Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.8, pgs.5267-5268 , Hirota Masaki
Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.10, pg.6573 , Robert S. Ellwood and Shimazono Susumu
Religions of the world: a comprehensive encyclopedia of beliefs and practices/ J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, editors; Todd M. Johnson, World Religious Statistics; Donald Wiebe, Introduction-2nd ed., Copyright 2010 by ABC-CLIO, LLC. Reproduced with permission of ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, CA.
Kurozumikyo is a sect Shinto group which makes up the shinshukyo cult phenomena in Japan and if you are interested you can view a post that I published regarding the superstitious and folklore beliefs of Shintoism
Kurozumikyo teachings and values fits well within the mythological framework and backdrop of Shinto belief with its self acclaimed founder Kurozumi Munetada who considered himself as a deity and who supposedly had a subjective experience through a divine union as being possessed with Amaterasu Omikami who is known as the goddess of the sun and chief kami among the pantheon of natural powers.
To begin with this movement started as a magical art with a mystical ritual for curing illness and then latter transitioned to more of a practical approach as emphasizing a motif of salvation through aspects of popular morality as cultivating virtue combined with the health and wealth prosperity message which ironically seems inconsistent to their model of selflessness.
Anyway one of the controversial aspects of this religion has been its position of fatalism as accepting the trials and difficulties of life while also claiming to contribute to ones well being which seems philosophically conflicting or oppositional as it would seem that former would simply nullify the latter as accepting their condition or fate in life instead of striving to resolve it. Perhaps this position somehow conveniently covers both sides of the equation as to encourage some to move towards achieving the benefits of prosperity while pacifying or consoling those who have not had the same results such as an individual who had been oppressed under the subordination of the feudal system as a commoner who could only accept their arrangement in life. So for those who were facing this harsh reality of life with a form of passive acceptance as not being able to change their reality could control one thing which was their perspective as providing an emotional form of escape or relief which looked towards the prospects of a spiritual potentiality rather than a material equality as a means of attainment which was not primarily dependent upon natural circumstances. However even if this coping mechanism worked it did not necessitate a correlation with reality and like a drug only temporarily dulls the senses to a painful reality. With either scenario it appears that this organization couldn’t lose as it tries to substantiate or authenticate itself by attempting to ease the tension between these antithetical positions of the “haves and the have nots” and therefore the movement attempts to evade failure as its embraces everyone in its success story. So whatever the individual case may be whether someone is to happily/cheerfully embrace a change of mind and attitude over life’s troubles or pursue the illusory gain of reaching significant results and goals the “catch all” is that the projected outcome is to give hope to every represented group. Nevertheless this doesn’t answer the objection to my opening question as to why an individual should seek any benefit at all to begin with, such as through the pagan breathing ritual of spiritual practice otherwise known as swallowing the sun or sun worship, which is contrary to the view of acceptance as it advocates change and maintenance as contributing to a certain quality of life.
Moreover I don’t understand that if you are dealing with sincere and diligent believers how can all this work for some and not for others? Also what do you do when an infirmed person gets well while the healthy person suddenly becomes ill? It appears the terms can flip flop as not being definite except to say that at any given time you could either be sick or well likewise you could also go from rags to riches and vise versa. In other words the sales pitch is that regardless what life may throw at you the effects of life are ultimately determined by the casual powers of piety which I believe are inconsistent with reality. Essentially we all go through the tsunamis and earthquakes of life and in the end there is no fountain of youth as we all falter as becoming weak when we age and inevitably will all one day die at least physically. So essentially this group gives the illusion that it has the answer when in essence its not really actualizing any kind of real or significant benefit except for its practice of certain moral values or virtues which is no different that many of the other religions and cults.
In moving on there are ontological problems as this group thinks of itself as being one in essence with god and yet not in the sense of just obtaining an intimate connection and association to that of another being but as seeing itself as an emanation of that being. Granted the bible depicts the glory and majesty of mankind above the created order as we share His image but only as much as the design reflects the designer as being rational, willful and moral creatures with a sense of self awareness, etc.
After all if we are that closely linked to divinity then how did we lose our way or become separated to begin with seeing that God is a perfect being and we are not? How is it that we are flawed when God is morally efficient? Surely our minuscule efforts of good deeds or works can’t really merit our becoming “one” with Him as we by nature are so morally dysfunctional and deficient. Even if we comparatively see ourselves more righteous than our peers this still does not approach God’s magnitude of holiness as we are never devoid of a continued sense of guilt and shame as we will always fail to reach perfection.
Furthermore regarding their belief in eternality, everything in the created order points to a beginning such as the law of thermodynamics which indicates that we are losing usable energy as the universe is winding down as postulated by Einstein’s theory of relativity and confirmed through the lens of the Hubble telescope giving evidence to a beginning as disproving the earlier notion of science who also saw an eternal state of matter.
Also how is it possible for an eternal God to become disjointed or disconnected as to arrive on the world scene as a temporal traveler in becoming a contingent or dependent being apart from His necessary and pure being? How can a person who is weak, ignorant and confined to spacial limitations be analogous to God who is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent? Thus it is far more evidential to support our temporal coming into existence than any kind of a pre-existent eternal realm as we are obviously created beings rather than a piece, fragment or part of the Creator himself who alone is not schizophrenic as having a mental state of split personalities.Philosophically speaking how could an absolute God reproduce himself as another entity as then he would have to simultaneously exist and not exist at the same time as both the creator and the creature of which the creature is always lesser than the creator? At that point god would cease to exist as being less than perfect as becoming divisible and subjected to change as being both inferior and superior at the same time and in the same relationship which of logical necessity violates the law of non-contradiction. There are a few people who play god and who think they are god but they are only fooling themselves through deceiving spirits as God is uniquely one in essence. Thus God is pure being not becoming as He can not change.
Nevertheless you may still challenge the notion of the material realm as being somewhat unreal and deficient in explaining our coming into existence by the procreation of a man and woman in stating that it only appears that way and not as it really is then trying using that same logic to live your daily life and you will see that your life is inconsistent and unsustainable. Also whose to say that your thinking does not also come under the same kind of scrutiny as being just as unreal as the next guys opinion? Furthermore how imperfect would it be for God to deceive us by devising a virtual reality based on a delusional life of make believe which might better describe the lie that you are living under with this line of reasoning? Essentially the stronger argument is that God as a perfect being could not become anything other or less than perfect of which we will never be as confirmed by our limitations as a self evident reality. Though we may serve a superior role as the stewards of the universe through our unique capabilities of intelligence nonetheless it does not qualify us or give us a license to be god and I think it is much more plausible as seeing ourselves as consisting of a different essence as definably human not divine.
Moreover if you really thought you were god then why extend worship to the kami as essentially worship should be self directed as self worship which would be appropriate and consistent for someone who saw themselves as an extension of divinity or god. Why look any farther than yourself for any sort of ultimate reality as you only need to look inward not outward as unlocking the eternally existent mind of god? It goes without saying that most people instinctively and intuitively reject this idea as craving a transcendent being the likes of which we are not nor will ever be and as we are restricted to being creaturely and even if our humanity does point to a reality beyond biological function to a non-physical human soul that does not necessarily making us god either.
Finally another matter I question is their view of the afterlife apart from our physical or biological function and therefore I am giving you a video of a former atheistic doctor who by the testimony and experience of his patients made him a believer to a reality which is more compliant with a Christian worldview regarding Heaven and Hell. I hope you take the time to watch this video as it is eternally significant in its scope and application.
Lastly I question the efficacy of this movement as it has failed to be universally impacting to all of life since essentially they have stagnated or declined as a minority group as being one among the many other fringe groups. Christianity on the other hand has had such a positive world wide impact in that nearly 1 out of 3 individuals make some claim to Jesus which does not even include the second largest religion namely Islam which gives some regard for the person and work of Jesus. You may be surprised to know that Christianity started out as an Asiatic religion which spread throughout the course of the Western World and is now returning full circle to many of my Asian friends as they are seeking answers beyond the limitation of their cultural enlightenment. In conclusion God is bigger than any continent or island and when we reduce God to the size of just a few select people then this should begin to call our attention to how we process our religious devotion.
Personally I think this group can not live up to its claims as I believe their position is a counterfeit to the person and work of Jesus who is the “One True God” as the “Creator of the Universe.” He is the divine embodiment as being “The Light of the World” as He gives eternal life to all who believe as imparting the indwelling presence of the divine Holy Sprit instead of the unholy spirits of the kami.
In closing I hope I have not needlessly offended you over my comments as I respect and appreciate your zeal and desire to connect and communicate with a spiritual reality. What I challenge is the nature of these entities as opening the doors to the fellowship of a demonic reality instead of the living God as entertaining demons unaware as their nature is evil and destructive in serving to deceive and allure you into fascination or intrigue but will essentially only leave you in a state of lostness apart from God.
Finally I am not striving to impart to you a sense of skepticism or pessimism but rather I would encourage you to be open and willing to follow or to search out reality wherever the facts may lead you. God did not intend to leave you with only the general revelation of a moral conscious but rather He intends to lead and guide you into all truth with a special or fuller revelation in a personal relationship of dependency upon Him. In summary I would like to reassure you that God can and will deliver you from moral failure and shortcomings if you are willing to trust Him with your life. After all He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him in accordance with His righteousness not through the pious practices as striving to earn your way to God but as you simply receive the gift of His eternal love which is ideally personified in Jesus who took the guilt of your sin and removed it forever.
Lastly perhaps you are worn out from your hard work and labour and disillusioned by the promises you been given or exhausted over the pursuit of social order and harmony with the ensuing nuclear threats of our modern day. Then I pray that you will reach out to Jesus in the midst of the storm as He beckons to your heart and may you find your rest in Him as being fully satisfied.
Mt 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
In conclusion all I ask is for you to have the same openness and willingness of heart that you had upon believing the religion of Kurozumikyo and to sincerely seek out Jesus as to reveal Himself to you in a real and tangible way so as to entrust your heart and life to Him as becoming spiritually unified or one with Him as worshiping Him as the true incarnate Son who chiefly reigns as the supreme ruler as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. So in closing my prayer for you is that the Lord will breathe within you the breath of the life giving Spirit.
2 Peter 1:3-4
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.8, pgs.5267-5268 , Hirota Masaki
Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.10, pg.6573 , Robert S. Ellwood and Shimazono Susumu
Religions of the world: a comprehensive encyclopedia of beliefs and practices/ J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, editors; Todd M. Johnson, World Religious Statistics; Donald Wiebe, Introduction-2nd ed., Copyright 2010 by ABC-CLIO, LLC. Reproduced with permission of ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, CA.
