Although not actively seeking to deceive, there is an element of operation under false pretenses. There are interested parties who assume that the ‘priests’ are ordained ministers of a verifiable Church body. In the industry’s zeal to create an authentic simulation of a ‘real’ Christian ritual, the essential fact that the priest is not genuine is commonly concealed. The agencies would be hard pressed to find marketing value in drawing attention to the fact that many of their ‘priests’ are no more than actors leading the masquerade. Yet this is the very matter which needs to be addressed to make the simulation viable and morally acceptable in the case of Type 1 and 2 agencies.
This leads to the undesirable impression that atheist celebrants are practicing hypocrisy. They personally deny the existence of God, yet give credence to the gospel of Christ in the pulpit. They are without a prayer for themselves, yet they invoke the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in prayer for their congregation.
Un-ordained Celebrants may be expected to give tacit approval to being used in a ‘pre-evangelism’ agenda by their company.
For him [his employer], these 'fake' weddings are a form of pre-evangelism (his term). He prefers to hire only born-again Christians, though this is not always possible.
With this kind of conflict of interests it is unsurprising that some report a sense of unease that they might be discovered to be fake. Others speak more strongly of spiritual unease.
For much of the time at the beginning I was sure I would be discovered as being not only a fake pastor but as a fake Christian as well.
I still worry a little for my soul.
For some, especially those raised in observant households, the idea that they are "posing" as pastors is the source of a sense of shame or embarrassment. Others do not want their "real" job to know what they get up to on weekends. Many, however, do not want to get in trouble with the wedding companies where they work, jeopardizing this source of income. Nor do they want to be responsible for bringing the house of cards down.
These comments are hardly tenable as relating to people who are just acting a role. These ‘priests’ apparently didn’t perceive their involvement as pure role-play. In addition to this, there are clients who are concerned about being discovered as non-Christian. If all participants are aware that the ceremony is no more than a simulation, it begs the question as to why these people are ill at ease.
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The clip which follows (audio only) can be heard in full at the WHIT website. This edited piece is the monologue of a Wedding Priest who speaks openly about the Christian-style wedding phenomena. He mentions that he felt it was 'immoral' to do this type of work at the start but that he got used to it, and the money...
Christians raise ethical objections to the matter of presiding at such wedding celebrations in a Christian context:
Few missionaries are totally comfortable with all of this. Many will only marry two Christians. Others will also marry two non-Christians, since they are at least members of the same faith. Others will marry a Christian and a non-Christian, hoping the non-Christian will convert. Some will marry non-Christians if they consent to a full series of counseling sessions about the meaning of Christian marriage. Others will marry those who agree to a single 30-minute session. Some missionaries do these weddings -- period -- since this allows them chances to preach to a captive non-Christian audience. (Terry Mattingly)
Babylonian confusion is the one constant which remains consistent throughout. A newspaper ran an article about a young Buddhist priest who got married in a Christian-style ceremony.
Although any number of permutations can be observed within the broad spectrum of Christian-style wedding practices, some general polarization can be observed.
A large number of fake priests are embarrassed by their occupation and are reticent to talk openly about it. Yet there are others who are quite brazen and unabashed in their revelry of their unique line of employment.
If you've ever found yourself wondering about the Wedding Minister business and how much fun it would be to do, then this ebook is for you. If you thought the Acting/modeling world was convoluted [sic], wait till you see how the Wedding Minister world operates! Give it a try. It may be just the thing you need in order to start having fun earning money and experiencing the rush that comes with being a Wedding Minister. (Matt Canham)
.................................White Wedding movement
To avoid these unsatisfactory issues of hypocrisy, the adoption of a wholly secular White Wedding would be far more appropriate. Under the White Wedding entry, Wikipedia records this:
Any selection or all of the following might be a part of the ceremony as well; a hymn or popular song, a Bible reading or popular poem.Only by completely removing all religious elements would non-believing participants be spared feelings of unease and embarrassment. This would seem to be a simple fix but alas, in many instances this would be impractical or even run counter to the proponent's philosophy. The matter of removing / replacing stained glass windows which display Biblical scenes and Saints. The removal of crosses which form an eye-pleasing focus would be undesirable and for the Master of Ceremonies to don a tuxedo or suit rather than clerical robes would change the atmosphere to some degree. Some operators would be hard pressed to find a unique selling point for this type of service. For years they have striven to provide an 'authentic' simulation of a real religious ritual. To undermine that would require a major paradigm shift in their thinking. To say 'Don't be a hypocrite' would not make for good catch copy.
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Why is there such apparent hypocrisy? How can it be eliminated?
Is this kind of compromise the hallmark of Japanese spirituality?
Why is there little debate about this?
6 comments:
It's been a while since I've read such naive codswallop. Well intentioned, no doubt, but your arrogant sanctimonious drivel makes you sound like a delusional, disconnected ideological flop.
For a wedding and marriage, your point is illogical and irrelevant. And in the Greater Scheme of Life, what you say doesn't even merit being called a 'point'.
You go on and on and on… Can't you find anything better to do? Save a few whales, perhaps? Discuss the rights and wrongs about capital punishment in Japan? Japan's treatment of asylum seekers? Nado…
Thank you for taking the time to write a comment. I'm not surprised by your reactions --- some have gone further in questioning my motives even to saying that 'my actions' could result in people getting deported from Japan. That is certainly not my intention, but is this issue really that big a deal?
It's a shame you don't see my points as logical or relevant; may I suggest a copy of Nils Olson's free DVD which very much has relevance to the Greater Scheme of Life? I will mail you a copy...
Why did you not publish the comment that I posted two weeks ago? Is it because I disagree with you?
If you run a blog, you are morally obliged to publish comments, positive and negative (unless they run foul of common decency of course.)
If you haven't published my comments because you have got bored with your blog, then you are morally obliged to delete your blog. Otherwise, other people will write and be ignored, compounding your problem.
I say 'morally obliged' because if you invite comments and don't publish them, then you are giving the impression to the world that people agree with you and there are no further dissenters. Silence like this is tantamount to lying.
Here are my comments again:
Your previous 'anonymous' poster has a very good point. But capital punishment and the treatment of asylum seekers in Japan are just two of many injustices Japan must address.
The recent stabbing in Akihabara shows the society is far from resolving violent grudge crime. After 60 years of peace, there is now a real threat to the constitution's Article 9. Corruption and nepotism in business, local and national government. A suicide rate over twice that of the US and three times that of the UK. The time bomb of the terrifying ignorance of AIDS. The lack of facilities for the homeless, the lack of care for the jobless, the increasing hunger, poverty, drug abuse... the list is far too long.
So why do you waste bandwidth on this obsession about Japanese Christian style weddings that are not your style of Japanese Christian style weddings? And your My-Jesus-is-better-than-your-Jesus attitude. What's wrong with you?
There's a phrase that many people use, and to my mind it's a phrase that is used far too much. For that reason, it's something I very seldom say. But here I cannot think of anything better: GET A LIFE!
...or more simply, just delete your stupid blog!
The reason that your comment was not published initially is that it lacks respect.
Telling me to get a life is not constructive or helpful or even relevant to the topic.
Comments which lack common decency will not be published.
Ah! You want respect. You want something constructive. Yes, we all do. Everyone in society deserves respect, and we all have a duty, as members of society, to help in society's construction.
The point I am trying to make, but the point you are completely ignoring, is that there are many important things that need discussing. For humanity's sake, we must constructively address the burning issues of society, and not waste our time on trifles.
The increasing street violence and the threat to Article 9 (those two items leading to insecurity on a personal level and a national level), suicide (there was another one today in the subway), society's unconcern for the homeless (more violent attacks in the past few days), and the other items I mentioned, these are are destroying society.
You have a blog, you have an audience. You have a chance to do something constructive.
...or domestic violence, or unchecked police brutality in Osaka, or the falling birthrate, or child abuse, or the increasing teenage pregnancy, or the lingering racial discrimination, or the worsening scourge of graffiti, or the ridiculous proposal to spend trillions of our tax yen to boost the ego of a few Tokyo politicians by hosting an Olympics, or...
Nah... I think you are right. The hypocrisy of Japanese weddings is much more serious than those little issues.
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