Founder: Rev. Sun Myung Moon [born Young Myung Moon]
Date Founded: The dates may vary, but 1954 in Seoul, Korea is the accepted date.
Names: The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity; Unification Church; Moonies.
Organizations: Freedom Leadership Foundation; One World Crusade; International Federation for Victory over Communism; American Youth for a Just Peace; International Conference on Unified Science; Creative Community Project.
Church President: Neil Albert Salonen
Books:
· The Divine Principle (their Bible)
· The Master Speaks (lecture series)
· Unification Theology and Christian Thought
· Christianity in Crisis
U.S. Headquarters: New Yorker Hotel, New York City.
Two of the mains training centers in the states are at Tarrytown, N.Y. and Boonville, Ca.
Finances: Candy, Flowers, Peanuts, American Flags, MFT (Mobile Fund Raising Teams)
History of the Leader: Young Myung Moon (later changed to Sun) was born in Pyungan Bud-do province in North Korea on January 6, 1920. Throughout his early life, Moon had a great deal of interest in spiritism. It was on Easter Sunday morning at the age of 16 that his first major encounter occurred, when Jesus Christ supposedly appeared to him while he was in prayer. Jesus told Moon that he had an important mission to accomplish in the fulfillment of God's providence as a latter-day prophet.
After the experience, Moon began writing his Divine Principles while studying Engineering in Japan. It was during this time, and after World War II, that Moon became involved in an underground Pentecostal movement that was deeply entrenched in mystical revelations and the appearance of the Messiah in the New Jerusalem, Korea. (They believed the Messiah would be born in Korea). It was in 1945 that Moon experienced his most important victory when he fought and defeated all Satanic forces and became victor of heaven and earth. (This is when he changed his name to Sun).
In 1950, Moon was released from prison and moved to South Korea when in 1954 he began his Unification Church. In 1955, Moon was again jailed for draft evasion, adultery, and promiscuity. This came for his ritual sex with women in the church. Those who have been in Moon's church say that one has to receive Moon's blood to receive salvation. This salvation comes from three periods of sexual intercourse.
In the years that followed, Moon became a multi-millionaire from his many enterprises-tea, titanium, drugs, and air rifles. Finally, on January 1, 1972, Moon claims God appeared to him and told him to come to America to prepare the people for the Second Advent of Christ. Believing the USA to be the base of the coming Messiah, Moon purchased much land in New York along with his 22-acre estate in Tarrytown, N.Y. Since this time, the church has grown here in America.
Moonies-Indoctrination into the Cult: The active members of the Moon cult can be found trying to sell their candy, peanuts, candles, flowers, flags or various other such items on the streets and at people's homes and businesses. They claim to be raising money for drug abuse programs, missionary work, support for the blind, help for orphaned or anything else to get your money. Although, in every case these reasons are false (the cult tries to work unknown), they say this is practicing heavenly deception. This means “As Satan deceived God's children, so shall God's children deceive Satan's.”
Usually, you will be approached by a clean-cut member who will invite you to dinner or to a seminar dealing with youth activities, etc. At that time, the member is instructed to bring the prospect to a “creative community project,” which will be a Moonie training center. The first weekend at a Moonie center is usually a warm experience of flattery, encouragement, love, and a push to return for a week. Neither Moon nor the church is ever mentioned.
The second step is the weeklong affair which is extremely intense (isolation and discussion well into the evening). The recruit is put through vigorous rounds of physical exercise of dodgeball, calisthenics, then lectures, singing, more lectures and finally, after exhaustion from lack of food and sleep, the unfolding of the Satanic roles of parents, religion, and worldly things. Each recruit has a constant companion usually of the opposite sex, whose job it is to encourage the recruit to stay. Those who stay then go through long months of reform of their physical, mental, and moral habits. It is during this time that the new converts break ties with families, school, jobs, etc., and take Moon as their family.
Moon's Theology:
1. Authority of Scripture: (all quotes from Divine Principle)
a. The Bible is not truth itself, but a textbook that teaches truth. The giving of truth will vary for each age, therefore we must not regard the textbook as the absolute truth.
b. Today's religions have failed to lead man out of darkness, so there must be a new light.
c. The Bible was a textbook to those of 2,000 years ago who had a low spiritual and intellectual standard. Today's truth must have a higher standard.
d. Moon claims three ages: O.T., N.T., completed with Testament age.
e. Moon claims his direct confrontation with Christ and other spirits approve his teachings. (Buddha, John the Baptist, Moses, etc.).
2. Interpretation of Scripture:
a. Although Moon does not accept the Bible as the authority, he uses it extensively to give support to his teachings.
b. Moon teaches the Bible by symbolizing everything.
· Matthew 24:29–Genesis 37:9
· Matthew 25–sheep – free world – goats – communists
3. Concept of God:
a. God is not all-knowing, but deals in “dual polarity.”
Note: In cases like Isaiah 53, when Christ is shown to suffer, Moon claims that God had to have two prophecies: one of Christ's suffering, one for his glory. This is because he didn't know how men would react to Christ and had to cove both possibilities.
b. God is energy and spirit.
4. Concept of Christ:
a. Moon denies the deity of Christ.
b. Jesus was to marry the second Eve to produce sinless children and become true parents.
c. Christ was crucified by the will of men, not of his or his Father's will.
d. Jesus failed his mission to become King and father perfect children.
e. John the Baptist is the reason for Christ's death.
f. Jesus will not return to earth.
g. Jesus doesn't provide salvation.
5. Concept of the Holy Spirit:
a. The Holy Spirit is a female spirit.
b. Jesus was the true father and the Holy Spirit is the true mother.
6. Concept of Creation:
· The creation was God himself in a sub-level existence.
7. Concept of Sin: Before Adam and Eve married to form perfect children, Eve committed fornication with Satan, this produced the spiritual fall. Hoping to undo her action, Eve persuaded Adam to live with her as husband and wife. This was the physical fall since neither had attained perfection. Thus human history deviated from God's will of perfection first, marrying and producing perfect children.
8. Concept of Salvation:
a. Salvation is undoing the results of the fall. The individual must be restored, perfected, marry and produce children of a perfect nature.
b. It was never God's purpose for Jesus to die.
c. Jesus rose a spirit man thus redeeming man spiritually, but man still needs a physical salvation, which requires another Messiah.
9. Moon the Messiah:
a. Although Moon never directly claims to be the Messiah, all his followers claim this and Moon doesn't rebuke them.
b. The Lord of the Second Advent, or the New Messiah, will be born in Korea in 1920 (Moon's birth date and place of birth).
c. In 1960, the marriage of the lamb took place in Revelation 19. This was the marriage of the true father and the bride. (Moon married his fourth wife in 1960).
d. In 1980, the new Messiah will be revealed to the world. This new Messiah will unite all religions, and all will be saved.