General Douglas MacArthur’s role in reaching Japan for Christ.
I haven’t finished talking about the Doolittle Raiders yet but I wanted to write about General Douglas MacArthur. As I read about the Doolittle Raiders, I ran across MacArthur’s efforts to reach Japan for Christ. Who knew? So, of course, I went down a rabbit hole to learn more about what he did and then I had to blog about him.
I’m always amazed at the unlikely connection among different historical figures, such as how DeShazer and Mitsuo Fuchida met. Fuchia was the lead pilot of the Pearl Harbor raid who got saved. It is an amazing story which I will share shortly.
Sometimes, however, the connections weren’t actual encounters. For example, General Edmund Allenby and Anna Spafford brought about the peaceful surrender of Jerusalem during WW1. At the time, they hadn’t met and neither knew what the other was planning. Yet somehow their efforts synced together at the “right” moment, making me realize God had planned every detail of the surrender. There is no other way to explain it.
That is also the case with General Douglas MacArthur and Jacob DeShazer. As far as I know they never met. Yet, MacArthur played an indirect role in helping DeShazer reach Japan with the Gospel.
General Douglas MacArthur background
General Douglas MacArthur was the commander of the Pacific Forces during WW2. He was in the Philippines when the Japanese invaded the islands which happened on the same day they bombed Pearl Harbor. The Philippines were ill-prepared for the invasion. Fearing the Japanese might capture him, FDR ordered MacArthur and his family to leave. He reluctantly complied. Upon his arrival in Australia, he uttered the now famous phrase, “I shall return.”
From there, he continued to fight the Japanese. His island hopping strategy worked to beat back the Japanese, enabling him to return to Philippines (as promised) approximately 2 ½ years later.
The Japanese had never ever in their history surrendered to any foreign adversaries. Despite the impossibility, the Japanese did surrender unconditionally to the Allied Forces. MacArthur had a hand in that, by the way. On September 2, 1945, Douglas MacArthur would accept their surrender.
Just days before the formal Japanese surrender aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, President Harry S. Truman tapped MacArthur to oversee the occupation, rebuilding and democratization of Japan. His official title was supreme commander for the Allied powers (SCAP).
“The authority of the Emperor and the Japanese Government to rule the State is subordinate to you as Supreme Commander for the Allied powers. You will exercise your authority as you deem proper to carry out your mission.” ~ President Harry Truman
Why occupy Japan and appoint a viceroy over it?
The Allied Forces realized that Japan’s culture had to change if there was going to be any lasting world peace. Japan was a militaristic society that had engaged in some of the worst wartime atrocities ever (recall the Rape of Nanking, the Rape of Manilla, their pursuit of biological warfare, and so on).
Sadly, these were far from the only atrocities they committed. They killed approximately 250,000 Chinese for their role in helping rescue the Doolittle Raiders. Additionally, they were responsible for the Asian holocaust which reportedly killed twice as many Chinese as the Nazis did Jews.[i] Those kept alive in internment camps and prisons suffered unbelievably cruel and inhumane treatment at the hands of their Japanese captors. Imperial Japan did not value human life nor believe in human rights.
Transforming a militaristic culture that had no problem committing these atrocities into one that embraced peace would not be easy. MacArthur had his work cut out for him. However, God had prepared him for this moment.
In 1904, Japan and Russia went to war. Douglas’ father, Arthur, was sent to Japan as a military observer. He selected his son, Douglas, who had just graduated from West Point, as his aide-de-camp. He gained an understanding of Japan’s culture while living there. He admired the Japanese people honesty and work ethic which was based on their state religion, Shintoism.
Shintoism emphasized honesty, civility and discipline but there was a downside to Shintoism. It had become linked with Bushido, the Samurai code of conduct of the samurai, or bushi (warrior). That led to a militaristic bent. MacArthur saw it during the Russo-Japanese war,
His experience gave him the understanding he needed to work with the Japanese during the occupation. However, his Christian faith would be his guiding light.
MacArthur was a Christian, not a church goer, but he consistently read his Bible and prayed. MacArthur, like DeShazer and Farrow, realized that the Japanese had a spiritual need. After the signing of the Japan’s surrender, he gave a radio address in which he addressed that need.
The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence [revival]... It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.
To transform Japan society, he knew their hearts must change and the only Person who could do that was Jesus Christ. He saw the gospel as a means to achieving his assignment.
Shortly after being appointed SCAP, he reached out to the major Christian denominations. asking them to send missionaries to Japan. In November 1945 he welcomed four Protestant leaders with great enthusiasm telling them:
He reached out to Youth for Christ and other ministries, asking them to send 10,000 missionaries to Japan. “Send missionaries and Bibles.”
MacArthur helped with the distribution of 43 million bibles. As a result of his efforts, the Bible became a best seller in Japan after the war. The U.S. News and World Report's wrote an article about his efforts, "Bringing the Bible to Japan" (February 4, 1955):
“Over the next five years, some 5,000 missionaries from all different kinds of churches went to Japan,” writes Dr. Jeff Sanders. “The land was flooded with millions of Bibles.”
While MacArthur worked to spread the Gospel to the Japanese people, he never imposed Christianity on them.
The Emperor of Japan offered to make Christianity the state religion. Fearing a potential conflict between Catholics and Protestants, MacArthur turned his offer down but that wasn’t the primary reason. He held the biblical position - that people must come to Jesus on their own.
“This most sacred of human rights – to worship freely in accordance with individual conscience – is fundamental to all reforms.” ~ Douglas MacArthur
Nor did he impose democracy on Japan. That said, he did help them write their constitution. Remember human rights was a totally foreign concept to them. Human life was cheap in Imperial Japan. So, he made sure that their new constitution had a bill or rights that protected basic human rights, such as religious freedom. He also made certain it protected women’s rights, especially the right to vote.
Their new constitution also stripped the military and emperor of their supreme authority. The emperor remained in place but he lost his god-like status. It wasn’t hard to change their minds on that. After losing the war, the Japanese people became disillusioned with Shintoism.
"There was a complete collapse of faith in Japan in 1945—in our invincible military, in the emperor, in the religion that had become known as 'state Shinto,'" Eiichiro Tokumoto
Its rituals are still practiced but the underlying warrior code has been removed.
Lightbulb moments
I had a few lightbulb moments as I read about MacArthur that I want to share.
God works in the hearts of many to accomplish His will. MacArthur and DeShazer never spoke. Yet, they both recognized that only Jesus could change Japanese society as did Farrow. I saw this while studying the Reformation and the abolitionist movement.
God used military men who fought in the Pacific, why? The Japanese expected the American military to exact vengeance on them. After all, they had bombed Pearl Harbor, killed thousands of men who were under his command during the Bataan death march, killed thousands Americans throughout the Pacific. Had their positions been reversed, they would have wreaked vengeance on America and shown them no mercy.
Yet, here was MacArthur working to restore their shattered country. That stunned them because they had rarely seen a warrior show any mercy. Seeing a warrior of MacArthur’s stature show kindness and mercy upended their perceived notions about warriors, softening their hearts and making them open to the Gospel message.
But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good…
Man meant the war for evil but God used it for good. Man caused the war, but God used it to open Japan to the Gospel.
If You, Lord, should [a]mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
God uses imperfect people. MacArthur is a very controversial figure. On the one hand, he was a brilliant strategist who helped win the war. His determination led to the Japanese surrendering unconditionally. He was also arrogant and egotistical. He rarely took advice, relying heavily on his own intelligence. His refusal to listen at times endangered lives and led to unnecessary casualties.
I know this on a personal level. During the Korean war, his advisors told him that the Chinese were amassing in the mountains surrounding his troops. He ignored their warning. It turns out they were right. Thousands of American troops were stuck behind enemy lines. My future father-in-law was one of them. He was MIA when my husband was born. Thankfully he survived, but thousands died or were wounded.
Despite his imperfection, God used him. That holds to true for all our heroes as well as us.
Was MacArthur successful in rebuilding and democratizing Japan?
To MacArthur's credit, no other military occupation in history matched the peace and reconciliation he achieved in the aftermath of WWII.
America’s successful exercise in the occupation of a country was over, the greatest feat by America’s greatest general. ~ Seymour Morris, Jr.[ii]
For MacArthur, however, his strongest desire was to be remembered for bringing Christianity to Japan
“If the historian of the future should deem my service worthy of some slight reference, it would be my hope that he mention me not as a commander engaged in campaigns and battles, even though victorious to American arms, but rather as that one whose sacred duty it became, once the guns were silenced, to carry to the land of our vanquished foe the solace and hope and faith of Christian morals …
An occupation not conceived in a spirit of vengeance or mastery of victor over vanquished, but committed to the Christian purpose of helping a defeated, bewildered and despairing people." [iii]
Incredible. One of the greatest generals of all time didn’t want history to remember him for his military victories. Rather he wanted history to remember him for reaching Japan and Asia with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
MacArthur’s call for missionaries would go far. He was greatly admired by the American people. Consequently, they responded to his call, making it easier for missionaries such as DeShazer to go to Japan.
Yes, he was imperfect. So, we shouldn’t idolize him but neither should we judge him. Instead, we should remember that MacArthur’s story isn’t about him. It’s about God working through MacArthur to further His story, the redemption of mankind.
[i] Visions, New. “The Asian Holocaust Killed Twice As Many People As The Nazis Did.” Medium, 14 June 2018, www.medium.com/dose/the-asian-holocaust-killed-twice-as-many-people-as-the-nazis-did-877f0a7c664. Accessed 16 November 2021.
[ii] Morris, Seymour, Jr. Supreme Commander: MacArthur’s Triumph in Japan. Harper, 2014.
[iii] As recorded in "The Faith of MacArthur: Binding Up the Wounds of a Broken Nation," by Joseff J. B. Smith, (College at Brockport, SUNY, 05/10/2013), MacArthur stated:
I very much enjoyed this look into history...my mom supported a missionary from Campus Crusade For Christ for many years and when she passed away my sister and I took up the support until he retired...he spent many years in Japan sharing the JESUS movie with many so this really touches my heart
I, too, enjoyed and was enlightened by your research!! I'm Wilma's sister, Ginger. Thanks again for all your efforts to show more of our past!!