Unificationism

God's true love can enter into every family in the love children have for their parents, the love of brothers and sisters, the conjugal love shared by husband and wife, and the love parents have for their children. These are the four great realms of heart.
- Unification blessing

Introduction

Mun Yong-myong - known to western cultures as Sun Myung Moon, claimed that on Easter Day in 1935 Jesus visited him and asked him to complete the work of restoring humanity to God, accomplish his work left unfinished after his crucifixion and defeat darkness so God can establish an eternal reign. Moon was 15 at the time. After a long period of personal prayer Moon took this mission upon himself and created the The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity - now known as the Unification Church, to fulfill his pledge of unification.

The beliefs of the Unification Church include a universal God, the creation of a kingdom of God on earth, salvation for all people, and that church founder Sun Myung Moon is the second coming of Christ. Divine Principles is their holy textbook.

Founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon, the Unification Church was established in Seoul, South Korea after several false starts in northern Korea - for which he was imprissoned. The founding name was the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity and its members call themselves Unificationists. Outsiders nicknamed them "Moonies," a name members consider derogatory.

The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification became the official name for the religious group in 1994. At that time, Moon announced the consolidation of all his entities including the The Washington Times, Korean Folk Ballet, and many others under the new name.

Missionaries have founded churches in more than 150 countries, including the United States. Estimates place membership in excess of the 100,000s but no definitive number's available.

Customs and Beliefs

In the teachings of Unificationsim, God is held to be the creator whose very essence is both that of  male and female and is the source of all things truthful, beautiful, and good. Human beings as well as the universe as a whole mirror God's purpose.

Reciprocal interaction - the concept of "give and take" is a central tenet of Unification in which the concept the the purpose of human existence is to return joy to God.

Other central concepts of Unification are "subject and object position" and the "four-position foundation."

Divine Principals

Moon's Holy Book No Trinity states that God is a single being comprised of both female/negative and male/positive in perfect harmony. God's female counterpart is the Holy Spirit, a form of energy from God.

Eve and Lucifer had an affair and had sexual relations with Adam prior to their marriage in Eden. These illicit acts led to Satan's rule of the world and the fall of mankind.

Born without sin, Jesus Christ was spiritually resurrected following his crucifixion. Angels took his body to an undisclosed location. He was executed before he could marry a perfect woman to undo original sin and make both physical and spiritual salvation possible. Only spiritual salvation was accomplished. Acceptance of Jesus as your savior and following his teachings will permit you to live with him in Paradise after you die.

Hell currently exists on earth and in the spiritual world but will be eradicated on earth.

Controversy

There have been many controversies associated with the Unification Church. It has been declared by many to be more of a cult than a church though several prominent sources have found that there is a genuine spiritual belief system as a basis for their religious views. The use of monies of the church have personally enriched Moon personally have also come into international question and sometimes prosecution and conviction for tax evasion in the United States.

There have also been allegations of recruitment and brainwashing in which young and vulnerable people were separated from their families through suspect methods. Long term research found that this was overblown and sensationalistic reporting even though the church did use high-coercion tactics to recruit new members during the 1970's.

There have at various times been reports of children born out of wedlock, accusations of antisemitism and more. We leave it for yourself to discover the world of Unificationism and form your own opinions.