Every Saturday morning and afternoon, I teach at an English school right across the street from a hospital. Naturally enough, besides people from the neighborhood, many of the students are doctors, nurses, and their children. I taught a class for another teacher who couldn’t make it to school today.

The student was a female OB/GYN whose daughter was in one of my weekly classes. We had a lot of fun talking about childbirth, midwifery, homebirth vs. hospital birth, etc. etc. Then she said she liked gynecology better than obstetrics, especially surgery. I asked her what kind of surgery. I should have known: abortion. I suddenly felt sick and felt my gorge rise. I wanted to run out of the room and throw up. I had to make an effort not to stare at her hands. Hands that had killed who knows how many babies.

She told me that in the area around the hospital where she works there are a lot of poor people and that there are a lot of unwanted pregnancies that must be terminated. When I told her about volunteer groups/organizations that will take in needy mothers and provide for them till their baby is born and support them afterwards, she said these women don’t deserve any help and shouldn’t be having children. She said what these women needed was not shelter, but education about contraception. She said the mothers (and fathers) are worthless, unproductive fools and will have children just like themselves. Basically, she said it’s better for everyone (including the babies themselves) if the babies are not born. I thought I’d have to turn around and throw up. I’m feeling sick again now as I write this.

I had two more classes after that and then hurried to my friends’ house to babysit the three-year-old twins while my friends went to a concert. Those twins are wonderful little boys. We played together, had dinner, went out for ice cream, washed up and bathed them, then put them to sleep. We prayed together and they conked about before I finished singing through the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostle’s Creed. Each baby is so beautiful, such a miracle. Tonight has been one of the best nights I’ve had this year.

The thing about Japanese people is that know abortion is murder and speak of it as such in their everyday language. They speak of “letting down the baby” instead of “aborting a foetus.” They don’t even bother to pretend the baby is not human yet. There are special shrines and graveyards for aborted babies. The doctor today talked of them as babies, too. I feel sick.

There’s nothing I want more than to get married and have lots of babies. There are so many good Christian couples all over the world, some of whom are my close friends, who cannot have children. Meanwhile, babies all over the world are being massacred every day for the sins of their parents.

The money I earn from today’s class is blood money. I think I’m going to put it all in the offering. I can’t bear to keep it.

I want to ask the receptionist not to set up any more appointments for classes with that doctor. I don’t know if I could stand it. But if I could be instrumental in her salvation, I don’t think I ought to avoid her. My Christian piano teacher told me once that she never, ever turned away a student or told one to quit, no matter how awful the student was, because she considered each one to be sent from God, and that it was her responsibility not only to teach them piano but to witness to them as best she could. After our talk today, I have a feeling that doctor won’t be requesting any more of my classes, though. I almost hope she won’t.

Today’s class brought back childhood memories of wanting to start a Christian orphanage and pregnant mothers’ home in Tokyo. There is still not one single one here yet. But there are so many things to do and I can’t do them all.

This is the first time in my life I’ve spent an hour with someone who kills people for a living. As I walked home from work this evening, I called my mother on my cell phone and told her about the class, crying uncontrollably and hyperventilating. Evil incarnate, so well-dressed, well-educated, intelligent, and actually nice. But Satan is beautiful.

Come to think of it, putting the money for today’s class in the offering is meaningless. Her daughter’s tuition is blood money, too. So I’m earning money made from the killing of babies instead of going to our church’s weekly Bible history class on Saturday mornings. I attended that class for years. It is one of the things I used to enjoy most.

I’m an accomplice to the massacre of innocents. I wonder how many other doctors and nurses at that English school are abortionists. I don’t want to know. But even if I quit this job to avoid getting blood money, the money I earn will always tainted in some way, somewhere, somehow. There’s no avoiding it, unless I go off and become a hermit somewhere. But even then, I’d be an accomplice by virtue of not working to stop the massacre. I know I have to be salt and light, but I feel like my salt is blood-stained and my light is too small to make any difference.

I’ve been using links on my desktop for the past few years. I can go directly to the sites I use all the time without having to opening a browser window, open my favourites, etc. etc. The page was made for a 17″ monitor. The open space on the left is for the icons and shortcuts. I keep this online so I can use it when I’m away from home. Nice, huh?

Left to right (scroll down to bottom of page to see background picture):
Ben, future pastor/missionary, is reading Calvin’s Institutes.

I’m reading Tacitus. This was back in the days I was dreaming of entering the classics department at Oxford. Huh. LOL.

Berek, walking encyclopaedia of the Civil War (former maniac), is reading a big book containing a detailed history of the Battle of Chancellorsville (for those of you who’ve never heard of it, it’s a battle that took place during the War of Northern Agression).

Credits: The picture was taken by Robert Zins, an American missionary to Africa who spent a few days at our house way back in 1997.

As a result of so many people downloading the file, the average speed of the Internet worldwide was cut nearly in half.

Yesterday, I started watching the Matrix with one of my private students, Mrs. Ishida. I teach her and her two children (girl age 9, boy age 5) every week. She was interested in the movie but said she didn’t understand it at all. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be explaining it to her line by line, scene by scene. As strange as this may sound, it’s amazing how powerful that movie can be as a tool for evangelism. For example, I spent a lot of time explaining the Trinity from the Bible (she’d never heard of it before).

In a “normal” class using textbooks, I would have no chance to talk about God, the Bible, postmillennialism, sin, the Cross, and so on and so forth. I’d be considered a religious wacko and shunned. Tokyo is big city, after all, and everyone here is wary of weird religions. But explaining the historical/cultural background of the name of a movie character in tight black clothes and black designer sunglasses isn’t intimidating to Japanese non-Christians who have never heard of the Bible before.

Mrs. Ishida had never heard about sin, the Cross, etc. so she didn’t know what this line meant: “Hallelujah. You’re my savior, man. My own personal Jesus Christ.” I took my time explaining it to her. She was fascinated by all the various illusions in the story and took copious notes. She said she’s very much looking forward to next week.

I’ve had several opportunities to explain the movie to students who’ve already seen the movie, but this is the first time I’m actually using it in class and able to explain things in such detail. It’s incredibly wonderful to be able to share the Gospel with such a willing listener and of course, it’s fun to watch the movie, too. She and I both want to fast forward the gross parts, like when Neo’s mouth gets glued together and the agents stick the bug inside him. (Shake your heads all you like, guys. I don’t like it. It’s gross.)

Can you believe it? I’m being paid to watch a movie and explain the Gospel. I don’t think there are too many jobs in the world better than mine.

Whatever “Reformed courtship” is….

Reading Rick’s comments about courtship and chatting with Joshua made my brain cell start squirming.

One of the longest accounts we have of a Biblical “courtship” is in Genesis 24. When Eliezer was suing for Rebekah’s hand, he dealt with her brother Laban the entire time. Bethuel, the father, doesn’t come out in the story at all, except in passing (24:50).

In chapter 34, in the case of Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, Hamor and Shechem talk to both the father and the brothers (34:11), but it is the brothers who give the final answer (34:13), even though we know that Jacob is in full command of his faculties and is still capable of fulfilling his responsibilities as the father of the family. Granted, Simon and Levi were not model brothers. But it does not seem they were out of line when they spoke up in the “negotiations” over Dinah. We are told that Jacob was upset over the slaughter, but not over their speaking with Dinah’s prospective husband and father-in-law.

Besides those stories, there is Canticles 8:8. “We have a little sister … what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?” Her brothers seem to take it for granted that they are the ones who will look over her when she is “spoken for.”

I’m not saying fathers are irrelevant. Of course, they are very important, especially if there are no brothers or if the brothers are incapable of involvement for some reason (e.g. too young, living too far away, etc.). But if there are brothers about the same age, it seems to me they should be actively involved in the courtship, and that is something that doesn’t seem to be emphasized much these days, if at all.

It is easier in some ways for a young man to be careful and behave himself while he spends time with the girl he is courting and her father than it is when he spends time with men about his own age. The brothers can get to know the suitor in ways that would be difficult, or maybe even impossible, for the father. By the same token, girls can often see through and get to know other girls more easily than their brothers, fathers, and mothers can. That’s another point that I feel is sorely neglected in the Reformed courtship discussions: the role of mothers and sisters of the courting couple. But never mind about that now.

All in all, I think there is too much emphasis placed on the role of the girl’s father to the exclusion of the other members of the family. “Father … father … father … daughter … suitor.” What about the other people in the family? Sometimes, it seems like

the courting couple + girl’s father + the families (in the abstract) = courtship

instead of there being specific roles for each member of the family.

OK, I’m done spewing some thoughts at 2 am.

Dear Mark,

You and some others have expressed some interest in Japan, so here are the answers to your questions from the comment box below.

How cold, hot, does Tokyo get? Snow ever?
Steinar could probably come up with an answer to that faster than I can. Uhh. Let’s see. Thank you, Google (no link necessary, LOL). I found a page with all the answers.

Tokyo has an annual average temperature of 15.6 C (60.1 F). The month with the highest average is August at 27.1 C (80.8 F) and that with the lowest is January at 5.2 C (41.4 F). The record summer high is 39.1 C (102.4 F) and the lowest winter temperature recorded is -9 C (15.8 F). The hot days of summer are often accompanied by high humidity and are therefore extremely muggy.

Average annual precipitation is 1,405mm, relatively high for a city in the temperate zone. The wettest month is June with an average rainfall of 185mm and the driest is January with an average of 45mm.

On an annual average there is one rainy day per week. In fact, however, it is rainy or cloudy three fourths of the time during the rainy season and is clear two thirds of the time during the winter months. In winter, it is not uncommon to have a dry spell lasting one month or more.

Tokyo generally has between one and three light snows per season. [Emeth's comment: Very light snow. So light that it usually disappears on the same day or the next. It's not usually fit to be called snow, really. It's slush.]

Please bear in mind that these statistics are from over 10 years ago and that the temperature of the city of Tokyo is rising every year. You can get more info on this if you go to Google and search through the results for “Tokyo weather.”

Mexican restaraunts?
There aren’t any in the suburbs, but if you go way downtown where all the gaijin (foreigners) are, I’ve heard there are a few.

Other sorts of restaraunts?
You can get food from any continent in the world (except maybe Antarctica) made by chefs from that country. There is anything and everything you can imagine here … if you are willing to hunt it down and pay for it.

Does Tokyo have an “America-town?”
Well, sort of. There is a place called Roppongi (”Six Trees”) where a lot of gaijin go to. Japanese who want to meet gaijin go there, too. It used to be a very nice, high-class area of town, and it is still an important area, but most of the gaijin now go there for … what can I say?

Roppongi is Tokyo’s current active nexus of sin where the highest concentration of foreigners can be found any night after 6pm. More….

Roppongi is a town where the old and the new coexist. More….

“Korea-town?”
There are a lot of Koreans all over Japan. They were kidnapped, enslaved, and brought to Japan. I blogged a bit about this in June. There isn’t anything like a Korean version of Chinatown. There are clusters of Koreans here and there but most of them just live among the Japanese.

How strong is nationalism/patriotism?
Among the older people, especially those who grew up before or during the war, it is stronger. But that kind of spirit has pretty much disappeared. Actually, there is so little conscious patriotism among the people that the Japanese government is getting worried, and starting to teach Japanese mythology to school children again … the sort they taught them before the War. This looks like a good site for those of you interested in Japan and its history.

Also known as the “Prince Yamato Myth” (Nihan Shoki / Kojiki), the founding myth of Japan involves the relation between man and the Kami or Natural Spirits/’gods’. The Kami came into existence on a plane parallel to the Prime Material, whence Japan is created after Izanagi (the male) ‘dips his spear into the ocean’ and creates Japan along with Izanami (the female). They produce a pantheon of gods, and it is through this natural divinity that the hegemony of the Yamato House is mythically legitimized.

There are supposedly two main familial branches, both claiming the same divine origin: the kobetsu (the Emperor and the Nobles, known as the ‘Imperial Branch’) and the shimbetsu (other lesser clans, known as the ‘Divine Branch’). Below them were the masses, known as bambetsu (’Foreign Branch’).

– The Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, bears a divinity-child, Ninigi.
– Ninigi gives birth to Jimmu Tenno, who (according to myth) constructed a palace on the Plain of Yamato in 660 BCE
– Therefore, Amaterasu is a mechanism of legitimacy for feudal Japan’s national polity, Kokutai

Kokutai refers to the traditional assertion that feudal Japanese have divine roots, and but one Imperial line. Therefore, it was believed that they were humanely superior to the rest of the world, which was destined to become part of the global Japanese empire of the future.

Do people love McDonald’s?
I don’t know a single person who would say he loves McDonald’s, but it’s very popular, yes. There’s a McDonald’s in front of every big or middle-size train station and many in the suburbs, too. The McDonald’s here tastes a bit different from the McDonald’s in America. And the menu is pretty different, too. Oh, and there are all sorts of “specials” that are only made for Japan and which are changed all the time.

OK. How’s that for one day?

I chatted with Tim for the first time a couple days ago. He’s one of those wonderful people who capitalizes and punctuates properly, even in chat. I only need one hand to count the people I know who do that.

I just got home after a long day. I went to Akihabara today with my cousins Ken and Shren. See the Akihabara Official Site or Japan National Tourist Organization site for more info about this amazing spot. It’s the only place in the world that has so many hundreds of stores selling so many computers and computer parts so cheaply. It’s wonderful but exhausting to walk around it for 6.5 hours. We were able to get a lot of good stuff at great prices. Ken helped me pick out a flat screen which will be arriving tomorrow. We were able to get a case at a pretty good price, too. Shren and Ken lugged it around for me for hours and hours. It was too heavy for me to even pick up. Here’s my chat log with Ken from a few minutes ago.

kshiomitsu: http://www.directron.com/midwindow1.html
lucanius: It feels funny to chat while talking on the phone with you.
lucanius: LOL
kshiomitsu: http://www.directron.com/modwindows.html
lucanius: Which one nanoyo?
kshiomitsu: mid tower ones
kshiomitsu: all usable
lucanius: Oh, OK.
lucanius: Looking.
lucanius: This site is Korean?
kshiomitsu: nope
kshiomitsu: American
lucanius: Same maker?
lucanius: You sure?
kshiomitsu: lemme check though I already did
[HUNG UP PHONE]
kshiomitsu: all of these cases have the same side panel seems like
lucanius: http://www.directron.com/201window.html
lucanius: This looks right.
kshiomitsu: okay I’ll have to check this at 3 hawks tommorow
lucanius: There?
lucanius: How?
lucanius: Whaddya mean?
kshiomitsu: they have the SF-201-B case at three hawks
kshiomitsu: I’ll have to see if it fits yours
lucanius: OK.
lucanius: Thanks.
lucanius: Thank you so much.
kshiomitsu: remember the black one we saw at LAOX
kshiomitsu: that one has the same side panel too
kshiomitsu: they all use that one
lucanius: OK.
lucanius: Jyaa, we’ll know tomorrow then.
kshiomitsu: yup
lucanius: OK.
lucanius: Thanks.
lucanius: Could you send me the MP3 through AOL?
kshiomitsu: yup
lucanius: Thanks.
lucanius: You rock.
lucanius: LOL
lucanius: http://www.directron.com/glowidecable.html
lucanius: Mite kore.
lucanius: Can we get black light for the inside of the case?
kshiomitsu: yikes!
lucanius: ROTFL
kshiomitsu: black light?
lucanius: UV
kshiomitsu: oooh
kshiomitsu: yeah it’ll work
lucanius: Yay!!
kshiomitsu: http://www.directron.com/solidcase.html
kshiomitsu: they sell this one too
lucanius: Uwaaa.
lucanius: It’s so much cheaper than what we paid.
kshiomitsu: mmmmmm
kshiomitsu: but it doesn’t look good with all the markings
lucanius: What markings?
kshiomitsu: the white letters and red letters
kshiomitsu: you know what
kshiomitsu: yours came with 4 fans
lucanius: The red letters are part of the graphic.
lucanius: Not the case.
lucanius: They’re on every pic at the site.
kshiomitsu: ahh
lucanius: The white letters are the same, tashika.
lucanius: The side panel is different.
lucanius: This one is nicer than the one they’re selling betsubai.
kshiomitsu: side panel is the same
lucanius: Chigaujyan.
lucanius: Look.
kshiomitsu: onaji datte
lucanius: The one that comes with the case is curved.
lucanius: The bara one is cut straight.
kshiomitsu: ….wakannai
kshiomitsu: maa iiya
kshiomitsu: konna site attanannte shiranakattamon
lucanius: Shouganai yo ne.
kshiomitsu: and we couldn’t make sure if it was the right one
lucanius: Yeah.
kshiomitsu: even if we knew
kshiomitsu: but your case came with 4 fans that this site isn’t selling with
lucanius: Demo fans wa cheap desho?
lucanius: Compare, buddy.
lucanius: http://store1.yimg.com/I/directron_1701_93885589
lucanius: http://store1.yimg.com/I/directron_1702_3250505
kshiomitsu: zenbu de 2100 gurai
lucanius: Chigau jyan.
kshiomitsu: kore no hanashika
lucanius: Yeah.
kshiomitsu: kekkyoku onaji gurai no nedan dayo
lucanius: With shipping tte koto?
kshiomitsu: unn
lucanius: Yeah, soudane.
lucanius: I’m keisan shiteru that right now.
kshiomitsu: convert shitara 7269 yen dashi
lucanius: You’re right.
lucanius: Yokattann dayo, the one we got.
kshiomitsu: soune
kshiomitsu: chotto omokatta kedo
lucanius: ROTFL
kshiomitsu: undounatta
lucanius: I’m so sorry.
lucanius: Motto muscular naruyo.
lucanius: Hopefully.
kshiomitsu: hehe
lucanius: So, you think kono side panel wa worth it?
kshiomitsu: mmmmm
lucanius: Or, jibun de tsukutta hou ga ii?
kshiomitsu: homma ni hoshikattarane
lucanius: Jibun is kekkyoku you dakedo ne.
lucanius: Hmmmmm.
lucanius: Doushiyo.
lucanius: It’d be so nice.
kshiomitsu: you can put in all the gadgets
lucanius: Nanno gadgets?
lucanius: Lights?
kshiomitsu: unn
lucanius: Hey, mada you haven’t sent me the MP3….
lucanius: Hurry up and choudai!
lucanius: LOL
kshiomitsu: heehee
lucanius: I need to take out my contacts.
lucanius: My eyes are killing me.
lucanius: Oi.
kshiomitsu: hmm?
lucanius: Tonikaku, if it’s not too much trouble, maybe you could drop by 3 Hawks tomorrow and check.
lucanius: We’ll see from there.
lucanius: How’s that sound?
kshiomitsu: okay
lucanius: Thanks.
lucanius: I got an error message.
lucanius: Connection problem with Jetknn; the file will not be sent. (If you and your buddy are each behind a different firewall, then the connection will not work; check with your network administrator if you are not sure about your firewall status.)
lucanius: Yuk.
lucanius: Do you have a firewall?
kshiomitsu: I think it’s because we’re both behind routers
lucanius: Oooooh. Sokka.
lucanius: Ben and I don’t have any problem.
lucanius: But I suppose it’s because we’re on the same router.
lucanius: Oh, well.
kshiomitsu: http://www.directron.com/midwindow3.html
kshiomitsu: I think only this one works on yours
lucanius: Soundtrack zenbu download shite CD-R ni irete kureru yone?
lucanius: LOL
kshiomitsu: hehe
lucanius: I guess that one looks OK.
lucanius: Jyaa, sou iu koto de.
lucanius: I’ll get back from work after 11 pm.
lucanius: You’ll still be on desho?
kshiomitsu: ok
lucanius: OK.
lucanius: See ya then.
lucanius: Bye.
kshiomitsu: bye!
lucanius: Thanks for everything!!
kshiomitsu: no problem
lucanius: Over and out.

I’m in Gideon’s article.