SCRIPTURE IS THE BEDROCK OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE. All the higher religions are founded on inspired teachings or divine truths revealed by their founders and codified as scripture. Thus, scripture is the basis upon which believers lead their lives. It is also the enduring standard for evaluating new ideas and theological innovation. Regular study of scripture is recommended for gaining wisdom and finding guidance for daily life. Nevertheless, the proper interpretation of scripture is not simple. The many disagreements of the meaning of scripture have created lasting disputes and fractures in communities of faith. One reason for this confusion is that the scriptures were written using parables and veiled language. Understanding the meaning of these symbols and parables requires spiritual discernment, even the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Another issue is the problem of the letter and the spirit. Religious traditions always have to balance fidelity to the letter of a text with openness to new spiritual insights. Where scripture is meant to be a “raft,” in Buddha’s terms, which takes us across the sea of troubles that we might walk free on that blessed other shore, fixation on the words of scripture can be a burden to further spiritual advancement. Old interpretations need to give way to new ones or the scripture itself can become an impediment—a situation that occurred in Jesus’ day. The section closes with passages on the limitations of scripture as finite expressions of God’s infinite truth. Jesus, Buddha and other Founders lived in circumstances where they could only teach a part of what they knew of God’s truth, according to the level that their disciples could receive it. Father Moon affirms the value of all scriptures as expressions of the truth of God, given at various times and places to elevate humanity for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. Nevertheless, since there is still much of God’s Word yet to be revealed, the world is due for a new expression of truth fit for this scientific age. 1. Take Instruction from Regular Study of Scripture O how I love thy law! It is my meditation all the day. Psalm 119.97 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3.14-17 The work which the sages saw in the sacred sayings Are manifestly spread forth in the triad of the Vedas. Follow them constantly, you lovers of truth! This is your path to the world of good deeds. Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.1 (Hinduism) And these words which I [Moses] teach you shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6.6-9 We have sent down the Qur’an in Truth, and in Truth has it descended: and We sent you [Muhammad] but to give glad tidings and to warn sinners. It is a Qur’an which We have divided into parts from time to time, in order that you might recite it to men at intervals; We have revealed it by stages. Say: Whether you believe in it or not, it is true that those who were given prior insight, when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces in humble prostration, and say: “Glory to our Lord! Truly has the promise of our Lord been fulfilled!” They fall down on their faces in tears, and it increases their earnest humility. Qur’an 17.105-9 Know that he who reads and recites the Lawflower Sutra—that man has adorned himself with the adornment of the Buddha, and so is carried by the Tathagata on his shoulder. Lotus Sutra 10 (Buddhism) I am leaving you a trust. So long as you cling to it you can’t go wrong. That is the rope God has extended from heaven to earth. That is the Qur’an. Hadith of Darimi 1 (Islam) Absorbed in the scriptures and their purport, he transcends the cycle of birth and death. Acarangasutra 5.122 The holy Word is the Preceptor; by devoted meditation on it am I its disciple. By absorbing the discourse of the Inexpressible I remain free from the taint of illusion. Adi Granth, Ramkali Siddha Goshti, M.1, p. 943 (Sikhism) Whosoever labors in the Torah for its own sake merits many things; and not only so, but the whole world is indebted to him: he is called friend, beloved, a lover of the All-present, a lover of mankind; it clothes him in meekness and reverence; it fits him to become just, pious, upright, and faithful; it keeps him far from sin, and brings him near to virtue. Mishnah, Avot 6.1 (Judaism) And when a company meets together in one of the houses of God to pore over the Book of God and to study it together among themselves, the Shekhinah comes down to them and mercy overshadows them, the angels surround them, and God remembers them among them that are His. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 36 (Islam) If two sit together and the words between them are of Torah, then the Shekhinah is in their midst. Mishnah, Avot 3.2 (Judaism) Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18.20 Teachings of Sun Myung Moon The ultimate purpose of religion can be attained only when one first believes it in one’s heart and then puts it into practice. However, without first understanding, beliefs do not take hold. It is in order to understand the truth and thereby solidify our beliefs that we study the Holy Scriptures. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Introduction) It is God’s responsibility to give us His Word and guidance, and it is our responsibility to believe and practice it in order to fulfill the providence. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Resurrection 2.1) Jesus instructed the people, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24) Why are we judged when we do not believe in God’s Word? In the Garden of Eden the first human ancestors disbelieved in God’s Word and fell. To be restored to life we need to believe in God’s Word with greater faith than our disbelieving ancestors. We cannot be restored unless our faith is stronger than their will to rebellion. (69:128, October 23, 1973) When you read the Bible, you should look at the saddest things. Not the sections about heaven or the Book of Revelation, but the saddest contents. To become someone’s close friend, don’t you need to empathize with the most painful moments in his life? It is the same principle for us who would reconnect with God as His sons and daughters: we have to understand God’s most painful moments. Then when you listen to God’s Word, you will feel deep, bottomless sorrow in the core of your soul. You will weep your eyes out with heart-felt grief without understanding why. You may not be able to stop weeping after ten days, a hundred days, even a thousand days—you will want to weep endlessly. Only when you understand God’s Word in this light will you begin to understand the core of God’s heart. (10:137, September 18, 1960) Wherever you go in the world, you should gather and study the message God revealed to us; it is called Hoondokhwe, the education that pleases God. When you enter a new town, you should regard setting up a gathering to read God’s word as more important than introducing yourself. Those who enjoy gathering and reading the hoondok scriptures will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. God dwells with us where we read His words. When we diligently keep hoondokhwe, the spirits in the spirit world descend and participate with us, thereby receiving the benefit of returning resurrection. Thus, keeping hoondokhwe is the way to mobilize the heavenly spirit world. Through keeping hoondokhwe you will make your family a true family. You will revive the church through the works of the Holy Spirit. The purpose of studying God’s word is to resemble God. (321:32, February 14, 2000) 2. Scripture Teaches in Parables We have put forth for men in this Qur’an every kind of parable, in order that they may receive admonition. Qur’an 39.27 Knowing that all the living have many and various desires deep-rooted in their minds, I have, according to their capacity, expounded the various laws by which these [desires] could be overcome with various reasonings, parabolic expressions, and expedients. Lotus Sutra 2 (Buddhism) And when Jesus was alone, those who were about him with the Twelve asked concerning the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables; so they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn again, and be forgiven.” Mark 4.10-12 He who does not know that indestructible Being of the Rig Veda, that highest ether-like Self wherein all the gods reside, of what use is the Rig Veda to him? Those only who know It rest contented. Svetasvatara Upanishad 4.8 (Hinduism) The biblical tales are only the Torah’s outer garments, and woe to him who regards these as being the Torah itself! Zohar, Numbers 152a (Judaism) It is He who sent down upon you the Book, wherein are verses clear that are the Essence of the Book, and others ambiguous. As for those in whose hearts is swerving, they follow the ambiguous part, desiring dissension and desiring its interpretation; and none knows its interpretation, save only God.11 And those firmly rooted in knowledge say, “We believe in it; all is from our Lord”; yet none remembers, but men possessed of minds. Qur’an 3.7 First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 2 Peter 1.20-21 Were you to cleanse the mirror of your heart from the dust of malice, you would apprehend the meaning of the symbolic terms revealed by the all-embracing Word of God made manifest in every dispensation, and would discover the mysteries of divine knowledge. Book of Certitude 68-69 (Baha’i Faith) Teachings of Sun Myung Moon God reveals well in advance all the essential matters of His Will in parables and symbols, in order that people living in any age can understand the demands of the providence for their time and for the future according to the level of their intellect and spirituality. The fact that God used parables and symbols in the Bible has inevitably resulted in many divergent interpretations. This is a major reason why the churches have become divided. In interpreting the Bible, therefore, the most important matter is to find the right perspective. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Second Advent 2.1) The Bible is like a love-letter written by a bridegroom searching for his bride and containing many secret codes. Why does God write in code? It is because God is a God of heart. Not everyone is meant to decipher the Bible; only the bride and bridegroom should be able to decipher it. In other words, only those who have prepared themselves to attend the Lord with a heart akin to God’s heart can decipher the Bible; to anyone else it is an impenetrable mystery. The Bible has a code. It is like a key that opens the gate to allow the bridegroom to enter. What is that key? It is heart. The heart of a parent does not change, whether the child is feeding on its mother’s breast or has grown old and gray. There is no difference in that heart. So we need to search for the original source of all the hearts hidden in the Bible. Finding it does not require a Ph.D. Theologians have been analyzing the Bible for centuries, but their theories just come and go. Heart cannot be controlled by logic. It cannot be experienced through theories. No systematic analysis can comprehend it. Why? Because heart flows with the heavenly law and with nature. It does not matter how well you know theology. You cannot understand the Bible unless you interpret it by the flow and feeling of heart. The current theological trend will pass away, but the world of heart remains forever. It is the alpha and omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (8:305-06, February 14, 1960) Some prayerful people consider nature to be the number one Bible. It does not take second place. The Bible that describes the history of Israel does not always give a clear message. Do you know how much I shook my head as I read it? It can be very ambiguous; people understand what they want from it, as if it were a fortune-teller telling their fortune. For some it is a way to escape from reality. So the natural world created by God is better than the Bible at carrying out the hard task of judging the facts and clarifying everything from beginning to end. (20:270, July 7, 1968) Why does the Bible sometimes seem to be leading us toward the Kingdom of Heaven and sometimes not? The present world is not the Kingdom of Heaven. It is encircled by the satanic world… God’s champions today, like the prophets and sages of Israel and the saints of the early Christian church whom we know from the Bible, are like God’s secret agents sent on missions in the satanic world. When the CIA and the KGB send their agents into enemy territory, they take pains not to reveal their plans to the enemy. The CIA bureau chief notifies his agents about their missions using a secret code that he alone knows. Likewise, the Bible contains God’s most important directives to His operatives, but as coded messages that God alone understands. For example, in describing the Last Days Jesus said, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matt. 24.36) Hence it stands to reason that when the Last Days arrive, God will send another prophet to decipher the code, as it is written in Amos 3.7, “Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets.” To have that secret revealed to you, you must directly connect with God. That is why it is said that you should go into your secret chamber, anoint your head with oil, and have a show-down prayer with God. Now that we know the Bible contains coded messages, it is evident that we will be judged if we interpret its symbols and parables carelessly. (73:207-08, September 18, 1974) 3. Do Not Get Caught up in the Letter of the Scriptures; the Letter Is but a Gateway to the Spirit The written code kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3.6 Lord Mahavira said to Gautama, “When Dharma is not seen by the seer directly it is seen through the wire mesh of words. Conjecture is the wire mesh that covers that window. Multiple sects and systems result from such an indirect observation. The path suggested to you, Gautama, is the direct path of the seer. Be vigilant and a seer of Dharma.” Uttaradhyayana Sutra 10.31 (Jainism) Mahamati, let the son or daughter of a good family take good heed not to get attached to words as being in perfect conformity with meaning, because truth is not of the letter. Be not like the one who looks at the fingertip. When a man with his fingertip points out something to somebody, the fingertip may be taken wrongly for the thing pointed at. In like manner, simple and ignorant people are unable even unto their death to abandon the idea that in the fingertip of words there is the meaning itself, and will not grasp ultimate reality because of their intent clinging to words, which are no more than the fingertip…. Be not like one who, grasping his own fingertip, sees the meaning there. You should rather energetically discipline yourself to get at the meaning itself. Lankavatara Sutra 76 (Buddhism) The fish trap exists because of the fish; once you’ve gotten the fish, you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit; once you’ve gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning; once you’ve gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can have a word with him? Chuang Tzu 26 (Taoism) O monks, a man is on a journey. He comes to a vast stretch of water. On this side the shore is dangerous, but on the other it is safe and without danger. No boat goes to the other shore which is safe and without danger, nor is there any bridge for crossing over. He says to himself, ‘This sea of water is vast, and the shore on this side is full of danger; but on the other shore it is safe and without danger. No boat goes to the other side, nor is there a bridge for crossing over. It would be good therefore if I would gather grass, wood, branches, and leaves to make a raft, and with the help of the raft cross over safely to the other side, exerting myself with my hands and feet.’ Then that man gathers grass, wood, branches, and leaves and makes a raft, and with the help of that raft crosses over safely to the other side, exerting himself with his hands and feet. Having crossed over and got ten to the other side, he thinks, “This raft was of great help to me. With its aid I have crossed safely over to this side, exerting myself with my hands and feet. It would be good if I carry this raft on my head or on my back wherever I go.” What do you think, O monks: if he acted in this way would that man be acting properly with regard to the raft? [No, Sir.] In which way, then, would he be acting properly with regard to the raft? Having crossed and gone over to the other side, suppose that man should think, “This raft was a great help to me. With its aid I have crossed safely over to this side, exerting myself with my hands and feet. It would be good if I beached this raft on the shore, or moored it and left it afloat, and then went on my way wherever it may be.” Acting in this way would that man act properly with regard to the raft. In the same manner, O monks, I have taught a doctrine similar to a raft—it is for crossing over, and not for carrying. You who understand that the teaching is similar to a raft, should give up attachment to even the good Dhamma; how much more then should you give up evil things. Majjhima Nikaya 1.134-35: Parable of the Raft (Buddhism) Teachings of Sun Myung Moon Fallen people’s spiritual sensibility is extremely dull. Hence, they generally tend to adhere strictly to the letter of the truth in their efforts to follow God’s providence. Such people cannot readily adjust themselves to the dispensation of the new age, even though the providence of restoration is moving toward it. They are generally too strongly attached to the outdated perspective provided by the doctrines of the old age. This is well illustrated by the case of the Jewish people of Jesus’ day who were so attached to the Old Testament that they could not respond to Jesus’ call to open a new chapter of the providence. On the other hand, those believers who receive divine inspiration through prayer are able to grasp spiritually the providence of the new age. Even though this may put them at odds with the doctrines of the old age, they will still respond to the promptings of the spirit and follow the calling of the new providence. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Eschatology 5.2) 4. Scriptures Teach Only a Finite Portion of Heaven’s Truth And if all the trees in the earth were pens, and the sea, with seven more seas to help it [were ink], the words of God could not be spent. Lo! God is Mighty, Wise. Qur’an 31.27 All the Scriptures mean as much—no more, no less—to the discerning spiritual man As a water tank in a universal flood. Bhagavad-Gita 2.45-46 (Hinduism) The water from the ocean contained in a pot can neither be called an ocean nor non-ocean, but it can be called only part of the ocean. Similarly, a doctrine, though arising from the Absolute Truth, is neither the Truth nor not the Truth. Vidyanandi, Tattvarthaslokavartika 116 (Jainism) The Word is measured in four quarters. The wise who possess insight know these four divisions. Three quarters, concealed in secret, cause no movement. The fourth is the quarter that is spoken by men. Rig Veda 1.164.45 (Hinduism) The Torah we have is the incomplete form of heavenly wisdom. Genesis Rabbah 17.5 (Judaism) I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. John 16.12-13 Every term has a Book. God blots out, and He establishes whatsoever He will; and with Him is the Essence of the Book. Whether We show you a part of that We promise them, or We call you unto Us, it is you only to deliver the message, and Ours is the reckoning. Qur’an 13.39-40 Now it happened to the venerable Malunkyaputta, being in seclusion and plunged in meditation, that a consideration presented itself to his mind: “These theories which the Blessed One has left unelucidated, has set aside and rejected—that the world is eternal, that the world is not eternal, that the world is finite, that the world is infinite, that the soul and the body are identical, that the soul is one thing and the body another, that the saint exists after death, that the saint does not exist after death… these the Blessed One does not elucidate to me. And the fact that the Blessed One does not elucidate them to me does not please me…” [The Buddha]: “If, Malunkyaputta, a man had been wounded by an arrow thickly smeared with poison, and his friends and companions, relatives and kinsfolk, were to procure for him a physician or surgeon; and the sick man were to say, ‘I will not have this arrow taken out until I have learnt whether the man who wounded me belonged to the warrior caste, or the brahmin caste, or to the farmers’ caste, or to the menial caste.’ “Or again he were to say, ‘I will not have this arrow taken out until I have learnt the name of the man who wounded me, and to what clan he belongs.’ “Or again he were to say, ‘I will not have this arrow taken out until I have learnt whether the man who wounded me was tall, or short, or of middle height.’ “Or again he were to say, ‘I will not have this arrow taken out until I have learnt whether the man who wounded me was black, or dusky, or of a yellow skin.’ “Or again he were to say, ‘I will not have this arrow taken out until I have learnt whether the man who wounded me was from this or that village, town, or city.’… That man would die, Malunkyaputta, without ever having learnt this. “In exactly the same way, Malunkyaputta, any one who should say, ‘I will not lead the religious life under the Blessed One until the Blessed One shall elucidate to me either that the world is eternal or that the world is not eternal, etc.’—that person would die before the Tathagata had ever elucidated this to him. “The religious life does not depend on the dogma that the world is eternal; nor does the religious life depend on the dogma that the world is not eternal. Whether the dogma obtain, that the world is eternal, or that the world is not eternal, there still remain birth, old age, death, sorrow, lamentation, misery, grief, despair, for the extinction of which in the present life I am prescribing… This profits not, nor has to do with the fundamentals of religion, nor tends to aversion, absence of passion, cessation, quiescence, the supernatural faculties, supreme wisdom, and Nirvana; therefore have I not elucidated it.” Majjhima Nikaya 1.426-31 (Buddhism) Teachings of Sun Myung Moon Spirit and truth are unique, eternal and unchanging. However, the degree and scope of their teaching and the means of their expression will vary from one age to another as they restore humankind from a state of utter ignorance. For example, in the age prior to the Old Testament, when people were still unenlightened and could not directly receive the Word of truth, God commanded them to make sacrificial offerings as a substitute for the Word. In the course of time, the spirituality and intellect of human beings were elevated to the point when, in Moses’ day, God granted them the Law, and at the time of Jesus He gave the Gospel. Jesus made it clear that his words were not the truth itself; rather, he declared that he himself was “the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) Jesus was the incarnation of the truth. His words were just a means by which he expressed himself. Thus, the scope and depth of Jesus’ words and the method of his teaching varied according to whom he was speaking. In this sense, we must understand that the verses in the Bible are only one means of expressing the truth and are not the truth itself. The New Testament is but an interim textbook given to enlighten the people of two thousand years ago, whose spiritual and intellectual levels were far lower than today. The modern, scientific-minded thirst for the truth cannot be satisfied by expressions of truth which are limited in scope and couched in symbols and parables aimed specifically at instructing the people of an earlier age. For modern, intellectual people to be enlightened in the truth, there must appear another textbook of higher and richer content, with a more scientific method of expression. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Eschatology 5.1)
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 02:26:19 +0000
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