The Unique Beliefs of Japan's Clandestine Christians

Hidden Christians (2008): Inside the lives of Japan's secret Christians.
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Since Japan s rulers outlawed Christianity in the sixteenth century, believers have hidden their faith. But what began as Christianity has evolved into something quite different in the meantime.
The hidden Christians worship not one but two Virgin Marys. The religion survived because Buddhist priests turned a blind eye, allowing people to ostensibly embrace Buddhism while remaining clandestine Christians. "We don t expel them or tell them to quit their faith. "
ABC Australia - Ref. 3814
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[@mustafaalwan6523]

Fun fact : the Japanese at first thought Christianity was a new philosophy from India . Because the Portuguese traders came from Goa

[@michellepatrick7704]

Goa is a Portugese colony in India.

[@clover_j]

interesting!

[@Tom19142]

Actually it was true, they saw Christianity as a new philosophy or as a new kind of Buddhism because Christian-Catholicism is not soo different from Shinto-Buddhism. Both use chants, sacred clothes, big bells, little bells foe liturgy, prayers, style of life, both have monks and nuns etc. When St. Francis Xavier arrived in Japan, he presented to the local Buddhist monks (I cannot remember which city) and he talked about 神さま Kamisama which is the same name as Shinto-Buddhists use.

[@andrewsflowerhill7439]

Yes , but japanese that time accused them as 南蛮人 a.k.a barbarian , because of western culture that shocked the east culture Edit : 南蛮 as south refers to south east asia but they refer european as further than india

[@andrewsflowerhill7439]

@@Tom19142 actually that time may refer to 神デウス or Kami Deus translated to God from latin

[@cozyeagle9734]

Amazing. Love from Japan. We are a Catholic family 🇯🇵❤️❤️❤️

[@user-bq7nq3wf1q]

its true story of our ancestors. They passed faith to God in secretly 7 generations

[@thealphasierra9471]

❤❤❤

[@thealphasierra9471]

I will always remember the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombing.

[@tnmblonewolf8799]

I am happy you are able to keep your faith after so long.

[@a-sheepof-christ9027]

My friend spread the word. The woman these men praise is not the true "Mary:Mother of Jesus" but the false "Mary:Queen of Heaven". Look at the picture at the shrines. 4:16 shows who in reality is the Mesopotamian Godess ASHERA/INANNA who is also know by her title: QUEEN OF HEAVEN in Jeremiah. Her symbol is the moon and halfmoon: the sign of Arabia, Turkey and Ishtar of Babylon. Also the sign of Hagar - concubine of Abraham and mother of Ismail. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_Heaven_(antiquity) the false christians do three things in her name: 1)shewbread(cakes/bread) is eaten 2)whine is spillt 3)Incense burnt She is also the "false prophetess" of revelation who "makes the brethren eat meat sacrificed to idols" and by that commit "fornication/idolatry". Speaking plainly "she" is the catholic "mother" church: "But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling." almost 1700 years the catholic faith had to repent of idolatry and sins. To this day they remain stubborn and heartless. Someone in japan needs to thouroughly tell these people their sins and that they must repent: Exodus 20:4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath."

[@alanpennie8013]

@@thealphasierra9471 The history of Japanese Christianity has been a chapter of disasters. The destruction of Urukami Cathedral (and most of its congregation) was the latest and possibly the worst.

[@alanpennie8013]

Great video. The Hidden Christians fascinate modern Japanese because they are so peculiarly Japanese themselves. But their history is a very sad one.

[@amanb8698]

Japan has a small but significant Christian presence. Nagasaki can be seen as the Roman Catholic center, Kumamoto as the Lutheran center, and other areas have Methodists and Presbyterians. Among Japanese Americans Presbyterianism, Methodism, Lutheranism, and Catholicism are the main Christian faiths. Japanese American Christian's are predominantly Protestant and Japanese Brazilian Christian's predominantly Catholic.

[@gutsjoestar7450]

they oftenly leave japan maybe to europe in great britian or france and usa

[@gutsjoestar7450]

@Goosa Poosa no it is Constantinople and Moscow

[@fatphobicandproud9003]

@Goosa Poosa I think it's Hokkaido

[@jimmu2008]

@@gutsjoestar7450 There's the autonomous Orthodox Church of Japan, headquartered in Tokyo, under the jurisdiction of the patriarch of Moscow.

[@jimmu2008]

@@fatphobicandproud9003 Possibly Hokkaido has more Orthodox Christians, but the Metropolitan (Daniel) and the cathedral (Holy Resurrection) are in Tokyo.

[@sabrinawanderer7560]

I'm in love with Japan.😇😍😍😇 i love my Christian brothers and sisters there. 😇

[@deborahhouck1519]

God bless you in Jesus name 🙏💞

[@gutsjoestar7450]

this is thanks to portuguese spanish and american traders

[@OperationEndGame]

One of the most powerful Japanese warlords during the Warring Era allowed Christianity to flourish in his domain... Imagine if Oda Nobunaga became a Shogun...

[@velazquezarmouries]

supposedly iustus takayama ukon is now a catholic saint

[@hachiman6585]

thank god he didn’t

[@noticemesenpai69]

hachiman why?

[@Chankei-iv1dk]

Ukon Takayasu was endorsed as beatus, one rank lower than saint.

[@OperationEndGame]

@@Chankei-iv1dk his adopted Christian name was Dom Justo... I think Ukon and Gracia Hosokawa are not yet beatified... There is a rumor that Oda Nobunaga also had an adopted Christian name... Some accounts he was known as Geronimo, this is not yet substantiated.

[@ricardusdanisworo3086]

Roman Catholic Church in Japan quite unique, They are as old as Korean and Chinese, but the growing number of disciples as not as strong like Korea and China,

[@m.goretti1046]

Wow. I would die for Christ too😓 nothing above Him and nothing can replace Him.

[@joaomarcostroquez]

@Ignacio González actually no. You could argue that being mixed with budhism is what killed the religion. Pure Christianity stands strong

[@gibzotta]

Amen!

[@wolfthequarrelsome504]

@@joaomarcostroquez yes. The Catholic church is still there.. And has been for 4 centuries.

[@_chados]

Our Lady of Akita, pray for Japan.

[@teresalugun7662]

Early Christian were sufffered more than the Christian now a days but still the early Christian were didn't quit to preaching the Gospel because of the good news to proclaiming or spread ove whole japan. Its a great job early Catholic Christians were did. Its prais able.

[@marcmarc8524]

Teresa Lugun. More christians were killed in the 20th century than in the first 4 centuries.

[@rell0223]

christians in the middle east and africa are still being executed for their faith.

[@sa5m225]

sadly it's goes on in the India, Middle East, China etc.

[@borneandayak6725]

I'm Catholic and it was interesting tu see the Catholic inculturation here, very unique....

[@spaceslav8954]

I consider places like this proof that we really are Christ's "Catholic" "Universal" Church.

[@knuckles9863]

@Timothy Rivera Bitch shut up and sit down

[@coolbeansmate2324]

@@knuckles9863 1. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). 2. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) You have been mislead by the GOLDEN church of Catholicism. Please, read the bible for yourself before you cement yourself into whatever random belief your parents learned to you.

[@knuckles9863]

@@coolbeansmate2324 ok prot

[@jackharwood3868]

@@coolbeansmate2324 If you read the Bible, you read a book given to you by the Catholic Church

[@rafaburdzy449]

Great report

[@josemiguelmenesesalmeida1538]

About one affirmation in the beginning of the documentary, allow me correct, but were not the spanish but the portuguese missionaries to introduce the christianity in Japan, under the rule of king John III (in fact "João"). Your confusion probably lays in the fact of saint Francis Xavier was spanish, but he travelled from Lisbon, Portugal, to Macau and then to Japan, under the enterprise of spreading faith within the portuguese empire, under the will of the jesuits and the portuguese King. It´s interesting to study this fact: they were in fact the first european country to reach Japan, because of theri possesions nearby, in Macau (portuguese territory in China, since 1553 to 1999) and Goa, Damão and Diu ("portuguese India", so to speak, since the 16th century also). In fact whereas the portuguese spread al over the 5 continents the christianity, long before other european people. Finally, there are portuguese words in japanese and vice versa. And it is worth know the namban art, representing the arrival of the portuguese vessels - naus, caravels, and carracs - trading from portuguese Macau. Nothing better than see the film "Silence" from Martin Scorcese. Please, please, correct that error! Thanks (the scientific history thanks you so).

[@mackenziewhethers1257]

They carried the light through the dark ages of their country and now they are free.

[@jesusislordsavior6343]

Mackenzie Whethers They surely don't act free, if they are 'hidden'. How do worship of God and worship of idols fit together? This is syncretism, not Christianity, by the look of it. God sent the ancient Jews into exile in Babylon as punishment for their syncretism. He does not like it.

[@alanpennie8013]

@@jesusislordsavior6343 It's a kind of religious Darwinism. Those who proudly avowed their faith were immediately killed. Only those who were prepared to disavow it survived.

[@jesusislordsavior6343]

@@alanpennie8013 Of course, this hardly requires explanation. It is a difficult thing for most people to accept these days, when physical life on earth is widely believed to be the only thing worth preserving, for as long as possible: but there were those who chose death over denial of their faith. That is the supreme affirmation of faith. Have you read about Stephen the first martyr of the Church?

[@alanpennie8013]

@@jesusislordsavior6343 How marvellously complacent you are.

[@jesusislordsavior6343]

@@alanpennie8013 How so? You are really judging my character, which is not yours to do. Even I am not competent to analyze my own motives. If you were a friend or a fellow-believer, I might pay more attention to such criticism. But in your case, the difference between censure and disagreement is unclear. But if you have an argument to present, by all means present it.

[@RedSurprises]

Very anti-Catholic in the comments, it's very sad to see this.

[@fenecofeneco19]

What did you expect ? They think thay are showing simpathy ..it's actually indirectly showing superiority.

[@rhodesianwojak2095]

ironic name there

[@8thdayadventist911]

Catholics are pagans.

[@cardinalwilson8034]

@@arturobuco lol

[@amlecciones]

@@8thdayadventist911 Extra Eclessia Nulla Sanctus. When the full realization of that comes to fore, you'll realize it's no laughing matter, the determination of the true Church.

[@phph1701]

arigato gozaimas Japanese christians for believing in Jesus, the one true God. salvation has come

[@insuspectedrulling1082]

Duh keep your belief to yourself

[@patersmurfus3965]

Yes

[@rell0223]

@@insuspectedrulling1082 someones asshurt 🤣🤣🤣

[@jub8891]

why do documentary/news shows today have to be so pessimistic.. blah blah 'uncertain future'.. its like they are gloating in the idea of having less religious people in the world..

[@rhodesianwojak2095]

*they are

[@MrVipasana]

I hope that is the future. The world will be better for it.

[@savedemperor8024]

@@MrVipasana no it won't the world would be a very sad place but in my opinion Christianity survived for 2000 years i don't think it will soon go away only one false religion should dissappear then the world would be a better place and that is Islam.

[@MrVipasana]

SavedEmperor lol Ok All organized religion is curse on humanity. Some are worse than others, I’ll give you that. Roman Catholic church is one of the worst.

[@robertkirby8685]

@@savedemperor8024 The world would be better off if organized religion in general goes away.

[@rainmanslim4611]

christianity in Japan is very different to how we know it. in Japan christianity is combined with local shintoism and buddhism, creating a very interresting mish-mash of faith.

[@mackenziewhethers1257]

Rainman Slim I heard that they just made their prayers sound like Buddhist and shintoist chants to hide their faith.

[@luisrincon7819]

Rainman Slim That's called syncretism.

[@shrivak]

Sadly, when they do that, it is no longer christianity.

[@theconclusivesovereignauth5313]

The Overcast as one can go from Christianity, to Christianity that seems like heresy to heresy-:- One can go back to Christianity with minor cultural influence

[@theredcomet844]

That's how any religion spreads. That's how Christianity spread. Western Christianity has plenty of Greek influence.

[@snowflakeartwork]

神は愛である / God is love ♡ Nihonmachi 日本町 historical Japanese communities in Southeast and East Asia (Christians)

[@CarolinaSanctos88]

Ummm this is wrong. The first missionaries and Europeans to make contact with Japan were the PORTUGUESE

[@MrEjidorie]

Crypto-Christians in Japan decided to co-exist with Japanese indigenous religions peacefully, and that`s why their faith could survive. Japanese culture is characterized by such polytheistic nature.

[@m.goretti1046]

My next destination is Akita, to the Shrine of Our Lady of Akita. The apparition of Mother Mary in Akita, and maybe this place too❤️🙏🙏🙏

[@deankostas7214]

Rulers of Japan after 1848, and Western culture having penetrated their closed society, quickly adopted western nations advanced technology. Unfortunately, they retained their militaristic social and religious beliefs. This led to horrendous retribution to their citizens in WW11. Todays, progressive. realistic Japanese citizens and rulers may come to realize that Christianity is not an exclusive religion of western nations. As Apostle Paul taught, There is neither Greek, nor Jew, but all (nations and persons) are equal.

[@user-hr8dx9qw4n]

LETS HOPE THAT CHRISTIANITY WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO DESTROY THE WONDERFUL BUDDHISTIC AND SHINTOISTIC CULTURE OF THIS UNIQUE LAND JAPAN.

[@ryanwiranata]

I don't see people complain when lgbt is ruining the basic moral value of every culture

[@ryanwiranata]

Or when atheism growing.

[@deborahhouck1519]

Its so sad how unclear the truth is.

[@Alejojojo6]

Spanish missionaries were crucial. Francisco Xavier,Cosme de Torres (a Jesuit priest) and Juan Fernandez were the first who arrived in Kagoshima with hopes to bring Catholicism to Japan. In fact, the first mission of Japanese Christians to Europe wanted to meet the Spanish king, no so much the portuguese one...

[@Fairfax40DaysforLife]

Unfortunately, this is what happens Christians attempt to survive by compromising their testimony. The church must preach Christ exclusively or it ceases to be the church. If you deny Christ among men He will deny you to His father in heaven. Yes, it's easy for those of us who don't live in persecuted nations to be judgemental, but I'm only repeating what Jesus told us.

[@lava12.23]

Not Spanish, Portuguese missionaries, there is a difference, Spain went exploring other parts of the world per agreement with the Portuguese.

[@carlnilssonyoung8961]

In the states or canada, these decendents families would hv sued the governments to compensate them.

[@jesusislordsavior6343]

carl Nilsson Young Yes indeed. But don't expect the Japanese government to compensate anyone. There has been no fulsome apology for their war crimes committed against other Asian peoples during the 1930s and 1940s, or their attempted cultural genocide of Koreans during the occupation of 1910-45. Korean Presbyterians, as I have read, stood up and refused to swear oaths to the Japanese emperor, who was regarded as a divinity by the Japanese. (And North Korea copied this tradition from the Japanese, after driving out or destroying most of their Christian population).

[@rogerabrego8990]

Sorry but the Spanish nor the Portuguese introduced Christianity to Japan. Long before catholic missionaries arrived thousands and thousands of Christian lived here. They were Nestorian christians... so Christians with a very sense of an oriental system of though. Their beliefs and behavior were never troubling with the official Japanese religion ( Shintoism) in the same way Buddhism also was not. Their impact on Japanese society was a steady and discreet for centuries. When the Catholics arrived here it was too bad for most of the christians remanscent from the first nestorians, as for roman catholics, specialy at that time, being too much on imposing west thought and very centralized power of the Pope.

[@deborahhouck1519]

That's interesting. Thank you.

[@miguelclara2668]

That is not accurate. Christianism had never arrived to Japan before, you are confunding with India where S. Thomas arrived and died and left a nestorian cult that the portuguese met when they arrived to India. Also in China different franciscan missionaries had arrived there in the times the mongolian empire allowed safe travels between Europe and China (13th and 14th century), the time when Marco Polo did is travels there. But no european or mediterranean had ever arrived to Japan before the portuguese arrived there in 1542-43.

[@SonofSethoitae]

There is no concrete proof of Nestorian Christians in Japan, let alone a sizable population of them.

[@uvynelantiquina8198]

MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF MY MASTER AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST ❤️ REIGN IN ME AND IN THE LIVES OF ALL MEN 🙏 AMEN

[@Lxcis]

Here's some facts because I actually study this in Yokohama: Japanese leaders initially thought the Christian missionaries were Buddhists from India. Once they realised they were another religion they were still tolerant of Japanese Christians. Japanese Christians were tolerant and lived normal lives for the most part. The intolerance from European Missionaries and Europeans in Japan is what began the oppression against Christians. This oppression increased when Japanese people would hear reports of Europeans colonising Asia and Africa. Japanese leaders began to think Christianity and European colonialism and imperialism was the same as Christianity, which only furthered oppression against them. Japanese Christians and Buddhists (people always forget that many Buddhist sects were going through the same thing in favour of Shintoism) started a revolt against their oppressors and lost. Finally leading to a complete ban on Christianity.

[@TempleofBrendaSong]

Sage of 6 paths could you blame them???

[@joshuamelton9148]

@@TempleofBrendaSong Not just a complete ban but wholesale genocide.

[@gutsjoestar7450]

people often say japanese don't have religion or are atheist while it's fake they have or at least msot of them had a religion around their emperor i think it's wasn't a religion but they had a sort of cult for their emperor and traditional value where they were ready to kill themselves for the emperor as we've seen kamikaze during world war II when japan were struuglign against american but there is indeed Christian is japan but they often move to europe or america

[@joshualeishman8861]

If you go to Kyoto there’s hundreds of bhuddist and Shinto /way of God Temples and shrines from the ancient era

[@relaxchil5796]

When Jesus said, if you love and follow me, the world will hate you because satan is the ruler of this world. This is prove the word of our Lord is true, rejoice in suffering for the kingdom of God is ours.

[@hartonoX69]

Good news

[@jesusislordsavior6343]

hartono dyx How is it 'good news' when Christians 'blend in' with the rest and DO NOT preach the Good News of Jesus Christ? HE is the Good News.

[@jigme7486]

Can you make a documentary about early bhuddist about Pakistan and Afghanistan????

[@murasakiryu]

It wasn’t the Spanish. It was the Portuguese. How you can get it so wrong from the very start is beyond me.

[@ak9989]

Turning Japanese, Japanese, Japanese I really think so think so think so.

[@TempleofBrendaSong]

Viva la Nuestra Señora Amaterasu.

[@RG-iw7py]

'Two' Mary's? That's not right. One on the left looks just like a popular depiction of 'Mary feeding Baby Jesus'. I was told it's nice to have one in the kitchen and ask Mother Mary to intercede for us so this household will have food always. Seems they were able to afford more than one picture of one and only Mother Mary. So sad they accept Holy Communion on hands, not traditionally.

[@reeyees50]

One is virgin mary with jesus AKA Mary mother of Jesus while the other is Virgin Mary after her assumption AKA Blessed Virgin Mary

[@felipegome1]

The tenacity of these people is simply ... wonderful. They are all blessed to keep their faith for so long. However, I can see many heretics, raving their lunatic theories about the Holy Catholic Church. Their rage is nothing more than the result of the lack of tradition, biblical foundation, and the perversity of the bizarre theology their protestant sects carry with'em. None heretical difamation will break two millenia of tradition.

[@Tom19142]

Of course, look at the Dutch what they have done...

[@feelinglikeaceowithqueenal8019]

what?

[@feelinglikeaceowithqueenal8019]

is man made tradition a good thing no

[@feelinglikeaceowithqueenal8019]

but your the ones that worship mary

[@feelinglikeaceowithqueenal8019]

and again it's the rcc

[@DuNguyen-my4rq]

We pay high price for kobe beef and Blue fin tuna because japanese fishermen and farmers were catholics ??? they were poor and in lower classes, Franciscan fathers converted them easy by telling them there is perfect life after this. ????

[@jjthompson2830]

the almighty is the one and true god no matter what race you are free to worship the lord who cares what people say I dont believe persecution

[@mackenziewhethers1257]

jj Thompson they were often killed for their beliefs, so fleeing underground was the only way to protect the faith in Japan.

[@USA50_]

Blessed Be Christians & Jews of Japan 🇺🇲☺️❤️🇯🇵 ✡️✝️

[@hismajestyericcartmanthese5755]

To believe in Jesus Christ you must renounce Buddhism and all other faiths

[@amegalodonwithinternetacce5863]

They are shinto Edit:shinto

[@Tom19142]

@@amegalodonwithinternetacce5863 Shinto-buddhist

[@MrVipasana]

To renounce everything over a fairy tale is madness.

[@Flowing_Waters]

@@MrVipasana Why would you call it a fairy tale when we have 400 witnesses of Jesus Christ and him dying on the cross. The bible has been translated in every language and the most published/sold book in history. Harvard has bible college , why would I believe your fairy tales over Jesus Christ , the son of God. You sir are just foolish and cant understand that the HOLY BIBLE is in fact a historical document comprised of 66 ancient manuscripts of that time period. This is 2020 years after Christ's resurrection. You sir are the one believing in fairy tales not accepting Jesus Christ and this untimely leads to fools claiming righteous judgment. This will be the downfall of civilization because our laws and courts in the west are based off of morality from God, not atheism or false religions.

[@MrVipasana]

Matthew Squire hahaha

[@bonniemoon6790]

Are there any Baptist churches in Japan?

[@mowiamifaszystamowcybernet8434]

Who even cares?

[@madsden.2162]

Actually, there are a very few..

[@pokelover82]

They're not as numerous as Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, and I think even Mormon churches, but Baptist churches are there.

[@alanpennie8013]

@@pokelover82 They have around 250 churches.

[@patrickbass3542]

This article is an extremely superficial view of "religion" in Japan.

[@alanpennie8013]

It's about a tiny fringe sect, not "religion in Japan".

[@selvagemlatino7050]

Precisam entender que o fim sera um recomeco. E as dividas que existem vao acabar quando ocorrer o colapso imobiliario nas cidades destinadas a destruicao. Simplesmente vao recomecar em outro sistema. Cada cidade tera seu dominio de gemas minerais no sistema . E assim terao tudo novamente. Sem esse problema de dividas hereditarias ou sucessorias ou de acidentes naturais.

[@TheoCynical]

"...Challenged by the indifference of the modern world." That's insulting. Its history. They're now just Christians. We record other atrocities for the sake of learning from them. They seem to be sadly following traditionalist Catholic beliefs. Worshipping their 'closet god'; ritualizing the departing blessing. Its saddening and foolish! *sigh* Thank you for the video but I can't believe that this is just because of their ancestors. I'd rather them believe it as their own religion; rather than an ancestor-bound religion that they HAVE to do because they might be cursed if they don't. I don't understand it.

[@mackenziewhethers1257]

donnell outlaw it's very simple, within Asian cultures, the honoring of ancestors is very important. This is why while western societies rise and fall the Japanese have the oldest ongoing monarchy in the world. And why Asian cultures are the oldest.

[@sforza209]

So is Christianity still outlawed in Japan?

[@jak7138]

No

[@pokelover82]

No, these people seem to just have the tradition deeply ingrained in them so they still like to act as they are Buddhists. From what I've heard, Japan allows for a very large degree of religious freedom today.

[@rhodesianwojak2095]

by 1940 Christianity was recognized by the Japanese government as an official religion alongside Shintoism and Budshism

[@alanpennie8013]

@@pokelover82 The practice of Christianity was forbidden under pain of death for about 250 years. Christians had to conceal their faith (and what was worse had to publicly renounce it). The only Western comparison would be the Marranos of Spain and Portugal.

[@plattehills6969]

As the narrator said this is not Christianity but tradition. It explains why the Catholics are so interested in them.

[@alanpennie8013]

The Catholics regard them as eccentric but do not refuse them the sacraments. Japanese respect them because they preserve the memory of those who resisted the Tokugawa tyranny.

[@user-pw1rr2vm8b]

This isn't Christianity but paganism. The Roman Catholic Church doesn't teach these beliefs.

[@Carlo-qj5jl]

AD MAJOREM DEI GLORIAM

[@truthhearit1471]

Arcane religion is horrible way to describe Christianity in Japan.

[@valmarsiglia]

You mean Portuguese missionaries.

[@Navili502]

Why are these "Christians" participating in Buddhist ritual? This is a terrible scandal. The cultus latriae is offered solely to God alone and not to these gentile idols in superstitious rites. St. Agnes of Rome chose martyrdom, refusing to even offer a pinch of incense to the "gods" of the Roman Pantheon, and she is rewarded most graciously in heavenly beatitude.

[@SonofSethoitae]

Because they were cut off from their church for hundreds of years, and persecuted so thoroughly that their beliefs had to be contorted into strange forms to survive. You can't expect people to unlearn stuff like that overnight.

[@Navili502]

@@SonofSethoitae There are no such persecutions, scarceness of catechism nor scarceness of the Sacraments when this clip documented these religious practices. It's modern Japan! Even if there were such trials, it does not excuse these practices which are in violation of the very First Commandment! Like I said before, St. Agnes was only a teenager when she lived and died a martyr in good faith during the bloodiest and most brutal persecutions of the Antichrist Emperor Diocletian. There are many others like her in the west and in Japan's history that chose death than break the 1st Commandment.

[@SonofSethoitae]

@@Navili502 I said they _were_ , not that they _are currently_ . And like I said, you can't expect people to unlearn persecution like that overnight.

[@alanpennie8013]

@@SonofSethoitae When Christianity again became legal most of the Hidden Christians became mainstream Catholics but others stuck to the practice of their ancestors.. I think though that they do make use of priests and sacraments now they have access to them.

[@arinrumi]

What's wrong with combining culture and religion? I'm christian but I'm also Javanese etnicity. I can't renounce that. It's in my blood.

[@pedrocabral4498]

Portuguese missionaries not spain

[@cosmicskepticfangirl1356]

Japan, please stay away from worshipping Saklas

[@hafidhusen1537]

Yyy

[@kapatip9936]

CHRISTIANITY IS THE ONLY TRUE RELIGION. JESUS CHRIST ALONE IS KING & SAVIOUR. JAPAN FOR CHRIST.

[@gutsjoestar7450]

yes;

[@user-sz1vv4vw2n]

🍊🍊🍊🍊🍊🍫

[@user-tj2vp9zf6f]

لا اله الا الله

[@fabioparra2711]

Catholic would be a so enriched religion without the coercive immersion of some popes and cardinals.

[@jimmyhoffa2530]

I wish modern christianity would stop paying homage to Mary the "queen of heaven".

[@gutsjoestar7450]

mary queen of scots i'd be simping for her

[@luckysuva2904]

What you japanis think about Islam?

[@ajshim]

From what my Japanese friends tell me is that they don't care for it. Japan is mostly Shinto Buddhists, so Islam is not something they are fond of.

[@rhodesianwojak2095]

it's cringe vro

[@gutsjoestar7450]

there is no islam is japan

[@jesusislordsavior6343]

I'm not going to sit in judgment on these 'hidden Christians', but WHY ARE THEY HIDDEN? (Matthew 5:14-15) 'You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.' Why are they 'embedded' among buddhist idolaters with their VAIN religion? (2nd Corinthians 6:14) 'Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?' Are they afraid of being killed by their buddhist neighbors? Wont' the Japanese police defend them? This sounds BAD from every angle.

[@mariomurillo7586]

It has nothing to do with that. The kakure kirishitan are nominally Christians, but their practices are rooted in the secrecy of their ancestors for centuries. When the Meiji Restoration took place, thousands upon thousands of them opted out of mainstream Christianity. They remain hidden because it became a feature of their faith and their practices. At some point the act of concealment of their faith became a part of their ethos, so getting rid of it felt like cutting off a limb.You're quoting the bible, yet they didn't have a Japanese version of the Bible from the time of conversion to the 19th century (300 years), so their doctrine relies not on the book but on tradition. That's why I say they are nominally Christian. In the practice, they are something quite different.

[@jesusislordsavior6343]

@@mariomurillo7586 Quite different indeed. Well put. Great point about lack of access to Scripture. I know very little of Japanese history, but what you say makes sense. Secrecy about one's faith certainly does NOT conform with the commands of Jesus or the example of the New Testament Church. Scripture has a number of 'litmus tests', as it were, and one of these is found in Romans 10:9, which says 'that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.' There are people who cannot physically bring themselves to say, 'Jesus is Lord,' because the thought is so repugnant and alien to them. Or a person who knows the truth yet lacks inner conviction might stay quiet, and eventually that knowledge would decay. Expression of faith, even at the cost of opposition, usually strengthens it. (Matthew 10:32-33) 'Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men , I will also confess him before My Father who in in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in the heaven.' So the faith and the witness are interlocked. I see the opposite side of the coin in my own country, where secular humanism has become the overwhelmingly dominant ideology within my own lifetime, and church attendance is much lower than it used to be. Yet no one has persecuted the Church here, and public access to Bibles has been continuous.

[@mariomurillo7586]

@@jesusislordsavior6343 , well, I'm an atheist, so I don't see this from the point of view of the strenghtening of faith by expression in the face of opposition. I see the historical situation of Japanese Christians. The ancestors of the people in this video could not express their faith or they would be tortured and killed. Even when there were uprisings (and there were a few), the samurai government annihilated the hidden religious groups (Christians and some Buddhists). So secrecy became a part of their faith and acquired the status of symbol. If they expressed their faith in secret, then secret was a part of their identity and ethos. That's what these people in this video were transmitted and that's why they behave the way they behave.

[@jesusislordsavior6343]

@@mariomurillo7586 I see. Sorry to hear that you are an atheist. I don't know how you arrived there, or if it was always that way. But change is possible. I once lived without ANY knowledge of the evidences for the Gospel, though I had been to church a number of times as a child. Even after I became convinced of the reality of Jesus' Resurrection, which we celebrate today, I did not understand its implications for MY life. It is my hope for others, that they might 'catch on' more quickly than I did, for it took several years between first exposure and conversion in my case. I have never regretted for a split second the change which came over me, and it has been nearly forty years since. But no question about it, living an active Christian life generates opposition, often starting within one's own family. This is true in 'free' societies, though we seldom have to worry about physical intimidation. If atheism becomes more entrenched, this could change. Jesus said that unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. (Not seeing involves lack of perception, and how can one attain to what one does not perceive?) Physical birth is used as a metaphor for spiritual regeneration. Before we put our trust in Christ, we are essentially 'dead' to spiritual things. (Let us not confuse the 'spiritual' with the 'numinous' or with powerful aesthetic experiences.) (1st Corinthians 2:14) 'But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.' One can't really talk oneself into becoming a Christian, or arrive there by rational argument. On the other hand, faith involves intellectual commitment. A 'faith' which relies solely upon private experience, or which consists of ritual observances and little else, is bound to be a superficial one.

[@mariomurillo7586]

@@jesusislordsavior6343 well, I live in a country (Iceland) mostly populated by atheists, agnostics and people generally disinterested in religion. And no religious group is persecuted, so I doubt that an increase in the number of atheists would threaten believers as long as democratic institutions survive (contrary to, say, a communist dictatorship like North Korea). That applies for any government, since in some places atheists are the ones persecuted. As to the superficiality of faith based on rituals, I don't consider these "Christians" in the video to be Christians in a conventional sence. However, ritual is a feature of all religions and forms of faith. Protestan Christianity is as full of rituals as any other religion in the world. They take different forms, but I think that anthropologically the inclination towards rituals is as pervasive in Christianity as it is in Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. Some rituals and religions choose a more personal approach and others a more communal one, but the trend tends to be common to all.

[@terror1234]

Spanish missionaries 😨😨😨 ??? 😂😂😂😂 ahahahahaha

[@connordrake5713]

It's true. Spaniards was active in spreading Christianity in Japan since their base was on the Philippines and it's literally near in Japan. The first saint in the Philippines was a martyr of Faith in Japan.

[@terror1234]

​@@connordrake5713From written history, the first to take the Catholic religion to Japan enjoyed the Portuguese 😅 but you can change history.

[@darinshelkhaling8480]

Sadly this is Manipulation of Christianity to a great extent .. With no relative importance given to Jesus Christ , the "Christ " in Christian .and only to Mary, that too 2 marys Actually Christianity should revolve around Christ Jesus alone..

[@darinshelkhaling8480]

Pray that the right revelation of Christian life according to the Bible alone, like those first New Testament church be established worldwide and not of our inspiration or anything as such . Because Christianity is not a religion but a way of life. Not about rituals traditions etc but about loving Jesus and doing accordingly

[@Flowing_Waters]

@@darinshelkhaling8480 I agree with you , Jesus even said in the Bible that most people who call themselves Christians will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Just remember , Satan loves pretending to be truth when he is a liar. Before his fall, he was Lucifer the angel of light, very high ranking in heaven(2nd to God). He is very cunning when it comes to twisting the truth and corrupting scripture. The only way to be with our creator in heaven is through Jesus Christ alone, no religion or false teacher will pervert my walk with Jesus and I hope the same for you sir. God bless your soul through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[@yuugaouzuki18]

gotta be honest. this is just too sad. why? cuz it looks like another religion with rituals. true Christians don't do rituals nor worship pictures or images. and God is not being "enshrined" in something here on earth. God is sitting on His throne in Heaven.

[@mariomurillo7586]

Christians have rituals. Buddhists have riatusls, Muslims have rituals. Ritual is an aspect of religion and human behaviour that Chistianity can't get rid of. Any anthropologist can attest to that. Going to church, daily prayer, etc, these are all rituals of Christianity.

[@nakymawlot]

@@mariomurillo7586 we Christian don't do ritual... We talk to God like a talking to any human

[@mariomurillo7586]

@@nakymawlot, of course christians have rituals, church going, devotional study, set prayer practices. Human activity is marked by rituals and symbolic acts, of which Chirstians are not exempted. Any anthropologist would point out to the rituals of Christianity in its many denominations

[@arinrumi]

I'm pretty sure that praying in daily basis is a ritual.

[@wolfthequarrelsome504]

How do for know they are "worshipping images"? Did you ask them? You are dumb.. Aren't you

[@LandonRoy-cv9rt]

All religion is a joke, if you’re religious...then you’re a joke

[@sergeypaliy6361]

Landon Roy Religion has nothing in common with God our Creator. Jesus is real,living God and He is not religion. Repent and believe in Lord Jesus Jesus and you will be saved!

[@catherinecastle8576]

There is pure unadulterated spiritual Christianity and then there are all the many man made religions (fleshly and worldly) of national Christendom (Western Christianized Civilization). Even so, I admire the people who die for their faith...but, just like other religious or humanist belief systems, if they are dying for a belief system (religious or humanist) not rooted in the person and personality of Jesus Christ, then their beliefs and all their good works (including being willing to die) is but a stench in the Bible God's nose... Worship of ancestors, worship of the Queen of Heaven, along with Priest Confession, has nothing to do with Christianity. What a person believes or what they do as part of their system of belief is of course their right...but, please, let's stop calling everyone who calls themselves a Christian, a Christian! I'm here to defend the Bible and the Followers of Jesus. Paganism (Shinto, Buddhism, Islam, Voodoo, Hinduism, and suchlike) has nothing to do with New Testament Christianity, and Judaism and Christendom's religions (Romanism. Protestantism, Mormonism, and the lesser religions like Jehovah Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists), while somewhat knowledgeable of the Bible, have little to do with Spirit-led New Testament Christianity. Pure NT Christianity is only for Holy Spirit-led Followers of only Jesus, Creator and Savior, King of kings, soon to return and restore the earth and humanity to law and order, grace and mercy. All humanity should get the eyes of their souls off of all the religious and humanist, worldly and fleshly, distractions and read chapter one of the gospel of the Book of John, and Galatians Chapter five, until you meet Holy God. Meeting Holy God changes everything! No more religion! No more reading and praying, no more guessing and wondering. Not all who are called are chosen, but, even just the desire for it, the unwillingness to accept nothing less than pure unadulterated (no Paganism, no Humanism, no religiousness) New Testament Christianity, wanting nothing less than to meet Jesus, pleases the Holy Bible God more than you might know. Mary Worship is NOT New Testament Christianity. But, if theses Japanese (so called) Christians have never received the pure Word of God, not the knowledge of it nor the Spirit of it, I believe Holy God would be somewhat less angry with them on Judgement Day than Hell be with those born into Christendom (Western Christianized Civilization) who received the Holy Bible onto their hands (with churches on every corner, bible stores, the Lord's Prayer in schools, In God We Trust on it's money), yet, who rejected or neglected "so great a salvation" in favor of worldly materialistic ambitions or opportunity to indulge every kind of fleshly impulse, normal or deviant....and, worse, to institute adulterated Bible religions that prevent souls from meeting Jesus. The path of the called, and especially the chosen, is a difficult one, and lonely, but, once you're on that path, like birds migrating south, or salmon swimming against the current to get to their spawning grounds, the inherent pull of the Holy Spirit on the soul is undeniable and, more importantly, it's liberating. It's freedom from the deceit and corruption of humanity that, without the Spirit of God at work aren't n them, as "dead men walking"... Please, if anyone reads this, bow your head today and tell the Bible God you want only Jesus...not the Queen of Heaven, not priests, not superstitions and ancestor worship, not idols, not worldly achievements or fleshly indulgences...tell God you want nothing and no one but Jesus. Only Jesus. May the Holy God bless you greatly if you do this one thing.

[@reeyees50]

Hey genius, buddism and islam are NOT PAGANISM. Reconsider.....plus all religions are god given to mankind for worship of him

[@catherinecastle8576]

@reeyees50 Knowing that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, I'll refrain... why not just provide your definition of paganism and explain why Buddhism and Islam aren't Pagan. I mean, there are only 3 major belief systems. Judeo Christianity. Paganism. Atheism. Buddhism and Islam are neither Judeo Christianity nor Atheism. So, what are they, if not Pagan? Please explain. As for "all religions are god given to mankind to worship him," how can any belief system that doesn't require salvation lead to worship a Holy God who absolutely and without compromise requires we believe in the salvation of humankind on His terrms, not ours, and Who gave humans a Savior and requires that we receive our Savior as God's Only Begotten Son, as no other name than Jesus, and nothing we do or say, can save us, can save us from God's wrath yet to come upon the anti salvationists, Pagan or Atheist. Even some Judeo Christians are in trouble with Holy God because their loyalty is to worldly ambition and fleshly indulgences rather than loyal to Jesus. Islam, a cult founded by an emotionally immature oversexed male narcissist warlord, requires the killing of infidels and apostates as well as blowing one's self up to enter paradise to receive their 72 big eyed big breasted virgins. We can only imagine what awaits Muslim women, eh??? Jesus, able to forgive even His enemies, at least, until He returns to testore law and order, died on our behalf so that we don't have to blow ourselves up nor kill others to prove our loyalty. As you can see, differences matter.

[@feelinglikeaceowithqueenal8019]

christians aand catholics are different

[@TakeUpYourCross]

All Catholics are Christian. Not all Christians are Catholic. There are thousands of Protestant denominations and more splitting off every day.

[@feelinglikeaceowithqueenal8019]

@@TakeUpYourCross catholics are not christians

[@savedemperor8024]

@@feelinglikeaceowithqueenal8019 yes they are

[@knuckles9863]

dumb heretic bitch.

[@gutsjoestar7450]

no it's the same thing in Christianity there is Catholic and orthodoxe and and forms of reformists like protestant present in northern europe and america but there is no differences because catholicism and roman church IS Christianity

[@nickihill1863]

Catholicism isn't Christianity

[@Mionikoi]

Nicki Hill yes and no.

[@Mionikoi]

chong joshua If you call yourself a Christian, have this much restraint or lack thereof then I must implore that you make it a point to search for Jesus.

[@Mionikoi]

chong joshua Not at all.

[@nickihill1863]

Ha Ha Im not a protestant. Never wanted to be. Im sorry if I offended you. I just want people to realize the truth.

[@ak9989]

@KOCOBO JE SRBIJA ! Lutheranism is so 16th Century.