nintendo (or whatever) they wouldn't have a very good chance of getting into the higher parts of the company because of their ethnicity. That's the kind of stuff I was talking about.

America hasn't been a "Christian" nation for a long, looong time.

Yeah, like since...ever. :p

[rocklobster]

Nate hit it on the head. Our nation did have a few founders who were actually quite cynical of Christianity. I hear Thomas Jefferson is an example of this.

[Nate]

Well let's hope the discussion doesn't go down that road. I admit that Christianity was a very big part of early life in the US, and that things were done to reinforce that (teaching the Bible in schools, teachers leading prayer in schools, etc.). The point is that none of these things were endorsed by the law, and in fact the law prohibited them, but at that point in time most people were Christian so nobody felt the need to bring lawsuits against it or anything.

So the US was a Christian nation in the sense that many people in it were Christian, but it was not a Christian nation by being founded on Christianity, because that never happened. It's just that when usually people refer to the US as a "Christian nation" they're usually trying to push the latter view, rather than the former.

[blkmage]

The entire concept of a Christian nation, to me, seems antithetical to Jesus' ministry and everything else he's said while he was here on earth.

[Yuki-Anne]

We should probably avoid this discussion for the time being, but ^what they said.

No, no, that's not what I was saying at all! It came out poorly. I wasn't talking about people, I was talking about culturally. You know, stuff like how if a person isn't Japanese, and they went to Japan and got a job working for Nintendo (or whatever) they wouldn't have a very good chance of getting into the higher parts of the company because of their ethnicity. That's the kind of stuff I was talking about.

Actually, young people in general don't have a good chance of getting into higher parts of the company, because promotions are based solely on how long you've been with the company, and almost never on sheer merit. This is part of Japan's cultural obsession with respect for elders. This is part of the reason a lot of enterprising young people are getting out of Japan; they have very little hope of achieving their ambitions.

[That Dude]

I cannot believe what I'm reading. This thread fails on so many levels.

It doesn't matter who's more "Christian". Being a "Christian" doesn't make you a nice person, as evidenced by some of the posts in this thread. OH, HOW CAN NON-CHRISTIANS BE SO NICE AND KIND? ONLY CHRISTIANS ARE "GOOD". And people wonder why nobody likes Christians!

Though I don't necessarily disagree with you, remember, show the grace to others that you demand from them.

Well let's hope the discussion doesn't go down that road. I admit that Christianity was a very big part of early life in the US, and that things were done to reinforce that (teaching the Bible in schools, teachers leading prayer in schools, etc.). The point is that none of these things were endorsed by the law, and in fact the law prohibited them, but at that point in time most people were Christian so nobody felt the need to bring lawsuits against it or anything.

I'm not going to go to far into this and don't want to start a debate, but you might want to read some of the original state laws...They prove your statement wrong.
But anyway, the point is, we are no longer a christian nation regardless of if we were or not.

[Yuki-Anne]

I think what's really important here is to remember that according to the Bible, our citizenship is in heaven (Ephesians, I believe); we are part of a heavenly Kingdom that transcends geographic location. Because of that, the "Christian nation" exists anywhere where people follow Christ and love as he loves.

[That Dude]

I second you there Yuki.

[Lynna]

[quote="Yuki-Anne (post: 1465656)"]We should probably avoid this discussion for the time being, but ^what they said.



Actually, young people in general don't have a good chance of getting into higher parts of the company, because promotions are based solely on how long you've been with the company, and almost never on sheer merit. This is part of Japan's cultural obsession with respect for elders. This is part of the reason a lot of enterprising young people are getting out of Japan]

Is this why, in anime and manga, The young hero always progresses so fast? Wishful thinking?

[Yuki-Anne]

Possibly. Quite possibly. This may also explain the Otaku culture and why so many young men and women are allowing themselves to be completely consumed by their obsession with entertainment. But this is pure speculation on my part, and is not based on sociological or psychological research, so don't quote me. XD

[KougaHane]

I found that quite embarrasing quite frankly. Why does a sinful nation behave better than a once Christian one?

I don't think America is a Christian nation. The colonies were not formed solely for religious freedom, they were formed so the British could get more land and money. And a lot of the founding fathers were deists. And wuite frankly. American "Christians" are so fake it makes me sick.
As some guy a professor at my college quoted, "A man who talks about God but does not talk to him is no more than a gossip."
We think because there is a church on every corner (at least where I live there is.) that we are the "Christian" nation, and all other nations are pagans, when they actually send mission trips here, because they see a country that needs god more than they do.
But part of the behavior problem is because, unlike many suggest, America is very "every man for himself" and very disunified. every where you turn, someone hates someone else for some stupid reason like the color of their skin, their religion, their sexual orientation, their love life, or any number of reasons that give you no reason to hate someone. In Japan it has been for a long time a part of the culture to be a strong, unified nation. In fact, during the Edo period That was about all the Shogun did, attempted to unify the nation. Under the Tokugawa dynasty and the seclusion policy, Japan had to unify or it would fall apart. So yeah, rant over, sorry.

[Nate]

I don't like this thread anymore. D:

[ABlipinTime]

Hm...
I'm kinda surprised no-one has mentioned the reputation of New Orleans, where Katrina hit. No offense to anyone here who's from or lives in New Orleans, but that city isn't anything close to what you'd call "Christian" or even good for that matter. Mardi gras comes to mind, but there's more. Every big city has it's dark side; there's crime everywhere. Perhaps there's crime in Japan as well, but it's just not being reported, though I'd like to think there isn't.

Let's not get down on "us" "Americans" as though somehow the actions of certain people from New Orleans is characteristic of all of us.

[Yuki-Anne]

Somebody help me. I'm really angry right now and I feel that I probably misunderstood the post above mine. Please clarify what you're saying, because in my heightened emotional state it seems RATHER AWFUL.

I just want to make sure that I don't go to town on your butt if you don't deserve it.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

We're all sinners and have fallen from grace. No one else is more or less deserving of punishment. When darkness hits our true character is tested. Not everyone is the same in character for sure, due to cultural and other influences but we are all equals in our sinful humanity, whether we're a group or community or an individual. Let's not begin to think we are better than anybody else. Remember that Paul wrote that he was the least of the apostles. We should emulate Jesus' humility and selflessness in both our behaviors and attitudes.

Grace and dignity.

Good lord... this is just beautiful.

Thank you for sharing.