Blessing (Unification Church)
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The concept of Blessing in the Unification Church is complex and often poorly understood. There are actually several distinct concepts articulated in church theology.
[edit] The Three Great Blessings
According to Unification theology, God blessed Adam and Eve to:
- become fruitful
- multiply
- take dominion
This formulation derives from God's first recorded words to Adam in Genesis 1:28
- "Be fruitful and multiply, and take dominion over the earth" etc.
The Unificationist interpretaion is perhaps unique in separating fruitful from multiply and giving it a novel interpretation. 'To be "fruitful"' is to be as a good tree, bearing good fruit, that is, doing good deeds. (Like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz spoke of "good deed doers".)
'To multiply' still carries its traditional meaning of starting a family and having children, but such a family should be centred on God and each family member should also individually be centred on God.
'To take dominion' means to become the caretaker of the Garden of Eden, which should encompass the entire world and even the spiritual world. Not only its caretaker, but also a wise user reaping benefit from it - as opposed to merely leaving it in a pristine, wild and uncultivated state as some modern environmentalists propose.
[edit] The Marriage Blessing
Unificationists typically and frequently use the Blessing to refer specifically to the 2nd of the 3 Blessings. When a man and woman marry, centred on God (and under the auspices of the True Parents), they are said to be "Blessed". (See article on the Blessing Ceremony.) Such a couple is called a "Blessed Couple", their offspring are called "Blessed Children" and they endeavour to establish a "Blessed Family".
