Re: A Christian perspective on Budo
I don't see myself as doing budo but bujutsu. Reason being is that budo is a politically charged word and connotes forms of Japanese nationalism. I dont have time to do it out now but Steve Morris wrote an interesting article about Japanese budo and its links to nationalism.
Bujutsu is helpful insofar as it has potential to open you up to learning the secrets of Christianity. Since "in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him." (Colossians 1:16), an earnest and humble pursuit of bujutsu will eventually lead one to the truth of Jesus Christ. In my experience, by learning bujutsu, it made me open up my mind in that I was able to appreciate Christianity on a much deeper level. But this is not limited to bujutsu--anyone who is on the path of learning (it can be learning a language, learning quantum physics, etc.) can, so long as he doesn't allow the successes of his learning get to his head, be rewarded and blessed by a revelation of the supremacy of Jesus Christ, and God's love through him; being genuinely and deeply curious about something--in this case bujutsu--points to a deeper aspect about mankind's desire to know (or have a revelation) of God. I do take Jesus's words "seek and ye shall find" words seriously.
However, bujutsu must be put in perspective--as a "tool" for self-development, bujutsu is ultimately limited and potentially dangerous to the spirit. Christianity teaches that we "die" to the self or live in faith as though the "self" has been crucified with Christ. That is to say, there is no such thing as "self-development"--there is only the self dying, and Christ living. So to put it into perspective--bujutsu is not a means to "develop" the self, for the self is dead (in faith). Bujutsu is only a means to prime us for the revelation that there is no self, but a oneness-relationship with God through the Son living in us.
Hope that makes sense.
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