The perspective of Asia 1

―Confessional Lutheran Identity in Light of Changing Christian Demographics—The Perspective of Asia

Dr. Motoo ISHII

Introduction

The chapel of Japan Lutheran College, where we have worship service at noon every day, has a one-meter high and a two-meter long window, just to the left of the altar, showing a small garden. The building is designed in modern fashion and made of concrete, not bamboo nor wood. The small garden is also not a typical Japanese one, but it lends a sort of Japanese flavor, probably because it reminds us Japanese of a tea-ceremony house which uses such miniature gardens to give us a feeling of the seasons. In our chapel, the green color of the garden, which indicates God’s creation, is always in front of us, as we worship God our Lord. Christianity in Asia must see God and His work in our own context in which we are living.
What is “confessional Lutheran identity” in an Asian context? The theme given for this　conference might be something we are not conscious of in our daily Christian lives, even in theological work in Asia, because it is more important to be Christian than to be Lutheran in the non-Christian context. At least, Lutheran identity is not formed by struggles and disputes with Roman Catholic or other denominations. The time has come for dialogue, not discord. So it is quite natural to form our identity as Lutherans by what we are doing as Christians in and through the Lutheran church in Japan.
In regard to the Lutheran church in Japan, it should be mentioned that there are four Lutheran church bodies; the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC, related with ELCA) which started its mission in Japan in 1893, the Japan Lutheran Church (Nihon Ruteru Kyodan, [NRK], Missouri Synod related) which originated under the first LCMS missionary in 1948, the Kinki Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the West Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (these two churches have a Norwegian background). The first two churches have good relation with each other concerning theological education and maintain the Japan Lutheran College and the Japan Lutheran Theological Seminary together, while the last two churches work together in the west part of Japan and have a seminary in Kobe. Each of these four churches has its own independent church organization and heritage inherited from its mother church and missionary society, which sent missionaries to Japan and supported these young churches. They are different from one other but need to cooperate in concrete ways in order to evangelize in Japan. For example, these four churches have cooperated in broadcasting the Lutheran Hour radio program, which the Missouri Synod has supported, published a Lutheran hymnal and order of worship, and provided joint education programs for clergy and lay people, etc. Such needs in the mission context have been met with concrete cooperation and have forged a new Lutheran identity in Japan. It is an ongoing process.
I would first like to describe what the Japanese church and its program of theological education have done so far, and then to comment at length on what it means to “do theology” in Japan. In this way, I will try to find an answer to the question, “What is our confessional Lutheran identity in Japan?”