Divine Principle
General introduction
Everyone, without exception, is struggling to gain happiness. The first
step in attaining this goal is to overcome present unhappiness. From small
individual affairs to history-making global events, everything is an expression
of human lives, which are constantly striving to become happier. How, then, can
happiness be attained?
Every
person feels happy when his desire is fulfilled. The word "desire"
however, is apt to be misinterpreted. This is because everyone is now living in
circumstances, which can drive desire in the direction of evil rather than in
the direction of goodness. The desire, which results in unrighteousness does
not come from the "original mind of man"; that is, one's inmost self,
which delights in the law of God. The path to happiness is reached by
overcoming the desire, which leads to evil and by following the desire, which
pursues goodness. Man's original mind knows that evil desire will lead only to
unhappiness and misery. This is the reality of human life: man gropes in the
shadow of death as he searches for the light of life.
Has
any man, by pursuing evil desire, been able to find the happiness in which his
original mind could take delight? The answer is no. Whenever man attains the
object of evil desire, he feels conscience-stricken. Would parents teach their
children to do evil, or a teacher instruct his students to pursue
unrighteousness? Again the answer must be no. It is the nature of man's
original mind to hate evil and to exalt goodness.
In
the lives of religious men, we can see an intense and relentless struggle to
attain goodness by following the desire of the original mind only. Yet, since
the beginning of time, no man has completely followed his original mind. For
this reason the Bible says, "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands,
no one seeks for God." (Rom. 3:10-11).
The
apostle Paul, who was faced with such wretchedness of heart, said in
lamentation, "For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I
see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me
captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. Wretched man that I
am!" (Rom 7:22-24).
There
is a great contradiction in man. Within the same individual, the power of the
original mind, which desires goodness, is at violent war against the power of
the wicked mind, which desires evil. All life, all matter is doomed to
destruction as long as it contains such a contradiction. Every man who contains
such a contradiction within himself lives on the brink of destruction.
Can
it be that man was created with such a contradiction? The answer again is no.
Nothing could ever have been created with such an inherent contradiction. The
contradiction, therefore, must have developed in man after the creation. In
Christianity, we call this development the "Fall of Man".
Due
to his fall, man is always near the point of destruction. For this reason, he
makes a desperate effort to remove the contradiction by following the good
desire of his original mind and repelling the evil desire of his wicked mind.
To the grief of mankind, the ultimate solution to the problem of good and evil has not yet been reached. Regarding the doctrines of theism and atheism, if one of the two should be judged good, the other must be evil. Yet we have not reached a theory of an absolute nature concerning the problem of good and evil. Moreover, men and women remain entirely ignorant of the answers to many fundamental questions, such as:
- What is the original mind, the source of good desire?
- What was the origin of the wicked mind, which caused evil desire?
- What was the fundamental cause of the fall which permitted man to embody such a contradiction?
Before being able to lead a good life by following the good
desire of the original mind and repelling evil desire, it is necessary to overcome
ignorance and be able to distinguish between good and evil.
Seen
from the viewpoint of knowledge, the human fall signifies man's descent into
the darkness of ignorance. Since man consists of two aspects, internal and
external, or spiritual and physical, there are also two aspects of knowledge,
internal and external, and two aspects of ignorance, internal and external.
Internal ignorance, in the religious sense, means spiritual ignorance;
that is, ignorance of the answers to such questions as what is man's origin?
What is the purpose of his life? Do God and the next world exist? What are good
and evil?
External
ignorance is ignorance of physical reality; that is, ignorance concerning the
natural world, which includes the human body; also, ignorance of such questions
as: What is the basis of the material world? According to which natural laws do
all physical phenomena occur?
From
the earliest dawn of history to the present, men have constantly and earnestly
searched for the truth with which to overcome this ignorance and restore the
light of knowledge. Man has struggled to discover internal truth through the
way of religion. Science has been the path taken toward the discovery of
external truth.
Religion
and science have been the methods of searching for the two aspects of truth, in
order to overcome the two aspects of ignorance and restore the two aspects of
knowledge. The day must come when religion and science advance in one united
way, so that man may enjoy eternal happiness, completely liberated from ignorance
and directed toward goodness, which is what the original mind desires. Then,
mutual understanding will occur between the two aspects of truth, the internal
and the external.
Man
has been approaching a solution to the fundamental questions of life by
following two different courses. The first course is to search for the solution
within the material world. Those who take this route think it to be the sublime
path. They yield to science, taking pride in its omnipotence, and seek material
happiness. However, can man enjoy full happiness when he limits his search to
external material conditions centered upon the physical body? Science may
create a pleasant social environment in which man can enjoy the utmost in
wealth, but is such an environment able to satisfy the spiritual desire of the
inner man?
The
passing joys of the man who delights in the pleasures of the flesh are nothing
when compared to the happiness experienced by a devout man of God. Gautama
Buddha, who left the glory of the royal palace, was not the only one who has
taken the long journey of life in pursuit of the Way. His goal was man's lost
home--his status before the fall, his permanent domicile--although he did not
know where it was. Just as a man becomes whole and sane when his mind is in
harmony with his body, so it is with joy. The joy of the body becomes whole and
sane when it is in harmony with the joy of the mind.
What
is the destiny of science? Until now, scientific research has not embraced the
internal world of cause, but only the external world of result; not the world
of essence, but only the world of phenomena. Today science is entering a higher
dimension; it is no longer concerned exclusively with the external world of
result and phenomena, but has begun to examine the internal world of cause and
essence as well. Those who have taken the path of science are concluding that,
without the truth that relates to the spiritual world of cause; that is, the
internal truth, man cannot attain the ultimate purpose of science; that is, the
discovery of the external truth, which pertains to the external world of
result.
A
sailor making a voyage on the sea of the material world under the sail of
science in search of the pleasures of the flesh may reach the coast of his
ideal, but he will soon find it to be nothing more than a graveyard to hold his
flesh. But when the sailor who has completed his voyage in search of external
truth under the sail of science comes into contact with the sea-route to
internal truth, under the sail of religion, he will be able to end his voyage
in the ideal world, which is the goal of the original mind's desire.
The
second course of human endeavor has been directed toward solving the
fundamental questions of life in the essential world of "cause".
Philosophy and religion, which have gone this way, have made substantial
contributions. On the other hand, both philosophy and religion have been
saddled with many spiritual burdens. In their own times, philosophers and
saints have pioneered the way of life, but their deeds have often resulted in
placing added burdens on the people of the present era.
Consider
the matter objectively. Has there ever been a philosopher who was able to end
human misery? Has there ever been a saint who has clearly shown us the way of
life? The principles and ideologies presented to mankind so far have given rise
to skepticism; they have created many themes which need to be untangled, and
numerous problems to be solved. The lights of revival with which the great
religions illuminated their respective ages have faded out with the ebb of the
age, leaving only dim, sputtering wicks glimmering in the falling darkness.
Let
us study the history of Christianity. For nearly 2,000 years Christianity grew,
professed the salvation of mankind, and established worldwide dominion. But
what has become of the Christian spirit which cast forth such a brilliant light
of life that, even in the days of persecution under the Roman Empire, Romans
were brought to their knees before the crucified Jesus? Medieval feudal society
buried this Christianity alive. Yet, even in its grave, the torch of Christian
religious reformation still shone out against the engulfing darkness of that
age. It could not, however, turn back the tide of those dark days.
When
ecclesiastic love expired, when the surging desire for material wealth swept
the society of Europe and countless millions of starving masses shouted
bitterly in the industrial slums, the promise of salvation came not from heaven
but from earth. Its name was communism. Christianity, though it professed God's
love, had turned out to be in reality a dead body of clergy trailing empty
slogans. It was then only natural that a banner of revolt would be raised
against a seemingly merciless God. Christian society became the hotbed of
materialism. Absorbing fertilizer from this soil, communism, the foremost
materialist ideology, has grown rapidly and unchecked.
Christianity
lost its capacity to surpass the practice of communism, and has not been able
to present a truth, which overcomes communist theory. Christians watch
communism grow within their own midst, expanding its dominion over the world.
Although they teach and believe that all men are descendants of the same
parents, many Christians do not like to sit with brothers and sisters of
different skin color. This is a representative example of today's Christianity,
which is deprived of the life force needed to practice the word of Christ.
There
may come a day when such social tragedies will end, but there is one social
vice, which is beyond the control of many men and women today. That is
adultery. Christian doctrine holds this sin to be the greatest of all sins.
What a tragedy that today's Christian society cannot halt this degradation,
into which so many people today are rushing blindly.
What
these realities mean to us is that Christianity today is in a state of
confusion. Split by the chaotic tide of the present generation, it is unable to
do anything for the lives of the people who have been drawn into today's
whirlpool of immorality. Is Christianity unable to achieve God's promise of
salvation for the present era of mankind? Why have men of religion thus far
been unable to fulfill their missions even though they have struggled
desperately and devotedly in pursuit of internal truth?
The
relationship between the essential world and the phenomenal world is similar to
that between mind and body. It is the relationship between cause and result,
internal and external, subjective and objective. Since man can attain perfect
personality only when his mind and body become harmonized in perfect oneness,
the ideal world can be realized only when the two worlds--one of essence, the
other of phenomena--have been joined in perfect unity.
As
it is with the relationship between mind and body, so there can also be no
phenomenal world apart from the essential world and no essential world apart
from the phenomenal world. Neither can there be a spiritual world apart from a
physical world, nor spiritual happiness apart from true physical happiness.
Religion has until now de-emphasized the value of everyday reality; it has
denied the value of physical happiness in order to stress the attainment of
spiritual joy. However strenuously man may try, he cannot cut himself off from
reality, nor can he annihilate the desire for physical happiness that follows
him always like a shadow.
In
reality, the desire for physical happiness persistently takes hold of men of
religion, leading them into the depths of agony. Such a contradiction exists
even in the lives of spiritual leaders. Many spiritual leaders, torn by such
contradictions, have met a sad end. Herein is a principal cause for the weakness
and inactivity of today's religions; the weakness lies in the contradiction
which has not yet been overcome.
Another
factor has fated religion to decline. Modern men, whose intelligence has
developed to the utmost degree, demand scientific proof for all things.
However, religious doctrine, which remains unchanged, does not interpret things
scientifically. That is to say, man's interpretation of internal truth
(religion) and his interpretation of external truth (science) do not agree.
The
ultimate purpose of religion can be fulfilled only by first believing in and
then by practicing the truth. But true belief cannot come about today without
knowledge and understanding. We study the Bible to confirm our belief by
knowing the truth. Jesus' performance of miracles and his revelation of signs
were to let the people know that he was the Messiah and enable them to believe
in him. Knowledge comes from cognition, and man today cannot cognize anything
which lacks logic and scientific proof. To understand something, there must
first be cognition. Thus, internal truth also requires logical proof. Religion
has been moving through the long course of history toward an age in which it
must be explained scientifically.
Religion
and science began with the missions of dispelling, respectively, the two
aspects of human ignorance. In their courses, these two areas of thought and
exploration came into apparently uncompromising conflict with each other. In
order for man to attain the good purpose of the original mind's desire, there
must come a time when there is a new expression of truth, enabling mankind to
bring these two matters together under one unified theme. These two matters are
religion, which has been coming closer to science, and science, which has been
approaching religion.
It
may be displeasing to religious believers, especially to Christians, to learn
that a new expression of truth must appear. They believe that the Bible, which
they now have, is perfect and absolute in itself. Truth, of course, is unique,
eternal, unchangeable, and absolute. The Bible, however, is not the truth
itself, but a textbook teaching the truth. Naturally, the quality of teaching
and the method and extent of giving the truth must vary according to each age,
for the truth is given to people of different ages, who are at different
spiritual and intellectual levels. Therefore, we must not regard the textbook
as absolute in every detail (cf. Part I, Ch. 3, Sec. V--129).
Religion
came into existence as the means to accomplish the purpose of goodness in
following the way of God according to the intention of the original mind. The
need for different kinds of understanding compelled the appearance of various
religions. Scriptures of different religions varied according to the mission of
the religion, the people who received it, and the age in which it came.
Scripture can be likened to a lamp which illuminates the truth. Its mission is
to shed the light of truth. When a brighter light appears, the mission of the
old one fades. Today's religions have failed to lead the present generation out
of the dark valley of death into the radiance of life, so there must now come a
new truth that can shed a new light.
Many
passages in the Bible say that new words of truth will be given to mankind in
the "Last Days". What will be the mission of the new truth? Its
mission will be to present the internal truth that religion has pursued and the
external truth searched for by science under one unified theme. It should also
seek to overcome both the internal and external ignorance of man and offer him
internal and external knowledge. It must eliminate the contradiction within
man, who is receptive to good and evil, by helping fallen man resist the way of
evil and attain the purpose of goodness. For fallen man, knowledge is the light
of life and holds the power of revival; ignorance is the shadow of death and
the cause of ruin. No feeling or emotion can be derived from ignorance, no act
of will can arise from ignorance. Thus, when knowledge, emotion and will do not
function properly in man, life is no longer worth living.
If
man is created to be unable to live apart from God, how miserable life must be
when he is ignorant of God. Yet, can man know God clearly, even though he may
diligently consult the Bible? Furthermore, how can man ever know God's heart?
The new truth should enable us to know God as a reality. It should also be able
to reveal His heart and feeling of joy at the time of creation, and His broken
heart and feeling of grief as He struggles to save fallen man who rebels
against Him.
Human
history, woven of the lives of men who are inclined toward both goodness and
evil, is filled with the story of struggle. These struggles have been external
battles over property, land, and men. But today the external fighting is diminishing.
People of different nations live together without racism. They strive to
realize a world government. War victors seek to liberate their colonies, giving
them rights equal to the rights of the great powers. Once hostile and
disharmonious international relations are harmonized around similar economic
problems as nations move toward the formation of common market systems all over
the world. Meanwhile, culture is freely circulating, the isolation of nations
is being overcome, and the cultural distance between East and West is being
bridged.
One
final war is thus left before us; that is, the war between the ideologies of
democracy and communism. These internally conflicting ideologies are now in
preparation for another external war, and both sides are equipped with dreadful
weapons. The external preparations are, in reality, geared toward waging a
final, decisive internal (spiritual) war. Which will triumph? Anyone who
believes in the reality of God will answer "democracy". Yet democracy
today is not equipped with a theory or practice powerful enough to conquer
communism. Therefore, in order that God's providence of salvation might be
completely fulfilled, the new truth must bring all mankind into a new world of
absolute goodness by elevating the spiritualism advocated in the democratic
world to a new and higher dimension, finally assimilating even materialism. In
this manner, the truth religions as well as all the "isms" and ideas
which have existed since the beginning of human history.
Some
people do, indeed, refuse to believe in religion. They disbelieve because they
do not know the reality of God and of the next world. But, however strongly
they deny spiritual reality, it is the nature of man to accept and to believe
that which is proven in a scientific way. It is also the inherent nature of man
to feel empty, void, and uneasy with himself if he has set his ultimate purpose
of life in the external world of everyday things. When one comes to know God
through the new truth, he learns about spiritual reality and comes to realize
that the fundamental purpose of life is to be found not in the external world
of matter, but in the internal world of spirit. Everyone treading this one way
will meet one day as brothers and sisters.
If all men will thus meet as brothers and sisters at one destination through this one truth, what would the world founded on this basis be like? It would be a world in which all men form one big family under God. The purpose of truth is to pursue and to achieve goodness, and the origin of goodness is God Himself. Therefore, the world attained through this truth would be one in which all men would live together in wonderful brotherly love under God as our Parent.
When
man realizes that if he makes his neighbor a victim for his own benefit, he suffers
more from the pangs of conscience than he profits from unrighteous gain, he
will find it impossible to harm his neighbor. Therefore, when real brotherly
love arises from the bottom of man's heart, he cannot do anything to cause his
neighbor to suffer. How much more would this be true of men who live in a
society in which they experience the actual feeling that God is their own
Parent, transcendent of time and space, who watches their every action, and
that this Parent wants us to love one another every moment? The new world,
which will be established by the new truth, will usher in a new age when the
sinful history of mankind has been liquidated. It must be a world in which no
sin is possible. So far in human history, even those who have believed in God
have committed sins. Their faith in God has taken the form of a concept rather
than the form of living experience. If man could feel the presence of God and
know the heavenly law that sinners are sent to hell, who then would dare to
commit sin?
The
world without sin could be called the "Kingdom of Heaven", the world
which fallen man has long pursued. Since this world will be established as a
reality on earth, it may well be called the "Kingdom of God on
earth".
Thus,
we can conclude that the ultimate purpose of God's providence of salvation is
to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. It was already made plain in previous
discussion that man fell from grace, and that the human fall came after the
creation of man. From the standpoint of the reality of God, the answer to the
question of which world God originally intended at the creation becomes evident
(cf. Part I, Ch. 3--99). We can say at this point, however, that this world is
the Kingdom of God on earth, in which God's purpose of creation is realized.
Because of the fall, however, mankind has not been able to realize this world. Instead, man has brought about a world of sin and has fallen into ignorance. Therefore, fallen man has struggled unceasingly to restore the Kingdom of God on earth, which God originally intended. He has done this by seeking to overcome internal and external ignorance and pursuing ultimate goodness through all the periods of human history. The history of mankind, therefore, is the history of the providence of God through which God intends to restore the world in which His purpose of creation is fulfilled. To restore fallen man back to his originally intended state, the new truth should be able to reveal to him his ultimate destiny in the course of restoration by teaching him the original purpose for which God created man and the universe.
Many questions must be answered by this
truth.
- Did man fall by eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil as the Bible literally says?
- If not, then what is the actual cause of the human fall?
- How could the God of perfection and beauty create man with a possibility of falling?
- What was the reason for God's inability to prevent man from falling while He, being both omnipotent and omniscient, must have known the fall would take place?
- Why could God not save sinful man in an instant with His almighty power?
These and many other questions have troubled the minds of deep thinkers
and should be resolved by the new truth.
When the scientific nature of the world is observed, it can be concluded that God, the Creator, is the very origin of science. If human history is God's providence to restore the world to His original purpose of creation, it must be that God, Master of all laws, has manipulated providential history according to a plan and an order.
Therefore, it is our most urgent task to discover:
- How the sinful history of mankind began
- What course it must follow
- In what manner it will be concluded
- And into what kind of world Providence will ultimately lead man.
The new truth, then, should be able to resolve all the fundamental
questions of life. With all these questions clarified, the reality of God as an
absolute being who plans and guides history cannot be denied. When the truth is
known, all will come to understand that the historical events which man has
seen and experienced are the reflections of God's heart, struggling to save
fallen man.
In addition, the new truth should be able to explain lucidly all the difficult problems of Christianity, since Christianity plays a major role in the formation of the world cultural sphere. Intellectual people cannot be satisfied by merely hearing that Jesus is God's son and the Savior of mankind. Many controversies have arisen in theological circles in an effort to understand the deeper significance of Christian doctrines.
- Thus, the new truth must be able to clarify the relationships among God, Jesus, and man in light of the principle of creation.
- Furthermore, the difficult questions of the Trinity should be elucidated.
- The question of why God's salvation for mankind has only been possible through the crucifixion of His son must be answered.
When it is seen that no parent has been able to give birth to a sinless child entitled to the Heavenly Kingdom without redemption by a savior, is this not a sound proof that parents still pass on the original sin to their children even after their own rebirth in Christ?
This inquiry leads to yet another question:
- What is the extent of redemption by the cross?
A vast number of Christians throughout the 2,000 years of Christian history have been confident that they have been completely saved by the blood of Jesus' crucifixion. Yet, in reality, not one individual, home or society has existed free from sin. The Christian spirit has actually been on the path of decline day after day. Therefore, there remain many difficult problems leading to a central contradiction between the present reality of Christianity and the belief in complete redemption by the ransom of the cross. The new truth which we are looking for should be able to explain all of these questions clearly and completely. There are more questions such as:
- Why will Christ come again?
- When, where and how will he come?
- In what manner will the resurrection of fallen men take place?
- What is the meaning of the Biblical prophecy that heaven and earth will be destroyed by fire and other natural calamities?
The new truth should
provide a key to all these difficult Biblical mysteries which are written in
parables and symbols, and do so in plain language which everyone can
understand, as Jesus promised in John 16:25.
Only
through these answers and plain truths will all the denominations be united, as
the divisions caused by differing interpretations of Biblical passages are
broken down.
This
new, ultimate, final truth, however, cannot come either from any man's
synthetic research in the scriptures and in literature, or from any human
brain. As the Bible says, "You must again prophesy about many peoples and
nations and tongues and kings." (Rev. 10:11). This truth must appear as a
revelation from God Himself. This new truth has already appeared!
With
the fullness of time, God has sent His messenger to resolve the fundamental
questions of life and the universe. His name is Sun Myung Moon. For many
decades, he wandered in a vast spiritual world in search of the ultimate truth.
On this path, he endured suffering unimagined by anyone in human history. God
alone will remember it. Knowing that no one can find the ultimate truth to save
mankind without going through the bitterest of trials, he fought alone against
myriads of Satanic forces, both in the spiritual and physical worlds, and
finally triumphed over them all. In this way, he came in contact with many
saints in Paradise and with Jesus, and thus brought into light all the heavenly
secrets through his communion with God.
The
Divine Principle revealed in this book is only part of the new truth. We have
recorded here what Sun Myung Moon's disciples have hitherto heard and
witnessed. We believe with happy expectation that, as time goes on, deeper
parts of the truth will be continually revealed. It is our earnest prayer that
the light of truth will quickly fill the earth.
