The Original Value of Creation and the standard of Value

Chapter The Principle of Creation

Section IV

Original Value of Creation

1. Determination of the Original Value of Creation and the standard of Value

How can we determine the original value of things?

The value of an object, according to the common standard, is determined by the reciprocal relationship between the purpose of the object and man's desire for it. The original value of an individual body is not latent in itself as an absolute. It is determined by the reciprocal relationship between the purpose of the individual body (as a particular kind of object centered on God's ideal of creation) and the desire of man (as the subject) to pursue the original value of the object.

Accordingly, in order for an object to realize the original value of its creation, it must unite with man through give and take action, thus forming the original four position foundation by becoming the third object to God.

Then what is the standard of original value?

Original value is determined when an object and a man, as subject, establish the four position foundation centered on God. The standard of value is God, the absolute being, because the center of the four position foundation is God. Therefore, the original value of an object, which is decided relative to the standard of God as the absolute reality, must be an absolute one.

For example, how is the beauty of a flower determined?

Its original beauty is determined when God's purpose in creating the flower and man's spontaneous desire to pursue the flower's beauty are in accord with each other, when man's God-centered desire to find its beauty is fulfilled by the emotional stimulation he receives from the flower. This brings him perfect joy. In this way, the beauty of the flower will become absolute when the joy which man feels from the flower is perfectly centered upon the purpose of creation.

Man's desire to pursue the beauty of creation is the desire to feel his own character and form objectively. When God's purpose of creating the flower and man's desire to pursue its value are found to be in accord, the subject and object form a state of harmonious oneness. Therefore, in order for anything to possess original value, it must, with man as the subject, establish the four position foundation by becoming God's third object in a state of harmonious oneness centered up Him. Then, the original value of all things, determined by their relative relationship with God, is also absolute. Hitherto, the value of an object has never been absolute but only relative, because the give and take between the object and fallen man has not been centered on God but on Satanic purpose and desire.

2. Original Intellect, Emotion and Will

And Original Truth, Beauty and Goodness

The human mind has three basic functions, constantly in action: intellect, emotion and will. Man's body acts in response to his mind's command. From this, we may conclude that man's body responds to his mind--and thus to his intellect, emotion and will. Therefore, man's every act should be a pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness. God, who is the subject of the human mind, is also the subject of human intellect, emotion and will. When man responds with his mind to God's original intellect, emotion and will, his body acts according to the will of God. Therefore, man's conduct would display the values of original truth, beauty and goodness.

3. Love and Beauty, Good and Evil, Righteousness and Unrighteousness

(1) Love and Beauty

When the two substantial bodies which result from the division of God's dual essentialities establish a four position foundation by performing give and take action on a reciprocal base, emotional forces work between the subject and object to unite them as the third object to God. Love is an emotional force given by the subject to the object; beauty is an emotional force returned to the subject by the object. The power of love is active and the stimulation of beauty is passive.

In the relationship between God and man, God gives love as the subject, while man returns beauty as the object. Between man and woman, man is the subject, giving love while woman is the object, returning beauty. In the universe as a whole, man is the subject, who gives love to the rest of the creation, the object which responds in beauty. However, when the subject and object become united, there comes into being a love which is latent even in beauty and a beauty latent even in love. This is because when the subject and object unite in circular movement, the subject is able to stand in the position of the object, and the object in that of the subject.

Between men, the beauty which a junior returns in response to the love of a senior is called "loyalty"; the beauty which children return in response to the love of their parents is called "filial piety"; the beauty which a wife returns in response to the love of her husband is called "virtue". The purpose of love and beauty is that the two separate substances divided from God's dual essentialities may become one through the action of give and take, thus establishing the four position foundation, and, as God's third object, fulfilling their purpose of creation.

Next, let us investigate the nature of God's love.

The purpose of God's creation of man will be fulfilled only when Adam and Eve, after reaching perfection as the substantial objects of God's dual essentialities, unite and bear children. Thus they experience the three kinds of love which are given to their respective objects--parental love (the first type of love given to the object), conjugal love (the second type of love given to the object), and children's love (the third type of love given to the object) in order to fulfill the three objective purposes and finally form the four position foundation. In relationship to each of the three objective loves in the four position foundation, God's love is subject. Therefore, God's love is manifested in the three objective loves and becomes the fundamental power for the establishment of the four position foundation. The four position foundation is a perfect object of beauty upon which we may receive and enjoy God's love perfectly; it is also the fundamental foundation of goodness in which God's purpose of creation may be fulfilled.

(2) Good and Evil

When a subject and an object fulfill the purpose of creation by becoming one through the action of give and take, the action or its result is called "good". When the subject and the object go against God's purpose of creation by establishing the four position foundation centered on Satan, such an action or its result is called "evil".

For example, when an individual fulfills God's first blessing to man by uniting his mind and body through the give and take action of love and beauty, and thus establishes the four position foundation of the individual level, this individual or the actions which produce such an individual are called "good". If Adam and Eve had become husband and wife through the give and take action of love and beauty in the respective positions of subject and object centered on God, and had established the four position foundation on the family level with their children, they would have created a family in which the purpose of creation was fulfilled, thus realizing God's second blessing to man.

This family or the actions which establish such a family are called "good". Further, when a man, having perfected his individuality, places the creation in the objective position as his second self and becomes one with it, he produces God's third object. He then establishes the four position foundation under his control, thus realizing God's third blessing to man. This state or the actions to attain it are also called "good". On the other hand, when a man fulfills a purpose contrary to God's three great blessings by establishing the four position centered on Satan, this act or the results of it are called "evil".

(3) Righteousness and Unrighteousness

In the course of fulfilling the purpose of goodness, the elements which bring about a life of goodness are called "righteousness".

In the course of fulfilling the purpose of evil (Satan), the elements which cause a life of evil are called "unrighteousness".

Thus, it is natural that we need to live a life of righteousness in order to attain the purpose of goodness. This is why righteousness always pursues the purpose of goodness.