UNIFICATIONIST MOVEMENT |
HISTORY
Sun Myung Moon and the Unificationist Movement
Sun Myung Moon (Shining Sun and Moon) was born Yong Myung Moon in a village located in present-day North Korea, on January 6, 1920
Moon as a very spiritual youth who frequently journeyed to the surrounding mountains to pray
1930 Moon became a Christian when his parents converted to Presbyterianism
1936 On Easter morning Moon reports that Jesus Christ appeared to him and designated him as the successor to complete his spiritual mission Moon did not immediately reveal this vision for several years.
1938 Moon began attended high school in Seoul and subsequently enrolled at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan to study electrical engineering.
1936-1946 Moon reports that he was continuously at war with Satan, who tried to dissuade him from accepting the messianic assignment. He was also in spiritual communication with God and several great religious figures (Jesus, Moses, Buddha). The revelations that he received formed the basis of the Divine Principle (Tong Il).
1943 Moon returned to Korea and married his first wife, Sun Kil Choi. In that same year he was also imprisoned for several months by occupying Japanese forces for his support of Korean independence.
1946 After receiving a divine revelation, Moon left his wife and new son to travel to Pyongyang in Communist North Korea where he formed a charismatic Christian church. The church produced immediate opposition from Christians and Communist authorities. Moon was imprisoned in both 1946 and in 1948, in the latter case receiving a five year sentence.
1950 Moon was able to escape to South Korea when American troops arrived
1952 Moon and his first wife divorced
1954 Moon founded the HSAUWC in South Korea
1955 Moon was arrested and held briefly again in South Korea before charges against him were finally dropped
1956 The first written version of the Divine Principle was published in 1956.
1950s Movement spread to Japan
1959 Initial Unificationist missionaries arrived in the United States
1960 Moon married Hak Ja Han; together they bore 12 children as one element of the messianic mission.
Mmid-1960s Small groups of Unificationists established church centers in western European countries such as Germany, Italy, France and Spain
1971 Moon arrived in the United States
1990s Mrs. Moon assumes a larger role in movement leadership
1994 Moon announced that the period of the preeminence of the Unification Church had ended, and he inaugurated the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification as the umbrella organization for the movement
1998 Moon has appointed his third-oldest son, Hyun Jin Nim, as vice president of the Family Federation for world Peace and Unification International
Membership reached a high point of 7,500 to 10,000 during the 1970s.
The movement now claims to be active in 190 nations and to have 50,000 members
in the US
MYTH
The Bible is a cryptogram. Moon's revelations permit a correct interpretation of the Bible for the first time
It was God’s desire and capacity for love that led to the creation of humankind, and God’s intent was to experience the joy of loving relationships with Creation in what Unificationists refer to as a “give and take relationship.”
God’s original plan in placing Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden was that they would spiritually mature with God’s nurturance, become “True Parents,” and then form a God-centered family. God’s plan was not predetermined, however, as God created humans with free will, the capacity to accept or reject his love. God assumed 95 percent of the responsibility for the human-divine relationship, but humans were required to do their 5 percent.
In God’s original plan humans were to occupy a place higher than the
angels. The archangel Lucifer became jealous of the love being directed to
God’s new creation and subverted God’s plan when he spiritually seduced Eve
as a teenager before she had fully matured (the spiritual Fall). In her guilt,
Eve entered into an illicit sexual
relationship with Adam (the physical Fall). The result was the first Fall
of man.
All successive generations of humankind were now corrupted by their
original parents’ sin and became members of a “false lineage” centered on
Satan. Humans now contained elements of both good and evil, of God and Satan.
These two elements were separated in Cain and Able. This separation of divine
and satanic elements and the
killing of Able by Cain divided humankind itself.
The division of humanity has taken many forms through history, but in the contemporary world is represented by the division between aetheistic communism and God-fearing democracy.
The separation of humans from God and the divisions among humankind are responsible for a wide range of human problems – wars, racial strife, family discord, interpersonal animosity and selfishness, economic and political conflict.
The task of humankind since the Fall has been to deliver humankind from satanic dominion and re-establish God’s original plan for humanity. While God is capable of effecting Restoration unilaterally, he created each human with the freedom to make moral choices. He therefore requires that humans assume responsibility for their sin and become capapble of living in a voluntary, loving relationship with their creator.
In order for Restoration to their now lost relationship to God to occur, humans must first do their part by making payment (idemnity) for their sin. Once God decides that humans have paid sufficient idemnity and laid the proper foundation, an opportunity for Restoration is offered.
In order to carry out the Restoration process a messiah (a ideal person who is sinless) is needed as well as a “central figure,” whose task it is to usher in the messiah.
In order for the task of Restoration to be complete two tasks must be accomplished. First, there must be a restoration of the God-human relationship (spiritual or vertical restoration) and then relationships among humans (physical or horizontal restoration). There have been a number of central figures through human history. Abel was the first, but he was murdered by Cain before he could fulfill his messianic role.
The last such attempt occurred when, John the Baptist, was to herald
the appearance of Jesus. God’s original plan was to have Jesus marry and establish
a new God-centered lineage. However, humankind once again failed as leaders
of the day failed to recognize Jesus as the messiah and John was disloyal
to Jesus. As a result, Jesus
allowed himself to be crucified, which permitted him to make the
sacrifice that allowed completion of vertical (spiritual) Restoration. However,
the messianic mission remained incomplete as Jesus was unable to marry, have
children, and establish a God-centered lineage (physical Restoration).
Because Restoration is not complete, original sin still exists and humans are subject to invasion by evil. Thus another messianic figure was necessary to complete the restoration process.
The “Lord of the Second Advent” will not be Jesus who has returned but rather will be a normally born man who is assisted by Jesus-- from the spirit world.
This messianic figure, the Divine Principle teaches, can be identified
by certain characteristics drawn from the Bible. His birth date will be between
1917 and 1930, and he will come from a nation in which there is an active
confrontation between godless communism and god-centered democracy and which
has suffered from this struggle.
RITUAL
Restoration of individuals – Conversion
Restoration of money and business – Fundraising and business partnerships
Restoration of family – The Blessing
Restoration of government – theocracy
ORGANIZATION
Business Empire – Generate resources to support religious mission
Unification Theological Seminary – Training of clergy
International Cultural Foundation – searches for “absolute values” and the “unity of science.”
Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles (CARP) – Evangelistic organization
Confederation of the Associations for the Unification of the Societies of the Americas (CAUSA) – Anti-communist organization
Women’s Federation for World Peace – Dedicated to combatting immorality and promoting family values, particularly concerned with sexual abstinence among unmarried youth and fidelity among married couples.
New Hope East Garden in Brazil – Contains 7.5 million acres of land
located at the confluence of the Miranda and Plata rivers. Moon regards as
the origin point for the building of the Kingdom of God on Earth.
UNIFICATION CHURCH MARRIAGE EXPECTATIONS
Survey
N = 67
Unification Theological Seminary
Demographics
85% Unmarried
78% Male
73% under 30 years old
37% former Catholic
Blessings
1961 36 couples
1962 72 couples
1969 430 couples
1970 790 couples
1975 1,800 couples
1982 2,000 couples
Anticipation of Mate and Blessing
Anticipated Length of further wait for blessing
25% 1 Year
23% 2 Years
34% 3 Years
19% More than 3 Years
Difficulty of Not Thinking of Brothers and Sisters Romatically
27% Not Difficult
54% Slightly Difficult
19% Moderately or Very Difficult
Becoming Easier / More Difficult
81% Easier
19% More Difficult
Think About Identity of Blessing Partner
38% Little / None
62% Some / Great Deal
Blessing Preference
Personal Choice or Leader Choice
08% Individual will choose/be chosen by mate
59% Individual
33% Church leaders will choose mate
Racial / Ethnic Group Preference of Partner
60% No Preference
29% Different Group
11% Own Group
Nature of Marital Relationship
Desired Family Size
24% 1 - 3 Children
44% 4 - 6 Children
32% 7 + Children
Preferred Living Arrangements
16% Separate Family Dwelling
28% Communal with Other Blessed Couples
56% Communal with Blessed and Unmarried Memebers