Japanese Understanding of Salvation: Soteriology in the Context of Japanese Animism

by Martin Heißwolf

It is no secret that Christianity has been widely rejected in Japan with less than two percent of the population identifying as Christian. The dominant worldview in Japan is deeply animistic, with beliefs such as the Japanese mana-concept, ki (気), the Japanese soul-concept, and the concept of God/god(s), kami (神), being deeply rooted in the culture and fundamentally influencing society. Dr Martin Heißwolf, with his years of experience in Japan, critically examines Japanese animism in light of core Christian beliefs, such as the concepts of “peace” and “salvation.”
Central to Japanese people’s rejection of Christian truth is the diametric opposition of its supernatural message to the natural focus of Japanese animistic folk religion. Heißwolf’s meticulous study is framed squarely within missiological thought and praxis so Christians serving in Japanese contexts are better able to communicate the message of the gospel by more fully understanding Japanese people, people by whom God wants to be known.

993 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 14, 2018

Reviews

[Brook]

I did not read this as a theologian. I did not read this as somebody intimately familiar with Japan, it's people, it's culture. And so my review does not come from a peer based position but as a foreigner visiting Japan only infrequently.

I found this book fantastic because it helped me understand how vastly different the thought processes are of the Japanese people. For example, there are not word language equivalents between Japanese and English or some other languages when it comes to spiritual matters and this was something I did not grasp until I read this book. I had to wade through these chapters painfully slowly even though I am accustomed to clearing even books of tremendous difficulty in under a week, but this book took months .

In the end, I did not concern myself deeply with the summary chapter at the end of the book because it was as though I had stumbled across theologians having a deep and intricate conversation and I had not been in that conversation at the beginning, and therefore lacked understanding. It was too much for me theologically to take in with any depth of understanding. As a believing Christian citizen of the United States, I will have the fortune of getting to visit Japan twice in my life for a few weeks each time. Therefore, I found this book to be fascinatingly helpful in approaching the people of Japan with respect and helpful also in increasing my desire to be praying deeply for all those who would desire to bring influence upon Japan such as for example a missionary group.

[Kyle]

I will definitely benefit from a re read as this book goes into a lot of detail. It was just fantastic. I would consider it essential reading for understanding a Japanese spiritual interpretive framework. The author is so thorough to break down the Japanese mindset concerning Christian concepts even going into multiple word studies to flesh out his points along the way. If you’re at all interested in Christian ministry to the Japanese, you will benefit from this book. Not to mention the insight given into Shintoism and the Japanese language. Phenomenal.