Nobodys Perfect? Not Any More!

Is there a purpose to Human life?

Or is it a random trip through time? If there is a purpose than that purpose had to be there before the life began, that purpose caused the life to emerge and that purpose shaped the nature and character of what a human being should be. A life that is in agreement with that purpose should be fulfilling and satisfying. A life lived contrary to that purpose should be restless, searching, uncomfortable. 

I was once confused about human life and it's purpose. I studied many ideas but never found a totally satisfying reason for me to be alive, or in some cases a comprehensible reason to be alive. Then I encountered the teachings of Rev Sun Myung Moon. His words are simple, straight to the point and completly comprehensible. Let's look at a very brief snipet of a speech that just goes right to the point of why we are alive, the purpose of human life.

 "God's ultimate purpose in His creation of man is to give to him all His love, all His life, and all His ideal. You are to occupy the entire love of God, to the depth of His heart. By becoming His true sons and daughters, your desire will be fulfilled. That is your ultimate destiny. Then you will be saturated with the love of God. You will be filled with joy and feel overwhelmed by a total satisfaction in life.

ow wonderful, how simply wonderful it is to live this perfected life of God! This is the true life of joy unequaled by any earthly joy. Once you reach this state of perfection you don't need prayer. Why should you? You meet God face to face, and you live heart to heart with Him. You converse with God. You no longer need religion, and you don't need a savior. All these things of religion are part of the mending process, the process of restoration. A man of perfect health does not need a physician. The man in perfect union with God does not need a savior.
 
Life in union with God is the one great way to live, life with God, life in God, and God living in you. This was the spiritual state of Jesus when he said, "Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? ..." ( John 14:10 ) God and man will embrace in one all-consuming love. This is the state where God is made the living reality. You no longer believe, but you know. And you live the truth. If you really experience this kind of love and oneness with God, then you have tasted the supreme experience of life. There are probably many Christian leaders among you, yet how many of you have had that wonderful experience, receiving the profound love of God?
 
God made man to live his life in intoxication. Man is meant to be intoxicated by the love of God. Since men lost this original capacity, they seek unnatural, artificial intoxication, getting drunk on alcohol, marijuana, or drugs. The perfect man, however, is created to be intoxicated in the love of God. There is nothing that can go beyond this feeling of joy. Every cell in your body will explode with joy. Your eyes and ears, the tissues in your face, your arms and legs, everything will be newly alive in a rapture of joy. Nothing else can ever match this quality of joy. This is the plan of God's original creation. When you say, "Heavenly Father", do you really have a living and vibrant feeling of God's presence? Don't you want to hear God answering, "Yes, my son"?"

You bet I do!

I'm not the only one,  am I? But Rev Moon is the only person I have ever heard who asked that question. Maybe he's asking us because he has already heard God answer him, "Yes, my son?" The way that Rev Moon presents God makes me think that a living and vibrant feeling of God's presence is just a normal day for him. And if it is a normal day for him, why can't it be a normal day for me? I sure would like to trade in a lot of my other "normal" days for that kind of day.

  

"So far in Christianity, we placed God so high up in heaven, and pushed man so low in hell, that there has been an uncrossable gap between them. A wide and raging river has separated man from God. Men do not dare to reach out to God as a living reality. Man has been unable to realize that God is so close, so real, so approachable, that we can even dwell with Him. We are supposed to be the living temples of God. Yet conventional Christianity has been unable to make that a reality."

That explains a lot of things

Not just conventional Christianity- all religions have struggled to make God so close, so real, so approachable. The word religion actually means to "reconnect", to reconnect man and God. All religions exist because they, at some time, brought people closer to God. But what is the value of religion when it cannot complete that purpose, to directly connect men and God?

Everybody has a hungry heart. After all we were created to live in the intoxication of God's love and untill we do people will fill that void with artificial intoxication, like drugs and alcohol. The world of people intoxicated with drugs and alcohol is self-destructive, nasty, brutish and short. It is the world of broken families, crime, injustice, war, poverty and lonliness. It is the world as we know it today. I can't say for sure but the world of people intoxicated with God's love sure sounds like a much better alternative. But we'll never know till we try.

It doesn't get any better than this!

"Today is the time when we must fulfill this fundamental relationship between God and man. The subject and object must be one just as cause and effect are one. Therefore, the Bible says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." ( Rev 22:13 ) Within God, two are one. He is the beginning and we are the end. He is the first and we are the last. And the relationship between God and man is a circuit because beginning and end come together in oneness. Peace, happiness and joy are the fruits of harmony in love. Therefore, in God's ideal of creation, He planned the relationship between God and man to be lived with harmony in love, with harmony in life, and with harmony in ideal. Thus we know that God is subject and we are the objects. We also know that the object is just as important as the subject." 

O.K., I'm in!

I know some of you are thinking how can man be the Omega to God's Alpha. It's not so unusual actually. Think of it - men and women are dramatically different, not just physically but tempermenatlly as well- but they share the same essence of humanity. In the same way man and God are dramatically different yet we share the same essence of divinity. We share the capacity to love. The ability to love is Divine. The ability to love as God loves is what distinguishes humans from the rest of the universe.

What a wonderful and dramatic relization this is!  God created us as objects of His love and in order to be the objects of God's love we must be able to return love fully to God. To return love fully to God we must be endowed, that is given at birth, the capacity to love just as much as God loves. Just because we are human beings we are God's objects of love. This is why God loves us, "just the way we are." All of our likes and dislikes, all of our uniqueness, all of our peculiarities are actually our divine inheritance.

"God created man and woman as His son and daughter. He wants to see Himself in human beings. Therefore, the Bible says, " ... God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." ( Gen 1:27 ) Man is created in the likeness of God. In other words, God made Himself incarnate in man. Man is the mirror of the living God, and His every virtue, characteristic and quality is reflected in this mirror. God surely wants man to reflect His love, life, and ideal. Man is the fruit of God's love, life, and ideal. "

I feel like today is a great day. Today I am crossing that wide and raging river seperating me from God. Today I am not placing God so high up in heaven and putting myself so low down in hell. Today I agree with Jesus, that I, "therefore, should be perfect as God is perfect." Today Rev Moon has given me the following realization and awakening- I am the temple of God, God's dwelling is with me, God is so close that when I call out for Him, He answers, "Yes, my son?" Will you join me, today?

Introxicated By The Love Of God? Try it!

There is no limit to joy. Happiness has no end. When you are standing in the love of God, every cell in your body jumps for joy. Man is meant to be intoxicated by the love of God. God's ultimate purpose in His creation of man is to give to him all His love. You are to occupy the entire love of God, to the depth of His heart.

Have you ever wondered if your life has a purpose? Getting into a prestigious university, pursuing a career, developing a talent, being successful at anything is a goal, not a purpose. Goals are the "how to" in life, love is the "why to". Times have changed but human love has never evolved and transcends time and space. God's purpose and man's purpose are one- the giving and recieving of love. 

New Wine For New Wine Skins

10.3 THE UNIFICATION CHURCH'S VIEW OF THE BIBLE.

The Bible has been honoured as God's word for 40 centuries. The Bible is a  living document, with the Old Testament growing continuosly in the era before the life of Jesus and then being supplemented by the New Testament in the last 2000 years. Still many issues with the Bible remain unresolved. Today God has sent a new truth called Divine Principle which must be considered with the Bible to deepen and strengthen our relationship to Him.
  
The Divine Principle is the most important publication of the Unification Church. Written by Rev Sun Myung Moon it is the result of years of prayerful insight and revelations from God Himself. As well as outlining the new truth, it is considered by the followers of Moon to be the authoritative interpretation of the Bible.

The Unification Church  regard's the Bible as God's word. Many Christians, however, question if in actual practice the Church rejects the authority of the Scriptures in place of the authority of Sun Myung Moon. The words of the Divine Principle and the words of the Bible open our hearts to God which confirms their common source. Clearly, then, the authority of Rev Moon comes from the same source as the authority of the Bible. One does not negate the other.

Because it is a new revelation of truth the Divine Principle, using the same Bible as other Christian's, comes to some very different conclusions. This has been a source of controversy.  Rev Moon reminds us, like Jesus, "not to put new wine into old wineskins." The new truth outlined in the Divine Principle is firmly rooted in and supported by the Bible.

Jesus prayed for oneness among his followers (John 17:21), however over the course of two millenium, Christianity has splintered into hundreds of denominations. “Divergent interpretations of symbolic and metaphorical Bible verses have inevitably led to the division of Christianity into denominations. Only with the aid of the new truth, with its clear explanations, can we bring about Christian unity.” Jesus did not pray to honour diversity, but for oneness. Rev Moon has the desire and vision to honor Jesus’ soulful prayer and help Christianity solve this historical problem.

Has any story in the Bible been interpreted in so many different ways as the Fall of Man”? Has any Christian teaching been able to clearly define “sin”? Has any teaching believed Jesus’ command, “You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”?  The DP’s outline of the fall identifies sin and it's workings in human life. The Principles clear explanation of God's hand in  human history  offers humanity the hope of an ideal world where the dwelling of God is with men, fulfilling scriptures Rev 21:1-21 and Isaiah 65:17-19.

DP states, “Another factor has fated religions to decline. In step with the progress of science, the human intellect has become highly sophisticated, requiring a scientific approach to understanding reality. The traditional doctrines of religions, on the other hand, are largely devoid of scientific explanations.” The Divine Principle clearly states in its introduction, “Scriptures are not the truth itself, but are textbooks teaching the truth. They were given at various times in history as humankind developed both spiritually and intellectually.”The existence of God, God’s hand in human history, God’s moral standards, Jesus’ life and times are not questioned but validated with modern language and science.

Rev Moon has also identified the repeating patterns in human history, recorded in the Bible and extended through Christian history. Events and situations occurring and reoccurring on schedule with uncanny accuracy. These events are a result of God’s desire to send a Messiah to save fallen humanity. The Unification Church accepts the dates and information in the Bible as truthful.

In short, the Unification Church fully respects the Bible as the word of God. It also upholds the Divine Principle as God's word to modern man. Jesus told of a time when he would not speak in figures but be able to speak plainly of the Father: St Paul foretold a time when the perfect would come and the imperfect would pass away. The mission of the new truth will fulfill these prophesies and allow men to come freely to God.

Finally the Unification Church holds all scripture, including the Divine Principle, as being a textbook teaching the truth, not the truth itself.  As Jesus himself pointed out, “I am the way, the light and the truth.” The truth is  a human being who is living his life as the image of God. "Male and female, He created them" the ultimate truth is the family living as the image of God.

New Man- New World Order

No News is Good News? You Are Getting Your News From the Wrong Place!

Here's some good news- a new world order is blossoming: the world where man lives in oneness with God, where man and God are inseperable. Existing as God's "image" men live in harmonious relationships across the globe. This new world order is the ideal, peaceful world men have sought since the beginning of time. Historically only a dream, this new world order is now possible because of the visionary work of Rev Sun Myung Moon.

Is bad news still "news"?

Check any news source- cities,states and nations around the world face economic collapse. Governments, stable and unstable, are increasingly unable to provide fundamental services to the people. Because all existing economies and governments were formed from individuals of imperfect character they have mirrored the imperfections of their creators, inevitably containing the seeds of their own destruction. This is why there is such a gap between our mentality and our morality; this is why there is such a gap between the masses and the classes, even in the best of economic systems.

We all are children of God and we all have the innate desire to share equally in all the benefits that society offers. Every political-economic system- capitalism, socialism, feudalism, democracy, socialism, whatever that doesn't meet this criteria will ultimately face upheaval as individuals seek fair and equal treatment. Don't you also sense the injustice that surrounds us? People of conscious everywhere feel dissatisfied with the current world order of have's and have not's.

Einstein said, "you can't solve problems using the same thinking that created them." Can we solve the worldwide political and economic unrest without a fundamental change in human character? Of couse not! As Calvin Coolidge observerd, "Governments don't make ideals, but ideals make governments." Without a new vision humanity is doomed to repeat, in different forms, all the previous "solutions" to human misery. This new vision has come from Rev Moon.

New Vision for Mankind

God ordained man to be the "image of God", but have we seen this God-like character in humanty? This is the hidden root of all human problems. People are living lives of quiet desperation, seperated from God, serperated from each other. Rev Moon was called by God to pioneer the path back to that original standard. He has stated, "life in union with God is the one great way to live- life with God, life in God, and God living in you. This is the state where God is made the living reality. You no longer believe, but you know. And you live the truth." (God's Will and the World pg168) "God set the pattern for the universe. In the ideal existance we live for others. this is the very reason for our existance; we exist for others, for an object, for a counterpart. This is the principle for all human relationships in our society." (pg 170)

"Living for the sake of others", is the way men of perfected character relate.

There's got to be a better way

So what will happen when we achieve this state of perfection? Jesus was a man who attained this state of oneness with God. Though the Bible records very few of Jesus' words no one man has impacted history more. His ideas are often radical, even revolutionary. For instance, "If a man strikes you on the left cheek, offer him the right as well" is not the advice most fathers give their sons. As for economics Jesus said, "do not worry about what you shall eat or what you shall drink or what you shall wear,...for your Father in heaven knows you need these things; but seek ye first God's Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you."

Jesus was saying that the man who embodies God's righteousness will naturally create a culture and economy that embraces every other man in love. We don't build roads for a paycheck, we build roads to improve transportation. We don't study medicine to live in an upscale neighborhood, we study medicine to help people who are sick or hurt. We won't value people because of the work they do, but because they are people. Economic transactions, indeed all transactions, between people of love will be mutually beneficial and supportive. This is New Age economics at it's best! This is the new world order that everyone will welcome and support.

Live for the sake of others

Rev Moon's primary text, the Divine Principle, has a passage: "in God's Ideal of Creation God confers on each individual the same original value. Just as parents love all their children equally, God desires to provide pleasant environments and living conditions equally to all His children." When God dwells within us the things God desires, we also desire. No favored ones, no untouchables; no aristocrats, no plebians; no royalty, no masses, just children. Children of one living God, living as siblings, in one home.

Rev Moon has clearly identified the true new world order, "...people everywhere have ardently aspired to the world of God's ideal where the purpose of creation is fulfilled. In seeking for a socialistic society on Heaven's side, their original mind has drawn them to the ideals of interdependence, mutual prosperity and universally shared values. The world in which these ideals will finally be realized is none other than the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, under the leadership of the returning Christ." (Divine Principle pg 342)

The imperfection of human character that fills the world today has run it's course! St Paul predicted this time when he wrote in 1st Cor, "For we know in part and we prophesy in part but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears." We are living at the intersection of human history- the old world order is established everywhere, but has failed everyewhere. It is based on human beings living seperated from God. A new world order has begun, based on human beings living in oneness with God. This new world order is growing even as the old world is collapsing.

How about this news flash, from the Bible:

"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them.They will be His people and God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes....for the old order of things has passed away." Rev chap 21

Who Says You Can't Get Good News?

I can't say for sure but I'm guessing that 2000 years ago the major news media missed the boat on Jesus Christ, letting the most important news event of their time slip by without one positive story! Looks like the AP has learned from history and sent a news team to cover Rev Moons 90th birthday celebration. Good for them!

They weren't ready to go so far as to endorse Rev Moon and they had to throw in one reference to "brainwashing", but they stuck to the obvious facts and even had the guts to use the "M" word (that's Messiah) in this short clip. The video closes with an excellent quick interview with Hyung Jin Moon, Rev Moon's youngest son. Check it out.

70 years ago Rev Moon had an encounter with Jesus Christ. This spurred him to seek to unravel the tragic, tangled web of human history and clarify the very nature of God.
For over 50 years he has been teaching a new vision of man- man and woman of perfected character, in unity with God; the centrality of the family created by such men and women and the potential of an ideal world. His teachings are not bound by any one religion or culture or nationality but embrace all mankind in brotherhood with one Parent, God.