Great Construction

Regarding Journalistic Demagogy—
The Dogmatism of Newspapers Is Fascism

     Here I will describe a matter which members of the general public are not aware, and that is the extent of the damage that World Messianity sustains due to fabricated newspaper articles. At the time of World Messianity’s tax issues last autumn, the Asahi newspaper wrote that World Messianity’s assets amounted to the absurd, unbelievable figure of between 2 and 3 billion yen. As one of the major newspapers, Asahi enjoys a high level of trust within society, and thus great reliance is placed upon it. As to be expected, we were inundated with incidents of extortion, blackmail, and demands for cash, and even from complete strangers we were overwhelmed with requests for investments and money lending. At one period, our time was taken up by nothing else.
     And recently on the pages of the Yomiuri newspaper, it was reported that our daily income is above ten million yen, so again there appeared all sorts of scoundrels utilizing many variations of the same old schemes. The Yomiuri reports were published just at the moment we thought the situation had died down, and the harassment will inevitably go on for a while.
     Of course, the figures cited above are out-and-out lies. World Messianity was incorporated as a religious juridical person in August of last year, and since then we have conducted activities. Unless we have used magic in some way, how is that we can have an income of such large sums? Everyone knows that even religions that have been around hundreds and thousands of years and who have believers numbering in the millions are suffering in the difficult economic circumstances of these times. Compared to these existing religions that are the champions, New Religions such as World Messianity are merely infants. Furthermore, World Messianity is still in the development phase, so the economic pressures are beyond imagination. On top of that, assets of World Messianity that had been attached for a tax bill of over ten million yen were finally released last year, so our present situation may be imagined.
     As can be seen from the circumstances described above, journalists probably produced such nonsensical figures  partly for a laugh, but the amount of damage we have sustained is great. Should this kind of tyrannical exercise of influence be permitted? If so, it would be a tremendous problem. Journalists are constantly branding New Religions as superstitious and heretical, and it appears they think that the extermination of these religions would be good for society. Thus, it does not matter to the press whether demagogy or fabrication and exaggeration, they exaggerate, do not consider the danger they cause, and seek to cause animosity among the public at large. Together with the use of fabrication, journalists write also to excite curiosity in their readers, but are these the proper acts of a newspaper? Of course you journalists have decided on your own that New Religions are superstitious and heretical without undertaking any investigation at all. That is why what New Religions fear the most is the demagogy of newspapers. I have shown how it cannot be denied that journalists trample on human rights, sacrifice good people, and seek their own advantage. Indeed, it is the feudalism of journalism.
    If we were to summarize the truth, the present situation is that education and morals have worsened to the extent that their decline cannot be halted by the exercise of the power of existing religions. A salvation that has true power must appear. Even so, this salvation will not appear on earth suddenly descending from the clouds as depicted in fairy tales and legends. What happens is that a selected individual slowly and steadily saves one human being at a time. What kind of person, what would be the position of a person who might appear as the one who makes into reality a better society, a better nation-state, a better world? The religious leaders and saints who are adored and respected today did not produce any conspicuous results in their lifetimes. Religious history well testifies to the fact that these individuals were only recognized and adored after the passage of time. Even at the time of Christ’s Ascension, his eleven disciples showed no activity and only after the passage of decades did the New Testament come about. You journalists out there! I would like to hear what occurs to you all as you read my presentation. 

 Hikari, Issue 32, page 2, October 22, 1949
translated by cynndd