|
|
|
|
THE INNER TEACHINGS OF THE UNIFICATION CHURCH
(According to my personal experience as a church member from 1986 to 1993)
Although the teachings have changed over the years, "Moonies" (a term frequently and lovingly used by Mr. Moon in referring to his members) basically believe that...
1. God couldn't realize His ideal of creation because man "fell" by committing the original sin in the Garden of Eden; that is the archangel Lucifer tempted Eve into a sexual relationship who then in turn seduced Adam. So the "original sin" was sex - and that has far reaching implications in the group (from a lifestyle of "self denial" and from devalueing and 'dominating' women to the way they are prescribed to have sex...).
2. Jesus failed. He was supposed to pay enough spiritual condition to win over the people and establish the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Since he was rejected, God's plan failed and he has to come again.
3. Rev. Moon (a title he gives himself, since he never received accreditation from any Christian seminary) is the Return of Christ, the sinless and perfect Messiah and true parent of mankind, whom all must unquestioningly obey and follow. He sees his mission to control the world through an all-embracing absolute theocracy in which "immorality", i.e. sexual relationship outside of his "blessing" will be dealt with as a federal offense. His goal is to "unite" all mankind under his dominion (and ideology) with him as absolute authority and "true parent." To accomplish this goal he strives to use education, politics and economics. Hence his efforts in all major areas - from the White House to Science Fairs. The strategy is to associate with credible people from these areas in order to gain acceptance, credibility and ...power. As many critics have stated, deception and manipulation are viewed as "ok" by Mr. Moon and his followers as long as they serve the "heavenly purpose" (to expand Moon's empire).
4. In order to be "saved" (which one never truly is in the group) one has to be matched, married and blessed by Moon in a ceremony in which one becomes symbolically part of his family - the "true, pure and sinless lineage of the Messiah." ...but only conditionally. That means one still has to be afraid to be invaded by satan who tries to destroy one's eternal spiritual life through doubts and negative feelings about the "true family"(Moon's family) and "Divine Principle" (Moon's teaching which he considers the "Completed Testament", the "New Truth" which is higher than the Bible - and coincidentally in stark contradiction to it... which is why I left the group). Until 93 when I was still a member (I don't know if it is still practiced) the marriage ceremony still included a secret ritual in which the husband had to first hit his wife with a baseball bat three times as hard as he could on the buttocks. If she passed out inbetween, he had to wait and then continue. Then it was her turn and if she was too weak, a 'brother' (other member) had to take her place to perform the rite. This was supposed to "indemnify" (pay for) the sexual sin of Adam and Eve and the historical resentment between men and women since the fall, and to prevent future resentment in the marriage.
5. Since man is responsible for the fall by failing his
responsibility to obey God's commandment "not to eat the fruit" (=not
to have sex before maturity), it is man's responsibility to restore
the fall. That means the burden of all of mankind's sin rests on each
individuals shoulders who has found the "truth" and has decided to go
the "path of restoration through indemnity" (=making spiritual
conditions of restitution such as fasting, cold showers and all night
prayers to symbolically "pay" for the sin of his ancestors and,
ultimately, Adam and Eve). That's why you'll meet many UC members who
run around looking dead tired, skinny and malnourished - because they
work up to 22 hours a day, do 7 and 21 day waterfasts, cold showers
etc. ...to pay four their sin and that of their ancestors, and to
"separate from satan". (Making such conditions along with confessing
ones sins to the leader is believed to - temporarily - separate one
from satan. A true UC member constantly feels guilty and
self-conscious because he is taught to feel that whatever he does,
"it is not enough" and that "it is nothing compared to what 'Father'
(Moon) does, who is claimed to sleep only 2 hours a night (so
anything more is "too much" and you ought to feel guilty and indebted
to "father" Moon).
He also runs around in constant terror - the fear
of being invaded by satan who is just waiting for you to make a
mistake, such as being "arrogant" in not obeying a leader 100% or
even daring to object to one of his commands which are as good as
Gods (="reversing dominion"). Cain (the member) has to obey and
submit to/be dominated by Abel (his leader)
completely in order for restoration to take place - according to DP.
That's why you'll find a slavelike, unquestioning devotion especially
among older members towards their leaders and Moon's directions. If
you asked them, for example, "if Moon told you to go to Korea
tomorrow and fight against North Korea to protect 'the fatherland' -
would you go?" a dedicated member will have to say yes if he is
truthful.
The church seems to be slacking off a little on this "heavenly
standard" of absolute obedience which was primarily taught by Moon's direct disciples
(Korean and Japanese leaders) until the early 90s (I was still
trained in this fashion before I left in 93).
6. The end justifies the means. Since satan deceived man into sin, God, in order to restore his children and the original order of creation, also must use deception. Hence, I was taught that it is ok to lie (especially to satan's children) as long as it serves God's purpose. E.g. it's ok to hide membership of the Moon organisation in order to gain a donation or workshop attendance which will, as a "spiritual condition", connect the individual to the Messiah Moon (and thus be of eternal benfit to him and the world). In extreme cases as that of my leader Yoshizumi in Chicago for 4 years, it is also used to justify brutality: He was hitting, choking, kicking me and making me (and other members) fast etc. "to separate satan from me" by "making me repent" and "pay indemnity" when I had been "invaded by satan" (e.g. by not accomplishing a goal or direction) - thus an expression of his "true love" for us. He once said something like, "If I didn't care about you I wouldn't be so harsh with you. It's for your benefit. Otherwise you'll be totally invaded by satan and lose your eternal spiritual life. You should be grateful!"
This to me is one of the greatest problems with the movement - they can lie while looking you straight in the eyes and even still feeling good about it. Basic values of decency and integrity are totally redefined, and, in my opinion, twisted.
Another example are the two types of teaching or information: While
to the outside world they'll try to come across as an unjustly
persecuted, basically conservative Christian group which even may
deny that they believe Moon is the Messiah, on the inside they speak
and teach about how to infiltrate and "subjugate" the "satanic world"
(=secular world including all those who have not accepted Moon as
Messiah), and how effective "Father," the Messiah and True Parent,
has been in shrewdly buying Bridgeport University, vast properties in
Texas, Alaska, etc. in his effort to establish the "Kingdom of Heaven
on Earth." We also were taught about a possible shift of "God's Providence" (focus, plan) to Russia should America "fail" (to accept "father"). This seems to be occurring now - although Russian and other members are sent back to the U of Bridgeport on full scholarships to gain credentials essential for exerting influence in politics, according to what I was told ultimately even in the White House...
return to MoonismPlease address any questions or problems you encounter on this site to Ingo Michehl. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of trancenet.net,all-info.org, its staff, volunteers, or donors.trancenet.netrelies solely on "sharefare" donations from readers like you at http://www.trancenet.net/trancenet/levels.shtml.
Except where noted, entire contents Copyright ©1995,1996, 1997 Ingo Michehl.
Atrancenet.netpublication.
This page was last built with Frontier on a Macintosh on Fri, Mar 7, 1997 at 2:35:55 PM.
