Author: Richard Urban

Only When a Man and a Woman Become One Do They Resemble God

Just two days until the Urban Life Training Chapter Workshop, online or in-person on July 3rd 2020. Learn materials that teach about the physical, intellectual, emotional and long term benefits of sexual abstinence before marriage. Learn about setting up a Chapter of Urban Life Training to teach this material to middle and high school youth: https://www.urbanlifetraining.org/index.php/109-training/351-urban-life-training-chapter-workshop .

Cheon Seong Gyeong 391

When is the most beautiful time, the
time of youth when the flower is in full
bloom? It is young adulthood. This peri-
od is the seven years from age eighteen
to twenty-four. This seven year period is
a time never to be repeated in your life,
a time when the beautiful flower of your
love will blossom. How precious is this
beautiful time that will come only once
in your life. You know peonies, don’t
you? Their buds are wrapped tightly
in dozens of layers so they cannot be
opened up easily. The same is true for
men and women. Then when should you
fully reveal the crimson bud of your love
that blossoms like a yellow flower? The
time when beauty is best revealed with-
in the harmony of heaven and earth is
the time of youth. For human beings, it
is a time when the blossoms are at their
peak. Youth is a time when you shine as
the central pinnacle of God’s great work
of art. It is at this time that you should
be in full bloom under God’s blessings.
(26-151, 1969.10.25)

Cheong Seong Gyeong 1410

Of the 36 Couples, the Adam couples
were already married couples, the Noah
couples were engaged but not married,
and the Jacob couples were virgin men
and women. Noah’s family did not fulfill
the Will. When you look at the people
in the world today you see that there are
already married couples, those who are
in informal relationships or are engaged,
and the completely pure single men and
women. From this time on, the foremost
kind of people that True Parents should
be seeking for are not the Adam couples
but the true sons and daughters, in oth-
er words, pure single men and women.
(242-104, 1993.1.1)

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

The Purpose of Human Life

The Image of God

2. God’s Image More Completely Reflected in the Family

So God created man in his own image, in the
image of God he created him, male and female
he created them.
Genesis 1.27

I am He, you are She;
I am Song, you are Verse,
I am Heaven, you are Earth.
We two shall here together dwell,
becoming parents of children.
Atharva Veda 14.2.71 (Hinduism)

The gospel of Love… presents the unity of male
and female as no longer two wedded individu-
als, but as two individual natures in one; and
this compounded spiritual individuality reflects
God as Father-Mother, not as a corporeal being.
In this divinely united spiritual consciousness,
there is no impediment to eternal bliss—to the
perfectibility of God’s creation.
Science and Health, 576 (Christian Science)

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

It is only when a man and woman become one that they come to resemble God, who created us male and female in His image. (135:122)

In human beings, God’s internal nature and external form are manifested separately as man and woman. When the time is ripe, they are to become a father and a mother, Parents of Heaven and Earth. Then, God dwells in their bones. (341:239, January 2, 2001)

God is the harmonious union of the dual characteristics of masculinity and femininity. Creation occurs by the principle that God’s internal nature divides into two separate characteristics, which then re-unite in a form that resembles God’s original internal nature. Man and woman are born each resembling one of God’s characteristics. That is, the union of God’s son and God’s daughter is the union of God’s masculinity and God’s femininity. In their harmonious union they resemble God. For this reason, husband and wife are a unified body that represents God in His entirety. (9:83, April 16, 1960)

Even secular people wish that their loved ones would live forever. They want to go through life with one partner only, and would dislike it if he or she were to change. If even fallen human beings want their beloved partners to be eternal, unchanging, absolute, and unique, how much more so would God, who is the Center of the universe? There is no possibility that God would want His beloved partners, human beings, to be changeable. Nor would God want His object partners to be limited in any way. Instead, God wants us to be absolute. God wants us to be unchanging. (77:185, April 6, 1975)

What is God’s purpose in creating human beings? He did not create them just to watch them go about their daily lives. He did not create them to just grow old and die. God created human beings to have us build a God-centered haven of love. We are created to grow to maturity in love, communicate with each other through heart, and then build God’s Kingdom on earth. Adam, the male, represents heaven, and Eve, the female, represents earth. Therefore, when the two become one horizontally in God’s love, they bring unity to the entire cosmos, heaven and earth. (21:44-45, September 1, 1968)

Since we human beings resemble God, by the power of God’s omniscient and almighty love we can do anything. Just as God created Adam and Eve, we human beings receive the power to create when we give birth to sons and daughters. (57:111, May 29, 1972)

The Father Resembles Us

Register now for the Urban Life Training Chapter Workshop, online or in-person on July 3rd 2020. Learn materials that teach about the physical, intellectual, emotional and long term benefits of sexual abstinence before marriage. Learn about setting up a Chapter of Urban Life Training to teach this material to middle and high school youth: https://www.urbanlifetraining.org/index.php/109-training/351-urban-life-training-chapter-workshop .

I John

4 Dear friends, don’t believe everyone who claims to have the Spirit of God. Test them all to find out if they really do come from God. Many false prophets have already gone out into the world, 2 and you can know which ones come from God. His Spirit says that Jesus Christ had a truly human body. 3 But when someone doesn’t say this about Jesus, you know that person has a spirit that doesn’t come from God and is the enemy of Christ. You knew that this enemy was coming into the world and now is already here.

4 Children, you belong to God, and you have defeated these enemies. God’s Spirit[a] is in you and is more powerful than the one that is in the world. 5 These enemies belong to this world, and the world listens to them, because they speak its language. 6 We belong to God, and everyone who knows God will listen to us. But the people who don’t know God won’t listen to us. That is how we can tell the Spirit that speaks the truth from the one that tells lies.

Job 16

16 Job said:

2 I have often heard this,
    and it offers no comfort.
3 So why don’t you keep quiet?
    What’s bothering you?
4 If I were in your place,
it would be easy to criticize
    or to give advice.
5 But I would offer hope
    and comfort instead.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

The Purpose of Human Life

The Image of God

1. How Human Beings Resemble God

God made us in His image, like Himself. That means the Father resembles us just as we resemble the Father. So when someone asks you, “What kind of being is God?” you can answer, “He is someone like me.” This answer will hit the mark. (127:233)

God created all creatures to take after His image, and among them He particularly created human beings to represent His character and be co-creators.
Human beings should have the same attributes of feeling and thinking as God does. If God rejoices, human beings should rejoice with Him, and if God grieves, human beings should grieve with Him. Unless people are able to experience the same feelings as God, no matter how much God loves them they cannot attain a state of harmony and oneness with Him.
In sum, God necessarily had to create object partners to share His love. Hence, God created human beings with the capacity to rejoice with God and experience His love. Again, God created human beings with the same value as the Absolute Being, that they might stand as His object partners. (39:9, January 9, 1971)

People are fond of things that resemble them. Whom does the world resemble? In the future, whom should the ideal world resemble? It must resemble God. It says in Genesis 1:27, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Indeed, God created men and women in His image. We like things that resemble us, and we can surmise that God likes us because we resemble Him. God created all creatures in heaven and on earth, and He is pleased when they resemble Him. (26:167, October 25, 1969)

Since we are created to resemble God, we want to make ourselves like Him. God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, so what must we be like in order to resemble God? As God is eternal, we also must be eternal. As God is omnipresent, we also must be omnipresent. That is why we want to live anywhere in the world. We want to be omniscient and omnipotent to embrace the entire world at once…
In what respect would God most like us to resemble Him? More than omnipresence, more than omniscience and omnipotence, more than uniqueness, He most wants us to resemble Him in love. The day when we come to resemble Him in love, we can lose everything and still it will follow us wherever we go. A woman can be so ugly as to be not worth a penny, but if she has love a young man as handsome as a stallion will pursue her. (26:167, October 25, 1969)

A true person is one who resembles God. To establish a world abounding in true people, what we need is not a political revolution but a “revolution of character.” A revolution of character is the revolution that transforms us into true human beings who resemble God’s character. It uplifts people’s character to the standard of God’s character. (149:271, November 28, 1986)

God is the most public-minded being, whereas Satan is the most self-centered being, private and selfish to his bone marrow. Thus, God’s formula to restore human beings aims for us to become Godlike. This means that we must sacrifice what is personal and uphold what is public. Each of us must embody the spirit of altruism and service to others.
A selfless and public-minded person will prosper because he or she is the image of God. The selfish, self-centered person will decline because he is the opposite of God, in the image of the betrayer. This is a law of Heaven. (88:209, September 18, 1976)

Man Is Made In the Image and Likeness of God

The Richard Urban Show: A True Movement of Peace Starts with God-Centered Families

Register now for the Urban Life Training Chapter Workshop, online or in-person on July 3rd 2020. Learn materials that teach about the physical, intellectual, emotional and long term benefits of sexual abstinence before marriage. Learn about setting up a Chapter of Urban Life Training to teach this material to middle and high school youth: https://www.urbanlifetraining.org/index.php/109-training/351-urban-life-training-chapter-workshop .

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2084

We want the unification of North
and South Korea right now, but what is
the solution to the division? North and
South Korea cannot be united unless a
clearly defined solution is provided. It
cannot happen by either the North or
the South simply saying, “You have to
do as we say.” They cannot be unified if
both have something to lose. It’s possible
only when there’s a plus for both. Isn’t
that so? For example, a man and woman
cannot be one after marriage if they are
both minuses to each other; they must
find something that they can gain from
each other. (61-73, 1972.8.27)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1877

What would happen if the sky, ocean,
plants, and everything else were blue?
You would suffocate. Imagine if they
were yellow or your favorite color. You
would immediately tire of it. Even if you
replace it with another color, you would
soon tire of it. Green is another color of
consolation. Why do people like the col-
or green? The existing world is in har-
mony with the color green. That is why
there are many colors in the soil. The col-
or of soil is usually close to green. That
is why it is logical to say that we, who
were made out of the soil, would like the
color green. That is how you may think.
Since God knew that, He made the sky
and ocean blue. Everything was created
in harmony with the color green, cen-
tering on human beings. How wonder-
ful this is! (119-168, 1982.7.18)

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

The Purpose of Human Life

The Image of God

How can we describe a human being’s likeness to the divine? This and the following sections explore this topic from three aspects: Human beings are created in God’s image; we are vessels for God’s indwelling Spirit; and we are God’s beloved children.
Jewish and Christian scriptures teach that man was created in the image and likeness of God. The image of God speaks to the ideal of holiness, truthfulness, righteousness, and charity. The saint or self-realized person is like heaven, manifesting the character of God. To reach this ideal requires a transformation of the inner man, or as Father Moon puts it, a “revolution of character.”
Father Moon’s teaching seeks to get at some of the ways that human beings resemble God. He examines God’s attributes: omnipotence, omniscience, absoluteness, eternity, etc. and explains that human beings strive for these same qualities. Moreover, possessing these qualities is our heavenly birthright.
Furthermore, the scriptures affirm that men and women are equally in the image of God. Since God created human beings to be nothing less than His counterparts with whom to share His complete love, human beings should resemble God to the fullest extent. Thus, had human beings not been marred by the Fall, we could attain the fullest manifestation of God’s image as a man and woman in the union of marriage.

  1. How Human Beings Resemble God

God said, “Let us make man in our image, after
our likeness.” 1
Genesis 1.26

O Son of Man! Veiled in My immemorial being
and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew
My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have
engraved on thee Mine image, and revealed to
thee My beauty.
Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Arabic 3
(Baha’i Faith)

Rabbi Akiba said: Beloved is man, for he was
created in the image of God. But it was by a spe-
cial love that it was made known to him that he
was created in the image of God; as it is taught,
“For in the image of God made He man.” (Gen.
9.6)
Mishnah, Avot 3.18 (Judaism)

So set your purpose for religion as a man by
nature upright—the nature [framed] of God, in
which He has created man. There is no alter-
ing the laws of God’s creation. That is the right
religion.
Qur’an 30.30

Conform yourselves to the character of God.
Hadith of Abu Nuaym (Islam)

Fire blazing from the earth.
The Superior man reflects in his person
Heaven’s virtue.
I Ching 35 (Confucianism)

If we keep unperverted the human heart—
which is like unto heaven and received from
earth—that is God.
Revelation to Mikado Seiwa (Shinto)

Looking first at absolute Justice, Beauty and
Temperance, and again at the human copy, they
will mingle and temper the various elements of
life into the image of a man. Thus is a human
being conceived according to that other Image,
which, when existing among men, Homer calls
the form and likeness of God.
Plato, The Republic (Hellenism)

As God is called merciful and gracious, so you
be merciful and gracious, offering gifts gratis to
all; as the Lord is called righteous and loving, s
you be righteous and loving.
Sifre Deuteronomy (Judaism)

God is never in any way unrighteous—he is per-
fect righteousness; and he of us who is the most
righteous is most like him.
Plato, Theaetetus (Hellenism)

That which is the finest essence—this whole
world has that as its soul. That is Reality. That
is the Self. That art thou.
Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 (Hinduism)

Veiled by ignorance,
The minds of man and Buddha
appear to be different;
Yet in the realm of Mind Essence
they are both of one taste.
Milarepa (Buddhism)

And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to all the con-
gregation of the people of Israel, ‘You shall be
holy; for I the Lord your God am holy.’”
Leviticus 19.1-2

Father, O mighty Force,
That Force which is in everything,
Come down between us, fill us,
Until we become like Thee,
Until we become like Thee.
Susu Prayer (African Traditional Religions)

“Now what do you think, Vasettha… is Brahma
[the supreme Being] in possession of wives and
wealth, or is he not?” 2
“He is not, Gotama.”
“Is his mind full of anger, or free from
anger?”
“Free from anger, Gotama.”
“Is his mind full of malice, or free from
malice?”
“Free from malice, Gotama.”
“Is his mind tarnished, or is it pure?”
“It is pure, Gotama.”
“Has he self-mastery, or has he not?”
“He has, Gotama.”
“Now what do you think, Vasettha, are the
brahmins versed in the Vedas in possession of
wives and wealth, or are they not?”
“They are, Gotama.”
“Have they anger in their hearts, or have
they not?”
“They have, Gotama.”
“Do they bear malice, or do they not?”
“They do, Gotama.”
“Are they pure in heart, or are they not?”
“They are not, Gotama.”
“Have they self-mastery, or have they not?”
“They have not, Gotama.”
“Can there, then, be agreement and likeness
between the brahmins with their wives and
property, and Brahma, who has none of these
things?”
“Certainly not, Gotama!”
“Then that these brahmins versed in the
Vedas, who also live married and wealthy,
should after death, when the body is dissolved,
become united with Brahma, who has none
of these things—such a condition of things is
impossible!”…
“Now what do you think, Vasettha, will the
monk who lives according to the Dhamma be
in possession of women and wealth, or will he
not?”
“He will not, Gotama!”
“Will he be full of anger, or free from
anger?”
“He will be free from anger, Gotama!”
“Will his mind be full of malice, or free from
malice?”
“Free from malice, Gotama!”
“Will his mind be tarnished, or pure?”
“It will be pure, Gotama!”
“Will he have self-mastery, or will he not?”
“Surely he will, Gotama!”
“Then as you say, the monk is free from
household and worldly cares, free from anger,
free from malice, pure in mind, and master of
himself; and Brahma also is free from household
and worldly cares, free from anger, free from
malice, pure in mind, and master of himself. Is
there then agreement and likeness between the
monk and Brahma?”
“There is, Gotama!”
“Then verily, that the monk who is free from
household cares should after death, when the
body is dissolved, become united with Brahma,
who is the same—such a condition of things is
in every way possible!”
Digha Nikaya 13.31-34, Tevigga Sutta (Buddhism)

What is man? Man is not matter; he is not made
up of brain, blood, bones, and other material
elements. The Scriptures inform us that man is
made in the image and likeness of God. Matter
is not that likeness. The likeness of Spirit cannot
be so unlike Spirit. Man is spiritual and perfect;
and because he is spiritual and perfect, he must
be so understood in Christian Science. Man is
idea, the image, of Love; he is not physique.
Science and Health, 475 (Christian Science)

Though God Is the Absolute Being, He Cannot Be Happy Alone

The Richard Urban Show: A True Movement of Peace Starts with God-Centered Families

Register now for the Urban Life Training Chapter Workshop, online or in-person on July 3rd 2020. Learn materials that teach about the physical, intellectual, emotional and long term benefits of sexual abstinence before marriage. Learn about setting up a Chapter of Urban Life Training to teach this material to middle and high school youth: https://www.urbanlifetraining.org/index.php/109-training/351-urban-life-training-chapter-workshop .

Galatians 6

11 You can see what big letters I make when I write with my own hand.

12 Those people who are telling you to get circumcised are only trying to show how important they are. And they don’t want to get into trouble for preaching about the cross of Christ. 13 They are circumcised, but they don’t obey the Law of Moses. All they want is to brag about having you circumcised. 14 But I will never brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his cross, the world is dead as far as I am concerned, and I am dead as far as the world is concerned.

Richard: In this era, right now, Rev. Sun Myung Moon has brought us the Eight Sacred Texts and The Blessing of Marriage, with his wife, as the True Parents. Yet many cling to incorrect Christian doctrine, such as that the primary purpose that Jesus came for was to die on the cross, not, instead, to be believed by the people, which he stated clearly (John 6:28).

Isaiah 22

5 The Lord All-Powerful
    had chosen a time
for noisy shouts and confusion
    to fill Vision Valley,
and for everyone to beg
    the mountains for help.[d]
6 The people of Elam and Kir[e]
attacked with chariots[f]
    and carried shields.
7 Your most beautiful valleys
    were covered with chariots;
your cities were surrounded
by cavalry troops.
8     Judah was left defenseless.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

The Purpose of Human Life

For God’s Good Pleasure

2.God’s Joy in Human Beings

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

God came to us in order to feel joy through our daily life. (Way of God’s Will 2.2)

Though God is the Absolute Being, He cannot be happy alone. Adjectives such as “good” and “happy” cannot apply to any being that lives in isolation. They apply only where there is a robust mutual relationship. Imagine a professional singer who finds herself exiled to an uninhabited island. She may sing at the top of her voice, but with no one to listen, will it bring her happiness? In the same way, even the self-existent God absolutely needs a partner to share love with in order to experience joy and be happy. (September 12, 2005)

God’s creation was a necessary act. The ideal of true love that God is creating cannot be realized by a solitary being. This ideal exists so that God can share with human beings the joy of His exalted and righteous Will. When we understand the God of true love correctly, it is self-evident that this unhappy world of sin and strife was not His original plan. (400:81, December 27, 2002)

Just as in a family, where the basis of the parents’ happiness is when they have children, it is likewise unmistakable that God’s purpose in searching for humanity is to attain His own happiness through His children. There is no basis for God’s happiness if human beings are excluded. Therefore, God strives to connect with human beings and bring them to Himself, establishing a realm where God and human beings are in unity. Just as we do, God experiences happiness when all the varieties of heart are present in the family. (32:197, July 15, 1970)

If we were to ask God to tell us why He created this world, He would no doubt answer, “Because I liked it.” Because He liked it. Because it gave Him joy. God created this world to obtain joy. This state of liking, this joy, is obtained through love. God wanted to rejoice; therefore He created this world for the realization of love. God wanted to rejoice over a world of warm and harmonious love, where human beings and all creatures would dwell as one in God’s love. God wanted to rejoice over men and women who would form true conjugal relationships in His love, and then build families, tribes, nations and a world of love; and God would taste the joy of love through the loving oneness of these human beings. This was the very ideal of God’s creation. If human beings had accomplished everything for God exactly as He had envisioned and according to His Will, then God would have become the God of joy, God of glory, and God of happiness. (113:312)

God did not create human beings as objects for His amusement or as a hobby. It is impossible to express in words how hard God worked and the efforts He devoted to create human beings and establish them as the center of all created beings. In creating human beings, God devoted Himself, making many efforts. He gave them all His heart and soul and the essence of His life. He totally invested His love and affection. He created them to be in a relationship that no force can ever undo or sever. Because God created them in such a way, only when He beholds them [in their original unfallen state] can He finally feel at peace. (20:207, June 9, 1968)

God created all things in heaven and earth because it pleased Him to behold them. Many Christians today say, “God is the Creator, and we are His creatures. There can be no parity or resemblance between the Creator and His creatures.” This would mean that God is always absolute and alone, in a position without an object partner. Nothing would be greater unhappiness. Consider a man of authority, even the president of a country; his wife has died and he lives alone. Would his son say to him, “Father, you must be so happy to be living alone”? Surely his father would reply, “You rascal. How can I be happy?” Rather the son should say, “Father, would you like me find you a new wife?” That would be a filial son. (57:247, June 4, 1972)

God’s purpose in creating the universe was to feel joy when He saw the purpose of goodness fulfilled in the Heavenly Kingdom, which the whole creation, including human beings, could have established… The purpose of the universe’s existence centered on human beings is to return joy to God, the Creator. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Creation 3.1)

Man Has the Unique Capacity to Know God and to Love Him

The Richard Urban Show: A True Movement of Peace Starts with God-Centered Families

Register now for the Urban Life Training Chapter Workshop, online or in-person on July 3rd 2020. Learn materials that teach about the physical, intellectual, emotional and long term benefits of sexual abstinence before marriage. Learn about setting up a Chapter of Urban Life Training to teach this material to middle and high school youth: https://www.urbanlifetraining.org/index.php/109-training/351-urban-life-training-chapter-workshop .

Cheon Seong Gyeong 227

It is the same with the nation. A
nation has a hierarchy with the presi-
dent at the center. In the organization of
a nation there is the ministry of educa-
tion, which is a group of true teachers.
The administration is like the owner of
the nervous system. Because the entire
system of nerves converges upon the
administration, it should be in the posi-
tion of the owner. The president at the
top is the master of the nation. All of
this is incorporated into the three-sub-
ject ideology.
Hence, True Parents always stand in
the vertical position while the education
ministry and administration are in a
reciprocal relationship with each other.
These relationships can be compared to
that of Cain and Abel. When Cain and
Abel become completely one, this right
of kingship will become an eternal and
indestructible right of kingship. Kim Il-
sung has his own version of three-sub-
ject ideology, which is autonomy, cre-
ativity, and consciousness. However, this
is human-centered; it cannot be consid-
ered a complete ideology, for it lacks the
doctrine of the Original Being. They do
not know God. With this understand-
ing, you should march forward with
strength. (208-341, 1990.11.21)

Richard: The ideology of the Black Lives Matters movement is not God-centered. Rather, in is Marxist. Marxists do not believe in God, and believe that progress occurs through violence.

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1272

God wants everyone reborn. From
His position, He is trying to bring all
of humanity, which is still in the realm
of Satan’s false love, to His side through
His greater love. Since all humankind
was born through the parents, ances-
tors and lineage of false love, they need
to be reborn through the parents, ances-
tors and lineage of true love. In this way,
they can become the children of God
and the people of God’s Kingdom. The
precious blood of Jesus and the ritual of
the Last Supper all symbolize the provi-
dence of becoming the children of God
through the conversion of the lineage.
(135-12, 1985.8.20)

Richard: All must convert their lineage through the Holy Blessing of Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife, the True Parents: https://www.visionroot.org/resources/blessing-of-marriage-ceremony/ .

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

The Purpose of Human Life

For God’s Good Pleasure

  1. God’s Joy in Human Beings

God saw everything that he had made, and
behold, it was very good.
Genesis 1.31

I was a secret treasure, and I created the crea-
tures in order that I might be known.
Hadith (Islam)

O Lord of all, hail unto Thee!
The Soul of all, causing all acts,
Enjoying all, all life art Thou!
Lord of all pleasure and delight!
Maitri Upanishad 5.1 (Hinduism)

Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love.
It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone,
but requires all mankind to share it.
Science and Health, 57 (Christian Science)

As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.
Isaiah 62.5

When all human beings have accomplished the
purification of their minds and come to lead
a life full of joy, I, Tsukihi (God), will become
cheered up. And when I become cheered up, so

will all human beings. When the minds of all
the world become cheered up, God and human
beings will become altogether cheered up in one
accord.
Ofudesaki 7.109-111 (Tenrikyo)

What is man that thou art mindful of him,
and the son of man that thou dost care for
him?
Yet thou hast made him little less than God,
and dost crown him with glory and honor.
Psalm 8.4-5

The Messenger of Allah said: “God says: I have
created human beings to win, not for Me be the
winner.”
al-Ghazzali, Revival of Religious Science (Islam)

Brahma’s creative activity is not undertaken by
way of any need on His part, but simply by way
of sport.
Vedanta Sutra 2.1.32-33 (Hinduism)

We created not the heaven and the earth and all
that is between them in play. If We had wished
to find a pastime, We could have found it in Our
presence—if We ever did. Nay, but We hurl the
true against the false, and it prevails over it, and
lo! [the false] vanishes…
To Him belongs whosoever is in the heavens
and the earth. And those who dwell in His
presence are not too proud to worship Him, nor
do they weary.
Qur’an 21.16-19

Having created the world and all that lives and
moves therein, He, through the direct opera-
tion of His unconstrained and sovereign Will,
chose to confer upon man the unique distinc-
tion and capacity to know Him and to love
Him—a capacity that must needs be regarded
as the generating impulse and the primary pur-
pose underlying the whole of creation.
Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah 27
(Baha’i Faith