cross cultural

by zukochan 3 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  zukochan

  hey all,

  i dunno if you can be much help, but i figured i'd register and explain my situation. so, here goes...

  i just found out a few days ago that a friend of mine from japan is a jw. born and raised as a matter of fact. i've been praying for an opportunity to talk to her about it, but i'm not too sure where to start. i've been looking around at freeminds.org, and they have some helpful stuff, but the culture crossover concerns me most.

  i'm sure i could apply the "tough questions" rather easily with a native english speaker, but i don't know how far i can get with my friend. plus, the japanese new world translation is doubtless a straight copy of the english one, so its two or three steps removed from a real copy of scripture.

  i don't know what will happen if i get a chance to talk to her about it, but i know there's not much time left to do it. her study abroab program ends next month. i'll actually be going to japan in june to work for a year, but i'll be extremely far from where my friend lives.

  any thoughts would be appreciated,
  zuko
• 

  Fredhall

  You need some advice? You going the wrong way.
• 

  fodeja

  The only thing that comes to my mind is http://www.jwic.com , which has a Japanese section. Maybe this could help you somehow.

  f.
• 

  outnfree

  Hi, Zukochan, and welcome!

  My suggestion would be to ask her what she thinks is behind the decline in numbers of Witnesses in Japan in recent years. (Allow for response.) Then mention to her that here in the United States many are also leaving the organization because they've found out from the internet that the key 607 BCE date for Jerusalem's fall is wrong, which, of course, puts into question all of the other dates.

  Even if the conversation goes nowhere else, you have accomplished the following:
  You have told her WHAT information she may want to research: 607 BCE, and you have told her WHERE she may find the answers: on the internet. (And the 607 vs. 587/6 BCE stuff can easily be found at "non-apostate" web sources.)

  Also, you might want to look up posts from JWD on this discussion board, as he is living in Japan.

  Then, say a little prayer for her, and let God do the rest!

  outnfree