It is only when the spiritual and physical dimensions of cognition resonate together that we can thoroughly comprehend God and the universe.
Exposition of the Divine Principle
God and the Universe
Topic: Self-Cultivation & Health
“Cognition of spiritual reality begins when it is perceived through the five senses of the spirit self. These perceptions resonate through the five physical senses and are felt physiologically. Cognition of truth, on the other hand, arises from the knowledge gleaned from the physical world as it is perceived directly through our physiological sense organs. Cognition thus takes place through both spiritual and physical processes.
Human beings become complete only when their spirit self and physical self are unified. Hence, the experience of divine inspiration gained through spiritual cognition and the knowledge of truth obtained through physical cognition should become fully harmonized and awaken the spirituality and intellect together. It is only when the spiritual and physical dimensions of cognition resonate together that we can thoroughly comprehend God and the universe.“
Exposition of the Divine Principle
Wilson, Andrew, editor. World Scripture II. Universal Peace Federation, 2011, p. 330 [Exposition of the Divine Principle, Eschatology 5.1].
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Additional Exposition of the Divine Principle Passages
Spirit and truth are unique, eternal and unchanging. However, the degree and scope of their teaching and the means of their expression will vary from one age to another as they restore humankind from a state of utter ignorance. For example, in the age prior to the Old Testament, when people were still unenlightened and could not directly receive the Word of truth, God commanded them to make sacrificial offerings as a substitute for the Word. (cf. Restoration 3.1) In the course of time, the spirituality and intellect of human beings were elevated to the point when, in Moses’ day, God granted them the Law, and at the time of Jesus He gave the Gospel. Jesus made it clear that his words were not the truth itself; rather, he declared that he himself was “the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) Jesus was the incarnation of the truth. His words were just a means by which he expressed himself. Thus, the scope and depth of Jesus’ words and the method of his teaching varied according to whom he was speaking.
In this sense, we must understand that the verses in the Bible are only one means of expressing the truth and are not the truth itself. The New Testament is but an interim textbook given to enlighten the people of two thousand years ago, whose spiritual and intellectual levels were far lower than today. The modern, scientific-minded thirst for the truth cannot be satisfied by expressions of truth which are limited in scope and couched in symbols and parables aimed specifically at instructing the people of an earlier age. For modern, intellectual people to be enlightened in the truth, there must appear another textbook of higher and richer content, with a more scientific method of expression. We call this the new truth. This truth, as discussed previously, (cf. Introduction) must be able to reconcile science and religion as one united undertaking in order to overcome the internal and external aspects of people’s ignorance.
–Exposition of the Divine Principle, Section 5, The Last Days, the New Truth and Our Attitude (1996 Translation).