Sun Myung Moon's Speeches from 2003

Quotes from Sun Myung Moon relevant to the May 2003 Pilgrimage to Israel (Take Down the Cross)

Sun Myung Moon
May 16, 2003 (Release date)

Day Of The Victory Of Heaven
October 4, 1979
World Mission Center

I want you to know that it is God's will that all religions be united into one. You know restoration takes place according to the law of indemnity, and that God's purpose is the restoration of all mankind. Some people, like Jesus, are in the position to sacrifice for the sake of the world. The Jews as well are in a position to help God restore billions of people around the world. Their sacrifices must not remain in vain; they served an important purpose in the history of God for the sake of restoring all the multitudes of people in history.

Among the religions of the world, the Jews have suffered the most because God's loved ones are always in a position to be a sacrifice. Because God allowed such suffering to come to the Jews, God expected them to be the strongest, most understanding and most united religious people. Who shall play the central role in uniting all religions? God handpicked the Jews and trained them for that role. This is my explanation of the suffering of the Jews from the dispensational point of view; their oppression was not a punishment from God, but was the same glorious sacrificial role that Jesus was given in order to complete the restoration of mankind.

After World War II the Jews had a great opportunity because they suffered the most. They should have become flag bearers and champions of God, calling for unity of all religions, including Christianity, under God's banner. If those two had united then the unity of all other religions would only have been a matter of time. The problem has been that Jewish thinking was always nationalistic, while God's thinking was universal. The Jews should embrace all people of the world for their salvation, and in that case they would have won a true victory for God after World War II. But as long as they have narrow thinking they will face more and more problems. Once they liberate themselves to see from God's perspective, their whole situation will become different. If they think self-centeredly then God will leave and look for some other champions elsewhere.

I want you to understand that because of this failure of religions to unite, communism could rise after World War II. In the event that they take over the free world, the first group of people to be annihilated will be the Christians. The worst bloodshed, never seen in history, will take place and touch all people of the world. The genocide of the Jews in World War 11 will seem small in comparison as millions and millions of people will die in that bloodletting. God will require the toughest kind of unity to be forged under those circumstances.

Pope John Paul II visited New York recently and received a wholehearted welcome, but do you think he could have been given such a welcome under worldwide communist rule? No, the Pope and all Catholics, Protestants and Jews together would have been killed at the outset. What about the Unification Church? We would be the first to go. In that respect all religious people face a common destiny. My proclamation is that we must unite and go beyond the level of denomination and the boundaries of religions. I established a movement to unite religions, but instead of being united, Christians are uniting with communists to accuse and oppose us. What seems to be unanimous opposition to me, however, is being split by you who crossed over the line to unite with me. You are the people who saw the will of God and want to give your lives to it and fight for this goal.

True Parents And Our Responsibility
December 27, 1981
Belvedere

Christianity has been the source of the greatest opposition to me, but I have invested great amounts of energy and resources to help bring about a revival of Christianity. Jewish people as well have opposed me, but I teach that Judaism is the elder brother of the Unification Church. The Bible directs people to love those who persecute them. This has been my way of life.

God's Day Midnight Address
January 1, 1992
Grand Ballroom, World Mission Center, New York

Father predicted communism could not go beyond seventy three years and that is precisely what happened. The disappearance of communism from the face of the earth is not the end of the struggle though. The more difficult struggle has been the struggle between religions. Father has been warning more about the danger of religious struggle and the bloodshed of religious people, among Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Look at Beirut and Ireland. Religious wars are killing people. The most senseless killing is going on in the name of religion. Father has been doing a great deal of reconciliation between Judaism and Islam through ICUS for the professors. Father brings together the professors from the Arab territory and Israel territory and mediates their reconciliation through religion. When Islam is fighting against Judaism, which one is on the side of God? We cannot say. Both are right and wrong. Both have certain claims, but it doesn't make a difference. The important thing is that God's will is to bring harmony. In the Bible it says those who bring harmony and reconciliation will be blessed. To bring that harmony is one of the most important things in history and the one who can do it is truly a son of God.

Statement On Jews And Israel
Reverend Sun Myung Moon

Jewish Brethren:

September 18, 1976, at our God Bless America Festival at the Washington Monument, in the presence of an estimated 300,000 people; we stated:

[Judaism, Christianity and the Unification Movement] are indeed three brothers in the Providence of God. Then, Israel, the United States and Korea, the nations where these three religions are based must also be brothers. Because these three nations have a common destiny representing God's side, the Communist bloc as Satan's representative is trying to isolate and destroy them at the U.N.

Therefore these three brother nations must join hands in a unified effort to restore the United Nations to its original purpose and function. They must contribute internally to the unification of world religions and externally to the unification of the world itself.

(cf. our advertisement in The New York Times, Sept. 24, 1976)

And yet, in spite of this clear and explicit statement, we were attacked repeatedly and accused of anti-Semitism. Our views were distorted, our struggle, its meaning and objectives misrepresented.

On the occasion of these Hanukkah Days, the Festival of Light and commemoration of your victory over the forces of darkness and evil we wish to clarify our genuine convictions and express our honest and sincere feelings toward you, Jewish brethren.

Towards this end and purpose we publish herewith and bring to your attention the document signed on August 10, 1976.

In the course of their history the people of Israel and Korea have experienced suffering and persecutions by neigboring enemies and expanding imperialistic powers.

As a son of the Korean people, living in this blessed by God land of America, I extend to you, Jewish Brethren, my hand of friendship and wish to state the principles which are guiding the activities of our Movement, especially those regarding the problems and difficulties confronting the Jews of the World and Israel at this crucial juncture of our common human history.

1. The Unification Movement categorically condemns anti- Semitism, the most hideous, abject and cruel form of hatred. We regard the murder of six million Jews in Europe the result of political short- sightedness and lack of moral responsibility on the part of Germany's political and religious leaders, and statesmen from among other nations, in the period between the Two World Wars.

Ignoring the basic teachings of the Scriptures, they acted too late to block Hitler's ascent to power, they postponed the action for his downfall, and they did nothing to rescue the victims who were the captives of his satanic plans and designs.

Only a unified front of all Christian and Jewish forces, inspired by the principles of the Divine Commandments and guided by the concept of human brotherhood, would have been able to prevent the Holocaust, the implementation of the "Final Solution," -- a Cain-inspired action, carried out by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945.

2. The Unification Movement recognizes the divine and natural right of the Jewish people to physical survival and preservation of its specific religious traditions, the marks of its distinctive historical entity. These fundamental human rights must be secured everyhwere, especially for Jews living in the lands of the Diaspora.

3. The Unification Movement regards the Land of Israel as a haven for the Holocaust survivors and sanctuary for all those individual Jews who are trying to escape physical persecution and religious, racial or national oppression. The demand for free emigration--the undeniable and inalienable right of every human being--must become the stated policy of the United States in her dealings with foreign countries, and particularly in her relations with the Soviet Union.

4. The Unification Movement, in its efforts to resolve conflicts among nations and harmonize antagonistic social- economic and political interests, will work toward the creation of political conditions necessary for an acceptable accommodation between the Arabs and Jews, and to achieve a genuine and lasting peace in the Middle East, one of the most important corners of the world.

5. The Unification Movement believes that religious and free people throughout the world must cooperate in building a spiritual and organizational unity among nations which will be capable to contain Soviet imperialism, which continues to inflict hardship and suffering upon its own people and is spreading the poison of hatred and dissension among nations of the world, with the ultimate purpose of political global subjugation and enslavement.

6. The Unification Movement is grateful to God, to His true and righteous prophets and saints of our common spiritual tradition who prepared the foundations on which we stand and organize our struggle. We consider ourselves to be the younger brother of our Jewish and Christian brethren, all of whom are children of our Heavenly Father. We regard it as our duty to respect and serve the elder sons of our Father, and it is our mission to serve Judaism and Christianity by promoting Love and Unity among all the children of God.

7. The Unification Movement teaches the Principle and strives toward the establishment of a Unified World Family of Nations guided by the concepts of Unity and Brotherhood expressed in the Divine Commandments, the foundations of our common spiritual heritage. It is our conviction that we must unite in order to attain this Divine and Sublime Historical Objective.

Reverend Sun Myung Moon
Belvedere,
Tarrytown, New York
December 1976
Hanukkah, Kislev 5737

Perseverance And Contemplation
August 27, 1978
London, England

What about God? Is He isolated from the misery of the world? Is He only concerned about a certain group of people? No, He is everywhere. Islam may be the second greatest religion in the world today but Muslims are acting the same as Christians in this matter. They cherish their own believers and country, but do not care so much about other people and nations. Buddhists are the same; they never think about embracing Christians; they don't know how and they don't care. They don't go out to society and try to solve the problems of the world.

The 25th Year Of The Unification Church
May 1, 1978
Belvedere, New York

Communist strategy for the future is to take a more active role in nullifying religion, letting Islam, Christianity and Judaism each fight among themselves, as well as with all others. If this occurs then the human race faces annihilation. Through promoting division among peoples and religions, the communists want to benefit their own purposes. God's new religious movement should have the content which can unite not only these diverse religions but even draw together people who follow the different ideologies, such as communism and democracy. If God does exist then He would reason this way, but He also needs someone on earth to pursue this thinking…

All these problems started when man went in the wrong direction in the beginning. From that time everything has been going in a direction opposite to God's point of view. How can we turn the right side to the left side and vice versa? We have to go against the old, established desires. The whole problem is one of changing the direction of the "I"-centered family, "I"-centered nation and "I"-centered religion and world. We have to go the opposite way and live the family life for the nation, the national life for the world and dedicate the world to God. The present way of living in the world must be completely turned upside down. "I" must live for the world, not for "my" sake. Judaism should exist for Islam and Islam for Judaism. Christianity should live for Buddhism and so forth. This is what is meant by the opposite direction.

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