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I've found an unlikely source that supports poylgyny!

D

DeathIsNotTheEnd

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Something I wanted to share with everyone: I assume most of you either don't know much about what anime is, or don't care, or even dislike it. That's fine :) As an artist and a lover of Japanese pop culture, I love it. But, beyond entertainment, I like it as a way to understanding the heart of the people I want to minister to, to see their secret fears, and joys, and what they value and long for. In that sense, I also have a missional interest in it.

Briefly: anime is a catch-all term that comes from the Japanese loanword 'Aniimeeshon', (animation), which just means any media that is animated (instead of live action). So, it is a style, that encompasses every form of media and every form of storytelling under the sun. In the west we tend to think of 'cartoons' and think 'kids', but as anime is simply their visual style, it is used for everything from children's tv to documentaries to war films to porn. Everything. Just so you know :)

AAAAnyway, to my point:

Recently I have noticed a trend in anime and Japanese media culture in general that I think is really interesting and promising. And that is...a positive view of polygyny and support for PM. And the funny thing is, you'd think that it would be 'done wrong' or presented poorly or misunderstood, like it is when portrayed in media in the west. But what's surprised me is...that's not the case at all. Actually, they seem to have a better, more Biblical attitude and concept of it than we do!

Now, obviously, it is not Christian. Less than .5% of the Japanese population is Christian. Which is part of what I find promising about this: to me, I see a potential inroad here, and a way of ministering with Biblical truth...they see a 'truth value' in it, and we can point them, through it, to understanding the God who designed PM :)


Anyway. Just thought I'd share. I find it fascinating. Truly, I've been blown away. I was watching one series that had a scene that almost explicitly laid-out the meaning and goal of Biblical polygyny, presented it as a good thing, and then suggested how it can be a wonderful kind of family. It really touched me, and I thought "man, people in the west will HATE this!". Which, I suppose...is kind of the problem eh?

Yeah. So, that scene in particular: the male character is approached by four female characters, each of whom, over the course of the story, has formed a special bond with him, and as a group they've been through a lot and the girls treat each other like sisters, and best friends. One of them steps forward and says that she returns his love...but she can't be selfish and take him away from her friends. They all express the same, and when he starts to feel 'in a pickle', like he has to pick one because of possible jealousy, they say they've decided to throw away their jealousy because of their love for him, and their desire to support him and help him be the 'hero'. Anyway, obviously a dream situation lol, but it just struck me that here these Japanese writers 'get it' when we in the west dont. *sigh* And people wonder why I feel like they're more my people than Americans...
 
I’ve noticed this as well with superhero and gamer type genres. I have also found it in some Prepper/Teotwawki types. One of my favorites is a series called Blue Plague by Thomas A Watson. There was another series like this that had a very interesting poly dynamic that emerged but after the first 50 or so ‘books’, the author started getting off into swinging etc. The first part of the series was good even though the guy would never have been published due to atrocious grammar and spelling. He could tell a pretty good campfire type story though.
 
Neat. I'll have to check it out. My family is just now starting to learn Japanese, like very recently, so I wouldn't really be able to read any of the scripts anyhow.

I also am saddened that the gospel has only found limited acceptance in Japan. I am glad to hear of your ministry which is so desperately needed.
 
Slumberfreeze said:
Neat. I'll have to check it out. My family is just now starting to learn Japanese, like very recently, so I wouldn't really be able to read any of the scripts anyhow.
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Slumberfreeze said:
I also am saddened that the gospel has only found limited acceptance in Japan. I am glad to hear of your ministry which is so desperately needed.
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Wait, so are you half, or Japanese yourself? :) Or just interested? Im curious as to why your entire family is learning Japanese. Do you live there, or are a missionary there? :)
Of course, living intentionally IS mission, so... :)
 
EternalDreamer said:
Wait, so are you half, or Japanese yourself? :) Or just interested? Im curious as to why your entire family is learning Japanese. Do you live there, or are a missionary there? :)
Of course, living intentionally IS mission, so... :)
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I have no Japanese in me at all. Me and my wife and oldest son just like 'Japanese stuff'. And we're sort of kind of thinking about taking a trip to Japan someday. The more I learn about the people there the more I like them and the more that I am offended that they are perishing.
 
Littles said:
That specific episode please if you can find it.
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Well, this is the one I was thinking of but the conversation about jealousy isn't in it...I think it was in a different episode, or else I'm getting my shows mixed up lol :P Sorry.
The site looks sketchy but it's quite safe virus-wise. I run a lot of scanning programs.
http://kissanime.ru/Anime/Isekai-wa-Smartphone-to-Tomo-ni/Episode-012?id=139276&s=openload

Watching through it again, the scenes that stuck out to me were at 5:05 -> 6:23 and 18:40 -> 20:00.

Slumberfreeze said:
I have no Japanese in me at all. Me and my wife and oldest son just like 'Japanese stuff'. And we're sort of kind of thinking about taking a trip to Japan someday. The more I learn about the people there the more I like them and the more that I am offended that they are perishing.
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Gotcha :) Well, I would definitely recommend visiting at least! Remember that they're people just like any other people on earth. They're imperfect, there are a mix of hard and soft-hearted folk, there are jerks and nice people both. But as a whole the culture values thinking of others before yourself, politeness, respect, integrity, and sensitivity. Those are some of the things that made me fall in love with the people. And the more I saw the more I realized how many of them are lonely and hurting, in a group culture that forbids individuality and stifles dissenting thought. As followers of Christ, I believe being salt and light means we are meant to be a redemptive influence on society and cultures as a whole. To say "look, you guys are doing X, Y and Z right! Those are great! But see how A, B and C cause pain and suffering? Let's remove those and make XYZ even better, by knowing the God who made you to be good at XYZ!" That's why when I see trends like this positive view of polygyny, it motivates me more to want to help bring them out of darkness and into light :)

As to them perishing...remember there's no 'degrees of lostness'. A person is just 'lost'. Whether they're a 'sitting in the garage but not a car' American who goes to church every Sunday but doesn't believe or totally spiritually-apathetic Japanese person, they're both in the same boat. Neither is 'more sinful' than the other, because sin is a matter of relational correctness, not simply action. I find a lot of people want to blame the Japanese for being 'hard hearted' or 'a lost country' and so on, and throw up their hands and show so little compassion it makes me sick. It's true, the country is 99.5% non-Christian. But even so they do many things and have many heart attitudes that are more Godly than us in America! We should be MORE motivated, not less, by their lostness! And experience has shown me that the reason missions has historically done poorly in Japan is not because of the culture or people hating Christianity, but because of Christians attempting to win converts to our culture rather than introducing them to a loving Father. IE, I find the Church is mainly to blame for the small numbers of believers there, not them. Because the best way to the Japanese heart is, as one wise mentor put it, "one at a time". By forming lifelong relationships that model Christ's love and care for the individual and culture both, that model Christ's steadfastness and unfailing love even in their lost state. That, they are VERY open to. It's the street-corner prophet screaming that they need to 'go to an American church building' that turns them off (and no wonder :\ Turns me off too.)

Haha, sorry, *soapbox over*. This is my life's passion and God's call on me, haha. I could talk about it all day :) These criticisms aren't directed at you Slumberfreeze, just my thoughts spilling out :)
 
Mgtow culture (or whatever term they prefer) has gotten huge in Japan. Celibate men just not interested in any kind of romance. So maybe a small uptick in polygyny among Japanese women maybe soon? Even though the christian population is small Ive been trying to get my single friend to go and find a Japanese wife....I mean hes into asian women and anime. Just find a church and visit..Im silly...or maybe not....lol
 
EternalDreamer said:
I see a potential inroad here, and a way of ministering with Biblical truth...they see a 'truth value' in it, and we can point them, through it, to understanding the God who designed PM
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I would almost always rather hook into common ground with an unbeliever and talk about God than talk with a churchgoer about how much more they could be experiencing God ;) outside the walls….
 
EternalDreamer said:
As to them perishing...remember there's no 'degrees of lostness'.
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True. I do think there's spiritual dominion issue of a sort occurring.
EternalDreamer said:
but because of Christians attempting to win converts to our culture rather than introducing them to a loving Father. IE, I find the Church is mainly to blame for the small numbers of believers there, not them.
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Amen!
 
Just a word of warning that's probably not needed so forgive my presumption but poking around in anime WILL bring you in contact with things that you will have to reject and turn away from. And I usually don't get too spun up by stuff like that. I generally enjoy it myself but you have to have the remote close.
 
I'm not an anime fan but I am informed there is a whole subgenre of this stuff called haram anime.
 
ZecAustin said:
Just a word of warning that's probably not needed so forgive my presumption but poking around in anime WILL bring you in contact with things that you will have to reject and turn away from. And I usually don't get too spun up by stuff like that. I generally enjoy it myself but you have to have the remote close.
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I understand your desire to keep people's conscience's safe, but please know that that sounds like a condemnation of me as some sort of purveyor of evil. I understand, I think, your good intent behind your warning, so take what I'm about to say as a general thought, not a specific 'correction' :)

I hate it when people say that. That warning applies to ANY form of media, internet or otherwise. Why put this negative stigma on anime in particular? It does nothing but perpetuate the negative image it already has.

Of course there are SOME negative things in anime, just as there is in American television or media. If you're referring specifically to the Japanese openness towards sexuality, nudity, and 'fanservice' in general, then yes, that is there. As someone who does not see those things as wrong but actually good, I suppose sometimes I forget to mention that it's there, and I forget that others don't agree with me. But again, I think you will find that in western media as well. I'd argue the Japanese are more honest about it, which I think is a good thing, but, *shrug*, it is what it is. But yes, fair enough: if you do NOT like sexuality, fanservice, nudity, or such, then yes you ought to be careful. "Each man should be determined in his own mind (Romans 14:5). (Titus 1:14-16 is also good). So yes...if you find those things cause temptations to sin and/or your conscience condemns you for them, yes please do 'watch with discernment' so to speak :)

@Elijahsfire
There's two things at play there. Firstly, unfortunately, feminism has started to make some treacherous inroads into the culture, mainly from the west. While I was last there I met a girl in one of my language classes who was obsessed with telling Japanese women how they were 'oppressed'. She did her doctoral thesis on 'the patriarchy' in Japan, and so on. I laughed a lot when she would come in to class and complain that the Japanese girls she talked to just 'didn't get it' and seemed to 'not realize how oppressed they were'. HA.

Secondly, that Japanese work ethic and care for group harmony? Yeah, that leads to a lot of feelings of 'not being who you really are', and it builds to a head and leads to that desire to disconnect from society. As the group that I'm particularly called to reach out to, I have a lot of sympathy for them.

@andrew
Amen!

@Slumberfreeze
I don't believe in the 'dark side of the Force', and it annoys me when Christians perpetuate that idea. Not that there aren't demons or such, but the idea that somehow there are these 'spirit auras' that 'blanket' people. Of course demons will work behind the scenes and influence things...I think their DIRECT influence is a hell of a lot less common than we like to think...but, TLDR; I think most of the time, 'we carry our evil with us'. If there is spiritual darkness in a place, aside from direct instances of demonic activity (posession, etc...), I think it is always better to assume that it is human-caused. The devil doesn't need to do much...we humans are quite capable of evil enough as it is :\

@rockfox
There is indeed. On the one hand, of course, a lot of it is male fantasy (and I do not think that is bad, it's just reality). Much of it is shallow. But I think the intent (men desire and can do well polygyny) is, again, a good inroad.

On the other hand, I think the very dismissive use of that term, especially by westerners, is exactly a symptom of the feminist hold over culture :(
 
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