Cheon Seong Gyeong 397
Religion is a preeminent teaching; it has been God’s primary means of education by which to instruct and love humankind. There is nothing else. So true parents are to teach their children what the world likes and what God likes. (102-240, 1979.1.1)
Cheon Seong Gyeong 1244
What did Jesus want so much to accomplish that he devoted himself to the task for two thousand years? It was all to hold a marriage ceremony. What marriage ceremony would that have been? The Blessing. For two thousand years, Jesus had longed and yearned for the marriage ceremony of the Blessing. In order to hold a marriage celebration, a bride must come to her groom. For Christianity, that represents the Last Days. You cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven without going beyond Christianity. (76-72, 1975.1.26)
Society
Freedom
2. Freedom Starts by Becoming Master of Oneself in Accordance with the Moral Law
No man is free who is not master of himself.
Epictetus, Discourses 2.10 (Hellenism)
Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.
John 8.34
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5.1
For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another.
Galatians 5.13
The quest for pleasure brings nothing but
torment abounding;
Man thus makes of his evil desires only a
shackle about the neck.
Thou seeker of false delights, liberation comes
only through the love of God.
Adi Granth: Gauri Ashtpadi, M.1, p. 222 (Sikhism)
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you yield yourselves to any one as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
Romans 6.15-18
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
God created human beings to exercise freedom as spiritual beings. At the same time, God also required human beings to be responsible for how they use their freedom. This is because freedom requires self-discipline and self-control. Freedom exists within the law, not apart from the law.
There are physical and spiritual laws at work in the universe; they are the ultimate limits to freedom. For example, you are free to jump off the top of the New Otani Hotel. That is your freedom, but your free act will bring your own destruction because you are going against the laws of nature. You are free to go into the ocean and breathe water instead of air, but the laws of nature work at that moment too. Your lungs cannot bear it and you will die.
Spiritual laws, however, are not so obvious. Yet they are as absolute as the laws of nature. To recognize spiritual laws, we must recognize that humans are spiritual beings, created by God. God, being the Creator, alone predetermined the purpose of creation and set up its spiritual laws. All value begins with God. He determined the purpose of human life and how people are to achieve that purpose. That is the foundation of absolute value. From this absolute foundation emerge moral principles, which comprise spiritual law. Human beings, created as spiritual beings, are bound by this spiritual law.
The fundamental purpose of human life is what the Creator purposed us to be, and we exist on this earth to achieve this purpose. Therefore, our spiritual happiness is realized when we accomplish our responsibility in accordance with God’s moral law. Should we violate this law, it will result in self-destruction, just as surely as if we were to disregard the laws of nature. (133:289-90, November 19, 1984)
The freedom that God grants us is premised on responsibility. If everyone insisted on the freedom to love as they wished without taking responsibility for their actions, how great would be the resulting chaos and destruction! Human perfection, the attainment of the sublime ideal of love, is only possible when we take responsibility for love. (277:201, April 16, 1996)
You begin to truly experience freedom when you are completely pervaded by love. Your body wants to act freely, but it is impossible unless it embodies true love.
The American concept of freedom is so wrong. Historically, the most difficult person to deal with is your own self. This is why you must be merciless to yourself. Do you understand? Unless you become such a person, you cannot be free. (203:23-24, June 10, 1990)
Americans have made a mockery of freedom with their pursuit of trashy love. Isn’t that so? Americans have no right to speak of freedom. How can they justify the freedom to party and seek pleasure everywhere while their children are weeping, their husbands and wives are suffering, and their families are breaking down? Rather than pursuing vain freedom, we should seek for true love. When we find true love, we will find true freedom as well. (203:12-13, June 10, 1990)
Freedom that departs from the Principle is not true freedom. Freedom that avoids responsibility is not true freedom. Freedom that produces no results is not true freedom. Thus, any act of freedom must be within the Principle. It must carry responsibility and produce results. A person who seeks freedom without these conditions is naturally far removed from the heavenly way. (4:318-319, October 12, 1958)