Fast Facts on False Teachings

2 Peter 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.

2 Peter 2:2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.

2 Peter 2:3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

Introduction

It is always interesting to me to try to understand what makes various cults appealing. Listen to this quote and see if it doesn’t sound appealing to you:

There is an old saying in the Orient that "once peace is dwelling in the family, everything goes right." A happy and harmonious family is a family of peace and the foundation of the heavenly kingdom.

The dynamic of the family is true love. You must love God first, then love your husband or wife and your children with truly pure and sacrificial love. This is the manifestation of true love. God created love as the supreme force in the universe. He has created nothing greater in this universe. True love is supreme.

This kind of family of true love becomes the foundation for creating a society, nation and world. That society, nation and world shall be true love centered, and shall become ideal and peaceful. There you will find understanding instead of misunderstanding. You will find unity instead of division. You will find unselfishness instead of selfishness. This is the society, nation and world where sacrifices and good service become the dominant virtues. The realization of the ideal of God is the way to achieve the ideal of true peace in the world.

Sounds good… Or at least it sounds appealing. It is from a speech delivered by Reverend Sun Myung Moon on August 28, 1991, at the founding of the Federation for World Peace in Seoul, Korea.

What is wrong with Moon’s desire for world peace based on the restoration of the family unit? To answer that we’ll have to understand – as always – the background and beliefs of the organization he founded and heads – the Unification Church, whose followers are called "Moonies."

On January 6, 1920, Yong Myung Moon (Shining Dragon Moon) was born of Christian parents in the Pyungan Buk-do province of what is now North Korea. There is evidence that young Moon dabbled in spiritist practices, and he recounts that at age 16 he was visited by Jesus Christ himself in a vision. In this vision Jesus Christ declared that the world would be changed through Moon. However, Moon's unique position of leadership and spiritual authority, as well as his unique doctrinal teachings and practices do not appear to have been formulated until the 1940s.

The young Moon continued independent Bible study and attended school in Japan, formulating his religious system through 1945. This system is most fully presented in the Unification textbook Divine Principle. After World War II, in North Korea, Moon joined a group of underground Pentecostals with some strange beliefs. Author James Bjornstad writes,

"After World War II, while living in North Korea, he became involved with a group that was deeply entrenched in mystical revelations, awaiting the impending appearance of a new Messiah. They also believed that Korea was the New Jerusalem of the Bible and that the Messiah would be born in Korea. These elements are all found in Rev. Moon's theology and in the Divine Principle."

In 1945 Moon received the revelation that began the Unification Church. At this visionary ceremony, Moon was declared to be the one through whom the world would be saved. In the 1964 Message to the World Unification Family, it is stated of Moon that,

"After nine years of search and struggle, the truth of God was sealed into his [Moon's] hands. At that moment, he became the absolute victor of heaven and earth. The whole spirit world bowed down to him on that day of victory, for not only had he freed himself completely from the accusation of Satan, but he was now able to accuse Satan before God. Satan totally surrendered to him on that day, for he had elevated himself to the position of God's true son. The weapon to subjugate Satan then became available to all mankind."

Symbolic of his spiritual mastery, he changed his name to Sun Myung Moon ("Shining Sun and Moon") in 1946.

Moon was imprisoned by Communist forces twice in the next three years, and his followers claim that this was persecution for his faith. Critics cite allegedly official records which indicate that his problems with the communist leaders stemmed instead from his capitalist pursuits and/or bigamy.

Moon was freed from communist imprisonment and moved to Pusan in South Korea. He continued his unique preaching ministry, combining his own spiritist revelations with more familiar Christian terminology, and founded his church in 1954 in Seoul. The new church was called the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity and it has caused controversy almost from its beginning. In 1955 he was arrested by South Korean officials and charged with draft evasion and sexual promiscuity. Although the charges were later dropped, testimonies of ex-members who had been in the church at that time lend credence to the charge that an early practice of the new church may have been for female members to be "purified" through sexual intercourse with Rev. Moon. James Bjornstad reported one ex-follower's comments:

"One long-time follower of Rev. Moon added an interesting sidelight to this. He said, "It is entirely possible that those sexual rituals were a part of the early church in Korea. Since original sin came through the woman's [Eve's] intercourse with Lucifer through which she received his evil characteristics, it is perfectly logical that the reversal of this, woman's intercourse with the perfect man through which she could receive his perfect characteristics, would liquidate original sin. Then, as Adam received Satan's evil characteristics from Eve through intercourse, so man would receive perfect characteristics through intercourse with the woman."

The Divine Principle, was published in 1957. It was actually written by a church member, but contains all of Moon's teachings to his followers. Through Divine Principle Moonies understand and interpret the Bible. As is true with all cults, the Unification Church members cannot understand the Bible as it is. It must be explained by the organization and God's "prophet" for today: Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

In March 1960 Moon married again. The union between Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han is called "the Marriage of the Lamb." Moon is called the "Father of the universe" and his wife is called the "Mother of the universe. Moon declared that twenty-one is a special number which symbolizes perfection and that within twenty-one years after 1960 his current wife would bear him twelve children, one for each disciple and gate in heaven. In February 1981, their twelfth child was born. Thus his family goals have been fulfilled. Each child is considered sinless, and they along with their parents are said to herald the coming perfection of humanity.

Moon arrived in Los Angeles in December 1971 to commence his seven-city "Day of Hope" tour across the United States. His first speaking engagement was in New York in January 1972. He called Americans to abandon their denominational religions for a real relationship with God through the Second Coming of Christ and to give up their fragmented nationalism for the building of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Thus he started his mission in America, a task which he states God has called him to.

As part of his missionary preparation, he accumulated an enormous missionary fund, largely from Japanese followers' contributions. This money was deposited in a Chase Manhattan Bank in New York in Rev. Moon's name rather than in the unincorporated name of the Unification Church. (The Unification Church was not incorporated in the United States until 1976.) It was the U.S. government's questioning of the use and tax status of this money which resulted in Moon's trial and conviction of tax fraud in 1983. Rev. Moon began his eighteen month prison term July 20, 1984. Despite criticism of Moon and his church by most major religious bodies in the United States, many religious spokespersons have testified in Moon's behalf in this instance, citing First Amendment freedoms.

1981 was again proclaimed a significant year. That would be the year the New Kingdom of Heaven on Earth would begin and the world would acknowledge Moon as the Lord of the Second Advent. The New Kingdom did not come, however, in 1981. Instead, Moon quietly told his followers that it would come in 2001. "The reason for the delay, Moon said, was that the world was not yet ready for the new age, because of a failure of faith by outsiders.

In 1982 the ill-fated, anti-communist World War II movie, Inchon, was released to bad reviews and bad attendance. The movie was expensive to produce, costing $48 million dollars, almost all of which was paid for by the Unification Church. Even this publicity-seeking, anti-cormmunist propaganda vehicle backfired on the Moonies. There was little critical or box office acclaim and much public controversy over its funding and distribution publicity (all by Unification organizations and money).

The Unification Church was in the news again in 1982 with a mass wedding at Madison Square Garden, where Rev. Moon united 2,075 couples, all his followers. Caroli Agus of Newsday reported,

"Wearing identical wedding uniforms, an army of brides married an army of grooms at Madison Square Garden in a wedding that began with "Here Comes the Bride" and ended in a shower of balloons. Strangers married strangers. Before the wedding the Moonies, celibates all, lived separately from the opposite sex. They related to each other as brother and sister and called each other by those names. The wedding was preceded by a "matching" June 25 and 26, held at the New Yorker Hotel, which is Unification Church property. It took a few seconds or a few minutes to match a couple."

Rather than improving Moonie public relations, the ceremony served to highlight the Moonies' non-traditional social and cultural habits and the unorthodox theology. Some critics declared that this was just another example of the drastic mind control and brainwashing executed upon Moon converts.

Moon's power (and his church) grew in South Korea, greatly aided by Moon's secular business activities. His strong anti-communist activities won him the support of the South Korean government.

The story of the Unification Church in America since 1972 has been a startling combination of good and devastating publicity. The Unification Church has been praised for pouring millions of dollars into struggling local economies. The church frequently buys struggling industries in depressed areas (fishing coops in Louisiana, for example) and turns them into good profit-making companies with member help, much of which is volunteer. However, critics claim that the money raised comes largely from donations which are coerced from the unsuspecting public by members who are said to be dupes of Moon, soliciting donations while not telling their "marks" that the Unification Church is the recipient of their donations. Those who live and work around the Moonie businesses often complain that the cheap member labor increases local unemployment.

The Unification Church has also hosted a number of professional symposia for scientists, philosophers, and theologians. While those sympathetic to the Unification Church see this as a philanthropic, ecumenical gesture, critics point out that the Unification Church seems to hide its involvement in such meetings in order to increase attendance, and then after the meetings exploit their involvement for publicity. Evangelical Christians who have attended the Moonie religious conventions or seminars sometimes feel that the purpose of the meeting is more for the Moonies to learn Christian vocabulary and apply it to their unorthodox theology than for open dialogue. NEW ERA is the Moonie front organization which sponsors these meetings.

Moon claims that the goal of the Unification Church was, and still is, to unite all of Christendom and all people under God. The International One World Crusade, or IOWC, sponsors rallies throughout the world in an effort to unite churches. This is done by volunteer workers.

Moon divides history into three theological dispensations: the Old Testament Age, the New Testament Age, and the Completed Age.

The Completed Age is the time when humanity will become fully redeemed. The Divine Principle provides the revelation of this period.

The fundamental theology of the Unification Church centers around the doctrine of physical redemption. Moon teaches that Jesus Christ finished only half of his mission and was cut short by an unfortunate crucifixion. Jesus failed to marry and therefore did not establish the

"perfect marriage" intended to supplant the imperfect marriage between the first Adam and Eve. Since this work was left incomplete by the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, a third Adam is needed to complete this mission. The church is reluctant to declare publicly that

Sun Myung Moon is the third Adam. There are members, however, who do so quite openly. Moon's fourth wife, Halt Ja Kan, was declared to be the "perfect mother" after the first three "Eves"

proved to be failures.

In the Unification Church the writings and teachings of Moon take precedence over the Bible:

"It may be displeasing to religious believers, especially to Christians, to learn that a new expression of truth must appear. They believe that the Bible, which they now have, is perfect and absolute in itself" (Divine Principle, 2nd ed., 1973, p. 9).

Moon further stated,

"... The New Testament Words of Jesus and the Holy Spirit will lose their light... to 'lose their light' means that the period of their mission has elapsed with the coming of the new age" (Divine Principle, p. 118).

For the members of the Unification Church, the Divine Principle is the ultimate authoritative work, superseding even the Bible. The Divine Principle is known as the completed testament because it contains the present truth for this age which heretofore had not been revealed.

Even though Moon's doctrines are opposed to Christianity, he claims that it was Jesus who revealed them to him:

"You may again want to ask me, 'With what authority do you weigh these things.' I spoke with Jesus Christ in the spirit world. And I spoke also with John the Baptist. This is my authority. If you cannot at this time determine that my words are the truth, you will surely discover that they are in the course of time These are hidden truths presented to you as a new revelation. You have heard me speak the Bible. If you believe the Bible, you must believe what I am saying" (Rev. Moon, Christianity in Crisis, p. 98).

Like all cult leaders, Moon claims exclusive knowledge:

"We are the only people who truly understand the heart of Jesus, and the hope of Jesus" (Rev. Moon, The Way of the World, p. 20).

"God's essential positivity and essential negativity are the attributes of His essential character and essential form .... Here we call the positivity and negativity of God 'masculinity' and 'femininity', respectively" (The Divine Principle, p. 24).

"God either projected the full value of Himself in His object, or He created nothing at all .... So man is the visible form of God, and God is the invisible form of man. Subject and object are one in essence. God and man are one. Man is incarnate God" (New Hope, p. 5).

God, in Moon's theology, is at once a "perpetual, self-generating energy," the uncaused first cause of all that exists, and at once the inner character of all that exists. God has both masculine and feminine characteristics that are completely in harmony with one another, and with the universe. The creation reflects the physical aspect of God's nature and creative energy.

"The Principle does not deny the attitude of faith held by many Christians that Jesus is God, since it is true that a (any) perfected man is one body with God" (Divine Principle, p. 209).

"We must understand that this (John 8:58) also does not signify that Jesus was God Himself. Jesus, on earth, was a man no different from us except for the fact that he was without original sin" (Divine Principle, p. 212).

Jesus differed from all other human beings in that he was without original sin. He was raised spiritually in his resurrection, but his body remained in the grave.

The chosen nation rejected Him and He went to the cross without having built the Kingdom of God on earth.

"We, therefore, must realize that Jesus did not come to die on the cross" (Divine Principle, p. 178).

"Satan thus attained what he had intended through the 4,000-year course of history, by crucifying Jesus, with the exercise of his maximum power" (Divine Principle, p. 435).

"It is equally true that the cross has been unable to establish the Kingdom of Heaven Earth by removing our original sin" (Divine Principle, p. 178).

Jesus, in other words, accomplished spiritual redemption for the world, but physical redemption was cut short by an untimely crucifixion. Furthermore, Jesus failed to marry during his earthly ministry and therefore failed to right the wrongs of the first Adam and Eve. Only the third Adam together with the new Eve will bring about physical redemption.

This physical redemption plays a key role in the Unification Church's concept of the Incarnation. Young Oon Kim expresses the idea as follows:

"Why did God seek to be incarnate? He wanted to participate fully in human life, to feel the full range of our experiences. God sought for Himself what it means to live at a physical level. Thus we could say that God created man to be his body" (Speeches On Unification Teaching, p.9).

The Holy Spirit is not, therefore, a person in the sense of being a distinct personality within the Trinity. It is described as being an energy that is derived from God and pervades the soul.

A perfect man and woman will become the true spiritual parents of humankind. Those who accept the perfect parents, obey them, and follow their example, will be heirs to the kingdom of God.

Moon believes himself to be the person to finish the task left uncompleted by Jesus. The failure of Jesus leaves the way open for Moon. The Divine Principle states that the Messiah, the Lord of the Second Advent, must be born physically on earth to accomplish man’s physical salvation. While neither the Divine Principle nor Moon

publicly declare that he is the Messiah, the inference is strongly given that Moon is indeed the Lord of the Second Advent.

To his followers there appears to be no question about it; Moon is the Messiah. He is reportedly worshipped by his followers and given the designation "Father." Moon has stated,

"God is now throwing Christianity away and is now establishing a new religion, and this new religion is the Unification Church" (Time Magazine, September 30, 1974).

The Divine Principle justifies this by saying,

"It is the nature of man to conceal an area of transgression. They covered their sexual parts, clearly indicating that they were ashamed of the sexual areas of their bodies because they had committed sin through them" (Divine Principle, p. 72).

Let me read to you this passage:

"…with what motive and by what process did Adam, Eve and the archangel fall in the Garden of Eden?…The archangel Lucifer was placed in the Garden of Eden to serve and guide the young Adam and Eve. But as the latter grew older and more mature, Lucifer began to realize that they were receiving more love from God than he was and therefore felt the desire for more love. Since Adam and Eve were God's children, they were meant to receive God's fullest and deepest love. Lucifer's situation may be compared to that of a child who is displaced by a newborn baby. Until the new infant arrived, the older sibling was the sole recipient of his parents' love. Now, all of a sudden, his parents' attention is focusing on the newborn.

"… because he had the ability to compare, Lucifer felt a lack of love. He tried to make up for this by coming closer to Eve. Lucifer saw Eve as very beautiful, and he was stimulated by an impulse of love towards her. From her side, Eve, who was immature and therefore susceptible to Lucifer's temptation, was attracted to the angel because of his wisdom and the attention she was receiving from him. The more Eve responded, the more the archangel was stimulated.

"Even though Lucifer knew his intent was self-serving and against the will of God, his desire for more love led him to intensify his relationship with Eve. A vicious cycle ensued. Eventually it drove him to defy God and Heavenly law completely by engaging in a sexual relationship with Eve. Eve, though feeling anxiety and confusion, willfully had this sexual relationship. This was possible only because Eve, prior to the fall, could interact with the spirit world as readily as with the physical world through her spiritual senses. It was a completely real experience. In her union with Lucifer, Eve received his selfish and guilt laden spiritual elements.

"When Eve felt fear, guilt and shame for what she had done, she went to her intended spouse, Adam, who was still pure. Adam could have saved Eve and restored her back to God; but Eve did not confess to Adam what she had done. Instead, Eve, who had acquired Lucifer's selfish nature by uniting with him, tempted Adam and induced him to have a sexual relationship with her against God’s commandment. Adam, though also feeling anxiety and confusion, willingly had this sexual relationship with Eve.

"Thus, Adam and Eve consummated their relationship prematurely and with the wrong motivation. As a result, Adam acquired from Eve the same selfish, ungodly nature that Lucifer had passed on to Eve. Lucifer, for his part, was degraded and became Satan, the being who finds perverse joy in opposing God and destroying all that is good. The conclusion is that the fall was an illicit sexual relationship, an unprincipled act of love between the archangel and Eve, and a premature act of love between Eve and Adam" (from the unification.org homepage, February 7, 2000).

In the streets, on campuses, and in shopping centers, the perpetually smiling, clean-cut, conservative-looking Moonies engage college-age people in discussions about a more meaningful life and the peaceful unification of all people. Moon is rarely mentioned at this point. They end the discussions by inviting contacts to dinner and an introductory lecture at a local Unification center. Those who are curious, lonely, or seeking some form of commitment, often accept.

At the center, prospective converts are showered with attention and warmth. Moon's "family" wants to convince them that they love them. This "love bombing" takes the form of pats, hand-holding, and ceaseless smiles. After dinner come prayers, singing, and a lecture. Those who know little about the Bible and history are more susceptible to the lectures because they are not able to detect the errors and distortions.

The evening at the center usually concludes with an invitation to a three day weekend workshop at a retreat or training center. Those who go find themselves in the middle of an exhausting schedule of relentless lectures, prayers, and singing, broken only for eating and exercise. A potential recruit is never left alone or given time to reflect on what is happening. Peer pressure to conform with the others in the activities is great.

By the end of the three days, the participant is exhausted from lack of sleep, continuous activities, and mental bombardment. In this state his judgment is poor and his decisions are likely to be governed by his emotions. He is begged to stay on and commit himself to the movement. For those who do, longer workshops follow, varying in length from a week to four months.

The program of indoctrination for new converts is rigid, highly organized, and in some ways frightening. Converts are told to give all their possessions, including bank accounts, to the Unification Church. They are also told to isolate themselves from families, friends, schools, and the world in general. The Moonies who are constantly around them become their new family. They are no longer to be exposed to television, radio, films, books, and newspapers, and there is no talk of the outside world. The new environment completely insulates them. Those who want to return to families and friends are told they are yielding to Satan since the latter are his agents. They are told that they must love Moon more than parents or anyone else.

The new believers are subjected to a rigid schedule which includes a heavy dosage of Moon's lectures and Divine Principle, hard work, five or six hours of sleep per night, starchy food, harangues for nonconformity to the group, constant drilling, praying, and singing. They are often charged up by the leaders into emotional frenzies. The elements of fear and guilt are also exploited as psychological levers to maintain control over the behavior of the new followers.

All physical needs - housing, food, and clothing - are provided for Moon's followers. They no longer need money, and they make no decisions. Many who have observed these techniques see in them a classic pattern of brainwashing. It is not surprising that there have been nervous breakdowns and some suicides among Moon's followers.

After the indoctrination is complete, Moonies are sent to various centers around the country. The highly disciplined schedule continues, and the emphasis is on communal living, fund-raising, and proselytizing. Moon communes allow no sexual contact, drugs, alcohol, or smoking. Uniformity is stressed, as reflected by the modest and sometimes identical clothing worn.

Everyone is up by 6:30 to go through the morning regimen of group prayer, breakfast, singing, and more prayer, followed by a long day of raising money in the streets and in shopping centers. The workers are driven in vans to the target areas. Under pressure to raise as much money as possible, many of them use "heavenly deceit" to sell more flowers, candles, peanuts, candy, or ginseng tea. Some say that they are raising the money to help orphans or drug addicts. Many Moonies take in several hundred dollars a day, and those who do not make a minimum quota (often $100) stay on the streets until they do. All this tax-free money flows into the coffers of the Unification Church, and apparently none of it goes to helping those on the outside.

When they return to the communes at night, there is more singing, praying, and indoctrination. Prayer is sometimes addressed to the pictures of Moon on the walls. Medical attention is discouraged for those who get sick, and there are sharp disciplinary procedures like long fasting, all-night prayer and repentance, and cold showers for those who get out of line.

The Moon communes offer the security of a perpetual childhood for those who do not wish to cope with the outside world: no drugs, no money, no sex, no choices, and no independent thought. Even one's marriage partner is selected after he or she "matures" in the cult for a certain period of time. Moon and the church leaders choose "willing" couples and arrange mass weddings periodically.

Conclusion

We started by talking about peace through the restoration of the family. I trust that you see now that Moon’s "family values" are far different than anything you’d ever imagine! Personally, I think he is sexually perverted – but whether or not he is, his doctrine certainly is spiritually perverted and to be rejected as false teaching, a cult.

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