The Words of the Burton Family
|
|
The Words of the Burton Family |
Unificationist Daniel Kwang-Ju Franklin, 19, has posted a courageous video documentary titled Unification Church is not a Cult on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X8kwNa7aVk The 25-minute documentary is remarkable for its range of reporting, including his own testimony on camera, excerpted statements from world leaders, TV interviews of Unificationist Tom McDevitt, Dr. Tyler Hendricks (formerly the president of the Unification Theological Seminary), and excerpts of Rev. Sun Myung Moon's autobiography. In the video Mr. Franklin asserts that when he encounters bloody gang fights in his neighborhood of Elizabeth, New Jersey, he calls the police, thereby exposing himself to threats of retaliation by gang members.
The report below is Mr. Franklin's account of how he got Divine inspiration to create the documentary, the final version of which was posted on June 15, 2011.
"My life as a Unificationist has made me a better person. It is a shame that when you go on You Tube or Google, the first thing you see right next to "Unification Church" is the word, "cult." After years of seeing negative videos, smears and false rumors about our church, and after recognizing that I have become a better person because of the Unification Church, I decided to make a video called, "Unification Church Is NOT a Cult."
The book, Cheon Seong Gyeong which our family has been reading every day, taught me a lot about pursuing the path of True Parents. I went through a difficult course after our family moved into the roughest neighborhood of Elizabeth, New Jersey. About six years ago, I was enrolled in the toughest middle school in the city. I had to struggle with bullying, sexual temptations, and verbal abuse, but my relationship with God deepened. I was an innocent child going into an area of high hostility, so the only One I could talk too was God. I then had a dream that I was crying because I was in a miserable situation and I was on my way about to enter the school, but around the corner came Jesus, and he just smiled at me with a feeling that told me that everything is going to be okay. When I woke up, I felt better and ready for the day.
But it is clear to me that God placed me in the city of Elizabeth for a reason, because after I moved here, I became a much stronger person. I've had gang members call me up saying they were going to kill me, although I have done nothing to offend anybody. But the fact is, some people like to start trouble in rough areas. Now for a person to insult me or threaten me for saying that True Father is the Messiah will make me even stronger, because threats don't even compare to the other things that have happened in my past. If I weren't a Unificationist, to see the kind of violence and tragedy going on in cities like mine, it would be easy for me to become an atheist. I also have no hope for religion if religions believe that they are the only ones that will bring peace. Unificationism teaches to love all religions, to work together, to honor the existence of God, and explains convincingly why there is evil in this world. This is why I follow the Unification Church.
As I began making the video in May, I started to have spiritual experiences. I felt like I was being "pushed" by the spiritual world. I had extraordinary dreams. One morning I had a dream that my dad came into the room, opened the door quickly and called to me: "Danny!" I woke up from my sleep and went straight to the computer to work on the video. In dreams, your father sometimes represents the masculinity of God, and I felt strongly that God told me to get up, because He wanted me to work on the video. I worked on the video all day long, four days in a row, only taking breaks to eat. On May 28, 2011, I published the video, but I had doubts about some segments, so I deleted the video off You Tube and published a newer version with a more dignified narration on June 5, 2011. Yet, there were errors in need of correction, so I fixed them and published the finished, complete video on June 15, 2011. When I finished the final video, I had a dream that my mom, who was representing the holy spirit/femininity of God said to me, "This is the official, final video. Don't take it off anymore."
For me, music is another way to tell the world what I am about. When I moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey in the year 2004, I became friends with three other second-generation Unificationists in the area, and I came up with the idea of forming a rock band called "Melting Pot." Then we changed our name to "Vangar," and finally we changed it one more time to "Godeye." After one year of playing, we morphed into a Metal band. We had two guitarists, a drummer, and me on vocals and bass. The band continued for five years until we split up. The drummer, Hyun, now plays for the New Jersey Lovin Life Ministries band and Junction band. In 2009, I joined the band, Full Moon Flash, which is a Rock/Reggae/Funk band. We have a drummer, singer, my dad on guitar, and me on bass. People tell me that I am a good bassist for a person my age. I also have my own project that I do to make music. My artist name is my middle name, "Kwang-Ju." I have developed a new genre called, "Relectrub," which is a mixture of rock, electro, and dub. It sounds like rock with a lot of reverbed elements and then techno at another point.
Right now, I am trying to major in Web Design at DeVry University in North Brunswick, New Jersey so that I will be able to sustain a family with a good amount of money and maybe do some web designing for my church. Two years ago, I got matched to Priya D'Silva from Los Angeles, California. We both can't wait for the blessing in February.
I am the proud son of Darryl Franklin, who joined the Unification Church in 1977 and Sara Rita Franklin, who joined the church in Argentina in 1980."