Cheon Seong Gyeong 2292
For adopted children to advance to
the position of begotten children, the
jealousy the archangel felt at the time
of Adam and Eve must be indemnified.
To do this, spiritual children should
value and love the physical children of
their spiritual parents more than their
own lives. Next, they should restore
the satanic world. These are essential
points. What this means is that you can-
not enter unless you have loved my chil-
dren. Ask yourselves whether you loved
them from the time they were in the
womb. Have you loved me, God’s will
and the children of my body even more
than yourselves? The question is wheth-
er you loved them more than yourselves.
Jesus asked, “Did you love me more than
your own sons and daughters, your fam-
ily?” If you have not done so, you cannot
proceed, and should indemnify this fail-
ure for three years starting now. (127-128,
1983.5.5)
Cheong Seong Gyeong 1526
Pledge number two of the Family
Pledge also contains the phrase, “Our
family… by centering on true love.”
This signifies that nothing can be
accomplished without true love. The
next phrase is, “Our family… pledges to
represent and become central to heaven
and earth by attending God and True
Parents; we pledge to perfect the duti-
ful family way of filial sons and daugh-
ters in our family.” This means that the
father needs to practice the way of filial
piety, as do the children. In fact, every
member of the family needs to do the
same. They need to inherit the tradition
of filial piety. Pledge number two goes on
to say, “We pledge to perfect the dutiful
family way of … patriots in our nation,
saints in the world, and divine sons and
daughters in heaven and earth.”
World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon
Chapter 4
God’s Creation and Human Creativity
The Lord of Creation
2.Human Beings Are Superior to All Other Creatures
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
What is the difference between humans and animals? Human beings are special because they possess a spirit, not because of any feature of their physical bodies. As spiritual beings, humans are distinct from all creatures that are merely physical beings. It is the spirit that endows humans with great value; the physical body is of little value in comparison.
Compare a man with an ape. An ape eats, sleeps, and brings forth its young; when it grunts it is mainly for food. Does an ape cry out yearning for its parents? Does an ape sacrifice its life for its siblings or parents? How about a man? Does a man sacrifice his life for others, or not? He does! Men and apes are different in kind.
Do apes gather to recount stories about their ancestors’ brave deeds? Do they gather to worship God? Do they ponder about the spirit world? Do they dream about a peaceful world, an ideal world flourishing with love? Apes and human beings are qualitatively different.
From of old, human beings have aspired for something greater. From the very beginning, human beings have worshiped God. There is not a tribe of man that has not done so. Thinking on God, humans have pursued a better life and a better world. No ape can think such things. It is utterly impossible even after passing through a million evolutionary stages. (39:333, January 16, 1971)
Is it not true that God created human beings as the lords of creation? Didn’t He give us the cen-tral position representing all things in heaven and earth? As the central beings in the universe, we humans have the right to exercise sovereignty over all its creatures. Know that such a right does not pertain in the anthropoid apes’ world, or in the world of lions, tigers and such.
Then I ask the question: Do people in today’s world live like human beings or more like animals? (117:35, January 31, 1982)
Who is a person of character? Someone who only lives to eat? Or someone with artistic or poetic talents who appreciates fully the beauty of the world, who whispers to the mountains and fields and sings to the flowing water? (85:143, March 3, 1976) World Scripture II V8 013107.ind149 1492/1/2007 3:14:02 PM
What does it mean that human beings are the lords of creation? Surely, God is the Lord of creation. You understand that God endowed each human being with a spirit. As the human spirit is the chief among all spirits, humans can have a direct connection to God. That is why a human being can be the lord of creation.
Nevertheless, a human being cannot be the lord of creation by himself. He is merely a created being. How can a created being be the lord of creation? Created beings are resultant beings. Apart from a relationship with the Causal Being, they cannot correspond with the Cause, nor can they possess the Cause. Rather, the Cause should possess the result. Surely humans are resultant beings. Nevertheless, we are called lords of creation and the center of all spirits. This indicates that human beings are supposed to be in relationship with God and become one with Him. (32:137, July 5, 1977)
To fulfill the ideal of love, God made all creatures and placed human beings at the center of the uni-verse. We are called the lords of creation because we have the privilege of receiving God’s love first. Then, as representatives of the God of love, we are in the central position, acting for the sake of the entire created world. We cannot be the lords of creation without first becoming God’s counterparts and participating in the realm of God’s love. Our special value derives from having the privilege of love… Without love, everything will pass away. (132:246, June 20, 1984)
Among animals and plants, sex is only for the purpose of reproduction. Human beings are the exception; within the conjugal relationship they can enjoy sexual love freely. This is a privilege of human beings as the lords of creation. God blessed His children to enjoy love infinitely. Yet, this God-given freedom is accompanied by responsibility. What if every person insisted on freely making love with whomever they wanted? The world would descend into chaos. It is possible for human beings to attain perfection and realize supreme love only when they take responsibility for their love. (282:213, March 13, 1997