Paideia Networkhttp://paideianetwork.org/Copyright Paideia NetworksNewsThe "Bach is Back" music festival was held in Tokyo.  The theme was the music of J. S. Bach.  418 concerts (including 168 charged concerts) were held from April 28 to May 5, with up to 710,000 attendees. Most of the people who visited were surely non-Christians.  It is really amazing that so many people cherish the music of Bach, which is nothing but the zenith of the Christian music.  While nonbelievers treasure his works, many evangelical Christian churches have already cast away Bach's music.  What has happened to the Japanese churches? Free concerts were held in various places all over Marunouchi, the center of Tokyo.  We saw many children listening intently to Bach's pieces. So many people came to listen to the music of J. S. Bach. Indeed, the Japanese love his music! People were waiting in line for over an hour and a half in order to attend workshops (lectures on Bach's works). Sat, 09 May 2009 06:52:05 +0000http://paideianetwork.org/shus-blog/bach-music-festival/http://paideianetwork.org/shus-blog/bach-music-festival/The Loomis brothers visited us.  They are homeschool graduates who are now working as computer engineers.  After reading about us on the Chalcedon Report, published by Chalcedon Foundation , they located us through the help of Ray's friend, also a homeschooler in the US.  Their visit was a great encouragement to us.  We saw the Lord's providential act of gathering Christians for His Kingdom.We were blessed to have Christian fellowship with Steven and Ben Loomis. Steven currently works as a deacon in his church and shared his insights on the need for Christians to become influential in today's society. We discussed how, rather than compromising with the world, Christians should apply biblical standards based on God's laws to every aspect of life. Thus, with respect to homeschooling, parents must recognize that the basis of home education is godly parental discipleship, as commanded in Deuteronomy 6.Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. (Deutronomy 6:4-9)   Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:10:48 +0000http://paideianetwork.org/shus-blog/homeschool-graduates-visit/http://paideianetwork.org/shus-blog/homeschool-graduates-visit/On October 30 (Thursday) Mr. Martin G. Selbrede, Vice President of The Chalcedon Foundation , visited us.Dr R. J. Rushdoony, the Founder of The Chalcedon Foundation, did  a great contribution to the homeschooling movement in America.  Homeschoolers and their families owe him tremendously for laying their theological foundation and clarifying the vision of Christian education.  Throughout his lifetime he gave many warm encouragements to homeschoolers.  He was one of the greatest theologians in the 20th century.After Dr. Rushdoony went to be with the Lord,  his son, Rev. Mark R. Rushdoony, became the President of The Chalcedon Foundation.Through his "table talks," Mr. Selbrede deepened our understanding  on significant issues such as the Law of God, eschatology, and covenant theology.  The Lord encouraged us greatly through Mr. Selbrede's visit. We had a blessed time of fellowship in the Lord.  We pray that the Lord will deepen our fellowship from now on.  At the artificial Island, called the "sea firefly,"  on the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line on Oct. 30, 2008  With Mr. Selbrede on Oct. 31, 2008 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 06:27:50 +0000http://paideianetwork.org/shus-blog/mr-selbredes-visit/http://paideianetwork.org/shus-blog/mr-selbredes-visit/We recently went on a field trip to Nara and Kyoto, which are two cities with long history, in order to deepen our children's knowledge of Japanese history and culture.   At Nijo Castle in Kyoto On the way home, we visited Sou-ai Christ Church.  There we met Pastor Nobuji Horikoshi whom we've known for several years.  He is one of the leaders who are promoting creationism in Japan.  He is the author of several booklets (in Japanese) on creationism.  http://www.answersingenesis.org/japanese/English/English_info.asp With several members he started the present church 7 years ago in the area where the influence of Buddhism and Shinotism is very strong. Now they have more than 70 people attending regularly on the Lord's day, which is quite exceptional among Japanese churches.  Since the word "kami"  doesn't connote and denote the Creator among ordinary Japanese people, he stresses the importance of using the word "The Creator  ('tsukurinushi' in Japanese)" instead of using "deity ('kami' in Japanese)," especially in evangelism.The word "kami" is commonly used among Christians to refer to God, but this quite often causes confusion among non-Christian Japanese, and thus non-Christian Japanese fail to reach a deep understanding of the Gospel.  Pastor Horikoshi points out the existence of the Creator by using "the Creator" and teaches the people about creationism.  This practice is effective for evangelism in Japan.  This is one of the reasons why Sou-ai Chriist church is fast-growing and vibrant.Pastor Horikoshi is a man of vision. He plans to establish a creation museum in Japan, and is preparing for that project.  When he visited the US, he purchased this replica of the head of a tyrannosaurus rex.      Pastor Horikoshi received this plaque from Answers in Genesis.     We were able to see a beautiful view of Mt. Fuji on the way home.  We really had a blessed family trip. From Yui parking area Almost the same place about 170 years ago Sat, 22 Mar 2008 08:22:47 +0000http://paideianetwork.org/shus-blog/family-field-trip/http://paideianetwork.org/shus-blog/family-field-trip/"Knowing the Times" It's been more than one year since we started our monthly homeschooling intro seminar.  On average, we have an attendance of about 4 to 5 Christian families every month.  On Feb. 16 (Sat) 2008, our theme was the paradigm shift of the world in which we live.  1 Chronicles 12:32"And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment."The Christian must know the times as the children of Issachar did, since we are facing a major paradigm shift that began in the late 20th century.  Sometimes we might need to read books written by economists so that we can get enough information.  Today we read and made a critique on a book about education written by a famous economist Kenichi Ohmae, who is also the author of best-selling books such as "The Mind of the Strategist" and "The Invisible Continent."Because we are standing on the Christian worldview, we can have a clear understanding of what is going on in this world.Again, we are persuaded that homeschooling is the most advanced method of education, since it can be greatly enhanced and promoted by the emergence of the information society.  Sat, 16 Feb 2008 04:07:38 +0000http://paideianetwork.org/shus-blog/homeschool-intro-seminar-feb-1608/http://paideianetwork.org/shus-blog/homeschool-intro-seminar-feb-1608/