[quote="Ashley"]Volume 6 or 7 of the manga. I read them before they were licensed.
Yeah, KKJ has a lot of "Christian" info in it at first glance--but it really isn't what I'd call a Christian manga at all. In fact, I would strongly urge people to be strong believers before they pick up this series.
Don't get me wrong, it's a real cute series. One of my favorites. But that's because I can see through all of the theological lies and the gnarled web they create in the series. Things that throw it off:
1. Maron is the literal reincarnation--we Christians don't believe in reincarnation.
2. God and Satan fighting for people because they are their spiritual batteries--meaning several things. Like Satan can overthrow God. And that God NEEDS us for His supremacy. And that God is using us. None of which is true, of course.
3. There is an underlying sense of "we don't need God"/self-sufficiency that runs throughout the whole piece
4. As Osaka mentioned--God not only falls in love with a mortal woman "because He forget He was God", He invests His power into her.
That's all the major ones I can think of. How do I deal with these serious flaws? The same way I enjoy the matrix, final fantasy X, and other secular forms of entertainment. One, by realizing it is a piece of fiction, not my gospel. I go to anime for entertainment, I go to the Bible for theology. Secondly, a lot of what is said about God comes from the mouths of demons--so of course they are going to try to twist things around. And thirdly staying sensitive to the Holy Spirit and making sure that what I put before me doesn't harm my walk with the Lord.
I highly doubt Tanemura-sensei is a Christian, Catholic or otherwise. I have not seen or heard other "religious" things pop up in her work, nor has she made any statement (that I know of). I think she, like many Japanese artists, realized that Christian symbols are easily used and recognized. They treat Christianity no different than we treat Greek Mythology. I do not think she means to disrespect our faith, but merely to use it for her story.
As I said, I did enjoy this title quite a bit (anime and manga), but I recognize it has some serious theological stuff in it for people to consider. I wrote the anime review]
Yeah, you do bring up some good points. I know about all the things except: God forgot he was God.
You can't forget it's very secullar in Japan! ^^;
And, NO! It not a gospel! ^^;
Just fiction.
I couldn't find your review...where is it? (am I blind??
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