"Reverend" Mun's Empire

by Thomas Gandow

1993 German title: Mun-Bewegungung

Translated from the Russian and verified from the German at cisar.org, 2004
Translated © from the German by the St. Irineaus of Lyon Center, 1995
© Introductory article composed by Alexander Dvorkin, 1995


FOREWORD

In November 1994, the Department of external church affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, together with representatives of the National Council of Christian Churches of Korea, held a seminar on the theme of "Sectarian movements of Korean origin in Russia." It would have seemed that this was exclusively a special church event, conducted only for a small circle of interested people, very little of which would be of interest. Representatives of Christian Churches from two countries convened to discuss one of their common problems and to clarify their positions on it, once and for all.

Nevertheless, several weeks before the beginning of the seminar, both parties began to receive letters from a certain organization with a strange name, "Holy Spirit Association for Unification of World Christianity," with persistent demands to have its representatives included among the seminar's participants and with the threat that, in the event their demands were not met, the letters' recipients would have only themselves to blame for dire consequences.

These threats were not unfounded, explained the Korean Christians, but displayed courage all the same and came to the seminar. It turned out that the father of one of them - a deeply devout Christian who had ventured to criticize in writing the operating methods of the "Holy Spirit Association" - was killed by one of their number who had attacked him surreptitiously with a dagger... Here, it turns out, is one of the methods needed to unify world Christians ...

The Holy Spirit Association also has other names - the Unification Church or, simply, Mun's Church. Where did this strange name come from?

Back in the mid-1970s a term that had previously been unknown began making its appearance in the American mass media more and more frequently - Moonies. That was the concise and accurate word used to describe young acolytes who happily set up camp on street corners at traffic signals to obtrusively peddle flowers, toys, cheap pictures, candy and other small goods, or to just simply beg for money. Many stories appeared in print about boys and girls who were inducted into the cult of a Korean named Mun, and who were subjected to brainwashing. The street hawkers really made a strange impression. They were pitiful to look at. In the cold or the heat, in hail or snow, from early morning to late at night they badgered pedestrians and drivers to stop on the corner with their requests to buy their trinkets or simply to beg for money. They preferred not to talk about their affiliation with a cult. They usually said that the money was going to help starving children in Africa, to save the rain forests in South America, to build sleeping quarters for the homeless or for other humanitarian things. Only in answer to a direct question would they acknowledge that they were Moonies. They would not hear objections, any critical information about Mun went past them, they preferred not to answer questions asked of them. They were only able to show that the so-called "tape-recorder effect" was in good working order - you push a button and the recorded text, despite anything else, plays to the end. People completely immersed in the life of a small collective, only occasionally having an attitude toward the outside world. Individual boundaries do not exist for the most part. There is only a general collective stereotype of behavior from which all operate. The same sort of thing incurred here with collective atheism.

Gradually, press articles began to appear regularly about inconsolable parents whose children had left them and had been sent to the "only true parents," Mun and his wife, about ruined lives of thousands of boys and girls, about modern slavery and about camps behind barbed wire, where sectarian settlements were located and where access to "outsiders" (i.e., family and friends of cultists) was blocked.

Information about Mun was distributed. Common knowledge included information about his multimillion dollar empire, his commercial enterprises, and his connections with the Central Intelligence Administration of South Korea (KCIA). Reports spread the sensation through western newspapers when Mun finally, openly and in no uncertain terms declared himself Messiah (previously in releases for the "outside" he had only given hints at this.) Then one of the main themes of the news were the legal proceedings against Mun for nonpayment of taxes and the verdict against him. It would appear that now his unlucky streak is over. But not then it wasn't ...

Mun's organization simply drastically changed its methods of doing business and became much more effective. Now it works under the guise of a constantly expanding religion, political and cultural networks and economic front organizations. A fair appraisal of the actual distribution of the cult could only be approximated. Moonies hold in strict secrecy all statistics that concern the membership of their organization. Officially they assert that their number exceeds 3 million people. On most matters, including this one, they often overstate by 10 times.

However, several hundred thousand members of the Mun "family" are still a young, healthy, profound force and energy, an army of well-trained living robots who are unquestioningly obedient to the "divine parents." Each of them is prepared, as soon as required by the leader, to give his or her life for the triumph of Munism worldwide, i.e., for the establishment of a universal theocracy with the "true father of all mankind" who they worship at its head.

It's a shame that today Munism is a reality in Russia, too. Munists are already collecting money on our streets, Russian parents are already losing their children, a new topic is already being scheduled in Russian schools - an introduction to the Munist catechism - called "My world and I." An increasing number of Russian boys and girls every Sunday, every first day of every month and on each of the Munist holidays perform three full bows to the ground before an altar with portraits of the Korean businessman, and they repeat a vow of loyalty to God, the "true" father Mun and the "true" homeland - Korea. Today the Munists see themselves as proprietors enjoying full rights in our country, which they have even already envisioned in their dream as a base for conquering the entire world. And for such a goal as this one can spare no expense. Here is a not even remotely complete list of measures they organized in the former USSR in its last few years:

In 1989 a Munist mass media association paid for and conducted a number of trips for Soviet journalists to the Asian nation. In South Korea delegation participants were greeted by the Mun couple. In 1990 a delegation of Soviet journalists participated in a symposium organized by the above-mentioned association in the USA. Among the members of the delegation was chief editor of "Izvestia" I. Golembiovsky and the chief editor of the "Moskovskiy Novosti" V. Loshak. The delegation was welcomed by Mun

In December 1990 and in April 1991 groups of public and political figures, scholars and writers, including many deputies of the republics and Union parliaments were invited to the USA. In each of these groups there was nearly 200 people. All expenses of the highly luxurious program for the stay of the delegations in the USA were provided by the "Unification Church" itself.

On 11 April 1990 a meeting was held in the Kremlin between USSR President M. Gorbachev and San Myung Mun. After this the activities of the "Unification Movement" officially began in the USSR.

They paid the monetary expenditures for the propagation of Mun doctrine in the CIS. One invitation to the USA of three thousand students from Russia, the Baltic and the CIS alone put the Mun treasury back 6 million dollars.

From June to October 1993 the Unification movement leased a prestigious health spa in Crimea for accommodating the assembly of a seminar, members of which came from all parts of the CIS - education employees, college deans, media employees, and representatives of a women's organization. All the participants' travel was paid for both ways, including airfare. At the end of the seminar a banquet was arranged in an expensive restaurant at which presents were distributed to those whose birthday had occurred during the time of the forum. For the important occasion they rented a community center, a sport complex, and even a Kremlin congress palace.

The Moonies released 100,00 dollars to repair the damage done by a fire in the "Moskovskie Novosti" newspaper building.

Beginning in January 1993 seminars were organized for managers and employees of a vocational-technical center (VTC), and also for students and their parents. In the scope of this project, considerable material aid was rendered to the Moscow vicinity Ikshanskaya VTC. A movie about this project was filmed, and it was shown on a metropolitan television channel. All this was designed to be used as the most persuasive evidence of the effectiveness of the Moonies' mission in Russia.

At the end of March 1994, the Munist "International Federation for World Peace" held in Seoul the so-called "Second world conference for world peace," whose guests of honor included former USSR President M.S. Gorbachev, former chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belorussia S.S. Shchyshkevich, Kirgistan Prime Minister A. Yumagalov and former Moscow mayor G.H. Popov.

Among other projects carried out by Munist organizations in CIS countries, the following can be cited:

The Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles (CARP) organized familiarization tours for Russian college students and teachers in the USA, and reciprocal tours of American students into Russia.

The International Leadership Council held hundreds of seminars, which propagated the ideas of the "Unification Church." Experts estimate that these have been attended by over 60,000 teachers from institutions of higher education, school instructors, students, apprentices and their parents.

The "Professors World Peace Academy" held conferences in Moscow (January 1991) and in Kiev (May 1991), in which hundreds of staff from institutions of higher learning in Russia and the CIS took part.

A joint international conference on "Religion and Culture" was held with the Russian Academy of Science’s Philosophy Institute in November 1992. In 1993, the Professors Academy became sponsors for a free program of instruction for students from Russia in Bridgeport University, Connecticut, where 35 Russian students are being instructed at the present time.

On November 21, 1993, an appearance was arranged for Mun's spouse, Hak Ja-Han Mun, in the Kremlin palace congress for a speech on the theme of "True parents and the era of the concluding precept." Also appearing at this event were Roksana Sats-Karpova (Lit. section chief of the Natalie Satz Childrens Musical Theater), poet Valentin Berestov, artists of the Moscow Philharmonic and artists of the Kremlin National Palace ballet. In November 1993, Mrs. Mun appeared with a similar speakers in Minsk and Kiev. On March 6, 1994, a women's movement preliminary conference was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. On April 24, 1994 in the city of Eliste, Kalmuck, the International Federation of Women for World Peace held an international conference for women's organizations in Russia and the CIS. By order of the International Religious Foundation the former expert of the Supreme Soviet of Russia S.A. Ivanenko in Spring of 1994 organized a round table session for representatives from religious organizations on the theme of "Religious confessions and proselytism."

In 1994 preparatory work began for realization of programs in other projects. Among them were: "Aid and Service International Foundation," "International Cultural Foundation," "International Conference for the Unity of the Sciences," "Assembly of World Religions," "Religious Youth Service," "Summit Council for World Peace," and "Artists Association International." From 4 to 7 October 1994, in the former Tsekovsky Sanatorium near Moscow the 1st International Leadership Conference was held, which was dedicated to military ethics. The conference was organized jointly by the Munist International Educational Foundation and the Higher Humanitarian Academy of the Russian Armed Forces. Included were twelve former political instructors, who were participating in the conference, Generals A. Zyuskevichus and N. Chaldymov and Captain 1st Class Yu. Noskov. The last two people were participants in the Munist "Second World Conference for World Peace." In his appearance, General Chaldymov, the vice dean of the Academy, asked the Munists to prepare a textbook for the development of the Russian soldiers' spirituality. They agreed with pleasure and within a brief time coordinated their work under the title "Inner World of a Soldier." This did not exclude the possibility that before long Russian soldiers would start taking vows of loyalty to their "True Father" Mun and their "True Homeland" Korea.

All the former USSR was divided up into 10 missionary regions, each of which was to be headed by foreign representatives, who were obliged to report monthly on the execution of plans on the growth of the organization, on the number of new members, and on penetration into government structures.

"Petersburgers were extremely intelligent and talented," wrote initiate Nina Makarova in a Munist internal letter, which was issued repeatedly, "And it appears that best of them - good, intelligent, responsible, and gifted not only in science and the arts, but also with a talented heart - are destined for a future in the family of the Unification Movement." That is the sort of future the Mun adepts saw for us here. It was not without reason that many high-ranking Munists openly stated that the era of communism for Russia was over, and that the new era would bear a similar sounding name, only missing the first three letters - the era of Munism would replace Communism.

What sort of person is Sun Myung Mun? What does his organization represent? Is he as dangerous as the fair-minded mass media have said about him over the past three decades? This is what this book will set out for you.

It was written by a remarkable person - Pastor Thomas Gandow of the Lutheran Church of Germany. Pastor Gandow is one of the world's leading specialists on new religious movements, sects and cults. He has fought fearlessly with the Munists and Scientologists, Krishnas and "Family" sect, anthroposophers and "New Apostolic Church" and many other representatives of "pathological religions" that unfortunately have marched victoriously across the globe. Pastor Gandow has consistently unmasked fraud - sect leaders and managers who manipulate consciousness - and he renders all aid possible to their victims. He is a devout, confirmed Christian and his only weapons, reality and truth, represent peace in Christ. It is precisely for this reason that his name evokes fear and abhorrence among all the liars and frauds who paint their wicked deeds with pseudo-religious terminology.

Pastor Gandow is a great friend of our country and the Russian Orthodox Church. In May 1994, he was a guest of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Moscow Patriarchy and took an active part in the international Christian "Totalitarian sects in Russia" seminar, which was organized by the Information-Consultation Center of St. Irinaeus, bishop of Lyon. One can say without exaggeration that Pastor Gandow won the hearts of all seminar participants with his erudition, steadfastness in Christ and moving love for our country. In February 1995, Pastor Gandow was invited to a parliamentary hearing "Freedom of Conscience and human rights in the Russian Federation."

In response to many requests we undertake the translation of his book, the "Mun Movement," which expands upon the appearances of Thomas Gandow at the seminar on totalitarian sects and at the hearing in the RF State Duma. The Russian translation gives a new title to the book - "'Reverend' Mun's Empire."

Alexandr Dvorkin, M.Div., Ph.D.


I. INTRODUCTION [0]

1. Resurrection of the human race.

"The Moscow miracle came about at the apex of years of work for our movement, led by Rev. Mun ... Crowning all historical events, the coup de grace was issued on 13 April, Good Friday, with the 'March on Red Square.' Rev. Mun and Mrs. Mun, Ye-Jin Nim, Hyo Jin Nim and his wife, and Hyun Jin Nim and his wife [1] were escorted by Dr. and Mrs. Pak, Bo-Hi, Rev. Kwak, Chung-Hwan and Peter Kim.

It was obviously a casual matter. In a light fog, Mrs. Mun was in a raincoat with a hood, and Rev. Mun was without a jacket. They strolled for a little bit, then posed for photographs in front of the St. Vasiliy Cathedral and in front of Lenin's mausoleum. Passersby looked on. Every evening television station had given detailed and favorable reports about conferences or about the features of the movement, so that Rev. Mun's face was easily recognized. A few people approached to wish him all the best.

Then they crossed the bridge and entered the Kremlin. There were many soldiers there who observed them. It's not permitted to enter the Kremlin without a pass. The tension spread through all circles, but Rev. Mun knew precisely what he wanted to do.

In an area a little to one side and in a distant corner stands an ancient church. The group silently went into the ornate Russian Orthodox Assumption of the Mother of God church, and precisely at 3:55 p.m., everyone gathered around Rev. Mun

He prayed, thanked God for His guiding principle and love in fulfilling providence. He testified about the actions of God in preceding events - that led right up to this instant of reconciliation for East and West, Jacob and Esau - in the presence of 500 journalists and more than 40 former heads of state, who represented all mankind. He was particularly thankful for the historical meeting and embraced President Mikhail Gorbachev and Mrs. Gorbachev, who crowned the Moscow event.

This was the God of freedom and the fulfillment of a prophesy about a Moscow rally!" [2]

Here is some more:

"This was [...] the resurrection of the human race, the restoration of the original ideals of God, the reconciliation of Jacob and Esau, Cain and Abel. Now the parents have a world base for triumph and liberation." [3]

What kind of movement is this, which considered its actions as historical and healing for the world, but which are conducted only in the fringes of public view? What is meant by the emphasis on "coup de grace"? [it was in italics above] Who should be buried here? And which Moscow rally, really, is under discussion?

The implication of the statement by Mun is contained in many previous discourses on the "March on Moscow":

"The goal is the entire world. Our goal is now Moscow, the symbol of communism. Even the name itself of Moscow is magnificent to hear, isn't it? If communists arrive with machine guns to destroy the Unification Church, then we will also strike with machine gun in hand. We cannot become their helpless victims. You do not think, do you, that God will win such a battle for you? When the time comes for the overpowering of Satanic forces, I will not hesitate to become the commander in chief of the divine army. [4]

This march on Moscow, the "Moscow Rally," was supposed to have been the high point of a bitterly anti-communist operation. It had even been spoken of frequently enough and in detail as the "Third World War."

Would combativeness now be rejected by the movement whose leader had for years called upon his adherents for a life-or-struggle in the "march on Moscow"? Would the combativeness vanish other than symbolically or did it find itself new goals?

The "world is the goal," as they said. It is very clear that the current confrontation with communism was only an intermediate step for Mun and his movement toward the world domination they so long for.

But what lurks behind the phrases "divine liberation" and "salvation of the human race"? And what sort of thing will next be built on a "worldwide foundation"?

In a magazine of the American Mun movement one of the eastern experts of this movement made a survey of the current situation and arrived at a conclusion that the most decisive factor was the "problem of personnel":

"I think we are aware of the challenge. During the fall of the Roman empire, government positions of all sorts went to Christians, due to their character, morals, reliability in money a management matters.

I clearly feel that if our comrades could develop enough professionalism in themselves, in addition to their moral integrity, which they attained by following Rev. Moon, then the possibilities in Eastern Europe are indeed unlimited.

Somebody will inherit the positions in the collapsing communist empire. And leaders here are a scarcity indeed. We have to be oriented to this for the 1990s. [5]"

As a consequence, there is a broad system of the Munist movement's courses and seminars in CIS countries, from language courses and introduction seminars to "International Leadership Seminars." These seminars, in contrast to those which had up to this time been held in the USA and in western Europe, are being literally taken by storm by their participants. For example, in June 1992 all the Moscow teachers received an invitation to a seminar in one of the recreational centers. Sixty Muscovites put their names down for a subsequent "seven-day seminar" on the Baltic. Back in 1990, 3,000 students were selected through a writing competition for courses in the USA.

In Spring of 1992, 300 Russian students were already functioning as team members for 20 seminars in Crimea (7,250 participants, of which 1,000 were teachers). Thanks to considerable political influence, wide availability for operations was provided and a favorable chance for recruitment was created. As early as December 1990, members of the Russian parliamentary committee on freedom of conscience were being invited by the Mun movement to the USA. The Russian Education Ministry supported all these measures, just as much as the corresponding ministries of the other CIS states did. The attraction only grew for students and teachers in recent years (1993. Ed.) Of 17,000 applications from Moscow, only 2,000 could be successfully processed.

The seminars, which were openly presented by promoters as advancing qualifications in the interests of modernization and "westernization," allowed Mun's workers to also exploit the unsophisticatedness and the craving for knowledge by young people and their teachers. Here is what one of the reports said:

"I worked at a seminar in Crimea, where 7,200 students, teachers and parents were trained. Here one could see the groups of young people, quite open and filled with anticipation and hope. The humble minds of these people put them on the verge of absorbing anything they were told. In reality, many of them did not understand anything, but each diagram was diligently copied into their notebooks." [6]

"In early summer of 1992, there were 5,000 members of Mun's sect in Russia. How many of them would last five years?" asked Russian journalist Natalya Babacyan in the conclusion of her report, which basically corroborated the information in the press and in Munist magazines.

Notes:

0. The German edition of T. Gandow's book is furnished with an extensive reference system, including many links to sources not readily accessible to us. Therefore the present English edition contains quotations that are not literal, but are translated from English to German back to English. In case of doubt, check the footnote and, if possible, the source listed.

1. This refers to the Mun couple and three of their older children, who were married at the time. The suffix "Nim" is a form of respectful address, like "Mr." In the Mun movement, "Nim" is used mostly without a hyphen, which is especially the case with the Mun children. "Hyo-Jin Nim" is translated as "Mr. Hyo-Jin."
This volume will arrange Korean names in the Korean style: last name first, then name-name. For easy reading, a hyphen is often used between the two personal names, which may have a joint meaning of their own.
Direct quotes use the original written form (e.g., "Moon, Sun Myung"). In the text and in quotes translated by the author the correct transliteration is used (e.g., "Mun, San Myung").

2. Antonio Betancourt: Rev. Mun in Moscow, Unification News, Special Supplement, May 1990, p. 4, back-translated into English

3. Dr. Tyler Hendricks: The Miracle I Saw in Moscow, ibid., p. 5, back-translated into English

4. MS: 11.11.76 "The Age of Judgment and Ourselves," p. 9.
Note that all the speeches by Mun, San-Myung, appear under various titles like "Master Speaks," "Father speaks," "Father's Speech," and "Reverend San Myung Mun Speaks on", but in this book are cited with "MS", the date and the corresponding title, if applicable.

5. Gordon L. Anderson: Teaching Unificationism in Poland in: Unification News 1/1990, p. 6, back-translated from German.

6. Elisabeth Coxan: The Heart of Russia in: Unification Movement Newsletter, Volume 7 No. 2, May 1992, back-translated from German.


"Do you believe in ideals?"

According to one article in a newspaper, a meeting held near a university in Berlin went like this:

"A young woman approached me with a smile. She looked like a professional, with a bag over her shoulder in which there might have been a microphone and a recording device. In her hand was a sheaf of paper, surveys perhaps? 'Can I find out your opinion about the reunification of Berlin?' I responded positively. The questions that followed were on a related theme. Then I wanted to clarify who I was doing business with. 'We are a student union which is now polling people all over Europe.' It was called CARP [7], as I also found out. She herself, as she explained, was from Austria.

Then our conversation began to get more interesting. 'What do you think about life after death?' I answered that for starters I thought that the earthly world deserved more improvement. 'But you ought to be involved with the theme. This evening come to a lecture in West Berlin. Here's the address, but you can go on a charter bus.' She was very interested in what sort of activity with young people I was involved in. In this connection I was still to be invited to Paris in August.

The lady was anxious to make our meeting pleasant for me and began to look in her papers for the proper materials. Colorful booklets, of the sort that one can see in any congress, with one exception. A picture of one person prominently stood out among the others. I recognized him, and my desire to give the young woman specific answers vanished. As to the final request for my address ("We ought to stay in contact), I didn't heed that, either. Nonetheless she gave me two publications, the contents of which verified my supposition ... [8]

This meeting was so typical that it could have been any of others, when you asked yourself, haven't I read about this in a book or seen it in a movie already? The reason for this was that the entire situation was a recruitment order staged with key questions that have been learned practically word for word. Here are more of the key questions, 'Do you believe in God?', and 'Do you think there is meaning in life?'"

Now and then, as in that report, the impression is created that the Munist recruiters are conducting a survey, but even after a short conversation they'll invite you somewhere, for coffee, a barbecue, or and so forth.

Notes:

7. Natalya Babasyan, "Wir sind die Kinder Gottes" - Wie sich russische Lehrer in Mun-Seminaren "fortbilden" in: Glaube in der 2. Welt, 20. Jahrgang Nr. 12, 1992


"Do you like to travel?"

By the way, other alternatives exist in the Mun movement, too. Scholars receive invitations to conferences and congresses in scenic locations, clergy are invited to inter-religious gatherings, meeting and dialogues. Politicians are asked to compose lectures about security, peace or culture, or to deliver an opening address. During this the recruiters themselves are not required to be immediate members of the Mun movement. In such a case they appear on the surface as an organization, like CAUSA, "Forum for religion and world system," or even as the "International Conference for the Unity of Science."

American Christian clergymen, for example, have received the following letter:

Congratulations! Due to your reputation as a distinguished Christian leader, you were chosen for a trip to an exclusive CAUSA conference with all expenses paid. A peace conference of this type is a better stage for the goal of profound study of the fight of communism against freedom. The cost of this conference is $700. ...

Pastor, you are a social leader, you owe it to yourself and your people to attend this inter-religious seminar.

CAUSA-USA was founded to inform Church people about key problems concerning world freedom. If you still don't have thorough information about the Communist challenge and the methods which they use to inculcate people with their ideology, how can you seriously preach to people who trust you with their concerns?" [9]

Notes:

8. "BZ am Abend", (Ost-)Berlin, 22.5.90

9. This letter was signed by Phillip Sanchez, the President of "CAUSA"-USA and former US Ambassador to Honduras and Columbia. Back-translated from German.


2. Compensation with the Power of God

The religious branch of the Mun movement, or the "Unification Movement," which openly appears most frequently in Germany is the "Vereinigungskirche, e.V.," a rather small group in Germany.

However, the small number of the current members of the "religious organization" are not in proportion with the scope of the political-economic operations of the Mun movement. In this area a strange coalition has been created which can produce a significant impact. [10] So, for example, there are ten times more employees in only the three or four German machine-building companies that are owned directly by the Mun movement than there are adherents of the "Unification Church" in Germany.

However, a simple increase in the number of permanent members as a quantitative problem never was the central aspect of Munist operations.

It appears that the Mun movement has long ago accepted that it does not have the capacity to rigidly organize a large number of people. Therefore its first priority is to use any means to increase the influence and to strengthen Mun's domination. It puts its efforts into taking management positions and to provide influence in large-scale organization, and to widen the sphere of influence of the organizational structure of front groups, including even infiltration activities.

"In West Germany alone there are 60 million people. And we have almost a hundred active members: that gives a ration of 600,000:1. From this one can see how few we are. But since we are small, we need to strongly adhere to our belief. If we had as many members (as residents , - TG) reviving this nation would be simple. We could even do this without faith. But since we are so small in number, we need to ask the question of how we will be compensated ... [11] "

And how does the movement want to "compensate" for such an obvious numerical weakness?

"And the answer is, with the power of God. We need to have great faith to be receptive to the power of God. We have to work harder, too." [12]

says an internal document.

Whatever the intentions and practices by which a small group is supposed to function like a large religious community, as opposed to a tightly controlled international political party [13] - or even like a world government - they result a gigantic demand and an excessive workload for the individuals of a small group. Each who is able needs - whenever the opportunity arises - to work simultaneously in several groups and organizations with a double or triple workload.

But from this arises the often misleading external impression that here and there in the world the movement makes a considerable show of force on a "symbolic" level, even if it is put on for appearance’s sake.

The excessive workload on individual members and the demonstrative, spectacular operations are not always futile. This is combined with significant financial resources, which the Mun movement has at its disposal, in part, due to its own companies, but mostly as a result of the systematic practice of group fundraising. The so-called "Mobile Fundraising Teams" collect money every day for 12 to 15 hours, and each collector gets from 300 to 1,000 DM a day. From Japan and the USA it has been reported that fundraising can go on for up to 20 hours a day.

In connection with such a workload, there is a very significant fluctuation in teams and rapid depletion of members. Nonetheless more new young people, including those in Germany, are drawn into the Mun movement by various recruitment efforts.

But what motivates the young adepts, often before they become full members, to implement the plan for world government and a reformed world, as prepared in the Mun movement? What makes the "20th century galley slaves," as the Munist "Mobile Fundraising Teams" "jokingly" refer to themselves, function? After all, true Munists hardly enjoy any political or material gains from their work, even with respect to facilitation and improvement of terms of work and of life. And only a few of the non-Koreans manage to clamber to the top of the management pyramid.

The motivation for Munists, and the power and ability of Mun's movement, is the religious and ideological doctrine of Mun and the religious-ideological based forms of attraction and organization of his adherents. "An empire needs secondary religious offshoots for its goals and purposes - because these are what enable it to bring in new breadwinners ..." [14]

It's obvious that religious and socio-political idealism of Mun's young adherents is used by the system, which itself is non-productive and non-viable. Here a one-way transfer of vital forces comes about, a remarkable sort of "blood transfusion," in which the pledge is paid with a "bodily" transfusion of the "true bloodline."

Notes:

10. In the meantime an extensive list of the operations, organizations and institutions of the Mun movement has appeared. Friedrich-Wilhelm Haack: "Das Mun-Imperium, Beobachtungen - Informationen - Meinungen (Findungshilfe Mun-Bewegung)", Munich 1991.

11. Kim, Young-Whi: "To stand on God's Side," 4 March 1984, p. 105 in: Kim, Young-Whi: "Guidance for Heavenly Tradition," Volume 2, published by "Vereinigungskirche e.V. Frank/M., KANDO Verlag GmbH, Moerfelden-Walldorf, 1985, subsequently cited as Kim, Young-Whi, "Guidance."

12. ibid.

13. See Fraser Report, loc. cit., p. 313.

14. Haack, "Munimperium," see above, p. 25.


II. Mun Movement, "Unification Church," etc.

"Mun Sect on the prowl for people," ran the title of one of the television programs. It showed how a certain female theology student joined a student organization called CARP. From the subject's viewpoint, she found herself in an organization, which called itself the "Unification Church." However, its members called their association the "family." Professors were invited in by the "Professors World Peace Academy," clergymen by "New Ecumenical Research Association" or even by the "Society for Unification of World Christianity." Governments collaborate with the "World Media Conference" and machine-building companies with "Tong Il Industries."

Other names used to designate this doctrine included "Renewed Christianity," "Godism," unificationism," "divine communism," Munism and "Headwing Ideology."

Around the movement, which was created by the Korean Mun, are a great number of organization names, some of which are all run by the same person and with, of course, the most diverse epithets from external critics and observers. The ranking of individual organizations is confusing and is described in very contradictory terms.

In the text at hand, the following "definitions" apply:

"Unification Church"

The term "Unification Church" (which in Korean is "Tong Il Kyo") refers only to one arm of the all-embracing Mun organizations [15] -- the church, or sect-like organization. This is only a relatively little "internal" part of the "Unification movement." It has been possible to ascertain of the German Mun movement:

In order to avoid misunderstanding, the difference between "unification church" and "Unification movement" should be explained. Members of the "unification church" accept the content of the "Divine principle" in its entirety and, as a result, recognize to a high degree the spiritual authority of Reverend Mun. (...)

A member of the Unification Church can work in the organs of the Unification movement, but not all members of the Unification Movement by far are members of the church. [16]

According to this statement the "unification church" is understood as sort of elite organization, whose members have accepted Mun as 'messiah' and as "true father.'

The name "Unification Church" has not always existed in the West, such as in the USA and Germany. Initially it was incorporated under other names. A name change occurred in 1971 in the USA, for example, when the "United Family" became the "Unification Church," about which was said:

Our name is now the "Unification Church." The reason for the change is that we must ultimately have our effect on the institutions of society, and this name implies respectability and stability. [17]

Among other factors taken into consideration were the protection of American religious legislation for the ideology and the politics of a religious organization. [18]

Later we will come back to the question of whether the "Unification Church" can be really be called a "church" in the generally accepted sense of the word and from the viewpoint of denominational criteria.

Notes:

15. See Reller, H. and Kiessig, M. (publ.) "Handbuch Religioese Gemeinscahften," 3rd ed., Guetersloh, 1985, p. 643, cited as HRG.

16. Tuente, see above. Note 1, p. 6.

17. New Age Frontiers (magazine), January 1971, p. 17

18. "It was made clear to me that so long as the church-related aspects of the group were emphasized, Moon's followers would be in a protected position as far as first amendment religious freedom was concerned, and be able to take advantage of tax laws as well." Statement by Linda Anthenian, cited from the "Fraser Report," p. 316.

The Mun Movement

In this book, the "Mun movement" is the generic notion for the movement, founded in 1954 by Korean San Men Mun under the name "Segye Kidokkyo T'ong'Il Sillyon Hyophoe" (something like "Spiritual Association for the Unification of World Christianity" [19]), with its numerous sub-organizations [20], the most well-known in Germany of which may be: the "Vereinigungskirche, e.V."; CARP, an allegedly high school and student organization; and the CAUSA political organization, with the "Forum fuer geistige Fuehrung." The designation of "Mun Organization" was decided upon in the US Congress:

The numerous churches, businesses, committees, foundations and other groups associated with Sun Myung Moon emerged as parts of what is essentially one worldwide organization, under the centralized direction and control of Moon. This organization began as a small movement started by Moon in Korea in 1954. In the diversity of its functions and basic organizational structure it now resembles a multinational corporation, involved in manufacturing, international trade, defense contracting, finance, and other business activities. However, it goes beyond that in that it encompasses religious, educational, cultural, ideological, and political enterprises as well. In the training and use of lower ranking members, it resembles a paramilitary organization, while in other respects it has the characteristics of a tightly disciplined international political party.

Among the many organizations there is continuous and close interaction, principally in the form of personnel moving back and forth among organizations, intermixed finances, use of one component or another component as if both were one and the same, and, of course, the figure of Moon. Because of the close interrelationship of the various organizations, the subcommittee came to view them as one unit and refers to them in the aggregate as the Moon Organization in this report. [21]

Individual categories will be examined under their own appellations, without "legitimizing" those qualities and implications which are present in their official names ("academy," "high school association," "church," etc.)

The self-appellations used include the "Unification Movement," or the "Tong Il Movement." The officially used appellation for the organization in the USA is the "Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC) [22]," although this is not ordinarily thought of as something different from the "Unification Church."

Members of the "Unification Movement" identify themselves only by several of Rev. Moon's purpose-oriented precepts, without accepting his doctrine in its totality. Organs of the "Unification Movement" are completely independent with regard to the "Unification Church" to follow the goals they are dedicated to, but during this they constantly have in view that their starting point, their "spiritus rector" is Reverend Moon. [23]

Therefore, if the "Unification Church" is a personnel organization, then the other sub-organizations of Mun's movement can be viewed as relatively open "mass organizations", which need to attract as many people as possible with at least a minimum of loyalty, even if it would be partial, with regards to Mun and his "family."

The total picture here will be named after its founder, prophet, savior and god [24], but at the same time its unlimited ruler, Mun Movement. [25] This helps to understand the many aspects and amply dynamic character of the movement, which is not controlled and organized by the institutional route, but oriented exclusively to the leading personality.

The term "Mun movement" will be used here after Mun's death, too, to correspond to its essence, in as much as the movement includes in itself the goal, and especially, the creation of the theocratic familial dominion of the Mun family. [26]

Notes:

19. What is meant is not so much "Holy Spirit Association" as a religious, spiritist community. "I had a little difficulty in translating it, because Holy Spirit implies one of the Trinity as taught in orthodox Christianity, but in Korea it means holy, or spiritual association (Sil-Yung). I could find no other was to translate the original Chinese letters." David S.C. Kim in the Mun magazine "Way of the World" 5-6/74, p. 133.

20. For more detail see also Haack: "Munimperium," ibid. (se note 10).

21. Fraser Report, loc. cit. p. 313.

22. See note 19 for names.

23. Tuent, loc. cit. Note 1.

24. "Father is visible God," Ken Sudo: 120-Days-Training-Manual, p. 362, back-translated from German.

25. This relevant description of the movement was proposed long ago and has also been in use in the literature. Even in 1975, Rev. Chun, Young-Bok noted, "With the background of its origin and development in Korea, it is more correct to call it Munism than Christianity, because it is a movement that is based on its founder, the Reverend Sun Myung Mun himself." Lecture from Chun, Yong Bok, of 10 Nov. 1975 in Kyoto in: Japanese Religion, Vol. 9, No. 2, July 1976 p. 15, back-translated from German.

26. "After Sun Myung Moon goes to the spiritual world, we firmly believe that he will continue to advise and assist our work. There is no question but that, as members of the Unification Church, we respect Sun Myung Moon. We also hold respect and admiration for his wife and family. Reverend Moon's family knows him intimately. There is also no question but that they will guide and advise the work of our church after Reverend Moon dies." Chung Hwan Kwak, Closing Remarks, Page 5, o.J.o.O. (Bahamas).

The Family

In connection with these individual sub-organizations of the movement, they are under the management of Mun's family or of the "In-law club" which is the family and the people who marry into it. Also considered as part of Mun's family are the conjugal pairs who were adopted into Mun's family with a "Blessing ceremony." Today, "family" means only the inner core of the "Unification Church" and of the Mun movement (see diagram.)

In a broader sense, all those who are subordinate with regard to loyalty or dependence or are part of its sphere of influence are also a part of it.

Internally, however the families called and call themselves "full-time members." However Mun and his wife, in accordance with their claims, have to be considered the first and only "true parents," and emanating from them, any audience can be called their "family", up to and including the population of any country or even all of humanity.

III. Mun San Myung and his Movement

The Mun movement sprang up after the Korean War as a spiritual movement of new revelation. It was formed around San Men Mun, an emigrant from North Korea. In English his name is written Sun Myung Moon. The addition of Rev. or Reverend is false and misleading, a misuse of the title. Mun could not at all be considered a clergyman because he did not complete either a theological education or a church education [27]. Besides that there is no indication that he was ever formally ordained [28]. It's not even known if he was baptized as a Christian, and it's noteworthy that this was not asserted in the framework of the Mun movement either, although in other cases the movement steadily tries to ascribe to Mun a "Christian background."

Notes:

27. "You know enough about his past to realize, that he never graduated from any dignified theological school. You know, too, that he never majored in any sort of philosophy at a university." Kwak, Chung-Hwan: Closing Remarks, o.J. o.O. (Bahamas)

28. See Fraser report, loc.cit, p. 311, note 225.

1. Origin and Legends

Mun was born as the fifth child of a peasant family on February 25, 1920 (by his present somewhat poetical account - "January 6 by the lunar calendar") in the village of Sansa, Togon-Myon near Chongju in the province of Pyongan Pukto (the northern part of the Pyongan province). The boy was named Mun, Yong ("dragon") Myung. This district, today part of North Korea and located northwest of today's North Korean capitol of Pyongyang, had been completely settled by Christian missionaries a long time before. Sunday visits to church were a part of life for more than 40% of the population [29]. Mun's parents, however were not part of any Christian community for a long time. They continued to uphold their belief in spirits, a Korean variety of shamanism. They didn't come into Christianity until 1930, after Mun's brother and sister, evidently suffering from epilepsy, went for treatment to a local clergyman and, possibly, were even cured.

For Mun's family, the conversion to Christianity did not mean a break with homeland tradition or an orientation toward Christian upbringing and education, although in Korea these were usually considered the most compelling side-effects. Until 1934, Mun, Yong Myong attended traditional (Confucianist) school. The most fundamental religious influence on the young Mun had have had its root in unbroken traditional Korean breeding, imbued with Confucianism and shamanism. He, and likely his whole family, were not quite ardent neophytes who broke with ancient tradition; this is apparent from the fact that his name "Yong" was changed to "San" only in 1946. The original name, which meant dragon, spoke of how deeply steeped his parents were in the tradition of shamanism [30] - the name dragon was supposed to defend the child from evil spirits.

Mun's biography, as advanced in the legendary style of the movement's tradition (they advance a very picturesque version, which is not always consistent in the timeline of his life, and reliable factual material is absent), paints a figure of a person on an intense religious search. It notes lines of strong religious, emotional trauma, which is usual for Korea and Korean shamanism, such as a prayer struggle, a torrent of tears, and solitary wandering in mountains, but, at the same time, it's also oriented towards understanding and adopting a biblical tradition.

Notes:

29. "The Church in the north grew so fast that on any Sunday morning in Pyongyang in 1930, ten percent of the entire city population would be worshipping in the eighteen Presbyterian Churches. Sunchun (the provincial capitol of Pyongan Pukto - T.G.), by then a Population of 13,000, would have half of its population in the churches on Sunday. In many rural areas of the northwest, practically entire hamlets or villages had become Christian." Roy E. Shearer, Wildfire: Church Growth in Korea, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1966, p. 142.

30."Children are given names which include the character for 'dragon' in order that lesser spirits may bring no harm to them." Charles Allen Clark, Religions of Old Korea, Seoul, 1961 (reprint), pp. 209.

Easter Vision

Keeping with the spirit of a living legend, a report about the youthful quest of Mun is crowned with a kind of vision about his calling:

At the age of 17 [31], Mun supposedly had an Easter morning vision;

In it Jesus charged him with completed His mission, which had failed, more will be told about this later [32]. In Korea, Easter morning is the traditional time for baptism. It's possible that is when Mun was baptized, too - if he was at all - after the usual year of training after having left the traditional school.

However, in another place it says, "Confucius, Lao Tse, Buddha and others fulfill their missions through me." [33] That would mean they, too, would have given Mun their instructions, so that it is not clear at all if Mun's "calling" was the original "Christian" or whether it was one of these later ones.

In a 1963 interpretation it says,

When master Mun was 17 years old, Jesus Christ appeared to him on Easter morning and informed him that he had been chosen to fulfill a personal mission, in which Jesus would help him.

From that time on the spiritual capacity of master Mun was completely revealed, so that he was blessed with the ability to associate with the upper levels of the spiritual world."

Despite his "vision of calling," Mun continued study in school. Then during the Second World War he was in Japan (where he supposedly studied electronics in the Vaseda University, but evidence of graduation has been neither asserted nor proven.) There are reports about his activities in the anti-Japanese resistance. There are also rumors about him betraying members of the Resistance.

Notes:

31. There are also presentations that discuss the event as happening at the age of 16, i.e., 1935. Both accounts also appear in various writings distributed by the Mun movement.

32. In one version it said of 17 April 1936, "Jesus gave Father his mission and Father accepted knowing once he gave his promise that he couldn't break it." (Historical Survey of the Life of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon and the Development of the Unification Church. Manuscript, New York, May, 1983). Other reports, however, tell of Mun twice refusing his mission.

33. MS: 4/65, cited from R. Hauth, "Die nach der Seele greifen," Guetersloh 1985/2, p. 76.

34. Kim Young-Oon 2/65. p. vi. Back-translated from German.

Years of studying and wandering

In 1945 Mun returned to Pyongyang, North Korea. About a year after Korea was liberated from the Japanese, he began to spread his doctrine in the capital of North Korea, which was then occupied by the Soviet military forces. He had gotten married to a woman by the name of Cho, Son-Gil, who, however, he had divorced six months prior to this. [35] It seems that Mun then became a medium and was involved with predicting the day's catch of fish[36].

After briefly collaborating with the "Luminous Sea" society in Pyongyang, Mun headed for the "Israel Soo-Do-Won" cloister, managed by Kim, Baek Mun, who was waiting for the appearance of the Messiah and Savior of the world in Korea. The cloister was located in Yangyu, South Korea. Kim Baek Mun was a student of Hwang Guk-Yu, the messianic founder of the esoteric cloister on the Samgaksan mountain near Seoul, and who asserted that he had exchanged brains, blood and heart with Jesus Christ.

Mun put himself forth as the awaited Messiah and changed his name at this time, from Yong (dragon) to San.

Kim, Baek Mun was also the author of the "Basic Principle for Christianity," (1958), which had similarities with Mun's "Divine Principle," which appeared afterwards. [37]

After a brief membership in another messianic movement, Mun began to assemble his own religious community. He returned to Pyongyang, and in February 1948 he was sentenced to 100 days for sexual misconduct on a charge of "disturbing the peace." That same year he was officially excommunicated from the Presbyterian Church. This is the only indication as to whether he was ever a member of any Christian church.

With a charge of bigamy [38] (he married his adherent Kim Yong-On), a little later, he was sentenced to 5 years in camp on a complaint from the husband she abandoned [39], and Mrs. Kim got 10 months in prison.

In the communist labor camp, Mun received a distinction for good conduct. Liberated in the course of the Korean war, at the end of 1950 Mun and a stream of refugees went to South Korea. It's believed in the movement today that the entire Korean war happened only so that Mun could be liberated.

Notes:

35. This marriage was also reported upon by Kim, Won-Pil in "Father's Course and our Life of Faith, London, 1982, pp. 143. "In 1945, after the liberation from Japan, Father started a family with God's blessing." Kim, Won Pil spoke of this woman as "mother." In 1951, after a six year separation, the couple re-united, but since she had not accepted Mun's role as a Christian, they had separated. Mun took the son ("Sung-Jin Nim," born 1 March 1946) that they had together, in 1958 at age 13. Sung-Jin Nim and his mother are mentioned in placed including "Blessed Family," Vol. 4, 1 April 1985.

36. See Kim, Won-Pil, Report in Bergen aam Zee, Sept 1977, photocopy, p. 2.

37. Compare to Mun's predecessor: O Se-Keun: Der Volksglaube und das Christentum in Korea, Munich 1978 pp. 205-212.

38. Mun's earlier marriages have been presented as follows:
1945 - 1955 Choe, Song-Gil - a son
1948 Mrs. Kim (this connection was supposed to have been made "by revelation.")
Oct 1955 - 1959 Mrs. Kim, Myung-Hee
according to: Hauth, Ruediger: Tong-Ilkyo - neue Sekte "Internationale Vereinigungskirche im Angriff, Munich, 1975, 1981 (6).

39. It is asserted in the Mun movement that Christian clergymen denounced him to the Communists. Contradictorily, it has also been reported: "Mr. Moon was accused by the ministers of the existing churches of writing sixty-four letters to the communist headquarters." Park, Young-Kwan: "The Unification Church - A Criticism of Moon's Movement, Seoul 1980, p. 25).

A new religion is founded

Mun found his first disciples in Pusan, South Korea, probably among the North Korean refugees of war. He worked there both as a dock worker and as a medium, a mediator to the spirit world; from him one could get the advice of the spirits for deciding worldly problems. Later on he became a "medium of the father" (meaning that "God Himself" spoke through him), and finally he became the object of his own revelations ("I am father").

Beginning in September 1953 the center of the movement was Seoul, the capital of South Korea, where on 24 December 1953 the small group was also joined by Eu, Hyo-Won, who later became the first president of Mun's organization. Not able to continue his study of medicine because of illness, he put together the first version of the "Divine Principle," which are Mun's views. Eu, Hyo-Won had a Christian background that permitted him to give Biblical references in support of Mun's teachings. He was said to have been an "elder" in his church community before he ran into Mun. In Korea, and above all with Presbyterians, this church position was to be filled only after thorough instruction and examinations, including material on the Bible.

On 15 May 1954, five people [40] founded yet another small association, officially called "Segye Kidokkyo T'ong'Il Silyon Hyophoe" (translated as the "Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity"). The group financed itself mainly through the sale of colored pictures.

Mun was arrested again and also appeared in court in South Korea initially on grounds of "sexual misconduct." The legal proceedings, however, were for a possible violation of the weapons law, and ended three months later with Mun's acquittal. In the background of this was the scandal-plagued recruitment of students from the "Ehva" women's university. Having gotten involved in the investigation of this case, a teacher, Kim Yong-On, completed the investigation by joining the group. Several teachers and 14 students were expelled from this (Christian) university for having entered a "perverse church," as it was called. Mun then publicly propagated new revelations, in which he, himself, stood in the center, as the third Adam, as the first "true man." In April 1960 in the group's headquarters in Seoul, Mun's probable fourth wedding took place, under the title from the Gospel (Rev. 19:7) "marriage of the lamb." After divorcing his third wife, with whom he had three children, he married 17-year-old Han Hak-Ya, his housekeeper's daughter. [42] Through his interpretation that this was the first "perfect marriage," foreseen by God for his creation, he was the basis of blessed peace of the future; a "New Age" had begun, and in the view of Mun's movement, through this "marriage of the lamb" the perfect man and the perfect woman became a "substantial God." [43] Speaking to a small circle of people, Mun discussed his wedding with Khan Hak-Ya:

In 1960, 14 years after I began my public operations, I celebrated holy marriage, the marriage of the lamb, which is prophesied in the Bible (Rev. 19). Also in 1960 the first divine family was created on Earth. In significance this corresponds precisely to the instant Jesus was crucified... I won the first and most important victory: I fulfilled the heavenly plan. The son of heaven descended to Earth and received the first bride of heaven. Since that day there exists on Earth a real base for the continuation of God's work ... In our movement I am now in a position to restore the spiritual as well as the physical foundation of Paradise." [44]

Now Mun and his wife are the "true parents" for the members of the movement and the community is their "new family."

Notes:

40. It was Mun, San-Myung; Eu, Hyo-Won; Lee, C.W.; Kim, S.C. (David Kim) and Eu, H.M.

41. For the meaning of the name see note 19.

42. Mun's mother-in-law reported on her origin from various (spiritist-messianic) Christian circles earlier in North Korea, including a special mention of her daughter, e.g., in "Mother's Life Story (Testimony from her physical mother)", no date.

43. compare Kim, Young-Whi; "Die Goettlichen Prinzipien," part 1, study guide, Frankfurt, no year, p. 108.

44. MS: 1 July 1973 "The Significance of July 1st, 1973"

Anti-Communist tendency

In the beginning of the 1960s, simultaneous with the military coup of Park Chung-Hee in South Korea, Mun's doctrine also developed an anti-communist tendency: Now Mun saw the world split into two camps, in which connection the free, democratic part, headed by the United States, had a chance to obtain a perfect social system if it would accept the revelations Mun made in the "divine principle." This camp opposed the communist block, the instrument of Satan, which had to be vanquished, since communism in North Korea, as well as the entire world, in being tempted by Satan, tried to falsify the "kingdom of God." Now communism was viewed as the chief satanic enemy of God. Reflection upon the underlying motive for such an idea has raised the question of whether this development did not lie in the political circle - it's possible that a person who was acquainted with Park Chung-Hee later founded the KCIA secret service in Korea.

In 1959, Mun founded the "Yeohwa Shotgun" company, which at first produced air guns, and then, under the label of "Tong II Company Ltd," became the basis of an industrial concern.

In 1961 the first political front organization was formed, the "International Foundation for Worldpeace and Unification" (IFWU), which was also operating in Germany as the "Foederation fuer Weltfrieden und Vereignigung e.V."

The political activity of the movement, looked favorably upon by the government of Korea at the time, clearly enabled further prosperity. From time to time, in the press and in literature there was even reference made, in regard to the circumstances of the time, to regular support and allowances by the South Korean secret police. [45]

The opposition once rendered by the education ministry to the official admission of the "Movement" into the educational structure would thenceforward be overcome.

After registration of the "Holy Spirit Association" by the education ministry of South Korea on May 31, 1963 in the capacity of a "social organization," it formed its various branches over the next decade.

Notes:

45. Compare chapter VIII, 5.1 and note 160.

2. The Overseas Mission

During this same time, development of the overseas mission began, at first by means of Korean refugees emigrating to Japan and the USA.

Japan

The first missionary, Choi San-Ik, set off for Japan back in 1958. There they managed to attract numerous members, sometimes even managers, from the local new religious organizations. [46] Today the most powerful part of Mun's movement may well be in Japan.

USA

The manager of the missionary efforts in the USA, Kim Young-Oon, a specialist in theology, was influenced by the ideas of Swedenborg. He operated in California in 1959. In the early 1960s, missionary Choi, having been successful in Japan, arrived in San Francisco, David S.C. Kim went to New York, but Pak Bo-Hi, member of Mun's movement since 1957, became the military attaché to the South Korean Embassy in Washington, where he also promoted Mun's movement and recruited members. [47]

In 1961, Mrs. Kim issued as a "study guide" an English version of the "Divine Principle," which had been used up to that point as a sort of catechism in Korea. By that fact, a requisite was created for subsequent operations in the USA and other countries. Due to her activity in inter-religious student organizations, such as the WSCF, Mrs. Kim possessed extensive experience in foreign relations, and she became the leading representative for Mun's movement in the Western world. Nearly all the initial texts of Mun's movement that were published in western languages were based on her works; she attempted to implant or fit Mun's teachings into Christian theology.

The first Munist organization was founded in California in September, 1961. It was followed by sub-organizations and other organization in all states.

Although it's entirely possible the more dedicated adherents of Mun were recruited in other countries, up to 1971 the movement developed only to a modest degree. In the beginning of 1971, the name was changed to the "Unification Church." In December 1971, Mun arrived in the USA to assume leadership, after briefly visiting in 1965 and 1968. Operations for recruitment and fundraising ("Day-of-Hope Tours") began, for which Mun's movement became famous, but it simultaneously acquired the unenviable reputation of being a "cult." From overseas, mainly Japan, hundreds of young Munists arrived in the USA on tourist or student visas for fund-raising, likely in violation of immigration regulations.

Mun's movement was engaged in political activity in the USA from the very start. "We needed to be a dual organization: on the one side a church organization, and on the other a 'Victory over Communism' organization." [48] The VOC organization was the forerunner to the CAUSA organization. During this time other "cultural" and "world" organizations and foundations emerged, such as the "Freedom Leadership Foundation" (FLF), the "International Cultural Foundation," which started in Japan, and the “Korean Cultural and Freedom Foundation" (KCFF). At first all their missions dealt with one or another aspect of presenting the interests of South Korea and the dictatorship of Park Chung-Hee that had been recently established there, portraying it in bright tones and organizing support. At the same time there was intent to produce a favorable impression upon the South Korean government to increase respect and ensure a role for Mun's movement in South Korea itself. [49]

Some of the operations undertaken by Mun's movement in the USA were so premature and misguided that because of them the South Korean government - officially in any case - distanced itself from these activities, and eventually from Mun's organization on the whole. The way at least one operation was carried out looked like it was conducted by the KCIA. [50] All this, along with Mun's movement on the whole, was examined and researched in the scope of an "Investigation into Korean-American relations" conducted by an international affairs committee of the American House of Representatives. [51]

Relations between the American public and Mun's movement continued to be strained: in July 1982, Mun was sentenced to 18 months in prison and a $25,000 fine in the USA on a number of charges, including falsification of tax declarations. He was released early for good conduct. "If Mun had only evaded paying taxes, he would not have been convicted as a criminal. It was the intended and deliberate illegal actions that made court prosecution inevitable." [52]

Notes:

46. The later leader of the Japanese Mun movement, Kuboki, was the private secretary of the Rissho Kosei-Kai leader, Niwano Nikkyo. See "japanese Religions," Vol. 9, No. 2, July 1976, p. 9.

47. See Fraser report, loc. cit., p. 317.

48. MS: 14 Apr 1974, p. 4.

49. See, among others, Fraser report, loc. cit., p. 313.

50. See note 161.

51. The report accompanying that about the Mun movement in the USA 15 years ago is available. See the Fraser Report, loc. cit.

52. "Covert Action" (magazine) No.27/1987

Mun's Movement in Germany

The "Movement" made its first appearance in the Federal Republic of Germany in the early 1960s. Peter Koch (dec. 1984), who functioned as a missionary for Mun's movement since 1963, joined it in the USA. He translated the "Divine Principle" into German. In 1964, a group was registered in Frankfurt under the name of "Gesellschaft zur Vereinigung des Weltchristentums" (GVW).

A new stage of development began for the association in Germany in 1973: the German Mun movement gave up its center in Essen. Recruitment results for the first year made the establishment of its own center of instruction for two-, seven- and 21-day courses necessary. Two training centers were established. Near Camberg in Taunus, in the vicinity of Frankfurt am Main, they acquired an old mill, which was successfully adapted to the purposes of a training center; then another one in Regelsmuehl, near Alfeld in Upper Franconia.

In 1973-74 fledgling German and Austrian Munists were utilized in the USA as reinforcements for a prominent operation, the "International One World Crusade" (IOWC). Inspired by the aggressive methods of recruitment there, the recruitment of Mun's movement in Germany experienced a high point in the middle 1970s. It was crowned by an attempt to participate in the 1976 CDU/CSU election campaign ("Freedom instead of socialism"). This resulted in firm and unequivocal isolation from the corresponding political parties and an increased critical demeanor in public opinion.

In November 1977 Paul Werner went to America. An Austrian, Rainer Vinzenz, eventually became the German "national father." From 1983-84, Ulrich Tuente was the first chairman of the German UC, and that went to Austrian Karl Leonhardtsberger from 1985 to 1992. In November 1992, 40-year-old Dieter Schmidt, former leading functionary in CARP and CAUSA, was elected chairman.

Press work in Germany

Eventually the Mun movement increased its publicity operations by publishing papers and magazines. In 1977 "Eine Welt" followed the "Der Report" weekly paper, which later stopped operations. The views of the group were expressed in monthly magazines like "Neue Hoffnung," later "Vereinigungskirche heute," and the now quarterly "Weltblick." Sub-organizations released their own publications (e.g., "Forum fuer Religion und Weltgestaltung," IRF; CARP's Uni-Impulse, and so forth).

Austria

In Vienna, Austria, the Mun movement managed to register the "Gesellschaft zur Vereinigung des Weltschristentums" (GVW) in 1966. In 1968, the German and Austrian leaders changed positions. The director in Austria, Paul Werner, who had converted to Mun's doctrine in California, now built up the German center in Essen, while the first German director, Peter Koch, went to Vienna.

In 1974, the association was banned. The reason was that the religious activity that the association carried out in Austria was covered by law; it made the mistake of "not reporting its real activity." However, the association continued to function under the name of "Neue Mitte," and after being banned as "Neue Aktivitaet" and "Internationale Foederation zum Sieg ueber den Kommunismus."

Switzerland

The Mun movement existed as the "Vereinigungskirche" in Zurich and as "Eglise de l'Unification" in Geneva. Here the movement was also first active (1972) as the "Gesellschaft zur Vereinigung des Weltchristentums." The "founding missionary" was Walter Leitner from Vienna. CAUSA has also been active in the Geneva establishment since 1984.

IV. New Doctrine

Mun's "Principle" doctrine was understood as a more complete new revelation about God, as the meaning of creation and the universe, which superseded the meaning of the scriptures, the Bible included, and all religions, which lost their meaning with the appearance of this revelation.

"These holy writings can be compared with lamps that illuminate truth. In their mission - to cast the amount of light given to them upon truth - they are all equal in magnitude. However, when a brighter light appears, the mission of the old lamp is accomplished. All today's religions have, up to this point, manifested their inability to bring this generation out of the dark valley of death into the shining light of life. Subsequently, a new truth has to appear that spreads a new light." [53]

Notes:

53. The German version of the "Divine Principles," "Die Goettlichen Prinzipien," Frankfurt am Main, 2nd edition of 1973, pp. 15. Henceforward referred to as "GP."

1. The new teacher

About the medium of revelation himself, his teachings and his background, it says in the foreword of the second "Divine Principles" that was published by Kim, Young Oon, translated by Ursula Schuhmann and Peter Koch:

"The message contained in this dissertation was revealed by God to a single person, Mister San M. Mun, over a period of seven years. Mister San Myung Mun is a philosopher and the leader of a religious group in Korea." [54]

In the interpretation of adherent Kim, Young Oon, Mun's revelation "from the highest layer of the spirit world" [55] was a nearly ordinary spirit "guidebook to the spirit world," as was often said in the beginning of the formation of spiritual groups [56]: With information about cosmic secrets that were previously hidden:

In contrast to the usual spiritualists, he (Mun - TG) was not content with demonstrations of spiritual phenomena. Instead, he began to research the secret meanings of the parables and symbols of the Bible and many questions which Christianity and other religions had never found before. For example, why were people and the world created? Is this world run directly by God? If the world is under God's direct dominion, why then does such evil, injustice, poverty, worry and pain exist? If, on the contrary, the same world is under the dominion of Satan or evil, then when did that reign begin?"

Now there are various phases of spiritism. "In the first stage the most widespread theme among spiritists is the search for contact with deceased relatives, in the second, previously famous deceased people appear, including the founder of the religion, who is supposed to communicate new information to people about his life and give new religious guidance (during this they, for example, Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tse or St. Peter, are "questioned"). In the third phase of spiritism there is the independent "religious revelation." The medium is viewed as a mouthpiece of God, Christ or a "supreme being." This sort of spiritism can also be called "prophetic spiritism." [58]

Mun apparently did not stop at the second stage. From a medium who listened and related, he became the actor. In the introduction to his book, Kim, Young Oon recorded this turn of perspective if not as historical, then all the same as significant:

During the time that humanity and even the spiritual world were being violated by Satan and the whole world lay in thrall to his power, only Mr. Mun recognized that such a condition was not planned by God. He decided to seek out the root of this universal catastrophe.

People, who possess spiritual gifts (see 1 Cor. 12) know that God never gives a complete answer or explanation. Over the course of seven years Mr. Mun desperately tried to get an explanation of this matter through prayer, and he was always obstructed by the inference of Satan and other enemy spirits. During these years of spiritual search he found some divine principles that support all God's dealings with humanity, and also hidden meaning of human history and secret reason and root of the fall of Satan.

Perceiving the cosmic problem and the exact secret identity of Satan, Mr. Mun has been fighting it for over 20 years. During the time that other people were putting their lives in order, he fasted and kneeled on a mountain cliff and prayed for victory over the cosmic enemy. He prayed day after day, month after month and year after year. Day and night he cried bitter tears.

He discovered the divine principle that God used when man and the universe were created, and with whose help He revived man and the universe. But when he spoke about divine truth, no one wanted to listen to him. He blazed a trail to perfect salvation, to cosmic rehabilitation that man could not in his dreams imagine. For the prophesy of this truth he was repeatedly put in prison by various regimes, where each time he suffered harsh torment. His life was a bloody, tearful battle, his life’s path was strewn with thorns.

The irony of fate is that the world scoffed at him when he fought and suffered for the liberation of mankind." [59]

Notes:

54. Kim, Young-Oon 2/65. p. vi.

55. Same as above.

56. Gabriele Wittek, a German spirit medium, also made her appearance in public at first with a "Nachschlagewerk aus der Geistigen Welt" ("Reference work from the spirit world.") See Friedrich-Wilhelm Haack: Gabriele Wittek's "Universelles Leben" ("Universal Life") (HHW/Christusstaat), 2nd expanded edition, 1992, p. 8.

57. Kim, Young-Oon, loc. cit. p. i-

58. Friedrich Wilhelm Haack: "Spiritismus, Channelling, Neuoffenbarungen," 6th edition, Munich 1992, p. 8.

59. Kim, Young-Oon, 2/65 loc. cit., pp. vii

Confirmation from the spiritual world

As was reported in Munist circles, the "spiritual world" or "spirit world" was not immediately enthused with the discoveries and revelations of Mun, who, of himself, was not convincing:

"After he revealed all the divine principles, he still needed to obtain support from God and from the spiritual world. At first he appealed to the spiritual greats, Buddha, Confucius and Jesus. Not one of them accepted his principles. Then he showed them to God, but even God refused them, saying "This is not the truth." Eventually the spiritual world began to grumble, "Rev. Mun is a thief of truth." Mun still tried again and again and was rejected. Only after the third time did God say, "Yes, this is the truth," and the highest spiritual creature worshipped before him (Mun - TG)." [60]

On one side it is very clearly stated here that Mun's findings were compatible neither with Confucianism nor with Buddhism nor with Christianity - first, with the typical Korean ranking of the "spiritual greats," second, their parallelism also shows how distant this is from Christianity. But one strange reproach reared its head again: Mun was a "thief of truth." With definite degree of certainty one can surmise that this reflects a divergence in the views within Korean spiritual and new religious currents, where Mun is reproached for taking advantage of the spiritual property of other sects and groups, of which he was a part, for his own personal revelations. This could most likely be a defense for Mun being accused of partially or entirely plagiarizing revelations from Kim, Baek-Mun's book, "Basic Principles of Christianity."

Notes:

60. Yoo, Kwant-Yol, Address in Washington 4/74, documented in New Hope News 9/74, as cited in German by Ruediger Hauth: "Tong Il Kyo - neue Sekte 'Internationale Vereinigungskirche' im Angriff," Munich 1984, 1981 (6), p. 9.

The Source of Revelation

For the Mun movement, the source of new teachings are Mun's revelations, called "Mal-sun", literally, "Master Speaks," which today are still being issued as "San Myung Mun Speaks" or "Father's Speech"). The entirety of his doctrine (and activities) are now called the "Principle."

In looking at this, attention should be given to the fact that Mun became not just a "medium of the Father," which means that God Himself spoke through him, but he himself ended up becoming the source of his revelations ("I am father"). So his existence, but also to a great degree, his activities, were rather symbolic, not only in supporting the revelations themselves, but they also acquired the character of a divine apparition. Moreover, it can now be said: "our lord the father, our lady the mother, (Abonim, Omonim) they are the flesh and blood of God on earth." [51]

Other sources of teachings for the group include speeches, treatises and statements from leading members who tell about their lives with "father" and about some of the aspects of the "Principle," for example, Kim, Young-Whi's "Guidance to divine tradition" tells about revelations, statements of the teacher and intermediary announcements.

In a broader sense all works "for internal use," such as Ken Sudo's 120-day training guidebook or the "The Tradition Book One," [64] could lay claim not only to the passing on of tradition, but also to the portrayal of the teacher himself and of the "divine principle.

Notes:

61/ HJS" 26 Apr. 1987 "To the Staff of the Twelth [sic] I.C.C. at the Won Jun" in: "The Victory of Love" - Heung Jin Moon, pub. Kim, Zin-Moon, New York 1992, p. 51. Note: in this book HJS stands for "Heung-Jin Speaks" and denotes communications from Mun, Heung-Jin. These are messages through various media. For more details see chapter IX.

62. Kim, Young-Whi, "Guidance for Heavenly Tradition," Volume 1, pub. Holy Spirit Association for the unification of World Christianity, 44 Lancaster Gate, London 1984. Also Kim, Young Whi: "Guidance for Heavenly Tradition," Volume 2, pub. Vereinigungskirche e.V. Frankfurt am Main, KANDO Verlag GmbH, Moerfelden-Walldorf, 1985

63. Sudo, Ken: "120-Day-Training-Manual," manuscript, cited as "120-Days-Trainings-Manual.

64. Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (pub.): "The Tradition," Book One, New York 1985, cited as "The Tradition."

Additional spiritual pronouncements

For reinforcement of position they attracted additional passages from other people, including some who did not belong to the group, such as the spirit-medium Arthur Ford. However, special value is today given to "communications" from the spirit world of Mun's son, Heung-Jin. After his accidental death in 1984, he was considered a divine regent; from 1987-1988 stories were received of his message, which are still being spread around today. [65] The greater part of them corroborate the words of Mun, and appeal for intensification (for example, to pray only with a tearful eye), for greater enthusiasm, they underscore the divinity of Mun and his wife. According to the operating principle, such a communication should be clearly defined and verified by one of the central figures of the movement (see the chapter on the Heung-Jin cult).

Notes:

65. Compare Kim, Zin-Moon, Editors: "The Victory of Love" - Heung Jin Moon, New York 1992

2. The textbook: The Divine Principles

A systematized view of this doctrine of "The Divine Principles" (Korean: Won-li Kang-non") was laid out in various publications. The Korean version was originally written by Yun (or Eu), Hyo Won, however it is now said that for the fundamental items of the principle, Mun not only regularly received the revelations and dictated them, but he himself supplemented the interpretation by means of meditation, prayer and research, and produced the "original Principle memorandum" back in 1951. [66] However, critics claim that this book is just a plagiarism of books by Kim, Baek-Mun [67], "Divine ground principles" and "Theology of the Holy Spirit."

Besides the complete publication of the "Divine Principles" there existed abridged educational interpretations and commentaries. In 1963 a German translation of an English study guide by Kim, Young Oon was released. In the introduction the nature of the teaching process was stated as follows:

"It is of utmost importance to read this book from the beginning in sequence, since it is put down in a logical sequence from the first chapter to the conclusion. Every chapter will increase the reader's understanding through the introduction and statement of fundamental concepts and terminology ..." [68]

For all editions, versions and summaries of the "Divine Principles" as a doctrine or catechism, the following applies:

"The divine principles described in this book are just the first revelations that the group received. The entire plan of restoration and life in the new age is reserved for a subsequent volume." [69]

And in all types of publications, regardless of degree of detail or didactivity, there is a common thread, that these are not really sacred scripture, but are rather more meant to be a comprehensive book of Mun's dogmatic teachings.

Notes:

66. Kwak, Chung-Hwan, "Closing Remarks," loc. cit., pp. 2.

67 See O, Se-Keun: "Der Volksglaube und das Christentum in Korea," Munich 1978, pp. 208.

68. Kim, Young-Oon, 2/65, loc. cit. p. i-.

69. ibid, p. ix, to my knowledge such a statement is not published elsewhere. "The Tradition, book One," New York 1985, could be regarded as a primer for "Leben im Neuen Zeitalter" ("Life in the New Age").


V. The Principle

1. The Ideal

According the doctrine of the "divine principle," God is eternal energy that is divided along lines of male and female. The foundation of its eternal existence forms a pulsating energy current, a "mutual give and take." The ideal and purpose of the divine principle, or the plan of creation, was to create the perfect human family as the object of divine love, in so far as the Creator himself fell under the effect of the principle of give-and-take and needed such an object "in such a way to perceive his own essence in reciprocity." [70] It can even be said, "We know that man was originally created to become the physical body of God." [71]

Development of the "divine principle" requires three consecutive steps, which are designated in the Mun movement as the three "blessings":

  1. On one side there is the requirement for unanimity of spirit and body, and associated with this is an integrated attitude toward God and/or the principle. As a result one is supposed to be blessed with personal perfection - a prerequisite for the next blessing.
  2. Attainment of perfect unanimity of the perfect man and the perfect woman in their integrated relationship to God and/or the principle. The result is the "blessing of the true family," and from this comes the true clan, the true tribe, the true nation and the true world family. As before, this is a prerequisite for the next blessing.
  3. Attainment of unanimity of a perfect humanity with nature and its integrated relationship to God and/or the principle. The result is the blessing of the true dominion, of the divine kingdom.

If such developments were to come about, then the principle itself would be manifest in physical creation, which is nothing other than its visible incarnation; unanimity of the spiritual and physical worlds would have been achieved, etc.

However, the "ideal of creation" did not come about. The first people perished before attaining personal perfection.

Excursus: Syncretic Christianity or Christian Shamanism

This presentation about creation and cosmology in most of the Mun movement's textbooks is put forward in none other than Christian and biblical terminology. Despite the terminology, it does not follow that the ideology itself contains an inherently Christian, "orthodox" starting point, from which it could be concluded that the teachings have strayed from their Christian roots. The same goes for the reverse: it does not necessarily follow that the ideology can be traced back only to Mun.

On the basis of Taoist cosmology and Korean (shamanist) popular belief, several small groups in Korea have arrived at a syncretic "shamanized" [72] version of the Christian theology of the apostolate (having a variety of the "theology of emancipation"); this version, particularly in the case of the Mun movement, is fixed in an "original" concept. It is therefore probably more accurate to view Mun's movement with the right source of its historical development as an independent spiritist religion of new revelation with Korean roots and a Christian superstructure, but not as Christianity with elements of shamanism [73]. As far as the sources of Mun's religious ideas goes, it can be established that:

The fact that in the "Principle" publication there are a multitude of quotes from the Bible (880 in all), is often overrated. This brings those who are naive to the understanding that the "Principles" book is, if not revelation, then all the same as commentary to the Bible, entirely related to the Christian tradition. However, in the essence the discourse concerns texts paraphrased for illustrating a personal concept, for instance, for finding a "historical parallel."

Critics as well as defenders of Mun's revelations assert that in them the talk is more about that which, in super-ecumenical theological discussion, might be called "indigenization (rooting and development of national tradition) of Christianity in Asia."

On the whole, however, biblical tradition is applied only illustratively, beyond the essence of correlation and only for the sake of benefiting the "divine principle." Kim Yong On does not hide that everything with just a slightly significant reference to another source ought only to explain an independent, new "outright revelation." She wrote:

Material that has been used in this book bases itself on complete revelation from God. This material has been worked out by me in more detail, with indicators to information that is maintained in other sources, so that the reader can better understand the facts revealed." [76]

She subsequently expounded further on the "divine principles," with relation to Islam and the Koran. Another, non-religious version, which offered and explained the "Unification Principle," in philosophical terms and uses biblical terms more sparingly, is called the "Unification Thought." [77]

Koreans, who are raised and educated in Christianity, spread Mun's "revelations" in terms of apostolic theology. The case of the life of Kim Young Oon literally consists of this "translation activity." The translation of all the essential works of the Mun movement from English to German (and other languages - trans.) had a "double conversion" as its consequence. While Mun required of his closest circle the study of the Korean language for the sake of understanding the "principles," both the original translation mistakes and inaccuracies were more or less deliberately passed on to the external environment.

For example, in Germany the name "Gemeinschaft vom Heiligen Geist fuer Vereinigung der Weltchristenheit" ("Holy Spirit Association for Unification of World Christianity") [78] has been in recent use. This can be viewed only as a deliberate introduction of an error, all the more so because in 1974 "church president" David Kim verified this misunderstanding in one of the Munist journals, "Holy Spirit implies one of the Trinity as taught in orthodox christianity, but in Korea it means holy, or spiritual association (Sil-Yung). I could find no other way to translate the original chinese letters." [79]

Usage of theological terms of the Judeo-Christian tradition in the "divine principles" doctrine is what critics sometimes somewhat harshly call a "masquerade." It is nothing other than an attempt to graft Far Eastern belief to a stock of Christian tradition and western culture. But Christianity has not quite been "indigenized" in Asia this way.

Notes:

70. Kim, Young-Oon: "The Divine Principles, Study guide", 1973/6, p. 27, back-translated from German.

71. Kim, Young-Whi: 25 March 1985: "Victors in Our Course" in: "Kim, Young-Whi: Guidance, see above p. 114.

72. See O Se-Keun: "Der Volksglaube und das Christentum in Korea," Munich 1978, pp. 213-218. O describes Korean mission history as a "shamanization" of Christianity.

73. This was primarily against the line of reasoning of Lee, Dong-Joo in her dissertation "Korean Syncretism as a theological mission problem with special regard for the Unification Church of Sun Myung Moon," Tuebingen 1986, whose sharp criticism at certain (under certain conditions) syncretic elements of the ev. Theology of Korea probably led to the author, in her Tuebingen mission-scientific dissertation, to putting the Mun movement as close as possible to the Minjung-Theology, which she rejected and which she, in any case, assessed primarily as Christian syncretism.

74. Details to this in GP, see above, pp. 565.

75. Presentation by Chun, Young Bok, from 10 Nov. 1975 in Kyoto, in "Japanese Religion," Vol. 9, No. 2, July 1976, p. 16. [back-translated]

76 Kim, Young-Oon, 2/65, ibid. p. ix.

77. "Unification Thought," publ. Unification Thought Institute, New York 1973. At the end of the introduction, the unnamed author gives Seoul as place of origin.

78. For instance, repeatedly in the recruitment slogan: "A new Vision for World Peace" (1988).

79. See note 19.

2. The Principle in Christian terms, or Creation and Downfall

Here is an interpretation of the basic idea of the "divine principles" in its "Christian version." As a starting point for argument, Genesis 1:28 is used:

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

On the basis of this verse, the Mun movement establishes three successively built "blessings":

  1. "Be fruitful" does not refer to fertility in the generally accepted sense of the world, but signifies a requirement for unity of spirit and body on one hand and, combined with this, an integrated relationship to God. The result is the blessing of personal perfection, a prerequisite for achieving the next blessing.
  2. "Multiply and replenish the earth" signifies attainment of unity of the perfect man with the perfect woman in an integrated relationship to God. The result is the blessing of the true family, and from that, the true clan, stock, the true nation, the true world family. Once this is attained, the next step is the attainment of the third blessing.
  3. "Subdue it: and have dominion" signifies attainment of unity of the perfect people with nature in an integrated relationship to God. The result is supposed to be the blessing of the true dominion, the kingdom of heaven.

It says further that God would have expressed himself in creation that would have been nothing but his own embodiment; that would be attaining unity of the spiritual and physical worlds and so forth, but, unfortunately, that "ideal of creation" has not yet been attained.

"Yes, yes, Eve - Eve..."

For the Mun movement "difficulty in translation" is not always carried out by people with a theological education or with independently attained knowledge about the Judeo-Christian tradition. Now and then a legend appears that is supposed to benefit Mun or his associates -- about the "principles," about the Fall or how Mun subjected Satan to a cross-examination:

Some of the divine principles were communicated to Mun by God, but a large part he obtained in a fight with the world of spirits. Neither God nor Jesus told Mun about the Fall of mankind; it was up to him to find Lucifer, because he knew all the details about that. This was not only physical, but also spiritual combat, and Mun contended with greater spiritual forces than Lucifer.

They stood face-to-face and fought, and Mun investigated the Fall of mankind. He asked Lucifer, "When Eve was young, 15 years old, you cared much for her, and you often strolled and in hand and were you together often?" Lucifer paused because this question was unpleasant for him, but then he said, 'Yes, yes, Eve -- Eve ..." [80]

In terms of the history of creation this was depicted this way: Satan introduced the first people to sexual seduction. Adam was defeated, because Eve, after relations with the fallen archangel, also had adulterous relations with him. Abel was killed by his brother, but in Cain remained only the blood of Eve and Satan. Thus all people live literally with "satanic" blood in their veins, everyone's ancestor, until the Mun, were satanic ancestors; they engaged in the mutual exchange of "give and take" not with God, but with Satan.

Notes:

80. Yoo, Kwang-Yol, address in Washington 4/74, documented in New Hope News, 9/74, cited from Ruediger Hauth: Tong-IlKyo - neue Sekte "Internationale Vereinigungskirche im Angriff" Muenchen 1975, 1981(6), p. 9, [back-translated]

3. Rehabilitation and Improvement

Now the goal of the divine principles in the world process is for the perfect man to raise woman to the level of a perfect Eve, and have her bear perfect sinless children and in such a way found a new family free from Satan as a unit of God. From Mun's view, the perfect man and the perfect woman in their joining stand for God in the flesh. [81]

Munists consider that Jesus also undertook such an attempt. Although He also attained bodily and personal perfection, on the family level he suffered a failure. In so far as He was not married, he was not able to offer physical salvation. Therefore he trained only 12 spiritual children, disciples, and with them founded only a new spiritual family, Christianity, which later was to become a prerequisite for the new salvation.

In contrast, Mun is said to have also obtained god-like perfection. But the prerequisite for that, among other things, was getting acquainted with outside forces and everything that supplemented perfection, which was obtained only through reparation to Satan (tan gam) and meeting "conditions," as opposed to freely dealing with God. "God cannot fulfill His will alone." "God predetermines His will 100%, in which connection no change is possible." On the contrary, man is only 95% predetermined, and therefore he is in a condition - and obliged - to take on his share of the responsibility by any means.

The process of "tan gam," which is translated from Korean as "reparation," means a constant responsibility to pay off Satan, not only for self, but also for humanity on the whole, for the ancestors and for future generations.

It is considered that now Korea has produced the "true man," the "third Adam," the "lord of the second advent," etc. because Mun paid off this debt on both a personal and a family level, as well as on a level for the purity of the divided people and land of Korea.

In March 1960, Mun married his fourth wife, Han, Hak Ya, who was then a 17-year-old school girl. This marriage was interpreted not only as atonement for original distortion of the ideal, but also as a "marriage of the lamb," the redemption of the Crucifix, etc. That was supposed to be the beginning of the physical liberation of humanity on the whole.

In so far as Mun and his wife showed the divine principal on a level of personal perfection (first blessing) and on the level of family (second blessing), they had become "God in the flesh."

The existence of this pair of "true parents" restored the possibility of purifying the blood of all mankind. This is Mun's claim, at first understood in the most direct sense [82] of the words, now it is expressed in paired "mass adoptions." Children who are born to Munist couples are understood to be children of "true parents," meaning Mun and his wife.

World recognition of Mun and the joining of all the opposition has already occurred in the "spirit world," meaning in the world of spirits, and now only needs to be fulfilled on the plane of physical and political through the establishment of a "divine kingdom" on earth, which in turn is a requirement for the unveiling of the spiritual divine kingdom.

Because of this Mun has approved his son as regent in the divine kingdom in the world of spirits, or as a "central figure" of the next generation.

Along those lines, Mun is not repeatedly and categorically asserted to be the "messiah designatus," and a claimant for messianity to a degree meant only for special consecutive successors of Jesus, but it is asserted that he has already attained the success of "messiah," furthermore: he was the "true father" not only of his family and of the family of his community, but of all humanity. As a result of the "ideal of the perfect family" the Mun movement set the goal of creating a new family of mankind. It meant from this literally a new birth by means of "pure blood" of a new mankind, which consists of blood relations of the family, of the stock, of the tribe and nation. [83]

To this end are directed all efforts to penetrate into politics, culture and religious spheres, as well as the movement's opportunist and religiously motivated anti-communist effort. [84]

So, all the practices of the movement have come from the idea of "rehabilitation" or attainment of the three "blessings" and are attempts to fulfill them symbolically or factually. Therefore the practices of the Munist groups will be described in accordance with this scheme.

Notes:

81. See Kim, Young-Whi: "Die Goettlichen Prinzipien, Teil 1, Studienfuehrer," Frankfurt, p. 108.

82. See, among others, Sin, Sa-Hun: "A Critique of the True Colors of the Unification Church (The Unification Church is not Christian)", Lecture 4 May 75, p. 6.

83. So not exactly a "familia dei" in the sense of the epistle to the Hebrews 3.6, which is constituted according to Christ and from which all bloodlines arise.

84. See the religiously based work in the World Anti-Communist League of CAUSA, including support of contending parties with military means, weapons production and numerous other activities of the Mun movement.


VI. First Blessing: True Parents

The path to the "blessing of personal perfection" consists only of a person, from that point on, becoming acquainted with true tradition step by step, adopting it, and finally getting on intimate terms with "true people" and "true parents" by emulating them.

This is implemented not only by constant involvement with those being recruited, but also by attracting those outside to the activity of the movement.

1. How people get into the family

An abbreviated example has already been given of a typical initial contact. During a recruitment operation, sometimes movement members of different nationalities work in a country whose language they either know only superficially or not at all. In this case they use multi-lingual guidebooks, published by the movement, that give them some of the important words in the appropriate language so they can maintain a conversation. Here their utterances and questions are numbered, and with the aid of these they can move people to make a visit to the local center of the Mun movement. This conversation guide very clearly demonstrates the substance of such recruitment interviews. These are from the German version [85]:

  1. Good day, my name is ... I am from ...
  2. Do you speak English or French?
  3. I am a member of the International One World Crusade.
  4. The International One World Crusade is an international unification movement.
  5. We are young people of many nationalities and very different beliefs.
  6. I would like to ask you to a lecture.
  7. Our center is several minutes walk from here.
  8. Do you have a half an hour?
  9. Wouldn't you like to participate in our discussion?
  10. Are you interested in world problems?
  11. We have found a brand new solution.
  12. Could I invite you for a cup of coffee?
  13. At our center they're having movies and discussion.
  14. Please come to our youth center.
  15. At our place people from all over the world meet to find a common path.
  16. Have you already heard about the principles of unification?
  17. We think that all people have common ideals and desires.
  18. If we understand each other at heart, we can cooperate.
  19. In this way all difficulties will be surmounted.

The goal is to strike up new "contacts." They speak with people on the street and end up inviting them to some kind of event at the center. This can be a discussion over a cup of tea, a lecture about the principles or even a cook-out. When the guest arrives at the center with the recruiter, there they encounter members on duty. Using this strategy is called - not only by external critics of the movement, but also its proponents - "love bombing." [86] The goal of doing this to the guest is to interrogate him, but most of all he is supposed to get the feeling that he is the one they were waiting for - this is something special that only he can take care of ...

They invite him to have tea or coffee. After some time the guest is offered the opportunity to hear a lecture on creation and the meaning of life, which either coincidentally is supposed to be held at this time, or which was arranged especially for him. Things might be done the entire time so that the initiate does not once hear anything either about Mun or about the "Unification Church."

This first meeting can last practically the entire afternoon or evening. It is important, in any case, that the visitor end up leaving his name, address and phone number in the "guest book," and that he make arrangements, perhaps at the same time, for the next meeting. For example, they may invite him to an evening event, a supper, or a seminar to be held over the weekend. Now he will be constantly telephoned; from that point, contact with him is not supposed to be interrupted. Depending on the circumstances, they might offer to pick him up in a car to bring him to the next meeting.

By the time the guest hears the "introductory lecture," he ready to be invited to the "two-day seminar." Sometimes the invitation is accepted and the trip to this seminar made during the first contact.

Notes:

85. Used during an IOWC mission in Germany, Fall 1975.

86. In the 120 day course, Kathleen Virtue reported on these methods, that came from Onni Orme: "You must 'love-bomb' them." She further reported that "We even followed them (the new people) to the washroom and back and we did everything for them first. [backtranslated]" Sudo, Ken commented, "What they described is the key to success... Love is more important than truth." 120-Days-Training-Manual, Practical Aspects of Training, p. 338.

The 2-3 day seminar

As the possibility arises, this sort of seminar can be held every week. They begin in the evening on Friday and last until after dinner on Sunday, although attempts are made to prolong this another 24 hours. In the morning two lectures are held. After dinner there is a social period, and after coffee another lecture. In the evening they show a movie or organize a discussion, but sometimes there's something quite like an amateur concert party with singing as late as 10:30 p.m. "This is the time to bomb our guests with love," as one person described it, "a time to reinforce the decision of those who would like to visit the seven-day seminar, a fine opportunity to impel hesitant guests to at least stay on for the third, "family" day. [87]

The organization and passage of all events are standardized and go according to a scheme. For the most part, two rather experienced members are assigned to the recruit, and they closely watch him during the seminar. The recommended procedure is called "sandwich," during which the guest is constantly accompanied by two Munists, who are supposed to get him to get involved and "cooperate" with their enthusiasm. Along with contact to full-time members, who use tactics like "love bombing" on the recruit, the lecture is also important: by and large it talks about keeping the divine principles, and it is meaningfully reported to the recruit that the "messiah" has arrived.

On the third day, those who agreed to participate in the seven-day seminar are offered the opportunity to get something from home, and they are supposed to be accompanied (by their "spiritual parents"), so that it is impossible for him to wander away. [88]

Notes:

87. "...guests may have a tendency to be drawn away, whether by an old girl or boy friend, parents, friends, or roommates. This can happen more often than you might imagine." op. cit., The Third Day.

88. "...guests may have a tendency to be drawn away, whether by an old girl or boy friend, parents, friends, or roommates. This can happen more often than you might imagine." op.cit., "The Third Day."

The 7-day seminar

In the seven-day seminar, which in training centers of Germany is supposed to occur monthly, as the occasion arises, lectures about the principles get more specific. Among other lessons the visitors are involved - with petty domestic chores - in "family life." A complete "religious" program is held: before breakfast at 7:30 a.m. are morning prayers and the day comes to a close at 10:30 p.m. with evening prayers. Over the week the visitors are asked to pray at set times. That includes the beginning and end of each seminar, during which the words are used, as accepted in English-language countries, "we ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen," but at the end of the week they have already started using the Munist phrase "in the name of the True Parents. Amen." [89]

Concerning the serious side of the matter, it is (almost) always said who the "true parents" are (in the so-called "closing expression"), that the Mun movement is an organization of world salvation and that now is the time to start deciding to be associated with it. In fact, at the end of this seven day seminar the majority of recruits decide either to become members or not. Those who still are not able to decide, but do not completely break off contact, either, are offered a new meeting so as to create a new chance to complete their recruitment.

Notes:

89. These phrases are also used in the closing of letters, either written out or abbreviated, "INWE" or "ITPN" ("In True Parents Name").

The 21-day seminar

This last seminar before joining in so-called full-time or permanent members, rarely happens less than once a year, as the occasion arises, it is 4-5 times a year. It is offered to those who pass the seven-day course. These seminars are a sort of a Mun member training course. Morning prayers now begin at 6:15, but at 5 a.m. on Sundays, as is accepted in the Mun movement. At the same time the "vows" are made to Mun. A week dedicated to lectures about the principles, but also to the movement with its subordinate organizations (such as CARP, CAUSE, etc.), is followed by about a week of "fundraising" and a week of "recruitment and witnessing." In addition the recruit is also taught everything he'll need as a "Munist." He can become a permanent member. They often join the fund-raising team right after this seminar, or enter the center, because returning home "can only confuse" them. Regarding this the recruits are told, for instance, that otherwise "Satan will pull them back."

2. Joining

The goal of the three preparatory courses is to have the recruit "accept" Mun and his wife as "true parents." "When did you accept?” members of Mun's family ask each other with regard to the "closing expression," to the personal experience of conversion, and to their "spiritual birthday." Once they accept Mun and his wife as "true parents," they completely belong to the "family." This affiliation is first realized as membership in a common community, then people become "full-time members." Originally at this stage they were called "sikku," Korean for "family member."

In order for people to pass the three courses, they have to live under difficult circumstances for two or three months, but there exists the possibility that they will become "permanent" very quickly, sometimes even after the two-day course.

Service

Full membership in the "family" gradually results from the duty of those quickly recruited to serve, but not complete family relations. According to the model taught by Mun, at first they should be servants, and only afterwards (right after the "blessing") will they, in capacity of son or daughter, lay the foundation for the requirements for more blessings.

Fundraising

One of the basic forms of activity in the Mun movement is fundraising, which is defined by Munists as a "form of meditation.” Fundraising can include legal collection on the streets as well as illegal street begging. Sales are conducted on the street with postcards, newspapers, plants, items made out of straw and other creative handiwork or ginseng are also used to raise funds. Here the "religious" activity of the Mun movement clearly crosses over into the area of economic activity.

It seems fundraising, used in the widest sense of the word, is one of the main sources of income for the movement. In many countries fundraising is regularly organized and in the long term plays an important role in attracting new members, who spend half of their first seven years of membership in "mobile fundraising teams." [90]

This sort of team consists of 8 (sometimes 10) people, including "brothers" and "sisters" alike. One of them is the manager. In the USA, Korea and Japan he is called "captain." This team has three basic missions:

The team travels through the country in a minibus, and they are constantly on the road. Only in the large cities do they stay for a long time, perhaps 21 days, and then they go on. They sleep on the minibus, or in one of the movement's local centers, if available. It's been reported from the USA that 1 or 2 people register in a hotel, and then the rest put their sleeping bags on the floor. In the morning the manager distributes members of the team throughout the city, one or two at a time. They collect for several hours, then they "graze" at a different spot. At nights they make the rounds at bars and restaurants.

The workday of a team lasts from 8 a.m. into the night, and if the goal set is not reached, then into the early hours of the morning. During this they demand (and get) from people sums of 300 or a thousand German marks.

The "clientele" are told that the goal of the collection is anything (that's effective) that sounds nice: in particular they like to talk about the fight against drugs, youth centers, programs to help the Third World, etc. On Luther's anniversary in Berlin it was that the collection was going to the "Wittenberg mission."

Discipline in the team has to be very strict. There are reports from the USA of regular punishment, deprivation of food and even beatings for those who don't meet their goals. The team nonetheless is given joint responsibility, so that it rarely happens that a person deserts the team, as he would feel as if he had inflicted misfortune on his friends.

Notes:

90. This does not apply to seniors who have newly run into the Mun movement. Presumably they would hardly measure up to the hardship of fundraising. Everywhere there are exceptions to the prescribed, often symbolic, periods, time limits and conditions, only mostly not very practical and relevant as the explanation given here, but often a "spiritual" basis for the abridgment is given.

Missions/Witnessing

After three and a half years of collecting money, the new recruit is still supposed to be involved in recruiting new members (in Germany, this is called "missions.")

This doesn't always happen, only when the basic company creates the "mobile missions teams." In connection with fixed orientation toward campaign deadlines, the mission work is not always adhered to, however a forty-day operation goes on every quarter to some degree, when members of the movement emerge from the centers to "witness." A routine day at the center goes something like this:

At 6 a.m. there are morning prayers, after breakfast an hour of studying the principles, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. there is "mission work," then supper (with "guests," if the occasion arises), and the evening program (developing contacts, studying Mun's speeches and personal correspondence).

3. Religious Life in the Family

The Mun movement has worked out its own "tradition" and rituals that penetrate and define the daily life of its adherents, as well as the main moments of the movement's life, as no other religious movement today. Besides the rituals and actions, there are the beliefs adopted from the Korean people (Taoism and Confucianism). Holidays are celebrated, similar to a Sunday service, in a small circle - receiving revelation of a spiritual character and religious ceremony in the realm of the holiday cycle. These are read with God in the character of the "true parents" of the Mun couple, with Mun's son Heung Jin already functioning as the "divine ruler," along with Mun's son Hyon Jin (born 3 Dec. 1961), who figures in the physical world as a "central character of the Second Generation."

Sunday Celebration

At this point the community in Germany has only occasionally held open church or prayer services, and most frequently in connection with congresses or seminars, and on a case by case basis in local centers and in the community's hostels. In Korea and the USA, though, Sunday services are regularly held at 11 a.m. The model used for the format of this sort of Sunday celebration is the one established by Mun.

It's mandatory for members who do not even live at the center to attend these divine services. At least one person from each of the blessed families needs to attend. Besides this service, in each center, group and family a time is set aside for daily prayer and meditation, mainly with morning and evening prayer services.

Notes:

91. The Tradition, ibid., p. 11.

Prayer rooms

In the centers and the community hostels of the Mun movement are rooms furnished for prayer. They are simply furnished in a rather eastern Asian style. Prayer there is not only at fixed times, but also, if possible, during any exit from or return to the center. The room is supposed to be decorated with scrolls containing texts of vows (in the Korean language) and symbols of the Mun movement.

On the altar table, which is purified and blessed with holy salt (in the north part of the room, if possible) stands a portrait of the "true parental pair," or the "true family" and fresh flowers, a candle and a vessel with special blessed salt, which is not used every day. A portrait of Mun Heung Jin can also stand on the altar. Those who pray face the portraits and bow to them.

On holy days a "sacrifice" is set on the altar, a bowl with fruit, nuts, candy, etc.

Prayer Meetings

Regular prayer meetings have a significant role and, as with everything in the Mun movement, are highly organized. Each person performs a bow toward the pictures of the "true parents" and of Mun's deceased son Heung Jin on the altar upon entering and sit down on the floor.

At first three "holy songs" are sung. The regular manager of the meeting opens with his "representative prayer," which can last from 10 minutes to a half an hour, in which he reports everything that is going on with the group; the prayer can also contain a reading and an explanation of the divine principle or a petition for Mun, although, properly speaking, the prayer is being addressed to him.

"In so far as we do not so often have the opportunity of physical proximity to the true parents, we have to rely on our spiritual connection. Begin your prayer with the true parents, continue it with the true parents and end it with the true parents. A prayer only to God has meaning only for the messiah, the son of God. We recognize that the true parents are the full manifestation of God. Now we can physically and spiritually meet him face to face, this great miracle." [92]

Then the entire group joins in the "unison prayer," which everyone prays aloud simultaneously. This is a loud prayer sung in many voices with shouts and clatter, and sometimes with knocking heads on the floor, weeping, etc., it can be interrupted by more "representative prayers" from different orators. At the end the manager of the prayer meeting pronounces the closing "representative prayer" and the assembly sings one of the three "holy songs." After bowing to the pictures of the "true parents" and Heung Jin, which are located on the altar, the people leave the room.

Notes:

92. Werner, Paul: The Wellspring of Life: Guidelines for Prayer, in Blessed Family, Vol. 3, 1 January 1985.

The Vow

"Full-time membership" is a period of service and duty. Obedient devotion is expressed in carrying out a vow, that is repeated every Sunday at 5 a.m., as well as on Munist holidays and on the first day of each month. At the Sunday ceremony, Munists assemble before the altar with the portraits of the "true parents" and Heung Jin. After three "full" (to the floor) bows, the vow is pronounced, starting with the Korean words for "my vow" (Na ui maeng se):

  1. My vow (Na ui maeng se):
    As the center of the universe, I want to fulfill the will of our father and the purpose of creation, I take on myself the responsibility that he entrusted to me for achieving my perfection. I want to be a faithful son (daughter) and a child of good in order to forever be in readiness near him in the perfect world of creation, in which I create joy and glory for him. I vow.
  2. I want to be completely in the will of God, who gives me all creation as a legacy.
    He gave me the word, his personality and his heart appeal to me, who was dead, for a new life in which he makes me one with him and raises me as his true child. To achieve this, our father went the sacrificial way of the cross unwaveringly for 6,000 years. I vow.
  3. As the faithful son (daughter), I want to follow the example of our father and courageously attack the enemy's camp, until I have leveled them completely with the weapons, which he, down through the entire course of history, defeated the enemy, Satan, for me, through the sowing of sweat for the Earth, tears for people and blood for heaven; I will be a servant, but with the heart of father, for the sake of reestablishing the world and those lost to Satan. I vow.
  4. A person, family, society, nation, world and universe, ready to serve our father, are the source of peace, of happiness, of freedom and all ideals, they create a perfect world of one heart in one body, restored to our original nature. To do this, I will be a true son (true daughter) and bring our father joy and satisfaction and, as representative of our father, I am devoted to the creation of peace, happiness, freedom and all the ideals of peace of mind. I vow.
  5. I am proud of the one dominion, proud of the one people, proud of the one language and culture, in whose center is God. I am proud that I became a child of the true parents, proud of the family and the inherited tradition, proud of working to build peace of mind. I will fight and invest in this all my life. I answer for the execution of my duty and my mission. this I vow and swear. This I vow and swear. This I vow and swear.

If possible, the entire vow, but in particular the fifth item, is supposed to be articulated in Korean, especially on holy days.

It's believed that as a consequence of betraying this oath, a person is lost to Satan not only for the present generation, but also the seven previous and seven following.

Holidays

The Mun movement has a number of annual festival days in the realm of its own yearly cycle, which are observed with painstakingly arranged ceremonies, rituals and sacrifice-making. Here are six of the most important:

"Day of God" - 1 January,
"Day of Children" - 1 October,
"Day of all Things" - 1 May,
"Day of Parents" - 1 March, along with
"Day of Parents' Birthday" - 6 January.

Special significance has been given lately to
"Day of the Victory of Love" - 3 January.
This is the day in which

"the true parents sacrificed their son in the position of Abel, who showed great loyalty and faithfulness to his parents."

This day is consider the most significant for the movement

"because Heung Jin died for all of us and opened the doors so that from now on each person could count on the privilege of love." [93]

It should also be said that there are many small feasts and anniversaries that do not have special rituals or celebrations.

"We celebrate Christmas on the same day as the majority of Christians, December 25, although this is not the exact date of the birth of Jesus."

Because any parents are considered representatives of the "true parents," many rights and rituals are performed in the framework of family services and by those couples who have already received the "second blessing." (See chap. VIII)

Notes:

93. MS: 15 Jan. 1984, "The necessity for the Day of Victory of Love."

4. Purification and Appropriation

Any activity in the Mun movement is directed toward the concept of purifying the world and humanity and of their proclaimed appropriation by the Mun family. There is a steady commitment to "settle the score with Satan" not only for themselves, but for all humanity, for ancestors and for future generations and even for daily purchases. Settling accounts with Satan (like fasting and praying) proceeds with special acts and sacrifices, and purification with the help of candles, holy salt or exhalations, by which objects are forever, or at least temporarily, withdrawn for Satan's sphere of influence, because he can no longer lay claim to them.

Holy Salt

"To purify a site and all objects, for this the true father has made "holy salt." [94]

"When we use holy salt, we are waging battle against Satan." [95]

Holy salt can be reproduced by adding more salt, then cutting it.

Notes:

94. The Tradition, ibid., p. 47.

95. The Tradition, ibid., p. 48.

Holy Ground

In Berlin, Frankfurt and Essen there are places, called "holy grounds," which Mun himself established in 1965. These are where special prayer meetings and vow ceremonies are conducted. For greater importance, the vow ceremonies can be held on the first of the month. On these "rehabilitated" sites God, from that point on, "can freely hear our prayers." And because the prayers said here have greater effectiveness, prayers are said here more frequently.

Meanwhilte more than 120 sites of holy ground have been established by Mun since 1965, of those the first 8 were in Japan, 5 are in the USA and Canada, 5 are in Latin America, 20 are in European capitals (as well as in the Alps, in the Vatican, and in Rome), and 15 are in Asia (including 4 in Jordan, 1 on a mountain "in the vicinity of Gethsemane" and the rest in Korea.

Mun movement functionaries have also created other "holy ground" sites in Germany. To establish such a site, holy salt is need, as well as ground and a stone from holy ground that has already been initialized, if possible from that which Mun founded himself. During this, one of the leaders is supposed to read the following prayer:

"In the name of the holy father, holy son and holy ghost, in the name of the true parents, in the name of the members who are gathered here today to want to make this holy ground.

Corresponding to the triumphant foundation of the true parents is this ground now conditionally your holy base. Symbolically it is the middle of all ground that we claim as your possession.

Although we have resolved that this special area is not conditionally your ground, we vow our determination to make all land into your Holy Ground through our hard work." [96]

(This resolution, as vowed above, to make all land into "Holy Ground" will be examined again later in connection with Mun's world domination operations.)

Also the establishment of "temporary Holy Ground" is provided. A special ritual also lets holy ground be established beyond the succession of that which Mun established.

Notes:

96. The Tradition, ibid., p. 64.

Home Church

"Home church" is the name given to Mun's current of activity in which any fill-time member of the movement accounts for 360 homes or families and provides them with contact to the movement. To extricate them from the clutches of Satan, members of the movement scatter salt in "their" Home Church area, visit homes, arrange celebrations for children's birthdays or make purchases for neighbors. Attempts are also made to come into contact with neighbors through fundraising. Thus events can result in good-willed people supplementing the Mun movement in spirit as sympathizers or supporters.

40, 70 and 120 Day Course

Finally, there is still another type of course taken by students, which is far beyond what the usual members volunteer for. These are to instruct leaders, to further instill in them a devotion to Mun, as well as a dedication to special doctrine or specific practices of the movement.

For instance, there is the course of instruction that lasts approximately 120 days, which reveals to a Munist that he is supposed to literally offer himself as a sacrifice to Mun and his fight. [97]

"'We were born of the true parents. Parents are primary and children are secondary. Can children be born without parents?'
'No'
'Now, without parents no person can be born again. With parents, anyone can be born again. Now, which of the two is more worthwhile, life or the parents of your own life?'
'Life of the parents'
'Now, which of the two should be sacrificed -- father's life or your own life?'
'My life'
'Are you ready for that?'
'Yes'
'If the parents live at the cost of my own life, all humanity can be born again. But if I live and the life of the parents is lost, nobody can be saved. Therefore the life of the parents must be much more worthwhile than the life of the children. But no children without parents. Therefore the life of the parents is much more worthwhile than the life of the children. Are you ready for that?'
'Yes'
'Sure?'
'Yes'
It is very easy to say yes, but it may not be settled only with words. If this becomes reality America and the world can be saved. Father gave me life in that he strode through difficulties and difficult moments. Just to save me. Now it's my turn to give father life.'
'I can give father life. In case of threat I ask my life be taken first.'
'If only you and mother and father's family can be saved, I am ready to die. If only father can fulfill his mission and all people around father can be happy, then I am happy to see from the spirit world the happiness of humanity around the true parents.'
'Can you feel this way?'
'Yes'
'If this is true, if the father can have 300 or 400 people of this type, I believe father can then save the world. We will be a joyful sacrifice on the altar of the world. If you really feel that it is a joy to die for father, not just lip service, but reality, that is great. That is the true relationship between father, the true parents and me. That is the relationship of the Unification Church. Are you certain? Are you certain?'
'Yes.'"

Notes:

97. 120 Days Training Manual, "Internal Guidance," pp. 43.

VI. Second Blessing: Pure Blood

A peculiarity of the Mun movement is the "blessing" it arranges in the form of so-called "mass weddings."

16 Apr. 1960 3 couples
15 May 1961 33 couples; (3+33=36 couples)
4 June 1962 72 couples
24 July 1963 124 couples
1975, Seoul: 1,800 couples
21 Feb. 1977 74 couples
21 May 1978 118 couples
6 Aug. 1979 35 couples
1 July 1982 2,100 couples, (2075) couples
12 Apr. 1986 36 couples of the 2nd generation
2 Nov. 1988 6,516 couples
7 Apr. 1989 Blessing for 57 individuals (!!)
10 Apr. 1992 1,265 couples
25 Aug. 1992 30,000 couples

Proceeding from the "ideal of the perfect family," the Mun movement wants to create a new human family. During the "blessing,” which the public falsely understands as a "wedding ceremony," partners of diverse nationalities are accepted by pairs into the Mun family. [98] Thus full membership and membership in the family is finally achieved, after a long period of preparation as a member in one of the lower organizations. Membership must be tested in the success of one's own mission, obtained through the ritual of adoption by pairs, and the "physical" change of line of origin is supposed to be effected by a blood ritual.

Notes:

98. There is however also the Blessing for "Individuals" (e.g. on 7 Apr. 1989); also the living can be bound with the dead ("Spirit Man") and "blessed" together. The background for that is the Korean concept of the rather upsetting, gruesome, and therefore harmful, dead spirit of the unmarried person, who does not rest in peace because he has no offspring who can make him the necessary sacrifice, etc.

1. Tradition of "Blessing"

Matching

Presumably Mun has the ability to recognize what in spiritism is called "dual" or kindred spirits. He clairvoyantly pairs individual Munists, who up to that time had never seen each other (this is called "matching" in English), uniting them for blessing by pairs.

Holy Wine Ceremony (Sung Ju Sik)

The special secret blood ritual ("Holy Wine Ceremony") is used to manifest the apparent "adoption" and "physical" change in the descendant line. When it was first used in Korea the ritual "of exchanging blood" ("pikarim" in Korean) signified contact with the new Adam. [99]

This ritual, which besides being difficult to perform in mass conditions, exposed the participants to infection, and it now appears to have been replaced by the "holy wine ceremony" (Korean: Sung Ju Sik) during which the partners now mutually regale each other with a drink that has been prepared by alchemist instruction and which contains the blood of Mun and his wife:

"In the Wine Ceremony we use a special wine that contains 21 different things, including the blood of Father and Mother" [100], "actual blood" [101].

The Ceremony goes like this, husband and wife stand facing each other, but first Father takes the position of the husband and he gives this special Holy Wine to the bride. In taking this Holy Wine from Father you are restored first, women are restored first, then you bring your own husband back, that is the way it goes." [102]

And so the essence of this ritual, which is supposed to provide a physical blood connection with the line of descendancy to lay down a physical basis of a desired connection (English: “foundation of substance"). Because the women exchanged blood ("pikarim") with the "True Man," they became his brides. Then, after a three year wait, and on the first two nights of the "three day ceremony," they are supposed to become the "mothers" of their partners, then make them their husband and partner. They give him, in their turn, the blood, and they also give him the "wine."

The ritual practiced by the Munists is not a symbolic action, but the creation of a material basis for a spiritual connection; this is apparent from the acceptance into the circle of old adherents of the "exchange of milk," which is supposed to promote the Munists actually becoming children of "True Mother."

"It would be impossible for us to become true children without the children of the true parents. We made a special "condition" when Father and Mother had their first baby. Babies grow by receiving milk from their mothers; therefore when Je-Jin Nim was born, everybody got some of Mother's milk. Naturally there was not enough milk for everyone, therefore we diluted the milk by adding cow's milk. [103]

Since during a mass blessing Mun was no longer in a position to offer a cup to each woman, now a "representative" bride gets a cup from Mun, and by this is "restored."

Notes:

99. More details on "pikarim" from Chun, Young Bok: The Korean Background of the Unification Church in Japanese Religions, Vol. 9 No. 2 p. 17 (July 1976) and also O, Se-Keun, ibid., pp 2098. Dr. Sin Sa-Hun also compares the ritual with the "ius primae noctis," which is not uncommon in tribal societies, which is the right or the duty of a chief to perform the first sexual intercourse. Besides the chief's claim, damage control was also probably important in this practice. (Sin, Sa-Hun: A Critique of the True Colors of the Unification Church - The Unification Church is not Christian, Lecture 4 May 1975, p. 6)

100. "In the Wine Ceremony we use a special wine which contains 21 kinds of things and also the blood of Father and Mother." Sudo, Ken: Internal meaning of Blessing in: Blessing Vol. I/2, p. 46 (30 Apr. 1977)

101. MS: 19/20 May 1978 "Father's speech: Preparation for blessing," p. 17.

102. "The ceremony goes like this, Husband and Wife face each other, but father is initially taking husband's position and he gives that particular Holy Wine to the wife. By taking this Holy Wine from Father you are supposed to be restored first, women are supposed to be restored first, then you restore your own husband, that is the way it goes." MS: 19/20 May 1978 "Father's speech: Preparation for blessing," p. 17

103. Kim Young-Whi: 8 Apr. 1984: "True celebration of Parent's Day," in Kim Young-Whi: Guidance, ibid., p. 125

Blessing

On the day after the wine ceremony comes the blessing by pairs of the members Mun accepts into his organization. During this, Mun and his wife appear in white garments and gold crowns and sprinkle the participants with a fluid that is sometimes called oil and sometimes called water. During this they ask questions about vows four times, from which it follows that the speech is not about a wedding ceremony, but about a union between Mun (or the "true parents") and the couples:

"Do you vow, as an original man and an original woman, to follow the Divine Law, and if you refuse, do you vow to accept responsibility for that?
Do you vow, as an ideal husband and as an ideal wife, to build an eternal family with which God can be happy?
Do you vow to inherit the divine tradition and as eternal parents of good to raise your children, and to be models of this standard before the family and before the world?
Do you vow, standing on the foundation of the ideal family, to be the center of love before society, the nation, the world and the universe?" [104]

Notes:

104. Documented in, for example, "Neue Hoffnung 11/1982."

Tang-Kam-Bong

After the public celebration comes a ritual beating (Korean: Tang Kam Bong), during which the partners punish each other. Now, for the most part, it is carried out in groups with non-participant observers, but it used to be held more frequently than not in Mun's presence, and sometimes he would even help. The partners beat each other vigorously on the rear with bamboo sticks (or, in America, with baseball bats). Not only is this supposed to drive out Satan and evil spirits, but the blows are to settle the score with Satan.

The Three-Year Period

Only after a long period of waiting (three years as a rule, but the time can be shortened for seniors for understandable reasons), the couple is permitted sexual intercourse. This condition has not lost force, but was corroborated during the most recent "mass wedding." [105]

Notes:

105. "Jesus did his official mission for three years, then was killed. So this three years is very important. During the three years Jesus was not married, so Father directs that the 30,000 couples separate for three years, September 1, 1992 until August 31, 1995 doing hard work for the Church," Tyler Hendricks, vice president of the Mun organization in the USA, forwarded Mun's instruction of 14 Sept. 1992. (Newsletter to the regional directors/offices and chiefs of 15 Sept. 1992, cited from FAIR News, Winter 1992/93, London, p. 12.

The Three-Day Ceremony

"Three nights long you must go through certain procedures. ... You will receive special instructions as to how you should go through the Three-Day Ceremony." [106]

According to reports from Korea, conjugal relations are ritualized to a high degree over the course of three nights. In the first two nights the woman takes the top position, and on the third night, the man does. This is supposed to symbolize restitution and reparation and make amends for the "Fall" of Adam and Eve.

"Your position in coming together as man and wife in the first and second night should be so that the woman is in the top position and the man in the bottom position. (...) The Fall of Man came at the peak of the expansion stage. The woman must be on top in coming together with the man, the position of the man is on the bottom. Anyway, on the third night, which is perfection, domination should be restored. Adam must re-establish domination, so that the man is on the top and the woman on the bottom. More about the details of the Three-Day Ceremony will be explained. But according to the Principle you really purify yourselves in the first night and do everything you are told. The man should perform three bows before his wife. The woman accepts the three bows and she occupies herself with her handling. The woman must be in the top position. The second night is a repeat of the first. But the third night is different. Up until the third night the women are in the subject and the men are in the object roles. On the third night, though, total domination is restored to the man. You restore your rightful authority as a husband in the third night. Therefore you receive three bows and you are in the top position." [107]

The couple are supposed to imagine that their intercourse partners are Mun or his wife Han, Hak-Ja. The meaning of conjugal intercourse is to conceive children of "true parents." As a result, when Munists give birth to children, the children are considered physical children of the "true parents," Mun and his wife.

To populate the earth with his new family and new humanity, Mun needs to attract as many young people as possible so, through him, they can become "perfect parents" of his descendants and bring many of his progeny into the world. In this way, all human lines are supposed to gradually be rid of Cain's Eve-Satan bloodline. This requirement, which resulted in recruitment solely of young, unwed people as full members, made the Mun movement the prototype of Youth Religion in Germany. Young people are required to sacrifice themselves entirely. First they are servants, in that they bring "Mun's children" into the world (physical exchange of bloodline!). But then even more is expected from young couples.

Notes:

106. MS: 19/20 May 1978, "Father's speech: Preparation for blessing," p. 17 [back-translated].

107. ibidem.

2. Life under the Blessing

The most precious sacrifice: Children

In recent years it has been heard more and more that directly after birth young couples in the movement give their children to other couples, who are elderly or childless AND WHO occupy a higher position. Proceeding from the viewpoint that Munist mothers are all "surrogate" mothers, and that parents are only vessels for children of "true parents," this procedure does not appear unthinkable; names of people who have partaken in this process are also known. There is even an official instruction for such a transfer of children.

In one of the journals for "blessed families," a leading movement ideologist, Kwak, Chun-Hwan, publishes information for the "Guidelines" in the form of answers to readers' questions:

"It is best to adopt a blessed child, as always, because this gives greater meaning to the family line. (...)
It is most ideal to adopt a child from one's own trinity (group of three at the Blessing). ... If it is not possible to obtain a child through the trinity, then receive one from the same Blessing Level; if that is not possible, then an arrangement with one or another blessed pair is acceptable. (...) Inwardly the gift of a child is part of the deepest love of a pair. Outwardly, the nine months of pregnancy and the labor and the delivery of the baby is not easy for the mother or the parents to get through. Therefore it advisable for you to have at least one of your own children first. This will bring solace to your heart if you make the most precious offering. It is also wise to offer up the child at an early age, even before the conception. However that is not a requirement.
Again, it is most ideal to offer a sacrifice for a childless couple in your trinity or Blessing Level. You can find a pair or a central figure yourself, or inform the Blessed Family Department that you desire to do this and it can be arranged through them." [108]

Notes:

108. Kwak Chun-Hwan: Questions and Answers in: Blessed Family, Vol 4, 1 April 1985 [back-translated].

Divine Law

The status of a "blessed couple" in the Mun movement is high. Couples are considered to be real members of Mun's family, but they still have special obligations, among which is regular attendance by at least one of the members of the blessed family at the religious events at the local center. Besides that, there are all the new campaigns and assignments, so that the spouses are separated, often for a long time. The assignments can be missionary work, fundraising or distribution of soft drinks. On top of this, separate work is expected from the blessed couple in their "home church."

The "divine law" includes another condition: after the blessing never hold out a hand to another. But since one cannot do this in the West, the now contaminated hands need to be cleaned with "holy salt" or at least cleaned with exhaled air. "In the strict sense one should be cleaning oneself every minute of the day." [109]

Notes:

109. See MS 19/20 May 1978, "Father's Speech Preparation for Blessing," p. 2. [back-translated]

Vow of the Families

Arising from this, in addition to the usual "vow," the "family vow" is pronounced in "blessed families":

We families, center of the universe, as vertically united brothers and sisters and flesh and blood of the True Parents before the new heaven, vow and swear before the true parents to earn possession of triumphant glory in that we will maintain our position by responsible deeds and in that we adhere to the laws of family and tradition that have been laid down by heaven. This I vow. This I vow. This I vow."

Since 1984 the closing of this vow, which is renewed weekly, had this sentence added:

"We vow this resolution and declaration in the spirit of the noble sacrifice of Jesus and Heung Jin Nim." [110]

Notes:

110. See "Father's Instructions for 1984," cited from "Today's World," Vol. 4, No. 1/2, January/February 1984.

3. Modifications in the Blessings?

When 30,000 couples were blessed, then it is questionable that all of them were subject to the same strict ritual of blessing and whether this would really be regarded as a "mass wedding." Actually the conditions for participating should be eased. According to reports from Japan, however, each Japanese participant is required to pay Mun nearly $8,000 as kind of a wedding payment. Mun requires of his adherents that each bring a minimum of three couples who would take part in the blessing ceremony, no matter whether they collaborate with the movement or not (yet).

It is clear that for at least those couples who now already belong to the movement, things do not get easier. Most recently, each couple needs not only to bring 12 flesh-and-blood children to the world and have 12 "spiritual children" on their account, but even have "120 blessed spiritual children," [111] meaning 60 couples. With the recruitment efforts now being undertaken, a mass blessing for 360,000 pairs would be held on the given day. [112]

Notes:

111. With this Tyler Hendricks, vice president of the Mun organization in the USA, forwards an instruction of 14 Sept. 1992 from Mun (from: newsletter to the regional directors/offices and chief of 15 Sept. 1992, cited from FAIR News, Winter 1992/93, London, p. 12)

112. ibidem.


VIII. Third Blessing: Perfect Dominion

1. Ideal dominion

The recognition of Mun as "lord of the universe" on an earthly level and the unification of all opposition in the "spirit world" are now supposedly done, and only remain to be carried out on the physical and political level. Therefore Mun's will is supposed to become universal law in the physical world, and the whole world is supposed to be "unified" under Mun's and his family's authority. Naturally the goal is the unity of the world through the establishment of "Chonguk," a "heavenly kingdom on earth," which in turn is a condition for opening the "heavenly kingdom of spirits." [113]

Rooted in "messianic-chiliastic" [114] Korean tradition the doctrine about the "heavenly kingdom on earth" and about "unifying religion and politics" [115] leads the Mun movement to a claim for absolute infiltration in the fields of politics, culture and religion. A number of organizations, firms, groups and associations with neutral and highly unintelligible names make up a networked structure that function along personal relationships. [116] In a self-description it says:

"Generally speaking the unification movement encompasses all important religious traditions and practically all fields of human activity." [117]

With this, all distinctions between politics and religion, economics and culture, as well as between economics and religion, are shed. In fact the common goal of various subordinate organizations is the creation "in every sphere" of an administration from Korea of a unified world under the dominion of the Mun family. To some extent these organizations, on paper in any case, have already been furnished with some of the prerequisites, as branches of the management of world government.

Notes:

113. "In Rev. Mun's personal tradition members are not primarily concerned with escaping the evil of the world in the hope of personal reward in heaven. We are much more concerned with practically and aggressively implementing the good of God at every level. It is our conviction that heaven must first be created here on Earth as a foundation for the eternal spiritual kingdom." [back-translated], Kwak, Chung-Hwan, Introduction in "Eine neue Vission fuer den Weltfrieden"/"A new vision for world peace" loc. cit., 1988, p. 1.

114. "Messianic" is what movements are called that live in anticipation of a savior or rescuer, or that believe they are led by one. Most, like the Mun movement, do not have a concept that corresponds to the Judeo-Christian term of messiah (Hebrew "Messias" or Greek "Christos" meaning the Anointed) and the concept of divine sovereignty that is association with it.
"Chiliasm" is really the doctrine and expectation of a thousand-year kingdom under the rule of Christ on earth. See John's revelations 20:1-20 (Greek chilioi: thousand). Movements are called chiliastic if they have an expectation of living in a comparable kingdom of justice on earth.

115. In the background are concepts from Korean religions, including "messianic" concepts of the book called "one just Lord" by Chung-Gam-Nok, a prophetic-political scripture of the 16th century. There are also concepts from the Chondogyo religion, a Korean new religion of the 19th century that still exists today. They foresee an earthly Paradise of the sort that is called "Chonguk" in the Mun movement. The harmony and/or unity of religion and politics of Kyojong Ilchi is also taught there. For details see: Frits Vos: Die Religionen Koreas, Stuttgart, Berlin, Loeln, Mainz 1977, as well as Charles Allen Clark: Religions of Old Korea, Seoul, 1961 (reprint).

116. See the book by Friedrich-Wilhelm Haack, "Das Mun-Imperium," which has comprehensive information about Mun front and cover organizations. Also see note 10.

117. Kwak, Chung-Hwan, Introduction in "Eine neue Vision fuer den Weltfrieden," ("A new vision for world peace"), loc. cit., 1988.

1. Composition and structure of the Mun movement

In the capacity of religious leader, "teacher" or "father," Mun is the absolute authority. But the leadership principle also functions at all levels of the entire movement, as well as in each of the component organizations. Each leader is designated "central figure." Each person is required to be absolutely subordinate to those above him or her.

On a level with Mun, his wife also figures at the present time into the structure of leaders, mostly in connection with the "Women's Federation for World Peace," perhaps because Mun's eldest son, Mun Hyo Jin, who has up to now been designated the "central figure of the second generation," it seems, is not fully up to fulfilling this goal. Leaders of the movement have no doubt at all that after Mun's death, leadership will remain in the hands of Mun's immediate family. [118]

MUN, San-Myung and wife
Special projects 36 Blessed couplesMun, Hyo Jin
Pres. CARP
Tong Il Religion Support Foundation
Business
CAUSATong Il Kyo Korean churchWorld Mission DepartmentPressCulture ActivitySeminarCARP Europe
Business GermanyCAUSA GermanyUC, USA Europe managementother regionsCARP Germany
VK Germany

Mun movement command structure. Copyright Gandow.

Notes:

118. For this see note 16.

The "In-law Club" and the "36 couples"

The primary management group consists of men who received the blessing of the "36 couples," [139] the first two "blessings" for the senior Korean members [120].

It seems to have become a custom that the children of these couples only marry among themselves, so that some of these couples are related to each other by marriage. Those who are connected with Mun's family by such ties are called the "In-laws Club." Therefore the idea of a unified humanity that transcends racial boundaries is not in effect at the top of Mun's movement. Men from the circle of the 36 couples provide management for all organizations, with the exception of CARP, which is led by Mun, Hyo-Jin, the "central figure of the second generation." The "church organizations" in a number of countries come under the leadership of the World Mission Department, which is also led by the "36ers." In the management of several regional "churches" one of the Koreans more often than not has the right of the real leader; if he is not from the 36, then by and large is one of those who obtained the blessing early enough to have a high level of blessing. In Europe, for example, national organizations are subordinate to the management of Kim, Young-Whi.

Sometimes, the city "centers" have a manager also represents the authority for the community. Besides them, there may be co-managers who function on the same level as the center, for example, the "Mobile Fundraising Team," which is often led by Koreans or Japanese.

Parallel to the church organizations in individual countries, front groups and commercial enterprises, which have their own international management, exist independently of them. At the highest levels they, too, are managed either by one of the old Korean members of the movement or by Mun's immediate family. For instance, the manager of "Tongil Industries" is Mun, Sung Kyun, Mun's cousin.

Notes:

119. On 16 Apr. 1960 Kim, Won-Pil; Eu, Hyo-Won (deceased); Kim, Young-Whi and wives received the "Blessing," and on 15 May 1961, another 33 couples.

120. "Some of you would not like to look up to these 36 couples, who are all Korean, but I tell you that you need them. Without them there is no foundation, no backbone for the UC. The backbone holds the central nervous system and connects it with each thread of the body. The 36 couples have this role in the UC." [back-translated] MS: 28 Oct. 1981, "The Historical Children's Day."

Membership

The movement has been saying for several years that the "church" has two million members worldwide. The rate of growth is not available. Critically minded observers, however, consider there to be at most 200,000 adherents. The number of "church members" in Korea is almost 20,000, which has been and still is strikingly small. However, the movement has met with great success in Japan, the USA and Latin America, although the number of members in the USA has stagnated at 10,000 in 55 regional centers.

Membership in Germany.
The 1985 "Handbuch Religioese Gemeinschaften" lists between 1,200 and 1,800 active members in Germany [121], but at the same time in an internal publication, the movement refers to "about a hundred" (! - T.G.) active members.

Although in 1993 Mun's movement released information "externally" that the "Unification Church" numbered 2,500 in Germany [123], in fact the organization could claim just 1/10th that, or about 250 members. But even 2,500 members would have been a sad result for thirty years of intensive recruiting, although perhaps that could be accounted for by the majority of German Munists living out of the country.

According to the movement's own information [124], in 1992 "Unification Church" communities were in 11 cities in Germany, and in 1993 communities sprung up in another 6 cities; outside of that, there are the home churches. [125]

Notes:

121. HRG, loc. cit., p. 651

122. Kim, Young-Whi: To stand on God's Side, 4 March 1984, p. 105, in Kim, Young-Whi: Guidance for Heavenly Tradition, Volume 2, publ. Vereinigungskirche e.V. Frankfurt am Main, KANDO Verlag GmbH, Moerfelden-Walldorf, 1985.

123. Vereinigungskirche e.V., press office, information on the Unification Church, p. 1, in PR chart "Presseinfo der Vereinigungskirche Deutschland e.V.," distributed in the Evangelical Church conference in Munich, June 1993.

124. Written press information of "Die Vereinigungskirche e.V., Allgemeines" from press spokesman Harald Spies on the occasion of the "Frauen Foederation fuer Weltfrieden e.V." event on 11 Nov. 1992 in Frankfurt am Main.

125. Press information of the Vereinigungskirche e.V. press office, "Informationen zur Vereinigungskirche e.V., delivered by press spokesman Harald Spies at the 1993 church conference in Munich.
Compared to this 16 "communities," the Unification Church 10 years prior, in July 1983, was still referring to 23 "information centers," and 30 a year before!

3. Assimilation of rights

If the case about the number of members of the "religious" part of the organization is examined, Mun's ideology does not appear very convincing. For instance, the overworked rank-and-file have the additional overwhelming task of constantly waging new recruitment campaigns. The movement - under a constant state of expense in this area - spends all its time "fundraising." However, there have not been any sort of stable results in Germany for a long time. For the most part, new German Munists were recruited abroad, in England and the USA. The situation, as it presents itself, has changed only after reunification, in the "new federal states," where the opportunity exists to attract part-time, as well as permanent, members into the movement for fund-raising.

The rapid growth of the religious branch, really, is unwanted and somewhat inconvenient for Mun's entire movement, but the difficulties associated with attracting new long term members, it seems, has never stopped the movement from trying to increase its political and economic influence.

While the movement strives to increase the number of members at its base, it also seeks to strengthen influence at its upper level, which does not claim title to the country and the people, but applies the appropriate measures to directly or indirectly own them.

For recruitment of members, there are "street missions" that use ultraimportunity ("love-bombing") [126] to offer two-, seven-, and 21-day courses; for fundraising there is false information ("heavenly deception", meaning something is pretended to attain a "heavenly" goal for Mun); to attract influential adherents, there are "scientific conferences" with high monetary fees and Mun's movement even views its industrial development is a means of deliverance from Satan, of purification, and of the promised regime change.

Notes:

126. "The greatest blessing that God gave us in the power to lay claim to people, but to claim a person, you need not pay. You must only teach him the Principle." [back-translated] MS: 19/20 May 1978, "Father's speech: Preparation for blessing," p. 3.

Assimilation of the Earth: Holy Ground

"Holy Grounds" are parcels of land that are now completely freed from the power of counteractive forces and that belong to God; they are ordinarily situated around a tree and often on public land, which however, is one day supposed to be purchased, and they represent the beginning of an effort to win back the entire earth for God. Once again the divine right to ownership of land is used. From here the territory of God is to spread to the entire country and then, to the entire world. [127]

When one finally gets an entire country, they are supposed to fill a jet with tons of holy salt and "salt" the land to "restore" the nation.

"What do we work for? We work for a world in which the holy salt ceremony is not needed... It is the philosophy of the Unification Church that we work day in and day out to claim more land for God. Every day we claim more possessions for God." [128]

According to an assessment related to Mun's real estate throughout all the world and the investments by Mun's movement, the amount involved comes to "at least five billion dollars. It goes without saying that the yearly income can be estimated from this sum." [129]

"We are buying more land, more and more we are buying up the satanic world, and through this are changing the satanic world into the heavenly world." [130]

Notes:

127. For the religious practices in connection with the Holy Grounds and the sites where Holy Grounds exist, see chap. IV.4.

Notes:

128. MS: 19/20 May 1978, "Father's speech: Preparation for blessing," p. 3 [back-translated]; there it also says [back-translated]: "If we restore the entire world for God, then we no longer need purification, but until then we are dealing with purification procedures every second of the day, purify everything before you use it."

129. Peter Odrich: "Mit dem Geld der Glaeubigen baut die Munsekte Autos und einen Tunnel," ("With the money of the faithful the Mun sect builds automobiles and a tunnel"), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), 28 Sep. 1990.

130. MS: 19/20 May 1978 "Father's speech: Preparation for blessing," p. 3. [back-translated]

The "restored" Mun industry

From the beginning, Mun did not restrict his movement to the spheres of religion, politics and culture, and he bought not only real estate, but also organized commercial enterprises. As far back as December 1959, that is four years before the official registration and licensing of the activities of the "Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity," Mun founded the Yeohwa Shotgun company that started out by producing air rifles, but later, as "Tong-Il Company Ltd." became the kernel of an industrial concern.

Now the company operates with sales in excess of 200 million dollars and with over 5,500 employees, but it began as an enterprise in the movement's backyard, in which the Munists put together air rifles. Today only 5% or less of the employees are said to belong to the Mun movement. Today "Tongil Industries" is the largest Korean machine tooling supplier. The company is a supplier for the automobile industry and works with arms producers. The president of the Tong-Il company is Mun, Sun-Kyung, Mun's cousin. Over 30% of the company belongs to the Tong Il Religious Support Foundation, the head of which is Mun, Seung-Yong, another relative of Mun.

"The business, however, remains cloaked in secrecy and one of the most puzzling secrets is in regards to the source of its rapid growth. Although profits were small or non-existent for many years, new capital did not stop flowing into the concern." [131]

Observers have repeatedly indicated that proceeds from fundraising is a source of capital for the firm. The German companies that are connected with Tong Il Industries have meanwhile become even bigger suppliers of equipment than the Korean company. According to a report from a company press conference, for example, since 1981 Tong Il has taken over three of the most quickly developing machine tooling companies in Germany: Wanderer-Werke GmbH in Haar near Munich, Heyligenstaedt in Giessen and Honsberg in Remscheid. The production in these companies was automated. The companies that Mun (verifiably) controls in Germany already have far more employees than there are adherents of Mun.

Other companies that are located in Korea, the USA and Germany produce and distribute ginseng tea and weapons. There is a fishing and fish-processing equipment industry, cleaning companies and publishing houses. One advertisement says: "Il Hwa is a company that operates in the field of health care whose products promote good health and include preventive and medicinal preparations." This deals with products that contain ginseng, including Ginseng-Up and a drink called McCol. The "blessed women" also participate in the sale of these drinks in Korea.

Notes:

131. Fred Hiatt in: Washington Post, 28 March 1988. [back-translated]

Religion as a substitute for motivation

In accordance with Mun's personal instructions, during sale of these malt-like drinks they are supposed to assert, among other things, that the purchase also serves to reunite Korea. About the results of consuming the drinks for the buyer's health nothing need be said, advises Mun, who himself is constantly occupied with instruction for salespeople and the development of motivation:

"Yesterday I was in our Il Wha company, which produces our McCol drink. This is a drink that we have received from God. Once a person starts drinking it, he'll always want to have it. Through this drink we will save the nation. We will sell it everywhere and give the money that we get from it to the people in North Korea. As it is, people spend money for drinks, but when we tell them that they are contributing to the salvation of the nation if they buy McCol, they will buy this one. Because men don't usually listen to women, take three bottles to the housewife and give them to her. She will like it and give it to her children. Then, of course, the husband will follow suit. The news will spread around town what a nice person you are because you are giving away this drink for free, so people will start to accept you. At that point you must call them to a meeting and tell them why you're doing this. You must tell them how important a time this is, and that you have left everyone, your spouse and children, to work. Tell them something about the unification of North and South Korea. Tell them how healthy McCol is, that is made from barley, and also that we sell it to get money for our project. There is only one small problem with this drink: because it's made from barley, the body digests it very quickly and the person becomes very hungry. Thus they tend to eat more and get fat. But we don't have to tell them that. You will travel in McCol trucks and be able to drive around the whole country." [132]

Since representatives of the firm are clearly not too inspired with such a radiant perspective, Mun also tried to introduce a supplemental motivation:

"Something could happen, and your children could die because you haven't done anything up to this point. That is our fate." [133]

Notes:

132. MS 20 May 1987 "Blessed Wives Special Meeting - (blessed wives from 430, 777 and 1800 couples)", p. 15. [back-translated]

133. loc. cit. p. 16. [back-translated]

Religion as an umbrella

Some of the little "real" religious organizations of the movement and the worldview part of company ideology is, in part, used as an umbrella to ward off critical inquiries and to conceal the scope of economic and political activity and financial dealings with reference to "freedom of religion and worldview." For instance, the commercial director of one of the businesses of Mun's empire even wrote, not without some threat to the author of this book, which was still being researched at the time with a critical position towards the activity of Mun in the German tool industry:

For several months I have been the executive operations manager of the Heyligenstaedt machine tooling factory in Giessen, an enterprise that has been part of the Korean Tong-Il public company since 1985.

From the Frankfurter Rundschau of 28 Feb. 1987 (...) and numerous other publications I became unpleasantly aware that the Evangelical Church was quite openly flouting the Basic Law of our state in the vilest manner, namely commenting libelously on a worldview, thereby endangering thousands of jobs at the corresponding German companies. I would like to impart to you here in all civility, but also with full clarity, that we do not at all intend to tolerate this." [134]

When in the summer of 1993, during Mun's attempted purchasing activities on the territory of Sachsen-Anhalt, backers of a sale to the Mun company said any sort of critical question concerning connections to Mun's empire was "directed against freedom of religion." Even the minister of economics at one of the federal states ardently defended the "Unification Church" (in connection with the planned purchases of the factory) as an "authorized religious organization." [135]

Notes:

134. Letter "DE/Ny" of 6 March 1987 to Rev Gandow, Berlin. "Seit einigen Monaten bin ich verantwortlicher Geschaeftsfuehrer der Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Heyliigenstaedt in Giessen, einem Unternehmen, das seit 1984 zur koreanischen Aktiengesellschaft Tong-Il gehoert. Aus der Frankfurter Rundschau vom 28.2.87 (...) und zahlreichen anderen Veroeffentlichungen muss ich bestuerzt zur Kenntnis nehmen, dass die evangelische Kirche ganz offensichtlich das Grundgesetz unseres Staates in uebelster Weise strapaziert, naemlich eine Weltanschauung verleumderisch kommentiert, und dadurch tausende von Arbeitsplaetzen der betreffenden deutschen Firmen gefaehrdet. Ich moechte Ihnen hiermit in aller Hoeflichkeit - aber auch in aller Deutlichkeit - mitteilen, dass wir dies keinesfalls hinnehmen werden."

135. At first the connections to Mun are denied: In contrast to the letter at hand of March 1987 it says that since 1987 they belonged to the "Happy Products" Japanese firm; after the Mun connection became apparent and the funding agency made its conclusion, Heyligenstaedt could only buy the firm if Heyligenstaedt separated itself from the Mun empire, the issue was about a possible new mother company: the Saeil Heavy, a Korean tool factory. The hook the funding agency had to swallow: that company also belonged to the Mun empire. (See Mitteldeutscher Express of 17 and 18 August 1993).

"Rehabilitation" through fundraising

The basic source of income and well of capital obviously was and continues to be fund-raising. Over and over again the collectors get motivation for endless work:

"This time our slogan for each fundraising team will be to collect 12,000 dollars a month, a high goal. A person can easily collect 3,000 a month, therefore, if I call up 3,000 people, what will be our takings? (900,000 dollars). But if I call up a thousand people, each of which will collect 3,000 dollars a month, then we work for 3 million dollars a month, a sum with which one can start to do something. I will train the fundraising teams to beat 3,000 a month, and if 10,000 people are mobilized, that gives 30 million monthly. Then we can buy the Pan-American airlines and the Empire State building. We will buy the Ford automobile company, not speak of the Empire State building. This is possible." [136]

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper reported in detail about fundraising being regarded in the Mun movement as a "form of meditation" [137] and an "opportunity to meet with God" [138] in its finance section. For the Mun movement it is an area of business activity:

"Those of the 'faithful,' who the Mun sect considers capable of doing business, after detailed instruction, are sent, as a rule, for four months, for simple outdoor duty. This basically consists of selling flowers and simple consumer goods (in large part fabrics and ceramics), from the groups, which are supposed to sell on the streets, in the markets and door-to-door." [139]

The existence of dubious exaggeration during fundraising has been shown in legal proceedings in Japan in which former members of the Mun movement have accused it of indoctrinating and forcing them to sell rural people expensive amulets as though they possessed supernatural characteristics or to do collections on streets as though to benefit refugees.

Notes:

136. MS: 22 Sep. 1974 "Where we are situated now," p. 11. [back-translated]

137. Charles E. Wheeler, "Fundraising as a Form of Meditation, The Way of the World," July 1976, pp. 55.

138. ibid, p. 53: "...fund-raising offers possibilities for deep, satisfying communion with one's inner self and indeed, with God." 139. Peter Odrich: "Mit dem Geld der Glaeubigen baut die Munsekte Autos und einen Tunnel," ("With the money of the faithful the Mun sect builds automobiles and a tunnel"), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), 28 Sep. 1990.

140. The Japan Times of 6 April 1999; Kim Young-Whi also reported that the spirit believe of the Japanese had possibilities for connection to the sale of especially expensive vases, pagodas, etc. Kim, Young-Whi, 9 May 84 "Father's Concern at Those Time" - To MFT Members, in: Kim, Young-Whi, Guidance, loc. cit., p. 195.

3.1 "Rehabilitation of people"

Recruitment

Today recruitment in the Unification Church and other secondary organizations of the Mun movement is done for the most part by CARP. CARP, in doing this, operates in colleges and universities as a "front organization" that offers programs with "non-members," and which is viewed there like any other student association. However the activists are not essentially students, but people who are studying who are taken from one place and brought to another. Basically the members of CARP are full-time Munists who often have not yet been "blessed." Their missionary activity is directed toward students and employees of universities who they use exclusively for fundraising. Even prospective graduates who are in their final semester are snatched from university life.

One letter from a concerned parent from Leipzig to politicians and counseling centers said:

"Our daughter, J., 24, started working on her diploma one month ago. She would have been in a position to graduate after two years, according to what the university said. She has been a member of CARP since 1991. These people got her so worked up that she broke off her studies. As parents, we are concerned that our daughter will give up her studies altogether. We got in contact with the director of CARP in Berlin, Mr. C., and we saw to it that our daughter was again released to study, but at the same time she had been recommended to study "The Divine Principles." To the questions as to whether these principles couldn't have been studied in the evening, we were told that they recommended people study these principles exclusively for a half year. To our second question of why she could not practice her career as a graduate psychologist we were told that there was no time to both work and study the Divine Principles at the same time. Members of the CARP group work only on occasion, when there is no money. Our daughter applied for a permit to sell pictures. As of Sept. 1, 1991 she has no hospital insurance nor is she paying social security or unemployment insurance. She's been told that she has to worry about that herself. As far as we can tell she has no income, because the proceeds from selling pictures are put at the group's disposal. As we ended our visit to Berlin we wanted to see the room in which our daughter was living, but the director of CARP declined. (...) After visiting this group it is clear to us that our daughter can no longer be talked to. Recently her entire presence has changed. She's lost any perception of reality.
Her greatest desire has always been ... to study. Now that is possible, she's not taking advantage of this chance and would rather sell books for the sect. Because of her low income, she'll probably go down the social scale. She doesn't even have hospital insurance. As parents, we cannot stand by and do nothing." [141]

In Europe most of CARP's members who used to study go back to studying after some time, but mostly where the organization puts them. In America, studies, as a rule, are stopped, at least for an undetermined amount of time.

Today CARP is the "hard core" of the "second-generation organizations" and the cutting edge of the Mun movement's recruitment organizations.

Notes:

141. (German-language) personal statements slightly edited, Gandow's archive.

Service for the Mun family

Money collected by fundraising can be used, in part, to exert influence. This influence and inclusion is realized through organization meetings and conferences. The participants in Munist conferences are told in advance that all expenses will be paid. Observers consistently point out that since these expenses are paid by the inviting party, it's unlikely the participants can be considered independent. In the Tarrytown training center, Mun himself told about how he rated these conferences and how they were financed:

"A good example is the science conference that is visited by hundreds of prominent scientists. They come with the attitude that they are doing us a favor. But now they see the value of what I am doing and are concerned about what they would do if I should stop the conferences. They welcome my presence.
What do you think? Should I continue the science conferences? Even if they cost millions of dollars? While you were doing fundraising, have you ever felt that in doing that you are contributing a small part to the science conference? Many of the participants have the power to influence important people, including the heads of state in their own country.
Nobody really worries about money and the budget, except me. I have to juggle all our worldwide projects to pay for everything. I know that in a few years we will have many more blessed children and I am concerned about how we will do all this. You don't worry about what will happen in ten years, but I always have to plan very far into the future." [142]

Notes:

142. MS: 23 Dec. 1979 "The Contrast between Secular People and Us". [back-translated]

Rehabilitation of Senators

American senators are also supposed to be "rehabilitated." Mun started working on that back in the early 1970s. He tried to use "PR teams" to establish "friendly relations" with US senators.

"Master will assign three young women to each Senator. (...) To rehabilitate the Senators, you must first offer them your help to their friends, especially the secretaries." [143]

Later it became more clear about the girls called "PR sisters":

"Master needs good-looking girls, 300. He will assign three girls to each Senator, that means we need 300. Allow yourself to have a good relationship with them. One is for the election, one is the diplomat, and one is for the party. If you girls cover the senators in various areas, then the Senator can simply be overcome by our members." [144]

Notes:

143. MS: 29 Dec. 1971. [back-translated]

144. MS: 7 May 1973 "Untitled Address on Training Plans" (40-Day Training Session). [back-translated]

4. Exerting influence: the front organizations

Thanks to front organizations, the movement today has several million followers, some of whom are ignorant of this. The covert operations they initiated or support could have global political consequences. The central points in which Mun exerted influence in 1993, in order of precedence, is Japan, the USA, Latin America, South Korea and western Europe.

Mun's various subordinate organizations can be categorized three ways:

There is no great difference for individual members as to which organization they are in, because dealings among them can happen at any given time.

The most important organizations represented in Europe are described below, according to the field of activity.

Religious front organizations

AWR: The "Assembly of World Religions" was founded in the USA in 1985. It's so-called "sponsor," the International Religious Foundation (IRF), was also founded by Mun. AWR was developed at the fourth annual IRF conference, which at first was conducted in the framework of the "New ERA" (Ecumenical Research Association). In his opening speech, Mun called upon religious leaders of the world to come together and "encourage" the "purification movement" in all religions [145]
CARP: has been mentioned as a recruitment organization and an "organization of the 2nd generation" in Mun's movement. Founded in 1962 and active in Germany since 1974 it appears in the following forms:
- as a "normal" student organization, when its name is deciphered as the "Collegiate Association for the Research of the Principle." It is set forth externally as a university group that is open for anyone. It has a program made interesting for the semester and offers international exchange, etc.
- as a sort of student congregation of the "Unification Church." But again, at the same time, this still means an association for the "Divine Principle," but not necessarily for any sort of basic research.
- CARP can also be designated as a youth branch of CAUSA (see below).

CWR: "Council for the World's Religions," like AWR, was formed in 1984 as a project of the International Religious Foundation (IRF), which Mun founded; it arranged conferences and periodic deliberation to "bring religious leaders together." CWR's patron was bishop Mar Paulos Gregorios, who, for a time, was one of six presidents of the World Council of Churches. Mar Paulos Grigorios (worldly name: Paul Verghese) for a while was so "leftwing" and so critical that he refused to take part in the WCC meeting, which was held in Israel; now he is not unaware, but quite uncritically and entirely consciously lets his reputation as one of the WCC presidents be exploited by Mun's movement.
FRW: The Forum Religion und Weltgestaltung (Forum Religions and World construction) was founded in 1984 as a project of the IRF to assemble any interested theologians and managers who were interested in religion; it operated in Germany mainly in the new German states (periodic conferences).
HARP: the Highschool Association for Research of Principles" is an association of older students for the study of the Principles, as the British Mun movement reported [146]. This organization was intended to reach 12-16 year-olds. As it first turned out, it included children of those who joined the movement or sympathized with it.
IOWC: the International One World Crusade was formed in 1972 as a missionary organization of the Unification Church, with international participation in recruitment campaigns in various places.
IRF, as already mentioned, the International Religious Foundation, was founded in 1963 to hold conferences of religious leaders. Under this umbrella, it is evident that coordination of various forms of interreligious and ecumenical actions of the Unification Church are being implemented.
New ERA is supposed to mean New Ecumenical Research Association. It was founded 1980 to win Christian preachers and theologians.
RYS: Religious Youth Service is a program of the IRF for young people of different religions (includes work with social projects).
YSWR: Youth Seminar on World Religions invites students to travel through the world on the Mun movement's account "to get acquainted with other religions and learn tolerance." Critics see in this an advance attempt to net future clergy and religious instructors for Mun. [147]

Notes:

145. From the transcript of the Mun speech at the opening of the AWR in the "Washington Times" of 4 Dec. 1985. [back-translated]

146. Unification Newsletter, 3/4 1986.

147. Haack, Munimperium, loc. cit., p. 223.

Culture

ICF: the International Cultural Foundation, founded in Japan in 1968, is a medium for the movement's cultural-political activity. The goal of the ICF is the creation of a "completely new world culture," which is supposed to be "oriented toward God."
Little Angels is a ballet troupe financed by the ICF which formerly performed as an official troupe of the Korean state national ballet.
New York Symphony Orchestra is what the orchestra founded by Mun's movement in 1972 calls itself; probably the name of a traditional orchestra was obtained through purchase.
Wonhwa-Do, "The Path of Harmony" is a Mun version of karate. In a self-presentation it says:

"Wonhwa-Do unites the Unification Principle with the physical and mental training of martial sports. In the words of the founder Dr. Seuk, Joon-Ho, we can through Wonhaw-Do be 'child-like and loyal sons and daughters of God: strong and brave, but also humble fighters for divine things.' The forms used in Wonhaw-Do have a spiritual meaning: each motion and every sequence of motions corresponds to a metaphysical principle or a history era. Wonhwa-Do is a religious exercise, meditation, or even divine service, embodied in diligent but relaxed action. The 'motion of the triumph of heaven' (Chun Seung Eui Hyung), for example, was named after the day of the triumph of heaven, proclaimed on 4 October 1986. There are 10 sequences of attack movements that mean the month of October and four throwing movements that symbolize the fourth day of the month. The movement as a whole consists of 76 motions, which represent the year 1986..." [148]

Thus the advertisement for the Wonhwa-Do group as merely a sport is a "heavenly deception." The question arises of whether public premises are implicitly used for "religious exercise, meditation or even divine service" and whether it would not be better to leave athletic associations and sports fans the form, stripped of its ideological lining.

Notes:

148. Unification News 11/1983 p. 9. [back-translated]

"Scientific" front organizations

ICUS: The International Conference on the Unity of Sciences collects supporters and sympathizers from the spheres of science and politics at conferences; the expenses for the conference and the hefty fees paid to speakers are assumed by the Mun movement itself. At first they were successful in inviting even Nobel prize winners to the ICUS conference, but now the participants, for the most part, are second-rate scholars who otherwise would have difficulty in obtaining invitations to international conferences. The participants also include elderly scholars who conference organizers are interested in for their connections. ICUS, as with PWPA, being financed by the Mun movement, also collaborates with prominent scholars in Germany, even including theology professors.
PWPA: founded in 1973, the Professors World Peace Academy also has professors (including theologians) and organizes them on a somewhat stricter foundation than mere sympathizers of Mun.

Political front organizations

CAUSA: founded in 1980, the Confederation of Associations for the Societies of the Americas today is a political organization active throughout the world that is supposed to fill the ideological vacuum in the fight against communism with the ideology of "Munism" (as well as "godism"). They recruit people at seminars and workshops that are conducted in the best hotels. In doing this the basic role is to perform the "ideology of godism." To the naive observer it appears as the least common denominator of theism. However this is just another name for Munism.

CAUSA in Germany. In November 1987 a representative described the organization as a:

"spiritual-political movement that functions in approx. 40 countries, ... has over 15 million members worldwide, was founded in 1980 by Reverend Mun, the head of the Unification Church, is not a religious movement, but pursues a single goal: spiritual-political conquest of world communism.
CAUSA can set this unique goal for itself because it is constructed similarly to the world communist movement, it exhibits a clear program - global confrontation of the challenge of world revolutionaries - and has at its disposal vast financial means to conduct such a fight. These means are provided by a worldwide business empire - industrial concerns, banks, insurance companies, etc. Causa International has two dozen suborganizations, like World Media Association, International Security Council, CARP (an international student organization) etc. (...) The leading representative of the conservative spiritual elite, my friends Prof. Rohrmoser, Prof. Hornung, Prof. Loew, work together with Causa Germany, during which none of us is attached to the Unification Church, of course. Nor does anyone expect that of us.
Furthermore this Unification Church, into whose operations I have had a look, has nothing in common with obscure mystical sects. Otherwise it could not support CAUSA with international performance ability." [149]

FGF: the "Forum fuer Geistige Fuhrung" ("Forum for Spiritual Leadership"), an initiative of CAUSA Germany, act to collect "responsibility-aware" political staff. Konrad Adam sarcastically described the speakers and participants in the Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung (FAZ):

"The guest speakers were or are the political scholar Konrad Loew, the former General Guenter Kiessling, Alfred Schickel from Ingolstadt and Guenther Rohrmoser, the most flexible of them all, who preaches in the Catholic academies, at the Daimler-Benz anniversary and most recently also for the Moonies. (..) The Moonie background, we are assured, is unrecognized; but if it is recognized, they tell us, then it plays no role; but if it nonetheless plays a role, then one should be careful not to deal with that sort of thing. Even in the invitation, in the programs and in the welcoming speeches by the masters, who are served and named in all candor, a form of self-defense is set up in advance, whereby one should no longer take the written and spoken word seriously. One is to appear as one who reads nothing that comes into the building, does not hear what others say, and as onebwho doesn't believe what he can read or hear."

FAZ describes the audience as:

"the old crowd milling around that thinks it can shove without being shoved back. With a claim to leadership, even if it was spiritual leadership, this forum could be taken over as was the Harzburg Front* in its time." [150]

*Harzburg Front: 1931 coalition of the NSDAP, the German Nationals, the "Steel helmets," the All-Germans and certain individuals against Bruening's democratic German government. Broke up in 1932. Engl. trans. note.

FFW: registered as the "Frauen Federation fuer Weltfrieden, e.V." ("Women's Federation for World Peace"). This organization was also founded in Germany during a world tour by Mrs. Han, Hak-Ja, Mun's wife, who is still banned from entry into Germany by the federal government. According to Mun movement concepts, women are supposed to sacrifice themselves for the founder of the movement.

IFVC: founded in 1968 to reinforce anti-communist operations, at first under the name of "International Federation for Extermination of Communism" (IFEC), but which is now the International Federation for Victory over Communism. In its founding appeal, it said that there could never be eternal peace so long as communism existed.

ISC: CAUSA also includes the "International Security Council," which holds periodic conferences with prominent politicians and military men. Those who have spoken for or signed documents for it include former NATO General Secretary Joseph Luns, member of Parliament Franz Ludwig Graf Stauffenberg, former defense minister of the Federal Republic of Germany Kai Uwe von Hassel and British member of Parliament Major Sir Patrick Wall.

ISR: this is a series of conferences arranged by CAUSA for prominent politicians and military to warn of the dangers to the "free world" from the Soviet Union, or now of the next danger that Mun sees on the horizon.

SCWP: The Summit Council for World Peace" is a conference for "former heads of state and governments." It played a certain role in the Mun conferences in Moscow in 1990.

Notes:

149. Cited from F.W. Haack, Munimperium, p. 49.

150. Konrad Adam: "Wie man geistig fuehrt - Ein truebes Forum und seine Hintergruende" ("How one leads spiritually - a melancholy forum and its background"), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), 24 Feb. 88.

Mun movement press

If the government does not suit the people, they should select a new one," a poet once advised a dictator. If the empire is not happy with its coverage in the press, it simply establishes its own newspaper. Mun's movement and CAUSA are gathering influence with the help of Mun's press empire. In the USA the liberal "Washington Post" is countered with the "Washington Times," which belongs to Mun, and which creates a voice in the capital city for the supposedly conservative politics of Mun. [In addition to this the author names various English and Spanish language newspapers in both North and South America.]

Like normal newspapers, the Mun newspapers report on actual events, but they also give extensive coverage to the conferences of the Mun movement and of the views of the political groups that are patronized by the Mun movement.

The Mun movement exerts influence in its own and other newspaper's spheres in the media world with the "World Media Association" front group and the "World Media Conference" for journalists.

5. Mun movement as politics

Mun's teachings do not only talk about "truth, beauty and good," as anyone can read in the "Divine Principle." That decisively refers to the ultimate battle in which everything by Satan's side that was wrongly seized will be conquered, and so the world will be newly unified.

World War

It is prophesied that the goal of this restoration is three world wars. The last decisive battle, however, has supposedly still not come about. The German version of the "Divine Principles" says that:

"it has to do with the Third World War, which must inevitably come, but which can be fought in two kinds of ways. The first consists of the possibility to conquer the Satanic side using force of weapons, and then induce a Unification. However, since the ideal world, which is supposed to bring joy, cannot be established by conquering the enemy only in the external plane by use of weapons, this external victory must follow a victory on the internal plane with the effect that all people can rejoice from the bottom of their hearts. (...)
The second alternative would be to conquer the Satanic world on the ideological plane, which means through an exclusively internal struggle without any use of external weapons and to induce a Unification. Since people possess the capability of thought, a perfectly unified world can then only come about if it submits and is unified on the path of reason.
Which path is taken to waging war around this ONE WORLD depends on whether man fulfills his share of the responsibility or not." [151]

The possibility of a massive, physical, including military, conflict is formulated repetitively:

"Once we have this strengthened unity here in America first, then the last enemy is Soviet Russia, the "March to Moscow" will be our slogan.
The new command begins today. (...) We fight with our lives to reach the final victory." [152]

That these are not symbolic actions becomes clear in a different spot in the same speech where it says:

"... we have this physical battle to fight and we must reach this physical victory. When you take a look at the world situation today, don't you then feel this necessity?" [153]

Wars in Cambodia, Nicaragua, Afghanistan and South Africa were assessed as these physical conflicts. However, after the Moscow rally, it is now deemed that the "Third World War" is (for the time being) ended. Now it's a matter of bringing about the internal unification of the world.

Notes:

151. GP, pp. 529.

152. MS, 1 July 1973, "The significance of July 1st 1973," p. 6. [back-translated]

153. ibid, p. 8.

Political direction: "Divine Socialism"

In accordance with the "Divine Principles," the Mun movement strives to replace a representative party, democratic rule with the "blessed" elite:

"... so the functions of a political party of an ideal society must also be brought about by the Blessed..." [154]

Finally Mun's movement supports an "organic" and "theocratic" model of government, in which Mun ("I am your brain") would employ unlimited power:

"Just like the organs of the human body move according to orders from the brain, so must all organizations of the ideal world follow only the order of God." [155]

It is frequently debated about whether the social concept of Mun's movement would go into the scheme of the right or the leftwing. But the "Divine Principle" also says:

"The end goal is therefore a socialistic form of society with God as center point." [156]

Communism is supposed to replace by Munism {!), "godism," or "unificationism."
The combination of contradictory "right and left" is part of the strategic concept of Mun's movement. After all the goal, above all else, is to use CAUSA (formerly through the "Victory over Communism" organization) to spread the "new orientation" and ideology of "godism"

"to rebuild the communist society, but also to stop the dangerous tendency of development in the West." [157]

In doing this the movement wants to establish a "third path," "godism," or the "Headwing civil movement," and to

"adapt the political concepts of the left and right." [158] Also the unification of Europe (needs) an arsenal of fundamental values ... so that economic or political relationships do not get stuck halfway."

it says in a presentation of the Mun movement. [159]

Notes:

154. GP, loc. cit., p. 507.

155. GP, loc. cit., p. 506.

156. GP, loc. cit., p. 481.

157. Dieter Schmidt, vice president CAUSA, Germany: "Die Notwendigkeit einer neuen Orientierung" ("The need for a new orientation") in "Ein Frohes Fest Deutschland", publ. CAUSA Germany, p. 19. It is a brochure for CAUSA to distribute on Christmas 1989/90.

158. ibid.

159. ibid.

5.1 Mun movement and the KCIA

It was originally thought in the search for the political roots and motivations of Mun's ideology that perhaps Mun himself had been training to a totalitarian ideology in North Korea. Since 1960, the Mun movement has asserted the opposite: Mun's anti-Communist ideology is said to be the "counterproposal" he developed after his very painful experiences in North Korea. There is, however, a clear indication of a political influence implemented by the Mun movement much later in South Korea in connection with the preparation and carrying out of the 1961 coup and the regime of General Park, Chung-Hee that was then established.

"In the late 1950's, Moon's message was favorably received by four young, English-speaking Korean Army officers, all of whom were later to provide important contacts with the post-1961 Korean Government. One was Pak Bo Hi, who had joined the ROK Army in 1950. Han Sang Keuk (aka Bud Han), a follower of Moon's since the late 1950's, became a personal assistant to Kim Jong Pil, the architect of the 1961 coup and founder of the KCIA. (...) In the period immediately after the coup, Kim Jong Pil founded the KCIA and supervised the building of a political base for the new regime. A February 1963 unevaluated CIA report stated that Kim Jong Pil had 'organized' the UC while he was KCIA director and had been using the UC "as a political tool." (...) The term ‘organized’ as used in the report is inaccurate to the extent that it is equivalent to ‘founded’ or suggests that Kim Jong Pil began the Moon movement." [160]

In any case there is clear documentation of guidance or influence by the KCIA intelligence services continued up through the 1970s. [161]

Notes:

160. Fraser report, loc. cit., p. 354. The German was cited from translation 217/82 of the Landtag of Nordrhein-Westphalia of 30 Aug. 1982.

161. For instance, the Mun movement was engaged by the KCIA for a planned anti-Japanese demonstration on 12 September 1974, which was stopped on very short notice by the KCIA. See Fraser report, loc. cit., pp. 344; Mun deals relatively directly with it in his speech MS: 22 Sep. 1974, "Where we are situated now."

5.2 Self-dynamics of the Mun movement

It is possible that this guidance and influence lasted for some time. However, among the sources that motivated Mun's movement, on a level with autonomous Korean "chiliastic-messianic" tradition and on a level with Mun’s convictions in his role of "lord of the universe," which he articulates repeatedly, should also be considered a purely personal mundane wish of Mun for power, and also the internal dynamics of the world enterprise which at this time has achieved a great size. In practice, for Mun, everything is a matter of a world system, at the center of which are he and his family, meanwhile society itself can be organized in any terms at all. So now the movement really sees no difficulty in promoting mostly right-wing, but if necessary, leftwing, organizations, as long as it increases his influence. [The author names functionaries of the Mun movement in Germany with a political character.]

Rightwing Extremism

Mun's German adherents are not alone in political extremism. Pierre Ceyrac, a

"Mun adherent and general secretary of CAUSA Europe was elected into the French parliament in March 1986 for the extremely rightwing National Front platform. ... He entered the French Unification Church in the early 1970s. He was the director of the "Centers in Lyon," then a lecturer for the Mun movement's 'courses' until he finally became general secretary of CAUSA Europe. (...) One of the close helpers of the Mun movement, Mr. Gustav Pordea, Romanian by birth and who gained French citizenship in 1983, ended up on the Le Pen (Nationale Front) platform on place 4 in the European parliament. (...) Munies are also very useful for political campaigns: they can address envelopes, tirelessly make posters, print leaflets on their own printing presses and distribute them door to door and play bodyguard, all without pay. France is perhaps the first country in which a Mun leader was elected to Parliament."

it says in a report from France. [162]

Notes:

162. Gandow's archive (abridged).

Mun Movement in the Japanese Parliament

In the 1993 Japanese elections the movement also succeeded, with the help of a new political party, of putting one deputy into parliament. This is the same Mun movement that became the first of the "youth religions," which, being part of a governing coalition, took part in governing one of the largest industrial countries. Outside of that, three representatives they guide reportedly won election to the Tokyo city parliament.

The big plan: March to Moscow

Mun has been speaking about a march to Moscow for a long time:

"Once we have this strength in the United States, then the last enemy is Soviet Russia, then the march to Moscow becomes our slogan. The new command begins today. We fight with our lives to attain the final victory." [163]

Mun more clearly specified his plan:

"The world is the goal. Our goal is now Moscow, the symbol of communism. Just the name of Moscow sounds great, doesn't it? [164]

"The world is the goal." With that, it is clear enough that the alleged fight against communism is also only a stepping stone on the path to the "divine socialism" of world dominion for Mun and his movement.

Notes:

163. MS: 11.11.1976 "The Age of Judgment and Ourselves," p. 9 ??? [back-translated]

164. MS: 11.11.1976 "The Age of Judgment and Ourselves," p. 9. [back-translated]

Preparations

The movement has already been trying to establish contacts in eastern block countries for a long time. The German movement also always deliberately appealed to those resettled from the GDR and to certain refugees from there to establish contacts in the GDR; from the other side, they carried out attempts to have an influence on the East with the help of numerous demonstrations, as well as symbolic actions.

For example, on May 1, 1984, CARP began

"a particular operation in which 12 of its members smuggled books into East Berlin about the "Divine Principle," the intellectual property of Rev. Mun. They gave out books to those who, when asked if they believed in God, answered "yes." [165]

At the same time CARP arranged, in West and East Berlin, seven spots along the wall sites for "holy ground," locations that were delivered from Satan in a special ritual and put under Mun's dominion so that people could regularly gather there in prayer.

The symbolic activities included the performance on June 17, 1984 on Bernauer Strasse, where representatives of 21 nations shouted from an observation tower in all their own languages in a pouring rain, among other things:

"Brothers and sister in the East! We will never forget you!" [166]

In 1987 in West Berlin, a congress of the Munist CARP organization was held, during which there was a demonstration, which moved in the direction of the wall, accompanied by the sound of Korean drums. Now the deciding role in the fall of the Berlin wall is said to be the "tearful prayer" of son and heir of Mun, Hyo Jin.

After November 9, 1989, Dieter Schmidt, vice president of CAUSA, personally tried to establish contact in East Berlin with a "New Forum" and visited its "headquarters." However he appears not to have been cordially welcomed:

"As a westerner I also sensed that both I and my companions were met with a certain skepticism." [167]

Notes:

165. Claus Dubisz: "CARP und die Berline Mauer in: Ein Frohes Fest Deutschland," publ. CAUSA Germany, p. 14. This is a brochure from CAUSA for distribution over Christmas 1989/90.

166. ibidem p. 15.

167. Dieter Schmidt: "Die Notwendigkeit einer neuen Orientierung in: Ein frohes Fest..." loc. cit., p. 15.

Eastern Europe

In eastern Europe there was less skepticism. Rev. Kwak Chung-Hwan, chairman of the Munist ICF organization (International Cultural Foundation) and the IRF (International Religious Foundation) had already traveled to eastern Europe in fall of 1989. In October 1989, he turned up in Poland where, according to him, he got as far as Lech Walensa. The PWPA (Professors World Peace Academy" organization had already been allowed into Poland in June. From the beginning, all arrangements were supposed to be made under this innocent sounding cover, and an entire palette of Munist organizations were immediately and openly founded and began their corresponding activities.

At a conference of 8-11 December 1989 the Munist leaders from all eastern Europe, the "underground people," managed to assemble, who today have academic rank and some of whom are professors. In Hungary the Mun movement also arranged a conference on the problems of education in Europe. The general secretary of the Hungarian Church Council himself participated in this Munist conference.

Recruitment with Karate

In the Soviet Union the Mun movement got far with the help of the establishment of Wonwha-Do Clubs (see above); the movement had converted parts of an existing karate club. The first tests were reviewed by CARP director and Won-Hwa-Do inventor Joon, Ho-Seuk. In doing that the first form, "Sawi Gidae Eui Hyung," was developed. It said in a success report:

"Every examinee must explain the meaning of 'Sawi Gidae Eui Hyung' and say it in Korean. (...) Hearing these people call out the aspects of the Divine Principle in Korean with such power, that was a moving moment. It was the first time that Soviet citizens had spoken these words about the unity of spirit and body, unity of man and woman and about the four-position foundation. It was amusing and exciting for the instructors." [168]

Notes:

168. Unification News 1/1990, p. 12. [back-translated]

Audience with the Metropolitan Philaret

The first high point of the march to Moscow was a conference of Mun's "Council of World Religion" (CWR) in Moscow from 28 October to 1 November 1989 in the Danilov cloister about the "Trinitary basis of Christian unity." Mun envoy Kwak, Chung-Hwan could get into the country only by special invitation from the Russian Orthodox Church, which was one of the organizers of the conference, since until that time there had been no relations between the USSR and South Korea. He was given an audience with the Metropolitan Philaret (Vakhromeeva, Russ. trans. note). Kwak requested support for Mun's movement from him. The Philaret responded with preliminary caution:

The world is full of sects and cults. But it was always the mission of the Russian Orthodox Church to work together with genuine religions and to support them. So I look forward to the opportunity of welcoming the Unification Church to work in Russian society." The report says, "Then Rev. Kwak expressed his appreciation and we left." (Frank Kaufmann: CWR in Spain and the Soviet Union in: Unification News 1/1990 p. 8. [back-translated[)

A little later the Philaret, who in the meantime became the Metropolitan of Minsk and Grodno and Exarch of Belorussia, accepted an invitation to an AWR conference on 15-21 August 1990 in the USA and let himself and his wife be photographed with Mun.

6.1 Mun meets Gorbachev

However, all this was surpassed in the eyes of Mun's followers with the appearance of their leader and former "smoldering anti-communist" at the World Media Conference in Moscow, paid for by them on 4 - 13 April 1990. Gorbachev made a short appearance at the conference, then received Mun for a half hour.

Mun prepared for this action with an interview in the Russian "Za Rubezhom" newspaper of 17 Nov. 89; reprinted in the western Mun newspapers, this interview served to prepare the adherents for a significant change of course:

"I congratulate President Gorbachev... he is a man of great courage and great conviction... I treasure the courage and the ideas of President Gorbachev. I would like to support his program in every possible way I am able, so that it succeeds... I am not an enemy of the USSR...
I'll say in advance that through President Gorbachev's efforts for true democratization and true religious freedom, the Soviet Union is not only keeping apace with the West, but is overtaking it...
I sincerely hope that I will soon have the opportunity of visiting your beautiful homeland..." [169]

According to a report of the Korean Mun Seggye Ilbo newspaper of 13 April, Gorbachev thanked Mun repeatedly at a meeting in the conference for retired politicians:

"I thank you just as much for the spiritual and moral support that you have given me so far... I would like to most deeply express my thanks that media people from all over the world (through the World Media Conference) have the opportunity to dismantle your prejudices against the Soviet Union... I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for them having created this opportunity... More than anything else, I hope that through the economic foundation which the Unification Organization has in many lands, you can use your worldwide organization to directly and indirectly contribute to the development of the Soviet Union. I hope you will do this. [170]

Observers go so far as to accuse the present Russian government, the "Gorbachev foundation," of having

finagled illegal income of several hundred thousand dollars

in association with Mun. [171]

"The march to Moscow was the triumphant high point of Rev. Mun's 44 years of public service" said [back-translated] a report in a special supplement of the American "Unification News." A number of prominent politicians were present, including, among others, former prime minister G.Z. Singh (India), L. Echeverria (Mexico), A. Gemayel (Lebanon), R. Carazo (Costa Rica), R. Eanes (Portugal), B. Ecevit (Turkey) and J. Luns (former general secretary of NATO). The original list of participants also had a prominent German politician on it.

In the framework of the conference, various prominent members of the Gorbachev team also received a Mun award:
"The great cross of the Latin American Order for Freedom and Unity was conferred upon various personalities in the Soviet Union for their contribution to the process of liberalization in the USSR. These included:
Mr. Yiri Yakovlev, member of the PolitBuro and Member of the Presidential Council, rank of commander with gold medal;
Mr. Yuri Andrevich Osipyan, vice president of the Academy of Science for the USSR and member of the Presidential Council;
Mr. Ivan Frolof, chief editor of Pravda and secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU" [172]

The stroll after the conference of Mun with his family ("Mrs. Mun wore a raincoat with hood, Rev. Mun walked without a jacket") across Red Square and a short visit to the Resurrection Cathedral, according to the Mun movement, was "the prophesied March on Moscow," "the liberation of God" and the "resurrection of the human race." [173]

Notes:

169. "Za Rubezhom" ("Abroad"), 12 June 1989.

170. cited from "Unification Briefing," 5/90, p. 1 & 3. [back-translated]

171. According to Anne Herbst in the "Glaube in der 2. Welt" periodical, 20th year of publication, Nr. 12 - 1992, similarly also the Russian journalist Natalya Babasyan, who herself took part in several Mun seminars in the former SU.

172. "Report on Moscow Rally" by Antonio Betancourt, Vice president of the Summit Council for World Peace and the Association for the Unity of Latin America (AULA), fax manuscript of the World Media Association of 5 Mar. 90, p. 5. [back-translated]

173. "The miracle that I saw in Moscow," T. Hendricks, in: Unification News 5/1990. [back-translated]

Strategy for the East

One of the East experts of the Mun movement exulted that the opportunities in eastern Europe were really unlimited.

"And leaders here are indeed a rare commodity. We must orient ourselves towards that for the 1990s." [174]

Consequently the Mun movement concentrated on delivering the so-called "International Leadership Seminars." What Russian job-holders thought was a type of training in western management and democratic "ideology" was simply Mun's introductory seminars, from the 2- and 3-day workshop to the 21-day course [175]. Thousands of students and professors from the CIS states were indoctrinated on trips to the USA, there were tens of thousands of instruction sessions given on location in the CIS states, some of which had so much demand that the course fees were even increased and attendees could be asked if they were ready for the next step right afterwards. (Also see chap. 1.)

Notes:

174. Gordon L. Anderson, "Teaching Unificationism in Poland" in Unification News 1/1990, p. 6 [back-translated[

175. See the personal report of Russian journalist Natalya Babasyan, who herself took part in two seminars and who spoke about her motives and experiences: "Wir sind die Kinder Gottes" - How Russian teachers get "continuing education" in Mun seminars in "Glaube in der 2. Welt," 20th year, Nr. 12, 1992.

March to Pyongyang

Mun's real goal, however, is still to unite "the fatherland" (Korea).
"North Korea rolls out red carpet to welcome Mun," announced Japanese newspapers on 2 Dec. 1991. The Japan Times presumed that the bankrupt Stalinist regime of North Korea had invited Mun as a

"wealthy businessman to discuss the foreign aid that Pyongyang needed to prop up its crippled economy." [176]

Kim, Il-Sung, last Stalinist "Great Leader" of the last Stalinist land, as well as - titles in Korea are as beautiful and important in the North as well as the South - "Sun of the Nation" and "Loved and honored Father" had sent a special plane to Peking to pick up and bring to North Korea his waiting quasi-colleague Mun, Sun-Myung, who himself was also the "Loved and honored True Father," along with his wife and retinue.
Mun was rated by the chairman of the North Korean "Committee for Aid for Countrymen Overseas," Yun, Ki-Bok, as

"a man known far and wide in the homeland and abroad, who is always diligently involved in the future of the nation and the reunification of Korea."

With his own ideology, "Godism" or "Munism," a mixture of personality cult, spiritism and "purified" communism and nationalism, Mun intends to offer, besides possible economic aid, an ersatz ideology for the rather extreme personality cult in North Korea, along with "saving" the West.

Notes:

176. Japan Times 2 Dec. 1991 [back-translated].

Anti-communism and Munism

Observers have already pointed out that the anti-communism of the Mun movement is not the primary concern and not the central point of belief for the Mun movement, even if it seemed for years to stand in the center point of this movement. Actually, the Mun movement regards communism, in part, as a model, but also in part as an obstacle to its own path to total world dominion.
In a Mun speech of December 1980 (!) it becomes clear how the so-called "fight against communism" was used as a tactical means for Mun to recruit people:

Many of you wonder why I fight communism. The purpose is to bring all free nations and all religions into unity. In that we fight against communism, we can achieve that." [177]

In other places this speech speaks more clearly and cynically:

"Moscow is a must-go! Whatever you're always doing, even eating or sleeping, you should think about 'you must go.' Now you know at which historical point in time we are. Therefore I stress the point that we must fight against communism, so that unity among the religions and the free nations of the world can come about. With this unity we can easily destroy communism.
Later Satan will say to God, 'Without communism, which was on my side, the Unification Church can never attain the unity of religions.' Then God will have to answer him, 'For that you get a plus point,' and he will have to hand over communism to Satan." [178]

Mun interprets the condition now achieved this way:

"Father is now, through the natural resignation of Kim Il Sung, totally - physically and mentally - in the position of the eldest son (...). Father has now victoriously completed the restoration of the right of the eldest son, the right of the True Parents and the right of the kingdom. ... From now on Father is a totally victorious fighter on a world level, and to a universal and cosmic degree. Therefore you must all, absolutely and obediently, follow Father." [179]

Notes:

177. MS 2 December 1980, "Thinking back historically" [back-translated].

178. ibidem.

179. MS 2 January 1992, "Inherit the Victorious Foundation" in: "The Victory of Love," Heung Jin Moon, publ. Kim, Zin-Moon, New York 1992, pp. 8. [back-translated]

IX. The Deliverance of the Spirit world

The attainment of "Chonguk," the "heavenly kingdom" on earth at the horizontal level, also has significance in the story of the salvation of Christ at the vertical level, as only through the "spiritual heavenly kingdom" or the "heavenly kingdom of spirits" can the path to salvation be opened.

The thing is that the spirits of all the dead up to now were found only on the lower stage in the world of spirits, on a stage of spirits of form ("formative stage," spirits of the dead from Abraham to Jesus) or, for example, in Christian Paradise ("growth stage")," spirits of deceased Christians between Jesus and the "Lord of the Second Coming"). At the growth stage in the world of spirits also exists corresponding places for followers of other religions.

But only those people who serve the "true man," "Lord of the Second Coming” and so forth, which allows them to resurrect at the final stage, get into the heavenly kingdom of the spirit world.

In so far as "true man" Mun completed the realization of the "principle," during which he also visited and conquered this province in the spirit world, he already prevailed over spirit beings. Now they operate from the spirit world to bring people to Mun who do not then adhere to their religious tradition, in this connection not without benefit for self, because "Spirit Men" (Korean: Kwissin) need the living.

"Our ancestors in the spirit world need to come down and participate in this widening of conscience ... We know that the Spirit Men once more operate on earth through people and can be revived to complete their unfinished journey." [180]

If the living choose the right path, the physical "heavenly kingdom" arises on earth as a condition for the "heavenly kingdom" of spirits. Then spirits can be saved not only from their grief but from their ties to one sort of spot and to their former tradition. They can get from the world of "spirit forms," as well as from the world of "Paradise" into a kind of hall for good spirits of "growth stage," and finally can be assumed into the "heavenly kingdom of spirits," which really is heaven, and even, yes even if they find people to bring with them directly from the physical "heavenly kingdom" to the "heavenly kingdom of spirits." In this case the spirits of the dead ascend together with their physical partners, who allegedly serve as "soul barges" [181] from the growth stage into the perfection stage.

Notes:

180. MS 28 Mar. 1982, "Declaration of the Ceremony of Unity between Spirit World and physical World" [back-translated].

181. See Bendrath, D., among others: "Ein Messias aus Korea?" Munich 1980, p. 20

1.1Mun, Heung-Jin, ruler of heaven

Although they used to believe that the "heavenly kingdom of spirits" would open only upon the return of the founder into the "Spirit World," since 1984 Mun teaches that his son Mun, Heung-Jin, who died as a result of a traffic accident, was sacrificed by him [182] to open the "heavenly kingdom" for members of the movement who died. [183]

Mun said about the accidental death of his son:

"Heung-Jin Nim's is no usual death. It was transformed into a victory of love... Heung Jin Nim is like a door-opener. He conquered death." [184]

Consequently, a regular Heung-Jin cult formed in the Mun movement. His image is next to the images of the "true parents" on the walls and altars.

Many of the members of the movement have testified that they have received a message from Heung Jin. Englishwoman Faith Jones is believed in the group to be a medium for Jesus, God the Father and Heung Jin.

In 1988 a certain young African, who also was supposed to be a special medium for Heung Jin and who transmitted information from the heavenly ruler, also reported that he was almost a reincarnation of Mun's unfortunate son. In a test of five questions, which only his real son could know, he purportedly gave Mun the right answers. Here is what Heung Jin supposedly said through him:

"I am really possessing this brother, I fully control his body. His personal spirit is not here, as it has been expressed to you." [185]

However, there was a problem with the messages summoned up when they did not correspond with the group doctrine as set forth by Mun's family and the managers close to him. The European leader Kim, Young-Whi emphasized that it was essential to follow the directions of the current "direct central figure," and not the instructions of the spirit world.

"We can differentiate (between 'good spirits' and 'evil spirits" - TG). We must stop evil communications. But if the medium does not obey when we try to stop them, he could be fully under the influence of Satan. There was one brother in Munich who began to receive revelations. He had a good character, but is not strong enough and does not understand the divine principle so well. At first he was OK, but then fell under somebody's influence. And because he was under this evil influence, he began to receive bad messages. I told him that he should stop, but he did not listen. In reality it was more important to listen to me than to the spirit world. But he went his own way, and I don't know where he is now." [186]

Meantime, it seems the performance with the "new media" in the Mun movement has again settled down somewhat, and the troubled time of the "New Pentecost" after Jeung-Jin's death, especially 1987/88, is today described as the "period of his return" and is observed with a "memorial ribbon." [187]

To preclude further difficulty with "wild" media and messengers within the personal family, it is now said that the woman who Heung-Jin blessed (post mortem), Pak, Hoon-Sook, a daughter of Pak, Bo-His, is now a "mediator" for Heung-Jin. [188] Meanwhile Jeung Jin is the ruler of heaven; meanwhile he brought Jesus from Paradise as his servant and lifted him up into the "heavenly kingdom," for which he is, supposedly, very thankful. Today Mun's movement distributes medial messages in which Jesus appears, who allegedly has recognized "his lord," Heung Jin. His mission: to bring those who are still Christian to Mun:

"I want to show you that the Lord of all Lords and King of all Kings and the King of Honor is our dear Mr. Sun, Mung-Mun and his dear bride Han Hak-Ja. They rule as king and queen of the whole universe. And I, Jesus of Nazareth, known as the Christ, bow in humility before them. I bow before them. Anyone who follows me must do the same. I bow before the name of the True Parents. I bow before our precious Lord, our True Parents, Mun Sun-Myung and Han Kak-Ja." [189]

Today Mun himself presents the spirit world as a copy of his earthly empire with Heung-Jin as the deputy there:

"The Spirit World is perfectly organized with Heung-Jin Nim as center. A complete chain of command was organized." [190]

Notes:

182. See, among others, "Today's World," Vol. 4 No. 1/2, January-February 1984.

183. "Originally, this could not have been begun until the True Parents went to the spiritual world. Yet based on Heung Jin Nim's dedication and organization of the spiritual world, blessed members can now receive the foundation of the Seung Hwa Ceremony," "The Tradition, Book One," New York 1985, p. 204
"Seung Hwa" is supposed to mean "Lifting in harmony and peace." The current ceremony is perceived as a holiday of the beginning of life as a pure spiritual being, as a celebration of the rebirth into the spiritual world.
The closing of the weekly vow is supposed to be expanded accordingly: "We vow this resolution and declaration in the spirit of the noble sacrifice of Jesus and Heug Jin Nim." See "Father's Instructions for 1984,l" V., cited from "Today's World," Vol. 4 No. 1/2, January-February 1984. [back-translated]

184. The Tradition, loc.cit., p. 108, [back-translated]

185. HJS: 4 Sep. 1987, "Heung Jin Nim in Russia," in: "The Victory of Love," Heung Jin Moon, publ. kim, Zin-Moon, New York 1992, p. 138. [back-translated]

186. Kim, Young-Whi: Guidance, loc. cit., pp. 356.

187. "In 1987-88, Heung Jin Nim returned to us and he sincerely and diligently taught us." Kim, Zin-Moon, foreword to "The victory of Love," Heung Jin Moon, publ. Kim, Zin-Moon, New York 1992, pp. 8.

188. MS 2 January 1992 "Inherit the Victorious Foundation" in: "The Victory of Love - Heung Jin Moon," publ. Kim, Zin-Moon, New York 1992, p. 12. [back-translated]

189. "Jesus speaks," in "JHS: 26 Apr. 1987 "To the Staff of the Twelfth I.C.C. at the Won Jun" in "The Victory of Love - Heung Jin Moon," publ. Kim, Zin-Moon, New York 1992, pp. 65. [back-translated]

190. "Spirit World is completely organized centering upon Heung Jin Nim. A complete chain of command has been organised." MS 2 January 1992 "Inherit the Victorious Foundation" in: "The Victory of Love - Heung Jin Moon," publ. Kim, Zin-Moon, New York 1992, p. 11. [back-translated]

X. Development of the Mun movement after 1990

Coming out

In 1993 the Mun movement entered a new phase in its development; the Munists long before began to say that the movement had been summoned to begin a "third religion," after Judaism and Christianity. And Mun long before began to proclaim himself a "messiah." But such statements had been either taken back in part, or were rationalized as very unstable interpretations of the "concept of messiah." But now once again Mun's self-revelations are being published, for example:

"My wife, WFWP President Han/Mun Kak-Ja, and I are the True Parents of all mankind. I have stated that we are the Savior, the Lord of the Second Coming, the Messiah." [191]

Also the strong spiritist teaching of the Mun movement had thus far been downplayed. The printed material distributed externally only spoke of it indirectly, and it was part of the interpretation process that the Mun movement was of spiritual interest to "spiritually open-minded people." In the meantime, no secret is being made of either of those peculiarities. The new turn of things mean much of the earlier secrecy is no more; the corresponding proclamations have been publicly distributed. For instance, the new book list of the movement today includes "Proclamation of the Messiah" [192], along with the messages from Heung-Jin [193], the ruler of the Other Side, which have been channeled through various media, and which have been provided to critics.

At the same time, however, and partly parallel to this, the covert game continues, at least in Germany. In a relatively new publication [194], which is currently being distributed by the Mun movement and being used for recruitment and self-presentation, two German theologists again attempt to square a circle, and claim to show the Christianity of the Mun movement and show at least the compatibility of its views with fundamental Christian views. [195]

Notes:

191. MS: 24 Aug. 92 "Leaders Building a World of Peace," in "Sun Myung Moon and Hak-Ja Han Moon: Textbook for World Peace, Selected Speeches," New York 1992, p. 62

192. Mun, San Myung, "Proclamation of the Messiah -I-," New York 1993 [back-translated]

193. "The Victory of Love - Heung Jin Moon," publ. Kim, Zin-Moon, New York 1992; for channeling see the reference in note 58.

194. (publ. Vereinigungskirche e.v.): "Stellungnahmen zu Theologie und Praxis der Vereinigungsbetwegung - Zwei deutsche Theologen aeussern sich," KANDO Verlag GmbH, Moerfelden-Walldorf, 1992.

195.
- Prof Dr. Paul Schwarzenau: DIE GOETTLICHEN PRINZIPEN - Anmerkungen zum grundlegenden Buch der Vereinigungskirche in: Stellungnahmen zur Theologie und Praxis der Vereinigungsbewegung," loc. cit., pp. 8-25.
- Prof. Dr. Juergen Redhardt, "Ansprache anlaesslich eines Einfuehrungsseminars zur Vereinigungsbewegung," loc. cit., pp. 27-41
- Sun Myung Moon, "Sun Myung Moon - ein Heiliger von morgen? - Der moegliche Messias aus dem Nordwesten Koreas," loc. cit., pp. 42-51.

New orientation after the collapse of communism

Still Mun prophesied in his 1990 conference in Moscow:

"I foresee for the Soviet Union very clearly a moral and economic rebirth, which will influence the whole world in a dramatic way. I will do everything to encourage and support this rebirth. (...) I believe the Soviet Union will play a key role in God's plan in building a world with lasting peace. (...) May God bless the Soviet Union and its people." [196]

The rapid changes in countries of the eastern block, and the disappearance of the Soviet Union and its structure obviously surprised Mun.

And although, on the one hand, there were recruitment successes in the former countries of the eastern block, again it was not the expected universal historical change and the "re-establishment of the kingdom of heaven on earth" with Mun in the position of world leader, like it had been in 1967 ("seven-year period") and in 1981 ("three seven-year period"). But the dream was still being dreamt, and the sons of Deng, Hsiao-Ping (China) and Kim, Il-Sung (North Korea) were loved by Mun. [197]

Mun also pursued the thought that "Unificationism" could be introduced as the state religion in a small country. In all seriousness he asserted:

"Russia is a country that was seriously considered for this." [198]

At the same time, however, several options are being held open for directions of future marches:

- the problem of uniting Islam and Christianity. Islam is supposedly Cain's religion.

"Through Jesus' crucifixion arose the separation of the right and left wing, and of Islam and Christianity" [199] because "Barabbas, who escaped crucifixion, represents Islam, which fights against Christianity." [200]

This conflict appears to have replaced the old East-West conflict in Mun's mind. This was

"Satan's last plan... his last offensive in the destruction of the human race." [201]

- the consideration, in 1995/96, by a "mass blessing" of 360,000 couples all over the world, to quickly bring them into the true blood line and to use individual members as "True Progenitors." [202] For that each member needed to have 120 "blessed" Spiritual Children. [203]

- But finally a new concept of putting his own literature out among the people:

"The True Father drafted a mission strategy: Buy Divine Principle books, distribute the books, and then assemble the people with a good, responsible demeanor and form a study group. Read the Divine Principle with them and explain the significance to them. The True Father gave the impression that, in the future, this would become the worldwide mission method." [204]

This concept is strongly reminiscent of the new recruitment system of the Jehovahs Witnesses, which is also based on members buying the literature themselves and distributing it.

Notes:

196. MS: 10 Apr. 1990 "True Unification and One World," Founder's Address, pp. 11/12 [back-translated].

197. Han, Sang-Kil, "Col. Han prays," in Mun, San Myung: "Proclamation of the Messiah -I-, New York 1993, p. 64. [back-translated]

198. San Myung: "Proclamation of the Messiah -I-, New York 1993, p. 57. [back-translated]

199. ibidem, p. 48.

200. ibidem, p. 51.

201. MS 21 Oct. 1990 "Der Islam und die Verwirklichung des Weltfriedens," cited from "Weltblick," 3/1991, p. 6.

202. See San Myung: "Proclamation of the Messiah -I-, New York 1993, p. 62.

203. Tyler Hendricks, vice president of the Mun Organization in the USA, Mun's instruction of 14 Sep. 92 (newsletter to the regional directors/offices and top leaders of 15 Sep. 92, cited from FAIR News, Winter 1992/93, London, p. 12). [back-translated]

204. Unification News, Volume 12, No. 4, April 1993, p. 1. [back-translated]

XI. Positions

Christian sect or spiritist movement?

As can be seen right from their history, the Mun movement is in no way a Christian movement, neither is the "Unification Church" a sect in the sense of a "current, school or party" inside or out of Christianity. [205] Even the designation as "church" was used only after it had been in existence for some time. The Mun movement originally conceived of itself as a spiritist based organization to which all churches and religions would graduate.

Membership in other churches and denominational communities is often approved for tactical reasons of influence, infiltration and acceptance. The "movement character" becomes significant in doing this.

It must be questioned whether the Mun movement ever held the conviction of "being Christian." Too clear are the claims to integrate all religious concepts.

It says, for instance, in a self-presentation:

One of he conspicuous characteristics is the fact that this group consists of members of many denominations. Several members were led directly through the spiritual world to this group. One Catholic woman, for instance, went to a talk about the divine principles because she had been advised to do that by Mary, the mother of Jesus. The spirit of Confucius led several people to this group, and others joined at the urging of Gautama Buddha. Over 25 denominations and sects of Christianity are represented. But there are also members who have the philosophy of Confucius, the teachings of Buddha or other religions as a background. This group consists, therefore, not only of witnesses from Christian churches, but also of those of the larger non-Christian teachings." [206]

Notes:

205. For the concept of the Christian sect see "SEKTEN," Friedrich-Wilhelm Haack, published in the Muenchener Reihe, Munich 1987.

206. Kim, Young-Oon, 2/65, loc. cit., p. ix. [back-translated]

Blessed Churches

With their self-assessment of being the only true and valid religious organization today, the Mun movement has also "purified," "separated from Satan" and taken control of church (buildings) through rituals. Faith Jones, a spirit medium inside the Mun movement, who came forward in connection with the Heung-Jin cult, travels Europe for this purpose and has taken into the "spirit possession" of the Mun movement churches from Germany to Moscow. She does this with the use of special "holy salt" "for the blessing of Churches." These unsolicited, presumptuous cult transactions in strange churches, without informing or asking the bishops or their congregations, gives expression to the Mun movement's relationship to other churches: they are objects of recovery for the Mun movement, not dialog partners.

1.1 Mun movement and religions: cooperation or infiltration?

Over the course of time the Mun movement has accumulated more and more characteristics of a self-sufficient religion. In the current revelations, Christianity is just as rationalized and assimilated as all other religions. Jesus, like Buddha, Mohammed, etc. are portrayed as a servant of Mun's son, Heung-Jin, who brings his own adherents to Mun.

According to their claim (of Mun as fulfillment of all religions), it must be difficult for the Mun movement to conduct itself in the "peaceful cooperation of one of many."

But because the Mun movement so far has reached only few people when it comes to membership, it still has to be able to "cooperate" while retaining the "movement character."

The goal of the Mun movement in the various organizations it sponsors or finances, including "inter-religious" organizations, is not the attainment of members, but to go top down, to obtain influence over other religions and organization by winning leading figures.

Doing this does not require that the people the Mun movement gets to are fully aware of the Mun movement's claims. For instance, the Mun movement propagates a misunderstanding of "Godism" to outsiders as a kind of "other-theism," or the least common denominator of all religions and faiths. This minimum faith in God is supposed to save humanity from destruction from atheistic communism or western materialism. In fact the question of what "Godism" is is easy to answer:

"I. Moonism is Godism. II. (...) III. Godism (Unificationism). By Godism we are going to achieve the creation of the Fatherland. The goal is a unified world." [207]

Notes:

207. From "Father's Instructions for 1984," cited from "Today's World," Vol. 4 No. 1/2, January-February 1984 [back-translated].

The Mun movement as a Youth Religion

Since the beginning of the 1970s, press, radio and television of been reporting about Mun activities and their negative consequences: young people are prevailed upon to suddenly give up their careers or drop out of school and to "dive" into their new community instead. The Mun movement is indisputably a "Youth Religion," and its "religious" arm is the one that is viewed mainly as problematic. A German lexicon definition describes the concept of "youth religion":

"Youth Religions ("YR")
1. Concept. 2. Movement inside YR. 3. Spread. 4. Effect
1.1 The term "YR" was first used by German theologist F.W. HAACK in 1974 for religious and para-religious movements that have been appearing in Europe since the late 1960s, which address teens and young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 in their advertising and methods of operation, and whose teachings and practice let them vent 'infantile regression.' A direct alignment of young people with membership recruitment is even conceptually provided for in the Mun movement.
1.2 The fascination of YR for young adherents is based on the absoluteness of the demand for submission, as well as on the devotion, following revaluation, as a fellow fighter for a new world. For this "YR" offer a monitored 'saved family' with a 'holy master' of absolute divine authority, who with the help of a 'saving recipe' enables the resolution of all individual and universal problems, even the solution of the "all-or-nothing" contradiction. Characteristic of YR is also the 'esoteric fissure' between the YR's goals and views and the goals propagated externally. For instance, some of the groups appear as medical or religious 'reform movements,' even though they see their views internally as new revelations, or even as the roots of all religions.
'Traditional' religions are viewed as outdated remnants of an old age which, in the best case, can serve as a recruitment area for new adherents.
1.3 A drastic, sudden personality change can consistently be observed in some YR adherents, including total devotion and the exclusion of all criticism. The strong personality changes and the rigorous ethic-moral re-orientation lead to conflicts with the law and to social and familial problems. The phrase "destructive cult" characterizes the negative effects on young adherents.
2. (...)
3. While some YR try to organize an elite, others try to reach as many people as possible with introductory courses. Other forms of potential use are provided by publicity work in the media and in the cultural area. Because of this there are various calculations for membership figures, which, in the German-speaking world, can range from several hundred members to several thousand. (...)
4. YR are an esp. problematic area of the worldwide "New Religious Movements," to which new religious formations of both a Christian and non-Christian character belong. In contrast to the traditional religious sect, the functionality of YR is not found in a reaction to Christian communications and dealings. YR have the most effect in highly industrialized countries, including non-Christian Japan and in the so-called east-block countries. For the churches, they symbolize the problem not only of transparent oversight of religious practice in modern society, but also the social missions in relation to youth." [208]

The Mun movement corresponds to the classic model of Youth Religion. The "worldwide base" of the Mun movement of which Mun, as well as Gorbachev, have once spoken, is the enlistment of unmarried people as young as possible, before or while they are being schooled, who are ready and able to relentlessly follow the leader. All other presentations and self-presentations can be disregarded so that the young adherents, who are the ones who make the money, can carry on the campaign, without which the Mun movement would never be able to have an effect on any other plane.

But the Mun movement is more than that. On this basis, Mun has established an ideological, planning and commercial empire, that offers him practically unlimited possibilities of influencing politicians, scientists and other decision-makers, both on regional and world levels.

Notes:

208. Thomas Gandow, "Jugendreligionen" in "Evangelisches Kirchenlexikon (EKL) Internationale theologische Enzyklopaedie," Goettingen 1989, Second Volume, pp. 898.

Parents Initiatives

Intensive recruiting has alarmed parents. In order to escape inquiries by relatives, new recruits not infrequently are shipped overseas. In all the countries upon which the Mun movement has had an effect, from New Zealand to Canada and from Japan to Germany, "parents initiatives" have formed to provide help and advice, public information and cooperation in proceeding against the Mun movement.

Actions against critics

The Mun movement's methods of operation against critics include aggressive actions. Particularly in countries where they feel secure, such as South Korea, reaction to criticism has included defamation of critics and even violence, including personal injury and loss of property.

It's also characteristic that the Mun movement has allied itself with the psychocult of Scientology [209] in its fight against families and democratic society.

Notes:

209. The alliance and both youth religions/cults call themselves the "Conference for Religious Freedom and Human Rights"; the performance seems to alternate between Scientology and the Mun movement. Other youth religions and sects that participated were the Children of God, ISKCON and Rosecruicians; in France a regular association of this alliance has arisen, which calls itself "Federation Internationale des Religions et Philosophies Minoritaires (FIREPHIM)."

The Mun movement from a Christian view

Is the Mun movement/Tong-Il Kyo a church?

The Mun movement does not have "church doctrine" ("ecclesiology); it had no intention from the beginning of being a church, but a unifying movement. Instead of that it got something completely different but similar; it developed the doctrine of the "True Family" and the "True Parentage." While a Christian church forms a true family of God (familia dei) from all nations, the Mun family is held together by a physical/biological concept of breeding the "New Family" through pure blood.
The "Unification Church" originally used the word "church" strictly in the tactical American sense as a designation for a "somewhat" religious organization, for the protection under the American freedoms for religious communities. [210]

The central Christian sacraments of Baptism and Communion practiced by Christian communities do not appear in the teachings or the practice of the Mun movement. [211]

The name "Unification Church" and the designation of Mun as "reverend" are self-elected and misleading in that this is not to be regarded as a Christian community.

Notes:

210. "It was made clear to me that so long as the church-related aspects of the group were emphasized, Moon's followers would be in a protected position as far as first amendment religious freedom was concerned, and be able to take advantage of tax laws as well." (Statement from Linda Anthenian, Fraser Report, loc. cit. p. 316.

211. There is not one mention of this in the primary documents. This may be an indication that Mun's real motivation and the roots of the Mun movement are to be found outside the Christian churches.

Position of the Mun movement to Christ

The word "church" comes from the Greek "Kyrios," i.e., Jesus Christ, who does not occupy a central position in Mun's "Unification Church," but is only a kind of leader to attract former Christian adherents for Mun. This is his only meaningful role, because Jesus' own mission, gauged according to Mun's "ideal," failed completely. It is therefore only one of several conditions for the re-establishment. Therefore it does not need to be expanded upon; it needs a whole new approach.

The Mun movement also says that Jesus "did not understand much" of what he was doing 2,000 years ago, but now in the position of a "son" of "Father Mun" he finally understands and regrets everything, and has granted that Father Mun is the Lord of the Universe and Possessor of Truth.

"God said: I confide in you, my son. I state now before heaven and earth that Rev. Mun, my son, is the biggest winner that every existed... Therefore the Unification Church can state that Rev. Mun is higher than Jesus. God himself made this statement. Jesus, followed by Buddha, Mohammed, etc., has become Father's supporter No. 1." [212]

The crucifixion is regarded not only as a symbol of the failure of Jesus, but the cross itself is even comprehended to be a symbol of a victory by Satan. Neither does the resurrection of Christ have any meaning of salvation for the Mun movement, being only his transition into Paradise, the spirit world for spirits in the growth stage. With his own supposed suffering, Mun is said to have surpassed the crucifixion:

"Who suffered more? Jesus or Father? If one dies on the cross, then the pain is over in 10 minutes, but carrying the cross for 50 years and suffering for 50 years is much more agonizing. Rev. Mun's pain cannot be understood by people; even God cries out in agony when he sees the pain that Rev. Mun bears." [213]

It is stated that with his own marriage, Mun made up for the failure of the crucifixion. At the same time, the traffic accident of his son, Heung-Jin Mun, is seen as a proxy victim for Mun's crucifixion.

The statements the Mun movement spreads today about Jesus disqualifies it for any serious dialogue.

Notes:

212. MS: 1 Jan. 1987 "Gods Day" [back-translated]

213. ibidem.

Image of God

Typically the primary alignments for the Mun movement are with east Asian cosmology. The image of God is defined by Taoist concepts. God is a Principle, a source of power, but not a person-like free creature. This kind of "god" is completely defined, unfree and not self-sufficient. "God does not fulfill his will alone." [214] This is not dealing with a synergetic concept (God and man must work together) as one might at first suppose. That is because the "God of Principle" is incapable of wielding his own free hand. "God predestines his will 100%, whereby a change is impossible." [215]

In contrast, people are supposedly only 95% predestined, and so are in the situation and have the responsibility to do their part by any means, because the only way anything gets done is that man has this 5% margin of operation. From this concept of an impersonal "Divine Principle," which is thoroughly spent [216] and which needs physical bodies of human beings to operate, comes Mun's ultimately totalitarian intention for action. He sees himself as the (first) person who became the physical manifestation of the "Principle" as the incarnation of God. This is what the teachings of the group are based on, "that the True Parents are the full manifestation of God" [217], that Mun is the "Lord of all lords and King of all kings," [128] and with his wife rules "as king and queen of the entire universe." [219] By this, all means and paths of complete implementation are offered and justified.

Notes:

214. Kim, Young-Whi, "Die Goettlichen Prinzipien, Teil 1, Studenfuehrer," Frankfurt o.J., p. 267.

215. ibidem, pp. 267.

216. "When God created he totally spent himself. He made of himself a vacuum." MS: 10 Apr. 1990, "True Unification and One World."

217. Werner, Paul: "The Wellspring of Life: Guidelines for Prayer, in Blessed Family," Vol. 3, 1 January 1985.

218. "Jesus speaks" in JHS: 26 Apr. 1987, "To the Staff of the Twelfth I.C.C. at the Won Jun," in "The Victory of Love - Heung Jin Moon," publ. Kim, Zin-Moon, New York 1992, pp. 65.

219. ibidem.

Expectation of a messiah and concept of salvation

The Mun movement is a movement to purify and perfect mankind, and proceeds from "True People" who have personally and familially attained perfection, and now with its transplantation (and adoption with the physical effect on the change in lineage) is creating a perfect, new nation, and, through it, a new humanity.

Therefore the Mun movement does not have a Judeo-Christian (or Biblical) expectation of a messiah, but mainly a claim that, like the (fictitious) Chung-Gam-Nok, who awaited the proper God-King Chung-Do Ryung, or Jin-In (the true man of Confucianism) or the Miruk-Bul (the messianic Maitreya-Buddha of Korean Buddhism, Mun arrived. Therefore, waiting for the messiah in the Mun movement is of Korean origin. It is completed with the idea of the "True Parents." The "Chonguk" or the "Kingdom of Heaven" on earth then consists of domination by the Mun family.

Position

With Jesus Christ, Christianity has born witness to a completely different "true man" before which every knee bends and through which all creation begins anew. The Mun movement preaches the perfect, god-activated man, i.e., the man activated by the "Principle" of Mun as "Lord of the Universe" and Co-creator of himself" [220], who then also creates laws and boundaries. Christianity, however, heralds a humiliated and crucified Lord as one who is visibly merciful.

In addition there is also criticism of the means and the goals. Methods and goals of the Mun movement are inhumane and contradict the Gospel. For Christians, the Gospel is the yardstick of all ways and means of a sympathetic God, even for the "least of the brethren," it is love, and not a principle. That is the decisive difference between Mun-religion and Christian faith.

Notes:

220. Kim, Young-Whi: "Studienfuerher," Frankfurt o.J., p. 75.

Suggestions

If family members use this book as background knowledge in discussions, they have a good chance that the critical information will leave an impression.

However, friends and relative should not attempt to use this book or other information as a "miracle cure": "Here, read this, it'll put your head on right." Experience tells us that those who have become newly fascinated will then block out critical information and close the book forever. In general, little "black boxes" like that, even if they contain valid arguments, cannot be recommended. More often than not it leads to people steeling themselves and sometimes even to deeper involvement with the "group that's unjustly being attacked and which you have no idea about."

Anything, including the attraction to a youth religion or an ideological movement, has two sides: the fascination of the leader and group, as well as the yearning and the everyday difficulties of the "seeker." Therefore it is important to find out the reasons someone became attracted to the group to begin with. What turned the new recruit into a seeker who turned away from his own previous orientation and ties to prescribe such an extreme group for himself?

The friends and relatives of a person who has joined a youth religion or a guru movement presumably have the view that "the person is more important than the leader." Exactly for this reason should the son, daughter or relative be spoken to about their problems, instead of talking about the leader, his fascination or his dark side. The people involved (including the family), their preferences and problems, the situation of the one fascinated or of the seeker and possible alternatives should stay the central focus of conversation.

What Christians can do

Mun adherents that we meet are nice and friendly. They think of themselves not just as being Christians, but even as "true Christians." (Most of them won't have known much about their own religious tradition as Christians before their encounter with the Mun movement, and therefore naively accepted the interpretations of the Mun movement.) According to experience, the Mun recruiter places great value, first in listening to what people themselves think is important, what they see as the meaning of life. They then attempt to harmoniously link with the one they listened to. Similarities are emphasized and differences are not mentioned or are downplayed. In order to properly make the comparison therefore, one must not only know his own Christian belief, but also know a little of what Mun adherents "believe." This book attempts to impart the information essential to that.

Now the Christian faith is not a bludgeon, and "giving witness" for Christians does not mean superior knowledge or a spiritual measure of power (as a means to collar someone), but instead, an invitation to rejoice in the salvation given to us through Christ. God is near us, we do not have to be afraid any longer and have no need for rituals to work spirit magic. We can repeat that again and again and trust that the Gospel can move the heart of a Mun adherent, too.

How should one behave when meeting a Mun recruiter on the street, or when answering the door to find one there?

If it's practical, we should calmly take some time for a discussion. Information is good and important; you should form your own picture of things, especially when you have growing children. Once the recruiter has stated his case and we've listened to his presentation, we can say something like, "As a member of the Mun movement, you are interested in what I believe in. So I'd be happy to tell you something about my belief." Since, for the most part, however, we are mainly taken unawares on the street or at the door, it wouldn't be awry to say amicably, "I wouldn't like to talk right now, but thanks for taking the trouble for me." If the recruiter rang the doorbell, then we can also invite them in for a cup of coffee or tee, if there's time. Perhaps they would like to use the telephone to call their parents or family? Perhaps their parents are looking for them? Perhaps we can help, or at least console. In any case, as Christians we can pray for those concerned and their families.

We should ask the name, address and phone number of the Mun adherent and ask about family.

In no case, however, should we buy postcards, candy, plants or writings, because then we are possibly obligating the recruiter to try again, maybe more intense next time. It might even be that the recruiter sees the money as a great affirmation of his or her own views and as proof of the power of the "infallible leader" in collecting money "even from Christians" for his group's purposes.

10 Suggestions for affected families

Only a few initial suggestions as to practical conduct can be made here. Much more comprehensive information is available elsewhere. Many can use help fast, but overwhelm, chaos and despair will never be good counselors.

  1. Become well informed!
    As with other youth religions, guru movements, sects, etc., the most important thing here for relatives is to get fast and comprehensive information about the Mun movement and its activities.
  2. Keep a written account of events.
    It is sensible to start a log or a diary to collect information and newspaper articles and to put information down for notes and meetings. Write down all the names, addresses, telephone numbers, etc., associated with the involvement of your family member in the Mun movement. This sort of record can help to refresh your memory at a later date, so you can make more sense and be as effective as possible.
  3. Get in touch with a counseling center.
    In the initial phases you might be able to get the appropriate information fast enough from experts. Often one doesn't hear about a recruitment until after it's too late, If the person was on a trip to the USA or England, for instance.
  4. Don't let yourself be "blackmailed."
    It doesn't help anything to pretend positive interest or good intentions. Avoid letting yourself being drawn into the Mun family. Therefore caution is called for when receiving invitations to "parent get-togethers" of the Mun movement and its Unification Church. Once you agree, refusing afterwards becomes subsequently more difficult.
  5. Never pay money.
    Never hand over money, even if it is only supposed to be going to Mun's "Indemnity Fund," and instruct your family and friends accordingly. Under certain conditions it is also necessary to keep track of family money, which is also always needed for Mun's movement and plans. If you have to give something, give things of high personal value, for example, a home-made scarf, a photo album, a family birthday calendar, a coffee mug with the name of the person, etc.
  6. If possible, never give away original documents.
    If necessary, get a notarized copy instead.
  7. Maintain your style of contact!
    It must be made clear to family members that their advice and worries about the person should be kept to themselves. Instead the advice is: don't become insecure. Maintain your connection to your family member intact (regular calls, birthday greetings, letters). At meetings talk about anything else that's nice - not constantly about Mun and his plans. Talk about shared hobbies, positive childhood memories, family matters, good music, etc.
  8. Be careful of false friends and "professional helpers"
    who promise to get back your family member for money and with potentially illegal methods. The German parents' initiatives have warned against "deprogramming" for years ("Muenchner Erklaerung").
  9. Remember that other families have the same problem,
    independent of social, cultural or religious background. Join a parents' group. State church sect and worldview commissioners constantly update their contact information, but some former members also know how to disentangle oneself from youth religions and guru movements.
  10. Take a clear, solid position:
    - Make your basic rejection of the Mun movement and its ideology clear. Forego recruitment lectures.
    - Make your basic inclinations clear to your family member. Tell them your love is independent of difference of opinion.

  11. XII. Supplement

    Speech from the International Christian Seminar "Totalitarian Sects in Russia" 16-20 May 1994.

    Highly esteemed clergy!

    Honored fathers, dear sisters and brothers!

    I requested another word after yesterday's speech about Mun's movement inasmuch as the Russian participants asked me to express my opinion about the 1993 legislative initiative and about the position of foreign churches.

    The time here has been due to your hospitality. We got the opportunity to testify about our Christian faith together. We know that God Himself looks after His Church. But as long as we know that He is concerned about us, we are responsible for others, for our brothers in Christ, for our countrymen, for children and family. Because God wants everyone to be saved.

    Therefore we have a mission, a mandate, and not only as concerns our own Church. The sphere of our responsibility includes families, schools, universities and culture on the whole.

    Consequently, speaking about sects and cults, about false lures and fraudulent recruiting in sects, we are not defending ourselves, but are trying to look after our beloved brothers, and our fight is fought in the framework of Christian responsibility for our neighbors.

    I ask forgiveness that on this occasion I will address the political circumstances: a year ago in the Russian Parliament a legislative initiative regarding sects, cults and foreign "missionary activity" was introduced. As far as I know, the issue basically was about "foreign missions being registered in the Culture Ministry."

    This didn't used to be a law at all, but an ages old tradition deeply rooted in Russia that the Christian Church or a religious society was called upon to some degree to protect people from sectarian groups like the "Rema Bible Church," the "Moscow Church of Christ," the so-called "Unification Church" (Mun movement), "Scientology" and other totalitarian cults that we discussed here at this meeting.

    It would have been quite natural, if these same groups and cults protested against such a planned regulation of their activity or against such a law, in so far as it would make false and anonymous recruiting and proselytizing more difficult. But, and this was not too surprising, not only did these groups protest, but also foreign organizations and even political figures from the USA and Germany wrote letters of protest giving their "recommendations" concerning this law, addressed to President Yeltsin. They used all their political and economic influence to keep this law from passing.

    Being a foreign guest, I would not want to criticize the government of Russia, but I might criticize foreign politicians who use such a method to launch an attempt to exert influence on select presidents of other countries.

    But as this seems to be a proper church matter, I prefer to express it much less diplomatically: I am ashamed of the scandalous circumstance that the World Council of Churches (WCC) participated in a campaign against the new Russia, asserting that this law was directed against freedom of conscience. But in all the years the communists suppressed human rights and religious freedom, the WCC only very occasionally expressed an opinion on the occasion of the extra-legal situation and the persecution of Christians in the USSR. But now, when Russian politicians resolved to pass a law limiting the spread of false propaganda by some influential totalitarian cults and groups, the WCC talks about persecution of religion!

    I do not agree with this and appeal to you to use and employ all legal options to protect people from charlatanical organizations, and I appeal to the corresponding state structures and administration organs.

    These are neither rightwing nor nationalist politicians, as opponents of the law have asserted, quite the contrary, it defends individual freedom of conscience. These are neither KGB politicians nor communist politicians, on the contrary, we know for certain that communist and former state functionaries, for example, from Gorbachev, and his circle, to "Izvestiya" have cooperated with Mun's totalitarian movement.

    But in particular may your attention be brought to undertaking some sort of action in so far as these organizations have proved to be a harmful influence on the school system and education establishment in Russia, and employing the official route and the social institutions.

    I would like to appeal to you for this kind of critical perception: derive benefit for yourself from our errors and mistakes and in this area.

    As of now I thank you for the opportunity to participate in this conference. I thank you for your cooperation. God bless your work and your service.

    Presentation at the parliamentary hearing "Freedom of conscience and human rights in the Russian Federation (Moscow, 14 February 1995)

    It is a great honor for me to appear at this podium before the highly esteemed deputies of the State Assembly of the Russian Federation.

    Permit me to begin with a personal note. This year we celebrated the 50 year anniversary of the end of the Second World War. We, the Germans, were liberated from a horrific form of totalitarianism - from Hitler's tyranny. We are grateful to the Russian Army and all the people who made up the anti-Hitler coalition. All the devastation in my country during the war also served to liberate it from a totalitarian dictator. But liberation was paid for at the cost of millions of human lives. This sacrifice does not have to be without reason.

    It is much better and fitting if people are liberated from a totalitarian dictatorship by their own strength, as happened in Russia or the GDR, for example. However the best and most fitting route is to learn in advance to recognize a tyrant, a bearer of totalitarian mentality, by means of open critique to direct public opinion in such a way as to stop totalitarianism even before it becomes strong and can take power.

    This is a mission not only for religious activity, but also for our schools and the free mass media. And it is obvious that one of the most noble and honorable duties of parliament and government is to protect democratic society and freedom of conscience. This needs timely exposure of totalitarian ideological systems, publication of their plans and goals and subjecting them to criticism. In this way open discussion can begin.

    This is the process that is taking place all over the world.

    For example, in 1978, the US Congress carried out an investigation and revealed for the entire world the activity of the Munists in the so-called Fraser report (Document No. 1). In 1984 the Europarliament hears the so-called Cotrell [sp?] report, which published a very strong condemnation of Mun's movement (document No. 2). Similar reports were also prepared by the federal government of Germany.

    The latest of this sort of report presented on German soil was to the Berlin Parliament in October 1994. This report was named after the fearless person who prepared it, the renowned East German rights defender Thomas Kruger. Now he is busy in the Berlin government in the position of Minister of Youth and Family Affairs and serves as deputy of the Federal Parliament in the FRG. I'm bringing several copies of this report with me (Document 3), to give you examples of what sort of measures are being taken by the German authorities in relation to totalitarian sects.

    There is no doubt that in a democratic state any government decision should be subject to court review. In Germany the highest court reviewed the decision and activity of the government in this area. The decision made by them states that the activity of the government was necessary and correct, and the government's realm of activity should include informing and warning society about new religious and ideological movements and psycho-groups. The decision of the highest federal administrative court even said that the routine responsibilities of government included: observation of the development of new religious movements in society, service as an "early warning system" of dangerous religious movements that relied on tricks and lies, as well as taking all the measures needed to rein in this activity, working with the police when needed. (Decision of the supreme federal court of 23 May 1989, passed on Constitution Day in FRG).

    How do the activity of these same sectarian groups, their goals and methods, rate with the FRG Constitution? And how do they relate to the RF Constitution? I have no doubt that their activity will be found contrary to any democratic constitution since they do not operate in the open.

    For example, the Society of Krishna Consciousness is trying to establish rigid control over mass media and to introduce the caste system. In the event they come to power, Society theorists envision austere penalties for anyone who disagrees with their ideology.

    Another totalitarians sect, Scientology, defines ethics as the eradication of all ideas that run counter to Scientology ideas; after the accomplishment of this goal, all non-Scientology ideas are supposed to eradicated altogether. It's difficult to call such a definition of ethics compatible with equal rights for all and with freedom of conscience. It's difficult to call this sect religious, or even philosophical. In May 1994 the FRG Internal Affairs Ministry came to the following conclusion: At the present time the competent organs of the Internal Affairs Ministry, i.e., the country's police administration and the country's prosecutor, consider that the Scientology organization, which takes refuge in the status of religious organization, combines elements of economic crime and psycho-terrorism with regard to its own members in its business and sectarian methods. One can be sure that the main emphasis of its operations lies in the sphere of economic crime, therefore, before anything else it needs to be withstood by the appropriate legislative organs." (Document No. 4).

    One of the most peculiar groups is the "Unification Church." Its head, Korean Mun, always has come out clearly as an anti-communist, meaning he did not acknowledge the communist system of power. In his "Divine Principle," though, he admitted that his ultimate goal is socialism: "Therefore we finally need to come to a socialist system with a center in God" (Divine Principle, p. 444, [back-translated]). I doubt that advocates of Munism are familiar with this opinion of the newly appeared messiah (Document No. 5).

    It would be interesting, whether they know that as the first step to the supremacy of their system, Mun is considering the introduction of Munism in the capacity of state religion in Russia. In 1992, he said [back-translated], "Now in three of fifteen republics of the former Soviet Union a movement is developing to declare the Unification religion the state religion." (Document No. 6, Mun, textbook on World Peace. Appearance of the True Parents and the Ideal Family, p. 50).

    In 1993, Mun said, "Over the course of the last three years we've attained Father's goal: the concurrent wedding of 360,000 couples. After this we are not able to launch a greater effort: the world itself needs to follow our path. On the other hand, every country has their state religion. For example, a number of Latin American countries are Catholic, each of their citizens professes the national religion. If the Unification religion will be accepted as a state religion , which is being very seriously considered in Russia, then our entire goal has been achieved." (Document No. 7. Mun "Proclamation of the Messiah, Appearance of the Second Advent, pp. 56-57, back-translated.)

    We know some advocates of religious freedom who actively assist Munism and other totalitarian sects. But what happens with freedom of religion if Munism is made the state religion? We see the steps that the last Korean messiah undertook in Kalmyk. We know about the hundreds of Russian schools that are teaching with Munist textbooks, which incidentally, is completely contrary to the principle of separation of schools and religion laid out in the Russian Constitution. What is happening when a tiny sect, the number of whose followers in the entire world does not exceed 40,000 people, and which nowhere is recognized as a serious religious community, is trying to thrust its system of education onto a huge country?

    We see how totalitarian sects use organizational and structural weaknesses of a new democratic state to establish themselves and to forcefully thrust their system of values on a people who have just been freed from political totalitarianism.

    The goal of all totalitarian sects is not only to enlist unsuspecting young people, but to come to power. They are not striving for immediate gain: they invest in the means, they increase their influence and prepare to seize power. So they do not burden themselves with attempts at converting the masses, but are recruiting cadres of leaders for the coming years.

    This strategy was clearly and unequivocally proclaimed by Mun in January 1990: “During the fall of the Roman empire Christians inherited government posts of various sorts... I clearly see that if our members, besides the moral perfection which they attained by following Reverend Mun, attain professional maturity too, our possibilities in Eastern Europe will be unlimited. Someone needs to inherit the state posts of the disintegrated Communist empire, and the leaders presently there are extremely inadequate. So that we ought to look at the 90s with hope.” (Unification News, January 1990 [back-translated]).

    So, those who support totalitarian sects are helping them to achieve these goals.

    Totalitarian sects are striving to create totalitarian states whose power will be either in the hands of a "select elite" or of self-proclaimed superhumans. Of course, such an inhuman dictatorship will be, as usual, coated with sweet words and lofty goals, love and peace for all mankind and other similar decorations.

    In this century we have seen enough of these ideological systems put into reality. Over years past we've also seen how fanatical leaders of pseudo-religious groups drive their followers to mass suicide.

    This is exactly what's happening when free criticism is underrated or downplayed, when we voluntarily give up freedom of thought, and society does not direct the attention necessary on the threat of a movement that considers itself right on the highest authority.

    Therefore, if a group, formed by totalitarian principle and standing by its totalitarian goals, is allowed to operate without control and to practice everything it deems to be freedom of religion and freedom of thought, it poses another threat. We should not forget about our right to frankly and unequivocally say, "No!" and be able to exercise that.

    Of course, doing all this does not require lectures from the West. However, I suggest that you might elicit much more that’s instructive from our mistakes and fallacies in this sphere than from our supposed accomplishments, both religious and social.

    Once more I thank you for the invitation and for the opportunity to appear in such a lofty assembly. God bless your work and your country.


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