The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1989
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The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1989 |
Conference
participants at the Forum Religion and Weltgestaltung in Jena, East
Germany.
Beloved Father! Today, please remember this training center here in Camberg, which is now the focus of the attention of heaven and earth. I know that You have connected the family members in Europe to the Unification Country to come and that you have already established the basis for Europe to become one. As Korea is divided between North and South, it is also divided between East and West.
The division of Adam's sons into Cain and Abel, which began the satanic history, has descended through history and brought about the painful division of Your children into the democratic world and the communist world. It has now finally been overcome after You have given the opportunity of a forty-year course of restoration through indemnity of the foundations lost through the failure of established Christianity and America after the liberation of Korea.
In view of your sufferings and pains, Father, I cannot but thank you again for having been able to contribute to this. A terrible course of indemnity, which nobody fully knows, had to be passed. There have been the horizontal stages of the individual, the family, the tribe, the race, the nation, the world, the universe and God; also the vertical children worldwide. Allow their hearts to be centered on the True Parents at all times and give them, and all those who are dedicating themselves for the fulfillment of Your providence, all Your grace, Your mercy and Your blessings. Also please let all the members of the Unification family unite their hearts in love with Yours.
Today the leaders of some twenty European countries have come to be here. Especially members who have worked in the satellite countries of the communist bloc have come here today. Please, let a new chapter in the history of the world be unfolded through this meeting and make it an important occasion for the turning around of the satanic history and the harvesting of the fruits of Your heavenly history. May all the events of this day be dominated by You and bless these few days in Europe so that they can serve as an advancement of Your will and become worthy of being cherished memories in the history of Your providence.
Please be with the children in Korea who are dedicating themselves in their prayers with their hearts turned toward the Parents here, and guide them to be able to fulfill their responsibilities and let all their actions be acceptable in Your eyes. I sincerely pray that Europe will fulfill the purpose for which You created it. Please allow it to completely unite with Your providence and become one country and one cultural sphere for You. I pray that this day may be a proud day in the history of Your providence and that all that is done today may be centered on Your will and offered as a victorious contribution.
I pray all this in the name of the True Parents. Amen. Amen. Amen.
East
and West German participants share over lunch.
Under the guidance of Liselotte Morgenthaler-Perrottet, IRF General Secretary, Germany, the ongoing "Forum Religion and Weltgestaltung (Forum of Religion and Society)" has taken a giant step eastward since the end of March of this year -- eastward from West Germany across the barbed wire and vacated buildings at the border into East Germany.
And it was to the second of such conferences that I was invited -- the first having taken place in Eisenach, East Germany under the theme of "The Role of Religion in the Future of Europe" on March 24-25. Its success prompted Liselotte to quickly organize another such meeting in Jena, specifically there due to the suggestion of an attendee in Eisenach. [Interestingly enough, Karl Marx was awarded his doctorate at the University of Jena!]
For me, merely the invitation to such an event was thrilling because it was my initial visit into this unknown land which I'd heard so much of. In a very special way, it was the answer to a vision I had following Pledge on March 18 -- the first time our fellow Germans went to the polls in over 40 years. On that morning as I finished praying I saw a large cross rising out of the East German earth, with one end at Rostock, the other at Dresden.
Needless to say, it was a massive structure, shining brightly as if just newly polished.
I often asked myself what was the meaning of this rising cross -- until I received a phone call from Liselotte asking me to attend the Jena meeting, slated for June 16-17.
The planning stages toward the conference itself were nearly as action- packed and thrilling as the actual event, since the conference center we initially booked later tripled its prices! After a suitable hall at the university was arranged, three days prior to the fixed date the conference was kicked out under pressure from the city government. This last minute change of plan was sparked by two undesirable articles in the local newspaper, urging anyone invited to boycott the Forum, and after intensively and pointedly questioning the city officials, it was understood that West German Protestant ministers, "experts" on new religious movements, had made their inroads into the Jena political arena.
Through God's Hand a hall was found, appropriate to accommodate the FRW, at 9 o'clock on the morning the meeting was scheduled to begin. We were able to use the former communist cultural center, located on the outskirts of Jena.
With the theme "Absolute Values in Today's Society" the conference was underway, moderated by Dr. Edmond Weber, professor of Protestant Theology at the University of Frankfurt. On Saturday, June 16, Dr. Rainer Stahl, lecturer in Old Testament Studies at the Leipzig Theological Seminary, presented an offering entitled "The Old Testament as a Source of Lasting Value." This complemented the topic presented by Professor Dr. Hans Schwarz, Protestant Theology Professor at the University of Regensburg, who spoke directly to the conference theme of absolute values in our present society. The final presentation for the day was given by Ulrich Tuente, European Director of the Unification Thought Institute, on the topic of "Absolute Values: Advancement or Withdrawal and Unification Philosophy Perspective,"
On Sunday morning, June 17, Siegfried Hollitzer, active with Christian-Jewish Dialogue in Leipzig, and Prof. Dr. Jorgen Redhardt, professor of Religious Psychology and Religious Education at the University of Glessen, related their talks to the question of truth and the concept of education toward a world orientation, respectively.
Intertwined between each talk were very lively discussions, where the concept of absolute values vis-a-vis the present political and socio-economic situation in East and West Germany was drawn more to the forefront.
However, for those participants from the West a unique opportunity was found in regards to the lodging -- we stayed in "Bed and Breakfasts" in small villages east of Jena, enabling us to talk with our hosts and their families over breakfast and to gain a deeper awareness of these East German brethren.
In addition, the restaurant in which we ate our meals was at one time the home of Martin Luther, interestingly enough located directly across the street from the university were Marx studied!
Concluding this account, I reflect back on my vision of the cross rising through the East German soil and pray that it will not slip back into quicksand. A primary force leading toward the destruction and dismantling of the Berlin Wall last November was the church, though the crowds of believers at the "Nikolaikirche" in Leipzig have become but a dim memory. A very strong sense of secular materialism has permeated this land to the point of suffocation. Yet all is not lost -- now is the time for our Unification movement, with its vast array of activities in the ecumenical arena, to stretch out its hand and save the people of Eastern Europe. Now, rather than later, when it may be too late!