Glossary Of Principle Terms
Abel:
The second son of Adam and the representative of God's side in human affairs. In absolute terms, Abel represents Adam before the fall, and the pure, original mind within fallen human beings. In the fallen world, Abel is relatively good, or close to God, compared with others around him (or her). From this position of closeness to God, Abel should serve Cain, winning him to God's side through love.
Adam:
As the original man, Adam was the first of God's creations fully endowed with the spiritual and physical attributes which distinguish human beings from the rest of creation, and give them the potential, and responsibility, to fulfill the three blessings. Adam was created to be the incarnation, or image, of God's masculinity, and, as such, to be the prototype of a true man. To realize this potential, Adam had to participate in his own perfection by exercising his portion of responsibility.
Angel:
The highest creation prior to human beings, angels are spiritual beings without physical bodies, whose purpose is to serve God and human beings by helping both fulfill their purposes. In the history of restoration, angels appear as messengers of God sent to guide and assist humanity.
Blessing:
The ceremony in which a man and woman are engrafted into the lineage of the True Parents as a married couple. It is a ceremony of rebirth and the starting point for a couple to establish a true family and change its lineage from Satan's dominion to God's.
Blessings:
God's endowment of human beings with abilities and rights that enable men and women to fulfill their potential as co-creators and objects of love to God. Human purpose is fulfilled (and joy experienced) through realization of the three blessings.
Cain:
The first son of Adam and the representative of Satan's side in human affairs. In absolute terms, Cain represents the Servant before the fall, and the impure, fallen nature within fallen human beings. In the fallen world, Cain is relatively evil, or distant from God, compared with Abel. Cain should overcome his (or her) natural resentment towards Abel by learning to share, and express, God's love for Abel.
Cain and Abel Positions:
As the sons of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel represented the two natures of their parents: fallen and original. The fallen nature came from the dominion of the Servant over Adam. Therefore, the relationship between Adam and the Servant was to be righted in the second generation of Adam's family. A person in the Cain position represents the Servant relative to the person in the Abel position, who represents Adam. When they restore the Adam-Servant relationship, they lay a foundation of substance for the restoration of Adam and Eve. The same person or nation may be Cain in one relationship and Abel in another: Cain and Abel are relative positions.
Central Figure:
A person chosen to take Adam's position in restoration of the fall by making indemnity conditions to lay a foundation for true parents. Major central figures in the history of restoration were Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, and so on. Also, each individual is the central figure of his or her own restoration, and must make a personal foundation to restore their fallen nature and receive true parents.
Change of Lineage:
The process whereby fallen men and women leave the realm of Satan's dominion in the sinful lineage of Adam and Eve and are reborn into the realm of God's dominion in the sinless lineage of true' parents through an engrafting process. This is effected through the blessing.
Commandment, The:
God's instruction to Adam and Eve prohibiting them from 'eating the forbidden fruit,' meaning they were not permitted to engage in illicit love.
Conscience:
The interaction of the spirit mind and physical mind centered on what a person believes to be the truth. It is the moral voice of human mind and the object of original mind. It seeks to direct humans to the fulfillment of their true purpose as beings of absolute value.
Consummation of History:
The time period when Satan's sovereignty of evil is ended and God's sovereignty of good begins.
Death:
There are two kinds of human death: the physical death which marks the demise of the physical body, and the spiritual death which results from human separation from God, the source of life. Physical death is a natural and good phenomenon occurring in accordance with the principles of creation. Spiritual death, however, came about through the human fall, in which Adam and Eve died spiritually by disobeying God. They established a lineage of spiritually dead descendants.
Direct Dominion:
After passing through the three stages of growth by obeying God's laws, human beings enter into the direct dominion of God's love, a state of oneness with God's heart. In this state, human beings are fully capable of sharing God's joys and sorrows, and would never act in a way that would separate them from God.
Dual Characteristics:
Elements common to all creation, which derive from the dual attributes of the Creator, God. The primary dual characteristics of internal character and external form shape the identity of beings; the secondary dual characteristics of positivity and negativity differentiate creations into complementary pairs which interact in the basic functions of life: existence, action and multiplication.
Engrafting:
A metaphor to describe the process whereby fallen men and women are reborn into the lineage of true parents. This is accomplished through the blessing.
Eve:
The first woman created by God, she had the same human attributes as Adam, except that she represented the feminine aspects of God, rather than the masculine. She was to be the prototype of a true woman.
Evil:
Anything that stands in the way of the fulfillment of God's ideal, the three blessings, is evil. Thoughts and actions that create a base for Satan are evil. In other words, when a subject and object give and receive in violation of God's purpose for the creation, evil is produced. Things are neither good nor evil in themselves; the purpose they are used for determines their value.
Evil Spirits:
The spirits of human beings who live in violation of God's principles and therefore are most remote from Him. These spirits manifest ugliness and evil and are the enemies of God and goodness. They influence other human beings to disobey God as well.
External Form:
The embodiment of a being's internal character. God's external form is universal prime energy. Nature's external form is manifested as human, animal or plant bodies and molecular or atomic structures.
Fallen Nature:
Through the unrighteous intervention of the Servant in the lives of Adam and Eve, their original good and sinless nature was twisted into fallen nature. Fallen nature has four distinct aspects, derived from the Servant's faithlessness, jealousy and disobedience:
failing to take God's viewpoint; standing out of the given position; reversing dominion; and multiplying evil. This fallen nature was passed from the original ancestors to all of their descendants. Fallen nature is the obstacle that lies in the path of human endeavor to unite with God.
First Blessing, The:
The human ability and right to become an individual with perfect personality and to achieve the value of a complete, true being, sharing God's value. Those who achieve mind-body unity centered on God become one with God's will, have godly personalities and become objects of joy for God. As true men and women, they fulfill the first blessing and are thereby qualified to fulfill the second and third blessings.
Foundation of Faith:
The condition of indemnity to restore the failure of Adam and Eve to believe God's commandment. A foundation of faith is laid by someone who demonstrates faith in the word of God by making a significant offering while keeping an attitude of obedience for a meaningful period of time. A foundation of faith is the necessary starting point for a foundation of substance and foundation for true parents.
Foundation of Substance:
The condition of indemnity to remove the fallen nature of Adam and Eve. The foundation of substance is laid when a person who represents Adam establishes a God-centered loving relationship with a person representing the Servant, reversing the fallen pattern of the Servant dominating Adam. In the foundation of substance, both the Servant and Adam figures must overcome their fallen natures to create unity.
Foundation for True Parents:
The conditions of indemnity necessary for true parents to appear in history, and for any individual, family or group of people to receive the true parents. The foundation for true parents is made from the combined foundations of faith and substance.
Four Position Foundation:
This is the foundation for the fulfillment of the purpose of creation. It is made up of God, a subject, an object and the new entity created by the interaction between the subject and object. All beings are completed through perfecting relationships within the four position foundation.
Freedom:
The human capacity to choose, with which God endowed men and women. If exercised in accordance with God's will, it enables humans to perfect love. If exercised in disobedience to God's will, it results in separation from God. There is no true freedom without responsibility and no responsibility without freedom.
Fruit:
The fruit of a particular tree in the Garden of Eden was the one thing forbidden to Adam and Eve. It was a symbol of Eve's love. Eating the fruit before being permitted to do so by God meant indulging in premature sexual relations.
Giving and Receiving Action:
The relationship of giving and receiving energy between a subject and object which draws them together until each finds completion through its relationship with the other, creating unity. This action generates forces of giving and receiving action.
God:
The good and loving Creator of the universe and all the principles which govern it. As the invisible Parent of humankind, God is the origin of human love, life and lineage.
Good:
Anything that contributes to the fulfillment of God's ideal, the three blessings, is good. Thoughts and actions that create a base for God are good. In other words, when a subject and object give and receive centered on God's purpose for the creation, goodness is produced. Things are neither good nor evil in themselves; the purpose for which they are used determines their value.
Heart:
The irrepressible impulse to give love and experience joy. The essence of God, heart is the foundation of His being and oneness, the source of His love and the origin of His purpose in making the creation. In creation, heart is the core of human internal character and human mind, and the source of human purpose and love. The primary manifestation of heart is the parental desire to create and love offspring.
Heaven:
The realm of God's direct dominion of love, in which human beings who have completed the purpose of creation exist eternally in oneness with God. Heaven is a location only in the sense that it exists wherever God's love is expressed fully by true men and women. Because the body is needed for spiritual growth, heaven must be created on earth by human beings fulfilling their purpose, before it can exist in the spiritual world.
Hell:
The realm of spirit world inhabited by evil spirits: those human beings most distant from God. Hell is the realm of falsehood and disobedience to God, where love is impure and human relationships mock God's ideal of creation. People at this low level of existence are in hell while living on earth, and after their bodies die. Hell is a location only in the sense that it exists wherever human beings give and receive in disobedience to the will of God. Hell was created on earth first, through the human fall.
History of Restoration:
The sequence of events related to God's work to restore fallen humanity to a relationship of oneness with God. This history encompasses all the main figures of Biblical and Koranic history, as well as the other significant religious figures of the world. The object of restoration history is the restoration of sinless Adam and Eve through the coming of true parents.
Human Fall:
The separation of Adam and Eve from God and the corruption of their love, life and lineage through their disobedient and unprincipled acts of love, committed under the influence of the Servant.
Human Mind:
Essentially, the invisible aspect of a human being which provides direction and purpose to human existence. In a person who is physically alive, the spirit mind interacts with the physical mind in creating the human mind. After the physical body dies, the physical mind ceases to exist but the human mind exists forever.
Iblis:
The Koranic jinn (or angel) assigned by God to care for Adam and Eve, who seduced Eve and became Satan because of his disobedience. He is called the Servant in this text.
Indemnity Conditions:
In order for humans to be restored to their original state, God assigns them a share of responsibility in reversing the unfaithful and disobedient behavior of Adam and Eve. The effort people make to reverse the fall and establish a foundation to receive true parents are called indemnity conditions. These conditions comprise foundations of faith and substance.
Indirect Dominion:
The stage of human growth in which God's control of human beings is mediated by His laws. During this stage, individuals cannot completely understand and respond to God's heart and will, but through obeying God's instructions they can learn how to perfect their love and enter the direct dominion of God's heart. During this period people must exercise complete responsibility under the conditions of their God-given freedom.
Individual Truth Body:
Every true creation is a unified being of harmonized dual characteristics, having completed a four position foundation. Thus it reflects the unity of God, and embodies His truth. It is therefore called an individual truth body.
Internal Character:
The invisible aspect of a being that determines its uniqueness of characteristics and purpose, shaping its external form. The internal character of God is the origin of emotion, intellect and will. In creation it is manifested as human, animal and plant mind, and the internal directive aspect of physicochemical entities.
Life Element:
The love and truth that originates in God and flows from Him to humans, providing elements of their spirit selves necessary for proper growth.
Lineage:
The transmittance of characteristics and conditions from generation to generation. Had Adam and Eve achieved perfection, they would have embodied fully God's nature and God's standard of unconditional love. Resembling God, they would have been His true children and the first of God's lineage. Through multiplying their love in the family, their children would likewise have inherited God's standard of true love and have been in God's lineage. Owing to the fall, however, Adam's family and all people since have not embodied God's attributes or emulated His love. Thus human lineage has transmitted fallen nature and imperfect, fallen love, from generation to generation.
Lucifer:
The Biblical archangel, assigned by God to care for Adam and Eve, who seduced Eve and became Satan. He is also known as the serpent, and is called the Servant in this text.
Messiah:
The messiah is a new Adam who must perfect himself and his bride. Together they become true parents. He is chosen by God to save fallen humanity by fulfilling the three blessings and thus providing the way for fallen men and women to be separated from Satan and united with God by engrafting onto the sinless lineage of true parents. Jesus came as the messiah but was murdered before he could take a bride and complete the mission.
Object:
The reciprocating partner in the relationship of giving and receiving with a subject, within and among created beings. Subject and object are not value-differentiated but complementary characteristics essential for life.
Obsession:
When one spirit unrighteously dominates the spirit of another person. Since only low spirits would seek to dominate other people for their own, selfish benefit, obsessive relationships are always negative in result. Many mental illnesses can be attributed to spirit obsessions.
Offering:
The sacrifice of one's possessions and self in order to establish a condition of indemnity to lay a foundation of faith. This could be prayer, meditation, fasting, tithing or any form of pure giving to God and other human beings.
Original Mind:
The proper relationship between the spirit mind and physical mind, in which the spirit mind maintains its subject role over the physical mind, centered on God. The original mind functions as the voice of God in fallen humans, and therefore is subject over conscience.
Paradise:
A realm of spirit world below heaven.
Parallels in History:
The occurrence of similar events on parallel time lines in the history of restoration, caused by repetition of patterns in human responses to God. These occur because of the providential will to restore through indemnity past failures in laying foundations for true parents.
Perfection:
It is achieved when a created being completely fulfills the purpose for which it was created. A human being becomes perfect when he or she reaches full maturity of character, that is when actions of the body are in absolute harmony with God-centered mind, husband or wife is in full unity with their spouse, and humans are in complete unity with nature.
Physical Body:
The external part of the physical person, which communicates' with the surrounding physical world through five physical senses. Its shape and functions correspond to the internal, spiritual nature of the human being, and it is the organism through which human beings can multiply.
Physical Fall:
The premature love relationship between Adam and Eve.
Physical Mind:
The causal part of the physical person which is similar to an animal's mind and manifests desires for nourishment, self-protection, comfort and reproduction.
Physical Person:
The temporary part of a human being which begins its existence at conception, grows to maturity and eventually dies. It lives in the physical realm within the limits of time and space. As the source of vitality elements, which are essential for spiritual growth, it is a necessary part of the human opportunity to perfect love. It is also necessary for the multiplication of descendants.
Physical Senses:
Sight, taste, touch, hearing and smell, which are attributes of the physical body that enable it to interact with the physical world.
Physical World:
The universe limited by time and space which can be experienced through the five physical senses. It is the realm of existence characterized by the cycle of birth, physical growth and death. It is also the temporary environment where human beings perfect their ability to give and receive love as well as multiply the human species.
Positivity and Negativity:
Dual characteristics that enable every being to interact with others to create a harmonious union from which the creation is formed and multiplied. These are not value-differentiated but complementary characteristics essential for life. God's positivity and negativity are original masculinity and femininity. In creation, positivity and negativity are manifested as human, animal or plant masculinity and femininity, and as molecular, atomic and sub-atomic positive and negative charges.
Predestination:
God's plan for human beings, which is fulfilled when they complete their portion of responsibility in obedience to Him.
Prime Force:
The energic aspect of purposeful interaction between God's internal character and external form. From it come all the forces which enable the existence and maintenance of creation.
Principles of Creation:
The principles according to which God made and governs His creation. They derive from the principles of His own perfect being and are manifested in the spiritual laws of faith and the physical laws of the universe. Through these the all-important purpose for creation is known and realized.
Principles of Restoration:
The laws governing the restoration of fallen human beings to their true nature and position in the creation. The most fundamental of these laws is that restoration is given as a grace of God to those who fulfill their human responsibility by completing necessary indemnity conditions. In doing so, they restore the faith and love that were lost in the fall of the original human ancestors.
Possession:
When a spirit takes control of another person's physical body and uses that person for his or her own purposes. This produces the phenomenon of a split personality, or schizophrenia, since there are two spirits vying for control of a single body. If more than one foreign spirit occupies a body, the result is witnessed as a multiple personality disorder. Since only low spirits would seek to dominate another person's body for selfish benefit, possessive relationships are always negative in result. Many mental illnesses can be attributed to spirit possessions.
Rebirth:
The change of lineage from the fallen realm of Satan's dominion to the restored realm of God's dominion. This is accomplished by being engrafted into true parents' lineage, which is the purpose of the blessing.
Reincarnation:
The view that human spirits dwell successively in more than one body in order to work out their karma, which is their responsibility to make restitution for their own actions in past lives. The phenomena that are interpreted as evidence of this theory are actually those of returning resurrection.
Responsibility:
The effort human beings must make to obey God's will. Through fulfillment of their responsibility, men and women grow to completion. There is no true freedom without responsibility and no responsibility without freedom.
Restoration:
The elevation of fallen, sinful humanity to a state of purity and oneness with God. It takes place through three stages of purification and spiritual growth by payment of indemnity to reverse the disobedience of Adam, Eve and the Servant. Ultimately, it is achieved first by true parents and then by others who engraft into true parents' lineage.
Resurrection:
The process of restoring spiritual life to the spiritually dead by transforming fallen, Satan-centered life into heavenly, God-centered life. Resurrection is accomplished according to four laws:
(1) it takes place through God's word, the truth;
(2) it takes place in three stages: formation, growth and completion;
(3) it takes place on the foundation of the physical body; and
(4) it takes place according to the merits, or benefits, of the age.
Returning Resurrection:
The return of spirits to the physically living to participate in resurrection, new levels of which are opened only by central figures working a new providence among people on earth. By serving individuals involved in a resurrection providence on earth, spirit men and women can benefit from the vitality elements of those working on earth and themselves be resurrected.
Sacrifice:
The offering of one's possessions, thoughts or self to God to lay a foundation of faith; and the offering of one's possessions and oneself in service to others to lay a foundation of substance.
Salvation:
Restoration of fallen human beings.
Satan:
The identity of the Servant after he fell. Having disobeyed God, the Servant became Satan, the great enemy of God who worked to prevent human beings from fulfilling the three blessings. Satan is an invisible spiritual being who influences people through their spirits. In a broader meaning, Satan is any spiritual influence that is in harmony with Satan and opposed to God.
Second Blessing, The:
The human ability and right to create an ideal family and world through fulfilling true love relationships, sharing God's ability to create life and raise children. When a man and a woman create a true love family, they realize the second blessing. Such a family gives joy to God.
Serpent:
The creature that tempted Adam and Eve to fall. The Serpent symbolizes, in fact, the Servant, known as Lucifer in the Bible and Iblis in the Koran. He became known as Satan after the fall.
Servant, The:
A spiritual being described in scriptures as playing the key role in leading the first man and woman into their fall from God. In the Bible, the Servant is an archangel Lucifer; in the Koran he is the jinn, or angel, Iblis.
Sin:
An act or thought which violates God's principles and creates a base for giving and receiving with Satan, directly or indirectly. Sin separates human beings from God and from one another.
Spirit Body:
The external part of the spirit person which communicates with the surrounding spiritual world through five spiritual senses. It has a definite form corresponding to the characteristics of the spirit mind.
Spirit Elements:
The energy generated for the physical person by the spirit person. Interaction with God's love and truth and good spirits generates good spirit elements which inspire the physical person to do good. Interaction with falsehood, hatred and evil spirits generates evil spirit elements which motivate the physical person to do evil.
Spirit Mind:
The causal part of the spirit person and the seat of the human desire for joy, love and beauty. It is the part of human beings which can resonate fully with God.
Spirit Person:
The causal part of a human being which begins its autonomous existence at the birth of a baby. It is not limited by time and space and after the death of the physical person it exists eternally in the spirit world.
Spirit World:
The unlimited, invisible and causal universe that is known to the five spiritual senses. It is the Substantial, eternal home of human spirits.
Spiritual Fall:
The illicit love relationship between the Servant and Eve.
Spiritual Senses:
Counterparts to the five physical senses that are attributes of the spiritual body and enable it to interact with the spiritual realm.
Stages of Growth:
There are three fundamental stages in the growing period through which every created being passes: formation, growth and completion. A being can fulfill its proper place in the order of the universe only by completing these three stages of growth.
Subject:
The initiator of the relationship of giving and receiving with an object, within and among created beings. Subject and object are not value-differentiated but complementary entities or functions essential for life.
Third Blessing, The:
The human ability and right to have dominion over non-human creations, sharing God's capacity to make and modify things. Only a spiritually mature person can tend to nature with true love and create a harmonious relationship between humankind and the rest of creation, realizing the third blessing. The world in which all humans will come to create full harmony with nature will give great joy to God.
Three Blessings, The:
The blessings with which God endowed the first human ancestors, Adam and Eve, after they were created. They encompass the purpose of human life and the aspirations for all human beings. Their fulfillment became the central objective of restoration history after they were lost through the fall. (See separate listings for the first, second and third blessings.)
Triple Object Purpose:
The four position foundation is a perfect unit of human relationships because it provides each of its members with three different types of object with which it can perfect the full range of giving and receiving relationships. Each individual creation is completed through its primary relations with three objects within the four position foundation. Thus the triple object purpose is the key to fulfillment of the purpose of creation.
True Family:
The basic unit of human society created by a true man and a true woman united in love as parents of true children. This is the environment where children can grow to be come true men and women, and eventually true parents themselves. True families naturally expand into tribes and nations to create a true world. The true family is the model of ideal life and relationships and the standard for human values.
True Love:
The fundamental impulse of God's heart, true love is to live for the sake of others; to give without calculation or reservation. Motivated by true love, God invested unconditionally His whole being into the creation of the cosmos. His true love is the source of life. There are four levels of true love: children's, sibling, conjugal and parental. True men and women have the characteristics to be fully endowed with God's true love, through which they can establish true families, communities and nations. A world of true love relationships is the ideal of God's creation.
True Man or True Woman:
A person who has united mind and body into perfect oneness centered on God's ideal. A true man is the image of God's masculinity; a true woman the image of God's femininity.
True Parents:
A true man and true woman united in love centered on God's ideal who are qualified to give birth to true children. True parents together are the complete embodiment of the dual attributes of God and the completed image of God. They inherit and pass on to their lineage true parenthood and true love. Historically, the first man and woman to complete the ideal of God's creation qualify as the True Parents of humankind. They establish a new, pure lineage of God and give rebirth to fallen humanity by engrafting them into their own family. This new lineage eventually supplants the lineage dominated by Satan and is the starting point for the creation of a God-centered world.
Unification:
The process by which separated and conflicting entities become one by establishing relationships of true love. The model of unification is the family, whose diverse children are united through the love of their parents and their love for one another. The process of unification is the overcoming of enmity between quarreling brothers, symbolized by Cain and Abel.
Unificationism:
The concepts and ideals of the Unification Principle and the Unification Movement.
Unificationist:
An adherent of the Unification Principle.
Unification Movement:
The activities, projects and organizations inspired by the vision of Sun Myung Moon (and in many cases founded by him) and guided by the ideals and understanding of the Unification Principle. It is not a legal entity.
Unification Principle:
The essential teachings of Sun Myung Moon, it is an explanation of God, human beings and nature based on belief in the existence of God as the good and loving Creator of all beings and the origin of the principles that govern human life. It explains the relationship between Creator and creation and demonstrates God's existence as revealed in His creation and in the history of humankind. It explains the separation of humanity from God through the fall, and the process of restoration in history. Also called the Principle, it provides the basis for the unification of the human family centered on God.
Unification of Religions:
The harmonization of various faiths under the parental love of God.
Universal Prime Energy:
God's external form, it is the expression of God's love and the intangible source of life out of which the creation was made.
Universal Prime Force:
Universal prime energy in action. God endows His creation with universal prime force, which is the directed energy that sustains creation's existence, action and multiplication.
Vitality Elements:
Those things generated through the activities of the physical person that affect the growth of the spirit person. Good deeds generate good vitality elements which support the healthy development of the spirit. Evil deeds generate evil vitality elements which deform the spirit.