Great Construction

The Word “Scientific”

     When we look out over society these days, we see that whatever the field, anxiety is lessened and trust is inspired when the word “science” is involved. Science is taken to be absolute, as it could well be said that such a belief in no way differs from that in God by a member of a religion. Whether in Japan or abroad, the number of those who believe in some level of the divine has decreased greatly with the rise of faith in science. In science has arisen a formidable rival that has gradually defeated religion, which is now barely breathing, hanging on to life by a thread.
     Against this trend, there emerged during the mid-nineteenth century, in the tumultuous times between the archaic feudal regime and the modern Meiji era, new religions such as Tenri, Kuromizu, and Omoto that did manage to strike blows on the ranks of those who supported science, but to be honest, the strategies of these movements merely smacked of an extreme denial of science. Members of these religions well know these tendencies, which were to deny anything and everything cultural in sight. Just to give one example, when I was in Omoto, the eating of meat was prohibited and no one wore Western clothing. As I was the only one who wore Western clothes, I became quite infamous. There were other prohibitions, such as being told not to take leather bags on trips, and during one period Omoto did go a bit overboard on such matters. By the time I ended up quitting Omoto, they had become a lot more “civilized,” which I thought was good. Another example is that even now, young and old, male and female alike, members of Tenri wear livery coats, which is probably their way of promoting their religion, but I am sure that most citizens probably think it a bit extreme.
     As described above, there has been a certain degree of antipathy for science but it has certainly not been enough to shake the scientific bastion. At this stage, if I may be permitted to give my opinion, I believe scientific civilization deserves praise of the highest level for the great blessings it has produced. One point, however, I would have people consider is how erroneous our conviction is that today all problems and issues can only be resolved through science. Most of the sufferings that human beings face nowadays result from this superstitious belief in science.
     For these reasons, I continue my efforts to promote all the more progress in the areas in which science contributes to the happiness and welfare of humanity, and conversely, complete destruction and elimination of those aspects that lead to the unhappiness and misfortune of human beings. Even so, because the present level of understanding of scientists does not allow for correctly distinguishing between beneficial science and harmful science, efforts are advanced on the premise that all aspects of science are beneficial. Fortunately, however, I have been led by God to clearly understand the good and evil, right and wrong aspects of science.
     In other words, at present as religion has come down to bordering on the fate of defeat in the face of ninety-nine percent dominance by science, one percent of divine power will emerge in victory, so, as readers come to understand this point, they will realize why I have published the books Salvation for Americans and Spiritual Healing of Tuberculosis.

1953, unpublished manuscript
translated by cynndd