Forum - View topicNEWS: Christian Manga, Bible with Japanese Artists Announced
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mistress_reebi
Posts: 735 Location: Canada |
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I agree that just because it's not made by Christians doesn't mean it doesn't have a great message, but some Christians (obviously a small percentage) like to pounce on anime, claiming that it came from the devil. They even claim other shows made in North America are evil too, but everything anime is "evil". |
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Dranxis
 Posts: 591 Location: Ohtori Academy |
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Well, all I can say is that I'm kinda excited about this, as a Christian myself. I just think it'll be interesting to see stories from the Bible from a Japanese perspective.
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BleuVII
 Posts: 672 Location: Tokorozawa, Japan |
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True, they are marketing it to a Christian audience here in America, and they are doing it through Tyndale, which is well known for their Christian literature, but the manga wasn't created FOR America. It is only being release in the USA first so that they can raise enough money to print it in Japan and sell it at a cover price which is only a few yen above its production values. I only know this because a personal friend and colleague of mine conducted an interview with one of the creators. Check it out here: http://worshipandthearts.blogspot.com/2007_03_05_archive.html#2560332024294724105 And here is the main webpage for the project: http://nextmanga.com/ So you can hear it straight from the source, rather than having to rely on me.
Actually, one of my professors at my alma matter, Michael Wise, was one of the translators of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and he will confirm to you that they contain none of the New Testament OR The New Testament Apochrypha (you can check his credentials here: http://nwc.nwc.edu/index.php?id=3447). Instead, they contained the oldest known manuscripts of the OLD Testament that we have on record. There is no serious debate on this issue. You may be refering to either the Gospel of Thomas (written in India in about 200 AD, and consequently NOT written by Thomas) or the Gospel of Judas (written by Gnostics in the 2nd century, not by Judas). Both of these Gospels (and many more books) were mentioned by the early historian Eusebius, who also confirms that they were rejected by mainstream Christians as works of fiction from the start. Additionally, we have many early manuscripts of the New Testament dating back to about 200AD, and though they come from different parts of the world, they contain minimal variations (a misspelling here and there). The parts of the Bible that ARE disputed are noted as such in every translation of the Bible I have ever seen (ex- the last chapter of Mark, the pericope of the adultress in the book of John). Because of this, I have a hard time accepting claims like the one you made. However, I take no offense by it. I'm not trying to be inflamatory, simply informative.
No, but I absolutely LOVE Death Note because of that. Light is the embodiment of the philosophies of Nietchze and Machiavelli, and he plays it out to a T. The whole point of the show is not to say that he is morally right; it is to get people to think about what justice really is. In fact, the show purposely leaves the decision in the reader's hands. Is Light or L the hero? We don't know. So, specifically because I AM a Christian, I love the show. It starts dialogue that allows me to honestly share my opinions in a culture which has invalidated me from the beginning because of my beliefs (I'm talking about the USA, not Japan. Hate crime against Christians is really the only socially acceptable form of hate crime left). The reason a lot of Christians are scared by the show is that they simply don't THINK. They let Christian media do the thinking for them so that they never have to wrestle with the tough questions in life. Because of that, when they view a lot of anime (or movies, or games, etc.), they see it as a threat rather than as an opportunity to dialogue with people who hold different opinions. Everyone here, please know that there are a lot of Christians like me who don't condone their actions, even though we still call them brothers and sisters. We frankly wish they would shut up and start reading their Bibles and thinking for themselves. |
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Mohawk52
 Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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Hon'ya-chan
 Posts: 973 |
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Whoopie. Another version of the Bible. Like we didn't already need a Pidgin English version of it, now we need a Manga version!!
This is what really sickens me about some parts of religion. There are some elements that will make a fast buck, while claiming their doing "Gods Work." My knowledge of Christianity maybe rusty, but I don't recall Jesus preaching about ""Profit from thy neighbor" anywhere in his lifetime. |
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Mohawk52
Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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Hon'ya-chan
Posts: 973 |
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I don't see your point in how a Holy Text has to have some tangible retail price affixed to it. |
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Mohawk52
Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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ArielTsuki
Posts: 178 |
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Even the thought that Christian hat crimes is the most acceptable hate crime is absurd. I'm not surprised people are talking against it because it is the majority religion and our dear ol' President used to it sway the people until recently when most people stopped listening to the BS. Another reason why church and state must to seperated to preserve our American ideals and the sanctity of religion. Beside, we got nothing on hate crimes than the Muslims right now. As a Christian myself, I don't "condone" other people actions or not. I'm no different than them in the Eyes of God. Yeah, there are some that do something that is not my religious morals but I find it iffy when people say that. I rather say I don't do that because that's not proper for a Christian. And I agree with people leading on blind faith. That's why it took me years to believe that a pastor/reverend/minister say in church is merely an opinion and it's okay to disagree with certain parts of the scripture. And it's also okay to go though crisis of faith because when you come back, your faith stronger than ever. Some Christians take the Pascal's Wager of things of better safe than sorry or trying to reap the award of eternal life after their earthly life. But I do suggest every Christian to study the Bible, if it's too inimdating, go to a Bible study group. You'll realized how many people use the wrong quotes for the wrong things (like Sodom and Gomarrah's sin being mistaken as a case against homosexuality when the reason they were destroyed was disrepecting guests and ignoring the welfare of the poor, although there are some verses speaking out against homosexual sex due to either it was used as a act of worshipping other gods, showing status [example: pedestry in Ancient Rome (or was it Greece?)] and low population amongst Moses' people at the time). But I'll check it out but I rather stick with the Bible and documentaries about it. |
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BleuVII
Posts: 672 Location: Tokorozawa, Japan |
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I'm not quite sure I should respond to this, because it's getting really off topic, and I want to respect the forum rules. But, since this is a discussion thread, and the discussion has moved in this direction, I will post a response. I just don't want this to become the main topic. I see where you're coming from, but I stand by what I said. I didn't say it was the most prevalent, I said it was the most socially acceptable. The only thing I would change about what I said would be to replace "hate crime" with "blatant discrimination." I apologize for the word mix-up. It was after midnight, and I chose the wrong word. However, I have a "no-edit" policy for my posts after someone has responded to it. Let me illustrate about the social acceptability. Somebody says that homosexual marriage is stupid, and that the people who think homosexuals could or should live together in a marriage relationship are poor misguided fools who don't understand the world at all. Another person says that the idea of Jesus rising from the dead is idiotic, and the only people who believe that tripe are people who don't ever think critically about anything and don't understand the world at all. Now, I think all of us know that both of the above statements are misguided and false. But which one is more socially acceptable? The second, by a long shot. It wouldn't even be socially acceptable to say the same thing about Muslims. Let's go into some examples of blatant discrimination. You can determine whether they are hate crimes or not. I went through a nine-month application process for a job, only to be told during the interview that I wasn't going to be hired because I was a Christian. If the same thing happened to a Jewish man, he could speak out against it, but I couldn't. I worked at the YMCA, and a member had his membership revoked because he was "sharing his faith" on YMCA property--an action that didn't go against membership policy at all. Nobody contested it. I don't know how many kids have been beat up on playgrounds because they are Christians. Heck, my brother was almost arrested in Barnes and Noble for proseletizing because he was designing a logo for his church, and he was simply asking people's opinions on it! So you decide. Is blatant discrimination against Christians the only acceptable form of discrimination left? |
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Viga_of_stars
 Posts: 1240 Location: Washington D.C. in the Anime Atelier |
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That pic is awesome. |
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Berserkfury819
 Posts: 229 Location: Detroit Mi. Spider-Man is dead. R.I.P. |
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Apparently a lot of people don't care for Focus on the Family. Can't say I blame you. But what people need to remember is that FotF is an organization, not a person. As a Christian, and as a person, I don't let anyone else speak for me, and I don't let other peole tell me what I should or shouldn't believe. I make my own choices based on my own beliefs and values. Yes I'm Christian and believe that Jesus is my saviour, but I also watch anime, collect comics, read scifi/fantasy, play D&D, and listen to heavy metal. Speaking of which, I was at Ozzfest yesterday, and after six mosh pits and hours in the sun, I am burned, beaten, and bruised, and I had a hell of a good time. But like I said, no one else speaks fo me, Christian or otherwis. I believe that when I die, It is God who will judge me, not James Dobson. God bless y'all and rock on!
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14761 |
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Ha! And I used to watch Superbook and Flying House!
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senseijoe
 Posts: 19 Location: Chicagoland |
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Jesus said: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:11-13 ) and "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." (Matthew 5:43-45) We (as Christians) should not be shocked that we are discriminated against. We must make an effort to be known for our love for everyone; if not, we justly bring discrimination upon ourselves. Praying that good will happen to those that do us wrong is a difficult path, but one that is asked of us. Jesus also said: "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35) 
Bringing the discussion back to the Manga Bible; I checked out the website (www.nextmanga.com) and the art is alright and the colors are vivid; the pacing of panels and dialog is enjoyable. I look forward to reading more.I'm sure the art in the manga Bible will improve as more volumes are produced. And if anyone has noticed: many manga-ka's art gets better as they work on the story longer. Just look at the first volume of Galaxy Express 999...sheesh... that was drawn... well, poorly... but I forgave Leiji Matsumoto because the story was so original and intriguing...plus the characters, the worlds and the space trains were so cool. |
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beelzebozo
 Posts: 308 Location: Aurora, Colorado |
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First off, Evangelion is mostly Jewish mysticism mixed with a couple dashes of Christian mythos (as in non-Biblical stories, like the Holy Grail or the Spear). The stories of Lilith, the hierarchy of the angels and their names, etc, are all from other Jewish books, told with a Japanese filter.
Second, the references to old Christian texts of a different type of Jesus is usually referred to as the Gnostic Gospels, where Jesus teaches that knowledge and enlightenment at the keys to salvation and that he is here to free us from the oppressive God of the Old Testament, who is a false god who created a flawed world. The Gospels of Judas, Thomas, and Mary Magdalene are all considered Gnostic texts. And the Gospels have been changed over time. A Biblical scholar (find the book, Misquoting Jesus) talked about how the story of Jesus saying "He who is without sin, cast the first stone" was not in early Gospels. Then suddenly, it appeared in the margins of a copy of a Gospel (not unusual, since all copying back then had to be done by hand), and finally entered the main text. To try and bring it back onto topic, I've had several people in my store who are professed Christians. Some are parents who flip the covers of DVDs that have some cleavage or a little leg on them and ask why Sailor Moon is making a devil sign with her hands. Then I get some who question the sex and violence in anime and manga, but buy it all up because they love the good stories (and also ask me "If Japan isn't Christian, how can it have any morals?", which dropped my jaw to the floor). And the rest call themselves Christian, but fall asleep in church when they do go and wouldn't know a biblical verse if you dropped the whole book on their heads. And in the interest of full disclosure, I was born and raised Catholic, went to Catholic school, investigated several belief systems over the years and am now happily atheist. |
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