God’s purpose is to work Christ into us. Christ is God’s very embodiment. To have Christ within is to have God as life within us. As the first two chapters of Genesis reveal, man was created to be God’s vessel, containing God Himself as life. Man, however, fell by eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Had man partaken of the tree of life, he would have received life in its simplicity and purity.
The tree of knowledge, in contrast, is complicated. Knowledge, good, and evil all pertain to this tree. Knowledge and the good are commendable, even necessary, in the eyes of society. Of course, evil is to be rejected.
From childhood we have lived by knowledge. We have pursued it since kindergarten, right through elementary school, high school, and college. Even a university degree is not sufficient; we must go on for an advanced degree. Perhaps even a doctor’s degree will not satisfy us; we still continue our study and research. Knowledge, we are assured, is our future. Without knowledge, we would be of a lower class of people. Human society lives by knowledge.
The good is also prized by society. We appreciate high ethical standards. The Oriental peoples especially esteem humility. We take pride in giving in to others and consider that this is the highest virtue of humanity. We are pleased to offer others our seat while we stand. We greet each other by bowing low. The Westerners seem to us less civilized. They sit down without a thought as to where others will sit. They stand straight and look directly at each other when they meet. They keep whatever is theirs; it would not occur to them to offer it to someone else. The Oriental culture is surely superior to the Western!
The Oriental peoples are more deeply into the knowledge of good and evil. This can be seen by their more highly developed culture.
Human society is formed of these three elements: knowledge, good, and evil. These three are in the same category, though society condemns only the evil. In essence, culture is the development of knowledge and of the good. Its constituents are science, philosophy, religion, and law.
The universities may offer a great number of courses, but all of them are promoting one of these four constituents of culture. Any country which is strong in science, philosophy, religion, and law is strong. Imagine a country where these are lacking. Science and philosophy lead to advances in knowledge. Religion defines what is good and sets up a moral code. Law restrains man from his evil, wild desires. A country without these four would be full of robbers; its people would be like beasts.
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