Saturday, December 31, 2011

New Year's Resolution!

I wish to be efficient in what I do.
This has been my New Year's resolution for many years. So, I guess it will be so again this year. As the years passed, I feel the urgency to do well, to be efficient. I have possibly another thirty years in front of me, or may be much less.

I am not interested to be victorious for my own self; I am interested to be victorious because it will make a positive impact on our world. I am sixty years old. I do not work eighteen hours a day like I used to. My work habits have switched from external to internal. I think, pray, reflect, lead, advise, counsel, smile, and love more.  That is what older people should do, isn't it?

My credentials are simple.
I am sixty years old
A wife for 32 years
A mother for 21 years
So, I hope that this coming year I will be more efficient at what I do, so that in my own way I will have a positive impact on our world one year at a time.


Sunday, October 2, 2011

Missing Japanese Man Suspected Victim of Kidnapping and Faith-Breaking


The 32-year-old man from the Nagoya, Japan has not been seen by fellow Unification Church members since September 5. Both the church and his place of work have reported his disappearance to the police.

GREENBELT, MD, October 02, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Religious freedom activists expressed concern over a new case of a suspected kidnapping and secret confinement of a Unification Church member in Japan. The International Coalition for Religious Freedom (ICRF) announced the disappearance of the 32-year-old man from the city of Nagoya in Japan's Aichi Prefecture. Mr. "K.M." has not been seen by fellow church members since September 5. His place of work as a caregiver also reported him absent, and colleagues from the local Okazaki Unification Church, with which he is affiliated, found his residence empty.

Local church leaders plan to report Mr. "K.M." as a missing person to the police. However, Japanese police routinely reject such reports on the grounds that a church pastor is not a relative. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that in hundreds of such cases, it is the victim's relatives who kidnap and confine him, with the intent to force him or her out of the church.

The practice of kidnapping religious believers for "deprogramming" was widespread in the U.S. in the 1970s and 80s, but came to an end after courts made it clear that such actions were illegal, even when committed by family members. Scientologists, Krishna devotees, Pentecostal Christians and Unificationists were among the victims. Today, the Unification Church remains highly controversial in Japan, and the nation's traditional values hold that "family matters"--such as spousal abuse, rape, incest and forcing an adult relative to renounce his religion--should be kept private.

The issue of religious kidnapping in Japan has recently gained international attention as the result of the case of Mr. Toru Goto (Photo on the left), who was held against his will in a secret location in Tokyo for 12 years because he refused to renounce his Unificationist faith. He sued the alleged perpetrators, who include relatives and a Christian minister, and the case is currently being tried in a Tokyo court.

Out of respect for his privacy the church is not releasing the current victim's full name, but accredited researchers may learn additional details by contacting ICRF.

The International Coalition for Religious Freedom is a non-profit, non-sectarian, educational organization dedicated to defending the religious freedom of all, regardless of creed, gender or ethnic origin.

Website: http://www.religiousfreedom.com

NOTE:  The picture above is of Mr. Goto, from Japan. He was held in captivity for twelve and half years. He was finally released by his captors because they could not break his faith. The picture above was taken shortly after his release.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Our Attitude Towards Nature


When you open your eyes in the morning and look at nature, it subtly connects with your original nature and inspires feelings about a new ideal that can sprout forth. On the other hand, you know very well that the more you look at the human world, the more despair and sorrow it arouses in your heart. If the world were populated by people who had not fallen, the value of human beings would not stir up sorrow in the heart of a beholder. Human beings were not created merely to have the value of a blade of grass, a flower or a tree trunk. People were supposed to be noble beings who could not be exchanged for anything in the created world. They were supposed to step forward representing Heaven with incomparable value. (CIG page 111, Sun Myung Moon, 1960.4.24)

You should have a mind that contemplates nature that is imbued with the love of God and says, “Could anything precious owned by a king of this world or by some famous person compare with this? Could any antique artifact compare with this? Could a glamorous dress worn by a famous lady compare with this?” Without that kind of heart, we are committing a sin before the natural world without even knowing it. If there is someone who can look at a living being and say, “Can anything produced by human hands compare with this? No matter how great someone may be, could he ever be greater than God?” and value most highly all things created through God’s hard work, he must surely be a child of God. Such a person does not need to pray. He lives with God. God guides people into such a position. (CIG page 111, Sun Myung Moon, 1960.5.8)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

About Giving and Receiving

God wants to see a free, peaceful and happy place where giving has no accusers and receiving has no conditions attached. Sun Myung Moon, 1964.4.12






Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The Divine Principle

The greatness of the Divine Principle taught by the Unification Church is that it explains creativity in concrete terms and serves us in our understanding of the process of creation. Next, it provides a substantial explanation of how the Fall came about and then also presents a view of history. It clearly explains how God, rather than abandoning human beings in their fallen state, has been working diligently for their re-creation throughout the course of history. It logically and plainly reveals that through this process of restoration we will arrive at the world He purposed to achieve. (Sun Myung Moon,1990.11.20)
The world today is more aware of its surrounding than it was many years ago. The ability to study various thoughts, theologies, and religions is at the finger tips of many. There are no excuses for ignorance. I will not make excuses for what I believe is true but will put it out there for anyone to read. It is up to each of us, educated being to make the effort to understand how to create and maintain a peaceful world. By looking at the history of mankind we do realized that, so far, every single method used failed, so the importance of finding a different route for peace and the wellbeing of humankind should be one of primary study.

Divine Principle

Monday, August 8, 2011

About God's Love

"When a woman is expecting a baby, a new world emerges for her. When the baby starts moving, she has so much hope. This is how women should be.  They have many dreams, like the ones God had when He created. To have the thought “I hope my child grows up and becomes so and so in the future” is in keeping with the heart God had when He prepared to create Adam and Eve."
Did you ever experience reading something that you have read before but having a different reaction to the content than the time prior? I have. Today I read the words above from Rev. Sun Myung Moon dated July 1992, and felt a greater understanding for God's love.

Monday, August 1, 2011

ABout the invisibility of God

The incorporeal God

God is without form. If we should conceive of Him as large, He is infinitely large, and if we should conceive of Him as small, He is infinitely small. (35-156, 1970.10.13)

Does God really exist? Can God be felt as more real than the pain that makes you say “ouch” when someone pinches you, or more real than the experience of eating when you are hungry? This is the question. When we know that God truly exists, all problems will be solved. (89-72, 1976.7.11)

We have a mind. The mind is invisible and may not appear to exist; yet it exists. Does it exist in the head, or in the heart? Mind exists throughout your body, with not even one cell within your body where it is not present. The same is true for God. Because this world is like His body, He is present everywhere in the world. (38-242, 1971.1.8)

You cannot see God. Can you see energy? Since God is the original body of energy, you cannot see God even in the spirit world. (105-193, 1979.10.21)

The wise, all-knowing, and omnipotent God thought that it was most convenient to rule as an incorporeal being who could move around freely in the midst of things. Since God has no form, He can pass through things at will without any problem. God may come to your body and pass through it, but you would not notice. When you doze off, God may walk on your body as He pleases without you noticing. How convenient! So it is plausible to say that God chose to remain invisible because He thought that it would be most convenient. (138-167, 1986.1.21)

We are normally unaware of the air around us. The air is there, but we do not feel it. If we unaware of the air circulating around us, how can we be aware of God? It is most convenient for God to remain invisible. At the same time, He has to be more than big enough to wrap around this huge universe. Although God is without form, He requires a mind that is bigger than this universe. (138-167, 1986.1.21)

Do all of you here have love? Do you have life? You all have sperm or ova to continue your lineage, don’t you? Do you also have a conscience? Then, have you ever seen love? Have you seen life, lineage or conscience? Although you know they exist, you can neither touch nor see them. You can know about them only by feeling them through your mind and heart. Likewise, when you are asked whether God exists, or whether you have seen Him, you cannot say that you have not seen Him. (275-13, 1995.10.30)

 When God is in your heart, your heart knows it. When God is in your heart, you can break through the protective walls and communicate with the saints who died thousands of years ago. You can do this when the eternal God comes into your heart. You cannot capture eternity through time; time exists within eternity. That is why even though we cannot see God, our hearts know Him. (41-285, 1971.2.17)

How does God love? This is a difficult question to answer, isn’t it? Since God is without form, He can go anywhere – inside a lady’s eyes, inside her heart... He can go everywhere. There is nowhere He cannot go. Then, where does God live? Where is His home? God’s home is in the middle of our heart. God’s masculine heart lives in the heart of man, and God’s feminine heart lives in the heart of woman. (128-325, 1983.10.2)
Suppose that God, who is omnipotent, all-knowing, and controls all of heaven and earth, were here. With His power, He could blow away Mt. Taebek and put a hole through the earth. Do you think you could survive watching such a God? So it is good that God is invisible. If He were visible, your nerves would tremble and you could not survive for even one hour. So you should be grateful that God is invisible. This is not a laughing matter. What I have told you now comes from my own poignant experiences. It is an account from my own experiences, not those of others. (38-244, 1971.1.8)

What if God decided to remove all the air in the world, leaving only one gallon? It would be a naughty method, but if God did that, world unification would be no problem. Perhaps He would be able to do it in five minutes. If God took away all the air and asked, “Will you unify or not?,” all humankind would shout in unison, “We will!” God could unite the world in an instant using this method, but we are thankful that God does not do that with the air. Without air we cannot live. Air is absolutely necessary for life. Yet people gulp air like thieves without feeling grateful for it. (38-244, 1971.1.8)

If God, the great Master of heaven and earth, were visible to human eyes, wouldn’t people fight each other to capture God? There would be no way to stop the battle. So it is good that God is invisible. America and the Soviet Union would fight, each claiming God as theirs. They would. Who would be able to stop Chapter 1 • The Original Being of God 53 the fighting? The all-knowing God stays invisible lest such fights break out. To wish that God were visible is foolish. It is better that He is not. (41-285, 1971.2.17)

This universe is veiled in mystery. This great universe is some 21 billion light years across. One light year is the distance light travels in a year. Light can circle the earth seven and a half times in one second, so you can begin to conceive of how far light travels in a year. Then, how large must the Master be who can rule this huge universe? If God had a body, how tall would He be? If God is as large as we say He is, would He be able to drag His cumbersome body around? How inconvenient it would be if He had to lumber about like that! Every time He moved the universe would fall over in surprise. God is a wise being. This is why He decided to be an invisible Lord. (138-167, 1986.1.21)

Have you ever thought about God’s weight? How heavy do you think He is? How many kilograms does He weigh? Perhaps billions of tons? If He were that heavy, He would have a big problem trying to move around. But it is ideal for God that He is incorporeal. Even if you carry Him inside your wallet, you will not feel any weight. Since He has no form, He can even go in and out through the eye of the smallest needle. In other words, He can move around at will. Being infinitely large yet also infinitely small, He is free to move around anywhere in the universe. (136-106, 1985.12.22)

If you have something you consider most precious, you will want to carry it with you at all times. You will not want to be separated from it even for a moment. Then if God, the greatest treasure of them all, was in your possession, where would you like to attend Him? Is there a store room where you can store Him securely, where you can attend Him? That place is none other than your heart and mind. The human heart and mind form the store room where God can be safely attended. (41-285, 1971.2.17)

Since God is without form, the conclusion is that He should give more importance to beings with form than He does to Himself. Only then will things begin to turn. Conversely, human beings should value their invisible mind and God more than their bodies. (111-49, 1981.1.18)

The above excerpts come from a book title "CHEON SEONG GYEONG". It is a selection of speeches by Rev. Sun Myung Moon given from early 1950 to 2005.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

The Position of Exitence and the Responsibility of Humankind

Today I was reading the following passage and decided to publish it. It is not easy for us all, humans, to understand our existence and its purpose. Many of us are confronted with suffering on a daily basis, either personally or through the media. Either way, it affects us deep inside even when we are not aware of it. Our life experiences affect our beliefs and our goals in life.

The following reading is from a book titled, "Sermons of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon" book 3. The date is September 15, 1957.

The Position of Existence and the Responsibility of Humankind

This is not God's desire. The wish that God has is for humankind to set all the conditions of restoration and bring to pass the one day when they can call God "True Father." God has been wished for this for 6,000 years. Therefore, you have to understand that God is working hard for this earth. He has been battling for the sake of this earth while crossing an unspeakably miserable course. Now we must attend this Father. We must reflect upon ourselves, before the eternal Father, whether we are leading selfish lives in the position of an enemy.

You who have come searching for the path of ordeals that others avoid! You who have been found after 6,000 years of Heaven's work! As sons and daughters of the True Father, you have to take on the Father's unfinished tasks. You must become the representatives of Heaven who can fight against Satan, even until the end of time. Moreover, for this sake, you should be able to completely present yourself to the Father and say that you can inherit a new mission. In your mind you must envision each step taken by the Father. Even if you cannot take responsibility for all of the Father's suffering and worries, you must be able to attend the Father in your hearts.

What then is the source of the bitterness and grief of God? Christianity today thinks that God dwells in glory, but this is not true. If humankind does not believe in and support Him, then God's will cannot be realized. This is the reason even now God anxiously longs for humankind to fulfill their responsibility. Therefore, you must establish the heavenly laws on this earth, actualize the heavenly kingdom of glory, and materialize God's eternal ideal of goodness in this universe.

No matter how hard God tries to fulfill the will, He cannot do it alone. Moreover, Satan cannot stand in the position of goodness, no matter how hard he tries. Unless humankind saves him, he has no choice but to remain in the position of evil for eternity. This is not true with men. They can become glorified before the Father. On the contrary, they can also stand on the side of Satan and confront Heaven.

If I end my post with no additional comments, it is on purpose. I do not want to convince anyone about my faith; I simply want to make everyone curious and aware of its existence.

Monday, May 30, 2011

What is Faith Part 1



My daughter, then 17 years old, filmed a lot of our local church sermons. She took the best ones and posted them on Youtube and forgot about them. Recently, this particular short movie was watched and commented on. It reminded her of what she had done and she felt very good about it. Enjoy and feel free to comment as well. Mahalo!


Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Moscow Rally

Rev. and Mrs. Moon boldly entered Moscow in April 1990 and had a one-on-one meeting in the Kremlin with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Rev. Moon conveyed his support to Gorbachev of his policies of glasnost and perestroika. Rev. Moon persuaded Gorbachev to allow religious freedom, to allow God to enter the Soviet Union. This meeting was crucially important in the sight of God. It was, the beginning of a peaceful process of the demise of the Soviet empire. Rev. Moon indeed motivated Gorbachev in the direction of peaceful reform. The greatest miracle that occurred in this century was the liberation of the Soviet Union without nuclear war. The threat of nuclear war was the single greatest concern of Rev. Moon. He said, "Thank God, not a single nuclear weapon was used against mankind since 1945."

His Strategy: Love the communist people and educate them about how Marxism/Leninism was fatally flawed; offer them a counterproposal based on Godism, and help them achieve their ideal.

The American journalist Georgie Anne Geyer was stunned to observe such developments, and she wrote an article commenting on the April 1990 Moscow Novosti-World Media Conference program: "Of all the impossible events that have occurred in the Soviet Union in the last five years, probably none has been as unlikely as the happy meeting in recent days between Mikhail Gorbachev and the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. The Moscow News called Mr. Moon 'the most brilliant anti-communist and the No. 1 enemy of the state'–and then added, please, that it was 'time to reconcile.'”



A more detail report of the visit can be found on the following pages, click here.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Good Friday: The best or the worst day in human history?

Is there something good about "Good Friday"? I attended many of them while growing up and I truly enjoyed every religious ceremonies. I felt close to God and it is there that I started my relationship with our Heavenly Father. As years past by, I started to re-think about all these events of long ago and today I am not sure that all of them were the first choice in the way that God wanted humankind to handle things.

The crucifixion of Jesus was the result of His mission being interrupted. When Jesus started there were no talks about crucifixion (see Matthew 4:23-24) it is only when he realized that he could not do what he wanted that he started to speak about his path of suffering. Anyone who rejoices in the death of Jesus may not understand that God is our parent. No individual, worthy of that title, would ever rejoice in the death of their offspring.
Wikipedia says: "Good Friday (from the senses pious, holy of the word "good"), is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary."
GotQuestions.org respond to the question, "Why is Good Friday referred to as good?": What the Jewish authorities and Romans did to Jesus was definitely not good (see Matthew chapters 26-27). However, the results of Christ’s death are very good! Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” First Peter 3:18 tells us, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.
The inevitable death of Jesus was a second choice, and the only choice available to redeem the failure of humans to recognize Jesus as the son of God. By accepting this second choice and allowing Satan to kill him, Jesus opened the door for spiritual salvation, but let us think this through as it may not have been what God had intended from the beginning.


Rev. Moon speaks about, “Jesus and The Second Coming”

Jesus was a messenger of God who criticized people for being blasphemers and being like serpents and he certainly made some people angry. If Jesus had told the people of his time that they were wonderful children of God, would he have been killed?  What would have happened if the nation of Israel had wholeheartedly accepted Jesus Christ? Imagine the nation of Israel united with Jesus. What would that have meant? First of all, Jesus would not have been killed.  He came to erect the Kingdom of God on earth, but instead he had to caution his disciples even to keep his identity a secret because people did not accept his legitimacy as the Messiah, and he therefore lacked the power to be the King of kings.

Today we have much to learn, and we must not believe blindly. We must know the hidden truth behind the Bible. Jesus was crucified, not by his own will, but by the will of others. Jesus Christ was killed because humankind would not have faith in him as Messiah. Jesus Christ was murdered. People living at the time of Jesus Christ made a terrible mistake. According to Jesus, John the Baptist was Elijah. But alas, John himself denied that he was Elijah when he was asked! His denial made Jesus seem to be a liar. This was such a grave situation. The crucifixion of Jesus was a result of human faithlessness. If death on the cross had been fulfillment of God's will, Jesus would certainly have prayed instead, "Father, I am honored to die on the cross for your will."

The prayer of Jesus at the garden of Gethsemane did not come from his fear of death or suffering. Jesus would have been willing and ready to die a thousand times over if that could have achieved the will of God. He agonized with God together in the garden, and he made one final plea to God, because he knew his death would only cause the prolongation of the dispensation.

Dr. Richard L. Rubenstein a historian of religion who received his theological training at Harvard University says this about Rev. Moon:

"Of one thing concerning your messianic vision I am certain: all of your works, from which the world has already derived so much benefit, have sprung from your messianic vision. Without it, there would be no ICUS, no PWPA, no Washington Times, no Assembly of the World's Religions, no Little Angels School, no revivified University of Bridgeport; without your messianic vision, your original tiny church in Pusan would never have become the worldwide religious force for human betterment you now lead."

The faith is the same, only the ritual is different

In the newspaper a pastor wants to burn the Koran. What is the difference between him and other extremists who burn the Bible and the American Flag? None. Their faith is the same, only their rituals are different. Their faith is based on fear, hate, and ignorance. They have not taken the time to pray. They have not taken the time to look at mankind from God's point of view. They have not taken the time to develop their parental heart. Living for the sake of others is not in their vocabulary.

History has proven that hate will not bring us a peaceful world. "Eye for an eye" will not bring us a peaceful world. "I before they", will not bring us a peaceful world. Therefore we must search for another route.
Rev. Sun Myung Moon says, “You might be driven by the conspiracies of your enemies to die as a great traitor, or you might die as a result of your comrades, friends, or loved ones, or others, plotting to harm you, but when you die, do so with the heart of benefiting the world. Die without enemies. If you are to die anyway, die after planting something, and without making any enemies. Be resolved to die while loving the enemy as a friend rather than otherwise. Jesus’ prayer on the cross for his enemies was great in this way. (34-45,1970.8.29)
Serving and educating all nations in good economic principles, in good health care, in good education, in good reporting, and in good government, will allow the masses to overcome the few who today lead us into destroying ourselves.

The following link http://www.upf.org/ brings extensive information about the life and work of Rev. Moon, the man. He and his wife have invested a tremendous amount of energy and time in teaching and educating about the love of God and the purpose of creation.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The root of life begins in love


God maintains life on the foundation of true love; His omniscience and omnipotence should be based on true love. Only then can He stand as the ideal subject partner for humankind. God is a subject partner who has transcended history. If He seeks to assume the position of the subject partner with only the power of life, then all things of creation will not want to unite together.

Even microscopic animals and plants wish for a master of love to tend them and take care of them. They like to feel the touch of loving hands. You should not say, “I’m stronger than anyone else, so you have to do as I say!” Only when love is involved is life set in motion. The root of life begins in love. The basis for God’s continued existence is not life, but love. (Sun Myung Moon, 1988.2.7)



Saturday, April 9, 2011

Is Rev. Moon the Second Coming of Christ?



Interview with Dr. Tyler Hendricks, President of the Unification Theological Seminary in New York about Rev. Moon as the Messiah, the Second Coming of Christ.

There is no free lunch

What is the meaning of true freedom? In light of the Principle, three characteristics of freedom stand out.

First, there is no freedom outside the Principle. Freedom requires both free will and the free actions pursuant to that will. The former and the latter have the relationship of internal nature and external form, and perfect freedom is achieved when they are in harmony. Therefore, there cannot be any free action without free will, nor can free will be complete without free actions to accompany it.

Second, there is no freedom without responsibility. Human beings, created according to the Principle, can reach perfection only by fulfilling their responsibility based on their free will. Accordingly, a person pursuing the purpose of creation as prompted by his free will ceaselessly strives to carry out his portion of responsibility.

Third, there is no freedom without accomplishment. When human beings exercise freedom and carry out their responsibility, they strive to accomplish results which complete the purpose of creation and bring joy to God. Free will ceaselessly pursues concrete results through free actions.

He was intelligent, educated, and the favorite of God

When we discover that someone has done something terribly wrong we are surprised and cannot understand so we ask "Why would such a good person do something like this?"  In response to this question Rev. Moon speaks about “The Identity of the Serpent” referred to in the Bible.

In the Bible we read that a serpent tempted Eve to commit sin Gen. 3:4-5. What does the serpent symbolize? Let us investigate the true identity of the serpent, based on the Genesis account.

The serpent described in the Bible was able to converse with people. It caused the Fall of humans, who are spiritual beings. Furthermore, the serpent knew the Will of God, which strictly forbade human beings to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is compelling evidence that the being which the serpent symbolizes was a spiritual being.

It is written:
The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world - he was thrown down to the earth. -Rev. 12:9

This ancient serpent is the very serpent which tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. Having lived in heaven before it was thrown down, this Devil or Satan must be a spiritual being. In fact, ever since the time of the human Fall, Satan has been continually turning the hearts of people toward evil. Since Satan is a spiritual being, the serpent which symbolizes him must also represent a spiritual being. These strands of biblical evidence confirm that the serpent who tempted Eve was not an animal but a symbol for a spiritual being.

The question arises whether the spiritual being symbolized by the serpent existed before the creation of the universe or was created as a part of the universe. If this being existed before the creation of the universe and had a purpose contrary to that of God, then the conflict between good and evil in the universe would be unavoidable and perpetual. God's providence of restoration, then, would be in vain. Moreover, monotheism, which holds that everything in the universe was created by one God, would be unfounded. We are left with the conclusion that the spiritual being represented by the serpent was originally created with a good purpose, but later fell and became Satan.

What kind of spiritual being in God's creation could have conversed with people, understood the Will of God, and lived in heaven? What kind of being, even after it had fallen and become degraded to an evil being, could transcend time and space to dominate the human soul? There are no beings endowed with such characteristics other than angels. The verse "God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of nether gloom" II pet. 2:4 supports the conclusion that the serpent, which tempted human beings and sinned, is an angel.

A serpent has a forked tongue. It depicts someone who utters contradictory things with one tongue and lives a two-faced life with one heart. A serpent twists its body around its prey before devouring it, a metaphor for someone who ensnares others for his own benefit. For these reasons, the Bible likened the angel who tempted human beings to a serpent.

Friday, April 8, 2011

It is not God's fault

If we believe that God is love, then we must logically think that God does not create "disasters" as He pleases. It does not make sense; therefore there must be another reason for the pain and suffering of humankind. Let us examine what Rev. Moon says about the reason God did not intervene in the fall of the first human ancestors.

To Maintain the Absoluteness and Perfection of the Principle of Creation

God, being omniscient and omnipotent, must have known about the deviant acts of the first human ancestors which were leading to their Fall and was surely capable of preventing them from carrying them out. Why, then, did God not intervene to prevent the Fall? This is one of the most important unsolved mysteries of the ages. We can put forward the following three reasons why God did not interfere with the human Fall.

In accordance with the Principle of Creation, God created human beings in His image, with the character and powers of the Creator, intending that they govern over all things as He governs over humankind. However, for human beings to inherit the creative nature of God, they must grow to perfection by fulfilling their portion of responsibility. As explained above, the period of their growth is the realm of God's indirect dominion or the realm of dominion based on accomplishments through the Principle. While people are still in this realm, God does not directly govern them because He wishes to allow them to fulfill their own portion of responsibility. God will govern them directly only after they have reached full maturity.

If God were to interfere with human actions during their growing period, it would be tantamount to ignoring the human portion of responsibility. In that case, God would be disregarding His own Principle of Creation, according to which He intends to give human beings His creative nature and raise them to become the lords of creation. If the Principle were ignored, then its absoluteness and perfection would be undermined. Because God is the absolute and perfect Creator, His Principle of Creation must also be absolute and perfect. In summary, in order to preserve the absoluteness and perfection of the Principle of Creation, God did not intervene in the acts that led the human beings to fall.

That God Alone Be the Creator

God only governs over a principled existence which He has created and only sways the course of
principled acts. God does not regulate any unprincipled existence which He did not create, such as hell; nor does He interfere with any unprincipled act, such as criminal acts. If God were to affect the course of such beings or acts, then they would necessarily be given the value of God's creations and be recognized as principled.

Consequently, if God were to have intervened in the Fall of the first human ancestors, He would have been attributing to those acts the value of His creations and recognizing them as principled. If God were to do this, He would in effect be creating a new principle that recognizes these criminal acts as lawful. Since it would actually be Satan who manipulated the situation to bring about this outcome, it would in fact be Satan who created another, new principle, and Satan would stand as the creator of all the fruits of the Fall. Therefore, in order that God remain the sole Creator, He did not intervene in the human Fall.

To Make Human Beings the Lords of Creation

God created human beings and blessed them with dominion over everything in the creation. Human beings cannot rule other creatures if they stand on an equal footing with them. They must earn certain qualifications to gain their God-given mandate to govern.

God is qualified to govern human beings because He is their Creator. Likewise, for human beings to gain the qualifications to rule all things, they must also possess the character and powers of the Creator. In order to give them creatorship and make them worthy to govern all things, God has human beings perfect themselves by accomplishing their own portion of responsibility until the end of their growing period. Only by perfecting themselves in accordance with the Principle can they earn the qualifications to rule the universe. If God were to rule directly and control the lives of human beings who are still in the state of immaturity, this would in effect grant the authority of a ruler to those who are unqualified to rule. That is, it would have the effect of granting this authority to those who have not yet fulfilled their responsibility or earned God's creatorship. It would contradict God's Principle because He would be treating an immature person as if he were mature. God, the Author of the Principle, would be disregarding His own Principle of Creation, which He established in order to enable human beings to inherit the nature of the Creator and govern the creation. Consequently, it was in order to bless human beings as the lords of creation that God had to restrain Himself from intervening in the acts of immature human beings, as He watched with trepidation their tragic fall.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

I believe in God

If someone asked you, “Do you believe in God?” It is not a yes or no answer. There are many interpretations of God and unless the person asking the question to me has the same interpretation as I do then my answer will have to be "no". The best definition of God I have ever encountered is the following:
"God, the Creator of all things under the sun, is the true parent of all humanity. He is not a parent in the parochial sense, existing only for a certain religion, a certain race, or the residents of a certain region. You may call Him by any name, be it Jehovah, Allah, or any other. What is important is that He certainly exists, lives as the true parent of all people, and is carrying on the great work of creation. He governs everything in the universe, and He carries out His providence through history in accordance with the principles and laws of nature that He set up at the beginning of time." Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, April 10th, 2006 Korea 3rd peace message
I can relate to the God describe above. I respect him and yearn to know him well. What about you, would you?

In Christianity God has been portrayed as a fearful God, an authoritarian God, a God of judgment, and also a God who knows everything past, present, and future. Only in recent history does God become a God who loves.

Rev. Moon says that first and formost God is a parent. As a parent, would you want your children to be afraid of you? As a parent would we want our children to be condemned for eternity to suffering if they break our rules? There is another way, and punishment by eternal fire is not it.

My life had just changed forever

When I was 7 years old, my priest was convinced that I would become a nun. At fifteen I wanted to lock all the heads of state in a single room and only free them after they had created a plan for peace.

At 20 years old and already a practicing registered nurse in France, I met with my priest and asked him questions that he could not answer. Confused about my future I prayed to God on a regular basis, especially on my way to and from work.  While driving I sang the same song over and over and I would cry as I sang.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi: miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi: miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi: dona nobis pacem.
One evening in September of 1972, feeling lonely, I drove for a couple of hours after work to see Monique, a friend of mine who also a nurse. When I arrived at midnight she had a guest, Genie, an American girl. Genie was speaking about God in ways that I had never heard of before. Cautious, I nevertheless purchased the book she was promoting and promised her I would contact Jacques, a friend of hers in Paris, if I had any questions.

A month later, after having read a couple of chapters, I went to Paris. It is a very big city; I had never been there before. It was an adventure, a little scary. I went by train on the first weekend of November. I arrived on a Saturday and managed to arrive safely at the address Genie had indicated. Even though I had read beyond the second chapter, Jacques wanted to go over it again for some reason. So, we did. 

At that time, I had a boyfriend; I was going to stay with him that night. Jacques knew that. So, chapter two we read. That day I realized that my life was forever changed. The questions that could not be answered by my priest started to get answered. I was overwhelmed yet calm at the same time. I had wanted to live a life that would create a peaceful world, and I had found the person and the teaching that could make it happen.

That night I found myself alone in the corner of a closed train station at midnight.  I was trusting that God would take care of me if I would make the effort to understand and live my life as He wanted. Four dangerous youths noticed me and started to come in my direction. Then, a man came forward slowly, determined to reach me. The punks took note and walked backwards as they disappeared in the dark. The man told me not to stay there because it was dangerous.  He directed me toward an open diner where I could safely wait for the morning light. After several decades I still remember this man walking towards me. God sent him to protect me and to tell me that He was there.


To this day, I have never read a more powerful revelation than the one revealed in the book Genie gave me titled "The Divine Principle". Having been a Unificationist since 1972, I have never met someone more stubborn and more determined to make this world a better place, than the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. I look at our world and wish that an effort was made individually and collectively to study his teaching. What do we have to lose? We live in a world of conflict that we do not seem able to resolve. Those of us who are kind and compassionate feel powerless to relieve the pain of millions, so why not listen to a teaching that may give us the tools we need to build an everlasting peace?

From the time I joined, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel; I knew the path forward to peace. I did not understand everything. I would learn later but I had glimpsed a revelation that would forever change my world view of who we are as individuals and collectively as societies. The key to a peaceful world, a loving world, was in this book, “The Divine Principle” by Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Of this fact I had no doubt.