Since the beginning of recorded
history man has had the ability to know and worship God. At the same time, man has also been at odds
with his fellow man, even to the extent of war and murder. In the equation of war, peace and the advancement
of societal culture has come the development of the Martial arts. Every
culture that has had a need to fight developed a fighting system that may be
called “martial arts”, we are specifically referring to the Asian fighting systems
called by this name. The Martial arts core, goals are self defense,
self improvement, and strengthening the mind, body and spirit. The highest goal is to “win a fight without
fighting” but if it becomes necessary, the martial artist is to defend and protect oneself and those
important to his or her principles or honor (Funakoshi). Although it is undeniable that the Oriental
martial arts are rooted in the very essence of Asian culture, it does not
become evident to a Westerner until they have direct exposure via participation
or observation. They may observe a
gesture as simple as bowing into a dojo (Martial Arts Training classroom), or hear
complex terminology such as the doctrines of concentrating Chakra or Chi (Spiritual
Energy) in the Chinese art of Tai Chi (Cardillo). This has the tendency to make some uneasy
with the martial arts.
The goal of religion (derived from a Latin
word which means “To Bind”) is to approach and worship God. Most religions of the world seek after God,
peace with mankind and the propagation of their message. Unfortunately, some of the common problems
most religions struggle with is the question of pain, suffering, war, and how
to respond to conflict in our world. Christendom
is not alone in this debate, although the wisdom for these answers are
presently “. . .before him that hath understanding.” (Proverbs 17:24). The point that I will make is that there are
a number of Christian and Pseudo-Christian sects in Christendom that advocate
the idea of pacifism. Pacifism is the
belief that at no time is it proper to behave in a manner that would be
considered violent, or aggressive. This
applies to both service in the police and military because both require martial
training and action. It also extends to
believing in not protecting one’s self and family from violence by an equal and
appropriate response. This paper will
not address pacifism or necessarily attack it.
A true pacifist is consistent in his or her beliefs both morally and
politically. As long as they are
consistent in these two beliefs they may be considered true to their doctrines,
provided their actions back up their speech.
Presently, a “pure”pacifist debate is not prominent in our country.
Another ongoing debate in Christian circles to whether the martial arts
are “unnecessary” “evil” “a gateway to the occult” or “something that is not
conducive to Christianity” exists. The
same subject of conflict and defending oneself, family and country and keep
harmony with their religion and conscience has been a consideration of many people
of faith for many years. One paper does
not attempt to completely satisfy every religion and belief system, but rather
look at American Christianity and the common responses to the idea of martial
arts, spirituality and its effects on the man or woman of faith. Is there ever a time raise up arms (or fists)
against another person who is also created in the image and likeness of
Almighty God?” Is the practice of
Martial arts unprofitable and un-spiritual, or can a person become stronger mentally,
physically and spiritually? What does
the bible say about physical attainments? Can a person be a Bible believing,
Spirit filled Christian and still practice the Martial Arts in good conscience?
Why do some customs vaguely resemble
undue amounts of reverence, and is this acceptable?
The Orient
At one time in America, the term
“Orient” was a perfectly acceptable adjective used to describe anyone or
anything East of the Mediterranean sea. These regions were Arabia, India, China and
any islands of North east Pacific and Indian oceans. In the day and age we live in it has become a
derogatory term which is not in general use.
This genders the question of “Why?”
In redefining a term, we have lost some of the depth of meaning which was
in the original intent. It is an
unmistakable fact that the Middle-East is technically part of the Orient. The Middle East in manners, customs Philology
and psychology is very Oriental, not Occidental (IE Western). Any person who has a fair knowledge of the Bible
will know that many of the customs of the Old Testament Hebrews, or New Testament
Christians of the first century had more of an Oriental flavor to their
behavior than what we as Westerners are accustomed to. In the Twenty-first
century, we as Americans and Westerners do not bow low to the ground to welcome
a guest or high public official into our home.
Men, within the confines of normalcy and decency, do not kiss each other
as a greeting or parting gesture, and we do not look away in submission to
royalty or magistrates. All of these
things are still practiced frequently in Oriental societies today! Another important facet of the differences
between Orient and Occident is the idea of family and respect. Family and clan affiliation still has a great
weight in Eastern society. One is identified
by his or her surname and often, people can be friendly acquaintances and will
still be on a last name basis. Any
position of authority, such as a teacher is held in a higher esteem in Asia
than what Americans are accustomed to.
Most find it odd that other cultures hold such “undue” reverence over
these offices.
Let us examine the Teacher student
relationship. In America, a teacher is
an individual who disperses information on a particular subject, and does not
so much impart this knowledge, as he does try to light the fire of learning in
the students heart. To accomplish this
task, he will serve in the capacity of coach, mentor, advisor and even an
encourager to the student. In return, he
may receive the respect due his calling, or he may not. During this time, especially with adult
students, he may or may not receive courtesy or even a small amount of common
respect. We think nothing as Americans
of calling even authorities by their first name. We live in an egalitarian society. American institutions of higher learning have
rules against fraternization, but uniform enforcement is not strict. In Japan today, teachers are referred to as
“Sensei” which is Japanese for “Teacher”.
This carries the connotation of a clear division which all take
seriously. In a Karate Dojo, the term
Sensei is still used frequently, or sometimes the word “teacher” will be
used. At the black belt ranks of around
5th to 7th degree black belt (Depending on the particular
style) the term “Kyoshi” which is Japanese for “Master” is used. As Americans, the term “Master” has a
connotation back to the days of slavery, so it is usually not translated into
English. The term is often substituted
with the title “Professor” (Parker 2).
The common greeting of a bow, used in many
Asian countries was used in Old and New Testament times by both Saints and
Sinners alike. It was customary to bow,
kiss the hand, kneel before someone, or even prostrate oneself before another
of high rank or nobility. These actions
were usually followed by elaborate verbal salutations (Tenney). These greetings were in line with the customs
and mannerisms of the culture, and nowhere in scripture do we see that they
were forbade. One could make an argument
concerning Luke 18:19 where Jesus refused to be called “Good master” or in Matthew
23:1-12 where he said to call no man Rabbi, Father or Master. In context he was not calling the accepted
practices of good manners into question in his society. Jesus was after the goals of what scriptures proclaimed:
obedience to God’s laws and the heart and intent of them fulfilled. It cannot be over stressed that the context
of this scripture was saying not to be involved in the hypocritical religious
hierarchy. These people loved power and titles, and we should not be like them. The customs of a Karate Dojo reflect the
Asian traditions of bowing before entering the Dojo, at class start and end,
and during stages of practice. The
intent of the custom is to instill respect for the school, instructor and ones
fellow classmates. This is the proper
context of this custom.
A story was once shared by a missionary to the
Philippine Islands. He was asked to give
a Bible to a man in a large city on another island. The woman told the missionary that this man
was very important and people would bow to him.
The missionary went to see him, and did not bow but used the Western
custom of a hand shake and explained his purpose and gift (The bible). The missionary explained to us that bowing
was considered to be a sign and acknowledgment of the “god” within each
person. This point could be argued
effectively for the sake of Christianities superiority to other religions however;
is it wise to go against common courtesy of the society we live in unless there
is a serious reason for going against it?
For example, if it was expressly forbidden in the Bible then it should
not be performed. We think nothing of a
performer bowing on stage, or the acknowledgment of participants of a parade. The simple bows of respect in Karate denote
nothing less than mutual respect and not an acknowledgment of the “god” within
a person. Bowing is a tradition that is
kept alive in the martial arts just as it is in the Orient. Some
traditions may have more than one meaning or source, but to say that a
tradition is bad or evil just because of a connotation to one aspect of another
culture is a shallow argument. Jesus
Christ was most likely not born on December 25th, but probably in spring
or fall between 6 BC and 2 AD, but setting a date to honor Jesus Birthday is
not wrong! The fact of pagan traditions in the early Orthodox Church is
undeniable. We still would not abolish
Christmas, because of tradition! It
would always be good to take a hard look at the true intent of a tradition in past
and present context. A bow or opening
salute are nothing more than symbols of respect to the martial arts system,
their oriental roots and participants.
Honor the tradition, but learn the intent (Parker 3)
War, Defense and the Bible
A number of years ago there was a
popular anti-capital punishment bumper sticker that read: “why do we kill
people that kill people to show that killing people is wrong?” At the time it was provocative, but shows an
egregious error in word comprehension and diction. While all murder is killing, not all killing
is murder. Throughout the Bible we see
that there were murders committed by man such as when Cain killed Able in
Genesis chapter 4. There were also times
when God killed people for moral evil or disobedience, such as Er and Onan for
wickedness, Gen 38:7-10; Nadab and Abihu for drunkenness and disobedience to
the law, Leviticus 10:1-3; and the men involved in Korah’s rebellion against
Moses in Leviticus 16:30-33. To show continuity between the Old and New
testaments, we also see Ananias and Sapphira were killed by God as well in Acts
5:4-11. Some deaths were ordered by God
such as the half-Israelite man in Leviticus 24:10 or Achan in Joshua 7:15. Secondly,
after the fall of mankind, as recorded in Genesis, we find many accounts
man killing each other. We find events such as Cain in Genesis 4 and the admission of
Lamech who killed twice (Gen 4:23) but also an account of Tyranny and murder
(IE Nimrod in Genesis 10:8) then the
first recorded war in Abraham’s time (Gen 14:2). The recorded incidents were all obvious
murder and mayhem, but then we see a change in the timber. The injustices were
being answered with an equal amount of force to attain justice, or the end of
hostilities by a challenge of force to overcome the aggressor. Such was the
case of Abraham, the father of the Hebrews who fought to rescue his nephew Lot
in Genesis (14:14). Jesus said in
Mathew (24:24) that there would be “. . . Wars and rumors of wars, but the end
is not yet . . .” In many places Jesus made succinct statements that show deep
truths about humanity IE “The poor ye will always have . . . “John (12:8). The
state of humanity is the same now as it was in earlier times. Until he returns, there will always be
conflicts and wars; this is the sad state of humanity. The Holy land itself has been in turmoil for
several thousand years, and the continuing dialogue of “Middle East Peace” is
more of a Pipe dream than a conduit to reality!
Even St John referred to the city of Jerusalem spiritually being Sodom
and Egypt (Revelation 11:8). This is
evidenced by the religious nature of Jerusalem itself. So many people in one city after God, yet
they fight and war with each other all in the name of God!
If we care to trace the cause of most of the
worlds armed conflicts, many will say it is “religion” but this is a
one-dimensional argument, the true cause is twofold. The first reason for countries going to war
is credibility. This means credibility
over claims, or powers which the country has asserted to territories or
ideologies. The second cause of war is
the suppression of religion (C.S Lewis).
Had people been free to practice their beliefs uninhibited, many wars
would not have been fought!
Religion has struggled with this
for millennia, and “nominal” Christianity has this problem too. Ecclesiastes chapter 3 states: “To everything there is a season, and a time
to every purpose under the heaven . . .
a time of war, and a time of peace” (Verses 1 and 8). A person unfamiliar with scripture or religion
would easily ask such questions as “Why does a loving God kill people?” “Can a Christian be a Soldier, police
officer, guard and still be a genuine believer”; “How can you be a true believer and not ‘turn
the other cheek’?” These are all valid
questions to those truly seeking and unaware of the truth. A quick retort is usually given of “Well . .
. it’s not your place to judge” but this is a shallow response that only tends
to alienate honest seekers. A question
asked by a sincere and reasonable person who does not have “an ax to grind” shall
be answered. These questions are
answerable using common sense and the “Rightly divided” (properly interpreted)
scriptures (II Timothy 2:15).
God is the creator and giver of all
life and since it is His, He has the right to give and to take away. Within the context of scripture, we see that
there are times that God takes a life
for wickedness and orders peoples and governments to do so as well. So far
we have discussed that God has taken lives for disobedience, either violation
of laws personally from him or against the laws dictated by him (IE Law of
Moses). Let us now look at the fact that
God has entrusted human government the ability to rule over man, and if
necessary punish evil doing with capital punishment. From the end of the Flood of Noah in Genesis 9 God established a covenant with Noah, and as
some believe established human government to rule over society. We find nowhere in the Bible after that time
where God disavows human government and capital punishment. Jesus, when asked a question to trick him so
the religious leaders could find fault over Roman taxation made the statement
“render unto Caesar what is Caesar, and unto God what is God” Matthew 22:21. Some have taken this out of context to say
various items of their own agenda, however; if we will analyze this statement,
we find that nowhere and at no time did Jesus suggest that a lack of government
was an alternative, or in other words he did not criticize Rome. Later St Paul wrote in various places to
“give tribute where tribute is due” Romans 13:7 and to “Honor the King, and pay
tribute” Simply put he was saying to pay taxes and honor the highest civil
officials in ones society. One of the
commands St Paul gave in many places to the churches he founded was a command to
be a good citizen. Being a good citizen
and a Christian was not a contradiction as long as the civil laws do not
violate Christian beliefs of the fruits of the spirit “LOVE Joy peace, against
such there is no law” Galatians 5:23. Later,
in another epistle, he also enjoined Christians to not partake of any evil things
(I Corinthians 10:1-10), as such St Paul commanded the Thessalonian church to abstain
from all appearance of evil (I Thessalonians 5:22). Being at peace with ones fellow man is a
goal, but part of being a good citizen and leading a quiet and peaceful life (I
Timothy 2:1-3) is also being prepared in case of trouble. Christians should be ready to serve in
whatever capacity called for, provided it does not violate the Laws of
God. We find a similar question could be
brought up in Luke 3:14 when the Roman soldiers heard the preaching of John the
Baptist, and asked, as believers what they should do(How they should behave). John did not tell them to become pacifists,
or leave the Army, but simply to not engage in extortion and be content with
their wages. The ancient church
historian Eusebius cited from time to time that there were roman soldiers who
were Christians, and fulfilled their duties without violating the laws of God (Eusebius).
The only exception to this is when we see persecution as a direct result of
being a Christian. This is where we have
a command from Jesus to “Turn the other cheek” and to resist not (LUKE’S sermon
on the plain Luke 6:29). We also have
several examples of this from Paul’s journeys in Acts and his mentions in
Romans of his trials (See II Corinthians 11:21-27). Here we see that it is the
duty of Christians not to retaliate, moreover not to hold a grudge or be
revengeful. We are to “Be children in malice but in understanding be men” (I
Corinthians 14:20). Non violence and non
retaliation for the cause of the gospel is commanded, but the same does not seem
to apply when an unknown assailant picks on you because you are a target of
anger or opportunity.
Even our Lord himself realized that
there was a time that even the disciples would have to protect themselves. Shortly after the last Supper and Jesus
arrest in Gethsemane, he admonished his believers to be prepared (LUKE 22:35-38)
“When I sent ye out ye lacked nothing . . .
but now . . . he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy
him one.” Jesus was not speaking
spiritually here but in the natural.
There is obviously a time, regardless of one’s faith, when it is
necessary to be ready to defend oneself.
God’s people were also commanded in the New Testament to fight a
spiritual warfare that involves armor (Ephesians 6) and requires walking
circumspectly (Ephesians 5:15) wisely use our time and energy and to “Fight a
good fight”; not “to wrestle against Flesh and blood.” But this same good book also tells us to be
wise as serpents and harmless as doves, and that one day the Christians will
judge angles (I Corinthians). We should be able to judge carnal things on earth
as well! With this being said, it should
be easy to discern between persecution for the sake of the gospel and an
aggressor ignorant of our faith. An
attack without cause is violence, an attack or defense with a merciless intent
to maim or hurt beyond reason is barbaric.
However; a skilled counter attack to stop or incapacitate an aggressor,
or to do ones duty in Law enforcement or the military cannot be seen as
senseless violence when a worthy cause and imminent danger has been
defined. Believers have been commanded
that “Whatsoever your hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might”
Ecclesiastes 9:10. Whatever job or
calling we perform in life, it should not be preformed half hearted, slothfully
or with ill intent. We should fulfill
our careers or callings to the best of our ability. If this means being a peace
officer, guard, or even a sales clerk we should perform it to the best of our
ability. This also applies to defense or
armed service. A reasonable person
should be able to “Judge” what is adequate and what is beyond normal control!
Spirituality, Physical exercise and Martial
Arts
In St Paul’s first Epistle to the
Corinthian church, he began to discuss a problem the Corinthian believers were
having with eating meat that was bought in the market, but as was custom in
ancient Greek society, had been offered as a sacrifice to idols (I Corinthians
8). Earlier, Christians had been
commanded to abstain from idolatry and eating sacrificed meat could be thought
of as breaking this command. Since these
pagan idols were not the real God, Paul went on to elaborate on not offending
new believers. Saint Paul’s words are
still best in this situation: “. . . we
all know that all of us possess knowledge [concerning these matters. Yet
mere.] Knowledge causes people to be
puffed up (to bear themselves loftily and be proud), but love (affection and
goodwill and benevolence) edifies and builds up and encourages one to grow [to
his full stature]” (Amplified Bible). A
tender heart and humble spirit should never be forced to go against his or her
conscience, but conversely a hard hearted person who only goes by the letter of
the law and does it in spite will find much to contend with in the following
paragraph. So, gentle reader, you will
get EXACTLY what you are looking for in the following paragraph!
Paul spoke in I Corinthians chapter
eight and sixteen about matters of conscience, and since Christians serve God
by Faith, not in works, it could be very easy to bruise or damage a conscience
that is not ready for this knowledge. In
the context of what Paul was writing about was meat offered to idols, here the
knowledge I in question is the belief that there is nothing inherently wrong
with studying the martial arts. Just as
in Paul’s time he said that there were many gods in the world and they were all
just made up idols. Since the writing of
Paul’s epistle nothing has changed.
There are still many idols in the world, except this time they are
invisible, and go by the names or “comparative world religions”. Even in Christendom there are many
pseudo-Christian cults which masquerade as “Christian” but deny the Deity of
Jesus Christ, his place in the trinity, and his substitution and proprietary
sacrifice on the cross for all mankind; past, present and future. For the purposes of this paper, the preceding
statement is the meaning of “Pseudo-Christian” religion. The reborn conscience of a new believer in
Christ is precious, and this writer was once one of them. I was led to believe by well meaning people that
the martial arts was an avenue to take one farther away from God, and that it
would hinder the Christian walk. Many of us, to include my first pastor in the
denomination I was in for 12 years
labored under this belief as well. We
were led to believe that the martial arts would eventually lead to Eastern mysticism
and even the occult. For this reason, we
threw away all our gear, gi, trophies, and anything that was “Un-Christ like”
to prove our zeal and dedication for the Lord.
I regret none of my actions in the past.
What I do regret is that 10 years later the senior Bishop’s grandson
wanted to take Karate, and now it was not wrong! Did God change his mind in 10 years, or was
it ever wrong? Once again I point to the
sins of conscience: Knowledge puffeth
up. Perhaps it would have kept us all
from the dedication of being in the ministry, but then so could getting married
and having a family . . . which was
also frowned upon. There are any number
of activities which are not morally wrong in which people partake of which
could lead to an obsession that could be considered excess and sin. Anything taken out of its natural use and
indulged in to au unhealthy excess can be a sin (Compare the language Paul uses
in Romans Ch 1) There is an old hymn named “Trust and Obey” by John H. Sammis.
One verse in the song that says: “But we never can prove, the delights of his
love until all on the altar we lay”.
There are things in our lives which may keep us from the true will of
God and conversely, there have been burdens and restrictions men have placed on
new believers which caused them to break or walk away. The case in point is that artificial
restrictions placed on people and well intentions coupled will and ill spirit
have kept many from the kingdom of God. One needs to go no farther than the
book of I Samuel chapter 2:12-17 and examine the sins of Eli’s two sons who
drove people away from God because of their sins. The best examples are the Pharisees of Jesus
time who he upbraided with the statement “Ye laden men with heavy burdens but
would not lift a finger on them yourselves.”
This is the puffed up knowledge that has spiritually killed many a
Christian. God does not necessarily want
us to give up everything, only to lay down that which burdens us and follow
him. If our nature is so given over to
an item, even the Martial Arts, then we do need to put it down, if it means the
best for you and his glory (Matthew 5:29-30).
Anything put before God could be considered an idol, so this is
important food for thought in the context of this paper.
We were speaking of the conscience
and how tender it is for new believers, so the choice of making a statement of
faith has taken on many actions in the past.
Some have dedicated their all for God, such as St Paul or William
Carrey. Others were bound by duty, and
did all they could to facilitate others, such as the Austrian Count Ludwig Von Zinzendorf of
the 18th century (Kuiper). A
person who first comes to Christ will have many voices and battles to face, that
is why prayer and staying close to God is essential. Our character and personality are revealed
more by actions and behavior than any verbal statement. A black belt can demonstrate a person is a
black belt by their very actions. Some
studios are given to sport karate, while others may be more self defense and
fight oriented but the marks of years of training are unmistakable! This is an apt description of the Christian:
actions and speech will be unmistakable.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I call upon the
words of the apostle Paul to the Hebrews (Hebrews 12:14) who said to “Follow
peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” The
paradox of the martial arts can be summed up the adage that “There is no first
strike in karate” (Funakoshi). Karate is meant for defense and not necessarily offense.
In the realm of the Christian we are to live in peace, be at peace and be holy. Simply put, this means to be set apart for
the use of God’s service. Everyone is
different and has been endowed with certain abilities and talents which,
although may be inherited genetically, ultimately come from the benevolence of God. Our life’s goal should be to fulfill Gods
will in our lives, not what we think it
is, but what it truly is. A sincere
seeker of God’s will shall find it! Many
could argue that the martial arts are a contradiction to this but if it
improves our mind through training, our body through exercise, and our spirit
through endurance, it is far from being a bad thing. If the path of the open hand leads us to
God’s will in our lives, and furthers the kingdom of God it is not wrong. It is safe to say many have been lost due to
a combative and competitive spirit, or a zealous statement from another believer
that: “that’s a carnal thing, and unbecoming of godliness”. Flesh and spirit are portrayed as two
separate states in scripture. The flesh
is described as weak and vile, yet at the same time we live in this vessel of
flesh and maintain, care for and protect it. The spirit is described as willing and
strong; it is also in this realm that all the real battles occur. Spiritual battles occur within the mind and
the spirit! If a thing is not
specifically forbidden in scripture, and does not interfere with the will of
God in our life it could not be wrong.
As with any activity, it can be taken to an unhealthy or immoral extreme. So is the case of the martial arts. The main reasoning for spiritual arguments is
an intellectual one based on the fallacy that the martial arts must be wrong
because of Asian influences, and its offensive capabilities. The Martial arts are but a tool, albeit a
wonderful and complex one of self discovery, self improvement and self
realization. Over 200 years ago, Japanese
disciplines of Martial Arts often focused on other refined mental activities to
stimulate the mind in order to compliment the entire being. History records
activities such as calligraphy, flower arranging and the like. Men such as the Japanese Samurai were once
considered to be “Gentleman warriors”.
Society has not changed enough to eliminate the need for mental
training, nor has the need diminished for Martial arts (Somers). A common retort is expressed in one verse of
scripture “bodily exercise profiteth little” (I Timothy 4:8) but again, this
was an admonition to Timothy to avoid ascetic practices. Ascetic practices refer to practices related
to the monastic life of celibate monks and nuns who engaged in rigorous
elaborate devotions which involved self denial and sacrifice. Some of the
monastic practices we know from mid evil history were common in late Biblical
times as well. This verse of scripture
in Timothy had nothing to do with physical conditioning as we understand it
today. When Paul did chose to use the
subject of athletics, he alluded to the Olympics of his day to compare the
striving for winning to the Christian walk and race. To use this scripture as an attack against
the Martial arts is a poor interpretation of scripture. Martial Artists and
Christians are both on a journey. We
operate in the physical and learn spiritual principles with practical physical
applications. Both disciplines involve a mental journey. Why should the offspring of this “world” be
wiser and better than the offspring of the kingdom of God? (See Luke
16:1-8) There are many Christians who
behave in a sanctimonious manner yet have no wisdom or true understanding of
the scriptures, and often shame the cause of Christ. Conversely, there are many Martial artists
who believe they have arrived on a great spiritual plane or think they are the
ultimate fighter, but only make a mockery of the arts by their behavior. There are also the true believers of Christ,
who are humble, pray for wisdom, and although they may be imperfect, set an
example that makes people want to know more about the Jesus that they believe
in because of this positive example.
There are men and women who train diligently in a Dojo, make no fuss about
knowing the Arts, and are decent people who love the art. Both are on a journey to a destination. Why cannot the two practitioners be in
harmony, and be one in the same?
Citations
1. Funakoshi, Gichin Karate Do Kyōhan
Kodansha International 1973
2. Parker, Ed Infinite insights into Kenpo Volumes 1-4
Delsby Publications 1982
3. Cardillo, Joseph Be like Water
Warner Books 2003
4. Tenney, Merrill C Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary
Zondervan Publishing 1963
5. Eusebius History of the church by Paul Maier
Kregel Publications 2007
6. Lewis, C.S. The Grand Miracle
Trustees of C.S. Lewis Estate 1970
7. Bible:
The Amplified bible
Zondervan Publishing 1987
Dake, Finis J. Dake’s Annotated reference Bible
Dake Bible Sales 1991
8. Somers, David Christian Budo from my perspective
http://www.angelfire.com/fl5/okinawagojuryu/ChristianBudo.html Date Accessed: Dec 2010
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