WHAT I HAVE LEARNED MOST FROM MR. FRANK COLE

What I Have Learned Most from Mr. Frank Cole

Yuji Tomita

It was a great joy for me to attend the memorial service dedicated to Mr. Frank Cole held on April 25th at Nagatsuta Christ Church.  It is my pleasure to write how much I am indebted to him and his wife, Mrs. Evelyn Cole.  Among so many happy and precious memories for innumerable events I shared with Mr. & Mrs. Cole, however, I would like to mention just one thing.

As Mr. Frank Cole was known by his book, Christian Apologetics, his intellectual methods of teaching the Bible and of sharing the Gospel, I believe, encouraged us to use human reason to recognize the biblical truth, even though he would admit that it is corrupted by sinfulness.  In other words, he would teach and encourage us to think for ourselves, including the matters of Christian faith, with the help of the Holy Spirit.  In this respect, he has influenced so deeply on my way of thought including the issues related to our faith.

In the society which often demands conformity to established authorities and not always tolerant of people who think for themselves, I now find that it is not so easy to practice what I have learned from Mr. Frank Cole.  I feel that his legacy left me both benefit and burden.  It may take a while for the people of this country to become mature enough to accept a person living according to such a way of thought.  Yet I am hopeful that more Japanese Christians would realize the importance of what Mr. Frank Cole taught us.