The Reverend Sun Myung Moon speaks from the world of the heart. There is no standard of measurement available to human hands which begins to encompass him. He himself is the measurement for all which has gone before and which will come after. At the moment, this may be considered a statement of faith. But in the future, it will be conventional wisdom. As more and more people encounter him, his wife and his family, the world will change. We are not talking only about people being enlightened or saved, although that will happen. We are talking about the transformation of the world. Reverend Moon is altering the relationship of the human and divine. He is the vehicle of the resurrection. He is bringing the liberation of God. We can speak of these things because he speaks of them. We can conceive of these things because he has brought them into our world.

The Reverend Moon is a maker of new vocabulary: True Parents; the liberation of God; the world of the heart; restoration through indemnity; to "occupy God"; "parentism"; "heartistic", the Blessing, the change of blood lineage; the list goes on. In this text you will encounter these and many more new words. These are not cheap or incidental words. They are not slang. They represent profound thoughts and realities comparable with those of the great religious texts of the world: the Old and New Testaments, the Qur'an, the Analects, the I Ching, the Upanishads and Sutras. They are words which bring forth a new world; one in which the human race will find peace; one which brings God home.

These words can do this because there is something great and holy behind them. They have behind them a substantial historical record of tears, sweat and blood. No religious tradition can take root without sacrifice. "The blood of the martyrs," wrote Tertullian in the third century, "is the seed of the church." Kierkegaard long afterwards wrote that the only true Christians were those who had lived and died with Christ in the first century. Paul's evidence of his apostolic authority was his suffering. This truth is taught and practiced by the Reverend Moon. No one has practiced as much as he has. He can teach it and create new vocabulary to express it, because it has been his way of life from his youth. He is now 73 years old, and there is no one who can equal his absolute devotion to God and people. The fact that there is not such a one, however, is no fault of Reverend Moon's. The whole point of his teaching, frightening as it is to realize, is that we ourselves sacrifice for the world at the cost of our lives. In this way, Reverend Moon's teachings confront us with our own responsibility, which we know in our consciences, but fail to practice.

It is because of the power of this confrontation that the Reverend Moon has been persecuted and rejected by "powers and principalities in high places." The higher the place, the more dramatic the confrontation has been, with theologians, judges and lawyers, and religious and governmental politicians. The rejections are always ironic, studied, cruel and tragic. That Christians would reject the one who brings the truth about Jesus; that Jews would reject the one who explains the entire history of their suffering; that American parents would reject the one who brings their youth out of decadence; that Korean officials would reject their nation's greatest patriot, bears testimony to the ability of evil to disguise itself.

The one who knows and suffers the most is our common parent, our Heavenly Father, God. The one who takes the responsibility for it, comforting God while fully experiencing His anguish, is the Reverend Moon. His forgiveness is granted without asking; he is much too full of parental love to hold a grudge. This is because the ideal love of husband and wife makes life eternally fresh and joyful. The true love between husband and wife grants God-centered power to overcome all difficulties. The family is the everyday school of true love.

There is often talk of Reverend Moon writing a "new version" or "completed text" of Divine Principle. At times during our work on this text, we felt as if Blessing and Ideal Family is exactly that new book. It is not new in the sense of introducing new topics or fields of exploration. Rather, it reveals the depth and richness of what we have already. Reverend Moon here is guiding us into a greater penetration of the very basic, simple contents of life: marriage and family life, man and woman relationships, being a teenager, spouse and parent, individuals growth, and the history which shapes our present culture's practice of these things. It is as if new dimensions were being opened upon scenes each of us take in each day. To see one's life, one's understanding, and one's heart with new eyes, with the eyes of God -- this is the gift held within this book. To resurrect the value of one's own parents, spouse and children -- this is the gift of new life.

This text is the translation of the Korean text published in 1988 as Chook-bok-gwa l-sang-ka-jung It was edited by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon Speech Editing Committee of the Unification Church of Korea, working from speeches and sermons Reverend Moon delivered from the 1950s to the late 1980s. We owe deep appreciation to the Committee for their monumental and historical work. This is a life-giving book; in which is the presence of the living God.

Please bear in mind that there may be some errors due to the difficulties of translating spiritual concepts. We have tried to balance the Korean structures of thought with clarity in the English language. I would like to express my appreciation to the translating and editing team that prepared this text, and to all who assisted in the considerable task of its production.

New York, New York
Parents' Day, 1993
Reverend Zin Moon Kim
Unification Church of America National Advisor

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