What is the purpose for establishing religion? It is to get rid of all the wild olive shoots of the world. Until now we didn't know this. Religion didn't know this. Then what is the mission of religious people? Transforming all the wild olive shoots into true olive shoots is the responsibility of the many religions and the religious people.

What is this asking us to do? Since we fell away from God and became sinners, for the first time we should become good people and return to God. It is a movement to return to God. Then what is the purpose of religion? It is to save humankind and to return to God. Then what is the individual purpose of the life of faith of religious people?

Until now religious people thought, "Ah, since I believe in a religion, I will be saved and I will be fine." Well, the proper way for a person of faith to think is: I believe in a religion in order to save the people of the world and to bring them back to God. What kind of people are true religious people, true people of faith? They are the people who think, "I believe in this religion in order to bring my nation back to God, in order to bring the world back to God. It's not to save my own sons and daughters and my descendants first. Rather, let's first save the nation and the world."

It's resolving this first before seeking my own sons and daughters. If the nation is saved, my family and my sons and daughters are saved together. If the world is saved, my country is saved at the same time. Then a true religion is one which seeks to save humankind. The person who saves humankind and brings humankind back to God is the true religious person. In saving this world, would God want to save America first or the whole world first? [The world first!] (80-201)

Then, how can we distinguish a true religion? In Christianity, if you are Presbyterian you say the Presbyterian Church is right; if you are Methodist, you say the Methodist Church is right. In this way the 400 denominations of Christianity are fighting with each other and the Catholic Church says it is right... In the religious wars around 500,000 people were slaughtered. Each denomination says it is right and opposes the others. Then which one do you think is true?

Furthermore, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Islam all think they are the best; but do you know which one is the true religion? What is a true religion? It must advocate returning to the original world. God's providence for salvation. What is salvation? Saving a person who is ill is returning him or her to the state prior to becoming ill. Until now no one knew what the purpose of salvation was. There has been no conclusion about the its exact meaning.

Amidst this confusion, the Unification Church put forth the exact meaning of religion. Then what is the providence for salvation? The providence for salvation is the providence for restoration. The discovery of the word "Restoration" is a great discovery. What is restoration? To restore the world to be as before Adam and Eve sinned when they could receive God's love directly is the ultimate object of the providence for salvation. This is not just for all humankind; it includes heaven and earth,... Therefore God's purpose of salvation and the Messiah's purpose of salvation are one in that their purpose is to save us. They are the same.

What is the reason to believe a religion? There is no other reason than to find a world without sin, the original world with God. The people of the world are brothers and sisters. They are brothers and sisters. Let's become one with them and return to the world of God's love. (80-203)

The purpose behind God's providence for salvation is to find this world. Then why did He send the Messiah? The reason for sending the Messiah is also to find this world. Now we know the purpose of religion. Religion is for the world...to find it and next it is for the Messiah... So the Messiah comes and gives all the people here the qualification of being sons and daughters... Only if one becomes God's son or daughter can one go into heaven; adopted children cannot go in. That is to say, only if one qualifies as a son or daughter can one go in. (80-284)