Civilization

Writing and etymology in Korean
(sino-korean)
문명
[munmyeong]
文明
Etymology
文 (문) – letter
明 (명) – bright

The basic subject of world history is not a region, not an ethnicity or a people, not a state, but a civilization. Every civilization goes through the same phases of birth, growth, collapse, decay and death.

Throughout history, many civilizations have appeared and disappeared from the face of the earth. Once magnificent and rich cultures are now forgotten and abandoned. Sometimes the cause of their demise has been external, such as weather, disease, or natural disasters, but the main cause has been internal decay, especially decay of faith and morals.

Why did so many great civilizations perish? Because when a civilization began to prosper, instead of living for the world, it became self-centered and tried to consume the world to satisfy its own appetites. These days, many superpowers are in decay for precisely this reason.

Many people today unconsciously worship an idol called “civilization.” Material things have become their idols. People have become slaves to civilization and therefore do not know what should be central to their lives. People are not looking for God and are making crazy efforts while not understanding where they are going and what goal to strive for.

The foundation of any civilization throughout history has been spirit. Religion is a spiritual foundation that has endured from age to age, and the center of which has always been the spirit. Spreading its influence, religion guides the human conscience, influences the social environment, and helps humanity build the world desired by the Heavenly Parent.

Spiritual and material civilizations, formed because of the religion and science searching for ways to overcome the two aspects of human ignorance, must come to harmony. Only then will people be able to resolve the fundamental problems of human life and realize the world of the ideal.