Theory of the Original Image

Unification Thought begins with God. Its fundamental postulate is that God has created humankind and the universe in God's own likeness. Accordingly, it holds that in God there can be found the standard for solving actual problems of the individual and society.

Consider the example of a watch, which is a man-made object. When a watch is broken, a jeweler repairing it takes as the standard the condition of the watch when it was made. For another example, a doctor wanting to cure a patient's illness call do so by using the condition of a healthy person as the standard. Something similar call be said about saving fallen humankind and society: Human problems can be solved only through knowing the standard of creation when God first created humankind and the universe, and then pursuing solutions in that direction. Since God created humankind and the universe in His own likeness, in order to solve actual problems, we must ask what kind of being God is; in other words, we must start with the attributes of God.

God, humankind, and all other creations are "beings," but they are not on the same level. God is the Creator, whereas humankind and other creations are created beings. Thus, in Unification Thought, God is referred to as the "Original Being;" human beings and other creations, "existing beings." When questioning what God is like, we are actually asking about the attributes of God. We call the attributes of God the "Original Image," and we call the theory concerning those attributes the 'Theory of the Original Image."

The question of what God is like is generally connected with that of the origin of the universe. The theoretical field that deals with the origin of the universe is called "ontology," which forms the very foundation of a thought system. Thus, a thought system, in most cases, has an ontology that is unique to itself, and upon that basis, it deals with the problems of human beings and society.

God and the origin of the universe have traditionally been important topics of discussion in religions and thought systems. Yet, the traditional views of God and the universe provided by existing ontologies have not been able to put forward fundamental solutions to actual problems of human beings and society. This means that the traditional ontological views of God and the universe have themselves been insufficient, that is to say, they have not conveyed a correct understanding of God and the origin of the universe. Therefore, the need for a new view of God, and a new ontology, has arisen.

1. The Divine Image

Our study of the attributes of God focuses first on their content and then on their structure. Content concerns each of the attributes, whereas structure refers to the mutual relationships among those attributes. The content can be further divided into those of Divine Image and Divine Character. Divine Image refers to the aspect of form among God's attributes, whereas Divine Character refers to the aspect of nature and ability. First, I will deal with the Divine Image.

From the statement in Genesis that "God created man in his own image" (Gen. 1:27, Rsv), we can learn that God, though invisible, has the aspect of form. These are the dual characteristics of Sungsang and Hyungsang, the dual characteristics of Yang and Yin, and the Individual Images.

To be continued.

Essentials Of Unification Thought - The Head-Wing Thought