Authority and Obedience: Romans 13:1-7 in Modern Japan / Translated by Gregory Vanderbilt

By Mitsuo Miyata

Despite famously small numbers, Christians have had a distinctive presence in modern Japan, particularly for their witness on behalf of democracy and religious freedom. A translation of Ken'i to Fukujū Kindai Nihon ni okeru Rōma-sho Jūsan-sho (2003), Authority and Obedience is a personal pre-history of the postwar generation of Japanese Christian intellectuals deeply committed to democracy. Using Japanese Christians' commentary on Paul's injunction in Romans 13: 1-7, the counsel to let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God..., Miyata offers an intellectual history of how Japanese Christians understood the emperor-focused modern state from the time of the first Protestant missionaries in the mid-nineteenth century through the climax and demise of fascism during the Pacific War. Stressing verse 5's admonition to conscience as the reason for obedience, Miyata provides a clear and political perspective grounded in his lifelong engagement with German political thought and theology, particularly that of Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as he calls for a conscientious citizenry in his modern society. Showing both Christians' complicity with the state and the empire - including the formation of a unified church, the Nihon Kirisuto Kyōdan - and their attitude toward Christians in Asia, and the complexity of the critical voices of Christians like Uchimura Kanzō, Kashiwagi Gien, Nanbara Shigeru, and many others less well known - Miyata's work aims not at exposing cultural particularity but at showing how the modern Japanese Christian experience can give meaning to a theology and a political theory of how to live within the freedom of religious belief.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1433106795
• ISBN13: 9781433106798
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publi
• Length: 197 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.2"