I have been wondering a lot lately about if it is possible to be a Christian and a Shinto follower at the same time? I understand that these are completely different religions. However, I as a Christian already am believing and following some Shinto beliefs, philosophies and a few customs. Since Shinto is the belief that Nature is beautiful, and it is polytheistic, is it possible? One of the ten commandments says something about "no other false gods" or something. Of course, many break commandments. It's just life. But I believe in Jesus, that he was the messiah. Is it possible to be both Christian and Shinto?
That would be impossible : ( sorry. There is only one God in Christainity and Judaism and the greatest commandment is to put no gods before the One True Almighty God.
Yeah commands can be broken but doing so is only forgiven when one has a truly repentant heart about it.
I guess that would depend on who you ask. Christians would probably tell you that you have to be one or the other, preferably christian whereas any other polytheistic faith would more than likely say that you can definitely do that. Personally, I believe that whatever you feel is the truth for you is exactly what you should follow. If you have 'made peace' with God about following Shinto as well, that should be good enough for anyone. After all, it is only God who will ultimately judge you for your decisions.
Blessed Be )O(
There are some cultural aspects of Shintoism which probably would not affect your faith in Christianity. However Christianity teaches against polytheism.
There are so many things wrong with your statement, I don't know where to begin.
(1) The Bible says, "thou shalt have no other God's before me"....not "false gods".
Second, you are not a Christian by obeying the 10 commandments. The Bible says if you have broke one commandment, you have broken them all. You don't pick and chose which ones you want to obey and which ones you can break. You either follow all of them, or you are guilty of breaking all of them. This is why God says, "for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God".
Second, you can not be a Christian and follow other religions. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the beautiful nature that God created, but Shinto believes in multiple gods, and are basically into nature worship and astrology.
And then, believing that Jesus was the Messiah does not make you a Christian. You must Accept Him as your Saviour, and follow His teachings to be a Christian.
Christianity believes in only One God. The Bible teaches only one God, and if your following a religion that teaches that there are many gods, as does Shinto, then you are not Christian.
Further, Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me"
"chose you this day who you will serve....as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD"
The Japanese have a saying: "Born Shinto, Marry Christian, Die Buddhist." Of course, that may be because of who throws the best party for each occasion. But the Japanese have a slightly different perspective on religion than most Europeans.
Shinto pretty much requires that you believe in, respect and perform the rituals to honor the Jami, which are the local spirits and gods of various places and activities. You cannot really be a Christian and be Shinto as well (although if you are Shinto, you can accept the various sacred persons of Christianity as Jami). There's a lot more to Shinto than just the belief that "Nature is beautiful" - there's a tremendous amount of cultural knowledge that goes into living Shinto.
I'd say that it's possible to believe in both, provided that you're a rather liberal Christian. Since the Jami of the Shinto tradition are essentially nature spirits, and many Christians already believe that angels are connected to and possibly even were involved in the formation of the natural world, then it seems that one could interpret the Jami as Japanese culture's representation of angels. Many Christian denominations would be opposed to this idea, or to the general idea of offering worship to any beings other than God. But I think that it's possible, if unconventional, to see the Jami of Shinto tradition as metaphorical representations of elements of the Christian tradition.
I think the issue hinges on whether you see the Jami as gods, or as angels, or as iconic representations of the natural world, or what have you. Christianity is monotheistic (despite having a tripartite God), but it also admits to ethereal beings other than God, though quickly stating that these beings are subordinate to God. Though if you read some of the more modern liberal Christian theology (particularly liberation theology), you will encounter many different metaphors for and images of God. The argument that these unconventional and diverse images of God are acceptable often hinges on the ineffability and immanence of God: that God is beyond any images and metaphors one might ascribe to him/her/it/them, but that God wishes to be known in some capacity by humanity, thus, different images that resonate with different people and different cultures ought to be employed.
One could see the Jami, also, as emanations of the Holy Spirit, the most nebulous and least articulated member of the Trinity in classical theology. If the Holy Spirit can manifest as a dove and a flame and a wind and whatnot, why not as a plethora of nature spirits?
It's not advisable to get into these other weird things like Shinto. you risk much in doing so. People call on energies and when they do they risk that one of these beings will come to them. you see all that is out there consists of good or evil. there are no energies but there are demons. and so why risk yourself getting into things that do more harm than good. you want to know more ? listen to Ewan at 10 am Central time and call in a ask your question about Shinto, believe me, she knows much and will share with you.
Question about Christianity & Shinto (long)?
