Category: Eight Great Textbooks

Do You Not Know that You Are God’s Temple?

Today is the last day to register 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 .

Romans 4

9 Are these blessings meant for circumcised people or for those who are not circumcised? Well, the Scriptures say that God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in him. 10 But when did this happen? Was it before or after Abraham was circumcised? Of course, it was before.

Richard: What is the universal religion in this new age? On the external level, it is the teaching of sexual abstinence and purity before marriage, and absolute fidelity and faithfulness within marriage. This is what we will be teaching about in the Urban Life Training Chapter Workshop.
Internally, the universal religion is the teachings of the Eight Sacred Textbooks and the Blessing of Marriage taught by Rev. Sun Myung Moon as the True Parent.

Isaiah 41

3 He goes after them so quickly
that his feet
    barely touch the ground—
he doesn’t even get hurt.

4 Who makes these things happen?
Who controls human events?
    I do! I am the Lord.
I was there at the beginning;
    I will be there at the end.
5 Islands and foreign nations
saw what I did
and trembled
    as they came near.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

The Purpose of Human Life

The Temple of God

Human beings are meant to be the living temples of God. At the creation of man God injected a special element of His Spirit that endows the human mind with divine qualities, such as love, creativity, and the desire for the eternal. God wants to make His home in human beings. With the Spirit of God resonating with the mind, the body sees, hears and acts as God would see, hear and act. By thus acting on behalf of the formless and invisible God, human beings are sanctified, and through them God is able to sanctify others.
In Hinduism and other eastern faiths, this indwelling presence of Ultimate Reality is called the Self or Atman. However, most people live in ignorance of the Self, and they live entirely from egoistic motives. To misconstrue the personal ego as the Holy Spirit would be a serious error and even a mark of insanity. For Father Moon, we are like temples that suffered desecration due to the tragedy of the human fall. God’s Spirit cannot dwell in fallen people. Originally, Adam and Eve were to become temples of God and act as God’s earthly body to beautify this world and transform it into a Garden of Eden. Jesus came as God’s temple; therefore he could reveal God in his person. Through God’s grace and human efforts at restoration, we too can attain the position of God’s temples.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and
that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
1 Corinthians 3.16

Let a man always consider himself as if the Holy
One dwells within him.
Talmud, Ta’anit 11b (Judaism)

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer
I who live, but Christ who lives in me. 3
Galatians 2.20

Heaven and earth contain Me not, but the heart
of my faithful servant contains Me.
Hadith of Suhrawardi (Islam)

Just as God fills the whole world, so the soul fills
the body. Just as God sees but is not seen, so the
soul sees but is not itself seen. Just as God feeds
the whole world, so the soul feeds the whole
body. Just as God is pure, so the soul is pure.
Just as God dwells in the innermost precincts
[of the Temple], so also the soul dwells in the
innermost part of the body.
Talmud, Berakot 10a (Judaism)

When I love him, I am his hearing by which he
hears, his sight by which he sees, his hand by which
he strikes, and his foot with which he walks.
40 Hadith of an-Nawawi 38 (Islam)

I have breathed into man of My spirit.
Qur’an 15.29

The l ord God formed man of dust from the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life; and man became a living being.
Genesis 2.7

Smaller than the smallest, greater than the great-
est, this Self forever dwells within the hearts of
all. When a man is free from desire, his mind
and senses purified, he beholds the glory of the
Self and is without sorrow.
Though seated, he travels far; though at rest, he
moves all things. Who but the purest of the pure
can realize this Effulgent Being, who is joy and
who is beyond joy.
Formless is he, though inhabiting form. In the midst
of the fleeting he abides forever. All-pervading
and supreme is the Self. The wise man, knowing
him in his true nature, transcends all grief.
Katha Upanishad 1.2.20-22 (Hinduism)

Bright but hidden, the Self dwells in the heart.
Everything that moves, breathes, opens, and
closes
lives in the Self. He is the source of love
and may be known through love but not
through thought.
He is the goal of life. Attain this goal!
The shining Self dwells hidden in the heart.
Everything in the cosmos, great and small,
lives in the Self. He is the source of life,
truth beyond the transience of this world.
He is the goal of life. Attain this goal!
Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.1-2 (Hinduism)

The rich build temples to Shiva,
What shall I, a poor man, do?
O my Lord! my legs are the pillars,
My torso, the shrine,
And my head, the golden pinnacle!
Things standing shall fall,
But the moving ever shall stay! 4
Basavanna, Vacana 820 (Hinduism)

Abdullah bin Omar saw the Messenger (PBUH)
walking around the Ka’ba saying, “How blessed
you are, O Ka’ba, and your fragrant wind. How
great, how great is your sacredness! By Allah,
owner of my soul, to Allah the sacredness of a
believer has greater holiness than you.”
Sunnan Ibn Majah 5 2.3932 (Islam)

Man was also in the beginning with God.
Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not cre-
ated or made, neither indeed can be. All truth
is independent in that sphere in which God has
placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also;
otherwise there is no existence.
Behold, here is the agency of man, and here
is the condemnation of man; because that which
was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto
them, and they receive not the light. And every
man whose spirit receives not the light is under
condemnation.
For man is spirit. The elements are eternal,
and spirit and element, inseparably connected,
receive a fullness of joy; and when separated,
man cannot receive a fullness of joy. The
elements are the tabernacle of God; yea, man
is the tabernacle of God, even temples; and
whatsoever temple is defiled, God shall destroy
that temple. 6
Doctrine and Covenants 93.29-35
(Latter-day Saints)

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)

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)

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

Our Purpose Should Be to Bring God and Humankind Together

Join us 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 .

Ephesians 1

9 I want you to know about the great and mighty power that God has for us followers. It is the same wonderful power he used 20 when he raised Christ from death and let him sit at his right side in heaven. 21 There Christ rules over all forces, authorities, powers, and rulers. He rules over all beings in this world and will rule in the future world as well. 22 God has put all things under the power of Christ, and for the good of the church he has made him the head of everything. 23 The church is Christ’s body and is filled with Christ who completely fills everything.

Isaiah 63

13 He led his people across
like horses running wild
    without stumbling.
14 His Spirit gave them rest,
just as cattle find rest
    when led into a valley.
The name of the Lord was praised
    for doing these things.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

The Purpose of Human Life

For God’s Good Pleasure

As creatures, human beings are created with a purpose determined by their Creator. The monotheistic religions in particular recognize that God created human beings to serve, love and glorify Him. We can thus find fulfillment through service and obedience. However, as our heavenly Father, God would also want us to be children who reflect His image and likeness in the world by spreading love and benevolence throughout the human race.
God is the Enjoyer of all phenomena in some texts; specifically, we can speak of God’s joy when His purpose of creation is fulfilled. It is our privilege as human beings to return such joy to God. Father Moon explains God’s purpose for creating human beings as a creative partnership, where we take after God’s loving nature and God in turn rejoices to see countless images of Himself as we establish loving families and relate to one another and to all God’s creatures with divine love. Nevertheless, due to the Fall of the first ancestors, people do not form loving families or treat the creation with love. Therefore, God has never experienced the fullness of joy. (See Chapter 6: God’s Grief.)

  1. Our Purpose Is to Serve God

I have created the jinn and humankind only that
they may serve Me. No sustenance do I require
that they should feed Me. For God is He who gives
all sustenance, the Lord of Power, Steadfast.
Qur’an 51.56-58

All that God created in His world He created
only for His glory, as it is said, “All that is called
by my name, for my glory I created and fash-
ioned and made it” (Isaiah 43.7).
Avot 6.11 (Judaism)

There is one God, the Father, from whom are all
things and for whom we exist.
1 Corinthians 8.6

The greatest bliss is the good pleasure of God:
that is the supreme felicity.
Qur’an 9.72

Why, is he better who founds his building upon
the fear of God and His good pleasure, or he
who founds his building upon the brink of a
crumbling bank that will tumble with him into
the fire of hell? And God does not guide the
people of the evildoers.
Qur’an 9.109

If you obey the commandments of the Lord
your God which I command you this day, by lov-
ing the Lord your God, by walking in his ways,
and by keeping his commandments and his stat-
utes and his ordinances, then you shall live and
multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you
in the land.
Deuteronomy 30.16

Do not try to develop what is natural to man;
develop what is natural to Heaven. He who
develops Heaven benefits life; he who develops
man injures life.
Chuang Tzu 19 (Taoism)

If it be your wish, O people, to know God and to
discover the greatness of His might, look, then,
upon Me with My own eyes, and not with the
eyes of anyone besides Me. You will, otherwise,
be never capable of recognizing Me, though
you ponder My Cause as long as My Kingdom
endures.
Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh 127
(Bahá’i Faith)

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Originally, human beings were created to be happy, full of life and joy before God their Parent. Our existence should be for the glory of God. (52:36, December 12, 1971)

What should we human beings set as our purpose? Rather than setting our purpose on the individual, family, community, nation, world, or even the cosmos, we should set our purpose on God. Our purpose should be to bring God and humankind together. (41:323, February 18, 1971)

For what purpose were we born? What should be our center as we go through life, and what should be our ultimate goal? These questions absolutely cannot be answered if we exclude God. Without God, our life will have no connection to the Cause. Even if he makes some success in his life, a person who lacks a connection to the Cause cannot reap the result, and the value of his result cannot be recognized. A building is constructed according to a blueprint created by an architect. A building built without a blueprint cannot become what the Architect intends. (21:100, November 17, 1968)

My life is for the sake of God and the world. You also should think to live for God and the world. You should not think to live merely for yourself… Always check how closely you are aligned to the life that God wants you to live. (147:115, August 31, 1986)