XPost: alt.books.cs-lewis   
   From: hayesmstw@hotmail.com   
      
   On Mon, 10 Oct 2005 20:11:56 GMT, "Dan Drake"  wrote:   
      
   >On Thu, 6 Oct 2005 09:15:12 UTC, Siwel Naph    
   >wrote:   
   >   
   >> I'd be interested to know whether you think the Church would have behaved   
   >> worse or better had it won the ascendency in Japan its martyrs were   
   >> seeking.   
   >   
   >What does my opinion matter here?  My verifiable-falsifiable assertion is   
   >that a whole lot of people were murdered by the native Buddhist-Shintoist   
   >mut mainly Buddhist Japanese society for the crime of being of the wrong   
   >religion.  What matter if they were Catholics, Muslims, or Quakers?   
   >   
   >But I may want to take umbrage at the last phrase.  The victims were not   
   >just a bunch of crazy missionaries going in and declaring "Convert, or   
   >die, or kill me!"  There were lots of Japanese people who had decided to   
   >adopt this dangerous foreign religion. If I'm wrong about this, and the   
   >ones killed had sought martyrdom by making public disturbances that gave   
   >the authorities no alternative to killing them, please let me know, with   
   >citations.   
      
   Well yes, it does come across as overweeningly arrogant -- when someone who   
   claims to know so little of Japanese history can yet claim to know so   
   precisely what Christian martyrs there were seeking.   
      
   Of course Buddhism and Confucianism, as well as Christianity, were considered   
   dangerous foreign religions.   
      
      
   --   
   Steve Hayes   
   Web: http://www.geocities.com/hayesstw/stevesig.htm   
        http://www.bookcrossing.com/mybookshelf/Methodius   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)