Freedom and the Fall

Chapter The Fall of Man

Section V

Freedom and the Fall

1. The significance of Freedom seen from the Viewpoint of the Principle

In discussing the nature of freedom in light of the Principle, we must first understand that there is no freedom apart from the Principle.

The word "freedom" expresses collectively both free will and free action which accompanies it. Because the former and the latter are in the relation of character and form, perfect freedom is only possible when these two are combined. Naturally, where there is no free will, there is no free action.

Free will not followed by free action cannot be perfected. Free action comes from free will, and free will is the manifestation of one's original mind. The minds of men of the original nature of creation cannot operate apart from the Principle, which is the Word of God. Therefore, there can be no free will apart from the Principle, and naturally no true free action can follow. We can conclude that, for men of the original nature of creation, there is no freedom whatsoever apart from the Principle.

Secondly, there is no freedom unaccompanied by responsibility. Man, created according to the Principle, is to perfect himself by accomplishing his portion of responsibility through his own free will (cf. Part I, Ch. 1, Sec. V, 2.2--55). Accordingly, man, in pursuit of the purpose of creation, always tries to accomplish his responsibility according to his free will; therefore, there can be no freedom unaccompanied by responsibility.

Thirdly, there is no freedom without actual results. The purpose of man's attempt to accomplish his own portion of responsibility is to attain the purpose of creation, and thus bring about actual results by which he can make God happy. Accordingly, freedom always seeks actual results in the accomplishment of God's purpose of creation. There is no freedom whatsoever without actual results.

2. Freedom and the human Fall

As previously explained, freedom cannot exist apart from the Principle. Therefore, in accordance with the principle of creation, freedom is always accompanied by responsibility and it is always in pursuit of actual results to make God happy. Consequently, free acts according to free will should always result in goodness. Therefore, it cannot be that man would fall because of freedom. That is why in II Corinthians 3:17 it is stated, "The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.". We call this kind of freedom "the freedom of the original mind".

Since Adam and Eve had been advised by God not to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they should have kept the commandment in accordance with the freedom of their original mind, without God's intervention. When Eve was about to deviate from the Principle, the freedom of her original mind, seeking the actual results of goodness and responsibility in the Principle, apparently worked to keep her from going off the track by arousing a sense of insecurity and fear within her. Even after the fall, this freedom of the original mind surely worked to have man return to God. Therefore, man could not have fallen due to the freedom of the original mind. On the contrary, the human fall had its fundamental cause in the fact that the power of the non-principled love was stronger than the directive power of the freedom of the original mind. After all, man lost his freedom because of the fall. However, God can work His providence of restoring man's freedom because man, though fallen, still has a remainder of his original nature which seeks freedom in God. It is sound proof of man's progress toward restoring this freedom, long lost due to Satan, that, as time goes by, man's zeal for the pursuit of freedom grows, and he seeks it even at the risk of his life. Therefore, the purpose of man's search for freedom is to accomplish the purpose of creation by bringing about actual results, and to accomplish his responsibility in the Principle through his free action in accordance with his free will.

3. Freedom, the Fall, and Restoration

Angels were created to minister to men. Thus, men were free to deal with the angels. However, Eve, at the time of her temptation, was still immature both in wisdom and in heart, Thus, when Eve was blinded in wisdom (knowledge) and confused in heart (feeling) by the temptation of the angel, she was forced to go beyond the line of fall even though she felt anxiety due to the freedom of her original mind, which was in pursuit of actual results and responsibility. This is because the power of love with the angel was stronger than the freedom of her original mind. However free Eve may have been to deal with the angel, she should have believed in God's commandment not to eat the fruit, thus restraining herself from responding to the temptation of the angel. Had Eve restrained herself, she would not have fallen. In that case, the power of the non-principled love with the angel could not have been generated. Despite the fact that freedom allowed Eve to respond to the angel, leading her to the line of fall, it was by no means freedom but the power of non-principled love that made her overstep the line of fall.

Since man was created to deal with the angels in freedom, Eve came to deal with Lucifer. By Eve's performing give and take action with him on a reciprocal base, they fell into non-principled love, and the power of this love caused them to fall. On the contrary, fallen man can also stand in the objective position to God in freedom. Therefore, if man performs the action of give and take with God on a reciprocal base according to the truth, he can restore the original nature of creation by the power of principled love. Man came to cry for freedom because of the directional nature of the freedom of his original mind, which seeks to restore the original nature of creation.

Man, due to the fall, became ignorant of God and of His heart. Therefore, human will, due to ignorance, could not take a direction with which God could be pleased. However, in fallen man the "heart-and-zeal" for the freedom of the original mind directed toward the purpose of creation has been renewed, as spirit (internal knowledge) and truth (external knowledge) have developed according to the age in the providence of restoration. Subsequently, man's heart-and-zeal toward God has also been restored, heightening his desire to live in accordance with God's will.

As man's volition for the restoration of freedom is cultivated, he naturally seeks to create the social circumstances in which he can realize freedom. Social revolution is unavoidable when the circumstances of the age cannot satisfy the desires of the men belonging to the age. The French Revolution in the 18th century is a representative example. Revolution will continue until the freedom of the original nature of creation is restored completely