The Principles of CreationPart 2

Why did God create the universe and me?

What is the purpose and meaning of life?

► Determined by the creator, not Determined by the creator, not by the created beingby the created being

► PurposePurpose Value, meaning Value, meaning

All beings have a purpose

The basic principle for understanding

“Know yourself. He who knows himself will know God. He who knows God will become like God.”

St. Clement of Alexandria

What do people want?

“Everyone is struggling to attain happiness and avoid misfortune.”

EDP, 1

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”

Aristotle

What makes us happy?

• Baby? Drink milk, be cuddled. Idea of milk and cuddle doesn’t satisfy

• Doesn’t just want to see mother, wants to be embraced and loved physically

• Toddler? Wants to touch everything• Don’t just want to see toys, want to

play with them• Take it away -> cries

Happiness comes when one’s desire is fulfilled

which comes from a relationship with an object

What kind of objects?

Object in which own naturereflected and complemented.Object which stimulates oneto feel and discover self.

How is joy produced?

CreatorCreator CreationCreation

LoveLove

SubjectSubject ObjectObjectBeauty

Joy

Object reflects one’s dual characteristics

Object stimulates one’s dual characteristics

Object complements one’s dual characteristics

Which is more stimulating?

• Our object partner helps us to feel our own internal nature and external form through the stimulation it gives. EDP, 33

• Idea or reality?– When the idea alone is the object partner, it is

not as stimulating, nor is the joy as profound, as that from a finished work. EDP, 33

– So God created a substantial world

God wants to have relationships of love with beings like himself

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Genesis 1:26

“I say, ‘You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you.” Psalm 82:6

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have made; what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?Yet you have made him little less than God, and crown him with glory and honour. Psalm 8:3-5

God wants to live with people God’s purpose for creating human beings is to God’s purpose for creating human beings is to

experience joy through relating with ideal experience joy through relating with ideal families filled with true love. families filled with true love.

Sun Myung MoonSun Myung Moon

“The dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them.”

Revelation 21:3

God wants to interact with the creation

• God is invisible and without formGod is invisible and without form

• Even though he created the universe he Even though he created the universe he cannot rule it without a bodycannot rule it without a body

• So he created human beings as his bodySo he created human beings as his body

• By becoming one with human beings God By becoming one with human beings God can experience the creation can experience the creation

To sum up

Why did God create man? The first purpose was to have a being with whom He could relate as His object. The second purpose was that God Himself had to have a form through which to communicate with all things in the invisible world and the substantial world. From this viewpoint, what kind of being is Adam? The invisible God manifested Himself in the substantial form of Adam, in order to stand as the subject in the substantial world. God's third purpose for creating man was in order to fulfill His ideal of love. In that ideal, the subject and the object were to become one. God wanted the ideal world of love to remain forever. God created man centred upon these three purposes.

Why We Have to Go Through Hardships 11.9. 1972

HumanHumanBeingsBeings

GodGod

CreatedCreated World World

LoveLove

LoveLove

BeautyBeauty

BeautyBeauty

JoyJoy

JoyJoy

God, man and creation

Subject

SubjectObject

Object

How can we become ‘like How can we become ‘like God’, the body of God, the God’, the body of God, the dwelling place of God, the dwelling place of God, the

incarnation of God?incarnation of God?

““Therefore be imitators of God, Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.”as beloved children.” Ephesians 5:1Ephesians 5:1

What is God like?• HeartHeart

– Intellect, emotion, willIntellect, emotion, will

• LogosLogos– Reason and lawReason and law– Ethics - relationships of ordered loveEthics - relationships of ordered love– Four Great Realms of HeartFour Great Realms of Heart

• CreativityCreativity

To become like God, God gave human beingsTo become like God, God gave human beings

the Three Great Blessingsthe Three Great Blessings

The three great blessingsAnd God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.”

Genesis 1:28

God

Heart Logos

Fruitful Dominion

Creativity

Multiply

Human

First blessing - be fruitful

MindMind BodyBody

True True PersonPerson

The ability to create and complete our character

“You are the temple of God and God’s spirit dwells in you.”

1 Corinthians 3:16

Sensitivity to the Heart of God

Subject

We create our characterthrough our thoughts,words and deeds

Keep promises

Unity of mind and bodyWords and deeds are one

Joy

“Be complete as yourheavenly Father is complete.” Matthew 5:48

Object

Fulfill potential

God

Whole hearted

Meditation

Mind - Body unity

MindMind BodyBody

True True PersonPerson

Subject Object

Beauty

Truth

Goodness

Food

Sleep

Shelter

Sex

God

God

Mankind

Emotion Intellect Will

Emotion Intellect Will

HEART

Feeling Thinking Doing

Beauty Truth GoodnessPursuing:

Fulfilment of the first blessing

Whatever we do whether we like it or not we Whatever we do whether we like it or not we create and express our character by create and express our character by everything that we think, say and doeverything that we think, say and do

Embodiment of the truth of God = True Teacher

We create ourselves

Dorian Gray

SocietySocietyNationNation

WorldWorld

Second blessing: multiply

True True LoveLove

ChildChild

GodGod

The love of God and the love of man are not two loves, but aspects of the same unifying love.

St Maximus the Confessor

When husband and wife are united in marriage, they are no longer seen as something earthly, but as the image of God Himself.

St John Chrysostom

Husband Wife

Family

The ability to create a family

Joy

Four Great Realmsof Heart

“If we love one another,God lives in us and hislove is made completein us.” I John 4:12

Family is thebasis of society

Family is theschool of love

Development of human Development of human relationshipsrelationships

The fulfilment of the second blessing

► FamilialFamilial

► FriendshiFriendshipp

► WorkWork

► SocialSocialWhatever we do whether we like it or not Whatever we do whether we like it or not we form relationships with other people that we form relationships with other people that are an expression of who we areare an expression of who we are

What is love?

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

God’s love -

True Love Woman

Children

God

ManHusband

Father

Expressed and experiencedthrough the family

Wife Mother

Daughter Sister

Son Brother

Love, life and lineage

Third blessing: take dominionRight of dominion over the creation

GoodEnviron-

mentInherit God’s

creativity

Lords of Creation

Microcosm

God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.

Genesis 2:15

NaturalWorld

Person Joy

Whatever the man called every living creature, thatwas its name.

Genesis 2:19

Harmony with nature

The creation waitsfor the revealingof the sons of God.Romans 8:19

God

Stewards

► Develop creativity and self expression

► Develop and perfect skills

► Responsibility and freedom of ownership

Dominion

Inherit God’s creativity and dominion of heart and love

The fulfilment of the third blessing

► Art, sculpture, building, makingArt, sculpture, building, making► Gardening, farming, music, clothesGardening, farming, music, clothes► Industry, manufacturing, fishingIndustry, manufacturing, fishing► Walking, climbing, cleaning, drivingWalking, climbing, cleaning, driving► Ecology, stewardship, ownership Ecology, stewardship, ownership

Whatever we do whether we like it or not we create an environment around us which is an expression of who we are

We create our environment

FamilyFamily

SocietySociety

NationNation

One World FamilyOne World Family

Purpose of life – three blessings

HusbandHusband True True LoveLove

WifeWife

ChildChild

GodGod

PersonPerson True True LoveLove ThingThing

ss

GoodGoodEnvironmeEnvironme

ntnt

GodGod

True True LoveLove BodyBody

Mature Mature PersonPerson

GodGod

MindMind

Be ‘Fruitful’

Multiply Have Dominion

Our main roles in life

• True TeacherTrue Teacher– Unity of words and deedsUnity of words and deeds– Practice what you preachPractice what you preach

• True ParentTrue Parent– Heart of a parent in the shoes of a servantHeart of a parent in the shoes of a servant– Treat people justly Treat people justly

• True OwnerTrue Owner– Looks after the things he owns Looks after the things he owns – Creates a good environmentCreates a good environment– Freely shares what he has with othersFreely shares what he has with others

Dual aspects of purpose

Joy God Joy God and and

othersothers

Whole PurposeSubject

Individual PurposeObject

Joy to Joy to the selfthe self

How do you integrate the two purposes?

• The individual purpose and the purpose for the whole are not independent. They are related and interdependent

• The purpose for the whole is secondarily the purpose for betterment of the individual.

• The individual purpose is not separate from the purpose for the whole.

• The purpose for the whole cannot continue to exist without guaranteeing the individual purpose.

EDP, 33

Next - How do we grow spiritually?