A few years ago my eldest sister inquired into my reasons for Unification Church membership. I knew she wouldn't accept any pat answer, so I tried to systematize my thoughts so I could answer it quickly and thoroughly. Since my Unification Church membership is inextricably tied to Father's Messiahship, Messiahship had to be addressed. Around the same time I sprained my ankle playing basketball so I had some time to contemplate this issue and I got carried away and wrote her a lengthy 20 page response. The following is a summary of my analysis.

A. There is nothing greater one can do with their life than to live for God, especially if One can work with the Messiah while he is on earth.

B. I believe Rev. Moon is the Messiah.

C. Therefore, I have decided to work with, follow and "attend" Rev. Moon and his organizations.

Obviously the key premise is #2, Rev. Moon's Messiaship. That must be convincingly dealt with. Most Christians probably do not have more than 1 reason for believing Jesus' Messiahship. I offer 7 reasons and each one alone can be a legitimate basis for concluding Father is the Messiah.

Mathew 7:16 says beware of false prophets, but you will know them by their fruits. What are fruits of Rev. Moon or any other religious founder? It is their teaching, activities, moral code, people involved, the founder's his lifestyle, etc. The "fruits" of Rev. Moon are good. Let us examine his "fruits" and other evidence that is relevant to his Messiahship.

1. Teaching

Upon a thorough examination of the theology, one can legitimately conclude that Unificationism is the most comprehensive, consistent, logical and systematic theology/philosophy/ideology ever compiled, revealed or written. Compare Unificationism with any other religion point by point: The nature of God, a "suffering" God, the intimate relationship with God we should have, why and how God created, happiness as purpose of life, true love as the central to all human relationships, the view of life after death and spirit world, its view of the fall being as being a breakdown of love, the dynamics of the fall and its causal effect that is evident in today's society, its realistic view of Jesus and his mission, its treatment of John the Baptist that is consistent with Jesus' words from the Bible, its affirmation of man's freedom, its realistic balancing of free will and predestination, its realistic/symbolic approach to eschatology and biblical prophecies that does not force us to deny our common sense and scientific understanding, its understandable view of salvation as both physical/spiritual and individual/collective, its view of resurrection as spiritual, its much more rational approach towards reincarnation v. returning resurrection, its view of the parallels of history, its view of Hebraism/Hellenistic duality in history, its view of America and treatment of other nations in its view of history, etc.

Applying the theological framework to philosophy and ideology, it also gets very high marks in the form of Unification thought and its comprehensive and, as history has shown, its correct critique of Marxism. Further, Unificationism is not narrow, but is broad, it does not condemn other theologies or philosophies but embraces them. Also, it is compatible with science and hence can appeal to modernity and to the most educated of our society.

Finally, Unificationism is true. The eminent philosopher Mortimer Adler, who for many years authored the Great Books and the Encyclopedia Britannica, posited that truth can be objectively ascertained. Epistemologically speaking, I believe that truth can be validated in 4 ways: Rationally, Empirically, Common Sense and Intuition. Although one criteria is sufficient, using all or any one of these 4 criteria, Unificationism can be validated as truth.

Hence Fruit #1 is good and points to the revealer as Godly and even messianic.

The activities of Rev. Moon are consistent with what I believe a Messiah would do in today's world. Trying to harmonize science and religion, uniting religion, promoting responsible media and holy educational institutions, promoting strong families, promoting international and interracial marriage as ways to achieve world peace, promoting large marriages that emphasize faithfulness in marriage and chastity before marriage. Etc. Hence Fruit #2 is good.

The people comprising the Unification Church and UM are of extremely high caliber. They are for the most part educated, virtuous, hardworking, loving, caring and are people committed to building a peaceful world.. When my Dad visited UTS in the mid 1980s he was so impressed with the people there, that he wrote me that he could not have found better people by hiring a personnel agency.

The morals of the Unification Church are of the highest level. No promiscuity, abstaining from alcohol, smoking and drugs; discipline, virtuousness and unselfishness and attempting to live for others are the goals.

At age 16 meeting Jesus, the imprisonments, the courage displayed when facing imprisonment or adversity, the forgiveness of his torturers and enemies, the persecution, his extremely active and disciplined life including his disciplined sleeping habits. Although some of his family members have strayed, for the most part his good example is reflected in his spouse and family.

The Sun Myung Moon Sittings contained in the Arthur Ford book and other various spiritually oriented evidence of his Messiahship including various prophecies. (I generally show interested people the chapter containing the Sun Myung Moon Sittings).

Through prayer and reflection, I have concluded that God has led me to Rev. Moon and the Unification Church. Although, this is very subjective, it comes on the foundation of Reasons 1-6 which can be analyzed objectively.

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