Many UNews readers are familiar with "the nets," namely electronic mail through (computer) on-line networks. I believe this development to be part of God's providence insofar as the nets make available to the word of God yet another excellent vehicle. While traces of evil persist en route to a fully recovered Eden, however, one must always exercise prudence. Material in the nets becomes available both to those who would be inspired or edified by your postings, and to those who either through ignorance or bad intentions might misconstrue carelessly presented thoughts.

I'm on a good list in which the following inquiry turned up. I include here both the inquiry and my response, in case these may be helpful. E-Mail From Roger E. Olson.

Earlier I posted a query regarding Unification Church beliefs about Rev. Sun Myung Moon as "Lord of the Second Advent." I was gratified with the openness and honesty of the answers. I conclude that "Yes, the Unification Church believes and teaches that Rev. Sun Myung Moon is the world messiah, the second coming of Christ, the Lord of the Second Advent."

Now, I have a second question. In the June 14, 1976 issue, "Time" published a series of statements which Rev. Moon supposedly made to an inner core of followers. These were (I assume) recorded and reported by New York Daily News reporter John Cotter who infiltrated the Unification Church in 1975 and wrote a series of articles on his experiences for that newspaper. (I have a version of one of his articles from another newspaper.) John Cotter and Time magazine reported Rev. Moon as saying "The whole world is in my hands. I will conquer and subjugate the world." They also reported him as talking about getting his followers elected to Congress, etc., in order to accomplish this goal.

My question is very simple: Is it the belief of the Unification Church or of a large number of members that Rev. Moon ought to take over and rule America and possibly the world? Is a political theocracy a goal of the Unification church? Please answer as clearly, honestly and forthrightly as possible. Thanks. Roger

I responded:

I am a twenty year member of Reverend Moon's Unification Church. Reverend Moon does not use power-oriented language in his speeches such as "the world is in my hands," or "I will conquer and subjugate the world."

Reverend Moon teaches, and Unificationists believe that sooner or later, whether it be in 10 years or a thousand years, all human beings will naturally seek of their own accord to come into the world of God's boundless love, and live as constructive citizens in a world designed to provide each person full opportunity to achieve his or her God given potential. In this scheme of things, the Moon's are seen as the first human beings to fully mediate and embody God's parental love as a couple. Thus their mission is identified as that of the "True Parents." For this reason Unificationists believe that (again sooner or later) all human beings will eventually feel a real fondness, appreciation and even love for the Moon's, as the ones who pioneered the embodiment true parental love. Anticipating this eventuality is incongruous with notions like conquering and subjugating.

The operative means for the accomplishment of any stated goal among Unificationists, in fact the essence of Unification piety, is consistent, unconditional, self-sacrificial love, summarized in our teachings as "life for the sake of others." This is as true for the Moon's, as it is for Unification members who follow their teaching and example.

It is true that Reverend Moon has encouraged members who feel the call, and who feel they have sufficient talent and qualifications, to pursue public office. But he has not encouraged this direction any more than he has encouraged others of us to become scholars, ship builders, preachers, professional athletes, ballerinas and so forth. Any encouragement of his students to seek elected office is not so that they pursue world dominion or the establishment of a theocracy, but rather so that they do good in the world.

The term theocracy offends the Unificationist imagination when reflecting on potential political structures for an ideal world. A better working category for someone sincerely trying to understand Unification impulses would be something like "theonomous democracy," or a "theo-familial democracy." The notion here is that each person as a member of a family (consisting of grandparents, parents, and children) perfects and comes to embody divine love through the interpersonal dynamics that naturally occur in a loving family. Each person comes to experience and embody the full range of available "true loves"; children for parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters for one-another, husband and wife for one another, parents for children, and grand parents for children and grandchildren. In the ideal, God is present in such families, and as a result each family and its individual members participate in and contribute to a harmonious democratic society, itself modeled on the ideal of loving a loving family. The difference between democracy in the ideal and the current manifestation of democracy is implied in Reverend Moon's teaching that current attempts at equality are based on brotherism, whereas future establishment of equality will be based on parentism.

The wellspring of political authority in the Kingdom of Heaven imagined by Unificationists is somehow a cross between the type of authority parents exert over a happy family, and the role the central nervous system plays in the vital and energetic functioning of a healthy human body. These metaphors are no secret. They are found in paragraph 2, p. 46 of the Divine Principle, the core teachings of Reverend Moon, which has been widely distributed in America since the early 1970's, and which should be available in any self-respecting American library. I am afraid that John Cotter's exciting, spy-like "infiltration" of the Unification Church happened nowhere but in his own mind. I hope this is helpful.

Dr. Frank Kaufmann E Mail ForTL@pipeline.com

Download entire page and pages related to it in ZIP format
Table of Contents
Copyright Information