News Report from Japan

[Galant]

*Sensitive Issue warning, this article deals with suicide*


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Japan Suicide Pacts and hikikomori

[ShiroiHikari]

sounds to me like another warning sign that we Christians need to get on the ball and go minister to our fellow humans. it makes me deeply sad that such a rich and wonderful culture is full of so many troubled hearts.

I'm not saying go over there and start preaching. just go over and start showing kindness.

[Zero One]

my heart aches, it's so sad to read something like that...

[Godly Paladin]

Is this the result of the incredible pressure teens have over there because of education? Whatever it is, Christian influence can only change things for the better.

[Kai Nobuyuki]

that's so sad...it hurts to hear about incidents like that. I only pray that one day God will use me and my love of Japan to reach the many lost souls in that country.

[ashfire]

A few years back I rode the fire engine to a medical local for a hanging where a child younger than a teenage had hung himself while his family was out of the house. It was reported he did it because his grades were not good.

[SpikeSpiegel306]

Aiyah! This is extremely sad! I had not even heard of this kind of mass suicide when I was there last year. I hope they are none of my fathers students! Did the report give any names perchance?

[Heart of Sword]

Sad...I really want to go over there and witness to the people.

[SwordSkill]

Oh yeah, my mom told me about this earlier, but I thought it was just another mass suicide event. I didn't think it was premeditated that long and that intensely.

[Gypsy]

Our church supported a missionary to the Tokyo area for a while, but about a year ago, she got burned out. (She's reBecause of their culture, their hearts are very hardened towards religion. They need the light of Christ badly, as does all of Asia. Maybe even someone from this board will someday go to Japan as a missionary. If you think of it, pray for the Asian mission field as a whole. Our God is big enough to handle a prayer for an entire continent.

[Zedian]

That really is sad...I think we must pray for our brothers and sisters in Japan, for God is capable of reaching everyone; regardless of where they are and the cultural differences they bear.

[Ingemar]

Big deal.

Yeah, I said it. BIG DEAL.

There are worse things happening in other parts of the world, and even in the US/UK, and other causes worthier of Christian concern. What about AIDS in Africa? What about violence in Iraq (I don't care whether or not you believe the war was justified)? How about wholesale massacres in Sudan because the Arabs there want to subjugate the Blacks? Better yet, what about deep problems that are your own immediate concerns?

I get tired of hearing about all these Japanese problems. First of all, why do the Japanese deserve more care and attention then those closest to us, who are our first and foremost responsibilities? You cannot worry yourself with the concerns of others until you've cleared things up in your own house. And second, why bother "evangelizing" when the people repeatedly reject the message? Jesus said that if a city turns you away, you are to shake their dust off of your sandals and walk away. It's a lost cause. Maybe they'll turn some other day--but if they keep rejecting us, we shouldn't belabour the issue.

So cry it all up and move on.

[agasfas]

Although many people in Japan reject Jesus it doesn't mean we should give up on everyone in that country. And i do agree that there are some bad things in the world such as AIDS, murder etc... but all we can do is have faith and keep praying. We can only help people if they are willing to open up, and as long as someone is willing to listen with an open heart (anyone), i will keep trying to bring/inform people to Jesus and his love. Nothing is a lost cause. I will keep praying for everyone, not just the people in Japan but everywhere.

[Jasdero]

Suicide is always a very sad event.... V_V I wish I could do something to help...

[ShiroiHikari]

we should never give up on -any- nation. every soul is precious to God. even if you went to Japan for ten years and only one person received Christ, it is still worth it. and there are people already helping in Africa and the other poorer countries, but you hardly hear anything about people going to Japan. what're we supposed to tell God? "oh, Japan? well, they wouldn't listen so we didn't bother. it was too hard so we gave up. hope you don't mind." I mean, God is forgiving but He DID give us a job to do while we're here.

Matthew 10:14 says "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town." I don't think Christ is telling us to leave and never go back. He says "-WHEN- you leave", not "leave". big difference. and "shaking the dust off" probably just means not to dwell on it too much and let it get in the way of further doing His work.

this whole chapter talks about how spreading the Gospel will be difficult and sometimes life-threatening, but He told us to do it anyway.

[SpikeSpiegel306]

Big deal.

Yeah, I said it. BIG DEAL.

There are worse things happening in other parts of the world, and even in the US/UK, and other causes worthier of Christian concern. What about AIDS in Africa? What about violence in Iraq (I don't care whether or not you believe the war was justified)? How about wholesale massacres in Sudan because the Arabs there want to subjugate the Blacks? Better yet, what about deep problems that are your own immediate concerns?

I get tired of hearing about all these Japanese problems. First of all, why do the Japanese deserve more care and attention then those closest to us, who are our first and foremost responsibilities? You cannot worry yourself with the concerns of others until you've cleared things up in your own house. And second, why bother "evangelizing" when the people repeatedly reject the message? Jesus said that if a city turns you away, you are to shake their dust off of your sandals and walk away. It's a lost cause. Maybe they'll turn some other day--but if they keep rejecting us, we shouldn't belabour the issue.

So cry it all up and move on.

Ingemar, it saddens me to hear this. I know that people say the Japanese have closed their hearts, but it is not true. I have lived there and been a part of evangelizing to them for 12 years of my life and even though some of them are closed to Christianity, when one person accepts Christ as their savior it makes the entire 12 years worth it. Luckily for me, I can account for more than just one person accepting Christ there.

As for the concerns of Africa, we do not ignore them at all. My mother was a missionary kid/missionary in Nigeria for 23 years, and my father was in Sudan for 30 years. It is not that we lack the ferver to reach the Africans, it is that they are even more closed off to Christianity than the Japanese people. Both Sudan and Nigeria were owned and colonized by Britain and were horribly mistreated, and since Britain carries the title of a Christian nation, the African people became hard towards anyone carrying that title. This is the reason there are so many Muslims, who are the hardest people to witness to because their religion requires much more physical dedication than ours.

Finally, just because Christianity doesnt seem to be the most prominent or most productive religion in Japan currently does not mean to leave. I implore you to think of all the times that Paul was not only rejected, but stoned and beaten and he merely got up and walked back into the city.

So do not "cry it up and move on."
Pray harder and keep pushing.

[TroutNinja]

Pray for the Japanese pastors there, the Christian population there has almost reached 1% of the total population. I got to know a pastor there who has been running a church for.. two years now, and when I last saw him, he had two members besides his family. They are very encoraged when groups go over to help (as my church is doing, to help with a pastors conference there.) This article served to me as a reminder to pray for Kishio Sensei and all the missionaries there.

[agasfas]

1% wow... a lot of work to do, but not impossible. I wonder what the percentage is in some of the countries in the middle east and China. I'm in world geography and I don't even know... I would assume relatively low.

[ashfire]

I had heard on the news tonight that children that are given certain prescription drugs for depression could become suicidal because of them. I have heard of other prescription drugs that could cause depression with people to become suicidal. So sometimes you have to wonder if what is suppost be good for you could be bad for you without you knowing it.

[MorwenLaicoriel]

Hmm...yeah...I'm worried about my friend who takes anti-depressants now. I don't want her to die because of them. ^^;

[shooraijin]

> anti-depressants

*puts on MD hat*

In my opinion, I think the FDA greatly overreacted in issuing a black-box warning for -all- antidepressants, regardless of method of action and relative suicidality risk (which has not been studied for all medications, even entire classes).

Yes, there is a 2-3% risk (and this was only for the medications they studied -- no one knows this number for the others) of increased suicidality risk during the immediate period after starting the medications, and this is probably due to the increase in energy and diminishment of so-called negative symptoms which occurs before any improvement in mood -in the mechanism of action of these particular medications only-.

However, the risk of being suicidal without medications for many people with severe depression can be far, far greater. No one talks about that.

[Mithrandir]

However, the risk of being suicidal without medications for many people with severe depression can be far, far greater. No one talks about that.

I had wondered about that. I've discoverd that most people who talk about something only really explain what they think they heard. They don't think for themselves to determine if what they heard is what was actually said. Sometimes it's not difficult to rule out obvious bogus data, but people actually seem to be TRAINED not to do this. It's kindda scarry.

Anywho, it's nice to hear an opinion that's not all hot-air. That's exactly why I stopped reading/watching the news...