Journal of Unification Studies Vol. 23, 2022 - Pages 81-102
Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon’s striking proclamation on January 7, 2012 that identifies ‘God as Heavenly Parent’ initially elicited ambivalent responses. Nonetheless, numerous articles within the Unification community have subsequently furnished textual sources from Rev. and Dr. Moon’s speeches, Exposition of the Divine Principle (henceforth, Exposition), and Wolli Wonbon (The Original Text of the Divine Principle), striving to vindicate and elucidate its theological connotations. There has never been a shortage of sources which underpin and attest to the validity of the statement from the Unification perspective. ‘God as Heavenly Parent’ was, until this time, a foreign concept to adherents of monotheistic religions such as Christianity and Islam. However, ‘God as Heavenly Parent’ does not purport a new nor distorted interpretation of Unification Ontology: it is coherent within the Unification view rather than imposed as revelatory content.
In the current theological landscape of Unificationism where ‘God as Heavenly Parent’ has been thoroughly acknowledged, this article would prefer to challenge a rampant idea that God, the invisible Creator is inherently Heavenly Parent, and a growing perception that ‘God as Masculine Subject Partner’ doesn’t fit the status of Heavenly Mother. This article highlights what ‘God as Heavenly Parent’ ontologically signifies to the invisible Creator and to human beings, clarifies the complications of the perceptions mentioned above, and offer solutions to those issues.
Firstly, it examines the two concepts in the definition of God in Unificationism, namely God as ‘Harmonious Union of the Dual Characteristics’ and God as ‘Masculine Subject Partner,’ and clarifies how both, with no contradiction, endorse the invisible Creator’s Heavenly Parentship.
Secondly, since Dr. Moon’s statement above assuredly pinpointed the invisible Creator’s irreplaceable Heavenly Parentship through True Parents,[1] the significance and the manner of the unity between divinity and humanity within True Parents will be discussed.
Thirdly, the difference between the ‘completion of the purpose of creation’ and the ‘realization of the ideal of creation’ will be elucidated. The argument will clarify the process of the realization of the joy of Heavenly Parent and that of human beings.
Fourthly, the ontological distinction between the first true human ancestors and the rest of the entire human beings in relation to Heavenly Parent will be discussed. In summation, this article attempts to articulate what God ontologically means to human beings and vice versa, and demonstrate an in-depth dimension to the triumph of Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon to be the true human ancestors.
The Relationship between the Invisible Creator and the First Human Ancestors
The theory concerning the attributes of God, in Unification Thought, is called the Theory of the Original Image. “Original Image” means the attributes of God, the causal being. The attributes of God consist of “form” and also of “function” including nature, character, ability, and so on. Unification Thought calls the former aspect the “Divine Image” and the latter aspect the “Divine Character.”[2]The Divine Image of God in Unification Thought refers to the dual characteristics of Sungsang (original internal nature) and Hyungsang (original external form), and Yang (original masculinity) and Yin (original femininity), and to the Individual Images. In terms of the Divine Character, historical religions such as Christianity and Islam hold omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, supreme good, supreme beauty, love, creativity and so on. Unification Thought certainly affirms these as belonging to the Divine Character of God. However, Unification Thought proposes Heart, Logos, and Creativity, which are directly related to the solution of actual problems, as constituting the Divine Character.[3]
In relation to the Divine Image and the Divine Character, Unification Thought defines God, the invisible Creator, as follows:
God is the Subject in whom the dual characteristics of original internal nature and original external form are in harmony. At the same time, God is the harmonious union of masculinity and femininity which manifest the qualities of original internal nature and original external form, respectively. In relation to the universe, God is the subject partner having the qualities of internal nature and masculinity.[4]
‘God as the Subject of the Harmonious Union of the Dual Characteristics’ corresponds to God’s “form.” On the other hand, ‘God as the Masculine Subject Partner in relation to the universe” does not connotate God’s external position after creation: It denotes God’s innate masculine subjective nature based on heart which corresponds to “function or nature.” Therefore, the former, which peculiarly appears in man and woman, refers to the Divine Image of God in Unification Thought. The latter, which is the driving force based on heart of God’s designing and creating human beings, refers to the Divine Character of God in Unification Thought. As a first step, the article explores these two attributes independently in order to extract clues as to what determinately instigates the Absolute Cause to create Adam and Eve and what the ternary relationship signifies ontologically.
1. God as the Subject of the Harmonious Union of the Dual Characteristics
Creation of Adam and Eve, and the Joy of the Invisible Creator
The major ontological premise of this paper is that the original masculinity and the original femininity are the attributes of the original internal nature and the original external form in the invisible Creator.[5]This significance can be elucidated through its comparison with the East Asian philosophy which prominently advocates yang (masculinity) and yin (femininity). Based on the Book of Changes (I Ching), the Great Ultimate (太極) is the First Cause of all existing beings; the integral nucleus and harmonious subject partner of Yang and Yin.[6] It asserts that in the nature of the Great Ultimate all things exist in pairs of Yang and Yin.
In contrast, the Unification Thought views that the invisible Creator primarily exists with dual characteristics of, not yang (masculinity) and yin (femininity), but instead the original internal nature and the original external form. This perspective is directly related to understanding the rationale of the Absolute Cause to create Adam and Eve. If the invisible Creator innately exists as a pair of Yang and Yin, there would have been no necessity of creating Adam and Eve in that mode since the Two would have been able to hold give-and-take action to feel joy. As mentioned below in his diary, Rev. Hyo Won Yoo who wrote Exposition under direct supervision of Rev. Moon was shocked to learn this from him.
Monday, January 31, 1966. I asked him whether Internal nature and External form are formed by the harmonization of Yin and Yang. Teacher’s answer was the opposite. He said the harmonization of Sung Sang and Hyung Sang creates Yin and Yang. My world was turned upside down. He overturned the traditional theory that everything comes into existence through the harmony of Yin and Yang. He explained that it is true in the world of cause and effect but not so with God. If God already had Yin and Yang in Him, there would have been no creation.[7]
The testimony above highlights three salient points concerning the ontological relationship between the invisible Creator and human beings. Firstly, as mentioned above, the original masculinity and the original femininity of the invisible Creator do not exist individually but are the attributes of the original internal nature and original external form of the invisible Creator. This designates that the invisible Creator’s original masculinity and original femininity are not yet in a mode of reciprocal relationship to independently have give-and-take action. Therefore, no separation of the original masculinity and the original femininity in the invisible Creator is the linchpin of the attributes of the invisible Creator to understand the necessity of creating Adam and Eve, two distinguished sexes. Secondly, the original masculinity and the original femininity of the invisible Creator can distinctly exist and interact with each other only through Adam and Eve who have become one in heart with the invisible Creator upon reaching their individual perfection. Thirdly, therefore, the joy of the invisible Creator can be accomplished not by just viewing Adam and Eve but by perceiving it created through them who, while being one with the invisible Creator in heart, enjoy love relationships with each other. Hence, the invisible Creator who primarily exists with the original internal nature and the original external form, can sense joy through the reciprocal relationship between Adam and Eve, who are the embodiment respectively, of the original masculinity and the original femininity of the original internal nature and original external form within the invisible Creator. In this context, the heavenly parentship of the invisible Creator entirely hinges on a perfected human couple who are one in heart with and thus the embodiment of the invisible Creator.
The invisible Creator wanted to have bodies and to embrace humankind as children. (May 17, 2019)[8]
God’s wish and dream was to become corporeal True Parents who have bodies. (Sept. 9, 2017)[9]
God wanted to become Heavenly Parent through the human ancestors. (April 6, 2019)[10]
The fundamental significance of creation is to unfold God’s Self into the plural structure.[11]
The following diagram demonstrates the difference of the two views mentioned above concerning the ontological structure of the invisible Creator in relation to human beings. The ontological view of the invisible Creator and a human couple in Unificationism demonstrates the invisible Creator’s necessity of creating man and woman, and also the reason why man and woman are instinctively driven to become one.
To just see Adam and Eve doesn’t hit the spot for God: The invisible Creator wanted to thrive as a ‘Complete God’ becoming a Heavenly Couple and Heavenly Parent through the bodies of the first perfected man and perfected woman. Regrettably however, it was Adam and Eve that ruined such dream of God, the invisible Creator,[12] as described in Exposition.
Jesus and the Holy Spirit
4,000 years after the fall of Adam and Eve the original masculinity of the original internal nature and the original external form of the invisible Creator could finally manifest as Heavenly Father through the body of Jesus[13] who, being one in heart with the invisible Creator, reached his individual perfection. Jesus’ assertion ‘Those who see me see the Father’ epitomizes the divine ontological status of himself.
However, people’s disbelief thwarted his entire life course and his death on the cross obstructed his earthly marriage by which to become a true human ancestor. As a consequence, the original femininity of the original internal nature and the original external form of the invisible Creator has lamentably remained without obtaining a physical body, and instead named the Holy Spirit. Henceforth, Jesus and the Holy Spirit centering on Heavenly Father have been together as the Spiritual True Parents, through whom humankind could attain spiritual rebirth.
Rev Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, True Parents
2,000 years after Jesus’ crucifixion, Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, accomplishing the purpose of creation and realizing the ideal of creation, turned into the true human ancestors through whose bodies the invisible Creator could finally emerge as Heavenly Parent. Hence, her declaration of ‘God as Heavenly Parent’ was not to articulate the ontology of the invisible Creator. It demonstrates the immense attainment of True Parents as true human ancestors through whom the original masculinity and the original femininity of the original internal nature and the original external form of the invisible Creator could respectively have bodies and thereby appear as Heavenly Parent. Therefore, the significance of Dr. Moon’s statement lies not in a mere conceptualization of God as Heavenly Parent nor as a re-discovery of the nature of God. Her particular focus in the statement was to stipulate the unprecedented triumph of Rev. and Dr. Moon.
With this perspective, we can affirm that she is the embodiment of the Holy Spirit as she termed herself as “실체성신” in Korean. Therefore, her proclamation of ‘God as Heavenly Parent’ was especially apropos since it was her duty, right and honor to declare it as an unprecedented triumphant female in history.
Repeat after me. We attend True Mother who is the embodiment of the Holy Spirit (실체성신)! (May 7, 2018)[14]
The wish of humankind in 6,000 years has been to attend God as Heavenly Parent. (June 14, 2017)[15]
God as Heavenly Parent has been established by True Parents (Feb. 13, 2016)[16]
In this fashion, invisible monism, namely God the Creator, eventually transferred to substantial reciprocal existences, namely True Parents, upon the accomplishment of their portions of responsibility. Remarkably enough, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon distinguishes spontaneously in her speeches ‘God who doesn’t have a perfected couple’ and ‘God who has them’: She calls the former as “Creator God (창조주하나님)” and the latter as “Creator Heavenly Parent (창조주하늘부모님).”Thereby, Dr. Moon often emphasizes the preeminent triumph of True Parents as true human ancestors which is the uttermost desideratum primarily for the invisible Creator and subsequently for fallen humankind.
True Parents, victorious human ancestors (Aug. 3, 2017) (May 1, 2019)[17]
Man and woman who became victorious as humans (Nov. 4, 2017)[18]
Victorious human ancestors (May 1, 2019)[19]
Unificationism is thoroughly a monotheism. As stated above, the invisible Creator created Adam and Eve in order to experience joy: through the bodies of a perfected man and a perfected woman the original masculinity and the original femininity of the original internal nature and the original external form of the invisible Creator can independently operate and therefore come to have a reciprocal relationship with each other. In other words, the dynamics of Heavenly-Parentship of the invisible Creator is in operation only through True Parents. This eternal Four Position Foundation formed by the invisible Creator, Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon means the ‘appearance of Heavenly Parent.’ Simultaneously, it also signifies the ‘settlement of the True Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind’ as true human ancestors. In view of this, Jesus’ statement “Those who see me see the Father” has been blessedly eclipsed by her unprecedented assertion “To see True Parents means to see Heavenly Parent.”[20] The triumphant unity of True Parents with the invisible Creator qualifies them to become the true human ancestors and establish the ‘heavenly lineage’ only which can facilitate the salvation of fallen humanity.
This colossal achievement of the invisible Creator, Rev. and Dr. Moon can be portrayed in the following diagram.
In Unification Theology, the Four Position Foundation of the invisible Creator as Heavenly Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit denotes the Spiritual Trinity, and also that the invisible Creator as Heavenly Parent, Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon signifies the perfect (or substantial if translated literally from the Korean text) Trinity. However, this paper is of the opinion that Unification Theology must move forward from the trinitarian comprehension of God in former times, to ‘Heavenly Father, Heavenly Mother, and True Parents’ which spearhead Unificationism along with Christian theology, as Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon affirms below:
Where did the word ‘Trinity’ come from? In the Catholic church, they do this and that saying ‘Holy Father, Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit,’ right? Who made this word? Jesus didn’t say this. The word ‘Trinity’ is wrong. Heavenly Father, Heavenly Mother and True Parents. This is the right expression. (March 16, 2018)[21]
Korean Unificationists occasionally define Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon as ‘실체하나님,’ and invariably call Dr. Moon as ‘실체성신.’ However, their English translation, in my opinion, shouldn’t be literally ‘Substantial God’ and ‘Substantial Holy Spirit,’ which we observe unfortunately from time to time both in oral and written form. As for English translation, I suggest the ‘embodiment of Heavenly Parent’ and the ‘embodiment of the Holy Spirit’ respectively, which plainly confirms their humanness in this context. I will stress this point in a later section.
Conventional Unification Church teachings, while rhapsodizing over the dual characteristics of the invisible Creator, do not meld it with ‘God as the masculine subject partner.’ For example, no clarification about God as the masculine subject partner is found in the texts of Unification Thought.[22] In addition, subsequent to Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon’s declaration above, there has been an unmistakable matriarchal edge to Unification Theology which accentuates female’s role and misogynist critique.
However, despite the preponderance of ‘God as the subject of the harmonious union of the dual characteristics’ in Unification view, ‘God as the Masculine Subject Partner’ had been the undeviating teaching of Rev. Sun Myung Moon given even in advance of publishing Exposition in 1966.
He (Father) then explained that God exists as the harmony of Sungsang and Hyungsang and is the Yang type of existence. Therefore, God had to create the Yin type of world.[23]
On this account, it is imperative for us Unificationists to depict how ‘God as the subject partner having the qualities of internal nature and masculinity’ is coherently associated with ‘God as Heavenly Parent’ declared by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. I will deal with this critical issue next.
2. God as the Subject Partner Having the Qualities of Internal Nature and Masculinity
Heavenly Mother as the ‘Masculine Subject Partner’?
How can we comprehend the Masculine Subjective Nature as an inherent nature in Heavenly Mother manifested by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon? As was stated above, ‘God as the masculine subject partner,’ which demonstrates the invisible Creator’s attribute in designing and creating humans, refers to the Divine Character of God in Unification Thought. The implications of this are momentous, and this paper comprehends the Masculine Subjective Nature embodied by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon as the nature of Heavenly Mother from the following perspectives.
Firstly, it is not the case that low-key God became God as the ‘masculine subject partner’ after the creation of humans. This nature is not the attribute that the invisible Creator grew to have in relation to the corporeal object partners. Prior to the creation, God as the sole existence and thus everything was conscious entirely of Itself. With this in mind, we can state that God is subjective and masculine, not because God takes the subject position in relation to an object partner, but because God has a propensity for subjective nature in the first place. In other words, although God has both attributes of masculinity and femininity, as the Sole Existence and the First Cause, God has a predominantly subjective, masculine nature.[24] In sum, the invisible Creator innately has it before the creation.
Secondly, ‘Masculine’ of ‘Masculine Subjective Nature’ of the invisible Creator doesn’t refer to the Yang (Masculinity) in the Great Ultimate (太極), which is inherently distinguished from Yin (Femininity). Along the same lines, the meaning of masculinity when used in calling man a masculine substantial being and the meaning of femininity when used in calling woman a feminine substantial being are not identical with, nor related to the meanings of the original masculinity and femininity of the invisible Creator.[25] The original masculinity and femininity of the invisible Creator exist only as the “potentials” to realize harmonious interactions.[26] Therefore, we should recognize the nature of ‘masculine’ of the invisible Creator is different from that of man, a sex apart from woman. Furthermore, ‘masculine’ of ‘masculine subject partner’ is adverb to ‘subject’ which holds the central connotation in the phrase. Therefore, just as man has feminine nature and woman has masculine nature, both man and woman, upon reaching individual perfection, hold differently the ‘masculine subjective nature,’ the divine nature of the invisible Creator: innately man has his own ‘masculine subjective nature’ and woman has her own ‘masculine subjective nature.’
Therefore thirdly, the ‘masculine subjective nature’ of the invisible Creator which is manifested diversely in man and woman doesn’t denote to fix man in the subject partner position and woman in the object partner position. Perfected man and woman as a couple, while manifesting his or her unique ‘masculine subjective nature’ they become one centering on purpose: they take the subject or object partner positions according to situation observing the harmonious order. Give and take action takes place only between subject and object. That is to say, give and take action takes place when there is a difference in position. When two elements occupy the same position, give and take action does not take place, but rather a repulsion will appear between them. When there is a difference in position between subject and object, a certain order is established. Thus, give and take action takes place where there is order. [27] Hence, it is centered on not man but the purpose that man and woman become one while situationally changing the positions of the subject and object partners in a harmonious way. In this regard, it is through Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, the first perfected woman that the Heavenly Mothership of the invisible Creator concurrently with her unique ‘masculine subjective nature’ has been established. Her leadership worldwide in a multitude of activities show a shining example of such nature of Heavenly Mother.
The 16 Characteristics of the ‘Masculine Subjective Nature’ as the Nature of Heavenly Parent
What then, is the ‘masculine subjective nature’ of the invisible Creator embodied by both Rev. and Dr. Moon contrastingly, which is the very nature of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother? As was stated above, ‘creativity’ is one of the principal attributes of the Divine Character. Unification Thought describes the creativity based on heart of the invisible Creator as “the ability to form the four position foundations centering on purpose.”[28]This paper proposes sixteen characteristics including creativity as the attributes of God’s ‘masculine subjective nature.’ In general, it is said that “God’s main attributes of absolute true love are absolute, unique, unchanging, eternal,”[29] however, more precisely, the main attributes consist of four internal attributes, which are ‘absolute, unique, unchanging, and eternal,’ and four external attributes, which are ‘creativity, subjectivity, relating, and oneness.’ [30] The following diagram demonstrates the sixteen characteristics of the Divine Character.
Many accounts in the Bible demonstrate that God often regrets and changes. Then what in God is absolute, unique, unchanging and eternal? In fact, God alone cannot be absolute, unique, unchanging, and eternal. Such attributes can be manifested, recognized and significant only through the reciprocal relationship with other existences. That’s why in Exposition the Divine Character of the “masculine subjective nature” is mentioned “in relationship to the universe.” [31]
The 16 characteristics of the ‘Masculine Subjective Nature’ embodied by Rev. and Dr. Moon are the nature of Heavenly Parent: it is to be absolute, unique, unchanging, and eternal in being for the sake of the object partner creatively and subjectively relating to and becoming one with it. In other words, the nature of Heavenly Parent appeared in Rev. and Dr. Moon is for the sake of the object partner absolutely, uniquely, unchangingly, and eternally while relating to it to become one creatively and subjectively. Likewise, 16 characteristics of the nature of Heavenly Parent means to be totally for the sake of the object partner; and it is the Divine Character as the ability to form the Four Position Foundation.
The Unification terminology of the nature of Heavenly Parent embodied by humans is the “original nature of creation.” This paper discusses the original nature of creation from the perspective of human portions of responsibility in the later section. In essence, the Divine Image of the invisible Creator became Heavenly Parent embodied by Rev. and Dr. Moon. Correspondingly, the Divine Character of the invisible Creator is transferred to the original nature of creation, the nature of Heavenly Parent embodied by Rev. and Dr. Moon.
As a conclusion, ‘masculine subjective nature’ in Exposition discussed above is never contradictory to the nature of Heavenly Mother manifested in Dr. Moon. Indeed, ‘God as the harmonious union of the dual characteristics’ and ‘God as the masculine subject partner’ enunciate respectively the Divine Image and Divine Character of ‘Raw God’ before having a perfected human couple. Through True Parents, a perfected man and woman as the true human ancestors, the Divine Image of the ‘harmonious union of the dual characteristics’ finally manifested as Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother, namely Heavenly Parent. Through True Parents, the Divine Character of the ‘masculine subjective nature’ came to be rooted in them uniquely as the original nature of creation, which means the nature of Heavenly Parent.
In this context, this paper recognizes no necessity for the modification of the current definition of the invisible Creator in Exposition. Alternatively, this article stresses the indispensability of including inExpositionthe ontological significance of the victory of Rev. and Dr. Moon discussed above in this paper: “Original God” defined in Exposition has finally become “Thriving God” as Heavenly Parent embodied by True Parents who established the lineage of the original nature of creation. The following diagram is the summation of the argument above.
Unity of Divinity and Humanity in True Parents, and Their Portion of Responsibility
The major ecumenical councils in Christian history had largely focused on explicating the relationship of divinity and humanity in Jesus Christ. One of the concurrences they had reached is the so-called ‘hypostatic union’ which denotes Jesus is fully God as well as fully human. Nevertheless, the comprehension of its practicability within Jesus has been an immense challenge to Christian theology and it remains as a hitherto mystery. In Unificationism, although True Parents’ humanity is obvious, elucidation of their divine state as the embodiment of the invisible Creator is needed. The clarification is crucial in Unificationism because, as earlier noted, the invisible Creator aspired to have bodies and experience joy through the substantial relationship between Adam and Eve, and therefore, ‘oneness’ between the invisible Creator and the first human ancestors should be explicated, without leaving it as an insurmountable enigma.
Additionally, as Exposition divulges in the conclusion of Christology,[32] all humans are also to accomplish the perfect trinity as well. Hence, divinity in True Parents, which enables them to embody the invisible Creator as Heavenly Parent, should be discussed in explicit terms. In this respect, the Unification view of the unity of divinity and humanity, to be viable, needs to be depicted inductively rather than deductively: It should proceed with ordinary experience and vocabulary rather than with special revelation and terminology.
1. Unity of Divinity and Humanity in True Parents through Gong Myeong Jeong(共鳴情: 공명정)
Auspiciously, Rev. and Dr. Moon have provided us with a coined term that describes the unity between the divinity of the invisible Creator and the humanity of humankind: that is, gong myeong jeong (공명정: 共鳴情), which means resonance of heart (or resonance in heart). Not only the invisible Creator and the human’s mind, but also human mind and body, the spirit world and physical world, humans and humans, and humans and all things, can relate and interact with each other transcending time and space, forming oneness in gong myeong jeong, resonance in heart.
How can God and humans be interactive? Creator and creatures, God and humans can be one through the resonance of heart. (Jan. 30, 2011)[33]
In gong myeong jeong with the invisible Creator, the spirit mind of a human has a pivotal role. The spirit mind is the place where the divine nature of the invisible Creator can be contained[34] through gong myeong jeong,which grants divine status to humans.[35] As a consequence, the spirit mind houses the invisible Creator[36] through gong myeong jeong. When such mind further resonates with the body, this means perfect unity of mind and body, that is, individual perfection. In such event, human beings come to embody and manifest the divinity of the invisible Creator.
The following paragraph of Exposition validates my argument above, though the words ‘respond’ or ‘response’ in the text should be translated as ‘resonate’ or ‘echo’ which accurately reflects the word ‘감응(感応)’ in the Korean text.
The human mind has three faculties: emotion, intellect, and will. The human body acts in response to the commands of the mind. When the body responds to the mind’s emotion, intellect, and will, its actions pursue the values of beauty, truth, and goodness respectively. God is the subject partner to the human mind; hence, He is also the subject partner to human emotion, intellect, and will. Desiring to realize his original value, a person responds to the perfect emotion, perfect intellect, and perfect will of God through his mind, and acts accordingly through his body. Thus, he manifests the values of original beauty, original truth, and original goodness.[37]
Therefore, the defining function of the ‘spirit mind,’ another coined term of True Parents, is the presence of the invisible Creator within through gong myeong jeong which should be conceptionally distinguished from mere ‘soul.’ The term gong myeong jeong, for its further clarification, needs to be detailed with theological certitude and scientific validation: the point of the endeavor here is to provide Unification vocabulary derived from True Parents’ teaching, rather than applying the secular word ‘resonance,’ so that Unificationism can theologically develop a lucid stance in respect to the unity of divinity and humanity in Christ as well as in all humanity.
Humankind needs to find the principle of the world of resonance and be able to resonate with Heaven.[38]
Based on this comprehension, it is incontrovertible to say that True Parents are the ‘embodiment of the heart of Heavenly Parent,’ and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moonis the ‘embodiment of the heart of the Holy Spirit.’
2. The Human Portion of Responsibility and Completion of the Original Nature of Creation(창조본성완성: 創造本性完成)
As previously noted, the invisible Creator desires to feel joy through a reciprocal relationship between Adam and Eve who are one in heart (gong myeong jeong). With this understanding, we can articulate the enhanced definition concerning the portion of the responsibility of Adam and Eve: it is ‘to be one with the invisible Creator in heart’ so that the invisible Creator has bodies, being ready to experience joy through their relationship, and creates a heavenly lineage through their bodies. Dr. Hak Ja Han Moonhas exceptionally foregrounded this point on innumerable occasions in the past eight years.
Then, what is the Unification vocabulary to define the human status of oneness with the invisible Creator in heart? Exposition has a define term for it, which is ‘completing the ‘original nature of creation(창조본성완성).’ In the Korean text, this phrase appears 23 times to describe the status of individual perfection; however, the English version of Exposition doesn’t hold a clear and consistent concept and usage of it. It deficiently translates the phrase as ‘perfect character’ or ‘original nature’ missing the word ‘creation’ which is a crucial language concerning the Divine Character in Unification Thought discussed above. For instance,
The Israelites were then to receive the Messiah, be reborn through him, be cleansed of their original sin, and restore their original nature(original nature of creation) by uniting with God in heart. In this way, they were to attain the ultimate goal of becoming perfect incarnations.[39]
By being one with the invisible Creator through gong myeong jeong, the ‘masculine subjective nature’ is formed as the ‘original nature of creation’ in the spirit mind, which means the very nature of Heavenly Parent embodied by humans. This state can be ontologically perceived as ‘God dwells in me,’ or ‘Christ lives in me.’ For this reason, being one with the invisible Creator in heart, which is the completion of the original nature of creation is a major point of emphasis in the Korean text with regard to the individual perfection.
Therefore, strictly speaking, human portion of responsibility of Adam and Eve is not ‘to return joy to God,’ ‘not to eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil’ nor ‘accomplishing the three great blessings.’ It is the completion of the ‘original nature of creation,’ upon which the realization of the Second and the Third Blessings naturally occurs establishing the kingdom of heaven on earth as Exposition states below:
Then, by engrafting all people with himself, humankind would have been reborn, cleansed of the original sin, and would have become one with God in heart. They would have restored their original, God-given nature (original nature of creation) and built the Kingdom of Heaven on earth in Jesus’ day.[40]
Unificationism advocates the lineage of Heavenly Parent as that of the original nature of creation of True Parents, in comparison with the lineage of Satan as that of the fallen nature of Adam and Eve. It is noteworthy that Exposition clarifies four categories of the fallen nature, but holds no elucidation regarding the characteristics of the original nature of creation. Exposition states the qualities of the numbers 12, 4, 21, 40 in order to numerically demonstrate the standard of individual perfection rather than merely expressing ‘being one with God in heart.’ By the same token, Unificationism needs to elucidate the characteristics of the original nature of creation in order to linguistically exhibit the standard of individual perfection. The definition of the terminology has been dealt with in the prior section of this article.
3. Joy through the ‘Completion of the Purpose of Creation(창조목적완성: 創造目的完成)’ and the ‘Realization of the Ideal of Creation (창조이상실현: 創造理想実現)’
The ‘completion of the purpose of creation’ and the ‘realization of the ideal of creation’ are other noteworthy Unification vocabulary which illustrate the significance of God’s Heavenly Parentship through the true human ancestors. However, the English version of Exposition doesn’t effectively demonstrate the difference of the two. The Korean text uses these phrases in a distinguished manner conveying separate concepts, which are directly related to the theme of this article.
Curiously enough, Unification Thought attempts and nevertheless apparently fails to interpret and discern the dissimilarity of the two as follows:
The ideal of creation refers to “the state in which the goal is realized,” and the purpose of creation refers to “the goal which will be realized in the future.” In fact, as already stated, the ideal of creation is “the state in which God’s love is fully realized through human beings who resemble God.” On the other hand, the purpose of creation is “to seek joy through the object partner,” which is the goal to attain in the future. If we speak in grammatical terms, the ideal of creation is expressed in the future perfect tense, while the purpose of creation is expressed in the future tense. Hence, the ideal of creation is “the state in which the purpose of creation has been realized,” and “the purpose of creation is attained when the ideal of creation is realized.”[41]
I assume this ambiguous definition stems from the notion in Unification Thought which differentiates the purpose of God, the Creator, and the purpose of human beings, the created, as follows:
In addition to the original meaning explained above, the purpose of creation in the Divine Principle sometimes refers to the purpose for being created, and the ideal of creation. The original meaning of the purpose of creation is that “God seeks joy through created beings.” In other words, the purpose of creation is “the purpose established by God, the Creator,” and at the same time “the purpose established in His creation.” In the Divine Principle, however, the purpose of creation is used also in the sense of the purpose for being created. For example, “a person who has realized the purpose of creation” (DP, 112, 167) means “a person who has realized the purpose for being created.” To be precise, the purpose of creation is the purpose of God, the Creator, to seek joy, and the purpose for being created is the purpose of human beings to return joy to God.[42]
It may be said that Unification Thought feels the necessity to articulate here that the ‘purpose of creation’ belongs to the invisible Creator, not humans the created, for the clarity of the vocabulary. But human beings who reached individual perfection are considered as ‘the second creators.’ Moreover, the invisible Creator and human beings have an eclipsed purpose of creation which is ‘to have human’s body’ and ‘to become the invisible Creator’s body’ respectively. Hence, the division of ‘the purpose of creation’ and ‘the purpose for being created’ is unnecessary from the perspective of the ontological union of the invisible Creator and human beings. Furthermore, most significantly, this enunciation of terminology in Unification Thought doesn’t clarify the relationship between the joy of the invisible Creator and that of humans.
In order to unlock this issue and resolve the complication here, we need to focus on the predominant precept that characterizes the ontological relationship of the invisible Creator with Adam and Eve: it is, as consistently discussed in this paper, ‘to be one with human beings,’ which is “the eternal principle of creation,”[43] so that humans become the embodiment of the invisible Creator.
Adam and Eve needed to grow well and become God’s bodies. (Aug. 8, 2013)[44]
God created human beings as His bodies. (Dec. 20, 2014)[45]
When the human’s mind as the object partner becomes one with the invisible Creator as the subject partner and then such mind as the subject partner becomes one with the body as the object partner, the resulting status connotes individual perfection on the human side to embody the invisible Creator in heart. For the invisible Creator, it signifies to grow to have bodies. This is the ‘completion of the purpose of creation,’ the First Blessing as Father stated below:
The completion of the purpose of creation means individual perfection. If you want to be married, you need to complete the purpose of creation.[46]
This understanding of the completion of the purpose of creation as individual perfection fits the notion of the titles of sections in Chapter 7 Christology in Exposition.[47] Therefore, we need to recognize the purpose of creation, not with a teleological approach such as ‘to feel joy’ or ‘to return joy to God’ but with an ontological approach that humans reach individual perfection in order for the invisible Creator to have their bodies through gong myeong joeng.
Human embodiment of the invisible Creator in heart means that the invisible Creator is now prepared to experience joy through them, which is the ‘realization of the ideal of creation’; and its first stage is their love relationships, the Second Blessing.
What is God’s will? The first is the completion of the purpose of creation and then the second is the realization of the ideal of creation. What does it mean the realization of the ideal of creation? It means the unity of man and woman: they meet and become one in love.[48]
Furthermore, the invisible Creator comes prepared to enjoy the Third Blessing through such humans, which is another feature of the ‘realization of the ideal of creation.’
God blessed Adam and Eve to dominate the whole universe but it is not their bodies to do that. It is God who enters their mind and dominates it.[49]
It is God who is to complete the dominion over all things. Adam and Eve are God’s bodies. They were created because God wanted to dominate the universe, Himself.[50]
In conclusion, as Dr. Hak Ja Han Moonhas accentuated in the past eight years, the responsibility of Adam and Eve is to become one in heart with the invisible Creator. This will complete the original nature of creation(창조본성완성) in their spirit mind, which then can stand as subject partner to their bodies. The status in which such mind and body become one as a subject and object partner respectively, means individual perfection (the First Blessing), manifesting the nature of Heavenly Parent through them, and this is the completion of the purpose of creation(창조목적완성). Then, Heavenly Parent, through fully matured humans, enjoys love relationships (the Second Blessing) and dominion over all things (the Third Blessing), which signifies the realization of the ideal of creation(창조이상실현).
Therefore, the perplexing interpretation of the purpose of creation and the ideal of creation in Unification Thought derives from an inappropriate notion that separates the purpose of the invisible Creator to seek joy and the purpose of created beings to return joy to the invisible Creator. As elucidated above, it is the completion of the purpose of creation that enables the invisible Creator to be embodied by humans in heart. This signifies their joy become mutual and bilateral: Heavenly Parent and humans rejoice jointly in the realization of the ideal of creation, that is, the direct dominion over human beings and the natural world respectively.
4. Absolute Status of True Parents as the Eternal True Human Ancestors
The everlasting dwelling of the invisible Creator in True Parents as Heavenly Parent entitles them to be the eternal visible hyung sang of Heavenly Parent. Therefore, True Parents are the permanent true human ancestors in both spirit and physical worlds, through whom Heavenly Parent relates to all humanity in the spirit world and physical world in the past, present and future. In this regard, although all human beings are to become the bodies of Heavenly Parent, Rev. and Dr. Moon hold an absolute status as the eternal true human ancestors. On this point, Rev. Hyung Jin Moon expounded as follows:
Father often says when we are in the spirit world, we will see God in the form of True Parents and the messages from the spirit also stated that. How can we understand this? Like all human beings, Father has the spirit self and the physical self, both of which consist of mind and body respectively: The spirit self has a spirit mind and spirit body, and the physical self has a physical mind and physical body. When we see people on earth, we only see their physical self, not their spirit self. By the same token, when we see people in the spirit world where we exist as a spirit self, we only see their spirit body, not their spirit mind. We must remember here that God has no body of the spirit self, that is, the spirit body, which means God exists as spirit mind. That's why we can't see God like we can't see people's spirit selves on earth. The spirit self's spirit mind and spirit body, which are its mind and body, are inseparable. Therefore, God, who is united with Father in the spirit mind, comes to use Father's spirit body, and consequently, when we see Father in the spirit world, it means we see God. That’s why Jesus was called ‘Immanuel’, which means ‘God with us.’[51]
Therefore, both the invisible Creator and humankind have no reason to require the second or third True Parents. Only one single couple of true human ancestors are essential through whom the invisible Creator invariably and eternally appears as Heavenly Parent.
True Parents are eternally one couple. There won’t be the second or third ones. (July 23, 2015)[52]
Conclusion
‘God as Heavenly Parent’ went unnoticed until January, 2013 even in Unification tradition. However, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon’s statement that year was not the benefit of hindsight, but to designate the unprecedented triumph of True Parents as humans. The eternal unity of divinity and humanity between the invisible Creator and True Parents through gong myeong jeong (공명정) completed the original nature of creation(창조본성완성) in them, which means the manifestation of Heavenly Parent in heaven and the settlement of the True Parents of Heaven, Earth, and Humankind on earth as true human ancestors.
In this respect, the invisible Creator alone was not inherently Heavenly Parent: ‘God as Heavenly Parent’ entirely rests on, not the mere proclamation but the triumph of True Parents as true human ancestors. Especially, it was Dr. Hak Ja Han Moonas the centerpiece of this unprecedented accomplishment, who became the embodiment of the Holy Spirit for the first time in human history through the completion of the purpose of creation(창조목적완성). This individual achievement of Dr. Hak Ja Han Moonas well as Rev. Sun Myung Moon finalized together the ideal of creation(창조이상실현) of the invisible Creator, who could eventually and finally emerge as Heavenly Parent.
Thus, ‘God as Heavenly Parent,’ a cutting-edge theology and the kerygma of Cheon Il Guk era, finally emerged, not from theological or philosophical reflection, but from ontological accomplishment of True Parents in relation to the invisible Creator. Consequently, ‘God as Heavenly Parent,’ is indeed in the vanguard of the unparalleled ontological progress in human history secured by True Parents as true human ancestors. This extraordinary triumph of True Parents is the fulcrum for the commence of the kingdom of heaven on earth, which signifies the new and true Genesis of Heavenly Parent and humankind. Additionally, it is genuinely fortunate for all humankind that True Parents linguistically externalized such victory through the plain terminology I discussed in this paper so that we can comprehend the ontological relationship between Heavenly Parent, human beings and all creatures in the original state.
Notes
[1] Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife Mrs. Hak Ja Han Moon are affectionately referred to as True Parents by Unificationists, which means the Christs, Saviors and true human ancestors. Also Rev. Moon is referred to as True Father and Dr. Moon as True Mother in this context.
[2] Unification Thought Institute, New Essentials of Unification Thought, (Tokyo: Kogensha, 2006): 1.
[3] New Essentials, 1-2.
[4] Exposition of the Divine Principle(Seoul: Sung Hwa Publishing Co., 2013), p. 19.
[5] Exposition, p.19
[6] Exposition, p.21.
[7] Sa, Gil Ja, A Testimony to God’s Word in Regard to Divine Principle, (Seoul: MyongWon Media, 2014), p.79-80.
[8] Peace TV http://www.ipeacetv.com/vod_view/10594, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[9] Peace TV http://www.ipeacetv.com/vod_view/7140, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[10] Peace TV http://www.ipeacetv.com/vod_view/10457, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[11] Wolli Wonbon, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[12] “God wanted to become Heavenly Parent but humans ruined it.” (May 1, 2019) See Peace TV http://www.ipeacetv.com/vod_view/10517, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[13] “Jesus is the 2nd Adam who came as a body of God.” From Wolli Wonbon, translated by Katsumi Kambahi
[14] Peace TV, http://www.ipeacetv.com/vod_view/8573, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[15] Peace TV, http://www.ipeacetv.com/vod_view/6885, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[16] Peace TV, http://www.ipeacetv.com/vod_view/5856, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[17] Peace TV, http://www.ipeacetv.com/vod_view/6994, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[18] Peace TV, http://www.ipeacetv.com/vod_view/7318, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[19] Peace TV, http://www.ipeacetv.com/vod_view/10517, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[20] Peace TV, http://www.ipeacetv.com/vod_view/6805, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[21] Peace TV, http://www.ipeacetv.com/vod_view/8125, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[22] Stephen K. Nomura, “God as Masculine Subject Partner,” Journal of Unification Studies Vol. 4 (2001-2002): 57-72.
[23] Sa, Gil Ja: 79-80.
[24] Nomura, “God as Masculine Subject Partner,”: 57-72.
[25] New Essentials, 15-17.
[26] New Essentials, 15.
[27] New Essentials, 45.
[28] New Essentials, 33.
[29] From Rev. Moon’s last official speech “Cosmic Assembly for the Settlement of the True Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind and for the Proclamation of the Word by God's Substantial Self”
[30] The Unification Church Committee for the Compilation of the Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon # 304 translated in general by Katsumi Kambashi; (Seoul: Sunghwa Publishing, CO., LTD, 2012), 38-53.
[31] Exposition, p.21.
[32] Exposition, p.172.
[33] www.tparents.org.(Jan. 14, 2011, Jan. 15, 2011, Jan. 17, 2011, Jan. 19, 2011)
[34] Wolli Wonbon, translated by Katsumi Kambashi.
[35] Wolli Wonbon, translated by Katsumi Kambashi.
[36] Exposition, p.48.
[37] Exposition, p.60
[38] The Unification Church Committee for the Compilation of the Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon # 599 (Seoul: Sunghwa Publishing, CO., LTD, 2012), p.179.Translated by Katsumi Kambashi.
[38] Exposition,p. 25.
[39] Exposition, p.233.
[40] Exposition, p.276-277
[41] New Essentials, 91-96.
[42]New Essentials, 94.
[43] Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon during her prayer for bequeathing 4 great holy items on April 21, 2016) translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[44] Peace TV, http://www.ipeacetv.com/vod_view/3133, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[45] Peace TV, http://ipeacetv.com/vod_view/4706, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[46] The Unification Church Committee for the Compilation of the Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon # 85 (Seoul: Sunghwa Publishing, CO., LTD, 2012), p.175.Translated by Katsumi Kambashi.
[47] Exposition, p.63-166. Section 1 - The Value of A Person Who Has Realized the Purpose of Creation, Section 2 - Jesus and the Person Who Has Realized the Purpose of Creation, and Section 3 - Jesus, Human Beings, and The Fulfilment of the Purse of Creation.
[48] The Unification Church Committee for the Compilation of the Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon # 156 (Seoul: Sunghwa Publishing, CO., LTD, 2012), p.227.Translated by Katsumi Kambashi.
[49] The Unification Church Committee for the Compilation of the Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon # 156, p.227
[50] Wolli Wonbon, translated by Katsumi Kambashi
[51] During his service on May 17, 2012, at Cheon Bok Gung
[52] Peace TV, http://www.ipeacetv.com/vod_view/5353, translated by Katsumi Kambashi