Great Construction

A Materialistically-centered Outlook Creates
Individuals Prone to Evil

     The title of this essay may seem a bit too harsh, but it is inevitable as it is the truth. I state so because, as materialism is the equivalent of atheism, from our perspective we might as well say that materialism is the most dangerous of all social thought. To be frank, if there truly were no God in this world, people such as myself would probably be able to skillfully deceive people, make lots of money, do whatever we want, live in the lap of luxury, as well as get along rather well in society. But, since I know that God actually does exist, I cannot act in these ways. We must become human beings who walk in a straight line, with the desire and attitude that other human beings become fortunate and happy. Unless we become so, we ourselves will never obtain fortune and happiness and cannot live a life that is worth living.
     This is not rhetoric, sophistry, or anything of the sort. If history since antiquity is studied, it can be observed that even if evil may flourish for a while, it does not continue for long. There are just too many instances where evil has been completely destroyed. This point should be apparent, but it seems that it is not clear at all, and society continues to bury evil under the name of crime. From robbery, fraud, homicide, and other such crimes to the scandals of corruption by people in high social positions, down to the sensational stories of main street, these small- and intermediate-sized crimes are all born through atheistic thought. It could very well be said that atheistic thought is the mother that gives birth to crime.
     Thus, it is more than clear that to remove crime from the world, there is no other way than to eradicate atheistic thought. Nowadays however, intellectuals and the authorities and educators rather are under the illusion that theistic thought is a superstition and continue seeking results by depending on such forms as control, education, and preaching, but no matter how much efforts are made, only natural is it that results do not obtain. The daily human interest stories in the newspapers speak to this point more than anything else.
     The preceding shows only a few examples that suggest that there is no way to cleanse society other than greater encouragement to theistic thought. It is a shame that at present, the situation is that the higher the level of the intellectual, the more one encounters atheistic thought. Moreover, to be atheistic is thought to be a qualification for membership in the intelligentsia, the mass media, and so forth. One is considered forward-looking and enlightened the more one intones atheistic theories. We will not have a pleasant, cheerful, unblemished society unless we have a change to the situation where atheists are considered old-fashioned and it is the theists who are considered to be the intellectuals who lead the age.

Eikō, Issue 155, May 7, 1952
translated by cynndd

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“Yuibutsushugi ga Akunin o Tsukuru,” which appeared originally in Eikō, Issue 155, May 7, 1952, has appeared previously in translation. Citation is given below for reference.

“Materialism Creates Evil,” Foundation of Paradise, 1984, page 34.