The aspiration for freedom has been a powerful force in human history. God signaled His love of freedom to a band of Israelite slaves in Egypt and, by liberating them, set the example for freedom-loving people everywhere.
People everywhere aspire for freedom because God created us to be free. God respects human freedom to the degree that He does not interfere with our wrong choices, even when they lead to sin and misery.
Nevertheless, God grants human beings freedom for a purpose—that we might attain our full perfection as His ideal partners. Hence, freedom is not an end in itself, but a means to greater ends: true love, true community, the Kingdom of God.
Furthermore, freedom is only meaningful and efficacious when it is conducive to God’s plan for human life. Freedom, when used wrongly as an occasion to sin, can lead to bondage.
Therefore, God created us with a conscience as the inner compass to guide our free will in a good direction and wants to provide every child with loving parents to educate them in the proper use of freedom. The issues surrounding freedom are basic to democracy; hence, we include several passages by its seminal political theorists.
Critiques of secular democratic notions of freedom, particularly from the Catholic Church, are echoed in some of Father Moon’s negative judgments on the excessive value given to freedom and its widespread abuse in Western democracies.
Finally, we include several passages describing Father Moon’s unique teaching that God is not free and that He is in need of liberation more than anyone.
Sun Myung Moon
The Basis for Freedom in God and God’s Creation
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3.17
I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Exodus 3.7-8
Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.16 Leviticus 25.10
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.17 Isaiah 61.1-2
O ye who believe! You have charge over your own souls. Qur’an 5.105
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The U.S. Declaration of Independence You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. John 8.32
Our quest for self-determination, justice, freedom and peace in our Homelands and our Territories… is a renewal of what we enjoyed before the coming of our White Brothers from across the sea. We lived contentedly under the Gai Eneshah Go’ Nah, The Great Law of Peace. We were instructed to create societies based on the principles of Peace, Equity, Justice, and the Power of Good Minds. Our societies are based upon great democratic principles of the authority of the people and equal responsibilities for men and women. This was a great way of life across this Great Turtle Island and freedom with respect was everywhere. Our leaders were instructed to be men of vision and to make every decision on behalf of the seventh generation to come; to have compassion and love for those generations yet unborn. We were instructed to give thanks for All That Sustains Us. Thus, we created great ceremonies of Thanksgiving for the life-giving forces of the Natural World, as long as we carried out our ceremonies, life would continue. We were told that “The Seed is the Law.” Indeed, it is The Law of Life. It is The Law of Regeneration. Within the seed is the mysterious force of life and creation. Our mothers nurture and guard that seed and we respect and love them for that. Just as we love our Mother Earth, for the same spiritual work and mystery. Chief Oren Lyons18 (Native American Religion)
The denial or limitation of human rights—for example the right to religious freedom, the right to share in the building of society, the freedom to organize and to form unions, or to take initiatives in economic matters—do these not impoverish the human person as much as, if not more than, the deprivation of material goods? Pope John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (Christianity)
Sun Myung Moon
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Freedom is truly one of the Creator’s most precious gifts to humanity. God created human beings to exercise freedom as spiritual beings. (133:289, November 19, 1984)
People of the world… without exception, all wish to be free. They want to live in a free society, a free nation, and a free world. Without peace and freedom in our minds, there is no true happiness… Today, although we strongly pursue freedom, we must admit that we still do not experience the condition of true freedom, coming from the heart. (7:14-15, July 5, 1959)
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. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Fall 5.2)
Heavenly Father, who observes the universe from the highest heaven, wants human beings to lead. He doesn’t want people to merely obey as if drawn around by the neck. That is what the mind desires, right?
Your mind wants to be completely free. Ask anyone: no one wants to be controlled. You will enjoy complete freedom once you attain the status of a person of true love.
Then you can travel anywhere, even to the throne of God. You can meet God anytime you like. You can become God’s friend! (Earthly Life and the Spirit World 1.5.3.2)
Freedom originates in true love; without true love, freedom has no root. Furthermore, without first planting this root of freedom, we cannot complete our ideal world. A wife whose husband loves her is totally free. A husband whose wife loves him regardless of how he behaves is totally free.
He can touch her and even jab her, knowing that she enjoys it. She can run around the house naked, knowing that he will not object. What greater freedom is there?
Why does that woman disrobe and walk about naked—to assert her freedom or out of love? Out of love, she expresses her freedom. (203:10, June 10, 1990)
The best freedom is to live well, protected by nature. Your freedom is guaranteed when you can live in accord with universal law, without any conflict or contradiction. Then you will enjoy nature’s protection. There is nothing better. (117:290-91, April 11, 1982)
Examine your motivation in searching for freedom. Does your heart truly seek for the freedom that can bring harmony to all creation? If you can put yourself in God’s position and share His heart for freedom, your heart would seek the standard of freedom that all people can enjoy together. (4:318, October 12, 1958)
Democracy has been promoting the freedom and liberation of human beings. However, we should now promote the freedom and liberation of God. If this matter is resolved, the liberation of human beings, not to mention their freedom, will automatically be achieved. (344:54, June 26, 2001)
Sun Myung Moon
Freedom Starts by Becoming a Master of Oneself, Following the Moral Law
No man is free who is not master of himself. Epictetus, Discourses 2.10 (Hellenism)
Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. John 8.34
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5.1
For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. Galatians 5.13
The quest for pleasure brings nothing but torment abounding; Man thus makes of his evil desires only a shackle about the neck. Thou seeker of false delights, liberation comes only through the love of God. Adi Granth: Gauri Ashtpadi, M.1, p. 222 (Sikhism)
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you yield yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. Romans 6.15-18
Sun Myung Moon
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
God created human beings to exercise freedom as spiritual beings. At the same time, God also required human beings to be responsible for how they use their freedom.
This is because freedom requires self-discipline and self-control. Freedom exists within the law, not apart from the law. There are physical and spiritual laws at work in the universe; they are the ultimate limits to freedom. For example, you are free to jump off the top of the New Otani Hotel.
That is your freedom, but your free act will bring your own destruction because you are going against the laws of nature. You are free to go into the ocean and breathe water instead of air, but the laws of nature work at that moment too. Your lungs cannot bear it and you will die.
Spiritual laws, however, are not so obvious. Yet they are as absolute as the laws of nature. To recognize spiritual laws, we must recognize that humans are spiritual beings, created by God.
God, being the Creator, alone predetermined the purpose of creation and set up its spiritual laws. All value begins with God. He determined the purpose of human life and how people are to achieve that purpose. That is the foundation of absolute value.
From this absolute foundation emerge moral principles, which comprise spiritual law. Human beings, created as spiritual beings, are bound by this spiritual law. The fundamental purpose of human life is what the Creator purposed us to be, and we exist on this earth to achieve this purpose.
Therefore, our spiritual happiness is realized when we accomplish our responsibility in accordance with God’s moral law. Should we violate this law, it will result in self-destruction, just as surely as if we were to disregard the laws of nature. (133:289-90, November 19, 1984)
The freedom that God grants us is premised on responsibility. If everyone insisted on the freedom to love as they wished without taking responsibility for their actions, how great would be the resulting chaos and destruction! Human perfection, the attainment of the sublime ideal of love, is only pos- sible when we take responsibility for love. (277:201, April 16, 1996)
You begin to truly experience freedom when you are completely pervaded by love. Your body wants to act freely, but it is impossible unless it embodies true love. The American concept of freedom is so wrong. Historically, the most difficult person to deal with is your own self. This is why you must be merciless to yourself. Do you understand? Unless you become such a person, you cannot be free. (203:23-24, June 10, 1990)
Americans have made a mockery of freedom with their pursuit of trashy love. Isn’t that so? Americans have no right to speak of freedom.
How can they justify the freedom to party and seek pleasure everywhere while their children are weeping, their husbands and wives are suffering, and their families are breaking down? Rather than pursuing vain freedom, we should seek for true love. When we find true love, we will find true freedom as well. (203:12-13, June 10, 1990)
Freedom that departs from the Principle is not true freedom. Freedom that avoids responsibility is not true freedom. Freedom that produces no results is not true freedom.
Thus, any act of freedom must be within the Principle. It must carry responsibility and produce results. A person who seeks freedom without these conditions is naturally far removed from the heavenly way. (4:318-319, October 12, 1958)
Sun Myung Moon
Freedom Requires Social Solidarity within an Orderly Social System; It Is Far Removed from Individualism
You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man’s freedom. You can only be free if I am free. Clarence Darrow19
The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but to have only the law of Nature for his rule. The liberty of man in society is to be under no other legislative power but that established by consent in the commonwealth, nor under the dominion of any will, or restraint of any law, but what that legislative shall enact according to the trust put in it. Freedom, then, is not… liberty for every one to do what he lists, to live as he pleases, and not to be tied by any laws, but freedom of men under government is to have a standing rule to live by, common to every one of that society, and made by the legislative power erected in it. John Locke, Two Treatises on Government (Humanism)
What man loses by the social contract is his natural liberty and an unlimited right to everything he tries to get and succeeds in getting; what he gains is civil liberty and the proprietorship of all he possesses. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract (Humanism)
The roots of the contradiction between the solemn affirmation of human rights and their tragic denial in practice lies in a notion of freedom which exalts the isolated individual in an absolute way, and gives no place to solidarity, to openness to others and service to them. While it is true that the taking of life not yet born or in its final stages is sometimes marked by a mistaken sense of altruism and human compassion, it cannot be denied that such a culture of death, taken as a whole, betrays a completely individualistic concept of freedom, which ends up becoming “the freedom of the strong against the weak,” who have no choice but to submit. It is precisely in this sense that Cain’s answer to the Lord’s question, “Where is Abel your brother?” can be interpreted: “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9).
Yes, every man is his “brother’s keeper,” because God entrusts us to one another. And it is also in view of this entrusting that God gives everyone freedom, a freedom which possesses an inherently relational dimension. This is a great gift of the Creator, placed as it is at the service of the person… but when freedom is made absolute in an individualistic way, it is emptied of its original content, and its very meaning and dignity are contradicted. There is an even more profound aspect which needs to be emphasized: freedom negates and destroys itself, and becomes a factor leading to the destruction of others, when it no longer recognizes and respects its essential link with the truth. When freedom, out of a desire to emancipate itself from all forms of tradition and authority, shuts out even the most obvious evidence of an objective and universal truth, which is the foundation of personal and social life, then the person ends up by no longer ends up taking as the sole and indisputable point of reference for his own choices the truth about good and evil, but only his subjective and changeable opinion or, indeed, his selfish interest and whim.
This view of freedom leads to a serious distortion of life in society. If the promotion of the self is understood in terms of absolute autonomy, people inevitably reach the point of rejecting one another. Everyone else is considered an enemy… society becomes a mass of individuals placed side by side, but without any mutual bonds… social life ventures on to the shifting sands of complete relativism. Everything is negotiable, everything is open to bargaining: even the first of the fundamental rights, the right to life. Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae (Christianity)
Sun Myung Moon
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Liberty exists where everyone lives for others and honors others. When we live for others, we are liberated as well. Living for others is intrinsically liberating. That is why I tell you to live for the sake of others. (323:73, May 31, 2000)
What people today mean by freedom is the right to assert oneself. Their freedom is merely a shield for their self-centered lifestyle. When ten people each assert their freedom, they erect ten walls around themselves, and within those walls their personalities and interests diverge to such an extent that they cannot get along together…
Today, the Western world exalts freedom. Yet you should regard the word “freedom” as a fearful word. What is true freedom? If people take freedom as the opportunity to lift up God and the world, it is well and good.
This is freedom that everyone can enjoy. But if people are self-centered and put everyone down, then where can there be freedom? (107:272-74, June 1, 1980)
Historically, the pursuit of freedom was born out of the desire to lift up society to a higher dimension. It was not born to break down and destroy the social order. Yet today’s young people say, “We want the freedom to drink, dance and enjoy rock music.”
Crying out, “freedom!” they flaunt social norms, break down the social order and ruin the foundations of society. This freedom is nothing but self-indulgence. It is one of Satan’s destructive strategies. (116:102, December 27, 1981)
The greater the freedom, the greater is the need to maintain discipline and respect for law and order. The greater the precision of a piece of machinery, the more exactly its vertical and horizontal motion must accord with the principles of its design. Freedom yields abundant fruit as long as laws are obeyed.
This truth cannot be denied, particularly in today’s advanced social system and scientific civilization. Can human beings enjoy freedom while ignoring the social system? No, the social system exists for the benefit of human beings.
Therefore, people need to align themselves to the laws, organization and structure of their social system and prepare themselves to function within it. They should even take on leadership roles and protect it. People who fulfill this role can have no dealings with self-indulgent freedom.
To travel anywhere, we need a road. We require a direction. Today’s free societies are lacking direction. How can they have direction when everyone does as they please? Yet is there such a thing as a mind without direction? It is the mindset of ruin. (49:190-93, October 10, 1971)
The freedom that most people seek for is not what they can enjoy eternally, nor does it touch the core of their original mind. Instead, the pursuit of freedom drives people to extreme individualism and leaves them more and more isolated.
As long as people do not uphold Heaven’s principles, do not pursue their relationship with God, and do not lift up the concept of freedom that is perfect and unchanging, the freedom that people seek for on earth will not be aligned with the freedom Heaven is seeking.
Therefore, as the prevailing trend demonstrates, the more aggressively people pursue freedom, the farther away they are from it. (4:318, October 12, 1958)
The democratic world seeks to live by Christian teachings, but its way of life is permeated by individualism, bolstered by scientific technology. Hence, the freedom people pursue in today’s democratic societies is fundamentally opposed to Christian teaching.
Christianity teaches freedom for the entire cosmos, liberation for the whole, and unity in the heart of God. Christian freedom is a state where we can rejoice together with God and the entire world. However, most people in the democratic world today insist on an individualistic concept of freedom.
As a result, they deny their nation, their society, their community, and even their family and the relationship of husband and wife. Eventually, they come to deny the very Center of their mind [God]. What do they have left? Loneliness.
When their loneliness reaches the extreme and explodes, they no longer trust others or even themselves. Their feeling of loneliness and distrust becomes an all-encompassing fear and depression, which leads to self-destructive behavior, even suicide. This trend is ever more evident in contemporary times.
Hence, if we really want freedom, we should not cry out for the irresponsible freedom that people sought in the past or are seeking today, but we should seek the true freedom that accompanies the ideal of God’s love. (4:319-20, October 12, 1958)
Sun Myung Moon