Volume 15, Issue 6 May/June 2002

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JCF News
Volume 15, Issue 6 May/June 2002
CHAPTERS MOVING ON TO A NEW ONE AGAIN
Wow. Another JET year almost over. Where has
the time gone? Now comes the time of changes and
preparations for changes as we have a new
leadership team and some people prepare to leave
Japan and others prepare to come. Once again, we
come to the end of a chapter in our lives and
prepare to move on to a new one. Life is full of
moving on to new chapters from initial faith in
Christ to our baptism to the different
experiences and stages of our lives to the time
that our lives here on earth come to an end and
we go to Heaven to be with Him. Right from the
time we chose to believe in and follow the living
God, there have been new things marking our lives
in ways that God has planned for us from the
start, knowing what the outcome would be. Our
choice to believe and later choice to obey Christ
in baptism were only beginnings in this series of
events and
the process of being transformed into the
likeness of Christ. Interestingly, there used to
be a tradition among Jewish leaders of baptizing
gentiles who wished to turn from their old ways
and follow the True and Living God. Then John
came and taught the concept of baptism unto
repentance and Jesus came and we were baptized
unto Him. It may be interesting to reflect on
what Gods done in moving you to the point where
youre at right now and possibly how He brought
you to Japan in the first place. Thats pretty
easy for me to look back on now as I sit visiting
a friends house in the town where my heart was
first turned to Japan 12 years ago. What brought
you to where you are now? Im sure it must be
interesting to look back on Gods faithfulness in
your life and His
Inside this issue Chapters Moving on to a New
One Again - 1-2 A Word from the New National
Coordinator - 3 JCF Leadership Nominations -
3 The Bible and Pacifism - 4-7 Food for Thought
Uneaten Donuts - 8-9 Champions and Challenges -
10-11 Words - 12 Announcements - 13 2002-2003
Registration Form - 14
The views expressed in JCF NEWS are not
necessarily those of the JCF Leadership Team or
JET Christian Fellowship unless specifically
stated as such. JCF NEWS seeks to present
interesting articles from JCF members at large.
It does not seek to advocate, but to be a true
forum for discussion and meditation.
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THE BIBLE AND PACIFISM Matthew Harrison and
Catherine Sinclair, Gifu-ken
The events of September 11th have evidently
sparked a good deal of debate over which is the
proper response. As people who adhere to the
Bible as not only the Truth, but also as a guide
of conduct, we are drawn to this book to provide
an answer. An article titled, "A Christian
perspective on War" that appeared in the
January/February edition of JCF News, attempted
to analyze the supposedly "Christian" perspective
on the aforementioned events. Through several
Biblical references and references to
extra-Biblical secondary sources, the article
came to the conclusion that the Bible does not
call for pacifism and that "Christians can
support this war with a clear conscience" (A
Christian perspective on War 6). We did not find
this argument to be convincing, and in the
following article we hope to share with you the
opposite conclusion. This conclusion being that
the Bible does in fact advocate a philosophy of
love over revenge, no matter what the cause, and
that Christians are therefore called to a passive
position. Turn the Other Cheek Let us begin with
a re-evaluation of Matthew 539, the "turn the
other cheek passage. The article says that this
is solely in reference to insults passed between
individuals, and is mistakenly applied to
governmental affairs. Here we shall address the
response to an assault, whether verbal or
physical. Later on we shall address whether or
not these Biblical rules of response for the
individual should be applied to the government.
The article begins by saying that the "slap on
the cheek" refers to insults, rather than a
physical attack. Whether or not this is the
proper interpretation of this passage, it would
seem logical that if
Christ preached that we should bear an insult and
not retaliate back with words of our own, then
when it came to a physical beating, we should
take this principle one step further and not
retaliate. We do not just assume this, there is
ample Biblical evidence to support this claim. In
every case in the New Testament (except one which
we will examine later) both Christ and his
disciples endure every beating, every physical
insult and not once do they ever attack back,
defend, or preach to others that they should. The
perfect example is Christ, whom we are instructed
to follow as our example in all things. Others
are Paul, Stephen, and a multitude of others who
endured torture, beatings and imprisonment
because they "considered that the present
sufferings are not worthy comparing with the
glory that will be revealed in us," (Romans
818). There is one exception in the Bible where
one of the disciples used violence. The disciple
Peter cut off the High Priest's ear in defense of
Jesus (Matthew 26 50-51). Peter was immediately
rebuked by Christ for this action. Christ said to
Peter, "Put your sword back in its place,'...,
'for all who draw the sword die by the sword,'"
(Matthew 26 52). In the book of Peter, the
writer preaches "For it is commendable if a
person bears up under the pain of unjust
suffering because he is conscious of God. ...
But if you suffer for doing good and you endure
it, this is commendable before God. To this you
were called, because Christ suffered for you
leaving you an example that you should follow in
his steps. ... When they hurled insults at him
he did not retaliate when he suffered he made no
threats. ..." (1 Peter 219-25). Furthermore,
the passage in Matthew about turning the other
cheek does
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governments are currently fighting a war in
Afghanistan. We know how we should react,
passively, but how should our government react
and what is our responsibility to our
government? First, let us examine what the
responsibility is of the individual to the
government, then we will discuss the appropriate
reaction of the latter. The New Testament
discusses the individual's obligations to
authority. Romans 131-7 declares that, "Everyone
must submit himself to the governing authority,
..."because there are no authorities that God did
not establish. This passage states that we have
then an obligation to do right and not wrong for
if we do wrong, we will be punished by these
authorities "by the sword." Therefore, we are
responsible for obeying our government. So what
does "submitting ourselves to the authorities"
entail? The passage in Romans discusses laws and
taxes as an example. Does it refer to war? Or
defending our country? Christ says to the
Pharisees, "Give unto Caesar what is Caesars
and give unto the Lord what is the Lord's,'"
(Mark 1217). There is a principle here, one
which says that we should obey our governments as
long as they do not command us to do something
that is not what God would have us do. We have
seen that we are commanded to follow Christ's
example, which is pacifism. Murder, whether it be
in the form of terrorism or in the form of
self-defense, is against everything that both God
and Christ have taught us. In the case of
September 11th, no matter how heinous the crime,
we are told to "love our enemy." This may be a
difficult thing to accept, especially for those
of us directly affected by the attack.
Nevertheless, as Christians, we are commanded not
to retaliate, despite what others may think. We
are not supposed to be of this world. Rather, we
are called to be pilgrims, "aliens and strangers
on the earth. ... longing
for a better country - a heavenly one (Hebrews
1113-16). Now let us turn to the subject of how
our governments should react. The article argues
that there are various times when war is
justified or necessary using an extra-Biblical
source, namely Timothy J. Demy. If the article
was simply discussing what the proper human
response should be towards September 11th, then
of course, referencing secondary sources in a
authoritative way (as the article has done using
Demy's list of seven criteria (A Christian
Perspective on War 7-8), is fine. But this is
not the case, rather, the article claims to
discuss the proper "Christian" response to war,
and for this we must turn to the Bible. For as
Christians we cannot accept any teaching other
than that which is supported by Biblical
evidence. Upon examination, we find that the
Bible does not make these same arguments for
justifying war. The list of seven criteria set
out by Demy assumes that war can follow one or
more of these sets of specific rules. In reality,
war is war, and whether "initiated by a
government" or "characterized by limited
objectives," brutalities and injustices will
ensue (A Christian Perspective on War Demy 8).
Because of this, whether or not our governments
embark on the war path, we, as individuals, must
choose to remain pacifist. In participating in
the war of the authority, we are bound to be
involved somehow in the brutalities that will
most definitely arise. The war of the governing
body is not "their" war, it is a war of armies,
which in turn are made up of individuals.
Therefore, because we as individuals are called
to pacifism through following the example of
Christ, then we must say that no
the "sword" mentioned in the book of Matthew as
the division that Christ's teaching will bring,
between believers and non-believers. God's
commandments to the Israelites to go to war are
also referred to as proof that Christ was not a
pacifist. However, a very important factor is
overlooked. That is, that though the Old
Testament is not to be ignored, the purpose and
goal achieved by Christ in the New Testament was
to defeat the old law and replace it with a law
of love. He declares that the two greatest
commandments are first "Love the Lord your God
with all your heart ..." and second "Love your
neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22 37-39). He
goes on to say that "All the Law and the Prophets
hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22 40).
Throughout the Old Testament, God gives the
Israelites commandments in many different areas,
such as dietary restrictions and codes of
conduct. When necessary, He commanded them to
war, but Christ came to bring a teaching of love.
Love is the dominating theme resonating through
Christ's teaching, not war, aggression or
revenge. Thus when added to the evidence above,
we can conclude with confidence that Christ was a
pacifist. Governments Vs. Individuals So far we
have concluded, through Biblical evidence, that
Christ was a pacifist and that we are commanded
to follow him as our example of the way we should
conduct ourselves. Thus we have established that
individuals should be pacifists, even in response
to physical attacks, as Christ was. But now of
course, the interesting question asked by the
article remains. That is, does pacifism apply to
governments as well as individuals? This is a
very important question with regards to the
events of September 11th, because our
not begin and end at verse 39. Reading further in
Chapter 5, the reader will see that the next
subject Christ immediately addresses is "Love
your enemies." Matthew 5 43-48 says "But I tell
you love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you." With the preceding examples, we
believe that we have offered substantial Biblical
proof that the "turn the other cheek" passage
should be applicable to all ways of being
assaulted, verbally or physically. The above
examples have also shown that we are to follow
Christ as our example, and that Christ was indeed
a pacifist. We will offer further proof of this
claim in the following section. Not Peace, but a
Sword? The article also quotes Christ as saying,
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the
earth. I did not come to bring peace but a
sword," and uses this as proof that Christ was
not a pacifist (Matthew 1034). If we turn to the
book of Luke, we find that this same quote is
recorded. But Luke says rather "I did not come to
bring peace but division," revealing that the
"sword" is a metaphor for "division" (Luke
1251). To offer further proof that this
interpretation is correct, we can return to
Matthew, where a reading of the whole of chapter
10 shows that the disciples are concerned with
the preaching of the "word" and not war! We can,
therefore, correctly assume that we can interpret
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT Uneaten Donuts
There was a boy by the name of Steve who was
attending a Seminary in Utah. In this Seminary,
classes are held during school hours. Brother C.
taught Seminary at this particular school. He
had an open-door policy and would take in any
student that had been thrown out of another class
as long as they would abide by his rules. Steve
had been kicked out of his sixth period and no
other teacher wanted him, so he went into Bro.
Cs Seminary class. Steve was told that he could
not be late, so he arrived just seconds before
the bell rang and would sit in the very back of
the room. He would be the first to leave after
the class was over. One day, Bro. C. asked Steve
to stay after class so he could talk to him.
After class, Bro. C. pulled Steve aside and said,
You think youre pretty tough dont you?
Steves answer was, Yeah, I do. How many
push-ups can you do? I do about 200 every
night. 200? Thats pretty good, Steve. Do you
think you could do 300? Steve replied, I dont
know . . . Ive never done 300 at a time. Do
you think you could? Steve hesitated, Well, I
could try. Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need
you to do 300 in sets of 10 for this to work.
Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do
it. Well . . . I think I can . . . Yeah, I can
do it. Good, Bro. C. smiled, I need you to do
it this Friday. Friday came and Steve got to
class early and sat in the front of the room.
When the class started, Bro. C. pulled out a big
box of donuts. Now these werent the normal
kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy, BIG
kind with cream centers and frosting swirls.
Everyone was pretty excited - it was Friday, the
last class of the day, and they were going to get
an early start on the weekend. Bro. C.went to
the first girl in the first row and asked,
Cynthia, do you want a donut? Cynthia said,
Yes. Bro. C. turned to Steve and asked, Steve,
would you
do ten pushups so that Cynthia can have a donut?
Steve said, Sure and jumped down from his desk
to do a quick ten. Then Steve sat in his desk.
Bro. C. put a donut on Cynthias desk. Bro. C.
then went to Joe, the next person and asked,
Joe, do you want a donut? Joe said, Yes.
Bro. C. asked, Steve, would you do ten pushups
so that Joe can have a donut? Steve did ten
pushups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down
the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every
person before they got there donut. And down the
second aisle, till Bro. C. came to Scott. Scott
was captain of the football team and Center of
the basketball team. He was very popular and
never lacking for female companionship. When
Bro. C. asked, Scott, do you want a donut?
Scotts reply was, Well, I can do my OWN
pushups. Bro. C. said, No, Steve has to do
them. Then Scott said, Well, I dont want one
then. Bro. C. then turned to Steve and asked,
Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can
have a donut he doesnt want? Steve started to
do ten pushups. Scott said, HEY! I said I
didnt want one! Bro. C. said, Look, this is
my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts.
Just leave it on the desk if you dont want it.
And he put a donut on Scotts desk. Now, by this
time, Steve had started to slow down a little He
just stayed on the floor between sets because it
took too much effort to be getting up and down.
You could start to see a little perspiration
coming around his brow. Bro. C. started down the
third row. Now, the students were starting to
get a little angry. Bro. C. asked Jenny. Jenny
said, No. Then Bro. C. asked Steve, Steve,
would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a
donut she doesnt want? Steve did ten, Jenny
got a donut. By now, the students were beginning
to say, No, and there were a lot of uneaten
donuts on the desks. Steve was also
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Champions, Challenges and Chuckles Great,
not-so-great and sad moments in Christian
History, May and June Compiled by Jim
Nesbitt May 7, 1833 born, in Hamburg, Germany,
pianist and composer Johannes Brahms. Though
never employed by a church, motivated by his
faith, he wrote many works for the church. He
personally compiled the biblical texts used in
his "German Requiem". May 8, 1828 Born, Geneva,
Switzerland Henri Dunant, founder of the Red
Cross and the Young Men's Christian Association,
and winner of the the first Nobel Peace Prize in
1901. May 9, 1983 Pope John Paul II reverses
the Catholic Church's 1633 condemnation of
Galileo Galilei's Copernican heliocentric theory
of the universe. May 10, 1886 Karl Barth, the
most important theologian of the twentieth
century and opponent of theological liberalism
and political fascism (especially under Hitler),
is born in Basel, Switzerland. While not wholly
evangelical, on his only (1962) visit to America,
asked how he would summarize his voluminous
writings, he replied, "Jesus loves me this I
know, for the Bible tells me so". May 11, 1682
The General Court of Massachusetts repeals two
2-year-old laws (1) a ban on the celebration of
Christmas, and (2) capital punishment for
banished Quakers who returned to the colony. May
12, 1792 "Father of Modern Missions" William
Carey published An Enquiry into the Obligations
of Christians, to use means for the Conversion of
the Heathens in which the Religious State of the
Different Nations of the World, the Success of
Former Undertakings, and the practicability of
Further Undertakings, are Considered. In spite
of its title, it was influential in re-awakening
the church to its missionary responsibilities.
Carey died on June 9, 1834, having spent 41 years
in India without a furlough and only about 700
converts, but he had laid a foundation of Bible
translations, education, and social reform. May
15, 1265 Poet and politician Dante Alighieri, is
born in Florence, Italy. He finished writing
"The Divine Comedy" just before his death, and it
was almost immediately recognized as brilliant.
His epitaph begins "Dante the theologian,
skilled in every branch of knowledge that
philosophy may cherish in her illustrious bosom."
May 19, 804 English scholar Alcuin of York,
adviser to Charlemagne and prominent in the
Carolingian Renaissance (the rebirth of classical
learning under Charlemagne), dies. He is credited
with devising a handwriting system using both
small and capital letters for easier reading.
May 20, 1277 Pope John XXI dies when his castle
ceiling collapses on him. The name was a
mistake-there was never a John XX. May 20, 1960
Six months before John F. Kennedy, a Roman
Catholic, was elected president of the United
States, the Southern Baptist Convention condemned
the election of Catholics to public office,
declaring "When a public official is inescapably
bound by the dogma and demands of the church, he
cannot consistently separate himself from these."
May 21, 1382 The Anglican "Earthquake Synod" in
London (so named because a tremor interrupted the
proceedings), condemned 24 theses from John
Wycliffes writings as heretical. Wycliffe later
claimed that God sent the earthquake "because the
friars had put heresy upon Christ. The earth
trembled as it did when Christ was damned to
bodily death. May 21, 1471 born in Nuremberg,
Germany, painter, engraver, and woodcut designer
Albrecht Durer. One of the greatest artists of
his day, probably converted to Protestantism in
the 1520s. May 21, 1738 Charles Wesley, who
with his brother John founded Methodism, converts
to Christianity while sick with pleurisy. "In the
name of Jesus of Nazareth, arise and believe, and
thou shalt be healed of thy infirmities" a
mysterious voice told him in his sickbed. "I
believe, I believe," he replied. One year later
on this date, he wrote "O for a Thousand Tongues"
to commemorate the event.
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WORDS Betsy Myers, 2001-2002 Book Librarian
Isnt it funny how God just lays something on our
hearts and hit us with it from all different
angles? Ive recently been reading two books,
Shiokari Pass by Ayako Miura and Mere
Christianity by C.S. Lewis, and God has been
speaking to me through both of them. Shiokari
Pass is fiction written by a Japanese author,
while Mere Christianity might be categorized as
apologetics and is written by a British author.
The two seemingly have nothing to do with each
other. However, God used each book to issue me
the same challenge. In Shiokari Pass the main
character, Nobuo Nagano, decides to become a
Christian, and is challenged by a preacher to
choose one command from the Bible and try to
follow it for a month. The goal of this exercise
is for Nobuo to realize that although he prides
himself on being a better than average human
being, he is still a sinner. Indeed, Nobuos
pride is his biggest sin and the main obstacle he
faces in developing a relationship with
God. Nobuo takes the preachers words to heart
and decided to follow the example of the Good
Samaritan. He befriends a troubled co-worker and
even goes so far as to follow the man to a new
town in order to watch out for him. The friend
scorns Nobuo and his faith, and despite Nobuos
attempt to be a good neighbor, he often finds
himself failing. Although he has always been
struck by the words in the Bible, No one is
righteous, no not one, it isnt until Nobuo
fails in his endeavor to follow the Bible
perfectly that he fully comprehends the depth of
his own sin. Eventually Nobuo gives up his pride
and realizes that he is just as unrighteous as
his troubled friend. In Mere Christianity, C.S.
Lewis also deplores pride as the greatest sin.
In his chapter on Faith, he issues the same
challenge as the preacher in Shiokari Pass, that
is, to take one command from the Bible and try to
follow it for six weeks. Because we are sinners,
we cant follow the Bibles commands perfectly,
and it isnt until we realize that we are sinners
and do away with our pride that we will grow in
our faith and relationship with God. After
reading both of these challenges within days of
each other, I felt God nudging me to take on the
challenge myself. The reading for a recent
sermon at church was John 15, and the verse,
This is my command Love each other. (John 157)
struck me as a good command to try to follow for
six weeks. Ive only been doing this exercise
for a week and already Ive seen how many times I
have failed to follow Jesus command. I havent
loved the students I teach or my co-workers or my
friends. I recently found out that one of my
friends was contemplating suicide last week. The
last time I talked to him I figured that he was
just being his normal gloomy self, and I didnt
do much to encourage him and to share Gods love
with him. Then I discovered the real reason for
his depression and was overcome with a sense of
failure in my attempt to love others, even when
it isnt convenient for me to do so. I knew from
the beginning that I would fail. But even though
I have failed, I am still struggling with pride.
I find that even though I know I cant always
love others, I pride myself on other things
instead. So I will continue in this challenge
for five more weeks. I pray that God will humble
me more, so that I will fully realize the depth
of His love for me in His forgiveness of my sins.
This was supposed to be a book review to
encourage JCF members to use the book library.
Its turned into more of a personal sharing time.
However, I highly recommend both Shiokari Pass
and Mere Christianity. The passages that I wrote
about are only a small part of each book and
there is a larger story to be enjoyed in both of
them. This will be my last article for the JCF
Newsletter, as I am passing the duty of
administrating and promoting the book library on
to Amanda. However, I will use this last
opportunity to encourage everyone to check out a
book from the library. I have been incredibly
blessed by the books I have read throughout the
year. Theres something in the library for
everyone, so dont hesitate to contact Amanda for
a recommendation or a recently updated book list.
You can e-mail her at jcfbooks_at_hotmail.com.
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JCF Membership Form Name Gender M /
F Address Birthday Home Phone Work
Phone Fax E-mail Optional Stuff
(nationality, church background, etc.) Im a
(circle one) 1st year / 2nd year / 3rd year/
non-JET. Yes / No Im a 2001-2002 AJET
Member. Yes / No Im a 2001-2002 JCF
Member. Membership Options (please mark one) A.
AJET JCF membership - 2000 yen B. Non-AJET JCF
membership - 2000 yen C. I dont want to join
JCF now, but please keep my name on file. JCF
membership includes the newsletter JCF News and
access to the book and tape libraries. Please
send this form with payment to the JCF Treasurer,
Michael Phillips 1-1-1-303 Taga Nakuma-shi,
Fukuoka-ken 809-0015 While the Japanese Postal
System is reliable, JCF recommends that you send
payment by pre-paid kawase. Any questions?
Contact JCF National Coordinator, Kandace Shaw
Joytown B8523-1, 6-Chome Kita Koyamacho,
Tottori-shi, Tottori-ken 680-0941, or
jcf_nc_at_hotmail.com.
JCF ANNOUNCEMENTS
WOMENS CONFERENCE in SAITAMA Theres a national
Aglow Womens Conference in Kawaguchi-shi,
Saitama-ken (near the Tokyo border, accessible on
the blue line from Ueno station). on July 9-10.
I believe the conference itself is free and they
simply have an offering taken up, but you have to
make your own sleeping arrangements (There are
some hotels close by they can connect you with or
you can connect with other people that you know).
It conveniently coincides with an ichi-man
flight special that both JAL and ANA are having
within Japan around that time, so that may be
worth looking into. If you would like more
information on the conference, please contact
Judy Middleton at 027-324-7993.
ATTENTION EVERYONE For the sake of making JCF
record keeping much easier, please let JCF know
if you are staying or going so that we know
whether you are going to be around and if you may
be interested in being one of the reps/contact
people next year. If you are staying, please
fill out the 2002-2003 Registration form on the
following page. Please contact Kandace at
jcf_nc_at_hotmail.com if you would be willing to
serve as a regional JCF rep. If you are leaving,
please let us know by sending an email to
jcfdatabase_at_hotmail.com. Thank you!

• JCFs NEW WEBPAGE!
• Www.ajetonline.org/jcf/
• JCFs Website has been moved and updated! I
  would like to make it the most complete resource
  web-page concerning Christianity in Japan. Please
  help to make our website more complete by sending
  me an email with information on
• Links to English and/or Japanese Christian
  websites.
• Information about upcoming Christian events in
  Japan
• . Links to Church Homepages/ Regional activities
  and missions.
• Evangelistic Japanese Materials.
• Articles or links to articles about
  Christianity in Japan.
• Please send email to
• byrnedan_at_hotmail.com

BILINGUAL INTERDENOMINATIONAL FAMILY CAMP IN
SHIZUOKA There is an international
inter-denominational family camp organization
called Camp Farthest Out (or CFO for short -
named for the location of the original camp, not
the type of people who go there) which holds a
yearly family camp (singles and childless couples
are also welcome of course) in Gotemba, Shizouka,
near the end of July. For those of you who are
going to be in Japan at that time and would enjoy
a time of bilingual fellowship, its worth
checking into. For more information, contact
Jessie Banno at 03-3359-6061 or fax her at
3359-2236. Her mailing address is 1-16 Chome,
Wakaba-cho, Shinjuku, Tokyo 160.
WE NEED ARTICLES!!! Please send articles for the
next JCF Newsletter to Jean Byrne at
jean_at_danandjean.com or send them to Shin 45-2
Nio-cho, Mitoyo-gun, Kagawa-ken 769-1406
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