The Gist of Japan: The Islands, Their People, and MissionsPeery, R. B. (Rufus Benton)
Religion
The Gist of Japan: The Islands, Their People, and Missions
Peery, R. B. (Rufus Benton)
Japan -- Social life and customs; Missions -- Japan
Besides the theological schools there are large numbers of academical
schools for young men, in which a great deal of mission money is spent.
In justification of these it is argued that they are necessary for the
preparatory training of evangelists. It is said that the education of
these future pastors of the church should be Christian from the
beginning, and this is true. But more than half the evangelists now
laboring in Japan have not received such training. The education they
received from government and private schools answers very well in their
case. Actual experience has proved that, whatever may be the {254} aim
of these academies, as a matter of fact they do not train evangelists.
Most of the men who take their full course enter other professions.
One of the oldest missions in Japan, employing about twenty
evangelists, has among them only one man who has taken the full
academical course in its mission college; but many men have been
educated at the church's expense for other professions.
Again, it is said in justification of these academies and their large
expenditure of mission money that a Christian education must be
provided for the children of the constituency of the mission. The
church provides a Christian education for her sons and daughters at
home; why should she not do it for her wards abroad? Far be it from me
to attempt to minimize the importance of Christian education; but will
it not be time enough for such education when the constituency of the
native church feels its need to such an extent that it will demand this
education itself, support the schools with its money, and send its sons
and daughters to them? At present even the Christian people frequently
prefer a government school to a mission school; and they often send
their children to the latter, when they do send them, because they will
there be given financial aid.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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