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Genesis in Japan: The Bible Beyond Christianity
Genesis in Japan rises from a journal of reflections that were collected by the author while teaching the Bible to Japanese university students in Tokyo. It relates the diverse responses to the Bible that rebound, subtly but forcefully, back to the teacher from these students—extraordinary responses, in that they are simple, pure, ordinary, and entirely disorienting.
Teaching and learning the Bible in Japan has led the author to another view of the Bible, one that stands in stark contrast with the Bible in the Bible-heavy culture that was the author’s beginning at a small crossroads in central South Carolina.
Teaching and learning the Bible in Japan has led the author to another view of the Bible, one that stands in stark contrast with the Bible in the Bible-heavy culture that was the author’s beginning at a small crossroads in central South Carolina.
280 pages, Paperback
First published August 20, 2013
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August 23, 2016
Just forewarning you, I'm not going to be kind. "Genesis in Japan: The Bible Beyond Christianity" by Thomas Dabbs is a fascinating, if incredibly frustrating, book. As a self-proclaimed reformed nihilist (whatever that is, I Googled it - nothing), Dabbs recalls his experiences of teaching the Bible in Japan, a country where Jesus and the Bible are largely unknown. He's clearly an intelligent man but in teaching the Bible to his college students, he proves to be a complete ignoramus and that's a real problem.
This man shouldn't be teaching the Bible. Responses to his students when they ask difficult (but relevant) questions often fall into three categories: 1) "Not all Christians believe...", 2) "Sorry, I'm late for a meeting", and 3) "Let's move onto something else". Instead of savouring these teachable moments, Dabbs is constantly angered and irritated by them and botches it. When he does research answers he, of course, opts for the most liberal understanding.
To be fair, Dabbs is asked to teach the Bible class because a) he's the Shakespeare guy (so the KJV shouldn't be a problem, right?), and b) because he's from the American South (you're familiar with Christianity, yes?). Unfortunately, for his students, fortunately for us, he agrees. There's some honesty to be found amongst his arrogance and incompetence and there is something to his observations that modern Christianity has a dissociative relationship with the Bible, but the damage he does to his students in teaching the Bible is palpable.
Maybe I don't understand his 'world'. I wasn't raised in America where modern Christianity comes in 50 different shades of grey (his American Christian musings make up a large part of the book). The Christian world he describes growing up in seems friendly but impotent, a far cry from biblical Christianity. Little wonder.
As I've already mentioned, this book was a torturous read at times, but at least it wasn't boring. I loved Dabbs writing style and his wicked sense of humour, even if I disagree with much of what he wrote. There were some spelling and grammar mistakes, but nothing I can't forgive. Towards the end of the book, we find Dabbs thoroughly conflicted. To me, he looks like a man running from a God who loves him.
It's easy to see why "Genesis in Japan" churned up such reactions in me. This isn't a book that creates humility in Christian. There were so many times I was like, "Oh, my goodness! Why don't you just sit at the back of the class and let me teach the lesson." But of course, I'm not Gumby, so I can't just walk into any book and take over his class. In short, I pity Dabbs. A non-Christian teaching the Bible to other non-Christians, and in a foreign country? What was he thinking?
I believe the Bible is God's Word, completely infallible and authoritative, not just some classic text with historical significance. But I see now that this man doesn't understand Bible basics because he doesn't believe that the Bible requires Holy Spirit's revelation, he doesn't realise studying the Bible is a life-long (and longer journey), he doesn't realise sometimes there are no easy answers. He's a non-Christian teaching the Bible, and maybe that's all that needs to be said.
7.5/10
This man shouldn't be teaching the Bible. Responses to his students when they ask difficult (but relevant) questions often fall into three categories: 1) "Not all Christians believe...", 2) "Sorry, I'm late for a meeting", and 3) "Let's move onto something else". Instead of savouring these teachable moments, Dabbs is constantly angered and irritated by them and botches it. When he does research answers he, of course, opts for the most liberal understanding.
To be fair, Dabbs is asked to teach the Bible class because a) he's the Shakespeare guy (so the KJV shouldn't be a problem, right?), and b) because he's from the American South (you're familiar with Christianity, yes?). Unfortunately, for his students, fortunately for us, he agrees. There's some honesty to be found amongst his arrogance and incompetence and there is something to his observations that modern Christianity has a dissociative relationship with the Bible, but the damage he does to his students in teaching the Bible is palpable.
Maybe I don't understand his 'world'. I wasn't raised in America where modern Christianity comes in 50 different shades of grey (his American Christian musings make up a large part of the book). The Christian world he describes growing up in seems friendly but impotent, a far cry from biblical Christianity. Little wonder.
As I've already mentioned, this book was a torturous read at times, but at least it wasn't boring. I loved Dabbs writing style and his wicked sense of humour, even if I disagree with much of what he wrote. There were some spelling and grammar mistakes, but nothing I can't forgive. Towards the end of the book, we find Dabbs thoroughly conflicted. To me, he looks like a man running from a God who loves him.
It's easy to see why "Genesis in Japan" churned up such reactions in me. This isn't a book that creates humility in Christian. There were so many times I was like, "Oh, my goodness! Why don't you just sit at the back of the class and let me teach the lesson." But of course, I'm not Gumby, so I can't just walk into any book and take over his class. In short, I pity Dabbs. A non-Christian teaching the Bible to other non-Christians, and in a foreign country? What was he thinking?
I believe the Bible is God's Word, completely infallible and authoritative, not just some classic text with historical significance. But I see now that this man doesn't understand Bible basics because he doesn't believe that the Bible requires Holy Spirit's revelation, he doesn't realise studying the Bible is a life-long (and longer journey), he doesn't realise sometimes there are no easy answers. He's a non-Christian teaching the Bible, and maybe that's all that needs to be said.
7.5/10
Displaying 1 of 1 review