Set Things Right Between Your Two Brothers

Movie Review-Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer – VisionRoot

John 18

³⁸“What is truth?” retorted Pilate.

Psalm 14

Richard: No doubt, this is today’s question. With so many lies and obfuscations being promoted, we need to be in touch with our conscience, centered on the Word of God.

Pslam 14

But all of them are corrupt;
no one does right.

⁴Won’t you evil people learn?
    You refuse to pray,
    and you gobble down
    the Lord’s people.
⁵But you will be frightened,
    because God is on the side
    of every good person.
⁶You may spoil the plans
of the poor,
    but the Lord protects them.

⁷I long for someone from Zion
    to come and save Israel!
Our Lord, when you bless
    your people again,
    Jacob’s family will be glad,
    and Israel will celebrate.

The Purpose of Religion

3. Religions Promote Universal Community

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3.28

The believers indeed are brothers; so set things right between your two brothers, and fear God; haply so you will find mercy.
Qur’an 49.10

Israel’s reconciliation with God can be achieved only when they are all one brotherhood.
Talmud, Menahot 27a (Judaism)

Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head,
running down upon the beard,
upon the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
life for evermore.
Psalm 133

Happy is the unity of the Sangha.
Happy is the discipline of the united ones.
Dhammapada 194 (Buddhism)

The ultimate purpose of Buddhism, and for that
matter all religions, is to serve and benefit man.
Tenzin Gyatso, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama (Buddhism)

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Throughout history, the basic pillar of every civilization has been the spirit. Religion is that spiritual pillar, enduring from age to age always keeping the spirit as its center. As religion expands its influence, it guides the human conscience, leavens the social environment, and guides humankind towards the world of God’s desire. (9:277, June 12, 1960)

God established religion to convey God’s love and truth to humankind and to save humankind. God established various religions, each in its own time and place. For example, He founded Buddhism in India and Confucianism in China approximately 2,400 years ago, and in Judea, He founded Christianity 2,000 years ago.

It can be said assuredly that the absolute value perspective is established only through religions which revere Ultimate Reality. Conversely, no fundamental solution to today’s confusion is possible through those thoughts and philosophies that are not founded on religion… In history, we have the examples of Confucianism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, each of which, in its own time and place, dispelled anxiety and brought peace to societies in chaos. On the foundation of peace and security, each brought forth a flourishing of culture. (122:300, November 26, 1982)

What is the true religion? It is the religion that brings the truth by which all people can enter into a genuine parent-child relationship with God. It unites all humankind in brotherly love. Further, it strives to bring about one human family centered on the love of God. These are the qualities of a true religion. People who are searching for the highest religion, the religion established by God, should seek a religion with these qualities. (91:225, February 20, 1977)

In the next world, people are divided by nationality; except religious people, who can dwell together with fellow-believers from every nation. In the religious sphere people believe in one God and long for one world; hence they can live together transcending nationality. (297:271, December 19, 1998)

Although their skin colors are different and their living circumstances are different, in relating to Thy Will they are brothers and sisters in a destined relationship of one blood. (10:150, September 25, 1960)

The ultimate purpose of all religions is to realize the ideal world of peace, which is God’s desire. Religions should be concerned about the Will of God for the salvation of the world before thinking of the salvation of their own denomination or the salvation of individuals. (135:221, November 16, 1985)

Surrender Your Purpose to God While Doing Good

No Income Tax Reform; Focus on Constitutional Rights Instead

West Virginia Legislative Session-2021 Priorities

I will be suspending (closing) my Facebook account after March 31st, due to the censorship imposed by Facebook, and my desire not to support the platform by my presence there. If you would like to stay in touch with me and Stacey on social media, I invite you to join the independent social media platform Friendica, which we run on our own server: https://friendica.visionroot.org/register. Here is one of our public pages, fyi: https://friendica.visionroot.org/profile/visionroot.

Isaiah 18

⁵For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
    and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives,
    and cut down and take away the spreading branches.
⁶They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey
    and to the wild animals;
the birds will feed on them all summer,
    the wild animals all winter.

Ezekiel 46

¹²“‘When the prince provides a freewill offering to the Lord—whether a burnt offering or fellowship offerings—the gate facing east is to be opened for him. He shall offer his burnt offering or his fellowship offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out, the gate will be shut.

The Purpose of Religion

2. Religions Cultivate Good Character

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
James 1.27

Whoever surrenders his purpose to God while doing good, his reward is with his Lord; and there shall be no fear come upon them, neither shall they grieve.
Qur’an 2.112

For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
Titus 2.11-14

Make your mosque of compassion, your prayermat of sincerity;
your Qur’an of honest and legitimate earning.
Be modesty your circumcision, noble conduct your Ramadan fast—
thus shall you be a true Muslim.
Make good deeds your Kaaba; truth your preceptor;
good action your Kalima and namaz.
Make your rosary of what pleases God:
Thus will you be honored at the last reckoning.
Adi Granth, Var Majh, M.1, p. 140 (Sikhism)

What is to be avoided most in our life is vacillation and frivolity; what is most excellent is a reverential heart. Therefore, we Confucians endeavor to preserve sincerity of heart and consider reverence as most essential. It is needless to say that sincerity and reverence make us companions of heaven and earth, gods and spirits. There is, however, another class of people who adopt Buddhism as their guidance. They bow before the Buddha and recite his sutras, always bent on preserving reverence and awe. They will never relax the vigilant guard over the heart, which will by degrees become pure and bright, free from evil thoughts and ready to do good. This enlightenment is called their most happy land. What is necessary, then, for Buddhists as well as Confucians is to avoid vacillation and frivolity, which will render you unreliable. Keep the heart always restrained by reverence and awe. Otherwise what can be the use of the recitation of sutras or the discourses of Confucius?
Tract of the Quiet Way (Taoism)

Seek Refuge with the Lord Alone

No Income Tax Reform; Focus on Constitutional Rights Instead

West Virginia Legislative Session-2021 Priorities

Vaccine Choice Bills in the WV Legislature-2021

Urban Life Training Newsletter-March 18, 2021

Numbers 20

²⁷Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community. ²⁸Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, ²⁹and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died, all the Israelites mourned for him thirty days.

Isaiah 66

²¹And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.

²²“As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure. ²³From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord. ²⁴“And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”

Chapter 8

Religion

The Purpose of Religion

All religions share certain purposes in common, though with different emphases. For Western religions, the primary purpose of religion is salvation. The etymology of the word “religion” derives from a Latin word meaning “to re-bind” with God. Human beings are fallen and broken, and therefore God has established religion as a means of repairing our brokenness, restoring us to our original goodness, and re-connecting us with God. In contrast, the eastern understanding of religion is contained in its Chinese characters, which mean “foundational teaching.” this describes the purpose of religion as the basic teaching for cultivating a good and virtuous character. Father Moon recognizes both meanings, inasmuch as fallen human beings cannot finally cultivate virtuous character without resolving sin and rebinding with God. He distinguishes two valid aspects of religion: first, providential religions (Judaism and Christianity) whose purpose is to welcome the Messiah who comes to solve original sin and restore full communion with God, and second, religions the world over whose purpose is mainly to train people in virtue. The Kingdom of God is built on both of these foundations. Religion also has a social purpose: to cultivate community. Religion teaches the ways of love and reconciliation that enable people to live in peace and harmony. By extension, the ultimate purpose of religion is to establish world peace. That is, because God is the creator and Father of all humankind, religions that take us close to God enable us to feel part of the universal brotherhood and sisterhood that flows from his parental love

1. Religions Provide the Way of Salvation

Men, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Acts 16.30-31

Seek refuge with the Lord alone,
with your whole being, Bharata.
By His grace, you will reach
supreme peace, an everlasting estate.
Bhagavad-Gita 18.62 (Hinduism)

Surely the [true] religion with God is Islam [the Surrender]. Those who formerly received the Scriptures… if they argue with you, [O Muhammad], say, “I have surrendered my pur-pose to God, and so have those who follow me.” And say to those who have received the Scriptures and those who have not read [them], “Have you also surrendered?” If they surrender, then truly they are rightly guided.
Qur’an 3.19-20

To many a refuge fear-stricken men betake themselves—to hills, woods, groves, trees, and shrines. Nay, no such refuge is safe, no such ref-uge is supreme. Not by resorting to such a refuge is one freed from ill.

He who has gone for refuge to the Buddha [the teacher], the Dhamma [the teaching], and the Sangha [the taught], sees with right knowledge the Four Noble Truths: Sorrow, the Cause of Sorrow, the Transcending of Sorrow and the Noble Eightfold Path which leads to the Cessation of Sorrow. This, indeed, is refuge secure. By seeking such refuge one is released from all sorrow.
Dhammapada 188-192 (Buddhism)

Surely, the path that leads to worldly gain is one, and the path that leads to Nibbana is another; understanding this, the bhikkhu, the disciple of the Buddha, should not rejoice in wordly favors, but cultivate detachment.
Dhammapada 75 (Buddhism)

Turn to Me to Be Saved, For I Am God

Urban Life Training Newsletter-March 18, 2021

2 Chronicles 25

¹⁴After Amaziah had defeated the Edomite army, he returned to Jerusalem. He took with him the idols of the Edomite gods and set them up. Then he bowed down and offered them sacrifices. ¹⁵This made the Lord very angry, and he sent a prophet to ask Amaziah, “Why would you worship these foreign gods that couldn’t even save their own people from your attack?”

¹⁶But before the prophet finished speaking, Amaziah interrupted and said, “You’re not one of my advisors! Don’t say another word, or I’ll have you killed.”

The prophet stopped. But then he added, “First you sinned and now you’ve ignored my warning. It’s clear that God has decided to punish you!”

Ezekiel 20

³⁹Go ahead and worship your idols for now, you Israelites, because soon I will no longer let you dishonor me by offering gifts to them. You will have no choice but to obey me!⁴⁰When that day comes, everyone in Israel will worship me on Mount Zion, my holy mountain in Jerusalem. I will once again call you my own, and I will accept your sacred offerings and sacrifices. ⁴¹When I bring you home from the places where you are now scattered, I will be pleased with you, just as I am pleased with the smell of the smoke from your sacrifices. Every nation on earth will see that I am holy, ⁴²and you will know that I, the Lord, am the one who brought you back to Israel, the land I promised your ancestors. ⁴³Then you will remember your wicked sins, and you will hate yourselves for doing such horrible things. They have made you unacceptable to me, ⁴⁴so you deserve to be punished. But I will treat you in a way that will bring honor to my name, and you will know that I am the Lord God.

Richard: We are currently in a period of separation of good and evil and of judgement. The core teaching of this age is absolute sexual ethics . All the things that are an affront to God and His ideal have to be cleaned up. This will happen, for sure. As always, our own response and and responsibility is key.

Universal Salvation

The compassion and grace of God knows no bounds. The heavenly Father’s heart yearns to save all his children. These passages from scripture praise the extent of God’s saving work and predict it eventually to embrace all humankind. In Buddhist terms, the essential purpose of absolute truth is to liberate all sentient beings, and Mahayana Buddhist scriptures express the universality of grace in the bodhisattva vow of the Buddha Amitabh to save all beings.
Salvation may come to all people through one central point: thus in Abraham “shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12.3). For those who believe in one religion as the only way, the divine mandate to save all humankind is a powerful impetus to missionary activity. On the other hand, God may express his saving will by sending multiple prophets and sages to all nations, warning each to return to God using the means suitable to their different cultures.
If salvation is to be available universally, to every soul who has ever lived regardless of his or her earthly life, the doctrine may appear at odds with beliefs about hell and the Last Judgment. If God is most essentially just, how can the wicked ever receive salvation? On the other hand, if God is most essentially gracious and compassionate, how can he permit any creature to suffer in hell eternally? To understand the heart of God our heavenly Father, Father Moon asks us to imagine how we would feel if one of our children were a condemned criminal. We would want to save our child, even take his place at the gallows.
Father Moon also discusses the difficulty of the path of salvation in terms of the methods which God is constrained to use, because he created human beings with the sovereign freedom to live and mold our lives as each sees fit. Nevertheless, ultimately God’s purpose shall be done: all people will be saved and even hell will be emptied of its occupants.

The daily concern of the Parent is single-heartedly how best I can advance arrangements to save all of you.
Ofudesaki 14.35 (Tenrikyo)

The Dharma of the Buddhas
by the constant use of a single flavor
causes the several worlds
universally to attain perfection.
By gradual practice
all obtain the Fruit of the Way.
Lotus Sutra 5 (Buddhism)

The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
2 Peter 3.9

God is on the watch for the nations of the world to repent, so that He may bring them under His wings.
Numbers Rabbah 10.1 (Judaism)

I testify that Thou art the Lord of all creation, and the Educator of all beings, visible and invisible. I bear witness that Thy power hath encompassed the entire universe, and that the hosts of the earth can never dismay Thee, nor can the dominion of all peoples and nations deter Thee from executing Thy purpose. I confess that Thou hast no desire except the regeneration of the whole world, and the establishment of the unity of its peoples, and the salvation of all them that dwell therein.
Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh 115 (Baha’i Faith)

We will make offering unto You with worship,
O Lord, and to the Right,
That you may achieve through Good Mind the
destiny of all creatures in the Dominion.
For the salvation of the man of insight among such as you,
O Wise One, will hold good for everyone.
Avesta, Yasna 34.3 (Zoroastrianism)

“As I live,” says the Lord God, “I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked.”
Ezekiel 33.11

Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
for I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn,
from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness
an irrevocable decree:
“To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear.”
Isaiah 45.22-23

God it is who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the Religion of Truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all [false] religion, however much the idolators may be averse.
Qur’an 9.33

The Lordsaid to Abram… “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12.3

And there never was a people, without a warner having lived among them.
Qur’an 35.24

Are you not like the Ethiopians to me,
O people of Israel?” says the l ord .
“Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,
and the Philistines from Caphtor and the
Syrians from Kir?”
Amos 9.7

The Tathagatas do not enter ultimate liberation until all living beings have entered ultimate liberation.
Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti 4 (Buddhism)

Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him,
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not fail or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.
Isaiah 42.1-4

I establish the Vows unexcelled,
And reach the highest path, Bodhi.

Were these Vows unfulfilled,
I would never attain Enlightenment.

I will be the great provider
Throughout innumerable ages.
Should I fail to save all in need,
I would never attain Enlightenment.

Upon my attaining Enlightenment,
If my Name were not heard anywhere
In the ten quarters of the universe,
I would never attain Enlightenment.

Practicing the Holy Way—selflessness,
Depth in right reflection and pure wisdom,
Aspiring toward the highest path,
I will be the teacher of devas and men.

My wondrous power by its great light
Brightens countless lands throughout,
Removes the darkness of the three defilements
And delivers all from suffering and pain.
Larger Sukhavativyuha Sutra 9.1-5: Juseige (Buddhism)

God Created Human Beings to Live Forever

Urban Life Training Newsletter-March 18, 2021

Mark 2

²²No one pours new wine into old wineskins. The wine would swell and burst the old skins.^[f] Then the wine would be lost, and the skins would be ruined. New wine must be put into new wineskins.

Psalm 78

⁵⁶But the people tested
    God Most High,
    and they refused
    to obey his laws.
⁵⁷They were as unfaithful
    as their ancestors,
    and they were as crooked
    as a twisted arrow.
⁵⁸God demanded all their love,
    but they made him angry
    by worshiping idols.

⁵⁹So God became furious
    and completely rejected
    the people of Israel.
⁶⁰Then he deserted his home
at Shiloh,
    where he lived
    here on earth.
⁶¹He let enemies capture
the sacred chest^[f]
    and let them dishonor him.

⁶²God took out his anger
    on his chosen ones
    and let them be killed
    by enemy swords.
⁶³Fire destroyed the young men,
    and the young women were left
    with no one to marry.
⁶⁴Priests died violent deaths,
    but their widows
    were not allowed to mourn.

⁶⁵Finally the Lord woke up,
    and he shouted
    like a drunken soldier.
⁶⁶God scattered his enemies
    and made them ashamed
    forever.

⁶⁷Then the Lord decided
    not to make his home
    with Joseph’s descendants
    in Ephraim.^[g]
⁶⁸Instead he chose the tribe
    of Judah,
    and he chose Mount Zion,
    the place he loves.
⁶⁹There he built his temple
    as lofty as the mountains
and as solid as the earth
    that he had made
    to last forever.

⁷⁰The Lord God chose David
to be his servant
and took him
    from tending sheep
⁷¹    and from caring for lambs.
Then God made him the leader
    of Israel, his own nation.
⁷²David treated the people fairly
    and guided them with wisdom.

Eternal Life

1. Eternal Life in God

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

When a follower asked Jesus if he could go home to bury his deceased father, Jesus said, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead.” (Luke 9.60) From these words of Jesus, it is clear that the Bible contains two different concepts of life and death. The first concept of life and death concerns physical life. Here, “death” means the end of physical life, as was the case of the disciple’s deceased father who was to be buried. “Life” in that sense means the state in which the physical self maintains its physiological functions.

The second concept of life and death concerns those living people who had gathered to bury the deceased man, those whom Jesus called “the dead.” Why did Jesus refer to people whose bodies were alive and active as the dead? He meant that since they had not accepted Jesus, they were far removed from the love of God and were dwelling in the realm of Satan’s dominion. This second concept of death does not refer to the expiration of physical life. It means leaving the bosom of God’s love and falling under the dominion of Satan. The corresponding concept of life refers to the state of living in accordance with God’s Will, within the dominion of God’s infinite love. Therefore, even if a person’s physical self is alive, if he dwells apart from God’s dominion and is in servitude to Satan, he is dead as judged by the original standard of value. A similar conclusion can be drawn from the Lord’s words of judgment upon the faithless people of the church in Sardis: “You have the name of being alive, and you are dead.” (Rev. 3.1)

On the other hand, even though a person’s physical life may have expired, he remains alive in the true sense if his spirit abides in the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven, a realm in the spirit world where God governs through love. When Jesus said, “He who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11.25), he meant that those who believe in him and live within the realm of God’s dominion have life. Even after their physical bodies have returned to the soil, their spirits enjoy life in God’s dominion. Jesus also said, “Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11.26) In saying that believers will never die, he meant that those who believe in Jesus during their earthly life will obtain eternal life not in this world, but in spirit, within the bosom of God’s love. They will be alive, both in this life and the next. Jesus’ words assure us that death, in the sense of the end of physical life, has no effect on our eternal life. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Resurrection 1.1)

Eternal life does not mean that we merely exist forever in the spirit world. It means we eternally “live.” How do we cultivate such a life?

As human beings, each of us was created to be an object of God’s love—God’s beloved partner. God cherishes true love more than Himself. Hence, although God is the center of absolute and eternal life, His ideal of true love is even more absolute and eternal. It is the very core of God. We are the object partners of that true love.

How do we come to be in such a precious, eternal position? Love is the attribute that brings subject and object into oneness. Love unites a family. It unites the nation. In the unity of love, we can participate in anything our beloved does, follow him wherever he goes, and inherit everything he or she possesses. In the same way, we can inherit God’s eternal life. We can inherit God’s heart—his heart of love by which He longs to dwell within each of us and also in the creation. How precious it is to find such great value within ourselves!…

What joy! What amazing grace! What an unparalleled blessing! Now we can dwell in the same position as God. Now we can participate in God’s eternal love. (216:115, March 9, 1991)

[Originally,] human beings are born from true love, grow in true love, live in true love and die in true love. We are not meant to just disappear into a void. Since God, the Subject of all created beings, is eternal, unchanging and unique, we who are His partners of love should live eternally. This is the starting-point of the logic of eternal life. Life does not begin from life. Life originates from true love, not the other way around.

If God creates something He regards as most precious, would He discard it ten years or one hundred years later, or would He want to keep it for eternity? Obviously, He would create it to last forever. Thus it is with human beings. Would God create human beings to be born and die, and their death is the end? No, He created human beings to live forever. Why? They are the object partners of the absolute God, with whom He can share joy in absolute true love…

Suppose you were fleeing to a refugee camp; if you had a precious possession, would you take it with you or leave it behind? You would want to take it with you. Once in the camp, you would treasure it. You would not enjoy it for a few days and then throw it away. You would keep it until you die, and then bequeath it to your descendants for eternity. That is human desire.

It is the same with God, the Absolute Being. God is eternal, and He desires that His object partners, whom He loves, should live eternally. That is why human beings want to live forever. For this reason also, the absolute God never ceases to seek for His children. Each human being has the value of eternity. (290:143-44, February 18, 1998)

If God only liked humans for one or two days, or even for one hundred years, and then discarded them, it would not be true love. The more you love, the more you want to be with your beloved one. For this reason you sometimes find a man whose wife died young who never remarries, preferring to live alone until his death while treasuring some article of his wife’s clothing…

That is why God created human beings, His precious children, to live forever. However, for love to last forever, people should stand on the foundation of actions that can generate greater output force. In other words, as time goes by love’s power gets stronger, generating more give and take action instead of consuming energy. Hence, the lovers’ joy never ends, but only grows and develops more and more, to infinity. Such is the ideal world, the Kingdom of Heaven in which God dwells. (39:42)