Japanese Katashiro-nagashi Paper Dolls

In Japan, there is a religious shrine where people pay money to write down their sins upon paper-cut dolls called katashiro-nagashi dolls, which they then send down a purification stream, and these people believe that the water removes their sins. This ritual acknowledges that there are impurities and sins in our lives which we want to remove.

The ceremony reveals a deep human desire to be morally pure.

Unfortunately, many of these paper dolls get stuck in the stream,

which makes you wonder if these paper dolls really can remove our sins and moral impurities.

But there is a way to truly remove sins—once and for all. According to the Bible, this is through the death of Jesus.

Jesus' death forgives all our sins and purifies us;

meaning we don't require ceremonies or rituals to take away sins—when we trust in Him, we are free.

"20131013 18 Kyoto - Gion" by Sjaak Kempe is licensed under CC BY 2.0.