I can see why many Japanese are very reluctant to let go of the familiarity of a 1000 years of Buddhist culture and embrace Jesus. Most temples here are old and impressive while many churches are shoddy post war buildings in dubious neighborhoods. It`s a question of wealth and power. Christians are a tiny minority here.
But they need to ask themselves what this wealth and power are based on? Most Buddhist temples make their dosh from funerals like the one I attended yesterday. The Buddhist priest may sound impressive with his chanting and elaborate robes, but are the fees they charge grieving widows just? Most importantly of all, are the sutras he chants really historically reliable? Anyone but the most blind in faith would question the hundreds of years it took before anything at all about 'Buddha' was written down...
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