Today's we will be having a short study on a Religion known as the church of world Messianity also called Johrei. We will be looking at the basics such as it's origin, statistics, and a few of their main beliefs. I will then compare these beliefs to the teachings of scripture to show that this religion is incompatible to Christianity. Let's get started!
Johrei's Origin's
I suppose we should start off by going over when this religion began. Johrei was founded in Japan in 1935 by a man called Mokichi Okada, it was then introduced to America in 1953. According to the Wikipedia link below Johrei claims about 800,000 Adherents.
Belief's and Practices
So what does Johrei teach? There are three pillars to this religion and they are Johrei, Art/Beauty, and Natural Farming. Johrei is considered by the Adherents to be a way of focusing or channeling a certain type of healing energy through the hand of the giver that goes into the receiver's spiritual body, and that this over time can result in spiritual growth as well as physical healing. Although there is no physical contact made when they administer Johrei.
The second pillar of Johrei is the expression of art and beauty. The Johrei website teaches that the best way to popularize beauty is the cultivation and distribution of flowers. They believe that these flower arrangements shouldn't just be in the practitioner's homes but everywhere so everyone can enjoy them. The Third pillar of Johrei is the practice of natural farming which to put it simply is farming without the use of artificial or even animal fertilizers.
According to Wikipedia, Okada asserted in 1926 that he had received divine revelation which empowered him so he could be a channel of God's healing light. This was so he could remove "the spiritual causes" for things such as poverty, strife, and illness as well as to inaugurate a new Messianic age. He then taught his followers Johrei so they could achieve Messianity and go on to spread his teachings across the globe. The Johrei website informs us that the practitioners of such come from many different faiths and cultures, the Johrei website also declares that they respect all spiritual paths.
What Does Scripture Teach & Conclusion
I will wrap up this article by stating what I think about Johrei and how it conflicts with the word of God. One of the most alarming things I saw about this religion is that their founder claims divine revelation. The plain truth is God's word is our authority and we are to test the spirits to see if they are of God(1 Joh 4:1). Take the Bereans for example, they searched the scriptures to see if what Paul and Silas was saying was true (Act 17:10-11). As Christians we don't get our spiritual growth from Johrei but from reading God's word (1 Pet 2:2).
I personally have no problem with their flower arranging and Natural farming pillars as those are not sinful practices, organic farming is the way to go for a healthier body anyway. It's the fact that many of them don't know Jesus is what bothers me. By stating that they respect all spiritual paths they are denying the gospel, and therefore condemning themselves. It's plain truth that if you don't have the Son (Jesus) you are abiding in God's wrath (Joh 3:36, Joh 14:6, Act 4:10 -12). Other religions cannot save you, and I don't respect them because they are sacrificing to devils (1 cor 10:21-22).
The practice of Johrei, that is the channeling of healing energy isn't a scriptural practice at all. When people were healed in the gospels they didn't need this Johrei ritual. They simply had faith in Jesus and he healed them. As noted earlier in Johrei there is no physical contact when applying Johrei but we see that people were healed by the laying on of hands in Mark's gospel (16:18), and in the book of James we have elders praying over the sick and anointing them them with oil in the name of the Lord (Jam 5:14-15). Neither of these things are done when administering Johrei.
In conclusion the problem with the Church of World Messiaintiy is that it makes this Okada guy and his followers out to be some kind of Messiahs or Christs. The bible warns us that false christs would arise (Mat 24:5, Mar 13:22, Joh 4:25), and no matter how well intention ed Johrei practitioners are they simply cannot bear fruit without abiding in the vine; If they truly desire to help others grow spiritually and see others get healed they need to be saved themselves, and then feed the flock/pray for others (Joh 15:1-8, Act 20:28).
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