2. Divine Character

In addition to the aspect of form in God’s attributes, there is the aspect of function, nature, or ability, which is called “Divine Character.” Omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, supreme good, supreme truth, supreme beauty, righteousness, love, creatorship, logos, and so on, as taught in Christianity and Islam are attributes that belong to the Divine Character. Unification Thought also affirms these as belonging to the Divine Character.

However, such concepts, as given, are not so helpful in solving actual problems since they do not seem to be so related to the aspect of form (Divine Image), and they are not directly related to God’s creation. Instead, Unification Thought proposes Heart, Logos, and Creativity, which are directly related to the solution of actual problems, as constituting the Divine Character. Among these, Heart is the most important aspect of the Divine Character, never before clearly taught in any other school of thought. Let me explain these three aspects of the Divine Character and clarify how they can help us in solving actual problems.

2.1. Heart

2.1.1. What Is Heart?

Heart, or Shimjung, is the core of God’s Sungsang. It is the “emotional impulse to seek joy through love.” In order to offer a correct and clear understanding of the concept of Heart, I will explain it using the convenient case of human beings. Everybody seeks joy by their very nature. To be sure, there is no one who does not desire to be joyful. Everybody wants happiness, which is the same as seeking to be joyful. Although everybody always has the impulse to become joyful, it seems true that, until today, most people have been unable to obtain genuine and eternal joy. This is because people have tried to achieve happiness through the acquisition of money, power, and/or knowledge. But these can never bring true joy. Then, how can we obtain true joy? True joy can be obtained only through a life of true love. A life of true love means an altruistic life of service, a life lived for the sake of others, and a life lived by pleasing others with a warm heart.

2.1.2. Heart Is an Emotional Impulse

Let me explain the concept of emotional impulse. An emotional impulse is the irrepressible desire that wells up from within us: Normal desires might be repressed through one’s will, but emotional impulses can not be so repressed.

We know, through our daily experiences, that it is difficult to repress our impulse to seek to be joyful. We want money, a high position, knowledge, and power, because we want to be joyful; children earnestly seek to learn everything, through their curiosity, because they want to be joyful; even criminals commit crimes according to their impulse to be joyful, but in this case, in the wrong direction.

Thus, it is not possible to repress the impulse to seek joy. One’s desire will be satisfied when it is fulfilled. However, for most people the desire to seek joy remains unfulfilled. This is because they do not realize that joy can only be obtained through love. The reason why joy can be obtained only through love is that the foundation of joy lies in God.

2.1.3. God Is the God of Heart

God possesses Heart, or the emotional impulse to seek joy through love, and such an impulse of God was far more irrepressible than that of human beings. However incompletely, human beings have inherited the Heart of God according to the law of likeness. Accordingly, even though we are fallen and have lost true love, we still have the impulse to seek joy, and it is impossible to repress it.

In God, this emotional impulse to seek joy is grounded in the impulse to seek love, since true joy can not be obtained other than through true love. Thus, the impulse to seek love is stronger than the impulse to seek joy. The impulse to seek love is the desire one possesses wherein one can not help loving others. In other words, one can not help but seek partners of love.

The impulse to seek joy is triggered by this impulse of love: the impulse of love is primary, and the impulse of joy is secondary. Thus, love is an unconditional impulse, rather than the means for joy. The necessary result of love is joy. Thus, love and joy are two sides of a coin, and the impulse to seek joy is the impulse to seek love that has manifested.

Thus, God’s Heart can also be expressed as the “emotional impulse to love infinitely.” Love necessarily requires an object partner. Especially, the love of God is an irrepressible impulse and therefore, an object partner of love was absolutely necessary for God. Thus, creation was necessary, inevitable, and can never be considered as merely accidental.

2.1.4. Creation of the Universe and Heart

With Heart serving as the motive, God created human beings and all things as His object partners of love. Human beings were created as His direct object partners of love, and all things were created as His indirect object partners. The fact that all things are indirect object partners of God’s love means that all things were created to be direct object partners of love for human beings. Seen from the motive of creation, human beings and all things are object partners of God’s love, but seen from the result, human beings and all things are the object partners of God’s joy.

This theory of the creation of the universe having Heart as the motive (which is called the “Heart Motivation Theory”) is able to solve the philosophical problem of whether the creation theory or the generation theory is correct. In other words, the Heart Motivation Theory can resolve and bring an end to the controversy between the creation theory and the generation theory concerning the beginning of the universe. In generation theories, such as Plotinus’ emanation theory, Hegel’s theory of the self-development of the Absolute Spirit, Gamow’s theory of the Big Bang, and the Confucian theory of Heaven giving birth to all things, the negative aspects of crime, evil, and confusion in the world are considered to have occurred naturally and the way to solve these problems is closed. The creation theory presented here, on the other hand, holds that such negative aspects have a cause and are thus capable of being eliminated at their very root.

2.1.5. Heart and Culture

In Unification Thought, the relationship between Heart and culture is explained based on the proposition that “Heart is the core of God’s Sung-sang.” God’s Sungsang consists of Inner Sungsang and Inner Hyungsang, wherein the Inner Sungsang is more internal than Inner Hyungsang, and Heart is the core in the Inner Sungsang. Such relationships apply also to the sungsang of the original human being. This is illustrated in fig. 1.3.

This means that heart is the driving force behind human intellectual, emotional, and volitional activities. In other words, heart is the emotional impulse, which constantly stimulates the intellectual, emotional, and volitional faculties, resulting in intellectual, emotional, and volitional activities. Such academic fields as philosophy and science are developed through human intellectual activity; artistic fields such as painting, music, sculpture and architecture are developed through emotional activity; and such normative fields as religion, ethics, morality and education are developed through volitional activity.

In a true human society consisting of original human beings, the motive force behind intellectual, emotional, and volitional activities is heart and love; therefore, all academic studies, artistic efforts, and normative behavior will be motivated by heart, and their aim will be the actualization of love. ¹² The totality of all academic fields, artistic fields, and normative fields, in other words, the totality of all intellectual, emotional and volitional activities constitutes culture. Thus, culture should originally be motivated by heart, and its aim is the actualization of love. Such a culture will last forever and, in Unification Thought, is called the “culture of heart,” the “culture of love,” or the “culture of harmony.”

Due to the fall of the first human ancestors, however, the cultures of humankind have become unprincipled, having various negative aspects, and such cultures have continued until today, all the while repeating the cycle of rising and falling. This is because heart, which should have been the core of the human sungsang, was blocked, and the impulse of heart was distorted into an impulse for egotism, or selfishness.

The best way to rectify present-day culture, which seems increasingly chaotic, is to eradicate egotism, and revitalize the impulse of heart in the core of the sungsang of human beings. Doing so can transform all the fields of culture so that they can be motivated by heart, and can pursue the actualization of love. In short, a new culture of heart and love can be established. The proposition that “Heart is the core of God’s Sungsang” thus becomes a standard for solving yet another problem: how to salvage culture from its present-day crisis.

2.1.6. Heart and Prime Force

Let me now explain about Heart and Prime Force. All things of the universe continue to receive some force from God even after their creation. Based on this force, created beings give and receive some force among themselves. The former is a vertical force, and the latter is a horizontal force. In Unification Thought, the former is called “Prime Force,” and the latter “Universal Prime Force”. ¹³

In fact, Prime Force itself is a new reality formed through the give and receive action within the Original Image, in other words, through the give and receive action between Sungsang and Hyungsang. To be more precise, Prime Force is a new force formed through the give and receive action between the impulse of Heart within the Sungsang and the pre-energy within the Hyungsang. When Prime Force works upon all things, it becomes the horizontal Universal Prime Force, which causes give and receive actions between all things. Thus, Universal Prime Force is an extension of Prime Force. ¹⁴

The fact that Universal Prime Force is an extension of Prime Force, which is formed by the impulse of Heart and pre-energy, means that the force of love, as well as physical force (energy), is at work among all things in the universe. ¹⁵ Therefore, for human beings to love each other is more in accordance with the Way of Heaven, which everybody should follow, than for people to believe they can do just as they like.

Thus, this theory concerning “Heart and Prime Force” becomes yet another standard for solving actual problems. It offers answers to such questions as “Should we love others without fail?,” or “Is struggle or violence necessary at certain times?,” or “Should we love our enemies or attempt to defeat them?”

2.2. Logos

2.2.1. What Is Logos?

According to the Divine Principle, Logos means “Word” or “reason-law” (i.e., “rational principle”) (DP, 170). In the first chapter of the Gospel of John it is written that all things were created by the Word of God: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John. 1:1-3).

In Unification Thought, Logos as “Word” means the thought, design, or plan of God, and Logos as “reason-law” means the unity of reason and law. Reason belongs to the intellectual faculty of the Inner Sungsang within the Original Sungsang. However, this reason in Logos, which created all things, is different from the capacity of reason in the human mind. Human reason, the character of which is freedom, is the faculty for conceptualization, and for pursuing universal truth. Reason in Logos, on the other hand, is merely a free intellectual faculty with the power of thought.

Law, which is the other aspect of Logos, is characterized solely by a mechanical and necessary nature, without any element of freedom or purpose. Law works with precision always and everywhere, transcending time and space. Just as the hour and minute hands of a watch, which is a mechanical device, keep time always and everywhere, law functions regularly and mechanically.

2.2.2. Logos Is Reason-Law

Logos as reason-law needs some explanation. Reason-law means the unity of reason and law. This concept is for the purpose of establishing another standard for solving actual problems. The problem at issue is that of how the collapse of values, which is causing great confusion in society today, can be stopped.

According to the Divine Principle, Logos is the object partner of God, and at the same time has dual characteristics (DP, 170-171). This means that Logos is a kind of created being, a new being which resembles the dual characteristics of God, and which can be regarded as similar to the union of Sungsang and Hyungsang.

Since Logos is the Word, or plan, of God, and since all things were created by and through it, Logos itself can not be a created being on the same level as all other beings. Logos, which is the object partner of God, and which resembles His dual characteristics, is a being resulting from His thinking. It is a comprehensive design, a blueprint formulated in the mind of God. When we make a building, we first make a detailed blueprint for that building. In the same way, when God created all things, He first made a comprehensive blueprint or plan for each created being, and this is Logos.

Though a blueprint is not yet a building or a product, it is a resultant created being. Therefore, Logos, which is a design or a blueprint, is a resultant being, a new being, and a created being. All things are created resembling the dual characteristics of God. Then, what dual characteristics of God does Logos, as a new being, resemble? It resembles the dual characteristics of Inner Sungsang and Inner Hyungsang within the Original Sungsang. ¹⁶ In other words, the unity between Inner Sungsang and Inner Hyungsang centering on purpose forms the dual characteristics of Logos, in the same way that the unity between Original Sungsang and Original Hyungsang forms the dual characteristics of God (Divine Image).

As mentioned above, Logos is “reason-law” as well as “Word.” Then, what are the dual characteristics of Logos as reason-law? They are reason and law. The relationship between reason and law is the same as the relationship between the Inner Sungsang and Inner Hyungsang, which are subject and object; therefore, the relationship between reason and law is subject and object.

2.2.3. Logos Is the Union of Reason and Law

Since all things were created by Logos (reason-law), all created beings contain elements of reason and law. Accordingly, while all things exist and perform movements, these two elements work together. Yet, the lower the level of the created being, the more predominantly does the element of law operate; the higher the level of the created being, the more predominantly do we find the element of reason operating.

In minerals, which are the lowest level of created beings, it seems that only the element of law operates, and in human beings, who are the highest level of created beings, it seems to be only the rational element operating. In reality, however, law and reason operate in tandem in both cases.

Thus, freedom and necessity, purposefulness and mechanicalness operate in an integrated fashion in the existence and movement of all things. In other words, freedom functions in connection with necessity, and purposefulness operates together with mechanicalness. Until now, the relationship between freedom and necessity has often been understood as one of antinomy: freedom and necessity were regarded as opposite concepts in the same way that liberty and restraint might be understood to be in tension.

In Unification Thought, however, reason and law in Logos are seen not as being in a relationship of antinomy, but of unity. I can explain this point by using the example of a train running along a rail as an analogy. That a train should run on rails is a rule that must be observed by all means; once it derails, not only will the train be damaged, but it might also injure people and destroy buildings. Therefore, the train must run on its rails without fail and, in this way, a train obeys the law necessarily. Yet, it is the freedom of the locomotive engineer to make a train run fast or slow. It might seem that a train runs totally mechanically but, in reality, it operates under the united influences of freedom and necessity. Let me offer a second example. A person can drive a car when the traffic light is green, but must stop when the traffic light turns red. This is a traffic rule that everyone must necessarily obey. Yet, once the traffic light has become green, the driver can accelerate freely, as long as the car is running properly. Thus, freedom and necessity are united in driving a car as well. ¹⁷

Using the examples of a train and a car, I have explained that freedom and necessity operate in unison. We can thus understand that reason and law, as the dual characteristics of Logos, function not in a relationship of antinomy but in a relationship of unity.

Since Logos is the unity of reason and law, and since all things, from the astronomical bodies in the macroscopic world to atoms and sub-atomic particles in the microscopic world, are created through Logos, reason and law operate unitedly in all of them without exception. In this way all things exist, move, and develop through the unity of reason and law, freedom and necessity, or purposefulness and mechanicalness.

This idea is in full agreement with the current views of science. Consider, for example, the Backster Effect. This phenomenon has shown, through an examination of the reaction of a plant, to the leaves of which the electrodes of a lie detector have been attached, that even a plant has a kind of consciousness. ¹⁸ There is also the theory of complex relativity, proposed by Jean E. Charon (1920-), which claims that even electrons and photons are equipped with mechanisms of memory and thinking. ¹⁹ That a plant possesses consciousness and that an electron has a mechanism of thinking support the notion that reason and law, and freedom and necessity, are operating together in all created beings.

2.2.4. Logos, Freedom, and License

Let me now clarify the true meaning of freedom, and the problem of license, as related to Logos. Through a correct understanding of freedom and license significant actual problems can be solved. Today, various acts of delinquency that serve to destroy the social order are carried out in the name of freedom. What is an effective countermeasure against such acts that cause social confusion? In order to solve this problem, let us first clarify the true meaning of freedom, and the nature of license.

In the Divine Principle, it is written that “There is no freedom outside the Principle,” that “There is no freedom without responsibility,” and that “There is no freedom without accomplishment” (DP, 74). In other words, there are three conditions for freedom: “to be within the Principle,” then “to bear responsibility,” and then “to make accomplishment.” Here, “to be within the Principle” means that one should not deviate from the Principle or law; “to bear responsibility” means to complete one’s portion of responsibility; and “to make accomplishment” means to complete the purpose of creation and bring about good results. The completion of one’s portion of responsibility, the completion of the purpose of creation, and bringing about good results are all principled acts in accordance with the Way of Heaven, or laws (norms).

These three requisites for freedom―”to be within the Principle,” then “to bear responsibility,” and finally “to make accomplishment”―can be expressed in a word, as being/acting “within the Principle.” It can be concluded, therefore, that true freedom can only be achieved in full conjunction with law and necessity. Law refers here to the laws of value (norms) operating in human life as well as to the natural laws operating in nature. Norms, or values, are sustained only in the context of order. Therefore, in the original world, to disregard norms, or to destroy order, can never result in freedom.

Freedom in its strict sense means freedom of choice, and one’s choice is determined through reason. Consequently, freedom starts with rational choice and then it is carried through into practice. The motivating power, that which expresses freedom in practice is one’s free will, and when freedom is exercised together with one’s free will, the result is free action. These are the concepts of free will and free action as found in the Divine Principle (DP, 74).

Thus, rational choice, the exercise of free will, and the resultant free action should never be done merely arbitrarily. They should only be carried out within the parameters of the Principle or law (laws of value), as necessary. In this way, freedom is the freedom of reason, and reason always operates within law. In other words, originally, true freedom can be realized only within reason-law, in other words, within Logos, and it can not be realized apart from the Logos. It is sometimes argued that laws tend to restrict freedom, but that is a misunderstanding arising from one’s ignorance of the original meaning of law and freedom. Originally, law and freedom were intended to function for the realization of love. That is to say, law and freedom only truly operate within the context of true love. True love is the source of our life and joy. Accordingly, in the original world, through observing laws one can joyfully enjoy freedom. This is because Logos is based on Heart.

Arbitrary thinking and arbitrary action which are apart from Logos are exercised through a false freedom, which is license. Freedom and license are absolutely different concepts. Freedom is an affirming and constructive concept that brings about good results, whereas license is a destructive concept bringing about evil results. Freedom and license must be strictly distinguished, but in reality they are often confused and misunderstood. This is because people do not have a proper understanding of Logos, which is the true foundation for freedom. Once one understands the correct meaning of Logos, and knows the true meaning of freedom, then all kinds of license masquerading under the name of freedom, can be abolished; it will finally become possible to end social confusion. Thus, the theory of Logos, again, becomes a standard for solving actual problems.

2.2.5. Logos, Heart, and Love

Here, the relationship between Logos, Heart, and love will be explained. As already defined, Logos is the Word or plan and at the same time it is reason-law. Word and reason-law are not two different things. Reason-law is included within the Word, as an internal part. The relationship can be compared to physiology being included within biology, as a subfield within it. In other words, physiology is one field of biology, which consists of the various fields of anatomy, biochemistry, ecology, embryology, physiology, and so on. In the same way, reason-law is a part of the Word, wherein limitless amounts and kinds of knowledge about God’s creation are included. Reason-law, which is a part of the Word, is that part which deals specifically with the interactions and relationships among all things. Thus, Word and reason-law are not different things. Furthermore, Heart is the basis for both Word and reason-law. In the same way that the investigation of organisms is common to all the fields of biology, God’s Heart is the common foundation for both Word and reason-law. Heart is the emotional impulse to seek joy through love. The fact that Heart is the basis for both the Word and for reason-law in God’s creation means that all phenomena, including existence, change, motion, and the development of created beings, are supported and permeated by the impulse of love.

Accordingly, whether we are concerned with natural law or ethical law, love is necessarily operating, and must be operating, behind law. Generally, natural law is understood as solely physicochemical law, but this is an incomplete understanding; love is operating, without fail, behind all law, although the level of love may be different among different creatures. Clearly, love is operating in the ethical laws (norms) of human beings.

In my earlier explanation of Logos, I primarily discussed it in the sense of its being reason and law, or freedom and necessity. Yet, in the actual operation of reason-law, love is significantly more important than reason or law, and love often stands superior to them.

A life of reason-law, but without love, easily becomes like that of a cold and formal barracks, in which solders live according to strict rules, and this way of life easily withers like an immature ear of wheat. Only in a life of reason-law filled with warm love, can the peace of a spring garden, in which all kinds of flowers bloom, and bees and butterflies fly, realistically come about. This criterion of a life of warm love becomes another standard in solving actual problems. The question is: what is the true guideline for bringing peace into a family and society? The answer can only be the theory of Logos based on Heart.

2.3. Creativity

2.3.1. What Is Creativity?

Generally, creativity is defined as “the ability to create new things.” In the Divine Principle, God’s creativity is expressed as “God’s creative nature” and “God’s power of creation” (DP, 43).

Yet, we do not have an accurate understanding of God’s creation with just these concepts alone. As already explained, the purpose in understanding the attributes of God is to arrive at a fundamental solution to actual problems. Accordingly, all our explanations about God must be as accurate and concrete and concise as possible. Our understanding of God’s creativity is no exception. It is difficult to understand God’s creativity accurately with mere commonsense explanations. Hence, the characteristics and requisites of God’s creativity must be clarified.

God’s creation was neither accidental nor spontaneous. It was acco-mplished based on an irrepressible, inevitable motive with a clear and purposeful intention. This may be called the theory of creation motivated by Heart or, simply, the Heart Motivation Theory. In creation, the inner and outer four position foundations, and give and receive actions, which will be explained fully in the next section, “Structure of the Original Image,” are all necessarily formed centering on the purpose of creation. Consequently, God’s creativity can be described as “the ability to form the inner and outer four position foundations centering on purpose.” In the case of human creative activity, such as the production of commodities, the formation of the inner four position foundation corresponds to planning, the development of an idea, making a blueprint, and so on; the formation of the outer four position foundation corresponds to the actual production of the commodity through the use of machines and appropriate materials, according to the blueprint.

In God, the formation of the inner four position foundation is the formation of Logos centered on purpose, and the formation of the outer four position foundation is the creation of all things, through the give and receive action between Sungsang and Hyungsang centering on purpose.

Thus, God’s creativity is the ability to form such inner and outer four position foundations, namely, the ability to form Logos and to create all things. The reason we seek to explain God’s creativity in such detail is to establish a standard for the fundamental solution of the various actual problems that are related to creative activity, including such things as pollution, the reduction or abolition of armaments, how scientific and artistic endeavors should be carried out, and so on.

2.3.2. Human Creativity

Let me now explain about human creativity. Human beings have the ability to produce new things, in other words, they are creative. Human creativity is what God gave to human beings in accordance with the law of resemblance. Originally, human beings should have inherited God’s creativity (DP, 43, 67, 167), and human creativity should have resembled God’s creativity completely. Due to the fall, however, human beings have only incompletely inherited God’s creativity.

It is because God was to bequeath His creativity to human beings (DP, 78, 167) that human creativity was to resemble God’s creativity. Then, why did God want to give His creativity to human beings? It was in order to bless human beings as the lords of creation (DP, 78), and to give to them the qualification to enjoy dominion over all things (DP, 67, 78). Here, dominion over all things refers to one’s treating all things as one wishes, while yet always regarding them as being precious. In other words, treating all things with a heart of love is truly one’s dominion over all things, and all fields of human life are included. For example, economy, industry, art and so on, all are included in the concept of dominion over all things. Since human beings on earth live in their physical bodies, they are dealing with matter in all fields of their lives. Therefore, it is not too much to say that one’s entire human life is a life of dominion over all things.

Dominion over all things, as originally intended, is possible only when human beings fully inherit God’s creativity. Original dominion means to utilize things creatively, with a heart of love, in various activities, including cultivation, manufacturing, production, reforming, construction, invention, safekeeping, transportation, storage, artistic activity, and so on. Religious and political activities are also included, since material things and economic concerns are indispensable in these activities as well. New creative ideas, as well as love, are requisites for human beings to deal with things. In other words, God’s creativity is required for the original dominion of things by human beings.

If human beings had not fallen their creativity would have completely resembled God’s, and they would have been able to exercise their original dominion over all things. However, due to the fall of the first human ancestors, human beings lost their original nature. Hence, human creativity became distorted, and their dominion over all things became imperfect and non- principled.

Here, the following question may arise: “If God created human beings according to the law of likeness, they would have received original creativity from the very beginning, at their birth, and, accordingly, regardless of the fall, would that creativity not have remained until today? In fact, numerous scientists and technicians are today displaying a very high level of creative ability.” How might we answer this question?

2.3.3. Creation in Likeness

I would like to explain specifically how creation in likeness applies in the world of time and space, since God’s creation means that each created being has appeared in the world of time and space. After God’s creation was carried out in His mind, and the Logos (or plan) was formed, transcending time and space, each created being then appeared in the world of time and space, starting from a small and immature, young stage, then passing through the process of growth, and finally reaching its full maturity.

After it has thus grown and completed itself, a created being completely resembles God’s plan and His attributes. This period of time prior to its completion is its immature stage, during which time each created being is coming to resemble the image of God. According to the Divine Principle, this growing period is divided into three ordered stages of growth: the formation stage, the growth stage, and the completion stage (DP, 42). The human ancestors fell at the top of their growth stage (DP, 43). Consequently, they inherited only “two-thirds” of their originally intended creativity. No matter how much scientists may display of their gifted creativity, it still falls far short of the degree God originally intended to bestow on human beings.

Among all created beings, only human beings fell. All things have grown to perfect themselves without falling, and thus they resemble the attributes of God at their own given levels. Here, the following question arises: Why did human beings, who are the lords of creation, fall? The fall occurred because, while all things are created to grow requiring only the autonomy and dominion of the Principle, human beings were given their own portion of responsibility for their growth, in addition to the autonomy and dominion of the Principle.

2.3.4. Creativity and the Portion of Responsibility

The autonomy of the Principle refers to the life force of an organism, and dominion refers to the influence of the life force over an organism’s environment. For example, a tree grows in accordance with the life force within it, and dominion refers to the influence of the life force of the tree over the environment. During the growth of human beings, the autonomy and dominion of the Principle also operate. However, in human beings, only the physical self grows in accordance with this autonomy and dominion; the spirit self does not. The growth of the spirit self requires a different condition: fulfillment of the human portion of responsibility.

It should be noted here that growth of the spirit self does not mean the growth in its height. Since the spirit self is united with the physical self, it naturally grows in size along with the physical self. However, the growth of the spirit self-referred to here is the maturation of its spirituality: the improvement of one’s character, or of one’s heart. In other words, the growth of the spirit self is the growth of the mind in such a way that we are able to practice God’s love.

The growth of the spirit self can be achieved only through the fulfillment of one’s human portion of responsibility. This fulfillment of the human portion of responsibility refers to the continuous practice of love, all the while holding fast to one’s faith in God and firmly observing His commandments. In this way we can overcome the numerous trials that may come to us, through our own decisions and without any help from others. It was not an easy matter for Adam and Eve to fulfill such a portion of responsibility, since God was unable to intervene, and they had no parents to teach them. Nevertheless, they were expected to fulfill such a responsibility.

However, tempted by Satan, Adam and Eve failed to fulfill their portion of responsibility, and fell. Why did God give Adam and Eve such a heavy responsibility, one that they might fail to fulfill? Why could God not enable them to grow easily, like all other things? The reason is because God wanted to give human beings the qualification to have dominion over all things, and to make them the lords of creation (Gen. 1:28, DP, 78).

Dominion is, in principle, only the dominion over one’s possessions or things that one has created, and one is not allowed to exercise one’s dominion over the possessions of others or over things created by others. Since human beings were created after all things had been created, logically they can not be the possessors or creators of all things. Yet, since God created human beings as His children, He intended to endow them with the qualifications of being a creator, so as to make them the lords of creation. Hence, He intended to have human beings fulfill a certain extra condition; thereby, human beings would be recognized as having participated in God’s creation of the universe.

2.3.5. Human Perfection and One’s Portion of Responsibility

The extra condition required of Adam and Eve was to be responsible for their own perfection. That is, if Adam and Eve had perfected themselves without any help from others, God would have regarded them as having qualifications equal to His as the creator of the universe. As a matter of fact, the value of a person is the same as the value of the whole universe, as described in the Divine Principle: Every human being is an embodiment (or encapsulation) of all elements in the cosmos (DP, 30, 47), and a micro-cosm (DP, 47), and only when human beings have perfected themselves will the creation of the entire universe also be perfected. Along the same lines, Jesus said, “For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life?” (Matt. 16:26) Thus, when Adam and Eve had perfected themselves, they would have been regarded as equal in position to the creator of the universe.

Creation will be carried out as the responsibility of the creator. Hence, God created the universe as His own responsibility; and Adam and Eve, who were to inherit creatorship, should have perfected themselves through their own responsibility. That is why God gave Adam and Eve their portion of responsibility. Yet, God is a God of love, and He did not want to assign Adam and Eve one hundred percent responsibility; rather, He retained most of the responsibility for their growth, and only gave them a very small portion ― five percent figuratively speaking. God then intended, after their fulfilling their own five percent portion of responsibility, to regard them as having fulfilled the entire one hundred percent. In spite of such a great blessing from God, Adam and Eve failed to fulfill even their own small portion of responsibility, and fell. Thus, they became unable to fully inherit God’s creativity.

If human beings had not fallen, what would have become of them? If they had perfected themselves without falling, first, they would have inherited God’s Heart, the emotional impulse to seek joy through love, and they would have become loving persons just as God is a God of love, and second they would have inherited completely God’s creativity centered on Heart.

This means that, from now on, all the activities of dominion over all things should become based on Heart and love. As already mentioned, politics, economy, industry, science, religion, and so on, all belong to the dominion over all things since they deal with material things, and activities in all these areas will become a dominion of love through creativity (perfect creativity) inherited from God. ²⁰

2.3.6. Original Creativity and Cultural Activity

Culture is the totality of the achievements of the intellectual, emotional, and volitional activities of human beings. Since intellectual, emotional, and volitional activities commonly deal with material things, cultural activity can be regarded as the activity of dominion over all things with creativity.

Today, the quality of cultures around the world is rapidly declining. In virtually every field, including politics, economy, society, science, art, education, media, ethics, morality, religion, and so on, there are whirlpools of confusion wherein people lack a true sense of direction. Unless some epoch-making proposal is introduced, salvaging the vanishing culture will become an almost hopeless task.

The Communist dictatorial system, which had solidified its formidable foundation with the iron curtain, began to collapse through the open door policy and, today, Communist countries are hastening to introduce the capitalist economic method. Seeing this trend, people in the capitalist camp may be tempted to become proud of the supremacy of the capitalist economic system, and of their scientific technology. This is, however, a shortsighted illusion. They are ignoring the chronic ills of capitalism that will surely lead to its decline and fall: labor disputes arising from structural contradictions within the capitalist economy, the increasing gap between the rich and the poor, degradation of values, rampant social crime, the advancement of criminal techniques accompanying the advancement of science and technology, increasing pollution accompanying industrial development, and so on.

Seen from the viewpoint of dominion over all things, we must seek to find the root cause of today’s cultural crisis at the very beginning of human history. Due to the fall of the first human ancestors, human beings inherited not God’s Heart, love, and creativity, but self-centeredness and egotism which have now spread worldwide. This is the fundamental cause of today’s cultural crisis.

The only way to save contemporary culture from such a crisis is to eradicate egotism, and instead, advance all human activities of creation and dominion centering on God’s love. In other words, when all the leaders in various fields and at various levels begin to work centering on God’s love, the complex and difficult problems in the various cultural fields such as politics, economy, society, education, science, religion, philosophy, media and so on, will finally come to be solved fundamentally and totally, thereby allowing a new and true culture of peace to blossom worldwide. Such a new culture will be neither Communist nor capitalist. It will be the culture of Heart, the culture of love, and the culture of harmony. This, I hope, clarifies that the theory of God’s creativity can become a standard for solving actual problems.

This concludes my explanation of the content of the Original Image. Let me now turn attention to its structure.