"if a woman shall put away her husband" - Democratic and Representative System

Mt. Fuji Yesterday, 100 Km Far

Democratic and Representative System

Results of comparison among Japan, the US, the UK,
Germany, and France in terms of the regular numbers of the parliament and a salary and costs for each member of each house are as follows:


                                        JAPAN           USA            UK       Germany     France
--------------------------------------------------- ------------------
Lower House  Seats             480　  　　    435            650           620          577
--------------------------------------------------- ------------------
Upper House Seats               242             100           826             69           348
--------------------------------------------------- ------------------
Population                  170,000         570,000       40,000     110,000        60,000
per Member
--------------------------------------------------- ------------------
Annual Salary      $211,000      $136,000     $80,000 (L)    $95,000 (L)   $88,000
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Budget per Member
Lower House              $582,000   max $1.5 M   $264,000  $341,000   $280,000
Upper House              $592,000   max $3.9 M          *           $6,000      $260,000
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------


So, in France every 40,000 citizens can elect their representative in the national assembly.  But in the US 570,000 citizens can only send one representative of them to Congress.

Members of the British Lower House receive the lowest consideration for their service to the nation.  Each of American congressman receives very high salary and expenses.

But Japanese National Diet members get the highest salary, though US congressmen enjoy the largest total expenses.

From the beginning how society and communities were established in each country was so different.

For the US and Americans, society is what should be built newly or incessantly by incumbent citizens, and communities should be based on individuals.   Therefore pressure on each member of Congress is heavy.


For Europeans, society is what should be always monitored, maintained, and adjusted, and communities should be formed against other classes or outsiders.  Therefore pressure on each member of the parliament is of various types.

But Japanese were born in a complete society, and communities are what has been already fixed or cannot be changed.  Therefore pressure on each member of the National Diet is neither heavy nor complicated.

One interest thing about Japan is that when the last samurai regime decided to put an end to the 250-year-long policy of closing the country, they sent an envoy to the US in 1860.  But elite samurais could not well understand the American democracy.   They visited Congress in Washington DC but samurais could not understand why Americans were discussing matters in an assembly to decide any policy.  Such practices of democracy were beyond their imagination.

Japan was then governed by elite samurais from the leading Tokugawa clan and other samurai clans or feudal lords.  The samurai class possessed all the cultural products and skills, though farmers and townsmen could were allowed to develop culture so long as they did not become enemies of samurais.  So, the most learnt men in Japan in the samurai era could be found among samurais or noblemen in Kyoto.  Accordingly, whatever elite samurai decided and formulated was thought to be better than any ideas and plans farmers and townsmen came to think about.  So, no national assembly was needed; no elections were needed; and no democracy was needed in the era of rule by the sword.

So, even today there is a kind of a presumption in Japan that whoever is elected as a parliament member he or she must have some merit in terms of their ability.  A national Diet member must be wiser than most of voters, they think.

However, in Europe and the US, politics is not a matter of the God.   Human beings cannot play the part for the God.  Nothing is mysterious in any parliament member.  He or she is just one of citizens but each with a louder voice, an outstanding outlook, and a smart mind.  It is business for profane persons.  They know they cannot find a genius or a saint among their representatives in the parliament.   The only exception might be the case of Hitler.

But in Japan National Diet members are those who are closer to the Emperor than any other Japanese citizens.   No ordinary persons are usually invited to a banquet or a ceremony in the Imperial Palace, but Japanese parliament members have many occasions to visit the Imperial Palace and face the Emperor and the Empress or other imperial family members.  The prime minister of Japan occasionally visits the Imperial Palace to explain his policies to the Emperor.  (When PM of Japan travels abroad and comes back to Japan, he always visits the Palace to write down a simple memo of his return to the Emperor.)  So, in this context, the Prime Minister of Japan is someone that is the closest to the Emperor in the nation.

The king or queen of England is also the head of religion in England.  But he or she is a mere human being.  Everybody calls him or her Henry, Elizabeth, etc.  But the Japanese emperor cannot be merely one of human beings in Japan.  He must be more spiritual than other Japanese.  In shinto theory, ancestors of the Emperor include gods.  Though no Japanese think that DNAs of the emperor include something special, they want the emperor to be spiritually different from others.  The emperor as the highest priest of shintoism must be pure and clean as much as possible when he performs his religious duty before spirits and gods, including ancestors of the imperial family.

So no matter who are elected as representatives of Japanese, beside them there is one permanent representative, the emperor, in Japan.  And the emperor should not be an ordinary man.

This characteristic of the Japanese national and political system was once abused by generals of the Imperial Army and Navy.  They started the war against China and then the war against the US between 1937 and 1945 in the name of the emperor.

However, after WWII, Japan has vastly adopted the American democracy, while specifying the Emperor as the symbol of unity of the Japanese people but not the ruler in the Constitution.  Mass opinions have come to be respected than opinions of the political elites.  So, Japan can be now regraded as having a democratic representative system almost with the same functions as those in Europe and the US.  

That is also why China cannot represent Asian peoples.

http://www.matsudojinja.com/shintoutojinjanituite.html
 Emperor of Japan

http://www.matsudojinja.com/shintoutojinjanituite.html
Empress of Japan



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Mar 10:11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.
Mar 10:12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

"the good shepherd giveth his life" - India in the 1st Century AD

A Shinto Shrine in Tokyo

India in the 1st Century AD 

A Japanese professor visited a museum in Calcutta, India.

He checked a collection of coins of India.  They displayed coins used along successive eras of history.  Then the Japanese researcher found something strange.

Most of coins used in India till the second or third century AD were made of gold.  But on the surfaces of these gold coins engraved were gods or kings who looked like Romans or Greeks.  So he searched for gold coins with images of Indian gods on.  In fact, such coins appeared only in the fourth century when India was in the Gupta era.

He was naturally convinced that merchants in ancient India used coins designed and produced in ancient Rome.  Those Indian merchants traded with their counterparts in Mediterranean Sea regions.  And they loved to use gold coins circulated in the cultural sphere subject to the Greek/Roman civilization.

Specifically in the middle of the first century AD, the Kushan Empire was established in India by Iranian people.  They monopolized trade between Parthia and Central India.  In this era, it is thought that Indians received not only interest the trade produced but also cultural and religious influences from the Hellenistic world.  One example were statutes of Buddha built in Gandhara.

But the Japanese professor thought that the influence from Mediterranean Sea regions must not have been only related to figurative arts.  Indian philosophy and religion must have been also subject to the cultural influx from ancient Greece or Rome.

In deed, about the first century AD Mahayana (greater vehicle) Buddhism appeared in India.  This school of Buddhism prevailed in the central Asia and China and as far as to Korea and Japan.  But the exact origin of this type of Buddhism is a mystery.  No scholars can identify the source of this school.

So, the Japanese professor concluded that some philosophy in Mediterranean Sea regions must have induced this religion in India around the 1st century AD.

Accordingly, I think some Christian legend that Thomas the Apostle traveled to India to preach the gospel must be true.  Maybe it was somebody else, but some disciples of Christ Jesus must have had a chance to promulgate their faith in ancient India.  And as an impact of such a mission was so great, Buddhists in India must have developed a new version of Buddhism, taking into some lessons those early Christian missionaries taught.

If this theory was true, even the Japanese Buddhism can be regarded as having been influenced from the beginning by the early Christianity conveyed through ancient India and China.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BB%8F%E6%95%99%E3%81%A8%E3%82%AD%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88%E6%95%99
Statute of Buddha Made in Gandhara in the Era of Early Christianity



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Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

"while they made ready, he fell into a trance" - American Corporations

Tokyo Suburbs

American Corporations

Aggregate market price ranking of US companies in these 30 years is as below.

1982

1 IBM

2 ATT

3 Exxon

4 GE

5 GM

6 Eastman Kodak

7 Schlumberger

8 Standard Oil of Indiana

9 Shell Oil

10 Standard Oil Company of California


1992

1 Exxon

2 Walmart

3 GE

4 Phillip Morris

5 ATT

6 Coca Cola

7 Merck

8 Royal Dutch

9 P and G

10 Bristol-Myers


2002

1 Microsoft

2 GE

3 Exxon

4 Walmart

5 Pfizer

6 Citigroup

7 J and J

8 AIG

9 IBM

10 Merck

2012

1 Apple

2 Exxon

3 Microsoft

4 GE

5 IBM

6 Chevron

7 J and J

8 ATT

9 P and G

10 Pfizer

The underlying philosophy of prosperity of these businesses is that "market controls society and economy."  And "in market there are businesses."  But what "governs businesses is capital."  Accordingly laws and political systems must be in favor of capitalists.  Put simply, the Government must serve big enterprises and wealthy people.

Of course  only 1% of Americans would respect this philosophy.  But can they effectively argue down those rich and very rich people who lavishly live on capitalism?

On the Rise of American Anti-Capitalism

Posted by Carson on Jun 8, 2013 

A recent popular article by Don Fitz from Washington University embodies this approach to capitalism.  In the post, titled “Inside the Psychology of the 1%,” Fitz says some of the following about capitalism:

.....

About 40% of Americans say they do not have a positive view of capitalism, according to Gallup, up from about 20% in 2002. Anti-capitalist sentiment has clearly been growing, fueled largely by resentment over gross inequality. Growing inequality should indeed concern us  deeply in today’s America, but there are no answers to be found in these straw-man arguments against the free market. 

It is also true that materialism is commonplace in the United States, but it is by no means unique to western or capitalist countries. In fact, one study found that Turkey was more materialistic than the United States, with three other European countries trailing closely behind. Another study found communist-leaning China to be significantly more materialistic than the United States. Obsession with accumulating objects is largely a human failing – one likely rooted in pre-historic conditions where basic survival resources were scarce and required constant collection. 

Whether by dishonesty or foolishness, anti-capitalist activists have located a a problem – materialism – and blamed it on capitalism without further research or evidence. They have already decided that capitalism is what’s wrong with our society and ignored anything that might tell them otherwise, confirming their own biases without considering the issue fairly. Much like materialism, this confirmation bias is a widespread human condition that is often detrimental to our happiness. 

We can accomplish much together in the fight against materialism and consumptionism, but only if we can advance past the false dichotomies and broad-stroke arguments put forth by leading anti-capitalists and their ultra-conservative counterparts.
http://www.rationalromantics.org/american-anti-capitalism-rising/

However one thing sure is that capitalism and the market economy are subject to technology which produces wealth, no matter wealth is from agriculture, modern manufacturing plants, or the software domain.  From Apple to Pfizer, thriving companies possess and rely on great bases of technology and science.  From Apple to Pfizer, thriving companies need, employ, and keep talented engineers and scientists but not actresses, actors, singers, painters, sportsmen, etc.

So, principles and philosophies which are essential factors for development of science and technology can check capitalism.  For example, if everybody concerned agrees that the quest of scientific truth requires faith in the God who hates rich men, no capitalism can stand long.

In this line, we should think that capitalism is wrong simply because scientists are not good Christians.  Indeed, if all the talented scientists and engineers start to protest again irresponsible corporate executives, mean investors, or foolish owners of businesses, capitalism should change.

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Act 10:9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
Act 10:10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
Act 10:11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
Act 10:12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
Act 10:13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.

"nor brass in your purses"- The UN and Japan

Tokyo in 2013

The UN and Japan

Japan is actually the second largest, richest, and advanced country in the world in terms of economy and technology , following the US.

(China is not at the same level of advanced G8 countries in terms of culture, democracy, and justice. So, it cannot be counted in.)

Accordingly,  Japan provides the largest amount of money for operation of the United Nations only next to the US.


Financial Contribution to the United Nations
===========================================
Country           Funding               %        Number of Staff in UN

1. US               $618.5 million    22.0      3012

2. JAPAN        $276.1 million    10.8        805

3. Germany      $182   million      7.1      1182

4. France        $142.5 million      5.5      1878

5. UK             $132 million         5.1      1650

6. China         $131.2 million       5.1       540
===========================================

Apparently there are not enough Japanese workers in UN offices.  Japan has not sent a number of staff proportional to its contribution to the UN.

Anyway the United Nations fought historically Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan in early 1940s.  Japan and Germany look like still being forced to provide big money for the allied countries' organization called the United Nations as a kind of punishment.

It is also deplorable that when Japan tried to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China made a dirty and mean effort to prevent Japan from being elected for the position.

Nonetheless, people in the world acknowledge that Japan is the country that has contributed to the peace of the world after WWII.  The key to this Japanese stance for global peace lies in Article 9 of its Constitution.

ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.  

(2) To accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.

In contrast, the Chinese Constitution is designed on the premise that any war is necessary and inevitable for the Chinese Government and the Chinese Communist Party.  Some Articles of the Chinese Communist Party related to war are as follows:

Article 55. It is the sacred obligation of every citizen of the People's Republic of China to defend the motherland and resist aggression. It is the honourable duty of citizens of the People's Republic of China to perform military service and join the militia in accordance with the law. 

Article 62. The National People's Congress exercises the following functions and powers:
(14) To decide on questions of war and peace; and

Article 67. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress exercises the following functions and powers:
(18) To decide, when the National People's Congress is not in session, on the proclamation of a state of war in the event of an armed attack on the country or in fulfillment of international treaty obligations concerning common defence against aggression;

Article 93. The Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China directs the armed forces of the country. The Central Military Commission is composed of the following: The Chairman; The Vice-Chairmen; and Members. The Chairman of the Central Military Commission has overall responsibility for the commission. The term of office of the Central Military Commission is the same as that of the National People's Congress.

From the beginning, China could not defeat the Empire of Japan in its 10-year-long war against the Empire through WWII.  The US provided a huge amount of military aid and armament for China before WWII.  Without this material and physical support from the US, Chinese elites and politicians should have left China, leaving citizens behind.  Possible Chinese government in exile should have been set in India, Australia, or Moscow.  .

To hide this past shame, China today acts as if it had been a major and influential member of the allied powers.  For this reason, China always makes a mad effort to prevent Japan from assuming a permanent seat of the UN Security Council.

China hints at opposition to Japan on UN seat
(AP/China Daily)
Updated: 2005-12-01 19:13 

China hinted on Thursday it would oppose Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, days before a visit by Secretary-General Kofi Annan that will address plans to reform the body. 

China hinted on Thursday it would oppose Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, days before a visit by Secretary-General Kofi Annan that will address plans to reform the body.

Japan's lobbying for a permanent seat on the council was one of the factors behind a wave of anti-Japanese protests in China earlier this year that were the latest manifestation of old resentments between the Asian giants over Japan's wartime aggression.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-12/01/content_499583.htm

However Japanese idea to expand the permanent members the UN Security Council has been supported most of G20 countries except China.

JAPAN'S BID FOR SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM & ITS ROLE IN THE UNITED NATIONS 

June 23, 2009
Speaker:
His Excellency Yukio Takasu, Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations
Presider: Michael Green, Senior Adviser & Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Associate Professor, Georgetown University

His Excellency Yukio Takasu, Japan's Ambassador to the UN, spoke at Japan Society about the principles and process of Security Council reform. 

In January of this year, Japan began serving a two-year term as a nonpermanent member of the Security Council, Ambassador Takasu noted. This is Japan's tenth such term; aside from the five permanent members, the U.S., China, Russia, the UK and France, Japan has served more years on the Security Council than any other country.  

In campaigning for a permanent Security Council seat, Japan aims to make the Council "representative, effective and legitimate," he said. Simply put, "the current structure does not reflect the reality of the world we live in."
...

Forty-five years ago, the number of nonpermanent members was raised to 10, but there've been no expansions of the Council since then. Meanwhile, the overall membership of the UN has nearly quadrupled, to 192. There are today 54 member countries from Asia, but only two nonpermanent Security Council seats for Asian countries. 

There's general agreement that the Security Council should be enlarged, and indeed a "momentum for reform," but "no convergence of views yet" on the modality of the reform package, according to Ambassador Takasu.  

Three basic proposals are being debated. Japan, supported by Brazil, Germany, India and a number of other countries, advocates enlarging the Council from 15 to 25, with 11 permanent members. Two of the new permanent seats would go to Asia, two to Africa, one to Western Europe and one to Latin America; and there would be 14 nonpermanent members, four more than the current structure.  

African countries, meanwhile, urge expansion to 26, representing 11 permanent and 15 nonpermanent members, with the two new African permanent members having veto powers.
http://www.japansociety.org/japans_bid_for_security_council_reform__its_role_in_the_united_nations

In this context now the world is divided by those who support Japan and others who are forced to support China due to Chinese economic influences, if any.





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Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Mat 10:9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
Mat 10:10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.

"they are no more twain" - The Two Worlds

Shibuya District, Tokyo

The Two Worlds

There are two domains in this world: the material one and the spiritual one.

Of course Christ Jesus is concerned with the latter.

Through him [Jesus] all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:3) 

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:36)

The most mysterious thing in this world is that it needs material or specifically the human body to generate a human spirit and let it grow.

Why can't we exist as pure spiritual entities which never experience biological death of ourselves?

Why did the God opt to use this material universe to give birth to human beings which are rather spiritual creatures?

Or we had better wonder why the God expects mankind to have fear of death.

The battle between angels of the God and the Devil and its servants is being fought inside a man that is mortal.  But why?  Such a battle must be fought in the pure spiritual domain, mustn't it?

Mankind have yet no answer about this basic question related to their own souls, even if they could discover how this material university was created with Higgs particles.

*** *** *** ***


Mar 10:7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
Mar 10:8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
Mar 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

"I am the door of the sheep" - Without Advent

Tokyo Scenes

Without Advent

Christ Jesus appeared at a right time in the human history.

It was 2000 years after the birth of Abraham.  And significantly it was 2000 years before our era around 2000.

He must have come after Alexander the Great and Caesar of the Roman.  But He must have come before the founder of Islam and the fall of the Roman Empire.

But what should have happened without the emergence of Christ Jesus?

In this case there would not have been a strong core in Europe after the Roman Empire in terms of cultural and religious unification of Europeans.  Only forces of arms would be the driving force for political expansion of leading tribes in Europe.  And a ruler of Europe after the Roman Empire would have been more cruel than the Roman Empire.  Such a new dominant country should have a different religion that other European countries which would not have been Christian countries, either.  Accordingly armed conflicts among such European countries without Christianity must have been more disastrous than they were actually in these 2000 years in Europe.

Of course such possible dominant countries would have been able to develop civilization and culture which had been first launched in ancient Greece and Rome.  But it would not have prevailed in the world, since Europe without a strong core of Christianity should have been one day demolished by Huns and Mongolians.

Judaists would have, however, survived the history without Christ's Coming.  They might not have persecuted as they were actually in Europe in the real history.  But, they must have been completely neglected like other minorities who would have followed miscellaneous religions.  Judaists should have been able to survive but survive as nothing.

So, without Advent, Europe today must have been shared by descendants of Huns, Mongoloids, and even Arabs.  The European race must have bee driven to the Atlantic Ocean and to Africa or to America.  If so, today white people should have lived only part of Africa and American Continent.  And most probably there would not have been the Industrial Revolution prevailing from England.

The world of today might not have been so different from what it was actually 2000 years ago.

But should we think of the power of Christianity only in terms of success in material civilization?

If mankind had been more spiritual, the world must have been different from what the above scenario suggests and what is is actually today surrounded by material fruits of our civilization.

Can we say that we did not need and do not need Christ Jesus in any context?  

 

http://web.joumon.jp.net/blog/2009/07/000872.html
Division of the World by Religion





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Joh 10:7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Joh 10:8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

Joh 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

"one Simon, whose surname is Peter" - Toyota and GM

Sumida River, Tokyo

Toyota and GM

In 1999 when Japan was in the early stage of its 15-year deflation, Toyota sold cars only about half the amount GM sold.

 http://gajendratawade.weebly.com/1/post/2009/12/post-title-click-and-type-to-edit1.html


But before the Lehman Shock Toyota caught up with GM in a neck-to neck race.  It was partly due to the yen-dollar exchange rate mostly over 100 yen per dollar, meaning the weaker yen, despite deflation in Japan.

Indeed, deflation in Japan was a factor for possibly pushing up the yen stronger against the US dollar, but the rate was mostly over 100 yen per dollar since the US financial power was regraded as so strong, and the Japanese Government purchased so many of US Treasury bonds.  But Lehman shock changed this paradigm.
 

http://money.cnn.com/2011/06/13/news/companies/global_auto_sales_race/index.htm

Specifically after 2009, Japan came to suffer extremely strong yen, 90 to 80 yen per dollar.  In addition to the crash of the US economy, Toyota's sales dropped with GM's.  No significant lead of Toyota was observed after the 2008 Lehman Shock.

But due to Abenomics, this exchange rate has been greatly corrected to 99 yen per dollar.  Accordingly we may see soon the effect of this exchange rate on global sales of Toyota cars and other Japanese exported products.

Incidentally, it is also said that Korean makers have enjoyed in these years exchange rates very favorable for their exporting businesses.

And one thing to be noted is that Japanese have not been kicking around in these 15 years of deflation or stagnation of growth of its GDP as shown by Toyota.  Japanese have been working very hard as before.  But its economy have not shown any remarkable expansion.  Japan's GDP has been almost flat in its trend in these 15 years due to the very complicated deflation.

Finally some economists of Japan succeeded to persuade Prime Minister Abe and Governor of the Bank of Japan Kuroda that if the Bank of Japan purchased Japanese Government bonds circulated in the market in a larger amount than the former Governor of BOJ had did, the exchange rate of the yen against the US dollar would go down, leading to improvement of Japanese export.  Consequently, even the stock price index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange has been boosted by 80%.

Nonetheless the decision by PM Abe to increase the consumption tax rate from 5% to 8% in the next spring is regraded as an ominous factor for weakening of the Japanese economy.  It might even cause the yen to get stronger again.  The overall result might also appear in the statistics of car production of Toyota.    



*** *** *** ***


Act 10:3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
Act 10:4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
Act 10:5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:
Act 10:6 He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
Act 10:7 And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;
Act 10:8 And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.

"God is not in all his thoughts" - Money for Marx and Shakespeare

Tokyo toward Tokyo Bay

Money for Marx and Shakespeare

People don't think of what money is.  But people try to get money.

However money is used by complicated entities, men, in complicated situations of complicated society, at least as a possibility.

Karl Marx
Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844
...
The Power of Money

By possessing the property of buying everything, by possessing the property of appropriating all objects, money is thus the object of eminent possession. The universality of its property is the omnipotence of its being. It is therefore regarded as an omnipotent being. Money is the procurer between man’s need and the object, between his life and his means of life. But that which mediates my life for me, also mediates the existence of other people for me. For me it is the other person. 

“What, man! confound it, hands and feet
And head and backside, all are yours!
And what we take while life is sweet,
Is that to be declared not ours?  

“Six stallions, say, I can afford,
Is not their strength my property?
I tear along, a sporting lord,
As if their legs belonged to me.”
Goethe: Faust (Mephistopheles)

Shakespeare in Timon of Athens: 

“Gold? Yellow, glittering, precious gold?
No, Gods, I am no idle votarist! ...
Thus much of this will make black white, foul fair,
Wrong right, base noble, old young, coward valiant.
... Why, this
Will lug your priests and servants from your sides,
Pluck stout men’s pillows from below their heads:
This yellow slave
Will knit and break religions, bless the accursed;
Make the hoar leprosy adored, place thieves
And give them title, knee and approbation
With senators on the bench: This is it
That makes the wappen’d widow wed again;
She, whom the spital-house and ulcerous sores
Would cast the gorge at, this embalms and spices
To the April day again. Come, damned earth,
Thou common whore of mankind, that put’st odds
Among the rout of nations.”

... 

If money is the bond binding me to human life, binding society to me, connecting me with nature and man, is not money the bond of all bonds? Can it not dissolve and bind all ties? Is it not, therefore, also the universal agent of separation? It is the coin that really separates as well as the real binding agent – the [...] [One word in the manuscript cannot be deciphered. – Ed.] chemical power of society. 

Shakespeare stresses especially two properties of money: 

1. It is the visible divinity – the transformation of all human and natural properties into their contraries, the universal confounding and distorting of things: impossibilities are soldered together by it. 

2. It is the common whore, the common procurer of people and nations. 

The distorting and confounding of all human and natural qualities, the fraternisation of impossibilities – the divine power of money – lies in its character as men’s estranged, alienating and self-disposing species-nature. Money is the alienated ability of mankind. 

That which I am unable to do as a man, and of which therefore all my individual essential powers are incapable, I am able to do by means of money. Money thus turns each of these powers into something which in itself it is not – turns it, that is, into its contrary.
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/manuscripts/power.htm

To get money you have to do something.  You have to act legally or work, or you have to act illegally or commit a crime.  You have to do such a thing with good will or good intentions, or otherwise you will do such a thing with ill will or malice.

If everybody acts  legally or work with good will or good intentions to earn money, there will be no needs for communism.

And if all the people are just bad and so bad, no matter what they think about money, it will not make this world better.

The key is not money but our mind.  It is so, since we can even abolish money following our philosophy or religion.





*** *** *** ***


Psa 10:3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
Psa 10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

"Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus" - Holy Era of History

Tokyo Views toward North

Holy Era of History

There is a little symmetry in history.

Before 60 years of the birth of Christ, Jerusalem was conquered and taken by Roman troops.  Almost after 60 years of the birth of Christ, Jerusalem was destroyed and taken by Roman troops.

Before 30 years of  the birth of Christ, Antony and Cleopatra died.  Almost 30 years after the nominal birth of Christ, Christ died.

11th century BC–930 BC — part of the Kingdom of Israel

930–586 BC — Kingdom of Judah

586–539 BC — Babylonian Empire

539–332 BC — Persian Empire

332 BC: Alexander the Great wins siege of Tyre; attacks Gaza, which fall.  Jerusalem and Judea fell under Greek control and Hellenic influence. After the Wars of the Diadochi following Alexander's death, Jerusalem and Judea fell under Ptolemaic control under Ptolemy I and continued minting Yehud coinage.

305–198 BC — Ptolemaics

198–141 BC — Seleucids

141–37 BC — The Hasmonean state in Israel established by the Maccabees, after 63 BCE under Roman supremacy

63 BC: Pompey captures Jerusalem, and establishes Roman annexation of Judea as a client kingdom. He also permanently abolishes Seleucid Syria. King Judah Aristobulus II removed from power, while his brother John Hyrcanus II becomes king under Roman suzerainty.

48 BC: Julius Caesar was engaged in a civil war with another Roman leader, Pompey. Pompey had been defeated in a battle and fled to Egypt. Caesar was pursuing him but Pompey was assassinated upon his arrival in Egypt before Caesar arrived in Egypt. Caesar was left with idle time. 

Cleopatra arranges to meet Caesar under intimate terms by having herself rolled up in a carpet that is delivered to Caesar's home quarters. When the carpet was unrolled a vivacious 21 year old Egyptian queen emerges. Caesar was about 52 at the time.

46 BC: Cleopatra gives birth to Caesar's child, a boy who is named Ptolemy Caesar and called Caesarion.

45 BC: Cleopatra joins Caesar in Rome. Her brother/husband Ptolemy XIV accompanies her. Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIV are housed in a villa belonging to Caesar on the outskirts of Rome. Caesar orders that a gold-plated statue of Cleopatra be placed in the temple of Venus Genetrix. Caesar's clan, the Julians, were supposedly descended from Venus.

44 BC: March 15, Caesar murdered by Brutus, Cassius, and their co-conspirators acting for the Republicans. Octavian returns from Greece.

40 BC Herod is appointed as king of Judaea by the Senate.
(40 BC–4 BC: Herod the Great, appointed King of the Jews by the Roman Senate.)

37 BC: Herod the Great captured Jerusalem, ending Hasmonean rule. Herod ruled the Province of Judea as a client-king of the Romans, rebuilt the Second Temple (see also Herod's Temple), upgraded the surrounding complex, and expanded the minting of coins to many denominations. 

Antony marries Cleopatra at Antioch.

30 BC: Death of Antony and Cleopatra in Alexandria.  Egypt is annexed as an imperial province of Rome.

27 BC: The Roman Senate votes Octavian the title of Augustus. Augustus eventually assumes all authority formerly held by the Roman senate becoming the first emperor. The Roman state is henceforth known as the Roman Empire, and the period from 27 BC to AD 305 as the Principate.

20 BC: Reconstruction on the Great Temple in Jerusalem is begun by King Herod Agrippa.

15 BC: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, son-in-law of Emperor Augustus visits Jerusalem and offers a hecatomb in the temple.  

6 BC: John the Baptist is born in Ein Kerem to Zechariah and Elizabeth. 

6– 4 BC: Birth of Jesus of Nazareth 

5 BC: Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, 40 days after his birth in Bethlehem (Biblical sources only).

0 AD: Traditional Date of the Birth of Jesus.

6 AD: End of Herodian governorate in Jerusalem.
Province of Roman Judaea created by merging Judea proper, Samaria and Idumea.

14-37 AD: Tiberius, Roman Emperor

26-36 AD: Pontius Pilate prefect of Roman Judea during the Crucifixion of Jesus.
Pontius Pilate, Prefect (governor) of Iudaea, recalled to Rome by Syrian Legate Vitellius on complaints of excess violence (JA18.4.2).

28 or 29 AD: John the Baptist began his ministry in the "15th year of Tiberius" (Luke 3:1–2), saying: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 3:1–2), a relative of Jesus (Luke 1:36), a Nazirite (Luke 1:15), baptized Jesus (Mark 1:4–11), later arrested and beheaded by Herod Antipas (Luke 3:19–20), it's possible that, according to Josephus' chronology, John was not killed until 36 (JA18.5.2)[4].

28-30 AD: Three year Ministry of Jesus, during which a number of key events took place in Jerusalem, including: (Biblical sources only).

30 AD: Key events in the martyrdom of Jesus which took place in Jerusalem (Biblical sources only).

30-64 AD: Peter served as the first pope.

30–70 AD: Schism within Judaism during the Second Temple era. A sect within Hellenised Jewish society starts Jewish Christianity, see also Rejection of Jesus.

44 AD: Death of Herod Agrippa I.

48-100 AD: Herod Agrippa II appointed King of the Jews by Claudius, seventh and last of the Herodians.

50 AD: Passover riot in Jerusalem, 20-30,000 killed.

60? AD: Paul in Rome: greeted by many "brothers."

64-68 AD:  After July 18 Great Fire of Rome, Nero blamed and persecuted the Christians (or Chrestians[13]), possibly the earliest mention of Christians, by that name, in Rome.

64/67(?)-76/79(?) AD: Pope Linus succeeds Peter as Episcopus Romanus (Bishop of Rome).

66–70 AD: The Great Jewish Revolt against Roman occupation ended with destruction of the Second Temple and the fall of Jerusalem. 1,100,000 people are killed by the Romans during the siege, and 97,000 captured and enslaved.

326: Emperor Constantine built Basilica over St. Peter’s tomb.

590 - 604: Pope Gregory established popes as de facto rules of central Italy.

1475: Pope Sixtus IV built Sistine Chapel, Sixtus Bridge over the Tiber River.

1521: Martin Luther excommunicated from Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X.

1626: St. Peter’s Cathedral consecrated.

1823: St. Peter's Basilica destroyed by fire.

1825: St. Peter's Basilica reconstructed in time for Holy Year.

http://www.unrv.com/empire/roman-timeline-1st-century.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_century_BC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Jerusalem
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/alexander/a/Alexander_3.htm
http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/cleopatra.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Jewish_history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Christianity
http://www.datesandevents.org/people-timelines/36-timeline-of-jesus.htm
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/vatican/vatimeln.htm

Note that those who saw Cleopatra acting as Queen of Egypt could not most probably see Christ Jesus preaching around Galilee and Jerusalem.  They belong to different eras apparently.

This sequence can be also applied to the present era around 2000.  About 60 years before 2000, WWII ended with Hiroshima/Nagasaki atomic bomb attacks.

Caesar was killed 44 years before 0 AD and Cleopatra and Antony died 30 years before the change of the history.  But JFK was assassinated 37 years and RFK and MLK were killed 32 two years before 2000.  

Accordingly, we had better get prepared for 2030 and 2060, since something terrible might occur.






*** *** *** ***


Mat 10:2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
Mat 10:3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
Mat 10:4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
Mat 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Mat 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

"Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife" - Corruption of China

Around Ikebukuro Streets, Tokyo

Corruption of China

The Chinese Government announced that the Gini coefficient of China in 2012 was 0.474.

The standard value of this coefficient in an ordinary advanced country under democracy is about 0.35.  Japan's Gini coefficient was 0.336 in fiscal 2010.

It is said that the society featured by a Gini coefficient of 0.4 or more is at risk of unrest or lack of stability.

Truly in these 20 years, 20,000 high-ranking officials of China have fled to foreign countries, transferring assets of about $100 billion to overseas.  It is $12 million per official.

In this decade, 1.2 million public office workers of China sent their children to foreign countries as the first step of transferring their assets to overseas.

Indeed Hillary Clinton said in a recent speech at Harvard University that 90% of families of Chinese elite bureaucrats and 80% of Chinese wealthy people have already filed or intend to file immigration claims to foreign countries.

In fact Chinese law enforcement authorities arrested more than 140,000 officials for bribery, graft or other crimes in fiscal 2011.

You should not envy China.



*** *** *** ***


Mar 10:2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.
Mar 10:3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?

"the LORD appointed other seventy" - Global Homelessness

Part of Tokyo Metropolitan Area 

Global Homelessness

Let's check states of homelessness in the world.

First the US:

Despite a housing crisis, a great recession, rising income inequality, and elevated poverty, there is some good news among the most vulnerable segment of American society. America’s homeless population – an estimated 633,000 people – has declined in the last decade. 

This seems incredible – perhaps literally, so. The National Alliance to End Homelessness, a leader in homelessness service and research, estimates a 17% decrease in total homelessness from 2005 to 2012. As a refresher: this covers a period when unemployment doubled (2007-2010) and foreclosure proceedings quadrupled (2005-2009).
... 

The decline of homelessness over the past eight years is nothing short of a blue-moon public policy triumph. Why don’t you know about it? 

Could it be because we’d prefer not to hear about it? For the fortunate, one’s daily interaction with the homeless is practiced ignorance. Part of any city-dweller’s habit is to swiftly pass those on the street, averting one’s eyes, or perhaps floating a statement about not having any change on you. In a Gallup poll from early August, just 2 percent of respondents said that the category of “Poverty/Hunger/Homelessness” constituted “the most important problem facing this country today.” 

Unlike the jobs report, there is no famous, metronomic update on the state of homelessness in America. The “Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress” of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development is a front-page rarity. Since its first iteration in 2007, the report that collects information on homelessness nationwide, has been mentioned in one article of the archives of both the New York Times and Washington Post, combined. Coverage of homeless issues—found extensively in the “street papers” produced in many cities like Chicago’s Streetwise—is just not a topic that catches attention for wider audiences. 

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/the-astonishing-decline-of-homelessness-in-america/279050/

Then England:

Statutory Homelessness:
April to June Quarter 2013
England  

Household acceptances  

• 13,460 applicants were accepted as owed a main homelessness duty between 1 April and 30 June 2013, 5 per cent higher than during the same quarter of 2012.  

• On a seasonally-adjusted basis, there were 13,550 acceptances, an increase of 1 per cent from 13,380 in the previous quarter.  

Households in temporary accommodation  

• 56,210 households were in temporary accommodation on 30 June 2013, 9 per cent higher than at the same date in 2012.  

• On a seasonally-adjusted basis, 56,060 households were in temporary accommodation on 30 June, a 1 per cent increase from 55,250 in the previous quarter 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/236899/PROTECT_-_Statutory_Homelessness_2nd_Quarter__Apr_-_Jun__2013_England.pdf

France:

Homelessness reaching crisis levels in France 

For more than 130,000 French citizens, the roads are where they live and sleep.

For decades, the homeless in France were single men, living beyond the borders of society.
But that has now been changed as a result of a four-year long economic crisis.

The housing shortages have led to demonstrations in Paris.
Under French law, tenants cannot be thrown out onto the streets between November and March when winter sweeps through the country.
But come April and they are back on the streets: a problem that’s becoming bigger with each passing year.  

Meanwhile, in the posh districts of French cities, tens of thousands of apartments have been lying vacant for almost an entire year.  

It is in the rich neighborhoods like this one where the French government says it wants to take over empty apartments and then give them to the homeless to solve the housing crisis. But charities say, it is easier said than done.  

http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/06/25/310832/homelessness-reaching-crisis-levels-in-france/

Germany:

Up to 4,000 homeless in Berlin 

According to estimates, there are up to 4,000 homeless people in Berlin. Some can be easily spotted. But with many others, there's no way of telling they live on the streets, because they don't fulfill the stereotype of a shabby hobo. Most citizens or tourists don't even notice, or they don't pay attention to them. 

That was one reason for Berlin-based Sally Ollech and Katharina Kühn to initiate the project "Querstadtein." Just like in cities like Copenhagen or London, Berlin now offers city tours focusing on the homeless. The idea is to help overcome prejudices and reservations. 

http://www.dw.de/berlin-through-the-eyes-of-the-homeless/a-17014920 

Germany
An estimated 254,000 people are homeless in Germany
Approximately 25% are women
Approximately 11% are children and young people
Source: European Federation of National organisations working with the Homeless (FIANCE)
http://www.homelessworldcup.org/content/homelessness-statistics

And Others:

Australia
100,000 people sleep on the streets of Australia everyday
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003.
An estimated 105,000 people are homeless in Australia.
Approximately 44% of homeless people in Australia are female
Approximately 12% of homeless people in Australia are children under the age of 12 

Source: http://www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au, 2009

Brazil
In Brazil, there is a deficit of 6.6 Million housing units, equalling 20 million homeless people, who live in favelas, shared clandestine rooms, hovels or under bridges and viaducts, or are squatters, in some of the country's largest cities
Source: Brazil 2000 census
An estimated 2,500 people are homeless in Rio de Janiero
An estimated 10,000 people sleep rough in Sao Paulo
Half of the population of Sao Paulo live in informal shelter 

Source: Brazil’s Economic Research Institute Foundation, 2003

Japan
An estimated 25,296 people are homeless in Japan
An estimated 5,000 people are homeless in Tokyo             

Source: www.street-papers.org/case-studies-asia, 2006

Greece
Homelessness in Greece has risen from 17,000 in 2009 to 20,000 in 2010
An estimated 9,000 people are homeless in Athens 

Source: European Observatory on Homelessness            

Hong Kong
52.7% of homeless people are aged 49 or over in Hong Kong
18% of homeless people have not received a formal education in Hong Kong. 

Source: Project on Helping Street Sleepers - Paper of LegCo Welfare Panel (2004) 

http://www.homelessworldcup.org/content/homelessness-statistics







*** *** *** ***


Luk 10:1 After these things the LORD appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

"yet he hath opened mine eyes" - Were Hiroshima/Nagasaki Attacks Necessary

Tokyo Views toward East 

Were Hiroshima/Nagasaki Attacks Necessary

The most significant incident in the 20th century is, as widely admitted, the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the US Air Force.

But people in the world still misunderstand the backgrounds of this incident.

First, it is true that the Empire of Japan were prepared for the battle to the finish on Japan's mainland in the summer of 1945.  For this purpose, the Imperial Army and Navy still kept 5,000 military planes for expected kamikaze missions.  Most of those planes were not allowed to fly and engage in air battles against B29s and other American military planes attacking Japanese cities.  Japanese generals rather accepted US air raids without using Japanese fighter planes to encounter them in the air over the Japanese Archipelago.  Some limited number of fighter planes and anti-aircraft artillery were measures the Imperial military took to defend Japanese citizens from American air raids (which was why the B29 carrying atomic bomb could easily penetrate in the Japanese sky).

What is more, Japanese war leaders desperately prepared three million soldiers and armed civilians for the decisive battle, though they were not so well equipped with sufficient weapons.  But if the US Government had promised that the Emperor of Japan would be allowed to keep his status and the imperial system as a political framework of Japan would be secured, the Imperial military of Japan would have soon stopped act of war.  If so, as often said, tens of thousands of lives of US soldiers would be saved and secured mainly from crazy kamikaze attacks.
  　　
Nonetheless the US Government led by President Truman decided not to make such a promise but use atomic (or nuclear) bombs on Japanese cities.  And the reason for this strategic decision was not only related to military conditions on this last stage of WWII but also involving concerns about international politics after WWII, namely conflicts between western democracy and the Soviet Union-based communism.  

Anyway, an atomic bomb attack carried out on August 6 and August 9, respectively.

In another aspect of the war, the Potsdam Declaration had been prepared and issued by leaders of the US, the UK and China on July 26, 1945.  This Declaration requested the Empire of Japan to surrender unconditionally.

Leader of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin was also present at the Potsdam Conference held near Berlin though the USSR did not yet declare war against the Empire of Japan at the time.  Before this Conference, Harry Truman of the US President wanted the USSR to renounce the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact and start attacks on the Imperial Army of Japan in Manchuria, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands to accelerate the end of the war without more sacrifices on the American side.  So, Truman rather behaved humbly before Stalin.

But, of course, Truman did not like to see expansion of influences of Russian communists into the Far East.  So, when the vice-president-turned US President Truman heard a flash report from Los Alamos, New Mexico, that a nuclear bomb test, the first for mankind, succeeded, he was glad that the US alone could put an end to the war against the Empire of Japan without help from the Soviet Union.  Now Truman did not have to behave humbly before communist Stalin.  Truman actually suggested to Stalin that the US had obtained a new type of destructive bombs.  Stalin did not look like being impressed.  But he urged his generals to launch attacks on Imperial Japanese troops stationed in Manchuria though Stalin first said to Truman that Soviet troops would start firing on August 15.  

Stalin must have thought that the US would not need help from the communist country USSR to make Japanese military forces surrender now that the US had atomic bombs.  Then the USSR could not get Manchuria or other territories now occupied by the Empire of Japan.  Accordingly in order to acquire any reward for entry into the war, the USSR began to advance its troops over the border of Manchukuo on August 9 when Nagasaki was attacked by another nuclear bomb.

The general judgment by American experts on Japan in this period of time, namely the early summer of 1945, was that the Empire of Japan, except fanatical generals and officers, now wanted to end the war.  Japanese leaders must have known that they had no chance to stop the offensive by the US military.  Japanese troops retreated from the Philippine; they were completely defeated in Iwojima Island; and Okinawa, part of essential regions of the Empire, was finally conquered by US troops despite sever air raids on US ships and troops by kamikaze planes of the Imperial military.

However, American experts knew that the Empire of Japan could not unconditionally surrender.  They had to preserve the Imperial system, the core of the nation Japan.  Conversely, if the US promised that it would allow the empire of Japan to continue his reign over his people, Truman could make the Imperial Government in Tokyo rather quickly surrender without military help from the USSR.  But Truman did not take such advice but requested Tokyo to surrender unconditionally through the Potsdam Declaration before Hirsohima/Nagaski attacks.

The key to understanding why Truman and other US leaders were definitely determined to drop atomic bombs on Japan lies in their view on the Soviet Union.  Those American politicians thought that after WWII the USSR would try to further spread communism in the world, thus getting into stark conflict with the US.  Further if Stalin thought that his troops finally put an end to the war the Empire of Japan had started with the Pearl Harbor Attack, he would take a more aggressive and arrogant stance against the US after WWII.  Therefore Truman had to use atomic bombs on Japan so as to show Stalin the superior military capability of the US.

That is why Truman did not follow advice from experts on Japan who claimed that Tokyo would soon surrender if Japanese politicians had been convinced that the Emperor could be intact and the imperial system would be secured as the framework of the nation Japan. Conversely, if Truman did not admit this special care about the Emperor, Japanese generals and soldiers would fight till the real end through battles on the mainland Japan.  Then, he could justify his use of atomic bombs, and Stalin should be surprised by power of this new type of bombs and Soviet-Union leaders would be afraid of America.  As a result the US could  stop expansion of communism in the world.

For this purpose, Truman did not include any conditions on preservation of the imperial system in the Potsdam Declaration, which Tokyo so wanted, but posed the Declaration demanding unconditional surrender from Tokyo.  It was intended to take this opportunity to use the atomic bombs not only for destroying persistent resistance by the Imperial troops but also for putting the power of nuclear bombs on a show for the USSR.    

So, why was it necessary to use atomic bombs while the Empire of Japan lost most of its war capability and the Soviet Union was about to join allied forces on the Pacific Theater of WWII?  The answer is that the Empire of Japan had still military power to kill tens of thousands of US soldiers on Japan's mainland and the communist Soviet Union must be suppressed militarily by capitalist/democratic America.

Finally, after the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the US Government did not take a clear stance in requesting unconditional surrender of the Imperial military of Japan.  Tokyo tried to confirm that the Emperor could be exempted from US retaliation after WWII, meaning that the imperial system could be left untouched despite the conditions specified in the Potsdam Declaration.  In response, the US Government simply said that the Emperor would be subject to the supreme commander of the allied forces, namely General MacArthur.

Accordingly, political leaders in Tokyo, including the Emperor himself, understood that the emperor would not be persecuted and the imperial regime would not be abolished by the US military forces expected to land on Japan.  So, the Emperor and the Imperial Government decided to surrender on August 14, 1945, Japan Time.  The Emperor himself announced to all the Japanese people through radio transmission that the imperial military must cease fire immediately at noon of August 15.  (It was the first experience of hearing the Emperor speaking for ordinary Japanese people.)  Consequently, August 15 is officially regraded today as the day when WWII ended for Japan.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AC%AC%E4%BA%8C%E6%AC%A1%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C%E5%A4%A7%E6%88%A6
The Pacific Theater of WWII



*** *** *** ***



Joh 9:28 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples.
Joh 9:29 We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.
Joh 9:30 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
Joh 9:31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.

"Believe ye that I am able to do this?" - Napoleon and Christianity

Tokyo Streets

Napoleon and Christianity

Napoleon humbled himself after he was driven into exile in St. Helena Island of the Atlantic Ocean in 1815.

Napoleon expressed the following thoughts while he was exiled on the rock of St. Helena. There, the conqueror of civilized Europe had time to reflect on the measure of his accomplishments. He called Count Montholon to his side and asked him, "Can you tell me who Jesus Christ was?" The count declined to respond. Napoleon countered:

    Well then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him. . . . I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man; none else is like Him: Jesus Christ was more than a man. . . . I have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would have died for me . . . but to do this is was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, of my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lightened up the flame of self-devotion in their hearts. . . . Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man toward the unseen, that it becomes insensible to the barriers of time and space. Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love toward Him. This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man's creative powers. Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range. This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This it is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ. 

As Ravi Zacharias writes, '...it is difficult to explain this away as mere eloquence...With unbelievable insight, Napoleon saw how Jesus Christ conquered. It was not by force, but by winning the heart.'

http://justjesus.typepad.com/blog/2009/11/napoleon-bonaparte-and-jesus-christ.html

Even when he died in 1821 he left  his last will and testament which made clear how much Napoleon came to respect Christ Jesus.  According to Napoleon's last testament:

"I could not delare loudly and boldly that I was a Christian.  I should have confessed that I was a Christian."

This testament is reportedly kept in a library of a university in Chicago.

Napoleon also expressed various interest views on life:

You can tolerate an ugly woman but bear an arrogant woman.  

A beauty is for the eye but a good wife is for the mind. 

In order to enjoy a married life man and wife has to always share burdens and sweat. 

A true hero is the one who advances over unhappiness of his life. 

If you learn in a right manner, you can change to a right direction.

However wars Napoleon set off and launched resulted in death of 600,000 to one million people.  So, he must have asked big pardon from Christ Jesus.

Nonetheless, Napoleon paved the way for destruction of absolute monarchy systems and oppressive rules in Europe while introducing democracy and liberalism.  He must have been a pawn of the God in His plan called the history.

http://yaplog.jp/tadaopottery/archive/358
St. Helena Island




*** *** *** ***


Mat 9:27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.
Mat 9:28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
Mat 9:29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
Mat 9:30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.