4. Law of Dominion by the Center

In the give and receive action between subject and object, the subject becomes the center, and the object receives the dominion of the subject. As a result, the object comes to perform circular motion centering on the subject. For this reason, physical circular motion in the natural world is performed. For example, the earth revolves around the sun, and electrons revolve around the nucleus. In human society, since the relationship of subject and object is that of mind and body, circular motion takes place in the sense that the object follows orders, instructions, and requests from the subject. In the history of restoration God establishes central figures and, through them, leads society in a direction in accord with His providence, namely, in the direction of goodness. In this case, He first forms a social environment, and then inspires the central figure to lead that environment in a direction in accord with His providence. For that to happen, the central figure is charged with their (portion of) responsibility to control the environment. In this way, there is a law that central figures in the providence of God have dominion over the environment. We call this the “law of dominion by the center.” This law applies not only to the chosen people; it applies to all other peoples and countries, as well. God has been promoting the history of the chosen people as the central history of humankind. The central history has been the history of the Israelites in the Old Testament Age and the history of the Western nations centered on Christianity in the New Testament Age. In the central history, God carries out His providence by establishing central figures. Examples of the central figures of different periods are such figures in the Old Testament Age as Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, the kings, and the prophets, and such figures in the New Testament Age as Augustine, the popes, Martin Luther, and John Calvin, and such political leaders as Charlemagne of the Kingdom of the Franks, Henry VIII of England, and George Washington and Abraham Lincoln of the United States of America. On the other hand, Satan, who seeks to oppose God’s providence, has sought to establish a sphere of dominion centered on himself. By establishing central figures on his side, Satan sought to have dominion over the environment through them. Kaiser Wilhelm II and Adolf Hitler, who sought world domination by advocating Pan-Germanism, and Marx, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao Ze-dong, who aimed at the conquest of the world through Communism, were such central figures. Without their thought and leadership, the rise of totalitarianism and the Communist revolutions would never have occurred. Toynbee said, “The growths of civilizations are the work of creative individuals or creative minorities.” ¹ The masses are guided by creative individuals or creative minorities, and follow them. This assertion by Toynbee points to the law of dominion by the center. The materialist view of history theoretically attaches greater importance to the environment (i.e., the social environment) than to leaders, and asserts that the masses, which are the basis of the social environment, play the decisive role in social development. This view also claims that the leaders act only under the conditions determined by the specific social environment. This way of thinking is based on materialism, according to which, just as spirit is generated from, and determined by matter, so too, is the spirit of a leader determined by the social environment. In this way, Communism deals with the social environment (masses) as a material category, and with central figures (leaders) as a spiritual category. This is not a correct view, however. The leaders are the subject, and the masses, the object; the leaders guide the masses, or society, in a certain direction on the basis of their religious or political ideologies.