Regarding the topic of positive things, last time we fellowshipped on what positive things are and gave them a definition. What are positive things? (All things created by God, ordained by God, or under God’s sovereignty are positive things.) You have remembered the definition of positive things, but can you grasp the examples that were given? (We can grasp them to some extent.) This definition, this concept of positive things—is it a truth? (It is a truth.) Are you certain? When reading God’s words, you feel that this definition is a truth and is accurate, but when you encounter something that does not align with your notions, you can’t make sense of it and won’t accept the truth. Regardless of whether something is viewed as a positive or a negative thing according to people’s notions, in short, as long as it’s not what God defines as a positive thing, then it is not a positive thing but a negative thing. Are you able to discern things in this way? (Yes. If God has defined something as a positive thing, and this doesn’t align with my own notions and I can’t wrap my head around it—but I know that what God says is definitely the truth—then I will learn to deny myself.) If this thing causes you harm, or even causes harm to all people—according to people’s notions it does not benefit them and doesn’t bring any happiness or enjoyment, instead causing pain and misfortune—then how will you view it? Will you still hold to your view that “God’s definition of positive things is indeed accurate; people cannot make assessments with their notions, nor can they assess something based on whether they benefit from it”? You can’t be certain about this, can you? (We can’t.) Any aspect of the truth doesn’t merely make sense or hold water on the level of doctrine; rather, in real life, in the face of all the facts, it is an eternally unchanging statement. If you cannot be certain of this, then in your heart, your concept of the truth is actually vague. The various aspects of the truth that we fellowship on all involve viewpoints on various people, events, and things; they involve the essence and real circumstances of various people, events, and things, and they also allow people to see how God treats these people, events, and things—what His viewpoints and attitudes regarding them are. Since the definition of positive things is a truth, then it of course also involves the real circumstances and essence of the various people, events, and things covered by the scope of this definition, while also involving God’s attitudes, perspectives, and statements regarding these various things. So, regardless of whether, according to their notions, people think the definition of positive things is right or wrong, and regardless of what people’s initial perspective on the definition of positive things is within the context of their traditional culture or their daily lives, in short, since this definition of positive things is a truth, then the people, events, and things it covers are all positive things, and those that are contrary to it are all negative things. This is certain beyond all doubt. You must have a clear understanding of this matter. Regardless of when or in what social environment, and regardless of the impact a positive thing has on you or what your attitude and perspective regarding it are, the definition of positive things and the essence of the people, events, and things covered by that definition are unchanging. Understand? (Yes.)

Last time, we mainly fellowshipped on a few specific examples concerning the statement “all things ordained by God or under God’s sovereignty are positive things.” We didn’t fellowship in much detail about the part stating, “all things created by God are positive things.” So, are you able to confirm that this statement is correct through fellowship or through the truths you have understood over the years? Or, are you able to verify that all things created by God are positive things based on the people, events, and things you have seen and experienced in life? Are you able to grasp things this way? Are you able to seek the truth like this? (We can grasp some simpler things this way.) There is a principle here. Looking at it on the surface level, the topics of what is created by God, ordained by God, or under God’s sovereignty cover a very broad scope and are highly abstract, but in fact, they are closely linked to the various people, events, and things that people come into contact with in real life—it also could be said they’re intimately connected; they are not detached from reality. This relates to an issue. When you face many unexpected people, events, and things in your life, you can’t determine whether they are positive things or negative things. Even if you understand the doctrine for discerning positive and negative things, you still can’t determine it. Even if they are types of things that are encompassed by positive things, you do not acknowledge them as positive things within your notions, and you are repelled by them and detest them in your heart, and even think they are utterly unworthy of being listed within the scope of positive things, and yet they are indeed created by God, ordained by God, or under God’s sovereignty, and they belong to the category of positive things. This is when the principles of practice for how people should face these types of things come into play. The simplest principle of practice is this: First, you must be sure that the thing in question is a type of thing covered by the definition of positive things. Although going by people’s notions it doesn’t seem like a positive thing, if it is something within the category of positive things defined by God, then first of all, you must be sure that it is a positive thing, and that there is absolutely no mistake about it. There is significance in God’s creation of it; it is for people to learn some lessons from it. It is necessary to be certain of this. This is one principle of practice. Second, regarding this thing or this kind of matter, we don’t need to be like scientists and study its nature or function, or what role it plays in human life or in the entire food chain. Just being certain that it is a positive thing is enough. Some people say, “If this positive thing often appears in people’s lives and interferes with their lives, affecting their view that it’s positive, then how should it be treated?” That’s easy to handle. If you need to use it in your life, then use it as needed; let it serve you. If you don’t need to use it, and it often interferes with you or disturbs any of your physical senses, then you can drive it away and stay away from it. Just don’t let it interfere with you or cause you physical pain. This is the second principle. Also, you must know that if it comes from God’s creation, God’s ordination, or God’s sovereignty, then you should not find it repulsive, detest it, or deny it. Instead, you should accept it and acknowledge it. What’s even better is to manage it and make use of it in a reasonable way. These are the principles of practice, three in total. What are these three principles? (The first is that, as long as something is within the scope of positive things defined by God, we must be sure it’s a positive thing. There is significance in God’s creation of it; it is for people to learn some lessons from it. The second is, on the basis of being sure that it is a positive thing, we use it if needed. If we don’t need to use it, and it interferes with our lives, then we can drive it away and stay away from it, not letting it interfere with our lives. The third is, if it’s created by God, ordained by God, or under God’s sovereignty, we should not find it repulsive or detest it; we should accept it and acknowledge it. What’s even better is to be able to manage it and make use of it in a reasonable way.) Are these three principles easy to apply? They’re not so easy, are they? (No.) If a mosquito is buzzing in your ear, you will drive it away, thinking to yourself, “All that God has created is good; I’ll just shoo it away and be done with it”—you will be able to act according to these three principles. But if you drive it away and it comes right back and bites you, the more you think about it, the angrier you will get: “I let you go, but you won’t leave me alone. This time, I’m definitely going to swat you!” Is swatting it the correct thing to do? Actually, swatting it isn’t wrong; this can be considered appropriate management. But at the same time, won’t you also start to doubt the fact that mosquitoes are positive things? Especially when the welt from its bite gets itchier and itchier, so itchy that it’s unbearable, you’ll think to yourself: “What’s the use of God creating mosquitoes? Would people suffer this harm if there were no mosquitoes? This sure doesn’t seem like a positive thing!” Your rationality will tell you that thinking this way is wrong, that a mosquito is a positive thing because it is a tiny creature within the scope of positive things created by God. But you still can’t make sense of it: “It doesn’t benefit people, so why did God create it?” Although the welt from a mosquito bite isn’t large, the itchiness is awful. For those with allergies, scratching it can lead to redness and swelling, and even infection and fever. At this point, you will develop notions and find it hard to accept: “Mosquitoes don’t seem like positive things to me. If they were, how could they interfere with people and cause them pain? Shouldn’t positive things have positive effects? This effect isn’t positive; they are playing a negative role and having a negative effect on people. How can mosquitoes be placed in the category of positive things? It’s inconceivable. What God has done doesn’t align with my notions!” In your heart, you will develop notions about mosquitoes being positive things. Out loud you say, “First of all, you can’t deny that mosquitoes are positive things. Secondly, if you don’t want them to interfere with you, you can drive them away and stay away from them. Finally, you shouldn’t find them repulsive or detest them, but should accept them, acknowledge them, and manage them in a reasonable way.” Although you will say that, this last principle is very difficult for you to apply. It’s fairly easy for you to accept beneficial insects. When it comes to mosquitoes, however, if you were to try to accept them, manage them reasonably, and not curse them, can you do this? (Before God’s fellowship, sometimes when I was in a bad mood and got bitten by a mosquito, I would feel particularly repulsed and say some bad things. In the future, I’ll try my best to avoid this and not say those things anymore.) You should not curse them; you should accept them, treat them correctly, and manage them in a reasonable way. This part about reasonable management is very difficult to apply, isn’t it? (Yes.) If you were to acknowledge and accept them verbally and doctrinally, that would be somewhat easy to do. If they hurt you, you could also stay away from them and avoid them. But to get you to accept them and acknowledge them from your heart, to treat them correctly, and, moreover, to manage them in a reasonable way—this would be difficult for you to do. Why would it be difficult? Because when they hurt you, you don’t feel that you are benefiting from them, but that you are being harmed by them. That is, according to your notions, positive things should have a positive effect, but rather than receiving any positive benefit from mosquitoes, you feel they have had a negative effect on you. At this point, for you to not find them repulsive or detestable, but to accept them and even manage them in a reasonable way, would not be easy to do. Although people can accept that mosquitoes are positive things on the level of doctrine, and they can also barely manage to treat mosquitoes correctly, when they’re disturbed by mosquitoes in real life, it’s very difficult for them to treat them according to the principles. This requires people to understand the truth, to understand the nature of the many specific people, events, and things involved under the three aspects covered by positive things—those that are “created by God, ordained by God, or under God’s sovereignty”—as well as what kind of roles they play in human life and survival, and what God’s original purpose was in creating them and giving them their way of life. These are the things people need to understand. If people understand God’s original purpose and the general thrust of His intentions and the fundamental principles, then for some positive things that do not align with their notions, perhaps in addition to staying away from them, they can also—to varying degrees—come to accept them, acknowledge them, manage them reasonably, and make use of them correctly. We’ll discuss this topic gradually.

The scope covered by the topic of “what is created by God” is very broad, so we have to first give some examples and then discuss them bit by bit. We just spoke about mosquitoes. It’s safe to say that no one likes mosquitoes or is willing to live with them; on the contrary, everyone detests mosquitoes and even wishes to never see one for their whole life. Although the matter of mosquitoes is not a major one, it involves a certain type of thing, and it also involves people’s understanding of the nature of a certain type of thing within the people, events, and things created by God. Of course, the key here is that it involves people coming to know and understand a truth, and it also involves the principles of practice for how people treat a certain type of thing among the people, events, and things in their lives. Therefore, although the mosquito is not a large creature, the matters it involves are not small; it’s worthwhile for people to try to understand and explore them. The content of “what is created by God” involves topics of the macroscopic and of the microscopic. Just now, we briefly fellowshipped on a small species of the microscopic aspect: the mosquito. It is a relatively small type of creature that people can see with the naked eye; anything smaller than a mosquito is not worth discussing. Mosquitoes are a type of creature that people can often come into contact with, a relatively microscopic creature visible to the naked eye. Since this issue is on a microscopic level, we’ll fellowship on it later. So, what should we first fellowship on? (The macroscopic.) Let’s first fellowship on macroscopic things. There are many macroscopic things. The one that’s closest to people’s lives, or that people can come into contact with, feel, and see, and which is familiar to everyone—apart from the objects in the living environment created by God for man—is mankind itself. So, when it comes to mankind, of the various people, events, and things that people can see, which are worth talking about? Which are worth understanding? The topic most worth understanding when it comes to human society is the so-called civilization of mankind. The main topic covered by this civilization is different cultures. The emergence of different cultures stems from the education within different societies; the education within different societies gives rise to different cultures, and against the backdrop of these different cultures, the so-called civilizations of mankind across different eras have emerged. This is the source and origin of human civilization. Eastern society has its civilization, and of course, it also has its so-called culture. The emergence of this culture comes from the way Eastern society educates its people. Similarly, Western society also has its so-called civilization. Western civilization also comes from its culture, and the emergence of its culture likewise comes from the education of Western society. That is to say, the education of Western society across different eras has produced Western culture, and against such a cultural backdrop, Western civilization has gradually emerged, taken shape, and developed to the present day. Whether Eastern or Western culture, both have been educating their respective peoples in this way, generation after generation. Across different eras, they have been continuously conditioning and influencing one generation after another, and spreading from one generation to the next across different eras, while at the same time continuously developing and being carried forward. In this way, Eastern and Western cultures and civilizations have gradually taken shape and unfolded, and have gradually been recognized and accepted by people, gradually taking shape and becoming established in Eastern and Western societies. This has formed the mainstream cultures and civilizations of the East and West. The East has its mainstream culture and civilization, as does the West. Eastern and Western societies have, in terms of essence, form, and their influence on mankind, formed different cultures and civilizations. Whether Eastern or Western culture, both have had an indelible, irresistible, or irreplaceable influence on people’s lives, survival, thoughts, and viewpoints. Since we are talking about Eastern and Western cultures, they certainly have their differences. Eastern culture has its primary thoughts and viewpoints that it values, while Western culture has its own characteristics and primary thoughts and viewpoints that it values. So, what does Eastern culture place value on? What does Eastern culture primarily teach? Most people don’t quite understand this aspect. Some of you may be completely baffled: “Why are You talking about positive things starting from this point?” Many macroscopic things inherently have many abstract components to them. Although you don’t understand this aspect yet, if you listen carefully, you will.

Let’s first talk about Eastern culture. What does Eastern culture value? What is its essence? What is its influence on people? What are the main characteristics of Eastern culture that you have personally felt, or that you’ve seen, understood, or come to realize and learn about through the subtle influence of long-term exposure to it? When we speak of culture, it relates to education. Whether it’s education that comes from families, schooling, or from society, it all relates to culture; it relates to the education of a nation or a certain group of people. Education creates a cultural background—that is certain. Do you know what kind of education Eastern culture values? (Eastern culture places great value on tradition.) So what is the essence of tradition? “Tradition” is a concept. What is the specific content covered by this concept? It is the requirements for how you should think, what you should do, and in which direction and toward which goal you should conduct yourself. This is the specific essence of its education. The education that Eastern society values is social moral education, and this social moral education also has specific content. For example, one ideological trend often propagated in Eastern society is using reason to persuade others. Is this one of them? (Yes.) There is also courtesy before force, yielding to others out of courtesy, and “A prime minister’s heart is big enough to sail a boat in.” There’s also “Harmony is a treasure; forbearance is brilliance,” and “Compromise will make a conflict much easier to resolve.” What else? “It is never too late for a gentleman to take his revenge,” “Where there is life there is hope,” “A great man knows when to yield and when to assert himself,” and “A real man’s ambition is far-reaching.” What else? (Does “Filial piety is a virtue to be held above all else” count?) That counts, too. There is also “What a joy it is, when a friend comes from afar,” which concerns hospitality. What else? (“I’d take a bullet for a friend,” and “Do not impose on others that which you yourself do not desire.”) The effect that all these concepts in Eastern education are intended to achieve is to make people value social morals; these concepts teach people what rules of etiquette they should abide by in society, and get people to treat this so-called etiquette as a symbol of a person’s character. Eastern education uses these things to regulate people’s behavior. If a person wants to be established in society, they must first ensure that in all things they earn the admiration, high regard, and respect of others. Only by attaining a moral character that has such qualities of humanity can one be considered a truly good person. After receiving such an education, people use these ideas about so-called moral character to constrain themselves, striving to meet these requirements. This Eastern education teaches people to outwardly abide by etiquette, so that they appear to be courteous, well-mannered people, people of noble moral character. As for what people are thinking on the inside, whatever needs of humanity, wishes, or even ambitions and desires they have, it should all be suppressed and buried deep in their hearts, not to be exposed. We have fellowshipped quite a bit on this aspect of Eastern education before. What is the nature of all these ideological education concepts? Do they conform to the needs of humanity? Do they conform to the essence of humanity? (No.) Precisely because the behavior lived out and revealed by those under this Eastern social moral education is totally contrary to people’s essence and the needs of their humanity, this perfectly proves a point: The various ideas advocated by this Eastern social moral education go against people’s actual situations and what actually exists within their humanity. In order to cover up people’s real problems and to allow them to live more respectably in society, to appear nobler and worthier of other people’s approval, this social moral education came into being in Eastern society. Thus, it must be said that education in this sort of context is an education in pretense. The essence, or the intended effect, of this education in pretense is to admonish every person to not expose their true face to others—regardless of their character, and regardless of their background, they should learn to disguise and mask themselves, so that they can have more dignity and pride before others, live with self-respect, and live in a way that earns them admiration and approval.

In the context of this Eastern education in pretense, what have Eastern people learned? They have learned to suppress and endure. Eastern ideological education has produced a certain quality within the humanity of Eastern people, and the consequence of this quality—whether viewed at the level of thought or in terms of behavior—is that it makes people learn how to suppress and endure. Specifically, in any social era, under any ruling class, and in any living environment, when encountering all kinds of people, events, and things, people must learn how to suppress and endure, and not reveal their true emotions and thoughts. To call it “suppressing and enduring” is putting it nicely; in fact, it is pretense. And what do people use for this pretense? They use the various thoughts, viewpoints, tactics for self-conduct, and philosophies for worldly dealings drawn from Eastern social moral education or from Eastern culture to disguise themselves, so that outwardly they appear as courteous, well-mannered people, as people of noble moral character with integrity and dignity, capable of earning the high regard, approval, and admiration of others. This is the influence of Eastern social moral education on people; its main effect is that people end up learning to suppress and endure. The term “suppress and endure” encompasses making people endure all things, use reason to persuade others, and be courteous before resorting to force when dealing with people, trying to treat others with the utmost kindness. It’s as if they’re especially magnanimous, possessing a heart of benevolence and tolerance; they disguise themselves as particularly great and noble, even looking down on everything from the high ground of human morality. Therefore, within this Eastern cultural context, the cultural life of Eastern people is basically permeated with these ideas and concepts. At the same time, this culture is used to constantly condition and influence the next generation. For example, in film and television dramas, certain ideas are often promoted, one of which is, “Great chivalrous heroes do their part for their country and people.” What is the image of a great chivalrous hero in people’s minds? In martial arts films, you see that most great chivalrous heroes are dashing and refined, wearing a bamboo hat, with a sword or saber at their side. They are expressionless and selfless, holding the world, common people, and all living beings in their hearts, and they go around upholding justice, doing good things, and accumulating merit. When they see injustice, they draw their swords to help, taking action when it’s called for. This is the image of a great chivalrous hero in people’s minds, and it is also the value such figures hold in people’s minds. The reason film and television dramas create characters like this is that all Eastern people have such a yearning in their hearts toward society and humankind. They yearn for such people to exist in society or in life, so that they themselves no longer need to suppress and endure, and are no longer bound and shackled by this social culture. It is precisely because people have this need that such characters are continually created in certain literary and artistic works. This serves the needs of cultural propaganda, and it also serves the needs of the audience. The common people have suppressed and endured in society for too long and too painfully; they need an outlet, but have none. They can only find satisfaction in the heroic figures and great chivalrous heroes created in these literary and artistic works. Therefore, such film and television works and such characters are accepted and praised by the public. When the public sees that the righteous deeds of these great chivalrous heroes in films and television dramas—or their acts of drawing their swords to help when they see an injustice—perfectly fit their psychological needs, they all clap and cheer, shouting, “Serves you right! That’s what you get for doing evil! That’s what you get for harming the people!” Their cheers reflect the pain of having to suppress and endure that Eastern people experience in their daily lives, as well as the heavy, manifold pressures and great harm they endure from society and the ruling class. Therefore, such entertainment works are welcomed by the common people at heart, and approved of and longed for by them.

Precisely because the suppression and endurance brought about by this Eastern social moral education have bound and restricted Eastern people in terms of their thinking and their humanity to the greatest extent possible, their humanity and thinking have become greatly distorted. How is this distortion manifested? It is manifested in the fact that everyone harbors hatred toward officials and the wealthy; when they see something unjust, they feel hatred inside and immediately associate it with the ruling class or the rich, feeling that all their pain is caused by them. This is one aspect. In addition, because Eastern social moral education produces in people a character that suppresses and endures, Eastern people’s thoughts are bound and fettered to a large degree. Compared to Westerners, it is difficult for Eastern people to achieve independent thinking or liberation of thought on the level of thinking; that is, they are unable to think and reason freely, autonomously, and independently. Therefore, in the social environment of the East, everyone from children to adults possesses a slavish quality; it’s difficult for them to think about a problem independently or to independently complete a task according to principles and plans. Another aspect is that the suppression and endurance of Eastern people make them hostile toward society, humankind, and every social stratum. This has also led them to develop a rather slippery quality in their humanity, which can be summed up as a kind of scumminess. Because this world is so unfair, people have to withstand various pressures and bonds from society, their work environment, and their families, and this results in the normal needs of their humanity—their normal emotional and physical needs—not being properly or fairly dealt with. Thus, everyone harbors a flippant, cynical, or world-weary attitude toward their life. This attitude makes Eastern people feel that the hope of living is very slim; they hardly feel any drive to live, and have no heart for anything they do. In this way, they develop a slick and slippery attitude toward dealing with the world, and this slickness and slipperiness can be summed up as “scumminess.” What does this “scumminess” refer to? It refers to a flippant attitude in everything one does. For example, some people’s attitude toward doing their duty is to do as they please—if they feel like doing something, they do a bit of it; if they don’t feel like it, then they don’t. When their work carries even a little pressure, they whine about how hard it is, and want to rest. If you fellowship on the truth with them and tell them that they’ll delay the work like this, they say, “Whatever. I feel like resting right now. I want to have some fun for a while!” They do not have a serious and responsible attitude in anything they do. Whether it’s toward work, their daily life, or even their whole lives and their faith, they are muddled, do not have a serious attitude, and adopt a flippant one. Wherever they go, they want to barge straight through. When they hit a wall, it doesn’t bother them at all; they can’t stand being regulated, and long to enjoy freedom. If they’re freed, they recklessly commit misdeeds; if they lose their freedom, they complain about everyone and everything. This is the kind of attitude they have. Is this not scumminess? (Yes.) This is the unique character that Eastern people have developed within the social environment of the East. Some people also engage in suppressing and enduring; they can endure anything, and can do so for a very long time. They have extraordinary endurance and resilience, can bear any hardship, can survive in any environment, can manage to smile in any environment, and can still get to sleep when it’s time to sleep at night, not shedding a single tear. For example, when there’s a flood and some people’s homes, fields, and livestock are all submerged, they don’t seem to be in much pain. They focus single-mindedly on picking up valuable things in the flood, planning to strike it rich. Others warn them, “It’s not safe to risk your life picking things up like this!” They reply, “A flood is a perfect opportunity to get rich. This chance is hard to come by!” Others say, “Our fields are flooded, our grain has been washed away, the government isn’t providing any relief, and no one is coming to help. How are we going to live? Life in this world is just too hard. We might as well just die!” But they say, “When disaster strikes, you have to rely on yourself. Heaven will always leave a way out for man. A flood is a great opportunity to get rich. It’s a business with no capital and enormous profit. Even if we’ve lost some things, we’ll pick some other things back up—that’ll nicely make up for the losses, and we might even make a little profit!” You see, normal people feel pain when disaster strikes and they suffer losses, but among Eastern people, there are “heroic figures” like this—no matter what disaster befalls them, they can go with the flow and even find opportunities to get rich. They don’t fret or feel distressed, and even if the government doesn’t provide relief or solve their problems, they don’t care. It’s as if, having experienced disasters so much, they’ve just gotten used to it. Isn’t this what Chinese society is like? So, given this kind of education in Chinese society, the literary and artistic works people consume in their spare time or the ways they relax are mostly forms of self-deprecation and self-mockery. This is how Chinese people amuse themselves, finding a bit of release for the repression in their hearts. But afterward, in daily life, they continue to put on a pretense and suppress and endure just as before. No matter how the government treats them, the common people have already gotten used to this kind of treatment. As long as they don’t starve, they feel content; without the threat of imminent death, they don’t think of rebelling. The common people have resigned themselves to such things: “A bad life is better than a good death; Heaven will always leave a way out for man. Let’s just live like this! Human rights? Democracy? Those are extravagant desires. We Chinese people are born to this wretched fate. As long as we can stay alive, that’s good enough!” Isn’t this being dull-witted and numb to the extreme? Do they have any dignity as people left? (No.) This is a pathetic state of affairs.

Most of the literary and artistic works created in the East are very different from those in the West in what they reflect and advocate. Although Eastern literary and artistic works do reflect some social injustices, this is not the thinking that the directors or screenwriters truly want to advocate, and it’s not done to satisfy some of the needs of the audience. What do they truly advocate in these works? It is still Eastern social moral education. Its main manifestations are patriotic sentiments, advocating that people should love their country, be concerned for the country and the people, be “real men with far-reaching ambitions,” draw their swords to help when they see injustice, and take a bullet for a friend. What else do they advocate? “Compromise will make a conflict much easier to resolve,” and “It is never too late for a gentleman to take his revenge.” The humanity they advocate is actually hollow; it’s just people’s imaginings and inferences. They advocate it solely for the sake of the stability of the ruling class’s regime, so that people will forever slave away like beasts of burden for the ruling class, without the slightest resistance permitted. These hollow ideas are used to numb and mislead people, satisfying their need for entertainment and the temporary needs of their hearts. For example, what is advocated in martial arts novels or film and television dramas? The spirit of chivalry, becoming a great chivalrous hero who robs the rich to help the poor and draws their sword to help others. The so-called great chivalrous hero is embodied by the saying, “Great chivalrous heroes do their part for their country and people.” Advocating the spirit of chivalry makes the common people not only praise such characters but also yearn for and pursue becoming this type of person. What else do Eastern literary and artistic works advocate? They advocate heroism: toiling and exhausting one’s heart and mind for the country, for the nation, and for the well-being of an area and its people, and sacrificing one’s youth and life for the great cause of the nation. In short, these biographies and legends of martial arts figures produced in the Eastern—and especially the Chinese—social environment, whether they’re traditional or modern, or fictional or based on real historical figures and events, all teach people to strive for selflessness and self-abnegation. They all take this as their theme and educational core, aiming to make people have noble social morals. Selflessness and self-abnegation mean having no self; they advocate that the greater self comes before the lesser self, that one’s country comes before one’s family, and only in this way can one have a good life. This is the kind of thinking they instill in people. That is, they teach you to not be selfish, to not only consider yourself, to not make any sacrifices or efforts for the sake of your own life, your own survival, or anything related to yourself, and not even to struggle for these things in any way. Instead, you are to sacrifice and contribute yourself for your home country, for society, for humankind, and for the great cause of the nation. These teachings are collectively referred to as an education in pretense. This so-called education in pretense is unrealistic and does not conform to the needs of humanity; on the basis of stripping away the needs of people’s humanity, their innate instincts, and their basic right to survive, it impels people to make pointless sacrifices for the country and the nation, for a hollow, vacuous cause. This virtue of self-sacrifice is entirely something that Eastern society has forcibly instilled into people’s humanity. “Forcibly instilled” means that it is not something that arises spontaneously from humanity, is not something inherent to the innate instincts of humanity, is not something that innate instincts can attain, and is not something that one’s innate free will or subjective will desires to achieve. Rather, it is something that the ruling class or sociologists forcibly instill into people’s minds, misleading or compelling them to accept such social obligations and responsibilities, and then educating them under the grand banner of so-called “noble moral character,” leaving them without the strength to break free, and too afraid to try. This is because if you do break free from this education or break through it, if you don’t accept this education, then you are an enemy of the entire society and the whole nation—you’re heinously rebellious, you are non-human, you are an oddball, and you’ll have to face a living condition in which you’re isolated. Therefore, even if people feel some dissatisfaction in their hearts, even if they hate this society and this kind of education, they have neither the strength nor the courage to break free from it, much less the courage to say “no” to it. They can only grin and bear it—they are powerless to resist, and can only silently endure. If you do not endure, then on a large scale society will denounce you and spurn you; and on a small scale, your family and loved ones will spurn you, distance themselves from you, and isolate you, and even condemn you as being heinously rebellious. Let’s look at an example. When you were a child, for instance, let’s say your parents taught you: “When you go out and see elders, you must greet them. Call those younger than us ‘uncle’ or ‘auntie,’ and call the elderly ‘grandpa’ or ‘grandma.’ When someone gives you something, you have to say ‘thank you.’ If another child hits you, you have to endure it; only fight back if you really can’t take it anymore. You have to show the utmost restraint.” And one day, you went out and saw someone, but because you were shy, you didn’t dare to greet them. Your parents felt they had lost face, so they disciplined you when you got home, and from then on you would quickly say hello whenever you saw someone. To avoid getting beaten, no matter how embarrassed you felt or how unwilling you were inside, you still had to go against your will and greet people. Growing up in such an environment, one has no choice but to put up with everything. Even in such a small matter, you have to act this way; whether at home or out in society, it’s all you can do. If you feel uncomfortable and want to be willful for once, never mind society denouncing you—even your family and parents will lecture and rebuke you. After you grow up, you realize that greeting people is for the sake of preserving face and to make it easier to establish oneself in society. When you were a child, however, you couldn’t wrap your head around this, though you still had to act this way. If you didn’t, you would be disciplined, and might even sometimes be scolded or beaten by your parents in front of others, something you would never forget your whole life. Therefore, in the broader societal context, you can only accept this education in so-called “noble moral character.” Regardless of the consequences of accepting it, regardless of how it ultimately influences your humanity, and regardless of the character or the qualities of humanity it causes you to develop—in the end, you alone must bear these consequences.

The quality of humanity that Eastern people develop from their education in Eastern society is that of suppressing and enduring. Behind this suppressing and enduring actually lie many of the specific thoughts, viewpoints, ways of conducting oneself, and various attitudes toward all kinds of things that are found in Eastern social moral education. This is how Eastern society is. Similarly, Western society also has its own mainstream cultural education, through which Westerners also develop their respective qualities of humanity. So what is this mainstream Western cultural education? It mainly values autonomy and independence. This differs from the situation in Eastern society, which requires people to sacrifice and contribute themselves for the country and for society, doing things that are unrelated to their personal lives. In contrast, what Western society teaches people is the exact opposite of what Eastern society requires them to do. Western society does not require you to contribute anything to society, humankind, or the great cause of the nation; what’s at the core of Western education is getting you to think for yourself, to learn to handle your own problems, and to not trouble others, society, or the state. It gives you independent rights, independent space for thought, and independent personal space, and cultivates your independent thinking ability and your ability to think about and handle problems independently. You have to solve your own problems; you must be independent, autonomous, and self-reliant. The West has a cultural background of this kind of ideological education, and against this cultural background, Westerners also develop certain qualities of humanity related to the core of their educational ideology. Eastern people have developed the educational and cultural characteristics of the East against the backdrop of Eastern social moral education. Since Westerners bear the educational quality of Western society, they also possess the essence that relates to that quality. The essence of the educational quality Westerners possess is in fact different from that of the educational quality Eastern people possess. The educational quality Eastern people possess is an education in pretense, while the one Westerners possess is an education in selfishness. Every theme of Western education teaches people to be independent and autonomous, to think through their own problems, and to handle and manage their own affairs. Therefore, Western education has the quality of being an education in selfishness. This education in selfishness is totally unlike Eastern education; it is a different kind of quality. This quality leads Westerners to prioritize personal independent space; subjective will, thinking, thoughts, viewpoints, and ideas; and their own rights, their current living conditions, and their present mood and emotions. They don’t need to pay much attention to other things, nor to any social or family responsibilities. They must first figure out their own problems, get their own emotions handled, and resolve their own immediate matters, and only then comes everything else. Eastern education has taught Eastern people to suppress and endure, while Western education has taught Westerners to defend their rights. In this, Westerners and Eastern people are completely different. When Eastern people encounter something, they just keep enduring it. When they really can’t endure it anymore, they tell themselves, “A bad life is better than a good death. You’ve got to endure to stay alive.” In contrast to the suppression and endurance of Eastern people, Westerners have a different quality: Through their social education in autonomy and independence, they have learned to defend their rights. Compared to the suppression and endurance of Eastern people, isn’t there more self-respect and dignity to a certain degree in Westerners defending their rights? That is, there’s a bit more agency involved, right? (Yes.) Defending one’s rights is an absolutely fundamental concept; it means taking the necessary actions to protect one’s fundamental human rights, including the right to belief, the right to life, the right to free speech, and so on. Of course, what does this basic defense of rights mainly refer to? It refers to people having independent space for thought, being able to consider issues freely and independently without being influenced or controlled by any social environment or surrounding people, events, and things. Regardless of whether the viewpoints that arise from one’s considerations of issues are right or wrong, or whether one’s way of thinking is correct, achieving autonomy and freedom is what matters most. In short, Westerners live in free societies, and in the cultural context of Western social education, their minds are very active and often in a state of freedom. Therefore, compared to people in Eastern society, Westerners are bolder in their thinking, more willing to think, and more adept at thinking, whereas most of the time the thinking of Eastern people is shackled, formulaic, or suppressed. Under usual circumstances, the minds of Westerners are free, active, and willing to think about problems. To put it in a way that’s improper, they’re more willing to ponder strange and unusual things, even to the point of going down rabbit holes. This is a manifestation of the qualities of humanity they develop within Western social education, and this manifestation of humanity is more progressive than that of Easterners. In one aspect, they defend their right to life, and in another, they also defend the various viewpoints that arise from their free thought. As a result, the ideas, viewpoints, and artistic forms displayed in Western literary works or in Western artistic and entertainment life are diverse and wide-ranging. Among those of all humankind, Western literary works and entertainment life are relatively free and avant-garde, and people can draw inspiration and benefit greatly from them. Look—what ideas do some Eastern literary and artistic works advocate? Patriotism, love for family, love for one’s parents, and so on. These are all things found in Eastern social moral education, or which are part of the core of Eastern culture. Because Western culture has provided Westerners with free and autonomous space for thought, has produced this quality of humanity within them, and has endowed them with this right to free thought, Westerners have more intellectual substance in their literary and artistic life than Eastern people do, and at the same time, the scope of their thought is broader. You see, the scope of Eastern people’s thinking, or the ideas they express and advocate in their literary and artistic life, are very limited, narrow, and restricted, whereas the various topics that appear in Western people’s literary and artistic life are quite wide-ranging and free from government restrictions. Some of these topics are reflections on a certain law introduced by the government during some period in terms of people’s humanity, or on the impact it has on society or even on an individual’s life and family. Others are reflections on schooling and on human rights, as well as various other issues, such as the discussions among people of all social classes—along with immigrants—on racial equality, racial discrimination, and the relationships between people of different skin colors. From this, it can be seen that the range of the various topics that are reflected in Western literary and artistic works is quite broad, as is that of the various ideas and viewpoints involved. They even reflect the social impact caused by the methods and means used by some law enforcement agencies within the broader legal framework, as well as the various psychological burdens placed on the public or the various subsequent effects on people’s lives. These are all ideas and viewpoints that are presented in various Western literary and artistic works. For one thing, these are thoughts that are advocated within the Western cultural context; for another, they are thoughts and viewpoints that appear because people are free to think within the context of Western cultural education. In short, the various ideas Westerners present in their literary and artistic works, as well as the thoughts, viewpoints, philosophies for worldly dealings, and attitudes of Westerners among different social classes and different industries in how they treat all kinds of things, are completely different from those of Eastern people. Here’s a simple example: In the East, when an employee works for a company, their livelihood comes from their boss, so they must do whatever their boss tells them to do. Even if they’re asked to do some household chores for their boss, like picking up their children or buying groceries, they must be completely obedient and dare not refuse. They even have to be on call during their time off. They are their boss’s attendant, underling, and slave. This is how the superior-subordinate relationship between employee and boss is in the East. The employee may feel uncomfortable, upset, and unwilling, but they have no choice—they can only endure. That’s their boss, the one who provides their livelihood, so they can only put themselves at their mercy. In the East, no matter how a boss exploits their employees, and no matter how unreasonable their actions are, the employees can only endure it; they have no way to break free from this situation. Some Eastern countries may also have labor laws, which are meant to protect the legal rights and interests of every citizen, but on a societal level, because it’s the East, no employee dares to sue their boss even if they break the labor laws. No matter how their rights are deprived or how they’re exploited by their boss, there’s nothing they can do. Even with labor laws, they cannot wield the law to defend their own rights and interests. They can only go along with it and let the situation continue. The West, on the other hand, is different. The superior-subordinate relationship between employee and boss in the West exists only on the level of work, and during work hours. Outside of work, there is no personal, emotional relationship between them. If your boss asks you to work overtime, you can refuse. If your boss asks you to help pick up their children or buy groceries, you can say, “You have no right to ask me to do this. That’s not my job. I’m under no obligation to serve you.” You can refuse. If your boss repeatedly and forcibly pushes you to do these things, you can sue them, and Western labor laws will take effect; the law will respond accordingly. Westerners are able to do this, and they’re not afraid to do so, but Eastern people are. According to the notions of Eastern people, you should do whatever your superior or a person with status or renown asks you to do, and provide services to them for free. You even have to say, “I am willing to serve you, to lay down my life for you, and would expect nothing in return. Serving you is my honor!” Regardless of whether they exploit you for your labor or deprive you of your human rights, you should accept it and not demand any remuneration. If you do, that means you’re being ungrateful and making them lose face, and they’ll make you pay for it. Westerners, on the other hand, are different. They have learned to defend their rights and exercise these rights extremely effectively, taking them as far as they can go. Even if the president or some renowned individual doesn’t leave a tip after a meal, a complaint will be lodged—this is a right granted to workers by labor laws. When Eastern people encounter such situations, they dare not complain. They think, “They’re an official, a famous person. Could I win a lawsuit against them? Even if I did win, what would I do if they made things difficult for me behind the scenes? If I sued them, I’d end up in serious trouble, and I might even lose my life.” Therefore, Eastern people would rather suffer a loss than dare to ask for a tip. This is called enduring. But Westerners are different. They think, “Why should I endure it? I wasn’t born to live my life for anyone else—I live for myself. I have to defend my rights. This is money I deserve. I don’t care if you’re some well-known figure or big shot, you have to pay. Everyone is equal. What gives you the right to not tip? If you don’t tip, I’ll sue you!” And once they get the tip, the matter is settled. These are the different thoughts, viewpoints, and ways of handling people, events, and things that Eastern people and Western people come to have through their respective cultural educations.

The East and the West differ in their methods of cultural education and in the specific content of that education. These different forms of education have produced different human cultures, as well as qualities of humanity of different ethnic groups. With these qualities of humanity, Eastern people have their own lifestyles, living situations, modes of thinking, and attitudes for worldly dealings, while Westerners have their own lifestyles, living situations, and ways and attitudes for worldly dealings. Of these two attitudes for worldly dealings, one is to suppress and endure, and is especially reserved; the other places particular emphasis on safeguarding the rights of people’s subjective will and desires. One is produced from an education in pretense, and the other is produced from an education in selfishness. Regardless of the kind of education in which these qualities of humanity are produced—whether it’s suppression and endurance or defending one’s rights, reservedness or openness—which of them are positive things? (Whether Eastern or Western, none of these qualities of humanity are positive things.) Why do you say they’re not positive things? Let’s hear your specific reasons. None of you can say why, can you? (We can’t.) No matter what the matter in question is, you’re all afraid that other people will be very particular about the details, and when they are, you feel muddled and can’t explain things clearly. This proves you lack clarity in that regard, so you should fellowship on it. That question I posed to you is a topic worth fellowshipping on, isn’t it? (It is.) This topic involves “what is created by God.” So let’s first take a look: What kind of being is the humankind created by God? What God creates are positive things. Which things in a person are created by God? (A person’s free will, and the wisdom God gives them.) Broadly speaking, a person’s innate conditions are all given and created by God. If we use the word “created,” it might be a bit abstract, because everyone is born of their parents, not made by God’s own hands. Using the phrase “what is created by God” is a bit broad; it’s not quite fitting. In that case, saying “the innate conditions God gives to people” is more specific and objective. The innate conditions God gives to people involve the topic of “what is created by God.” So, can we say that a person’s innate conditions are all positive things? (Yes.) A person’s appearance, their linguistic faculty, and all their senses and their physiological attributes, as well as their free will, the faculty with which they think and ponder, their natural strengths and gifts, and all the rules of survival they observe as living beings—all these are positive things. That is to say, the innate conditions God gives to people are all positive things. So, do these positive things include the various thoughts that arise in a person’s mind or which they accept from society and from different eras? (No.) Anything people acquire from society or from humankind is not given by God, nor is it something originally created by God. It can be said that as long as something comes from society or from humankind, it is not a positive thing. To summarize it in a broad, conceptual way, we would say this. And to put it specifically? Aren’t the qualities of humanity and the ways of thinking produced within the cultural context of Eastern social moral education somewhat perverse? It can also be put like this: In Eastern society, people’s minds are shackled and warped; they have been corrupted and influenced by certain thoughts and viewpoints from society and from Satan. Doesn’t this mean that their minds have undergone Satan’s processing? (Yes.) People’s minds have undergone processing, and their thoughts are not born of their humanity. These teachings do not come from positive things, nor do they come from God. Since they do not come from God, then whatever thoughts, viewpoints, and modes of thinking they produce—and whatever qualities of humanity they ultimately produce—among all the other things that subsequently emerge from them, are negative things, not positive things. This is something that you’ve become certain about, right? (Yes.) The minds of Eastern people are shackled and warped, and are also influenced by certain Eastern thoughts and viewpoints, so the things that are expressed by the qualities of their humanity are all negative. Now let’s look at the West. What is the content of Westerners’ ideological education? Does it relate to the truth? Do the content of Western education and the manifestations of humanity it teaches people to strive for come from God’s words? (No.) To put it even more clearly, let Me ask you a question: Does this education—the principles behind these thoughts and viewpoints on dealing with life, survival, and worldly affairs, and these methods for dealing with those things—accord with God’s words? Does it accord with the truth? (No.) In what way does it not accord? (It’s like the Western education in selfishness—although it respects freedom of thought, it teaches people to consider only themselves and not others. This does not accord with God’s words and the truth.) So what do God’s words and the truth say? (In their interactions together, people should not only consider their own interests or feelings; rather, they should consider how their actions can edify others while also being in accordance with the truth.) God’s words tell you that regardless of whether you think about issues freely and objectively, or under the domination of a certain thought or viewpoint, you shouldn’t do so only for the sake of defending your own interests or defending your own dignity and pride—this is not the principle by which believers in God should consider issues. When you consider issues, you should focus on whether your approach accords with the truth, whether these issues can be resolved using the truth, and whether your approach accords with the truth principles and leads to submission to God. This is the principle for considering issues. Whether you’re dealing with people, or you’re dealing with issues regarding your family or other things around you, you must act in accordance with God’s words and the truth principles, rather than just defending your own rights and interests. These are the principles of conducting oneself as required by God. So, on the surface, compared to the education of Eastern culture, Western cultural education places greater importance on human rights and on defending people’s rights. It is superior to Eastern culture, but that doesn’t mean it can substitute for the truth. You mustn’t think that just because it’s superior to Eastern culture, or because it respects human rights and enables people to be independent and free, it can therefore take the place of the truth principles and be described as something positive. Western cultural education is merely superior to Eastern cultural education and more in line with the needs of humanity, but it cannot be equated with the truth principles, nor can it replace them. To a certain extent, it just upholds and respects the needs of humanity, as well as people’s dignity and their rights and interests. However, this respect is only relevant in terms of humanity. In terms of the truth and of justice, it upholds neither of these things. Therefore, Western cultural education is an education in selfishness. An education in selfishness means, “Everyone must serve my interests. I must think everything through myself before I do it. My personal interests, my human rights, and my individual rights are paramount.” Is there any moral justice to speak of here? Is there any fairness to speak of? (No.) If there’s no fairness or moral justice, how could it possibly accord with the truth principles? To a certain extent, Western cultural education respects your human rights; it gives you the right to think about issues and express your opinions freely. In this way, it can basically safeguard people’s dignity and human rights. So, to a certain extent, Western education is more in line with the needs of humanity. But can Western education guide people onto the right path in life? Can it enable people to treat all people and do all things according to the truth principles? It cannot do this. Western education can guarantee that everyone has human rights and the right to safeguard their dignity—this is completely in line with the needs of humanity. However, when measured against the actual situation in society, few countries can fully meet the standard of guaranteeing human rights. Realistically speaking, in today’s society, it’s a very good social system that can allow people to think about issues freely and express their opinions freely. God gave people free will and the ability to think about issues independently; this is just one aspect of the caliber He gave them. However, God has never told you, “Be selfish, be autonomous. Everything must be centered on your own interests. Your own interests are paramount. In all things you must be independent and be your own master, and there’s no need to seek the truth, ask about Heaven’s will, or consider the interests of others.” God has never taught anyone this way. From the beginning of God’s guidance of people in their lives, He has pointed out specific ways of living and conducting oneself in all aspects, told people to pursue the truth, to submit to His orchestrations and arrangements, to be honest people, to fulfill the duty of created beings, and so on. These are all the most important pursuits in one’s life. Among the great many truths God has expressed, He has never told you to defend your rights, nor has He ever told you to think about issues freely and safeguard your own independent space. God has never said anything like that. God only gave you the ability to think about issues independently—that’s all. You have this faculty, and you also have the innate condition of free will. However, while having given people such innate conditions, God also established laws and commandments for them, and supplied them with various truths, telling them how to conduct themselves and how to worship God—in all matters, there are truth principles that people should abide by. But in all of God’s words and His admonitions to people, He has never told people to be autonomous, to be independent, or to learn to defend their rights. Such thoughts, viewpoints, or such sayings and teachings have never appeared in God’s words or in the truth. On the contrary, in the words where God exposes people’s corrupt dispositions, He exposes their arrogance and their selfishness. This selfishness is a quality that is revealed by people’s humanity after they’ve been corrupted by Satan. In some people, it’s exhibited as they try to secure their own interests after they’ve been corrupted by Satan; in others, it’s purely the product of this society’s education. In both cases, it’s selfishness. No matter how it’s produced, in short, as long as you’re selfish, that is a quality and revelation of humanity which you exhibit while living under corrupt dispositions. Is this clear now? (Yes.)

The various faculties included within the innate conditions God gives people, or the caliber and abilities people innately possess, have nothing to do with Western or Eastern education. The various faculties within people’s God-given innate conditions are positive things. Why do I say they’re positive things? Because these innate conditions come from God. Specifically, possessing these innate conditions allows a created human to accept positive things, and to learn from, self-reflect based on, apprehend, and understand the various people, events, and things they encounter in real life. This is arranged and prepared for people by God, so it is a positive thing. Whether Eastern or Western education, or Eastern or Western culture, neither has anything to do with the truth that God teaches and provides to people. It even runs counter to the truth and to the humanity God requires people to possess. Therefore, neither Eastern education nor Western education is a positive thing. Regardless of whether it comes from society, from evil trends, or from some ruling class, it is not positive. Even though Western education is a bit more advanced and better than Eastern education, able to give people some freedom and satisfy some of their needs, it merely makes use of people’s free will and their faculty to think about issues and express opinions freely. That is, it makes use of positive things, but the thoughts it advocates and the goals it aims to achieve are not to get people to walk the right path, nor to help them become the true created humans that God wants. So, in light of this, even though Western education is superior to Eastern education or satisfies the needs of humanity, it has not, by making use of people’s free will or certain faculties, enabled them to submit to God, act properly as created beings, and fulfill the duty of a created being. This education also hasn’t brought people before God or helped them become able to worship God and shun evil. Eastern education and Western education have the same function: They both cause people to distance themselves from God and from the truth. Regardless of whether it’s Eastern culture or Western culture, both emerged against the broader societal backdrop of Satan’s rule over mankind and through the process of Satan corrupting mankind. Thus, whether it’s education in the Eastern cultural form or the Western cultural form, everyone lives in this human world of Satan’s corruption. Similarly, mankind has also been corrupted in different societies or under the education of different forms of society, and the result of this corruption is that people have come to possess a humanity which—across different levels and forms of culture—has the corrupt dispositions as its life. Eastern people possess the corrupt dispositions of the qualities of humanity produced by Eastern culture, while Westerners possess the corrupt dispositions of the qualities of humanity produced against the backdrop of Western culture. Although Eastern and Western people may seem different in terms of the qualities of their humanity, in terms of their corrupt dispositions, since they’ve all been corrupted by Satan, both Eastern and Western people live within the same corrupt dispositions, and both possess a humanity that has the same corrupt dispositions as its life. In this way, the nature essence of Eastern and Western people is the same: They’re both hostile to the truth and to God. So, there’s nothing praiseworthy about either Eastern or Western people. Whether Eastern culture or Western culture, in the presence of God and the truth, they’re both negative things, containing nothing commendable. Both Eastern and Western civilizations contravene God’s original intention in creating mankind, which was for mankind to worship Him; they use their respective forms of cultural education to snatch humans, who are in the ranks of creatures, away from God’s presence. In this respect, the East and the West are the same, are they not? (They are.) There’s nothing praiseworthy about the East, nor about the West. You see, although both have accepted God’s work of the last days, after Eastern people accept it, they immediately start hosting brothers and sisters and proactively take them to preach the gospel to their relatives and friends; they have great zeal and enthusiasm for the work of preaching the gospel—Westerners, on the other hand, are different. They are very cautious about the work of preaching the gospel. Even after they’ve accepted God’s new work for half a year or a year, when you ask them if they’ve preached the gospel to their relatives and friends, they say, “My parents, relatives, friends, and fellow churchgoers mostly have their own independent thoughts and views on the matter of the Lord’s return. I have to think it through carefully and touch base with them before I can provide them to you as gospel leads. The main quality of how we in the West conduct ourselves is that we must defend our rights and we must protect our independent space to the greatest extent. How can you just preach the gospel to people without consideration?” You say, “You preach the gospel to them so they can welcome the Lord, gain the truths expressed by God in the last days, and have the opportunity to attain salvation and survive the disasters. This is God’s commission, and it’s the responsibility you ought to fulfill.” They reply, “Well, I still have to protect myself first; God’s commission can wait. I can take charge in this matter. I must have my own independent thoughts, and can’t be swayed by you. Those of us in the West value democracy and freedom; we have an awareness of defending our rights. We’re not like you Eastern people with your blind enthusiasm. We all have our own personal living space, and no one bothers anyone else.” See? It’s at such critical moments that the qualities of humanity of Eastern and Western people are distinguished and differentiated. But in any case, regardless of whether the qualities of humanity are produced by Eastern or Western education—whether it’s enthusiasm or indifference—as long as a person lives within Satan’s corrupt dispositions, they are a member of corrupt mankind. There is no distinction between noble and lowly here; everyone needs an understanding of the truth, the provision of God’s words, God’s salvation, and, even more so, God’s judgment and chastisement.

Although Eastern and Western people have different cultures and live in different civilizations under God’s dominion and sovereignty, they have only one identity before God, and that is of created beings. The basis of the equality of created beings is that the innate conditions God created for people are the same. No matter what cultural differences exist between Eastern and Western people, no matter how they differ in terms of appearance, language, or their modes and ways of thinking about issues, as long as, before God, you are a created being made by Him, then the only positive thing you have is the innate conditions He has given you; everything else is a negative thing. This might sound like a bit of a generalization to you, so to be specific, everything in you—apart from the innate conditions God has given you—is something God wants to change, and something you should change and cast off by accepting the truth. What is it that you need to come to know? The so-called culture of mankind, whether Eastern or Western, consists of thoughts and viewpoints, or theories and statements, designed by the ruling classes of different periods to educate the masses. But whether it’s Eastern or Western culture, it has nothing to do with the truth. Even if it doesn’t conflict with the truth, it still cannot be called a positive thing. No matter how good a certain culture is, it cannot measure up to the truth, much less represent the truth. Even if it’s not what people consider a negative thing, it absolutely cannot be classified in the category of positive things. You must be clear about this. Even if a trend of thought is relatively advanced and progressive among humankind, and it safeguards people’s rights and interests, as well as their survival, while not conflicting with the truth in any way, it still absolutely cannot be classified in the category of positive things. Why not? Because only things within the scope of what is created by God, ordained by God, and under God’s sovereignty are positive things. So why are the things within this scope classified in the category of positive things? Because they involve the truth. In terms of the bigger picture, looking at it from God’s level and from God’s perspective, they involve God’s power and authority; God’s disposition; the principles and original intentions behind God’s creation, ordination, and sovereignty over all these things; and the purpose He wants to achieve, and all the effects brought about by the positive things He wants to uphold. Since, from God’s level, they involve God’s authority, power, and thoughts, as well as the established laws and rules involved in God doing all this and the impact this has on humankind, things within this scope are definitely positive things. From the human perspective, each and every thing created by God, ordained by God, and under God’s sovereignty is beneficial to people; it all exists to maintain and uphold the orderly survival and reproduction of mankind. There is also another, more specific point, which relates to God’s management: These things exist to enable people to understand the truth and better know God, eventually embark on the path of attaining salvation, and become people who fear God and shun evil—this is the result that is to be achieved. So, whether viewed from God’s perspective or from the human perspective, the people, events, and things within the scope of what is created by God, ordained by God, and under God’s sovereignty are all positive things. There can be no doubting this. Think about it—can human civilization and culture measure up to things that are on the level of God’s words and God’s requirements for man? They certainly cannot measure up to or reach such things. The content of human education or culture does not involve God’s essence, God’s disposition, or the laws and rules God has established for mankind, much less God’s original intention in creating all things. Furthermore, from the human perspective, this kind of education and culture cannot help humankind know God, the Creator, nor can they help humankind live better, or reproduce and live on in a normal and orderly manner. On the contrary, within the educational environment of this kind of culture and civilization, mankind will head toward decline and destruction. There is another, more important aspect: Subjected to this so-called “cultural education” and “social civilization,” mankind cannot understand the truth, the significance of them being alive, or the way of survival from it. They also cannot obtain a correct outlook on life and embark on the path of attaining salvation through it, nor become able to worship God, or fear God and shun evil. On the contrary, in a social environment of such cultural education and civilization, mankind becomes increasingly corrupt and wicked, drifts further and further from God, and does evil inordinately. Ultimately, even if God weren’t to destroy mankind, mankind would still bring about its own destruction. If mankind were to govern itself, it would head toward destruction; this is inevitable. Mankind has such a high level of culture, so much knowledge, such great civilization, and believes in and relies on science—so why would it still bring about its own destruction? Mankind pursues knowledge and reveres science so much, yet not only has it not understood the truth or embarked on the path of believing in God, following God, and becoming able to fear God and shun evil, but it can even bring about its own ruin. What is going on here? What has become of the earth now due to mankind’s management of it? The water, soil, and air of the entire planet have been polluted, the ecological environment has been severely damaged, and the life of all mankind has gradually fallen into a desperate plight. This is a fact that everyone can see, so there’s no need to go into detail, right? (Yes.) So, whether Eastern or Western culture, no matter what kind of civilization mankind has, even if it does not conflict with the truth in any way, it still cannot be classified as a positive thing. The viewpoints, thoughts, theories, doctrines, arguments, and behaviors that are covered by the topic of “human culture and civilization,” any products, works, or reforms that are produced under this topic, and so on, are not positive things. Some people say, “Since these are not positive things, does that mean we have to criticize them and classify them as negative things?” I didn’t put it in such a black-and-white way. These things may not involve either positive or negative things, but in any case, they’re definitely not positive things. That is, even if these things do not conflict with the truth and do not violate the principle of God’s creation, ordination, and sovereignty—if they’re not negative things—they’re still absolutely not positive things. In short, this is what I tell you: Even if something does not conflict with the truth, as long as it’s not created by God, ordained by God, or under God’s sovereignty, then it is not a positive thing. This is the principle for discerning whether something is a positive thing; you should distinguish things for yourself based on this principle. What is the most important point here? It’s that you have to be clear in your heart that, when you cannot clearly see whether something is positive or negative, you can first just set it aside and ignore it. When your stature has grown and the truth is clear to you, you will naturally be able to discern it. But for now, you must clearly distinguish which things are positive things that come from God, and you must accept and treat them correctly. This is beneficial for your life growth. There is another important point: If something is a positive thing covered by the definition of positive things, then you must absolutely not treat it as if it were a negative thing. This is a matter of principle, and you must be clear about it.

Now that we’ve finished discussing human civilization and culture, let’s next talk about the relationship between the survival of this mankind created by God, and the laws and rules of survival created by God for all things. From a macroscopic perspective, the world God created has mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, oceans, land, and deserts, as well as the sun, moon, and stars, and the space on earth, and the cosmos that people cannot see. And what is there from a microscopic perspective? There are tiny molecules, molecules in the air, and various microorganisms. Whether viewed from a macroscopic or microscopic perspective, it all involves God’s creation—the creation by God’s hands and by God’s thoughts. From the perspective of God’s creation, the earth and all the living things on it exist for the purpose of maintaining mankind’s survival on earth, and God wants to gain the created humans He desires from among the people on earth. Therefore, the laws and rules of survival created by God for all things are the most basic conditions for human survival. It can thus be definitively stated that they are positive things, right? (Yes.) What are the most basic conditions for human survival? Water, air, sunlight, food—are these things created by God? (Yes.) Are they positive things? (Yes.) Then why is the existence of these things said to be a positive thing? There is a reason for this: The existence of these things depends on the existence of the laws and rules of survival for all things. What laws and rules of survival are there among all things? The four seasons; day and night; wind, frost, snow, and rain—these are all rules. What else? You think of some too. (There are also the solar terms.) The solar terms are included in the four seasons. What else? The waxing and waning of the moon, the rising and falling of the tides. There’s also, “Big fish eat little fish”—this is a law and rule of survival, and is not a negative thing. People use the phrase, “Big fish eat little fish,” to describe the cutthroat nature of the human world; this is taking the normal phenomenon of a positive thing and calling it a negative thing. There are also many patterns of activity of living things. Think about what that includes. (Does “The strong prey on the weak” count as a law of survival?) No, that is a pejorative way of putting it by people; it should be “survival of the fittest.” (I remember God once fellowshipped that all things strengthen each other, counteract each other, and exist together. Does that count?) Yes, it does. They all strengthen each other, counteract each other, and exist together—this is a very important aspect. “The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind” is another one; this is somewhat related to things strengthening and counteracting each other. (Is birth, aging, sickness, and death one?) Yes, it is. There’s also “Crows repay their mothers by feeding them, and lambs kneel to receive milk from their mothers,” which is about a mammal and a bird—this is a phenomenon in the animal kingdom, it is a rule of nature. There are actually many laws and rules of survival for all things: the changing of the four seasons; the appearance of wind, frost, snow, and rain; the cycle of day and night; the waxing and waning of the moon; the rising and falling of the tides; the mutual strengthening, counteracting, and coexistence of all things; as well as the birth, aging, sickness, and death of humans and all other creatures, and the patterns of activity of various creatures. Some creatures sleep during the day and are active at night, while others are active during the day and sleep at night, like humans. Some creatures live in groups, while others are solitary; for example, eagles generally fly alone, while wild geese fly in flocks and are gregarious animals. There is also the phenomenon in the living world of crows repaying their mothers by feeding them and lambs kneeling to receive milk. All such things are different kinds of phenomena and manifestations that can be seen and felt in real life. The appearance of all these macroscopic and microscopic phenomena follows the laws and rules established by God. The inception, existence, and continuation of all these laws and rules serve one purpose: to maintain the most basic living environment of the earth, this home of mankind’s survival. With this most basic living environment, mankind has the earth as the home which they rely on for survival, allowing them to continue to reproduce and live on. It also endlessly supplies the basic water, air, sunlight, and food that mankind needs. It is only with this endless supply that the physical life of humans, these beings created by God, can exist, reproduce, and be sustained continuously, and that mankind has the opportunity to come before God and accept His salvation when He carries out His management work, becoming created beings that God accepts. Therefore, among all things created by God, no matter what form any living thing has, no matter what its laws and rules of survival are, and no matter what its relationship with all other things is like, in short, it survives amid the laws and rules created by God. That is to say, every living thing, on the premise of being created by God, abides by the laws and rules He has established, playing their own indispensable role amid them. This is the food chain that is produced through the laws and rules established by God for mankind, and this food chain is of vital importance to mankind. The precondition for the existence of the food chain is that all things must abide by the laws and rules established by God. If they ignore these laws and rules and run amok, the consequence will be that the food chain that exists among all things created by God will break. Once this food chain breaks, the water, air, sunlight, and food mankind depends on for survival will be affected to varying degrees, either gradually or one after another. Therefore, all of the laws and rules for all things established by God, and each living thing created by God, have a vital impact on the food chain. If a problem arises with any of the rules of survival for all things, it will have a knock-on effect on the existence and continuation of the food chain, and so the basic water, air, sunlight, and food that mankind needs will be compromised. Thus, the food chain is a key source and an important indicator of whether mankind can survive. What exactly is this food chain? The food chain involves God’s creation. Among all things created by God, there are tangible things, and there are also some intangible things that are invisible to the naked eye. These tangible things include mountains, rivers, forests, soil, deserts, the North and South Poles, the sun, stars, and moon, as well as various animals and plants, and so on. The intangible things include microorganisms, air, even the ultraviolet rays in sunlight, as well as what humans have researched—so-called atoms and energy, some of the invisible nutrients contained in the air and in water, and so on. All these macroscopic, tangible things, along with the microorganisms and the substances contained within things like sunlight and air that people cannot see—all of these things together form the living environment essential for human survival. If problems arise in this living environment, mankind’s survival and future will face challenges and come under threat. So, the laws and rules of survival for all things are a basic condition necessary for maintaining the food chain, and the existence of the food chain in turn forms a basic condition for mankind’s survival. Thus, whether it’s the laws and rules, the food chain, or water, air, sunlight, and food, if a problem arises with any of these, it will inevitably affect mankind’s survival—that is, it will affect the survival of the physical life of this created being, mankind. So, for God, there must be no problems with the laws and rules of survival for all things, the food chain, water, air, sunlight, and food; they must all be maintained, sustained, and kept going in an orderly manner—only in this way can mankind continue to survive and their physical lives be sustained.

What is the issue that is involved in mankind’s continued survival? Among the laws and rules of survival for all things, the broader aspects—things like day and night, and the four seasons—are necessary. Within these, there basically isn’t anything that people think of as bad according to their imaginings. When it comes to various living things like trees, flowers, and plants, since they don’t have any kind of lethal impact on people, people don’t develop any notions about them. However, there are some poisonous and harmful things in the food chain, such as mosquitoes, that have some negative effects on the human body. These are things that, going by their notions, people dislike—especially some highly venomous living things, such as certain snakes, scorpions, and centipedes. So why did God create these venomous things? What was His purpose in creating them? What role do they play in the food chain? This is crucial. Although judging by their forms or their nature, or by some of the life traits they possess among other living things, it seems that they do not play a positive role, why are they said to be positive things? This must be explained in terms of the food chain. We’re not studying biology—we won’t discuss things from a scientific perspective, but will look at this from the perspective of God’s intention in creating living things like this. For one thing, God gave them a unique skill for ensuring their survival, allowing them to preserve their life in this way. For another, they also play a certain role in the food chain—their way of survival and the venom they secrete can provide necessary nutrients or food sources for other living things. Beyond that, they also provide necessary conditions for the transmission, reproduction, derivation, and evolution of bacteria and the transmission of genes throughout the biosphere, playing a certain role in this regard. Only with the existence of these living things can the biosphere maintain genetic balance and a balance in terms of bacterial diversification, keeping the various types of bacteria in equilibrium. Take mosquitoes and flies, for example. They eat some parasites and also transmit some bacteria. We won’t go into greater depth; it’s just this simple concept. In short, some special living things serve some special purposes for mankind, and also play an indispensable role in the food chain. This indispensable role maintains the existence of the food chain. All things can only survive and carry on in an orderly manner if this food chain exists and is not destroyed. Because all things share a relationship in which they strengthen each other, counteract each other, and exist together, the food chain must not be broken. The existence of the various living things within the food chain must be kept in a state of balance, and their living space and existence must be maintained. Therefore, the laws and rules of survival for all things established by God are of vital importance. Only the existence of the laws and rules of survival created by God for all things can ensure the continuation of the food chain and guarantee that it is not broken. The existence, continuation, and protection of the food chain is a basic guarantee that people will be able to obtain water, air, sunlight, and food. Only when people have this basic guarantee can their physical lives be sustained; only then can they reproduce and live on in this earthly home, a living environment such as this. Only in this way can mankind have a future and have hope. The laws and rules followed by the four seasons, day and night, and wind, frost, snow, and rain—things that exist under the laws and rules created by God—as well as the forms in which they appear, are, by any measure, positive things created by God. As for the various living things—regardless of their forms, their ways of survival, or their manners of hunting or obtaining food—in short, so long as they live within the laws and rules established by God, and so long as they are an essential, indispensable part of the food chain created by God, they are positive things that come from God. People should not judge them based on their own outlooks and preferences. Someone might say, “So are mosquitoes and flies positive things, then? What about venomous snakes, centipedes, and scorpions? And especially toads, which are so ugly—are they positive things, too?” What is the accurate way of putting it? The roles played by these species created by God and the laws and rules they follow are all positive things. And what about their physical forms and appearances—are they positive things? You could call them positive things if you really had to, but they’re not negative things. At the very least, in terms of the rules they follow, the roles these living things play, and their necessity in the food chain, they exist as positive things. Isn’t this way of putting it accurate? (Yes.) To be precise, because such living things follow the laws and rules established by God and fulfill the responsibilities and mission that God has laid out for them—because they live up to their mission, whether it’s spreading bacteria or maintaining the reproductive equilibrium of various microorganisms—looking at it in terms of the roles they play and the significance and purpose of their creation by God, their very existence is a positive thing. If we were to say that the mosquito is a positive thing in itself, this might be a bit difficult to understand or accept. However, judging by God’s intention in creating it, the laws and rules it follows, and the role it plays in the food chain, it is indispensable—and so it is a positive thing. Some people say, “Since mosquitoes are positive things, does that mean we have to accept them, and that we shouldn’t swat them?” If a mosquito is about to bite you, you should still swat it. If a fly is buzzing around you while you’re eating, you can shoo it away or swat it. This is because one or two fewer mosquitoes or flies won’t cause any problems for the food chain, nor will it affect these creatures’ completion of their mission. If such a creature wants to fulfill its mission, it should find the right place to do so. It’s not needed in human living environments, so just drive it away and be done with it—coexist peacefully with it. If it doesn’t coexist peacefully with you and keeps bothering you, then it’s fine to shoo it away or swat it. This is called reasonable management and correct treatment. Some people say, “Mosquitoes always bother me and give me lots of bites. Can I curse them?” That’s not necessary. You can just swat them. You are within your rights to swat them; this is completely in line with the principle for how mankind—the steward of all things—should treat all things. For example, if a venomous snake enters your home, and you see that this is not where it belongs, just drive it into the woods. If you are bitten and poisoned by it, you have to find a way to get medical treatment immediately. There’s no need for you to try to find it to take revenge and kill it. If it harmed you again, wouldn’t that be even more troublesome? So, don’t go tit for tat with it; just learn to guard against it. Being able to learn a lesson from this matter is what an intelligent person would do. What were the three principles we just talked about? (First, be sure that it is a positive thing. Second, if it appears near you and you don’t want to bother with it, then just stay away from it—don’t let it get close, and don’t let it disturb you. Third, have a correct viewpoint toward it. Don’t feel repulsed by it or detest it. Instead, accept and acknowledge it, and then manage it reasonably.) Manage it reasonably and treat it correctly. Don’t complain about God or judge that God was wrong to create it, or that He might have made a mistake just because it has disturbed you or sometimes caused you some trouble, or even bitten and poisoned you—this way of looking at it is incorrect. It might be that you didn’t manage it well, or it might be that it mistakenly entered your home and disturbed you. But if you address it gently, saying, “You’ve gone the wrong way, this isn’t your home. If you have no ill will toward me, I won’t do you any harm. Move along to wherever you’re supposed to be,” and it sees that you won’t harm it, it’ll turn around and leave on its own. You say to it, “Goodbye. Until we meet again! Our meeting this time was meant to be. If we’re meant to meet again, I’ll still let you go.” Upon hearing this, it will think, “Humans are great. They really know how to manage us. They have no malice.” As long as you don’t harm it, it won’t harm you either. Some animals harm people because people are always harming them; they only harm people after developing animosity toward them, doing so because of people’s foolishness and viciousness. In the minds of such creatures, they naturally don’t have any animosity or hostility toward humans. You see, when Noah built the ark, none of the animals harmed anyone, and Noah could even interact with the animals and train them. At that time, humans and animals were friendly with each other. Later, humans grew more and more deeply corrupt, and became utterly vicious, always wanting to hunt animals for their meat, and so animosity between humans and various animals grew. Carnivorous animals, as soon as they catch the scent of a human, feel a tasty meal has been served, and want to eat their fill. Which side caused this? It was caused entirely by the utter viciousness of mankind. Do you understand? (Yes.)

Whether viewed from a macro or micro perspective, all things created by God are definitely positive things. Whether they’re viewed in terms of God’s original intention in creating them, the laws and rules God created for them, or the purpose and effect ultimately achieved, they all exist for mankind; they’ve all been designed and created for humans in their role as the stewards of all things. Thus, regardless of the forms or appearances of all things created by God, or what their temporary impact on people is, people should treat, manage, and understand them correctly, and accept them from God—this is of utmost importance. First, people must be sure that, as long as something is created by God—irrespective of whether it’s good or bad, beautiful or ugly; regardless of what kind of form it has; and, all the more, regardless of what kind of temporary impact it has on the human flesh—in short, as long as it comes from God, and was created by God’s hand, it has something to contribute to the basic survival of mankind. Based on this, people should accept all things created by God from God, and not arbitrarily or unilaterally choose whether to condemn or accept them based on their own outlooks and preferences. Instead, they should stand from the perspective of a created being in understanding them, learning to manage them and treat them correctly, and—to be even better—learning to get along and interact with them correctly. This is the responsibility and obligation that people—the masters of this earth and the stewards of this world, created by God—should fulfill. It is the role that people should play among all other creatures, and it is also a principle that people, proceeding from the standpoint of humanity, should most adhere to. If you don’t like certain things created by God, you can stay away from them. If you do like them, you can interact with them closely and approach them to learn about and manage them—or, even better, to protect their living environment, treat them kindly, leave them ample living space, and safeguard and properly uphold their right to survive. In fact, all things are weak compared to humans. Although God has given all things survival skills and instincts, no species other than humans can make tools and weapons; none of them have the power to undermine the laws and rules established by God, nor do they take the initiative to do so. Only humans have unending greed—both in their mentality and in their demands—toward various kinds of living things and toward all things. At the same time, only humans conduct scientific research, engage in chemical manufacturing, and make various tools and weapons for the sake of survival or for a better life. And only humans can learn academic knowledge and research or alter the living environments of various living things. However, most of what humans have done regarding the survival of various animals and living things and the laws of the food chain, has been destructive and disruptive, not conducive. So, in the final analysis, only humans can make weapons to slaughter each other and destroy their own basic living environment. Only humans develop industry, especially the chemical industry, producing all kinds of harmful substances that damage and destroy the earth that humankind inhabits—this one and only home of their survival. And only humans themselves have caused the basic water, air, sunlight, and food needed for their survival to be polluted and spoiled. What this means is that it’s humans themselves who’ve ruined their own path to survival; it was not caused by other living things. Therefore, as the masters of all things, how created humans should properly perform the role of managing all things, including all living things, is of vital importance. If humans keep using scientific methods to make weapons or various tools, or engage in chemical manufacturing, it will spell catastrophic disaster, whether it’s for themselves or for other living things. That is to say, humans have personally trodden over the laws and rules of survival for all things with their own hands, and personally destroyed the food chain as well. Of course, it’s humans that have personally ruined the earth, the home on which they depend for survival. This is deeply tragic. Who’s to blame for all these consequences? (People.) They’re due to people’s devastation and destruction of the positive things created by God. In the end, people can only reap what they have sown. If, from the beginning, people had been able to know the various roles played by all things created by God, to respect, cherish, and care for the various living things, to follow the rules and the laws of survival for all things established by God, and to protect the basic environment of the earth, the home on which they depend for survival, then humankind would not have reached the point they have today. So, regarding the topic of all God’s creations being positive things, what people should understand is the significance of the laws and rules of survival created by God for all things, as well as why people must follow them and how they should do so. At the same time, people should know that God’s purpose in creating all this is for the sake of mankind, and so they should cherish and protect it. If you cannot understand the significance of all this, you should at least regard it as a positive thing, as an essential, indispensable positive thing on which your survival depends, and cherish, care for, and manage it. You should treat it correctly and protect it in your capacity and role as master. Only in this way can mankind have a future and hope, and be able to continue living happily, right? (Yes.)

Is the topic of all God’s creations being positive things much clearer now? (Yes.) Let’s confirm one last time the proper way to treat the various objects and living things created by God. Go ahead and repeat the three principles we fellowshipped on just now. (First, as long as something is within the scope of positive things as defined by God, we should be certain in our hearts that it comes from God, that it is a positive thing, and that there’s significance behind God creating it; it’s so people can learn some lessons from it. Second, on the basis of being sure that it is a positive thing, if we don’t like it or don’t want to come into contact with it, we can ignore it. If it interferes with our lives, we can drive it away or stay away from it, and we should also learn some lessons and take some heed from it. Lastly, if it’s created by God, ordained by God, or under God’s sovereignty, we should not feel repulsed by it or detest it, but rather accept and acknowledge it with a correct attitude, and manage it reasonably.) Managing it reasonably is vitally important. If humans do not know how to manage all the things on earth that God has created, it’s likely to have detrimental effects on their survival. If the laws and existence of the food chain are destroyed, then the survival of mankind will be at risk. Isn’t mankind currently in a living environment like this? (Yes.) Mankind has developed industry on a large scale, discharging waste gases, wastewater, and toxic substances that have polluted rivers, lakes, and even groundwater. There is no clean water to drink anymore; people can only drink some recycled water that has been artificially processed, which, although not toxic, has far fewer nutrients. The fish in the rivers, lakes, and seas have also been polluted and are unhealthy. It’s not easy to find any food that hasn’t been contaminated. Isn’t mankind landing itself in dire straits? Isn’t this caused by mankind itself? Not only is drinking water polluted, but the air is also bad; there are many harmful substances in the air, and now, even if you want to breathe a breath of clean air, it’s hard to manage—sometimes people even have to wear masks to protect against viruses. The air quality is terrible, people are wary about eating all kinds of food, and people now get every manner of disease, with some young people also getting cancer or diabetes. Who caused all these consequences? (People.) They were all caused by people. This is how people have managed the earthly home that God created for them, tormenting themselves to the point where they can’t eat or drink properly, yet still feeling very happy. This is what comes of leaving God; there is no happiness to speak of. The only way out for people now is to accept the Creator’s salvation, to pursue the truth and walk the path of fearing God. Only in this way can you be saved, can you gain the hope of living, and can you become a member of the new mankind. It’s that simple; there’s no other way. Eastern people feel that Western civilization is noble, and that Westerners must have a way out. Do they? (No.) Eastern people feel they have suffered greatly, grown deeply hateful, and endured far too much hardship, and need to be saved by Westerners. They always think of the West as a paradise, that going to the West is getting into heaven, that they’ll be free and happy in the West. But Westerners don’t feel they have much happiness. They say, “Although our lives are a bit more affluent than those in the East, we’re hardly any happier.” As long as you are a person on this earth, a member of the human race, you have no happiness on this earth, because, living in this earthly home, everything you accept comes from Satan. Whether it’s human thoughts and viewpoints or laws of survival, whether it’s Eastern or Western education, there isn’t a single thing that can make you live out the likeness of a true human, and there isn’t any kind of social education or thought or viewpoint that can allow you, as a created being, to establish yourself in the world of man. Because this mankind lives under Satan’s power and is controlled by Satan, the only way for people to live on is to accept God’s salvation, accept all the truths that come from God, practice according to God’s words, and attain salvation. Only then can mankind truly return to a world where the laws and rules of survival for all things can operate freely, and truly live in a world with a complete food chain—only in this way can mankind truly play the role of the steward of all things, and fulfill the responsibilities of this role. Apart from this, there is no second way for mankind to take. This is mankind’s only way out, the only way out that can bring hope and happiness to mankind. Do you understand? (Yes.) Once you understand, you’ll have a path to take. Just strive and pursue in this direction, toward this goal. Don’t look back, don’t give up, and never stop!

Let’s end our fellowship here for today. Goodbye!

April 14, 2024