As was stated in the Preface, Unification Thought is the thought which has appeared to lead humankind eternally by fundamentally solving all the difficult problems of humanity. Yet, the fundamental solution of all these difficult problems is possible only through a correct and full understanding of the attributes of God.
The theory concerning the attributes of God, in Unification Thought, is called the Theory of the Original Image. “Original Image” means the attributes of God, the causal being. The attributes of God consist of “form” and also of “function” including nature, character, ability, etc. We call the former aspect the “Divine Image” and the latter aspect the “Divine Character.”
In such historical religions as Christianity and Islam, the attributes of God have been expressed in various ways: omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, supreme good, supreme beauty, supreme truth, righteousness, love, creativity, and so on.
Unification Thought certainly affirms such characteristics as these as included among the attributes of God. Yet, we can not solve actual problems fundamentally by limiting ourselves to this traditional way of understanding God’s attributes.
Unification Thought considers such attributes as those mentioned as belonging to the Divine Character of God. A more important aspect of the attributes of God, however, is the Divine Image. The Divine Image consists of dual characteristics, as is explained in the Divine Principle. Only through a correct and full understanding of the Divine Image, as well as the Divine Character, will we be able to fundamentally solve the problems of human life, society, history, and the world.
The Divine Image of God in Unification Thought refers to the dual characteristics of Sungsang and Hyungsang, and Yang and Yin, and to the Individual Images. The Divine Character in Unification Thought refers to Heart (Shimjung), Logos and Creativity. In this Theory of the Original Image, the content of the Divine Image and the Divine Character will be explained in the section “Content of the Original Image,” and the relationship between Sungsang and Hyungsang will be dealt with in the section “Structure of the Original Image.”