Category: Eight Great Textbooks

For What Will It Profit a Man If He Gains the Whole World and Forfeits His Life?

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2356

In 1992, we announced the Messiah
and True Parents to the world. Focusing
on America, we announced the True Par-
ents and the Completed Testament Age
starting on May 13, 1993. I have made all
the necessary conditions. As you know,
America represents the entire world. It
is the final settling place in terms of the
Christian cultural sphere. This is the
time of transition into the new age cen-
tering on True Parents. We are enter-
ing the Completed Testament Age. Our
proclamation was the first time in histo-
ry for such an event. How long God must
have been waiting for this time! How
miserable God has been throughout his-
tory! Now the age of hope is approach-
ing. We are entering into the age when
we can proclaim the True Parents. It is
a historical and universal event. Noth-
ing like this has ever happened before in
human history. (248-175, 1993.8.3)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1186

Since the vertical and horizontal
indemnity, the indemnity of the eight
stages was completed, last year, on August
31, 1989, I went to Alaska, the northern-
most place in the western world, and
conducted the “Ceremony of the Settle-
ment of the Eight Stages.” It was con-
ducted at the northernmost place. Then
on September 1, I announced the “ideol-
ogy centered on the Heavenly Father.” It
is the ideology of salvation through love,
which we know as the parent-centered
ideology. This ideology urges us to love
everyone. Satan cannot oppose love. If
Satan does not oppose the Unification
Church on its way, it will spread world-
wide in a flash. (199-157, 1990.2.16)

Richard: This Rheama is special to me and Stacey. August 31, 1989 is the very day that we moved from northeast DC to Capitol Hill. The purpose of our move was so we could do Home Church in the Capitol Hill area.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

The Value of Human Life

Human beings have priceless value. Although in many fallen societies life is regarded as cheap, and despite the worldly illusion that a person’s value is determined by wealth, status, education or beauty, God endows every person with the absolute value of His love. He created us as His beloved children, infinitely precious—even equal to God. The texts gathered here express this exalted value of a human being.
A single person has the value of the whole world. Unique in all creation, he or she is irreplaceable. Moreover, the love of God, family, nation and all creation embrace each individual. Each individual is needed by all
existence. The death of any individual brings loss to all existence. For this reason, taking life by murder, suicide and abortion has no place in God’s world. Furthermore, since physical life provides the opportunity for growth
(See Chapter 5: Preparation for Eternity), taking a life robs the individual and the universe of a way to attain perfection.
Still, in a world fixated on materialism, few people have realized their exalted potential value, which derives
from the capacity to love God and humanity. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us all to cultivate the true wellsprings of value and become the children of God who are esteemed by the world and God.

  1. More Precious than Gold

For what will it profit a man, if he gains the
whole world and forfeits his life?
Matthew 16.26

Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds
me,
men who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?
Truly no man can ransom himself,
or give to God the price of his life,
for the ransom of his life is costly,
and can never suffice.
Psalm 49.5-8

“I got me slaves and slave-girls.” For what price,
tell me? What in the world is worth as much
as a human being? What price can you put on
a rational intellect? How many drachmas do
you reckon equals the value of one made in the
likeness of God? How many gold pieces should
you be able to get for selling a being shaped by
God? God said, “Let us make man in our own
image and likeness.” (Gen. 1.26) Since man
is in the likeness of God, and is ruler over the
whole earth, and has been granted this author-
ity over everything from God who is his Buyer,
tell me, who is his seller? To God alone belongs
this power.
Gregory of Nyssa, Homily on Ecclesiastes 4
(Christianity)

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

People in this world believe that the good life is to live in comfortable surroundings, wear good clothes, drive a fancy car, and fly to any destination anytime they wish. You should know that their standard of judging what is the good life is a bad habit of worldly people. (131:171, May 1, 1984)

Americans may love material things, but I love people more. The winners are people who love people. Even if you lose all you possess, if you keep your human relations intact, the things will return.
Though we lose money, through people we will be able to obtain money. But if we break our connection to people, we will lose everything. (February 17, 2001)

What is exceedingly valuable in the world? It is not treasure such as gold or silver, nor is it worldly fame or power. The most valuable thing in all heaven and earth is you.
Nevertheless, when people are asked what certification they have that they are valuable, they cannot answer. Still, despite their many deficiencies, people want to put themselves before heaven and earth as the most valuable existence. It is our original human nature to do so.
Maybe you think you are already living for the sake of the nation and the world. However, have
you considered whether other people regard you as a valuable person? If they do not, then you need
to make a new determination and a new beginning. Ask yourself, “What do others see as valuable
about me?”
Can you become a jewel, one of a kind in the universe, a true treasure that God and Jesus would long to possess? The myriads of saints who formerly lived on earth, and all the philosophers
who planted their thought in the world, no matter how important they may have been during their earthly lives, would long for your treasure. All humanity presently living, and even people of the future, would also want it. They would adore its value. Yet who has believed that they could be such
a jewel? (17:13-14, November 6, 1966)

Can We Say “Father, Thy Sorrow is My Sorrow”

John 20

20 On Sunday morning while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran to Simon Peter and to Jesus’ favorite disciple and said, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb! We don’t know where they have put him.”

Psalm 68

28 Our God, show your strength!
    Show us once again.
29 Then kings will bring gifts
    to your temple
    in Jerusalem.[e]

30 Punish that animal
    that lives in the swamp!
Punish that nation
    whose leaders and people
    are like wild bulls.
Make them come crawling
    with gifts of silver.
    Scatter those nations
    that enjoy making war.
31 Force the Egyptians to bring
    gifts of bronze;
    make the Ethiopians hurry
    to offer presents.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

The Purpose of Human Life

Sons and Daughters of God

2. Recovering the Dignity of Sons and Daughters of God

Sons have I reared and brought up,
but they have rebelled against me.
Isaiah 1.2

The Rock, his work is perfect;
for all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and right is he.
They have dealt corruptly with him,
they are no longer his children because of their
blemish;
they are a perverse and crooked generation.
Do you thus requite the l ord ,
you foolish and senseless people?
Is not he your Father, who created you,
who made you and established you?
Deuteronomy 32.4-6

We are all as the Buddha’s sons. The Buddha
has always declared that we are his sons. But
because of the three sufferings, in the midst
of births-and-deaths we have borne all kinds
of torments, being deluded and ignorant and
enjoying our attachment to trifles. Today the
World-honored One has caused us to ponder
over and remove the dirt of all diverting discus-
sions of inferior things. In these we have hith-
erto been diligent to make progress and have
got, as it were, a day’s pay for our effort to reach
Nirvana. Obtaining this, we greatly rejoiced and
were contented… but still we did not perceive
that we are really Buddha’s sons.
Lotus Sutra 4 (Buddhism)

For since in prayer we call God our Father, it is
our duty always to deport and demean ourselves
as godly children, that He may not receive
shame, but honor and praise from us.
Martin Luther, The Large Catechism (Christianity)

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

The original relationship between God and human beings is that of eternal Parent and child. Restoration, therefore, means recovering that relationship. (316:236, February 13, 2000)

Since God is the King of faith, He seeks a prince of faith, and since He is the King of love, He looks for a prince of love. (Way of God’s Will 2.2)

In relating to God, we should follow the way of children of filial piety. God is serious about the world situation. Is there someone who, with even greater seriousness, is desperate to experience God’s heart, and who forgets himself and spends sleepless nights in the struggle to become God’s child? This is what the question comes down to. (62:35, September 10, 1972)

God is your Father and you are your Father’s daughters. How much God has longed to embrace His daughters in His bosom? For that reason, you should become God’s filial daughters… If each of you becomes a filial daughter, all your family members will follow suit. By the same token, the entire nation, world and cosmos will unite with you. You will become God’s number one victorious daughter, a saint to the world, a holy daughter to the cosmos. That is how you become a mistress in the realm of the royal family. (293:208, May 26, 1998)

Mayest we become Thy simple and pure children who can penetrate to Thy heart of longing and love which desires to embrace us… Father! Although we called Thee “Father,” our voice did not flow out of a sincere mind and heart springing forth from our flesh and bones. There was never a time when we could rush to Thee and cling to Thee out of such an emotion. (20:199, June 9, 1968)

Only after climbing over hills of sorrow,
hills of suffering and hills of resentment…
can we hold on to Thy heart and say:
“Father, Thy sorrow is my sorrow,
thy suffering is my suffering, and Thy troubles are my troubles.
Please entrust all Thy suffering to me,
while Thou dost dwell in joy.” (4:294, September 14, 1958)

The Relationship Between God the Father and Child Is the Basis of the Universe

Cheon Seong Gyeong 291

You don’t know how rigid religious
dogmatists can be. Syria belongs to the
Islamic cultural sphere. I brought an elite
group of leaders from Syria to East Gar-
den and we shared the Divine Principle
with them. Our Unification Church is
not a branch of Christianity but its main
trunk. Because Jesus brought salvation
by being sacrificed in the role of the son,
Jesus himself must have parents, and
because Jesus did not have a son of his
own, his authority as a parent must be
restored. For this reason the term “True
Parents” is so wonderful.
Established Christian churches are
making a big fuss because I said that
Jesus is my disciple, but they will see
everything when they go to the spirit
world. Why do I say such things, when I
know clearly that doing so will cause me
to be inundated with curses?
How about the established Christian
churches? Through Unification Church
members, I will clean up anything that
is unclean in their back rooms and
hold worship services transcending all
denominations. After this, I will go to
the spirit world. I will go there after com-
pleting that trans-denominational wor-
ship. You may not know this, but there
are already a large number of ministers
using our Principle. Some of them read
the Divine Principle on a blanket and
when a deacon or elder comes in, they
quickly hide it underneath the blanket,
and then take it out again when they
leave, and read it all night. They memo-
rize it and diligently use it.
Autumn leaves do not fall all at once.
Do they fall all at once? They do not.
They fall one by one, rather than as a
whole bunch. Although they fall one by
one, before long the tree, once clothed
with green, is left with no leaves. Wheth-
er they know it or not, I am dealing with
things in that way. (213-34, 1991.1.13)

Cheong Seong Gyeong 1186

Since the vertical and horizontal
indemnity, the indemnity of the eight
stages was completed, last year, on August
31, 1989, I went to Alaska, the northern-
most place in the western world, and
conducted the “Ceremony of the Settle-
ment of the Eight Stages.” It was con-
ducted at the northernmost place. Then
on September 1, I announced the “ideol-
ogy centered on the Heavenly Father.” It
is the ideology of salvation through love,
which we know as the parent-centered
ideology. This ideology urges us to love
everyone. Satan cannot oppose love. If
Satan does not oppose the Unification
Church on its way, it will spread world-
wide in a flash. (199-157, 1990.2.16)

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

The Purpose of Human Life

Sons and Daughters of God

  1. Our Birthright as God’s Sons and Daughters

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

We are told that God is the God of love. We humans seek the supreme position where the God of love can truly love us. When we can occupy that position, God, from His position, cannot but love us. It is the place where the human heart and the divine Heart are united as one. It can only be attained when we are relating with God in a parent-child relationship.
I am not referring to the relationship we have with our own father and mother who gave us birth and raised us. I am speaking about the original relationship, between the absolute God who created the cosmos and human beings had they not fallen. It is the ultimate relationship human beings can have with God: God is our Father and we are truly His sons and daughters. God intends that we attain this incredible position. (53:286, March 4, 1972)

Once I entered a mystic state and asked God in prayer, “What is the basis of the universe?” God answered, “It is the relationship between father and child.” This does not mean our relationship with the parents who gave us birth, but to the relationship between God and human beings.
What is the exact content of this relationship? There is nothing closer, nothing deeper, than when the Father and His child are one: one in love, one in life, and one in ideals. In that unity, God’s love is my love, God’s life is my life, and God’s ideal is my ideal. This is the first and original fatherchild relationship, where unification occurs. (69:78, October 20, 1973)

After creating Adam and Eve, God showered true love upon them. Who initiated true love? It was not Adam and Eve. It was God, loving them as His children. It is like a newborn baby who dwells in the warmth of its parents’ love; however, it is ignorant of love and thinks that its parents exist for it alone. It knows nothing of its parents’ other concerns. God’s parental love encompasses everything, yet we first come into an awareness of God’s love just as babies come into an awareness of their parents’ love. They smile to see their parents and are grateful for their protection. This is how the love of the Parent and His children grows. (149:312, December 21, 1986)

God created human beings out of His absolute love, to be His partners in love. This relationship forms an axis of love, linking God the Father with human beings as His sons and daughters.
Is there anything higher or more precious than to be a son or daughter of God? If anything were higher, then surely human desire would aspire to attain it. But there is nothing higher. Do you think that when the omniscient and omnipotent God created Adam and Eve, He secretly reserved the highest position for Himself and made Adam and Eve to be only second best? We cannot imagine that God would do that to His children, to His partners who share absolute love with Him. As our eternal True Parent, God invested Himself one hundred percent into the creation of human beings and endowed us with the right to have equal status with Him, to participate in His work as equals, to live with Him, and to inherit from Him. God bestowed upon human beings all of His attributes. (September 12, 2005)

God is the Father of human beings, and we are His children. Then suppose someone said to God, “Your child is more handsome than you.” Would God be happy to hear that remark, or would it make Him feel bad? If He were to feel bad, then God would be beneath the level of humans. Of course, He would be happy. That is the logic of love. (40:343, February 11, 1971)

The horizontal love between a husband and a wife blossoms with God’s ideal love, and the fragrance of their love oscillates throughout the universe even as God’s love is added on to their love: This is the truth of the relationship of the Father with His children at its perfection. (101:34-35, October 28, 1978)

May Some Holy Aspiration Enter Our Hearts

Luke 4

31 Jesus went to the town of Capernaum in Galilee and taught the people on the Sabbath. 32 His teaching amazed them because he spoke with power. 33 There in the Jewish meeting place was a man with an evil spirit. He yelled out, 34 “Hey, Jesus of Nazareth, what do you want with us? Are you here to get rid of us? I know who you are! You are God’s Holy One.”

35 Jesus ordered the evil spirit to be quiet and come out. The demon threw the man to the ground in front of everyone and left without harming him.

36 They all were amazed and kept saying to each other, “What kind of teaching is this? He has power to order evil spirits out of people!” 37 News about Jesus spread all over that part of the country.

1 Chronicles 25

4 Heman had fourteen sons: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamtiezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth. 5 Heman was one of the king’s prophets, and God honored Heman by giving him fourteen sons and three daughters. 6 His sons were under his direction and played cymbals, harps, and other stringed instruments during times of worship at the temple.

Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman took their orders directly from the king.

7 There were two hundred eighty-eight of these men, and all of them were skilled musicians. 8 David assigned them their duties by asking the Lord what he wanted.[b] Everyone was responsible for something, whether young or old, teacher or student.

9-31 The musicians were divided into twenty-four groups of twelve, and each group went by the name of their family leader. They were assigned their duties in the following order: Joseph, Gedaliah, Zaccur, Zeri, Nethaniah, Bukkiah, Asarelah, Jeshaiah, Mattaniah, Shimei, Uzziel, Hashabiah, Shebuel, Mattithiah, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Joshbekashah, Hanani, Mallothi, Eliathah, Hothir, Giddalti, Mahazioth, and Romamtiezer.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

The Purpose of Human Life

Sons and Daughters of God

Jewish and Christian scriptures call God our “heavenly Father”; this insight can be found in most of the world’s faiths. Therefore, human beings are supposed to be God’s sons and daughters. How genuine that Parent-child relationship can be is the subject of the passages in this section. Father Moon teaches that the depth and emotive power of our relationship with God should be even greater than the filial affection and obligation we feel toward our physical parents who gave us birth. The notion that a human being can and should share God’s heart, God’s situation, and God’s sense of responsibility for the world in the same way that a filial son carries burdens for his aging father—what profound implications this can have for our life with God!

1. Our Birthright as God’s Sons and Daughters

You are the children of the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 14.1

For all who are led by the spirit of God are sons of
God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery
to fall back into fear, but you have received the
spirit of sonship. When we cry, “Abba! Father!”
it is the Spirit himself bearing witness that we
are the children of God, and if children, then
heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,
provided that we suffer with him in order that
we may also be glorified with him.
Romans 8.14-17

Anas and ‘Abdullah reported God’s Messenger
as saying, “All [human] creatures are God’s chil-
dren, and those dearest to God are those who
treat His children kindly.”
Hadith of Baihaqi (Islam)

We are the children of our Maker
And do not fear that He will kill us.
We are the children of God
And do not fear that He will kill.
Dinka Prayer (African Traditional Religions)

See what love the Father has given us, that we
should be called children of God; and so we
are.
1 John 3.1

Let the children come to me, and do not hinder
them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the
kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
Luke 18.16-17

I say, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you.
Psalm 82.6

May the words of the prophet Asaph apply—
“Ye are gods, and all of you are children of the
most High,”—lest we, abusing the Father’s most
indulgent generosity, render that unfettered
choice which He gave us harmful rather than
beneficial. May some holy aspiration enter our
hearts, so that we are not content with middling
things, but pant for the highest and strain to
achieve them, since we can if we will.
Pico della Mirandola, On the Dignity of Man
(Christianity)

Empathize With God’s Heart

Cheong Seong Gyeong 2090

What is the remaining final destina-
tion? What is the solution? What should
you do to receive such a privilege as
being able to break down all the bound-
aries and offer solutions? You should all
become tribal messiahs. Once that is
done, there will be no condition for fur-
ther accusation from Satan on the indi-
vidual, family, tribal, ethnic, national,
and worldwide level. (189-110, 1989.3.19)

You should change your entire
neighborhood, centering on God’s will,
with the new experience and training
that you have received in foreign lands.
You must not follow the old habits of
your neighborhood. You must invest
yourselves as God invested Himself in
creating his object of love out of noth-
ing. These two, subject and object part-
ners, must unite as one.
The spirit world will cooperate when
you get to the highest position among
all the people of your hometown. Wait
and see whether this is the truth or not.
And you must make and use many vid-
eotapes for witnessing. (179-27, 1988.6.15)

Cheong Seong Gyeong 1367

You are branches originating from
one root. Branches grow from the trunk,
anchored by the roots. Do you think they
can grow by themselves? Think about it.
Likewise, you cannot effectively oper-
ate based on your own limited concepts.
Thus, you can only expand on the foun-
dation of the tradition rooted in the True
Parents’ family. As such, after the Bless-
ings of the 36, 72, 124, and 430 Couples,
I then blessed the 777, 1800, and 6000
Couples as the representatives of the
conditional offering for global expan-
sion. (145-15, 1986.4.30)

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

The Purpose of Human Life

The Temple of God

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

A human being is a temple of God, and inside that temple dwells a mind which is a microcosm of the infinite God. (107:172, April 27, 1980)

First Corinthians 3:16 says: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” If you enter into a deep mystical state, you will recognize this to be true. If you ask, “Heavenly Father, where are you?” God will answer you from the original root of your mind. (362:190, December 12, 2001)

As written in I Corinthians 3:16, Adam and Eve were created as the dwelling place of God, as holy temples. What of God was to dwell within them? God’s love was to dwell within those holy temples. As God’s temples [had they not fallen], Adam and Eve would be God’s body. When they loved each other, it would be God loving through them as His body. This is the secret of the universe. (161:44, January 1, 1987)

Had there been no Fall, God would be dwelling in our hearts and we would be His temples… Our faces would express God’s pure joy. We would see things with God’s eyes and for God’s sake; we would listen with God’s ears and for God’s sake; we would feel with God’s touch for God’s sake; we would speak on God’s behalf, and so on. Everything we did and thought would be an expression of the living God inside us. (95:247, December 4, 1977)

Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, God has been hoping to find men and women who could empathize with God’s heart, be united in God’s heart, and be the temples in which God can dwell. (3:298, January 26, 1958) Jesus’ mind and body were not simply his own. His mind was the mind of God. His body was not his, but God’s. Also, Jesus’ words were not his own, but were the law of Heaven, representing God’s Will and the hope of all humankind. Jesus came to this earth as God’s substantial temple, as the divine Word, and as the representative who could sit on God’s throne. (3:264, January 12, 1958)

The relationship between God and a person who has attained individual perfection can be compared to that between the mind and the body. The body is the dwelling place of the mind and moves according to the mind’s direction. Likewise, God abides within the mind of a fully mature person. Such a person becomes a temple of God and leads his life in harmony with His Will. A perfect individual is fully attuned to God, just as the body resonates with the mind. For this reason it is written, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (I Cor. 3.16) and “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” (John 14.20) A person who has perfected his individual character becomes a temple of God, and the Holy Spirit abides within him. Living in oneness with God, he acquires a divine nature. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Eschatology 1.1.1)

When you go to bed and your head is snuggled into the pillow, have you ever thought, “Ah, I am sleeping with God”? Have you ever thought, “I feel so good that God is sleeping next to me”? And then in the morning as you wake up and get out of bed, do you say to yourself, “Wake up, God! Oh, You are already awake. Good morning, Father”? You should live with the feeling that when you wake up, God is already awake, ready to greet you. (92:153, April 1, 1977)

Each human being can contain the entire universe. Therefore, prepare a space within yourself where God can come and take a nap, comfortably stretching His legs. Become a person within whom God can feel completely free. Though he kicks and stretches, he feels no walls or obstructions. If you are like that, you can be God’s temple. Knowing this, you should love yourself and respect yourself as the temple of God that you are. (125:101, March 13, 1983)

A human being has a body and a definite shape, while the invisible God has no shape or body. However, without having a body, God cannot reign over the spiritual and physical worlds. God also needs a substantial body in order to manifest as the Parent of humankind. God created Adam and Eve to manifest Himself through these substantial beings. Thus, unfallen Adam and Eve were not only to be the progenitors of the human race; they were also to be God’s substantial body through which He could reign over heaven and earth. They were responsible to exercise dominion over the world on behalf of God in the position of parents. (133:91- 92, July 10, 1984)

God has no shape or form. Even in the spirit world, you cannot see God. The reason why God created Adam centering on love is because this created world around us has form. [Through Adam], God was to become a Father with a form. As a result of God becoming a Father possessing form, that which is invisible and that which is visible are united into one. This, in turn, symbolizes the unity of the universe. Thus, God created Adam and Eve so that He could take on form. So, what is the decisive element in His taking on form? This can only be love. Adam and Eve came into the world with an appearance such that they could have a form resembling God’s external aspect. In that case, the features of Adam and Eve would have been elevated to the palace and the throne of the Kingdom of Heaven. God would have then dwelled within the hearts of this king and queen, and from there He would have ruled over the physical world and the invisible world. This would have created God’s Kingdom—a kingdom of love. Only love can bring spirit and flesh together. Nothing else will suffice. (143:93-94, March 16, 1986)