#4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 | E-lecture #9, 10 | E-lecture #11 | #12 |
General Introduction (#1)
From the standpoint of God's original will and His providence to save man, He has sent many prophets, teachers and reformers; each has laid a foundation for the development of His will. Two millennia ago, Jesus came as God's promised Messiah to establish the Kingdom of Peace; "the Kingdom of Heaven." Though he tried to teach the way of peace, he was violently rejected and killed. After his departure, the history of 2,000 years has seen major divisions, hostile conflicts, plagues, and many wars, not only among non-Christian nations, but also among established Christian-based nations and denominations (e.g: Eastern Orthodox and Catholics, Protestants and Catholics). In the seventh century, Mohammed came with the vision to unite the world under Islam. Though he and others who succeeded him expanded Islam to many nations, still the reality of true peace eluded mankind. Prominent in the preceeding two millennia of our history are the many wars among the established world religions, such as Islam and Christianity, Hinduism and Islam, Judaism and Islam, and others. WWI, WWII and the Cold War of Communism versus Democracy have brought us to the global level of human confrontation, in their wake, they have reeked unimaginable devastion on our world, costing millions of precious human lives. At the present time, many deep rifts in political, religious and ideological thoughts and practices around the world continue to breed resentment and outrage among many. As a result, the emmergence of domestic and world terrorism of political and religious extremists now threaten the stability of nations and have become major concern for all. Although there have been major strides in the advancement of better relations among many nations through the organs of the United Nations, international trade, cultural exchange, global communication and other means, still the secure unity of common vision and the universal purpose of humankind continue to elude us. The historical question of "How to realize peace on earth?" confronts and challenges us to keep moving forward. The good news, at the dawn of our 21st century and new millennium, is that God has, in His providential good timing, sent Rev. and Mrs. Moon (born in Korea), to launch a new level of peace-building for humankind. How can true peace be realized? What is the fundamental formula for peace? How can we, for example, overcome the divisions of: science and religion, the races, the world religions, and Eastern and Western cultures? What is the root of human conflict? How can it be resolved? Will peace be realized on earth in our present age? To present satisfactory answers and accomplish the above historical tasks is indeed, the greatest messianic undertaking ever. In our E-Lectures, we will be responding to the above questions and more, from the new perspective of the Unification Principle (UP), God's message to humankind in what the UP calls the Completed Testament Age - the age of the consummation of God's providence on earth (CTA - as compared to the Old Testament Age and New Testament Age).
E-Lecture #2
"An Overview of Seven Principles of the Unification Formula for Peace"The Unification Principle is regarded as a new expression of truth for our age. It embodies powerful insights into the reality of God, man and the universe. It also gives clear answers to the fundamental philosophical and religious questions of life and love. Questions about the nature of God's providential workings with man throughout history are given adequate treatment in order to clarify the goal and purpose of human history. The following are seven basic principles centered in the Unification Principle which we have laid out in order to present a general overview for the path to true and lasting peace.
Who is God? God (known by many other names and titles) is the Absolute Reality, Original Cause, Creator and Parent of mankind and all creation (Heaven and Earth). God is absolute, unique, unchanging, and eternal. As Original Parent (Father and Mother harmonized), God is the source of love, life, lineage, and all our ideals. Heart and love characterize the essential relationship between parents and children. The quality of true "heart/love" finds its root in the Heart of God. "Heart" is the core of God's being and it has "the natural impulse to seek joy through love." "Heartistic love" is the greatest love there is. It is naturally flowing, creative, stimulating, cheerful, comforting, enrapturing, uplifting and inspiring. It breathes ecstatic eternal joy. Once experienced, we will never be satiated. It is where the human heart wants to reside for eternity. This is the original love that God has for us, His children.God is the Parent of all humankind. 2. Humankind is one family under God As God's children, we exist as "one family under God." The fundamental relationships that characterize family are: parent/child, husband/wife, brother/sister. Based on these fundamental relationships, extended-family relationships emerge (e.g: those of in-laws, uncle/aunt, cousins, etc.). The family unit is "the school of love." It is where we first learn to love, by watching our parents.
Within the family there exist "four great realms of heart:" the heart of parents to children, In the greater human family, we therefore should respect and love those who are older than we are accordingly, as: grandparents, uncles/aunts, elder brother/elder sister, and so on. These relationships ought to transcend race, religion, nationality and culture. To advance world peace, we are seriously challenged to create the global consciousness of "one human family under God." Not only individuals, but nations should also exist within the structure of family. For example, the United States, today, should become an elder brother to the nations of the world, serving them, and living for the sake of the other nations. The ideal of the original "true family" unit: God, husband/wife and children, must be restored in order to create strong God-centered families which will uphold the stability of our society, nation and world. Rev. Moon has said: "For there to be peaceful family of nations there must first be nations of peaceful families." In the context of family, therefore; interdependence, mutual prosperity, and universally shared values should guide our relationships. The God-centered vision of the Unification Principle brings these values to the fore. 3. We must "live for the sake of others" by practicing true love. And, in so doing, honor a pure lifestyle.
The problem of selfishness dominates humankind. It is a false sense of self that we have inherited from our fallen ancestors (to be clarified in our later lecture on the origin of evil). In the area of sexuality, for example, self-centered love connected to a free-sex lifestyle, destroys the integrity of character, debases true love, violates the purity of one's blood lineage, and creates insecurity and mistrust in one's relationship with one's intended or married partner. As a result, a negative and destructive magnifying effect in our societies, nations and world is generated. The moral, spiritual and physical health of our societies become adversely affected and ensuing generations automatically inherit and are influenced by its consequences. To overcome this root problem of "self-centered sexuality", we must live a life to reverse self-centered love through "a revolution of heart and lifestyle." Through a new vision for true individuality, marriage, and family, a new culture of pure love will emerge. Likewise, a new vision for "the education of heart" which begins in our families and extends to our schools and societal institutions must be initiated. We must therefore create a global consciousness of "living for the sake of others," in order to realize true families, a healthy society and a "world culture of peace." 4. We must love our enemies through practicing mutual repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation, The reality in our world is that we have many enemies. In all areas of life there are enemies: religious, political, ideological, social, etc. Even within the family; parent and children, husband and wife, brothers and sisters have become enemies. The key to resolving this serious problem which is at the heart of world conflicts, lies in being able to discover the formula for realizing true peace and applying it to the respective areas. The essential solution lies in the practice of true love: the unconditional, selfless love that is able "to give and forget," as Rev. Moon has said. The operating formula for peace is therefore a loving execution of the principles of mutual repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation, rooted in points #1 and #2, above. Today, we are making tremendous breakthroughs in the complex quagmire of the Middle East issues which so far have made peace illusive in that part of the world. 5. We must live transcending race, religion, nationality and culture. Centering on the fact that "God is the Parent of humanity," and that "we are one family under God," we must live transcending race, religion, nationality and culture. The world religions have been spawned throughout history to raise the moral and spiritual levels of each region of the world. They came at different times to particular geographical areas. As humanity stands today, races, religions, nations, and cultures have matured and have reached the global level of inter-penetration and mutual influence. We now live at an opportune time for the "familization," or the brotherhood of the peoples of the world. We must therefore seek to live transcending race, religion, nationality and culture. Our former tendencies were to exist in the narrow confines of our own, that, in which we felt secure, safe and comfortable. Today, we are being challenged to go beyond our own to attain the higher purpose of humanity; becoming one family. 6. Mankind must embrace the spiritual and physical realms of life. To effect a true solution, a wholesome approach must be executed. It must embody the values, ideals and principles of both the physical and spiritual dimensions of life. The more profound problems of life are not physical, but spiritual. They go to the deepest part of the human being, the heart and soul. Internally, we search for truth, beauty and goodness, and aspire to give and receive of the greatest love. Externally, we desire food, shelter and clothing. It is therefore vital to embrace the religio-spiritual dimension as well as the politico-physical dimension in order to formulate wholistic solutions to the complex problems confronting humanity today. The Unification Principle is therefore offering a unified and universal perspective: a God-centered worldview and "head-wing" thought(compared to right-wing and left-wing) for the liberation of all mankind, rooted in the practice of true love. 7. World Peace begins in "myself" then multiplies to my family, society, nation and world. In facing the hard realities of life, our general tendency is to point to others with the expressed view that: "If the other person acts, then I will act. If the other person gives to me, then I will give to him/her." The Unification view is that: I must understand and fulfill my "portion of responsibilty in life" in order to contribute to the greater cause, "the purpose of the whole." I must take the initiative in helping to foster peace, and to win the heart of the enemy. Peace begins within myself, then multiplies to my family, society, nation, world and cosmos. However, because we live in a multi-dimensional world where the individual is in a constant dynamic with the various levels of society, we must become involved as required. Each individual (and mankind as a whole) is also called to be lord of creation, taking responsibility to govern creation with love. The original standard (which will be elaborated on later) states that; the individual exists for the sake of the family, the family for the society, the society for the nation, the nation for the world, the world for God, and God for each person. * E-Lecture #2, above, will be expanded later. Please return soon.
E-Lecture #3"The Fundamentals of Unification Principle"
Unification Principle Introduction: Judeo-Christianity sees this state of contradiction as the human fall. Considered from the viewpoint of the intellect, the human fall represents a descent into ignorance. There are two types of ignorance, however: the internal-spiritual and external-physical. Throughout human history we have pursued both avenues in the quest for the truth about the reality of our world, human existence, and our purpose for being. Religion and science have been the main vehicles in pursuit of truth. However, throughout history, they have often arrived at seemingly irreconcilable and contradictory conclusions about truth. To unify these two fundamental positions, a new expression of truth must arise to resolve their problems and reconcile them in an integrated manner and, lead humankind into the light of a new era. The new truth must be able to embrace all historical religions, ideologies and philosophies and bring complete unity among them. God has sent Rev. Sun Myung Moon with this providential and historical mission.
The Principle of Creation The universe which He created reflects His deity (Rom.1:20) just as an art work displays the invisible nature of its maker. Every entity possesses dual characteristics of positivity and negativity or masculinity and femininity, and comes into existence only when these characteristics have formed reciprocal relationships, both within the entity and between it and others.
God, who is the absolute subject partner to creation (His object partner) has His dual characteristics (internal nature and external form, masculinity and femininity) in harmony (Gen.1:27; 1Cor.11:7).
God, the Creator of all things, is the absolute reality, eternal, self-existent and transcendent of time and space. Through give and take action, the energy for existence, multiplication and action is realized. In the created universe, the dual characteristics that make up each being are empowered by universal prime energy. From the basic elemental particles (microcosm) to the galaxies (macrocosm) and their interactions; and, in human beings and society, give and take action governs them. [The following are examples of the law of give and take action in Jesus’ teachings: Matt.7:1-2; 7:12; 10:32; 10:41; 10:42]
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