Sekino, Yuji. Translated by Gary Fujino. "Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism: The Problem of American Christian Fundamentalism for Japanese Evangelicalism." (原理主義と福音主義 -- 米国キリスト教原理主義に見る日本の福音派の問題). Japan Evangelical Association Theological Commission Pamphlet 6 (May 2006): 17-48.
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I. THE OUTLINE OF THE PROBLEM
Regarding the posture of the American evangelical church which supports him and since 9/11 when President George W. Bush – in his distinctive political beliefs, anxiously influenced by Christian Fundamentalism – bombed Afghanistan and then ventured into the war with Iraq, evangelical churches in Japan as well as from society in general have asked straightforward and serious questions as to “why the evangelical American church supports the Iraq war.”
The so-called roots of contemporary evangelicalism, the conservative version, were born out of a Fundamentalism in the United States which sought to stand against Protestant liberalism at the turn of the twentieth century (NOTE: hereafter, “fundamentalism” with a lower case “f” will also later describe the trend in other religions; “Fundamentalism” with a capital “F” in this article describes Christian fundamentalism). At the time it was a movement which made its theological stand solely on the pillars of biblical inspiration and inerrancy, parts of which were radicalized and politicized. In the 1970’s, the influence of the mainline church over the evangelical church was reversed with the latter even becoming the majority, exerting not a little influence on American politics. In the shadow of the re-election of President George W. Bush, the huge contribution of the Religious Right which includes evangelicals (religious conservatives, “a political and social branch of evangelicalism which is focused on the defense and promotion of traditional values”), is a widely acknowledged fact.
FUNDAMENTALISM AND EVANGELICALISM
The main points of emphases in American Christian Fundamentalism are a literal interpretation of the Scriptures based in the inspiration and inerrancy (properly, “absolute inerrancy”) of the Bible, which is founded on dispensational doctrine (e.g., revelation history or “dispensations”, as they’re also called) and an emphasis on apocalyptic eschatology. “Just war” and the support of Israel have been teased out of and popularized by such an eschatology, as have attempts to rebuild morals in a fallen society by the standard of the Bible (e.g., by restoration of the authority of fathers, by protesting abortion, by protesting homosexual love, by working for the restoration of prayer in public education, etc.). Related to these are educational issues, such as the popularizing of anti-evolutionism and young earth theory which is based on creation science. In America today to have the label, “Christian Fundamentalist,” carries the meaning of “conservative Christians who are angry at the way things are in America today, and who try to demonstrate their faith in an aggressive manner at the government.”
In 2003, the American NAE (National Association of Evangelicals, similar to the JEA in Japan) wrote a letter in support of the Iraq war. For many Japanese evangelical churches, which were born after World War II from the mission work of these same American evangelical groups and denominations, this current fundamentalist and warlike position within the American evangelical church has made for strong feelings of doubt, discomfort and bewilderment in their Japanese sister churches. The Evangelical Fellowship of Asia (EFA) and the Japanese Evangelical Association (JEA) have already put out a protest letter against the war in Iraq. In the midst of this, the first volume of the apocalyptic “Left Behind” end times novel series, which have been best-sellers in America since 1995, was translated into Japanese and published in March 2002 by Word of Life Press. Deeply reflected in this book by a leading Fundamentalist author, Tim LaHaye, is a worldview and eschatology of American supremacy. This book has given rise to controversy within the Japanese evangelical church as well. Also, in the 1980’s the direct U.S. import of “creation science” (young earth theory) was introduced into Japanese evangelical churches as the only correct interpretation of Genesis. Many have become uncomfortable at this extreme exclusivistic stance.
In this paper, (even) as I survey the history of American Christian Fundamentalism and its peculiarities related to controversies over evolution and creation science in the American educational system, I affirm its commonalities as well as its points of difference with Japanese evangelicalism and, while taking note of my own walk as an evangelical Christian, I will sort through what I see as the issues that have been given to the evangelical churches of Japan.
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