Editing SG33SHS-T (section)

=== 7. The Salvific Power of Dubious Gods ===

Furthermore, as a method to deny the existence of omnipotent gods or buddhas from another perspective, a passage from Archbishop Brown’s book ''Communism and Christianism'' can be cited as a brilliant and insightful critique. It reads as follows:

<blockquote>If God desires something and cannot do it, then He is impotent, and this contradicts the nature of God. If He can do it but chooses not to, then He is evil. Both cases contradict the nature of God. If He neither desires it nor can do it, then He is both evil and impotent. If He both wishes to get rid of evil and can do so, which is the only conceivable way to imagine God, then how is it possible that there is evil on earth?<ref>William Montgomery Brown (1855–1937), who came to be known as “Bad Bishop Brown,” was a provocative American Episcopal clergyman and author who, after reading the works of Darwin and Marx, “converted to science” in 1913, which led to his trial for heresy in 1924—the first such prosecution of an Episcopal minister since the Reformation. Seno’o is here citing from a 1930 Japanese translation (''Kami to shihonka'' 神と資本家 [lit. God and the Capitalist; Daihōkaku Shobō]) of Brown’s 1920 work''Communism and Christianism'', subtitled “Banish Gods from Skies and Capitalists from Earth and Make the World Safe for Industrial Communism” (Galion, OH: Bradford Brown). The translator was Kamichika Ichiko 神近市子, the feminist, socialist, journalist, writer, and critic who had studied at Tsuda 津田 University and contributed to the radical feminist magazine''Seitō'' 青鞜 (Bluestocking), which ran from 1911 to 1916, after which it was suppressed by the Taishō administration for being “disruptive to society” and “injurious to public morals.” See Ian Beardsley, ''The Bluestockings of Japan: New Woman Essays and Fiction from Seitō, 1911–16'' (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 2007), p. 12.</ref></blockquote>

This objection is valid. Indeed, if there were an omnipotent God or compassionate saviors like Amida Buddha, the Eternal Buddha, or Dainichi Nyorai, then why does society continue to suffer in such a hellish state? Even parents in ordinary households, without waiting for their children’s pleas, provide bread and clothing according to the seasons. Yet, when it comes to seeking salvation, one must plead and even then receive only a meager offering of rice and salt. If we observe the pastors and priests themselves who preach such teachings, we see how many of them expose their disgraceful behavior and hypocrisy regarding economic issues. In human life, while bread alone may not be sufficient, the resolution of the foundational issue of bread becomes even more crucial. This should be understood. However, despite this, those who forcefully propagate illusory happiness and deliberately disregard economic problems not only further prove the impotence and nonexistence of God but also commit a despicable crime by deceiving and robbing the people of true happiness. In this regard, Lenin’s criticism is appropriate.

<blockquote>Religion teaches submission and endurance on earth to those who toil and suffer throughout their lives, comforting them with the hope of heavenly rewards. However, for those who live off the labor of others, religion teaches them to practice charity on earth, thus offering a cheap way to justify their exploitative practices while selling them tickets to heavenly happiness at a considerable price. Religion is the opium of the people.<ref>V. I. Lenin, “Socialism and Religion,” ''Novaya Zhizn'' 28, December 3, 1905. An English translation, taken from ''Lenin Collected Works'', vol. 10 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1965), pp. 83–85, can be found at Marxist Internet Archive, accessed September 18, 2024, https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1905/dec/03.htm.</ref></blockquote>

In response to this famous charge, leading temples and religious institutions such as Higashi 東 [East] and Nishi 西 [West] Honganji 本願寺, Mount Minobu 身延, and Mount Kōya 高野 have no choice but to solemnly submit without room for rebuttal. Opium is a narcotic, and those who sell such a deceptive narcotic while disguising themselves as wise and virtuous must be considered enemies of the people. Furthermore, if we consider the prevalence [within these sects] of superstitious practices such as fortunetelling and the interpretation of good and bad luck, they reflect a complacent attitude that seeks happiness by relying on external controlling powers, disregarding social transformation and personal effort. Such superstitions may generate social sins that distort the normal evolution of culture, including the development of fields like medicine. The aversion to certain marital unions expressed in the Chinese astrological sign ''hinoe-uma'' 丙午<ref>''Hinoe-uma'', or''heigo'', refers to the forty-third year of the sexagenary cycle of the Chinese zodiac— the year of the fire horse, renowned for disasters and the birth of women destined to kill their husbands.</ref> and the reliance on the “twenty-eight mansions”<ref>''Nijū hasshuku'' 二十八宿. Ancient Chinese astronomers divided the visible stars in the sky into twenty-eight groups, called twenty-eight constellations or twenty-eight mansions, with seven constellations in each of the four cardinal directions.</ref> to determine auspicious and inauspicious dates are representative examples of foolish superstitions. The emergence of these superstitions is also related to the delusion associated with the belief in supernatural gods and buddhas. Therefore, the clarification and promotion of atheism must be an important foundational move to sweep away these superstitions wholesale.