4. Nagai's conversion > Likes and Comments

4. Nagai started as a materialist atheist and ended as a practising Catholic. What problems had he to solve before his conversion was a fact? How do you compare his conversion with other conversions you have known about, or those we have discussed in the club?

I cannot relate to atheist Takashi Nagai to be honest and it might be because I was never scientifically minded in a diehard way. Materialism never really appealed to me and common science objections to the Catholic faith never really convinced me.

After having read this book, I decided to read Nagai's own autobiography, where he tells about his conversion, so as to compare. I think it hasn't been translated into English. Its Spanish translation is this: Lo que no muere nunca.

Glynn states that the reason why Nagai hesitated before becoming a catholic were the atrocities committed by Catholics during history, and mentions four in two different places in his book:

a) The "genocide" of South American native Americans.
b) The Inquisition.
c) The case of Galileo.
d) The crusades (this one is mentioned just once).

The first two are an example of the false anti-Spanish black legend, which was (and still is) rampant in English-speaking countries. Glynn is an Australian, so he has probably been influenced, in spite of his being a Catholic priest, who should know better.

About the alleged genocide of South American natives, you can find figures and comparisons in my review of a book by another Australian who said the same: God and the New Physics by Paul C.W. Davies: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

About the alleged atrocities of the Inquisition, which for English-speaking people usually means the Spanish Inquisition (there was Inquisition in most European countries), they forget that the English Inquisition is even older, and that the English government during the last decades of the 15th century pressured the Pope to force Castille and Aragon (the two kingdoms that made Spain later) to install the Inquisition. They also forget the English treatment of Catholic priests by the Tudor, which was worse than the procedures used by the Spanish Inquisition against Jew and Muslim converts who kept in secret their former devotions.

About the case of Galileo, many people believe that he was condemned to death. In fact, he was condemned to home arrest. Is this one example of an atrocity?

Do points (a)-(d) made by Glynn also appear in Nagai's book?

I have found that several authors from Australia and India, who are otherwise aware of the false legends usually cited in the media about Christianity, Medieval times, etc, fully believe the English version of the Spanish black legend.

Mariangel wrote: "Do points (a)-(d) made by Glynn also appear in Nagai's book?"

No, they don't. I have just read the first two chapters, but I have searched for certain words: Galileo, Inquisition, crusade, America, atrocity, and except America they don't appear at all in the book, while America always refers to the U.S.

Of course, I haven't read everything Nagai wrote, but in this book, where he tells about his conversion, there is no mention to those "atrocities" Glynn points out, so it's possible that he inserted those references himself, without reference to Nagai.

Manuel wrote: "After having read this book, I decided to read Nagai's own autobiography, where he tells about his conversion, so as to compare. I think it hasn't been translated into English. Its Spanish translat..."

I would like to add a comment regarding one of the reasons stated by Glynn, about why Nagai hesitated to become Catholic:

d) the crusades (mentioned only once):

This is usually one of the first reasons given to justify hostility against the Catholic Church, and/or atheism. One must take into account the reason why "crusades" were started in the first place (year 1071): to defend the Holy Land and Christians who were being attacked by aggressors who were conquering Jerusalem and Anatolia , disrupting pilgrimages, harassing Christians, and defeating the Byzantines.

If no one had been attacking, crusades would not have been started.

CBC wrote: "4. Nagai started as a materialist atheist and ended as a practising Catholic. What problems had he to solve before his conversion was a fact? How do you compare his conversion with other conversion..."

I am reminded about multi-millionaire democracy activist Jimmy Lai's conversion to Catholicism. He has been very honest about his prior life, based on hedonistic pleasures. But at some point, he had nowhere else to turn to, so he finally surrendered to God. He has been blessed into giving over his entire being to Christ. He is, as we speak, a martyr, languishing in solitary confinement, in a Hong Kong prison, dying a slow death. He is remaining supernaturally calm in the face of the injustice which has befallen him at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. His hope and trust in God is amazing.

I often marvel at how atheists, once they have converted, are far more dedicated to Christ than so-called cradle Catholics.

Manuel wrote: "After having read this book, I decided to read Nagai's own autobiography, where he tells about his conversion, so as to compare. I think it hasn't been translated into English. Its Spanish translat..."

On the subject of the Inquisition, read Henry Kamen, and on the Spanish conquest of America, read Juicios de la prensa y opiniones de ilustres personalidades que han merecido las beneméritas obras: Los exploradores Españoles del siglo XVI; Vindicación de la acción colonizadora de España en América. For the American publicTree of Hate: Propaganda and Prejudices Affecting United States Relations With the Hispanic World Phillip Wayne Powell.

Manuel wrote: "After having read this book, I decided to read Nagai's own autobiography, where he tells about his conversion, so as to compare. I think it hasn't been translated into English. Its Spanish translat..."

Professor, don't be modest, cite your friendsFrancisco José Soler Giland the Sols brothers who have spoken about the subject of Galileo. This book is recommended to you on the subject of Galileo. Galileo in Rome: The Rise and Fall of a Troublesome Genius. Regarding the crusades L'épopée des Croisades by René Grousset
Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic HistoryHistory by Rodney StarkRodney Stark
The Crusades: The World's DebateThe Crusades: The World's Debate by Hilaire Belloc Hilaire Bellocand Las cruzadas (Argumentos para el s. XXI nº 64) by Pablo Martín Prieto These are some other names recommended for their work on the Crusades:Jonathan Riley-Smith, Thomas Asbridge, Jonathan Phillips,Hans Eberhard Mayer, Paul F. Crawford, and Steven Runciman.