Why did God Create the universe and me? 10/05/11

It's not materialistic, it's not idealistic, it's not dualistic; it's actually a Biblical theology, a sacramental theology, a Biblical philosophy very much grounded in that. This has often been one of the weaknesses of traditional Christian theology, as it has been wedded very much to Greek philosophy. For example, someone like Saint Augustine based his theology upon Plato, which is very heavily Platonistic. Then you had someone called Thomas Aquinas, who based his whole philosophy and theology upon Aristotle. I'm not saying that Plato and Aquinas weren't brilliant and profound philosophers, but their philosophy wasn't biblically based, whereas the Divine Principle is biblically based in a way that traditional Christian philosophy hasn't been. In that sense, it is actually much closer to Judaism, and partly this comes from its sort of Taoism as well.

The next question is then, if we understand a little bit about the nature of God, why did God create the universe and why did God create me? What is the purpose and meaning of life? We could say that everything has a purpose, and the purpose is determined by the Creator, not by the created being or the created thing. So, who decides what the purpose of a guitar is? The maker gives it a purpose, and if that purpose is fulfilled, then the maker is happy. You can imagine the guitar, if it had some consciousness, would also be happy. Supposing you made a guitar and you're a very good guitar maker, and then you made a guitar that somebody like John Williams, a great guitarist from my generation, played. You would feel incredibly proud. You would tell people around you, 'I made that guitar,' and if it wasn't for you, he wouldn't be able to produce such extraordinary music. You would have this incredible sense of pride.

On the other hand, if you made something to produce music and you saw somebody who was a thug using it to bash someone over the head, you would feel heartbroken. You would feel that the thing you made has been misused; its value has not been fulfilled. That's why it's very important to try and understand why God created human beings. If there is a God and if God did create us, then He created us for some purpose. If we can understand what the purpose for which we were created is and we can fulfill that purpose, then we can fulfill our potential to the maximum. If, on the other hand, we don't understand what the purpose of life is and we give our life a purpose that is different from that, we might miss the point.

Happiness comes when our desires are fulfilled. If you're hungry and your desires are fulfilled, you're happy. If there's somebody you miss and you see that person, your desires are fulfilled and you're happy. So, happiness comes when our desires are fulfilled. Depending on what the desire is, it experiences happiness. When I was young, I used to collect stamps. I remember when the beginning of summer came, I used to play outside all the time, and then when autumn came, I went inside and forgot all about my stamps. It was raining, and I couldn't go outside, so I took the stamp album off the shelf and looked at it. I was really surprised because it was exactly the same way as it was when I left it. I realised it didn't matter whether I attached it or looked at it or not; it wouldn't change. It was unchanging and didn't really care about me in that sense.

I used to collect these little rocks, and when I went to see my mother last year, she said to me, 'This is a rock collection I had when you were about six or seven or eight years old. Do you remember that rock collection you had?' I said yes, and she asked if I would like it because she had kept it for the last 50 years. I said okay, I'll have a look. She brought it, and it was one of these little chocolate boxes which I had made into lots of little compartments. I had all these little specimen rocks inside it, which I had labelled. I looked at it, and I hadn't looked at it for 50 years, but it was exactly the same as it was the last time I looked at it when I was a little boy. I realised these rocks had been here for millions of years, and after I die, they're still going to be here for millions of years. They don't need me in that sense; they're just there. I can dust them, I can polish them, but they don't depend upon me at all.

I realised the depth of relationship I can have with a rock is relatively shallow, except for diamonds, of course. When you're a child, you plant a little bulb, and you water it, and it grows. You realise that this flower, this plant, depends upon you; if you didn't water it, it would die. You can have a closer relationship with a plant than you can with a rock. But again, if you try and pick it and take it for a walk, it dies. That's why people often want to have a pet. You start off with a hamster or mouse, then a cat or dog. You have a much closer relationship with an animal than you can with a plant or rock because we have much more in common with an animal than we do with plants or rocks. If you've got a dog, you can train your dog to do tricks and play games. You can become very close to a pet.

People often say a dog is a man's best friend. But supposing you're a poet and you take your dog for a walk, you sit down on a park bench and say, 'Oh, look at the sunset. What do you think of that beautiful sunset?' The dog sitting there goes, 'Woof, woof.' Then you take out your poem and read it to the dog, and the dog goes, 'Woof, woof,' if you're lucky. You can have a very close relationship, but there is a limitation to the depth of the relationship you can have with a dog or any other creature. People also want to have human company; they have friends, people they can talk to and share not just their poems but everything. We long to form friendships with people with whom we have something in common. When we see our friends, we're happy.

After a while, sometimes people find someone they feel they can share everything with. They long to find someone they can talk to, share their heart, mind, ideas, and everything with. That person can understand them and respond. Yes, a dog can't do that, and many human beings can't either. But eventually, you try to find someone you feel you can share your whole heart with, and that person has the capacity to receive everything you want to say and can respond. That's what we long for. When you find somebody like that, you feel you want to spend the rest of your life with this person because with this person, you can be yourself. You don't need to put on any kind of mask; you can just be yourself, and this person loves you unconditionally just the way you are. You feel that you can share the whole of your life with this person and grow together.

My wife often points out when she sees an old couple walking down the street with walking sticks, 'I hope we're like that in the future.' I look at them and think, 'What, with all those wrinkles and walking sticks?' But this idea of just growing together and coming closer and closer is what the Principle says. We experience joy when we have an object in which our own nature is reflected and complemented, an object which stimulates us to feel and discover ourselves. There are people like that; through a relationship with this person, you discover all kinds of things about yourself. You find yourself reflecting this person, complemented and stimulated, and the relationship gets deeper and deeper as the years go by.

If that is the way that joy is produced, then you can imagine that if that's the way we are, that's probably the way God is. God also created the universe because He wanted to have an object with which He could share His heart. That's why God created us in His image and likeness. The Principle says that the object partner helps us to feel our own internal nature and external form through the stimulation it gives. The question is then, can God discover or know Himself by Himself? If you need an object partner to be able to feel your own internal nature, does that apply to God as well? I guess so. The Principle says when the idea alone is the object partner, it's not as stimulating, nor is the joy as profound as from a finished work.

For example, you may have an idea of a painting, but is that satisfying for very long? You may get really inspired by this idea, but if you don't do it, what happens to that inspiration? If you're married, what will make you happy: the idea of having children or actually having children? It's actually having them that brings joy. So, what would make God happy: the idea of a perfect object or a substantial object? That's why God created the substantial world, because God could have created all these things in His head, but it wouldn't have been a substantial experience of joy. The joy is not as profound when you actually get a finished product. You can have a brilliant idea that inspires you, but if you can actually make that substantial, then your joy is much more profound and complete.

God then wants to have a relationship of love with beings like Himself. That's why God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.' God was looking for an object that He could love and which had the capacity to receive His love and respond to that love. God created the universe, all the planets, stars, and galaxies. Everything was created by God, and I'm sure He experienced incredible joy when He looked at it. But God was looking for something with which He could relate as an equal, something that could understand Him. Do rocks have the capacity to understand God? Do flowers? Do cats? That's why God is waiting for a being and hoping a being would emerge that would have that capacity. That's why it says in the Psalms, 'I say you are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you.'

This idea that God created us to be as gods is quite a shocking idea. The psalmist, when he looked at the heavens, the work of God's fingers, the moon and the stars which He has made, asked, 'What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?' Yet, you've made him a little less than God and crowned him with glory and honour. Here, the psalmist is looking at this amazing universe and has this intuition that the creator of the universe cares about him and is interested in him. That's quite shocking. You might think, for example, if the Queen phoned you up, how would you feel? Honoured and surprised? Yes, you'd feel really inspired. This idea that the God who created the universe is actually interested in me, knows me by name, is a really shocking but profound idea.

That's why Father says God's purpose in creating human beings is to experience joy through relating with ideal families filled with true love. God wants to live and dwell with His children, as it says in the Book of Revelation. Another reason why God created human beings is that He wants to interact with creation. God is invisible and without form, so because God is invisible and without form, even though He created the universe, He can't rule it without a body. What is the world like when it's ruled by God alone? Supposing you had a patch of grass and said, 'I'm going to let God look after my garden.' How would it turn out? Pretty wild, wouldn't it? God actually can't rule the universe without a body; it's sort of wild but also very chaotic. There is a deep order within the chaos. God created human beings as His body in that sense, and by becoming one with human beings, God can experience creation. Through us, God is able to do the gardening, experience getting His hands dirty, experience the clay and the earth, planting something, growing something, and experimenting. God can have dominion over creation, but without human beings, God has no body and can't have dominion over the creative world. The world is in what we call the indirect dominion of God.

If God is invisible and without form, on what basis is it possible for Him to be involved in the process of designing? Some people talk about intelligent design, so if God is invisible and without form, how can He engage in intelligent design? It is possible because He figured out the nature of energy before it transmuted into matter, knowing the course it would take from the mass of particles to the galaxies. He aspired to bring forth the evolution of His children, and we are supposed to take it from there. To that extent, I feel like God predicted where everything would end up. However, I don't think He knew how it would turn out at all. I believe He set it up so that one day, somewhere, life would appear with consciousness, with which He could form a relationship. But I don't think He knew where it would happen, when it would happen, or what it would look like. I think all these things just happened. The question is, if God is without form and cannot intervene directly in the universe, then He must have been waiting; He wasn't involved. That's what I think.

So, what is the relationship between man and creation? God created us as beings of love, and through responding to God, we become very beautiful to Him and experience joy. When you see something beautiful, how do you feel? Happy. When you listen to beautiful music, you feel happy. When you see a beautiful person, you feel happy. When you experience joy with the person you love, you see them as very beautiful, and that is a relationship—a subject-object relationship. We should love and take care of the creative world, and through this, we can also experience joy. The joy that we experience is the joy that God experiences through us, and in turn, God can experience the relationship with the creative world through us.

If we are supposed to become like God, the question is: how can we become like God? How can we become the body of God, the dwelling place of God, as Paul said, the imitators of God as beloved children? If you want to imitate God and become like Him, what do you need to know? You need to understand the principles of the process of creation. So, what else do you need to know? You need to know what God is like. The Divine Principle tells us about the internal and external aspects of masculinity and femininity. If we look at the internal dimension of the nature of God, we see that God is a being of heart. The heart is the source of intellect, emotion, and will. Therefore, God is a being of heart, and He is also a being of logos. Logos is a Greek word usually translated in the Bible as 'the Word,' but it also has associated meanings like reason and law.

God is a being of reason and law. The laws of nature govern the relationships between things in the natural world, while the moral law or ethics governs the relationships between human beings. Ethics, or relationships among human beings, should be relationships of love. We have many different types of relationships of love, such as those between parents and children, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, friends, uncles, aunts, and cousins. All these relationships are quite different. Ethics is about relationships of ordered love. God is also very creative; He created the universe. If God is a being of heart, logos, and creativity, what is the mechanism that God set out for us to inherit His heart, logos, and creativity to become like Him? You will know it when you come across it: it is life.

To become like God, He gave human beings the three great blessings. As it says, God blessed Adam and Eve and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the Earth and subdue it.' The first blessing, to be fruitful, means to inherit God's heart and become a person sensitive to the heart of God. The second blessing, to multiply, involves getting married, having children, and creating a family. Through this, we experience different relationships of love and inherit God's nature of logos. The third blessing is dominion, which means that through taking dominion over the natural world, we can inherit God's creativity. By fulfilling the three blessings, we become fully human and also fully divine, becoming like God.

Let's take a closer look at the first blessing, to be fruitful. This is the ability to create and complete our character. What does that mean? We have the potential to create ourselves. Everything we think, say, and do contributes to who we are. The way I am today is a result of everything I thought, said, and did in the past. What I say, think, and do today will affect the kind of person I become tomorrow. Does that make sense? This is an existential reality; we are the result of our past decisions. If we had made different decisions, we would be different today. The environment certainly influences us, but how we react and respond to the environment is up to us. If someone says something to us, we can choose how to react. We can choose to respond with love or anger, and that choice shapes who we become.

Many of our thoughts come from our environment, which often influences the script running in our heads. This script is shaped by our family and our basic attitude towards life. However, we can change this script if we encounter different ideas or ways of thinking. For example, people may start to meditate, study philosophy, engage in literature, or join a religious group to change the way they think. Through these experiences, they can change their self-perception and how they view the world. The goal, as Jesus said, is to be complete as your heavenly Father is complete. This is often translated as 'perfect,' but the original meaning is more about being complete, which is more attainable. It doesn't mean being flawless; it means growing up and maturing, which is a much more realistic goal. Even a mature person makes mistakes, but they learn and grow from those experiences.

I felt a bit peckish and a little hungry, but I ignored it and carried on writing. After a while, my stomach started rumbling, and I couldn't ignore it any longer. I thought I would just turn into the kitchen and have a little snack before returning to finish my essay. I made myself a peanut butter sandwich and ate it, thinking I could manage another one. So, I had a second peanut butter and jam sandwich, followed by a third peanut butter sandwich. By that time, I was completely bloated and stuffed, and I thought I would sit down and get back to my work. However, I picked up my pen and realised I couldn't write another word. I realised that by giving in to my physical desire, I had killed my spirit; my body had overwhelmed my mind. All the inspiration was lost because I had succumbed to my physical desires. This illustrates the importance of mindful unity between the mind and body. The mind is the subject, while the body is the object, and the body then becomes an expression of beauty, truth, and goodness through our physical actions. Everything we do should express beauty, truth, and goodness, leading us to become true individuals.

One of the key points here is the concept of Mind-Body Unity. Many learners engage in activities like dance or martial arts to achieve this unity. When you watch someone performing ballet or martial arts, it is extraordinarily beautiful to observe. There is a certain perfection in motion that captivates the audience. This is one aspect of Mind-Body Unity, which is why people often pursue these types of sports. Achieving this unity brings about incredible concentration and a flow of energy, leaving one feeling elated afterwards. This is akin to mind-body literacy, where concentration plays a crucial role. For instance, when watching someone play snooker, you can see their complete focus. If they lose concentration, the ball won't go into the pocket. Similarly, in fencing, losing concentration means losing the point. This highlights the importance of Mind-Body Unity in being able to concentrate fully.

When studying or reading a book, concentration is essential. If you are constantly distracted, you will find yourself repeatedly asking what a paragraph was about, hindering your progress. This is why some people practice meditation; through meditation, you learn to focus the mind and body, allowing for complete unity. This enables you to concentrate, study, and read quickly while retaining what you have read. If you are distracted, you cannot penetrate the real issues at hand. Concentration is vital for spiritual discipline, and meditation is an excellent practice for achieving this. Another aspect of unity involves words and deeds becoming one. The importance of keeping promises cannot be overstated. Learning to say, 'I will do this,' and then following through is crucial. One of the most remarkable things about Jesus was that there was no difference between what He said and what He did. He taught us to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbours as ourselves, including our enemies. What is remarkable is that He lived by these principles, even asking God to forgive those who were crucifying Him. There was complete unity in His mind and body, embodying a mature and wholehearted person.

When we engage in activities, we should do so wholeheartedly. For instance, if you dislike washing the dishes, you may feel drained by the experience. However, if you put your heart into it, washing the dishes can become meaningful, and you may even find enjoyment in it. You might wonder how it is possible to enjoy doing the dishes. Many people approach it with the mindset of making the dishes clean and presentable for those who will use them. If you are washing dishes for your family, you want them to eat off something clean, which adds significance to the task. By thinking of it as restoring something for others, you can find meaning in what may seem like mundane activities. This mindful approach transforms external tasks into meaningful experiences. It requires concentration and focus to avoid distractions, as losing focus can lead to accidents, such as dropping a dish.

The most important aspect here is the sensitivity of the heart of God. To achieve Mind-Body Unity, we must be able to feel God's presence and understand how He feels. When you see someone in distress, you should empathise and feel their suffering as if it were your own. I remember when I was a child, I would cry if I saw another child being mistreated because I could feel their pain. As I grew older, I became less sensitive, which is not how it should be. We should strive to be sensitive to God's heart and feel how He feels. God embodies intellect, emotion, and will, and we also possess these qualities. Our emotions should align with God's desires for beauty and truth. When we see beauty, we should feel happiness, and our feelings should reflect God's feelings. As we think and pursue truth, our will should naturally align with God's will, leading us to do good spontaneously and naturally. This is the fulfilment of the first blessing, becoming the embodiment of God's truth and a true teacher.

Everything we think, say, and do shapes our character. For example, in the story of Dorian Gray, we see how one's actions can create a façade that hides their true self. Dorian lived a desolate life, yet his face appeared innocent, while a painting revealed his true character, becoming increasingly ugly. This illustrates how we create ourselves through our actions. People often use makeup to create a certain impression, attempting to recreate themselves through their appearance. This self-creation influences how others react to us. Our relationships with others also play a significant role in shaping our identity. We all have parents and relationships with other human beings, which are essential for our development. Our sense of self is largely formed through these interactions, particularly how our parents treat us. Their treatment influences our feelings of worth and love, shaping our identity.

God desires for us to inherit His nature, which encompasses various types of love. When we are born, we experience the love our parents have for us, and we also develop a certain love for them. Children often idolise their parents, viewing them as perfect. I remember when I came home from work, my young son would bring me my slippers, and I felt he thought I was perfect. However, this admiration is often short-lived. As we grow, we experience different kinds of love, including the unique love between a husband and wife. This relationship is distinct and characterised by a desire for exclusivity. While we may have many friends, the bond between spouses is unique and special. When a couple has children, it is an expression of their love, and through parenthood, they experience a different type of love—the love a parent has for a child. I recall my mother saying that I would never understand their sacrifices until I had children of my own. This is true; having children helps us appreciate our parents' hearts and the patience they exhibited. Through parenthood, we begin to understand God's heart and the joy and suffering He experiences in His relationship with us. God wants us to experience the fullness of love, which is why He allows us to go through these experiences. As John Chrysostom said, when a husband and wife are united in marriage, they reflect the image of God. This unity embodies the harmony of masculinity and femininity, representing God's image. Through this family school of love, we experience various dimensions of love. The letter of John states that if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love is made complete in us. This statement is profound, as it highlights the relationship between God and love.

This perspective is quite new, as it suggests that if God is without us, His love cannot be made complete. God's love cannot be fully realised without each individual; without you and without me. Each one of us is a unique expression of God, and through our relationships with Him, we allow God to experience Himself in ways that are distinct and personal. No single individual can be the complete expression of God; rather, every individual is an expression of the divine nature. Thus, each of us has infinite, unique, eternal, and divine value because of our relationship with God.

Even if all the people in the spirit world and on Earth were to become perfect and aligned with God, there remains an infinite potential for future beings to exist. God, being infinite and eternal, does not feel tortured by those who have yet to exist. This infinite depth to the mystery of God allows for an eternal connection with each other. We can never fully understand ourselves or each other, and every time a new individual comes into being, God discovers a part of Himself. This also applies to those who have never been born, as there are countless potential human beings that could have existed.

When we consider the vast number of eggs in a woman and the sperm in a man, it becomes clear that only a small fraction will ever be born. This highlights the value of our existence and relationships. People often feel a sense of emptiness until they find their future partner, as that relationship brings joy and fulfilment. Our value comes from our relationship with God, and through love, we experience joy. Meeting someone we love brings happiness, and the purpose of life can be seen as the pursuit of joy through various relationships, whether with family, friends, or in our social lives.

The relationships we form reflect who we are. Some individuals may find themselves in constant conflict, while others get along well with everyone. Learning to form diverse relationships is part of our journey. Love is a profound expression, and it is patient and kind. I recall a time when my child wanted to play with a toy car repeatedly. I had to set aside my philosophical thoughts and simply enjoy the moment, demonstrating patience and kindness. Love encompasses various dimensions and creates life, and we wear many hats in our relationships, whether as a parent, sibling, or friend.

God desires us to inherit creativity, and while we cannot create universes, we can express ourselves through our actions. The first job for humanity, as illustrated in the Garden of Eden, is to be gardeners, taking care of our environment. By naming and caring for creation, we show our authority and responsibility. Our relationship with the natural world should be one of harmony and oneness, allowing us to inherit God's creativity.

We express ourselves through various forms of creativity, whether through art, music, or even the way we dress. Every action, from painting to gardening, reflects who we are. The purpose of life is to fulfil these fundamental lessons: to be fruitful, to multiply, and to take dominion. This involves nurturing our relationships with our minds, bodies, other people, and the natural world in meaningful ways that express joy and morality. As teachers and parents, we must practice what we preach, serving others with love and patience.