Editorial: Vote Against the Jefferson County School Excess Levy Mega Property Tax
Exodus 23
25 Worship only me, the Lord your God! I will bless you with plenty of food and water and keep you strong. 26 Your women will give birth to healthy children, and everyone will live a long life.
Obadiah
12 Why did you celebrate when such a dreadful disaster struck your relatives? Why were you so pleased when everyone in Judah was suffering? 13 They are my people, and you were cruel to them. You went through their towns, sneering and stealing whatever was left. 14 In their time of torment, you ambushed refugees and handed them over to their attackers.
15 The day is coming when I, the Lord, will judge the nations. And, Edom, you will pay in full for what you have done.
Hell
2. Warnings About Hell
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
People can never escape from hell; they are trapped there forever. Yet, do you realize that your own mother, father and relatives will likely end up going to hell? You vaguely think that things will somehow work out. However, the reality is that your beloved parents and relatives are headed for hell. In this life, if they should go to prison, wouldn’t you cry out desperately and do whatever it takes to free them?
Yet truly, your own children, parents, siblings and kinfolk are bound for an eternal prison from which there is no escape. If you really knew that, wouldn’t you feel desperate to save them? This means you are not certain whether or not hell truly exists. You might think that it probably exists, but you really do not know what it is like. Now you may be uncertain, but once you die you will know for sure. Then it will be too late. (34:267, September 13, 1970)
What would happen if God were to bring all believers to heaven, even though they were ignorant of heaven’s laws and [had not prepared themselves to fit with] the structure of the ideal realm? They would face difficulties living there. (390:260, August 13, 2002)
God’s mind has room to accommodate everyone; He wants to welcome every human being to live within His mind. But should He open the door to wicked people and permit them to enter His domain? Or should He close the door and keep them out? This is God’s problem.
God abides at the highest place, where everyone wants to enter. However, the mind of God has many levels, with walls or mountains separating them. This is the reality of the spirit world: there are many different levels, each walled off from the next. On one side of the wall is hell; on the other side is heaven. Should the spirit world have walls? Or shouldn’t they exist? What do you think?
In the spirit world, groups of people with the same mindset live together; this creates a wall. It is very difficult to go up to the next higher level, and nearly as hard to go down. Most people cannot even dream of leaving their limited domain. Only the most highly developed spirits can freely travel down to the hells and back. They have the mind of God, who wants to embrace all people.
Yet God’s situation is difficult. The people on His right are good, while the people on His left are bad. Although He wants to embrace good and bad alike, He has no other choice but to separate them. God declares, “Anyone who is greedy and selfish will be placed upside-down.” Don’t you think this will happen to you if you are self-centered and insist on your own way? Self-centered people think nothing of trampling and beating up others as they scramble to reach the top. They would push away the good people and leave them in misery. Therefore, God sets up walls between the different regions of the spirit world, to keep the evil spirits from breaking through. These walls are absolutely necessary. Were evil spirits given freedom and equality with good spirits, they would cause such havoc in heaven that even God would have to escape.
The only way to avoid being blocked by walls in the spirit world is to train yourself during your earthly life. Once you get to the spirit world, it will take tens of thousands of years to climb up each step. (November 4, 1990)
The perfection of man and woman is for the two to abide in love with God as the third—the unity of a man, a woman and God. Yet ever since the Human Fall, not one human being could reach that exalted state of love. Having fallen into a world of darkness, don’t people nevertheless aspire to regain the heights? The goal of true love is extremely high, but in reality the standard of human life is extremely low. Knowing the ideal but recognizing that they live very far from it, people feel heartbreak, emptiness and misery. That is truly hell. (92:197, April 10, 1977)
12 Find out how many grown men there are in Israel and require each of them to pay me to keep him safe from danger while you are counting them. 13-15 Each man over nineteen, whether rich or poor, must pay me the same amount of money, weighed according to the official standards. 16 This money is to be used for the upkeep of the sacred tent, and because of it, I will never forget my people.
Isaiah 29
17 Soon the forest of Lebanon will become a field with crops, thick as a forest.[d] 18 The deaf will be able to hear whatever is read to them; the blind will be freed from a life of darkness. 19 The poor and the needy will celebrate and shout because of the Lord, the holy God of Israel.
20 All who are cruel and arrogant will be gone forever. Those who live by crime will disappear, 21 together with everyone who tells lies in court and keeps innocent people from getting a fair trial.
World Scripture and the Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Chapter 4
God’s Creation and Human Creativity
The Sanctity of Nature
Nature is sacred; all creatures great and small are endowed with God’s life and a modicum of God’s spirit. this insight, shared by all religious traditions, is the basis of reverence and respect for all living things. in the Abrahamic religions, God created every creature according to his purpose and imbued with his loving heart. therefore, every existence, down to a grain of sand or a blade of grass, contains elements of the divine. Furthermore, nature exhibits a marvelous balance. hence, nature is a reliable source of poetic and religious inspiration. by contemplating nature in its original purity, we can touch God. As sensitive people recognize, all creatures possess some level of conscious awareness. the diverse species of animals and plants form tribes and nations like the races and nations of man. they are our brothers and sisters, supported by the same Mother earth that lent us the elements that constitute our bodies and sustain our life. When thinking of all the things nature provides, we have much to be thankful for. not only that; as Father Moon teaches, each creature, a precious living masterpiece of God, exists for me—for my enjoyment, inspiration and instruction, to love and care for.
1. Divinity within the Natural World
The earth is the Lord ’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. Psalm 24.1
Even in a single leaf of a tree, or a tender blade of grass, the awe-inspiring Deity manifests itself. Urabe-no-Kanekuni (Shinto)
This earth is a garden, the Lord its gardener, cherishing all, none neglected. Adi Granth, Mahj Ashtpadi 1, M.3, p. 118 (Sikhism)
My energy enters the earth, Sustaining all that lives: I became the moon, Giver of water and sap, To feed the plants and trees. Bhagavad-Gita 15.13 (Hinduism)
The solid sky, the cloudy sky, the good sky, the straight sky. The earth produces herbs. The herbs cause us to live. They cause long life. They cause us to be happy. The good life, may it prevail with the air. May it increase. May it be straight to the end. Sweet Medicine’s earth is good. Sweet Medicine’s earth is completed. Sweet Medicine’s earth follows the eternal ways. Sweet Medicine’s earth is washed and flows. Cheyenne Song (Native American Religion)
Thou makest springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild asses quench their thirst. By them the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches. From thy lofty abode thou waterest the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy work. Thou dost cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread to strengthen man’s heart. The trees of the l ord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon which he planted. In them the birds build their nests… O l ord , how manifold are thy works! Psalm 104.10-24
The stream crosses the path, the path crosses the stream: Which of them is the elder? Did we not cut the path to go and meet this stream? The stream had its origin long, long ago. It had its origin in the Creator. He created things pure, pure, tano. Ashanti Verse (African Traditional Religion)
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Exodus 20
12 Respect your father and your mother, and you will live a long time in the land I am giving you.
13 Do not murder.
14 Be faithful in marriage.
15 Do not steal.
16 Do not tell lies about others.
17 Do not want anything that belongs to someone else. Don’t want anyone’s house, wife or husband, slaves, oxen, donkeys or anything else.
Psalm 69
69 Save me, God! I am about to drown. 2 I am sinking deep in the mud, and my feet are slipping. I am about to be swept under by a mighty flood. 3 I am worn out from crying, and my throat is dry. I have waited for you till my eyes are blurred.
World Scripture and the Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Chapter 3
Joy
Heavenly Joy
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
Joy begins in the heart of God, and it is fulfilled in human beings. The heart of the invisible God is manifested in the hearts of visible human beings. (27:29, November 15, 1969)
Why are human beings born? It is to experience love with God and with all creation. Conversely,because human beings exist, God can love and be loved, and love can fill the universe. (81:334,December 29, 1975)
What is God’s purpose of creation? Is it analogous to what we human beings aspire? God created out of the desire to rejoice and be happy. What brings God joy? Money? His creatures? Certainly itis not the material things that people like to own. God created heaven and earth so that He could experience joy through love. Then, what do all creatures desire more than anything else? Because God’s purpose of creation is to experience joy through love, all creatures likewise seek a relationship of love with God, toexperience joy. Accordingly, all creatures interact with one another in order to be linked with God’s love. (114:63, May 16, 1981)
The meeting point of the human heart and God’s heart is the starting point of happiness. (Way of God’s Will 1.8)
When people feel good, they want to be with their parents, siblings, and relatives so they can share their joy. Happiness is eternal, and what is eternal is of the heart. The center of the universe is the parent-child relationship, that is, between God the Father and each one of us as His sons and daughters. The ultimate purpose of human life is to find our Father,form an unbreakable bond with Him, and experience joy. (12:104, December 16, 1962)
When God sees you loving His creatures, He says, “Wonderful! You are doing something that I cannot do”; and He loves you. God will want to show His love to you. Maybe He will stretch out His arms and hug you from behind, whispering, “Yes, you are great!” This happens. God will hug you out of joy. Suppose that while God is embracing you from behind, you turn around and hug Him. Would God say, “You shouldn’t do that”? What do you think? What if you give God a long, long bear hug? God would say, “It’s good! I like it! I like it!” God cannot but like it. He and everyone, everything,will like it. You would be in ecstasy. After that experience, what if you just lie around aimlessly, smitten with love-sickness? Would God be displeased? No, He would burst into laughter, saying, “Ah, My love must be really good! Ha,Ha, Ha!” Then He would say, “Amen.”…
What might happen the next time you meet God? God is as smitten with you as you are with Him, so you can do anything together; it doesn’t matter. You and God might hug each other, or ridearound on each other’s back, or wrestle on the floor one on top of the other. If you took God out somewhere, He might attach Himself to your hip like a tail. Wouldn’t that be the ultimate state of bliss? God, humanity and all things of creation want to experience it. (111:170, February 15, 1981)
36 The Lord has given to Bezalel, Oholiab, and others the skills needed for building a place of worship, and they will follow the Lord’s instructions.
Psalm 145
4 Each generation will announce to the next your wonderful and powerful deeds. 5 I will keep thinking about your marvelous glory and your mighty miracles.[a] 6 Everyone will talk about your fearsome deeds, and I will tell all nations how great you are. 7 They will celebrate and sing about your matchless mercy and your power to save.
World Scripture and the Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Chapter 3
The Value of Human Life
3. Murder, Suicide and Abortion: Crimes against Life
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
The preservation of human rights and human dignity must be the measure of all ethics and morality. (168:238, September 21, 1987)
How does the present administration9 handle the issue of human rights? In North Korea, the regime of Kim Il-Sung has exterminated three million people. Mao Zedong is responsible for the deaths of 150 million people. In Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution seven million lost their lives. The New York Times reported that 600,000 people have been killed since the fall of Vietnam… How can we talk about human rights while ignoring communism that tramples on the right to life itself? Which is more important: human rights or the right to life? (91:255, February 23, 1977)
If on the street you met an enemy, a person whom your family hates and even all Americans hate, would it be alright to murder him? How could it be a sin? Yet no matter how vile or detestable that person might be, he has the same cosmic value as you, because he was made by the Creator. Killing him is a crime, a violation of the universal law. (105:92, September 30, 1979)
Why is a human being’s physical life so precious? Without it, the cosmos cannot be brought to perfection, and even God cannot attain perfection. Our physical life is so precious… that it cannot be exchanged for the entire universe. This is the meaning of the Bible verse, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the world and forfeits his life?” (91:19, February 13, 1977)
Your most worthy parents need you. Your spouse needs you. Your brothers need you. Your family needs you. The nation needs you. The world needs you. Even the spirit world and the whole cosmos need you. Even God needs you. How can you think that you are unimportant?… When you say, “No one needs me,” you are doing wrong to all of them. You are doing wrong to your parents, your future spouse, your brothers, your family, the nation, the world, heaven and earth, and God. You are violating their love and the law of love. A person who commits suicide sins in all these ways. So many people commit suicide—how can they do such a thing! You should never even dream of killing yourself. (74:30 November 10, 1974)
Once a baby is conceived, you must not abort it. You never know who that baby could grow up to be: maybe a saint, maybe someone who could save America, maybe even the President of the United States. So how can you destroy it as you wish? What if my mother had exercised her “right to choose” like people do today? I would not have been born.
Therefore, abortion is a sin. Each fetus represents the parents’ love, life and lineage. It is human; how can anyone consider it merely an animal? What is that cell that forms at conception? It is very much a human being! Within that single cell are human beings’ love, life and lineage. Therefore, it represents the parents and has the same value as the parents. The father’s love and mother’s love are contained within that would-be baby.(230:120, April 26, 1992)
Suppose a husband and wife give birth to a child with a deformity. Do they terminate its life and say, “Well, we can try again”? Is that true love? No, of course it is not. (117:292, April 11, 1982)
19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
Isaiah 16
Send lambs[a] as gifts to the ruler of the land. Send them across the desert from Sela[b] to Mount Zion. 2 The women of Moab crossing the Arnon River are like a flock of birds scattered from their nests. 3 Moab’s messengers say to the people of Judah, “Be kind and help us! Shade us from the heat of the noonday sun. Hide our refugees! Don’t turn them away. 4 Let our people live in your country and find safety here.”
Richard: Our children are like the lambs described here. They have been cruelly decimated by the vaccine industrial complex. One half of all children born now will have a developmental disability. How did this happen? We must not let it continue:https://youtu.be/nrQJO1eIUG8.
World Scripture and the Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Part 1 God and Creation
Chapter 1 God
The Creator
This section on God as the Creator includes classic accounts of the creation of the universe and the creation of human beings. Some describe creation as beginning with a word; others from a desire within the Absolute Being. In some texts the Creator forms the universe out of nothing (ex nihilo), in others the world originated as an emanation from the Absolute, a portion of which emerged out of the void to take on the attributes of form and matter. Several texts describe the root of creation in the appearance of Mind, which then molds physical matter into its abode; others mention the motive of Love, which sought to divide Being from Non-Being in order to manifest itself. (For more texts on creation by the interaction of two poles which emerged from the One, see Chapter 2: Duality.) Finally, scriptures from Hinduism and Taoism describe creation in terms of divine self-emptying and sacrifice. These creation stories are not mere explanations of how things came to be in the far remote past. They are to instruct us on the workings of God who even today governs this world by the same creative principle that He used in the beginning. As the biblical scholar Rudolph Bultmann said, “The real purpose of the creation story is to inculcate what God is doing all the time.”28 This in turn informs us about who we are. Father Moon, for his part, emphasizes the effort and love God invested in the creative process. If we are God’s children, then just as God invested effort and sincerity in creating, we too should invest 100 percent of our effort in order to realize fully our potential as creative beings. As creation proceeds from mind to matter, so too our life can accord with the cosmic order when it is centered on the mind. As God was motivated to create out of love, searching for a counterpart in the world of being with whom to rejoice, so we should strive to become God’s beloved, able to please His heart.
