17th-century 17th-century-japan acceptance adaptation ambiguity apostasy belief betrayal bible-study biblical-teachings catholicism christian christian-authors christian-beliefs christian-books christian-devotion christian-devotional christian-devotionals christian-discipleship christian-faith christian-fiction christian-growth christian-inspiration christian-leadership christian-life christian-lifestyle christian-literature christian-living christian-living-books christian-meditation christian-ministry christian-missionaries christian-nonfiction christian-persecution christian-perspective christian-practice christian-practices christian-spirituality christian-teachings christian-theology christian-worship christianity christianity-in-japan colonialism community conflict conscience conversion cross-cultural cultural-assimilation cultural-clash cultural-clashes cultural-conflict cultural-identity cultural-imperialism culture-clash devotion devotional discipleship divine divine-presence doubt east-asia east-meets-west eastern-philosophy eastern-spirituality endurance evangelism existentialism exploration faith faith-crisis faithfulness fiction foreigner forgiveness god gods-kingdom gods-love gods-presence gospel grace guilt healing hidden-christians historical historical-fiction holiness holy-spirit hope human-nature identity identity-crisis inner-conflict inner-struggle inner-turmoil inspirational internal-conflict introspection isolation japan japanese-culture japanese-literature japans-hidden-christians jesuit jesuit-missionaries jesuit-priest jesuit-priests jesuits jesus jesus-christ journey joy kingdom-living kingdom-of-god literature love loyalty martyrdom meditation mercy mindfulness mission missionaries missionary missionary-work moral-ambiguity moral-dilemma moral-dilemmas morality nagasaki novel obedience oppression peace persecution personal-development personal-growth personal-struggle personal-transformation portuguese-missionaries practice practicing-faith practicing-presence prayer presence presence-of-god priests psychological purpose redemption relationship-with-god religion religious religious-beliefs religious-books religious-conflict religious-conversion religious-exploration religious-faith religious-identity religious-intolerance religious-oppression religious-persecution religious-tolerance renewal resilience restoration sacrifice salvation samurai self-discovery self-help self-sacrifice shusaku-endo silence silence-of-god sin spiritual-awakening spiritual-crisis spiritual-disciplines spiritual-formation spiritual-growth spiritual-journey spiritual-practices spiritual-struggle spiritual-transformation spirituality struggle suffering surrender survival theology tradition transformation trust truth western-influence worship