5.2 Freedom and the Human Fall

 

Freedom and the Human Fall

 

To summarize, freedom cannot exist outside the Principle. Freedom is accompanied by the responsibility laid out in the Principle, and freedom pursues accomplishments that bring joy to God. Free actions generated by free will bring about only good results. Therefore, it cannot be that freedom caused the human Fall. It is written, "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."^{63(II Cor. 3:17)CEV|KJ|NI} This freedom is the freedom of the original mind.
As long as Adam and Eve were bound by God's warning not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they should have kept this commandment by their free will and without God's intervention. Certainly, the freedom of their original mind, which is inherently responsible and seeks the good, was prompting them to obey it. When Eve was about to deviate from the Principle, the freedom of her original mind aroused fear and foreboding in her in an attempt to prevent her from deviating. Ever since the Fall, this freedom of the original mind has been working to bring people back to God. Working in this way, freedom could not possibly have caused human beings to fall. Rather, the human Fall was caused by the stronger power of unprincipled love, which overwhelmed the freedom of the original mind.
In truth, human beings lost their freedom as a result of the Fall. Yet even fallen people possess intact a seed of their original nature which seeks freedom, and this makes it possible for God to carry on the providence to restore it. With the progress of history, people have been ever more zealously aspiring for freedom, even at the cost of their lives. This is evidence that we are in the process of restoring our freedom, long lost due to Satan. The purpose of our search for freedom is to facilitate the accomplishment of our God-given responsibility, which is essential for fulfilling our purpose of creation.

Read More »

5.1 The Meaning of Freedom from the Viewpoint of the Principle

Section 5

Freedom and the Human Fall

The Meaning of Freedom from the Viewpoint of the Principle

What is the meaning of true freedom? In light of the Principle, three characteristics of freedom stand out. First, there is no freedom outside the Principle. Freedom requires both free will and the free actions pursuant to that will. The former and the latter have the relationship of internal nature and external form, and perfect freedom is achieved when they are in harmony. Therefore, there cannot be any free action without free will, nor can free will be complete without free actions to accompany it. Free actions are generated by free will, and free will is an expression of the mind. Since the mind of an original, sinless person cannot operate outside of God's Word, that is, the Principle, it will never express free will or generate free action apart from the Principle. Undoubtedly, the freedom of a true person never deviates from the Principle.
Second, there is no freedom without responsibility. Human beings, created according to the Principle, can reach perfection only by fulfilling their responsibility based on their free will.^{62(cf. Creation 5.2.2)}Accordingly, a person pursuing the purpose of creation as prompted by his free will ceaselessly strives to carry out his portion of responsibility.
Third, there is no freedom without accomplishment. When human beings exercise freedom and carry out their responsibility, they strive to accomplish results which complete the purpose of creation and bring joy to God. Free will ceaselessly pursues concrete results through free actions.

Read More »