Unification Church (Paperback)

Chapter One

A. Sun Myung Moon: Youth Through Early Adulthood

1. Sun Myung Moon was born on January 6, 1920, in the village of Kwangju Sangsa Ri in northwestern Korea.

2. According to Moon, as a young "Christian" he had a dramatic spiritual experience while he was deep in prayer on a Korean mountainside.

a. This vision occurred on Easter morning in 1936 when he was sixteen.

b. He says that Jesus appeared to him and asked him to complete the mission he had begun 2000 years ago.

c. When he realized that he was the only one who could save the world, he accepted the call to deliver all humanity from Satan's domain.

3. Moon claims that he spent the following nine years in spiritual warfare with Satan, in which Satan tried to get Moon to either sin (and thus be unworthy to be the Messiah) or be convinced that he could not accomplish all that the Messiah must do to redeem humanity. Finally, he defeated Satan, thus fulfilling the initial demands of being the Messiah.

4. In 1946, Moon studied under Paik Moon Kim. Much of what he learned in Kim's pseudo-Christian monastery became the framework for his own theological teachings.

5. In that same year, the North Korean police arrested Moon.

a. Moon insists that they tortured him because of his faith.

b. He likened his suffering at the hands of the communists to the sufferings of Christ.

6. In 1948, Moon was arrested a second time and sentenced to five years of hard labor at Hung Nam, North Korea.

a. The Korean War interrupted his prison term.

b. During the fighting between the communists and the United Nations' forces, Moon escaped and fled to South Korea.

B. Moon's Activities as Church Founder

1. Moon settled in Pusan, South Korea. a. There he formed a small following during the early 1950s. b. These people were devoted both to Moon and to his religious ideas. c. They called him "Reverend" because they viewed him as their pastor and because of his religious training at Kim's monastery. 2. In 1954, he officially established his new church. a. It is called Tong-il-Kyo in Korean. b. Its English name is the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity. c. It is better known in the West as the Unification Church (it is also known as the Unified Family). 3. In that same year, Moon's first wife left him. a. According to leaders in the Unification Church, she later realized that she was wrong to have divorced him. b. She has since become a devoted member of his church. 4. In 1957, he published the first edition of the Divine Principle, which details the basic theology of his teachings and of the Unification Church (see III.B.3. below). 5. In 1960, he married Hak Ja Han. a. In the Unification Church their wedding is known as "the Marriage of the Lamb," taken from Revelation 21:9. b. She has since bore him thirteen children.

C. Moon's Activities as Church Leader

1. During the late fifties, membership in the Unification Church grew at a steady rate while spreading throughout South Korea.

2. His movement soon extended to Japan, where Moon has enjoyed his second largest following.

3. In 1959, Moon sent his first missionary, Young Oon Kim, to the United States to establish churches in North America.

4. Moon visited the United States in the sixties.

5. However, it was not until his seven-city "Day of Hope" tour, from late 1971 to early 1972, that his movement began to attract large numbers of Westerners.

6. The U.S. news media became fascinated with Moon for two reasons:

a. Moon was one of the few people to publicly support Richard Nixon during the winter of 1973-74, when the Nixon Administration was entering its stormiest period of the Watergate scandal.

(1) On November 30, 1973, Moon took time from his second "Day of Hope" tour to issue a statement, which was printed in twenty-one major newspapers across the United States. (2) Essentially, Moon said that only God should remove Nixon from the presidency since God had chosen Nixon to be president. (3) When Nixon invited Moon to the White House, the press quickly became fascinated with this Korean religious leader. b. As an integral element in the life of his church, Moon had been conducting mass marriages, in which he usually selected who should marry whom. (Unificationists view marriage as a holy sacrament like communion and baptism.) (1) In February 1975, Moon married eighteen hundred couples in Seoul, Korea, from twenty-five countries, including seventy couples from the United States. (2) It was the largest single ceremony thus far in the Unification Church, and it further drew him into the spotlight of the Western press.

D. Moon as a Controversial Figure

1. Controversy over Recruiting a. Moon became a much more controversial figure when the recruiting practices of the Unification Church became publicly known. b. Critics of Moon claimed that leaders of his church had brainwashed many of his followers. 2. Controversy over Finances a. The rapid growth of his financial empire in North America became a public issue. b. Moon's church purchased property and his followers established industries in the United States at an alarming rate. c. Moon and his family took up permanent residence in New York City, where they live in affluence. 3. Controversy over Messianic Claims a. What alarmed Jews and Christians the most was, and still is, Moon's implication, and some of his followers' proclamation, that he is the Messiah. b. Especially disturbing to Christians in particular is his teaching that Jesus did not fulfill his mission, and therefore another messiah must complete Christ's earthly ministry.

E. Moon's Legal Entanglements-Major Cases Involving the Unification Church

1. Katz v. Superior Court (1977) a. In San Francisco parents filed and won conservatorship of their adult children, who were members of the Unification Church. b. The California Court of Appeals reversed Judge Vavuris's judgment, ruling that they were mentally competent. 2. Molko and Leal v. Holy Spirit Association (1986) a. David Molko and Tracy Leal brought a suit against the Unification Church. (1) Molko and Leal were former members of the Unification Church. (2) They charged that the Unification Church had brainwashed them. b. The lower courts dismissed the case. c. However, the California Supreme Court reversed the lower courts. (1) In October 1988, the court ruled that this suit could be brought to trial. (2) In fact, the justices said that the Unification Church could be liable for fraud, infliction of emotional distress, and restitution. d. This ruling has been appealed to the Supreme Court, which still has not acted on it. F. Moon's Legal Entanglements-A Major Case Involving Himself 1. The Charges a. On October 22, 1981, Moon pleaded not guilty to a set of indictments ranging from fraud to tax evasion. b. Most of these charges centered on the interest that had accumulated in Moon's account in a Chase Manhattan Bank but had not been reported to the Internal Revenue Service during the early seventies. (1) The Justice Department claimed that $1.5 million had been deposited into Moon's account, which he used for himself. Therefore, he should have reported the interest earned on those funds and paid the proper taxes. (2) Moon's attorney contended that the funds belonged to the Unification Church and were used for church-related purposes. Since Moon was trustee of church funds, it was not uncommon to have church funds in a bank account in his name. 2. The Verdict a. On May 18, 1982, a New York jury found Moon guilty of evading several thousand dollars in income taxes. b. Moon was sentenced to eighteen months in jail and fined $25,000, plus the costs of prosecution. c. He served thirteen months, receiving five months off for good behavior. On August 20, 1985, he was released from the federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut. d. Friends of Moon note that Moon "stood trial, [was] convicted, sentenced, and then jailed on a voluntary basis ... Moon ... could have simply boarded a plane and left the U.S. at anytime." 3. Moon as "Martyr" a. The stigma of being a convicted felon did not tarnish Moon's image in the eyes of his followers and sympathizers. b. In fact, they regard him as a martyr, who has suffered unjustly, just as he had at the hands of the communists, who had imprisoned him. c. Moon's followers compare the persecution of their "Master" with the persecution of Christ. d. In addition, some say that "Because of his willingness to go this course voluntarily, without complaint, he is now seen as a leading champion and spokesman for religious freedom."

II. The Unification Church

A. Structure

1. Sun Myung Moon officially started the Unification Church in Korea in 1954. 2. Since then his church has been established in countries throughout the world. 3. Unification missionaries currently have entered formerly communist nations in Europe. 4. The number of members in the Unification Church is far greater in Korea and Japan than anywhere else. 5. Nevertheless, Moon's church in the United States still plays a significant role in Moon's plans to expand his church and spread his teachings. Moon believes it is through the United States that he can best exert his influence globally, since the United States is the world's leading economic, political, and military nation. 6. The Eastern and Western branches have at times clashed over bureaucratic issues, particularly the Unification leaders in Korea and the United States, with the Korean church usually winning out. 7. The Unification Church is divided into nations, regions (districts), and individual churches, and governed accordingly.

B. Recruitment

1. During the seventies, the Unification Church was widely condemned for its recruiting practices. a. Stories of "brainwashed Moonies" headlined newspapers and periodicals in the West during this time. b. There were also a number of articles on "kidnapping" and "deprogramming." 2. Unification officials admit that in some cases, overzealous district leaders applied too much pressure on people to join and remain within the group. They disagree, however, with the accusation that they brainwash their followers. a. Unification officials further state that they have since corrected these practices in which people both inside and outside the Unification Church were not given truthful information about Moon and his movement. b. Some critics of the Unification Church, however, claim that these abuses were systematically directed from the top, faithfully carried out among all branches of the church, and are still applied today-though much more subtly. (1) Historian Ruth Tucker notes that "The recruitment strategy of the Unification Church was widely criticized for utilizing tactics that were sometimes compared to brainwashing techniques." (2) Walter Martin said that the Unification Church is "characterized by what appears to be obvious, widespread, and forceful psychological pressure on members to conform and remain loyal to the group at all costs." c. Other authorities on the Unification Church argue that these abuses were not widespread. (1) Sociologists David Bromley and Anson Shupe claim that these psychological abuses occurred mainly in the Oakland, California branch, which was led by Mose Durst. (2) Professor Eileen Barker at the London School of Economics and Political Science affirms Bromley and Shupe's view: "A third [of the Unification Church members surveyed] did not realize that they were in Moon's Unification Church until they had heard several lectures or, in some (mainly California) cases, until they had actually joined the movement." d. It seems reasonable to conclude that in the seventies and eighties systematic and more serious abuses took place in the Unification Church, especially at the Oakland branch. Since that time, at least the major abuses do not appear to be an issue. 3. The following are the major complaints that have emerged against the recruiting practices of the Unification Church. a. "Heavenly Deception" (1) The term "heavenly deception" emerged from the teaching that lying is good if it is for the purpose of saving that person, or if it advances "the kingdom of God" (that is, Moon's church). In other words, Unificationists lied about their group and Moon's teachings to potential converts. (2) Chris Elkins, from his experiences in the Unification Church, defines heavenly deception as "the policy of using falsehood to achieve, supposedly, goodness.... Heavenly deception is a thread that extends far into the fabric of the Unification Church." (3) I personally have observed Unificationists practice heavenly deception on numerous occasions. For example, I have encountered Unificationists in wheelchairs soliciting funds for social programs that did not exist, and when I asked them why they pretended to be disabled as they walked to their van, they used their concept of heavenly deception to defend their actions.

b. Limiting Outside Contact (1) The Unification Church secluded its members from anyone outside the movement. (2) Unification leaders taught members that anyone outside their church is an instrument of Satan. (3) These outsiders included family and friends. (4) For example, in Christopher Edwards' account, he said prior to his leaving the Unification Church, "It was just as the Family said. Satan lurked in my parents, tempting me with their fallen love." (5) I have found this belief to be true with some Unificationists but not all. c. Slave Labor Conditions (1) Members were forced to work long hours studying the teachings of the church, raising money for the church, or enlisting new members into the church. (2) Little sleep and poor diet may have contributed to their loyalty to Moon. Journalists Carroll Stoner and Jo Anne Parke note that Moon's "young followers live severe lives of self-denial." (3) It would be an overstatement, however, to characterize members' austere lifestyle as slave labor conditions, particularly when some legitimate Christian communities also lead austere lives as a reflection of their devotion to Christ. (Continues...)