Category: Old Testament

If a Person Lives Alone There Is No Joy

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Hebrews 11

32 What else can I say? There isn’t enough time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. 33 Their faith helped them conquer kingdoms, and because they did right, God made promises to them. They closed the jaws of lions 34 and put out raging fires and escaped from the swords of their enemies. Although they were weak, they were given the strength and power to chase foreign armies away.

Psalm 111

God rescued his people,
    and he will never break
his agreement with them.
    He is fearsome and holy.

10 Respect and obey the Lord!
This is the first step
    to wisdom and good sense.
    God will always be respected.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 2

Truth and Universal Law

Duality

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

When God created, He worked centering on human beings. With human beings as His model, He expanded the creation in all directions. Hence, He created all creatures—minerals, plants, and animals—in pairs. The act of creation proceeded by weaving together in pairs the vertical paths and the horizontal paths. Some moved straight, some in a zigzag, others engaged in all manner of actions, but all were arranged in a pair system to create the natural world. It is teaching material for people to learn about ideal love. (173:211)

Inside the seed of a plant are two parts in a reciprocal relationship. The two are completely one inside a single shell. They engage in give and take action through the embryo in order to propagate life. In an egg, too, there is an embryo between yolk and white, and they form one body within the single shell. The same is true for the human fetus. Whether human beings or plants, life forms through a harmonious union of subject and object partners by means of give-and-take action. These multiply in a way that resembles their causal being, thus connecting to the foundation of their existence. Ultimately we resemble the First Cause. Therefore, the First Cause must be the basic model, with subject and object partners forming a perfect harmonious union, and having the status of Subject Partner in relation to all beings. (89:226, November 27, 1976)

Even though a person may have many possessions, many children and great power, there is no joy if he or she lives alone. Likewise, although God is the Subject and the Absolute Being, without a partner He also is lonely. Why did God create heaven and earth? God is the Absolute Subject, but He cannot experience joy as long as He remains alone. Joy cannot be experienced alone; it arises only in the context of a relationship. Peace, too, and happiness, only exist in the context of relationships. For this reason, God cannot function as God as long as He is alone. (58:210, June 11, 1972)

Throughout the universe, love is something that no being can possess by itself. Once a being meets its counterpart, however, and they relate with love, they can obtain all the things that love provides. For example, even though a couple may love children, until they have children of their own, they cannot experience parental love. They cannot become the owners of the kind of love that parents have for their children. From this perspective, we can understand why God created human beings and the universe: He created them as His object partners in order to realize true love.
All types of love—including the love of children, love of siblings, love of husband and wife, and love of parents—come about through the unity of subject and object partners. Once subject and object partners become one, nothing can separate them. If they could be divided, we could not say that true love is indestructible. Among married couples, there should not be even the thought of divorce. (True Family and World Peace, March 14, 1999)

God created everything in complementary pairs so that they could receive God’s true love. God wanted them to receive this one love as a partnership. If a man and a woman perfect God’s love, embody God’s love, and share that love with each other from the same ground of complementarity as God, then they will definitely become an ideal couple. (26:155-56, October 25, 1969)

For the sake of love, God created human beings as His partners. God created all things in the universe in pairs so that God’s love may be eternal, man’s love may be eternal, woman’s love may be eternal, and children’s love may be eternal. They are all God’s family; hence they should be eternal. (201:193, April 1, 1990)

In the Image of God He Created Him; Male and Female He Created Them

Deuteronomy 26

26 The Lord is giving you the land, and soon you will conquer it, settle down, 2 and plant crops. And when you begin harvesting each of your crops, the very first things you pick must be put in a basket. Take them to the place where the Lord your God chooses to be worshiped, 3 and tell the priest, “Long ago the Lord our God promised our ancestors that he would give us this land. And today, I thank him for keeping his promise and giving me a share of the land.”

Ecclesiastes 11

7 Nothing on earth is more beautiful than the morning sun. 8 Even if you live to a ripe old age, you should try to enjoy each day, because darkness will come and will last a long time. Nothing makes sense.[c]

9 Be cheerful and enjoy life while you are young! Do what you want and find pleasure in what you see. But don’t forget that God will judge you for everything you do.

10 Rid yourself of all worry and pain, because the wonderful moments of youth quickly disappear.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 2

Truth and Universal Law

Duality

Duality is a consistent theme throughout the cosmos. All existing beings display duality or polarity: male and female, light and dark, heaven and earth, mind and body, subject and object, the self and the whole, being and non-being. The dynamic interactions between these poles are a source of generative and creative power. This is seen in the regular cycles of nature, the alternation of day and night, and the changing seasons. Duality is portrayed mythically by the cosmic union of god and goddess, and recognized by science in the electromagnetic interactions that construct atoms and molecules. Some religions, notably Confucianism and Taoism, regard the polarity of yang (masculine) and yin (feminine) as a governing principle of nature, one that can instruct human beings on the proper way of life. Father Moon devotes considerable attention to duality, which he develops into a systematic relational ontology. He observes the interactions in nature and sees in them the basis for the principle of altruism; as giving precedes receiving in all successful relationships. Even the forces of repulsion in nature have the effect of reducing threesomes to twosomes, thus protecting the realm of creative and loving relationships that duality provides. On that basis, he also critiques the Marxist dialectic for teaching a flawed conception of reality, rooted in conflict.

  1. The Duality of Masculine and Feminine

And all things We have created by pairs, that
you may receive instruction.
Qur’an 51.49

All things are twofold, one opposite the other,
and He has made nothing incomplete.
One confirms the good things of the other,
and who can have enough of beholding His glory?
Ecclesiasticus 42.24-25 (Christianity)

The Originator of the heavens and the earth;
He has appointed for you of yourselves spouses,
and pairs also of the cattle, by means of which
He multiplies you.
Qur’an 42.11

The Great Primal Beginning generates the two pri-
mary forces [yang and yin]. The two primary forces
generate the four images. The four images generate
the eight trigrams. The eight trigrams determine
good fortune and misfortune. Good fortune and
misfortune create the great field of action.
I Ching, Great Commentary 1.11.5-6 (Confucianism)

The Creator, out of desire to procreate, devoted
Himself to concentrated ardor (tapas). Whilst thus
devoted to concentrated ardor, He produced a
couple, Matter and Life (prana), saying to Himself,
“these two will produce all manner of creatures for
me.” Now Life is the Sun; Matter is the Moon.
Prasna Upanishad 1.4-5 (Hinduism)

By the transformation of Yang and its union
with Yin, the five agents arise: water, fire, wood,
metal and earth. When these five forces are dis-
tributed in harmonious order, the four seasons
run their course. The five agents constitute the
system of Yin and Yang, and Yin and Yang con-
stitute one Great Ultimate.

Chou Tun-i, Explanation of the Diagram of the
Great Ultimate (Confucianism)

Mujahid said, “God has created all things in
pairs: He created man and woman, heaven and
earth, sun and moon, night and day, light and
dark, mankind and jinn, good and evil, morning
and evening, also all different kinds of foods and
winds and sounds. God has made all these as
signs of His greatness.”
Al-Qurtubi, Al-Thuriat Surat 17 (Islam)

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

“Male and female He created them.” From this
we learn that every figure that does not com-
prise male and female elements is not a true
and proper figure… Observe this: God does not
place His abode in any place where male and
female are not found together, nor are blessings
found save in such a place.
Zohar 1.55b (Judaism)

All life, all pulsation in creation throbs with the
mighty declaration of the truth of Shiva-Shakti,
the eternal He and the eternal She at play in
manifestation. 11
Kularnava Tantra 3 (Hinduism)

When the upper world was filled and became
pregnant, it brought forth two children together,
a male and a female, these being heaven and
earth after the supernal pattern. The earth is
fed from the waters of heaven which are poured
into it. These upper waters, however, are male,
whereas the lower are female, and the lower are
fed from the male and the lower waters call to
the upper, like a female that receives the male,
and pour out water to meet the water of the
male to produce seed.
Zohar 1.29b (Judaism)

The Innate is twofold, for Wisdom is the woman
and Means is the man. Thereafter these both
become twofold, distinguished as relative and
absolute. In man there is this twofold nature:
the thought of enlightenment [relative] and the
bliss arising from it [absolute]; in woman too it
is the same, the thought of enlightenment and
the bliss arising from it.
Hevajra Tantra 8.26-29 (Buddhism)

One Who Is Rich in Enlightenment Will Not Indulge In Any Sinful Action

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Numbers 10

11 On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle of the covenant law. 12 Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran. 13 They set out, this first time, at the Lord’s command through Moses.

Isaiah 1

7 Your country is desolate,
    your cities burned with fire;
your fields are being stripped by foreigners
    right before you,
    laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.
8 Daughter Zion is left
    like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut in a cucumber field,
    like a city under siege.
9 Unless the Lord Almighty
    had left us some survivors,
we would have become like Sodom,
    we would have been like Gomorrah.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 2

Truth and Universal Law

Beyond the Law

Laws define the path to God, yet the ideal of divine life in many religions is to live beyond all boundaries. Therefore, as much as the law is a teaching that liberates, it can also be a fetter. Paul, for example, contrasts the Mosaic Law, which educates but confines, with the liberating grace available through Jesus Christ. Fulfilling the obligations of the law cannot save, because they do not touch the deepest promptings of the mind, which are still engulfed in the endless conflict between good and evil. Laws, therefore, are at best of provisional value, a concession to sin. Moreover, in situations where earthly laws are flawed or abused, the conscience guides us to follow a higher law.
Beyond the law lies a higher relationship with the Absolute, where a person is free to do what he or she likes, confident that the promptings of the conscience are always in agreement with what God requires. However, life in the spirit should not be misconstrued as a license to sin. Even in a state of complete freedom, there are still heavenly standards and principles. All the same, a truly enlightened person is one with those principles and hence does not feel constrained by them.

I will put my law within them, and I will write it
upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and
they shall be my people. And no longer shall each
man teach his neighbor and each his brother, say-
ing, “Know the l ord ,” for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
Jeremiah 31.33-34

One who is rich in the enlightenment will not
indulge in any sinful action, since his conscience is
guided by the intellect fully illumined with Truth.
Acarangasutra 1.174 (Jainism)

No one born of God commits sin; for God’s
nature abides in him, and he cannot sin because
he is born of God.
1 John 3.9

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks
to those who are under the law, so that every
mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may
be held accountable to God. For no human being
will be justified in his sight by works of the law,
since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
But now the righteousness of God has been man-
ifested apart from law, although the law and the
prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of
God through Jesus Christ for all who believe…
While we were living in the flesh, our sinful
passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our
members to bear fruit for death. But now we are
discharged from the law, dead to that which held
us captive, so that we serve not under the old
written code but in the new life of the Spirit.
Romans 3.19-22, 7.5-6

The man of superior virtue is not conscious of
his virtue,
and in this way he really possesses virtue.
The man of inferior virtue never loses sight of
his virtue,
and in this way he loses his virtue…
Therefore, only when Tao is lost does the
doctrine of virtue arise.
When virtue is lost, only then does the
doctrine of humanity arise.
When humanity is lost, only then does the
doctrine of righteousness arise.
When righteousness is lost, only then arise
rules of propriety.
Now, propriety is a superficial expression of
loyalty and faithfulness, and the beginning
of disorder.
Tao Te Ching 38 (Taoism)

People under delusion accumulate tainted mer-
its but do not tread the Path.
They are under the impression that to accu-
mulate merits and to tread the Path are one
and the same thing.
Though their merits for alms-giving and offer-
i ngs are infinite,
They do not realize that the ultimate source of
sin lies in the three poisons within their own
mind.
Sutra of Hui Neng 6 (Buddhism)

Finite and transient are the fruits of sacrifi-
cial rites. The deluded, who regard them as
the highest good, remain subject to birth and
death… Considering religion to be observance
of rituals and performance of acts of charity, the
deluded remain ignorant of the highest good.
Having enjoyed in heaven the reward of their
good works, they enter again into the world
of mortals. But wise, self-controlled, and tran-
quil souls, who are contented in spirit, and who
practice austerity and meditation in solitude and
silence, are freed from all impurity, and attain by
the path of liberation to the immortal, the truly
existing, the changeless Self.
Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.7-11 (Hinduism)

Subhuti, if you should conceive the idea that
anyone in whom dawns the Consummation of
Incomparable Enlightenment declares that all
manifest standards are ended and extinguished,
do not countenance such thoughts.
Diamond Sutra 27 (Buddhism)

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things
are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I
will not be enslaved by anything… The body is
not meant for immorality, but for the Lord, and
the Lord for the body.
1 Corinthians 6.12-14

Every One Who Looks at a Woman Lustfully Has Already Committed Adultery

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Zecheriah 10

6 I will strengthen
the kingdoms of Judah
    and Israel.[a]
And I will show mercy
because I am the Lord,
    their God.
I will answer their prayers
    and bring them home.
Then it will seem as though
    I had never rejected them.
7 Israel[b] will be like
a tribe of warriors
    celebrating with wine.
When their children see this,
they will also be happy
    because of me, the Lord.

Ezekiel 27

31 they shave their heads
and dress in sackcloth
    as they cry in despair.
32 In their grief they sing
    a funeral song for you:
“Tyre, you were greater
    than all other cities.
But now you lie in silence
    at the bottom of the sea.

Richard: Once great cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC are being destroyed by mayors who will not enforce the law. But even worse, these mayors have pushed a godless agenda of promoting homosexuality and expelling people of faith: Listen to the Richard Urban Show: https://www.visionroot.org/2020/06/04/will-we-seek-blessing-and-love-or-anarchy-and-chaos/ .

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 2

Truth and Universal Law

The Ten Commandments

Say, Come, I will recite what God has made a
sacred duty for you:
Ascribe nothing as equal with Him;
Be good to your parents;
Kill not your children on a plea of want—
we provide sustenance for you and for them;
Approach not lewd behavior whether open
or in secret,
Take not life, which God has made sacred,
except by way of justice and law. Thus does He
command you, that you may learn wisdom.
And approach not the property of the
orphan, except to improve it, until he attains
the age of maturity.
Give full measure and weight, in justice—
No burden do we place on any soul but that
which it can bear.
And if you give your word, do it justice, even
if a near relative is concerned; and fulfill your
obligations before God. Thus does He command you, that you may remember.
Verily, this is my straight Path: follow it, and
do not follow other paths which will separate
you from His Path. Thus does He command
you, that you may be righteous.
Qur’an 6.151-53

Seven precepts were commanded to the chil-
dren of Noah: social laws [civil justice]; to
refrain from blasphemy; idolatry; adultery;
bloodshed; robbery; and eating flesh cut from a
living animal. 8
Talmud, Sanhedrin 56a (Judaism)

You have heard that it was said to the men of
old, “You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall
be liable to judgment.” But I say to you that
every one who is angry with his brother shall be
liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother
shall be liable to the council, and whoever says,
“You fool!” shall be liable to the hell of fire…
You have heard that it was said, “You shall
not commit adultery.” But I say to you that every
one who looks at a woman lustfully has already
committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5.21-22, 27-28

Forgiveness, humility, straightforwardness,
purity, truthfulness, self-restraint, austerity,
renunciation, non-attachment and chastity
are the ten duties.
Tatthvarthasutra 9.6 (Jainism)

Not killing, no longer stealing, forsaking the
wives of others, refraining completely from false, divisive, harsh and senseless speech, forsaking covetousness, harmful intent and the views of Nihilists—these are the ten white paths of action, their opposites are black.
Nagarjuna, Precious Garland 8-9 (Buddhism)

Nonviolence, truthfulness, not stealing, purity,
control of the senses—this, in brief, says Manu,
is the Dharma for all the four castes. 9
Laws of Manu 10.63 (Hinduism)

The Noble Truth of the Path leading to the ces-
sation of suffering is this Noble Eightfold Path,
namely: right view, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
What is right view? Knowledge of suffering,
knowledge of the arising of suffering, knowledge of the cessation of suffering, knowledge of the path leading to the cessation of suffering—this is called right view.
What is right aspiration? Aspiration for
renunciation, aspiration for non-malevolence,
aspiration for harmlessness—this is called right
aspiration.
What is right speech? Refraining from
lying speech, refraining from slanderous speech,
refraining from harsh speech, refraining from
gossip—this is called right speech.
What is right action? Refraining from
violence against creatures, refraining from
taking what has not been given, refraining from
going wrongly among the sense-pleasures, this is
called right action.
What is right livelihood? A disciple of the
Noble Ones, getting rid of a wrong mode of
livelihood, makes his living by a right mode of
livelihood. This is called right livelihood.
What is right effort? A monk generates
desire, effort, stirs up energy, exerts his mind
and strives for the non-arising of evil unskilled
states that have not arisen… for the getting rid
of evil unskilled states that have arisen… for the
arising of skilled states that have not arisen…
for the maintenance and completion of skilled
states that have arisen. This is called right
effort.
What is right mindfulness? A monk fares
along contemplating the body in the body… the
feelings in the feelings… the mind in the mind…
the mental states in the mental states… ardent,
clearly conscious of them, mindful of them so as

to control the covetousness and dejection in the
world. This is called right mindfulness.
And what is right concentration? A monk,
aloof from the pleasures of the senses, aloof from
unskilled states of mind, enters on and abides
in the first meditation which is accompanied by
initial thought and discursive thought, is born
of aloofness, is rapturous and joyful. By allaying initial thought and discursive thought, with the mind subjectively tranquilized and fixed on one point, he enters on and abides in the second meditation which is devoid of initial thought and discursive thought, is born of concentration, and is rapturous and joyful. By the fading out of rapture… he enters on and abides in the third meditation… the fourth meditation. This is called right concentration.
Majjhima Nikaya 3.251-52:
The Eight-Fold Path (Buddhism)

There are five universal ways in human rela-
tions… those governing the relationship
between ruler and minister, between father and
son, between husband and wife, between elder
and younger brothers, and those in the inter-
course between friends. These five are the uni-
versal ways in the world.
Doctrine of the Mean 20.79 (Confucianism)

The Origin of Human Morals is Conscience

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Michael Folk-Republican for Governor
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1 Chronicles 21

5 So David paid Araunah six hundred gold coins for his threshing place. 26 David built an altar and offered sacrifices to please the Lord[d] and sacrifices to ask his blessing.[e] David prayed, and the Lord answered him by sending fire down on the altar. 27 Then the Lord commanded the angel to put the sword away.[f]

Isaiah 60

18 Violence, destruction, and ruin
will never again
be heard of
    within your borders.
“Victory” will be the name
    you give to your walls;
“Praise” will be the name
    you give to your gates.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 2

Truth and Universal Law

Moral Law

2. Natural Law

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Like it or not, human beings live within a cyclical existence: people grow old and return to their original elements, and new people are born. Through this cycle, humanity develops and increases. All things that exist move and function within their limited realm in accordance with the laws of nature that establish nature’s cycles.
The nine planets of the solar system revolve about the sun. Can a planet say, “I will go where I please”? No, it cannot leave its orbit. When spring comes, can any animal or plant say, “I refuse to grow”? No. Spring is the time to grow. Summer is the time for plants to become thick with foliage and their flowers to bloom. Then in autumn, they must bear fruit. (207:61, November 1, 1990)

The solar system turns in a great, cosmic circle. What is its center? It is love—true love. Therefore, at home, we are taught to love and honor our parents, an expression of love called filial piety. We are taught to love our nation; that love is called patriotism. We are taught to love humankind; that is to love as a saint. In other words, in the various orbits of our life, love should be at the center. When true love takes the center seat, everything else falls into its proper place. The right order is created around that eternal and unchanging axis. (146:166, June 15, 1986)

Just as the laws by which the sun, moon and stars were created—the way of heaven—set up a system of vertical order, so also in the family there is a vertical order extending from grandparents to parents and children, and likewise a horizontal order formed by the siblings. The laws of heaven and the values or norms of [family life] correspond. (122:304, November 25, 1982)

In springtime the flowers bloom, in summer the plants grow, and in autumn they bear fruit. Likewise, when you live according to the laws of nature, it is a shortcut to the Kingdom of Heaven. (393:215, February 20, 2004)

What is the heavenly law? Have you ever heard of this religious term? You know what human morals are, but have you ever heard of heavenly morals? What is the origin of the human morals? Is it the Korean constitution? No, the origin of human morals is the conscience. Human laws today are based on Roman law, and Roman law is the foundation of world culture. However, human morals are based on the conscience. Conscience precedes law. Goodness is the foundation of conscience. When we deviate from goodness and go astray, our conscience tries to correct us. Our concept of goodness sets the standard for our conscience. Hence, a universal society needs the moral law, because its members seek a social order that is in accord with the untainted conscience. Ultimately, the root of human morals is the heavenly law. (33:44, August 2, 1970)

Human morals are rooted in the heart. Relationships in the family, norms of behavior, social systems, the social order and such should be rooted in the heart. Human morals begin from parents loving their children. Then, by children loving their parents, they establish a true human relationship. A second true human relationship is established by a husband loving his wife and a wife loving her husband. Love is like the leaven for morality in all its aspects.5 (64:124-25, October 29, 1972)

Formulas rooted in laws have made possible the development of our technological civilization. Whether a scientific idea can be accepted as law depends on how widely it can be applied in its field. Likewise, in our religious lives, we should not go by blind faith. God always carries out His Providence through formulaic laws, so we must understand these formulas. There is a clear formula running through the history of the Providence of Restoration from the past up to the present. This is one of the most important teachings of the Unification Principle. (16:119, October 22, 1978)