"If anyone can show me, and prove to me, that I am wrong in thought or deed, I will gladly change. I seek the truth, which never yet hurt anybody. It is only persistence in self delusion and ignorance which does harm."
-Marcus Aurelius

The purpose of this book is simple: to help clear up many of the confusions, misunderstandings, and false ideas about the Unification Church and its founder, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. All major religious movements have at their inception been either misunderstood or vilified, particularly when they are transplanted to foreign soil. Although the Unification Church is rooted in the ancient traditions of Judaism and Christianity, it expresses itself through a Korean founder, and has already made a profound impact on Western culture.

There is no more controversial religious movement in the world than the Unification movement. On the one hand, the media talk about mindless "Moonies," on the other they praise shrewd "Unificationists" who established the prominent Washington Times. Sensationalistic articles about the church breaking up families appear in tabloid newspapers, while scholarly articles by well-respected theologians and sociologists talk about the hope for the family brought by the Unification movement. In the hate-literature of anti-Unificationists, Reverend Moon is depicted as the ultimate Svengali. In the sober assessment of many others he is a genius who is ushering in the most significant spiritual revolution of the twentieth century.

My experience is that ignorance underlies much prejudice and, with respect to the Unification Church, the public is almost completely ignorant of the simplest of facts. I have endeavored, then, in this short book to bare myself and my knowledge about the Unification Church and Reverend Moon. I have not sought to write a profound spiritual autobiography. I have attempted to provide basic information about a movement that I believe to be the most noble I have ever encountered, and yet the most misunderstood.

The following poem, written by the cultural director of the Korean Unification Church, epitomizes for me the heart of Unification Church members.

Mose Durst, Ph.D.
March, 1984
New York City

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