Religion in JapanCobbold, George A. (George Augustus)
Religion
Religion in Japan
Cobbold, George A. (George Augustus)
Buddhism; Christianity; Japan -- Religion; Shinto
chiefly confined to the great thoroughfares of the principal cities; while
the circle of his acquaintance will, it is likely, be equally restricted,
and equally unrepresentative of English life. Not that, in saying this, we
would seek to excuse ourselves, or deny that there is far more truth than
we could wish, and than there ought to be, in the charges brought against
us. We would merely submit that there is another side to the picture which
ought not, in fairness, to be overlooked. Admitting as we must, for
instance, the great prevalence of infidelity in our England of to-day,
there is yet to be placed over against it,—and may I not add, drawing it
out into the light?—the increased activity of the Church during this last
half-century, the remarkable power she has exhibited of adapting herself
to meet the needs of her times, the influence for good that she has not
only been in the past, but remains at the present day, in the nation at
large, and in thousands and thousands of English homes. “By their fruits
ye shall know them”: and Christianity must not and need not deprecate the
application of that test to herself. Only, we would urge, that is not a
fair judgment, which takes account only of what the Church of Jesus Christ
has failed to do, without recognizing also all that, in the strength of
her Divine Head, she has been permitted to accomplish.
V. CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN.
I propose now to place before my readers some account of the various
Missions at work in Japan. I am enabled to do this the better from having
obtained, in the course of my visit, a useful table, compiled by the Rev.
H. Loomis, of the American Bible Society, Yokohama, giving statistics of
the different organizations up to the beginning of the year 1893. The plan
adopted by Mr. Loomis is to arrange his statistics into three classes: (1)
“Protestant Missions,” (2) “Catholic Missions,” and (3) “The Greek Church
in Japan.” Under the head of “Protestant Missions,” are included the
Church of England, the Episcopal Church of America, a large number of
other American denominations, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the
Swiss Evangelical Protestant Mission, the Society of Friends, U.S.A.,
Universalists, Unitarians and others; while under the head of “Catholic
Missions” we find particulars of only one branch of the Holy Catholic
Church—the Church of Rome. This is not the arrangement I should have made
myself; but, as a matter of convenience, we will follow it more or less
closely.(29) It is right to add that of the thirty “Protestant Missions”
seven are grouped together under the title of the “Church of Christ in
Japan,” and work, it would appear, in general harmony on Presbyterian
principles. In the same way, the American Episcopal Church, the Church of
England—represented by both the Church Missionary Society and the Society
for the Propagation of the Gospel—and the Mission of Wyckliffe College,
Canada, are associated together; leaving some twenty sects working
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account