TURN TO CHRISTIANITY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21916, 10 January 1946, Page 4

TURN TO CHRISTIANITY

PROSPECTS IN JAPAN GERMANS ATTEND CHURCH (P.A.) CHRISTCHURCH, Jan. 10. Since the Emperor Hiroliito had repudiated the myth that he \va s Divine and that the Japanese people were superior to other races, it was probable that many Japanese would become Christians, said General .George L. Carpenter,' international leader of the Salvation Army, in an interview yesterday. A possible danger wa s that if there was a division among the religious bodies the Japanese would be contused about Christianity. General Carpenter said recent inquiries had shown that about 200 Japanese who attended Salvation Army services before the war were still Christians. Because of its international associations the Salvation Army was ordered by the Japanese Government to discontinue its work in 1940. Information lie had received from his son, Captain R. G. Carpenter, and other Salvation Army relief workers in Europe was that the Germans were attending church services in large numbers, General Carpenter continued. Relief workers had helped to return many displaced persons to their families and their medical work had prevented epidemics of skin diseases from spreading.