Disclaimer
I defend the Unification Church's right to exist as a member of our free, open, democratic, pluralistic and tolerant society.
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Critique
This is a critique of taking religious literalism and fundamentalism too far, and the misuse of religion for political purposes.
read more
Counterproposal
A religion does not need to be interpreted literally in order to be valuable and taken seriously.
read more
"What, then, is fascism?" (FYI)
"You carry in your blood the holy inheritance of your fathers and forefathers...You carry in it the secret of creation itself. Your blood is holy, for in it God's will lives." — Faith and Action, 1938. The German Propaganda Archive
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"The Third World War"
"It is folly; instead of transforming themselves into angels, they transform themselves into beasts; instead of elevating, they lay themselves lower." — Michel de Montaigne, 1533-1592, on The French Wars of Religion
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The Separation of Church and State
"... church and state are to be separated." — The Constitution of the Republic of Korea
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Sunday, September 18, 2011
Disclaimer
"I'm just a mug and I know it"
I defend the Unification Church's right to exist as a member of our free, open, democratic, pluralistic and tolerant society.
I felt compelled to create this essay out of my concern for what I observe as the continuing investment of large amounts of money and resources by the Unification Movement into partisan political activism here in the US and around the world. It seems to me that the church is seeking governmental power, and not just religious converts, and that is very troubling.
The only reason that the clergy would seek such political authority is to possess the powers of a civil government (e.g. police, army, law making, law enforcement). And the only purpose for that would be to force the public to accept their religious views and commands through physical means rather than through love, service and persuasion.
It is of special concern to me that some Unification Church clergy have given speeches on military "strength" and have expressed intolerance for homosexuals and perceived political enemies.
My intent here is to put together a simple, respectful, and useful information resource that might help others have a broader understanding. The content expresses my own personal viewpoint. Please forgive me if I have failed to acknowledge a source properly.
My own religious philosophy can be summed up in something I heard recently:
"The more religions you learn about, the more you learn about God."
I guess you could call me a kind of amateur comparative religion evangelist and a continuing eager student of the entire rich world tapestry of human religious experience.
"With malice toward none and charity for all, let us bind up the nation's wounds."
— Abraham Lincoln
I felt compelled to create this essay out of my concern for what I observe as the continuing investment of large amounts of money and resources by the Unification Movement into partisan political activism here in the US and around the world. It seems to me that the church is seeking governmental power, and not just religious converts, and that is very troubling.
The only reason that the clergy would seek such political authority is to possess the powers of a civil government (e.g. police, army, law making, law enforcement). And the only purpose for that would be to force the public to accept their religious views and commands through physical means rather than through love, service and persuasion.
It is of special concern to me that some Unification Church clergy have given speeches on military "strength" and have expressed intolerance for homosexuals and perceived political enemies.
My intent here is to put together a simple, respectful, and useful information resource that might help others have a broader understanding. The content expresses my own personal viewpoint. Please forgive me if I have failed to acknowledge a source properly.
My own religious philosophy can be summed up in something I heard recently:
"The more religions you learn about, the more you learn about God."
I guess you could call me a kind of amateur comparative religion evangelist and a continuing eager student of the entire rich world tapestry of human religious experience.
"With malice toward none and charity for all, let us bind up the nation's wounds."
— Abraham Lincoln
This is a personal blog essay and not affiliated with the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (a.k.a. Unification Church). All opinions expressed are my personal point of view.
Critique
"... the leaders suffered from that most terrible of all human delusions:
they believed themselves to be virtuous."
— Sir Kenneth Clark, "Civilisation", referring to the French Revolution.
This is a critique of taking religious literalism and fundamentalism too far, and the misuse of religion for political purposes. This is not a critique of religion or the good people of the Unification Church and their good works.
It is possible to be good, fulfilled, happy, and deeply religious without being a literalist. The purpose of a religion is to relieve suffering. As we have seen in the news lately and in history, unexamined religious beliefs and passions can lead to terrible, unnecessary and unintended suffering, especially when religion is used for political and secular ends rather than spiritual ones.
My main criticism of Unificationism, the way it is taught by some of the current leadership, is that it largely promotes a selective, literal, historical and political interpretation of scriptures. It has interpreted the otherwise symbolic, metaphorical and allegorical "kingdom of heaven" or "kingdom of God", of which Jesus spoke of in the Bible, into a utopian ideal of a literal political nation state called "Cheon Il Guk" with the end of elections.
.
It attempts to turn a personal religious belief into a claim to political authority.
Unfortunately (and sadly), because of its literal nature, this interpretation also has other readily identifiable (and familiar) political traits: subordination of self to the state, anti-communism, corporatism, nationalism, autocracy, adoption of one language, opposition to liberalism, religious homogeneity, populism, collectivism, militarism and anti-secularism to name a few. (see: fascism)
This worldview runs exactly contrary to our traditional values of personal dignity, liberation, freedom of choice, and moral responsibility. It also violates our hard won cultural and political values of pluralism, tolerance, democracy and the separation of church and state guaranteed in our constitution.
When Jesus prays in the Bible, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven", he is not making a political speech. Like all great religious teachers, he is speaking symbolically about the spiritual ideal of God's understanding and compassion coming to have dominion over the inner landscape of the soul of the one saying the prayer -- as in Genesis, "breathing" spiritual life "in"-to that which is otherwise just "earth."
"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground (earth), and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." — Genesis 2:7
In the New Testament, Jesus (a Jewish religious reformer, speaking to the Jewish people) makes the point clearly that the kingdom he is referring to is not an actual national monarchy like many expect, but (in fact, the opposite of that) a symbolic, universal, spiritual ideal -- "the kingdom of God" -- that is "within you." To take it literally and politically would be to miss the point! (see: sin)
Jesus, or his disciples after him, did not seek governmental power -- they were spiritual teachers and healers.
In our society, civil government and religion have two separate roles. Religion is a private matter and is protected by law as the first and fundamental right of each individual. When religion seeks secular governmental power, it is religion and religious freedom that suffers first and most. Someone once said that "the way to ruin a perfectly good religion is to get it involved in running the government." Our collective experience in history has made this point all too painfully clear.
Our founding fathers and mothers came to this country to escape the oppression of government enforced religion so that they might be free to worship in their own way. The founding principle of America is pluralism — E pluribus unum — "Out of many, one".
It is not to say that religious institutions are not valuable -- they are very important. However, it is also critically important that religious institutions, for their own good, and the good of the society as a whole, remain separate from government.
As the old saying goes: "absolute power corrupts absolutely" no matter how good the original intentions.
also see: literalism, political religion, theocracy, fascism, political ideologies
they believed themselves to be virtuous."
— Sir Kenneth Clark, "Civilisation", referring to the French Revolution.
This is a critique of taking religious literalism and fundamentalism too far, and the misuse of religion for political purposes. This is not a critique of religion or the good people of the Unification Church and their good works.
It is possible to be good, fulfilled, happy, and deeply religious without being a literalist. The purpose of a religion is to relieve suffering. As we have seen in the news lately and in history, unexamined religious beliefs and passions can lead to terrible, unnecessary and unintended suffering, especially when religion is used for political and secular ends rather than spiritual ones.
My main criticism of Unificationism, the way it is taught by some of the current leadership, is that it largely promotes a selective, literal, historical and political interpretation of scriptures. It has interpreted the otherwise symbolic, metaphorical and allegorical "kingdom of heaven" or "kingdom of God", of which Jesus spoke of in the Bible, into a utopian ideal of a literal political nation state called "Cheon Il Guk" with the end of elections.
.
"Elections conducted in a purely secular fashion will disappear from the face of the earth"— Sun Myung Moon, March 10, 2011
"From now on, the president of a nation cannot do his job as he wishes. The next election (in Korea) will be the last one. In the future we will not use the electoral system anymore. You have to know that. The next election will be the last one."— Sun Myung Moon, October 18, 2008
It attempts to turn a personal religious belief into a claim to political authority.
Unfortunately (and sadly), because of its literal nature, this interpretation also has other readily identifiable (and familiar) political traits: subordination of self to the state, anti-communism, corporatism, nationalism, autocracy, adoption of one language, opposition to liberalism, religious homogeneity, populism, collectivism, militarism and anti-secularism to name a few. (see: fascism)
This worldview runs exactly contrary to our traditional values of personal dignity, liberation, freedom of choice, and moral responsibility. It also violates our hard won cultural and political values of pluralism, tolerance, democracy and the separation of church and state guaranteed in our constitution.
When Jesus prays in the Bible, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven", he is not making a political speech. Like all great religious teachers, he is speaking symbolically about the spiritual ideal of God's understanding and compassion coming to have dominion over the inner landscape of the soul of the one saying the prayer -- as in Genesis, "breathing" spiritual life "in"-to that which is otherwise just "earth."
"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground (earth), and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." — Genesis 2:7
In the New Testament, Jesus (a Jewish religious reformer, speaking to the Jewish people) makes the point clearly that the kingdom he is referring to is not an actual national monarchy like many expect, but (in fact, the opposite of that) a symbolic, universal, spiritual ideal -- "the kingdom of God" -- that is "within you." To take it literally and politically would be to miss the point! (see: sin)
Jesus, or his disciples after him, did not seek governmental power -- they were spiritual teachers and healers.
In our society, civil government and religion have two separate roles. Religion is a private matter and is protected by law as the first and fundamental right of each individual. When religion seeks secular governmental power, it is religion and religious freedom that suffers first and most. Someone once said that "the way to ruin a perfectly good religion is to get it involved in running the government." Our collective experience in history has made this point all too painfully clear.
Our founding fathers and mothers came to this country to escape the oppression of government enforced religion so that they might be free to worship in their own way. The founding principle of America is pluralism — E pluribus unum — "Out of many, one".
It is not to say that religious institutions are not valuable -- they are very important. However, it is also critically important that religious institutions, for their own good, and the good of the society as a whole, remain separate from government.
As the old saying goes: "absolute power corrupts absolutely" no matter how good the original intentions.
also see: literalism, political religion, theocracy, fascism, political ideologies
Counterproposal
"Why should we stubbornly adhere to a literal interpretation...when so much of the Bible makes use of symbolism and metaphor? We would do well to abandon such a narrow and old-fashioned attitude of faith."
—Unification Church Divine Principle Chapter 2 Section 1.1
"And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?"
— Matthew 13:10
A religion does not need to be interpreted literally in order to be valuable and taken seriously. The literalist approach to religion faces many problems with credibility and contradictions in the light of modern scholarship.
My counterproposal is that the scriptures, as well as Unification Thought itself, do not need to be interpreted literally -- in fact most of their spiritual value is lost when they are read literally.
As an illustrative example outside of scriptures, if I were to turn in a book report on Moby-Dick, in my high school English class, saying that it was only about a ship, a whale, and an old sea captain, I would probably receive a failing grade for missing the point and the symbolism of the novel. Also, I would have missed the inner spiritual value of the story.
The "kingdom of God", in the Bible, can also be interpreted as a symbolic metaphor for the goal of your own personal, internal and eternal spiritual life -- as it is by many denominations. It is the "self-government" of compassion and understanding that comes from within you -- and must be nurtured, practiced and developed.
"Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand." — Matthew 13:13
Clever leaders using religion for political ends is as "old as history." However, the religious journey itself is primarily a personal internal journey from one point of view to another -- from suffering, dissatisfaction, sadness and anger, to understanding, contentment, joy, forgiveness and compassion for others.
Interpreting the kingdom of God literally, as an external political reality, short-circuits the personal spiritual meaning and experience. Religion isn't about bringing some noble to political power. Religion is about bringing out the power of nobility that is inside of you. Religion isn't about the "divine right of kings." Religion is about the "Divine King of Right."
"And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." — Matthew 19:17
Which is the higher moral standard? -- you do good because you are obeying some external authority's "commandments" to do so? -- or you do good because you feel and understand (as Jesus said) "within you", in your own heart and mind, that it is the right thing to do? People need to be free to make that choice, otherwise human dignity becomes meaningless. After all, why would you, as a "restored Adam" or a "restored Eve", need a literal king or a queen telling you what to do? Wouldn't that be a major contradiction of terms?
Even Jesus himself, in the New Testament, taught using many symbolic parables, allegories and metaphors. The actual spiritual lessons are in the symbolic interpretations.
Jesus said in Luke: "behold, the kingdom of God is within you" -- so , if the "kingdom" is within you, where is the "King?" -- within you! And where will the "King" return? -- within you!
You don't need to throw religion away. "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water." Just read it again with "new eyes." (metaphorically speaking of course)
"But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear."
— Matthew 13:16
—Unification Church Divine Principle Chapter 2 Section 1.1
"And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?"
— Matthew 13:10
A religion does not need to be interpreted literally in order to be valuable and taken seriously. The literalist approach to religion faces many problems with credibility and contradictions in the light of modern scholarship.
My counterproposal is that the scriptures, as well as Unification Thought itself, do not need to be interpreted literally -- in fact most of their spiritual value is lost when they are read literally.
As an illustrative example outside of scriptures, if I were to turn in a book report on Moby-Dick, in my high school English class, saying that it was only about a ship, a whale, and an old sea captain, I would probably receive a failing grade for missing the point and the symbolism of the novel. Also, I would have missed the inner spiritual value of the story.
The "kingdom of God", in the Bible, can also be interpreted as a symbolic metaphor for the goal of your own personal, internal and eternal spiritual life -- as it is by many denominations. It is the "self-government" of compassion and understanding that comes from within you -- and must be nurtured, practiced and developed.
"Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand." — Matthew 13:13
Clever leaders using religion for political ends is as "old as history." However, the religious journey itself is primarily a personal internal journey from one point of view to another -- from suffering, dissatisfaction, sadness and anger, to understanding, contentment, joy, forgiveness and compassion for others.
Interpreting the kingdom of God literally, as an external political reality, short-circuits the personal spiritual meaning and experience. Religion isn't about bringing some noble to political power. Religion is about bringing out the power of nobility that is inside of you. Religion isn't about the "divine right of kings." Religion is about the "Divine King of Right."
"And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." — Matthew 19:17
Which is the higher moral standard? -- you do good because you are obeying some external authority's "commandments" to do so? -- or you do good because you feel and understand (as Jesus said) "within you", in your own heart and mind, that it is the right thing to do? People need to be free to make that choice, otherwise human dignity becomes meaningless. After all, why would you, as a "restored Adam" or a "restored Eve", need a literal king or a queen telling you what to do? Wouldn't that be a major contradiction of terms?
Even Jesus himself, in the New Testament, taught using many symbolic parables, allegories and metaphors. The actual spiritual lessons are in the symbolic interpretations.
Jesus said in Luke: "behold, the kingdom of God is within you" -- so , if the "kingdom" is within you, where is the "King?" -- within you! And where will the "King" return? -- within you!
You don't need to throw religion away. "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water." Just read it again with "new eyes." (metaphorically speaking of course)
"But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear."
— Matthew 13:16
"What, then, is fascism?" (FYI)
"In the life of nations, what in the last resort decides questions is a kind of Judgment Court of God... Always before god and the world the stronger has the right to carry through what he wills."
— Adolf Hitler, 13 April 1923
“The essence of fascism is to make laws forbidding everything and then enforce them selectively against your enemies.”
—John Lescroart When religion is interpreted literally, and used for political purposes, sometimes it can become something else entirely... Unification Church Exposition of the Divine Principle Part II Chapter 5 Section 4.3.2 The Nature of Fascism
What, then, is fascism? Fascism denies the fundamental values of modern democracy, including respect for the individual and his basic rights, freedoms of speech, the press and association, and the parliamentary system. Race or nationality is the ultimate value, to be upheld by a strong nation-state. Individuals and institutions exist only for the benefit of the state. Under fascism, individuals cannot claim freedom as their inviolable right; they are to sacrifice their freedom in their duty to serve the state. The guiding political principle of fascism holds that all power and authority should be entrusted in one supreme leader rather than distributed among people. The personal will of the leader dictates the governing ideology for the entire nation. Mussolini in Italy, Hitler in Germany, and the leaders of Japan's militaristic government were dictators of the fascist type.
Examples of Fascism:
Fascism - a political theory advocating an authoritarian hierarchical government (as opposed to democracy or liberalism)
Most fascist movements portrayed themselves as defenders of Christianity and the traditional Christian family against atheists and amoral humanists ... called for "faith in God" and "love for each other."
"The Nazis presented themselves not as a political party, but as a movement with a worldview that claimed every aspect of life. In this, they made essentially religious claims."
"You carry in your blood the holy inheritance of your fathers and forefathers...You carry in it the secret of creation itself. Your blood is holy, for in it God's will lives." "blackmail letter to a black art...outward moral indignation while inside its own ranks the most shameless practices" — from The Munich Post: Its undiscovered effects on Hitler "Life comes from God and returns to God. All life and all races follow God's ordinances. No people and no race can ignore them. We want the German youth to again recognize the religious nature of life. They must realize that God wants the individual as well as the whole people, and that they lose contact with life when they lose contact with God! God and nation are the two foundations of the life of the individual and the community. We want no shallow and superficial piety, but rather a deep faith that God guides the world, that he controls it, and a consciousness of the relationship between God and each individual, and between God and the live of the people and the fatherland." "You take an oath to a man whom you know follows the laws of providence, which he obeys independently of the influence of earthly powers, who leads the German people rightly, and who will guide Germany's fate. Through your oath you bind yourselves to a man who - that is our faith - was sent to us by higher powers. Do not seek Adolf Hitler with your mind. You will find him through the strength of your hearts!" "... rituals of birth, marriage, and death ... Life ceremonies have become a decisive, essential matter, an aspect of the battle of worldviews, of the great spiritual struggle. They are the final and critical step if the movement is to implement and realize its total political-worldview leadership." (The) 1939 ... "Rally of Peace" ... was to reiterate the German will to peace ... The primary aspect of the Nuremberg Rallies was to strengthen the personality cult of Adolf Hitler, portraying Hitler as Germany's saviour, chosen by providence. The gathered masses listened to the Führer's speeches, swore loyalty and marched before him ...The visitors of the rallies by their own free will were subordinate to the discipline and order in which they should be reborn as a new people.
— from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (referenced in 2008) See Also: The German Propaganda Archive
Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology (generally tied to a mass movement) that considers the individual subordinate to the interests of the state, party or society as a whole.
Fascists seek to forge a type of national unity, usually based on (but not limited to) ethnic, cultural, racial, religious attributes. The key attribute of fascism is intolerance of others: other religions, languages, political views, economic systems, cultural practices, etc.
Various scholars attribute different characteristics to fascism, but the following elements are usually seen as its integral parts: nationalism, statism, militarism, totalitarianism, anti-communism, corporatism, populism, collectivism, autocracy, and opposition to political and economic liberalism.
"The Victory of Faith "
1933 German Propaganda Film (Internet Film Archive)
Adolf Hitler Quotes on Religion
We were convinced that the people needs and requires this faith. We have therefore undertaken the fight against the atheistic movement, and that not merely with a few theoretical declarations: we have stamped it out. — Baynes, Norman Hepburn (1969). The Speeches of Adolf Hitler, April 1922-August 1939 The folkish-minded man, in particular, has the sacred duty, each in his own denomination, of making people stop just talking superficially of God's will, and actually fulfill God's will, and not let God's word be desecrated. For God's will gave men their form, their essence and their abilities. Anyone who destroys His work is declaring war on the Lord's creation, the divine will.— Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf Vol. 1 Chapter 10 Faith is harder to shake than knowledge, love succumbs less to change than respect, hate is more enduring than aversion, and the impetus to the mightiest upheavals on this earth has at all times consisted less in a scientific knowledge dominating the masses than in a fanaticism which inspired them and sometimes in a hysteria which drove them forward.— Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf Vol. 1 Chapter 12 All in all, this whole period of winter 1919-20 was a single struggle to strengthen confidence in the victorious might of the young movement and raise it to that fanaticism of faith which can move mountains.— Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf Vol. 1 Chapter 12 Parallel to the training of the body a struggle against the poisoning of the soul must begin. Our whole public life today is like a hothouse for sexual ideas and simulations. Just look at the bill of fare served up in our movies, vaudeville and theaters, and you will hardly be able to deny that this is not the right kind of food, particularly for the youth...Theater, art, literature, cinema, press, posters, and window displays must be cleansed of all manifestations of our rotting world and placed in the service of a moral, political, and cultural idea. — Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, Vol. 1 Chapter 10 In the Bible we find the text, "That which is neither hot nor cold will I spew out of my mouth." This utterance of the great Nazarene has kept its profound validity until the present day. — Adolf Hitler, speech in Munich, 10 April 1923 We are a people of different faiths, but we are one. Which faith conquers the other is not the question; rather, the question is whether Christianity stands or falls... We tolerate no one in our ranks who attacks the ideas of Christianity ... in fact our movement is Christian. We are filled with a desire for Catholics and Protestants to discover one another in the deep distress of our own people.— Adolf Hitler, speech in Passau, 27 October 1928 Let us pray in this hour that nothing can divide us, and that God will help us against the Devil! Almighty Lord, bless our fight!— Adolf Hitler, address to the SA in 1930 I believe today that I am acting in the sense of the Almighty Creator. By warding off the Jews I am fighting for the Lord's work. — Adolf Hitler, speech before the Reichstag, 1936 I believe in Providence and I believe Providence to be just. Therefore I believe that Providence always rewards the strong, the industrious, and the upright. — Adolf Hitler, 11 September 1936 I say that they can be solved; there is no problem that cannot be, but faith is necessary. Think of the faith I had to have eighteen years ago, a single man on a lonely path. Yet I have come to leadership of the German people... Life is hard for many, but it is hardest if you are unhappy and have no faith. Have faith. Nothing can make me change my own belief.— Adolf Hitler, speech in Nuremberg, 12 September 1936 The National Socialist Movement has wrought this miracle. If Almighty God granted success to this work, then the Party was His instrument.— Adolf Hitler, proclamation to the German People, 1 January 1939 I may not be a light of the church, a pulpiteer, but deep down I am a pious man, and believe that whoever fights bravely in defense of the natural laws framed by God and never capitulates will never be deserted by the Lawgiver, but will, in the end, receive the blessings of Providence.— Adolf Hitler, speech, July 5, 1944 God the Almighty has made our nation. By defending its existence we are defending His work... — Adolf Hitler, speech, recorded radio address, 24 February 1945 Even today I am not ashamed to say that, overpowered by stormy enthusiasm, I fell down on my knees and thanked Heaven from an overflowing heart for granting me the good fortune of being permitted to live at this time. — Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, Vol 1 Chapter 5 - The World War Today Christians ... stand at the head of [this country]... I pledge that I never will tie myself to parties who want to destroy Christianity .. We want to fill our culture again with the Christian spirit ... We want to burn out all the recent immoral developments in literature, in the theater, and in the press - in short, we want to burn out the poison of immorality which has entered into our whole life and culture as a result of liberal excess during the past ... (few) years. — Adolf Hitler, quoted in: The Speeches of Adolf Hitler, 1922-1939, Vol. 1 (London, Oxford University Press, 1942), pg. 871-872 Sooner will a camel pass through the eye of a needle, than a great man be found by an election. — Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, Vol. 1 Chapter 3 The great masses of people do not consist of philosophers; precisely for the masses, faith is often the sole foundation of a moral attitude. The various substitutes have not proved so successful from the standpoint of results that they could be regarded as a useful replacement for previous religious creeds. But if religious doctrine and faith are really to embrace the broad masses, the unconditional authority of the content of this faith is the foundation of all efficacy. — Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, Vol. 1 Chapter 10 (quotes referenced from about.com, en.wikiquotes.com and en.wikipedia.com)
Links:
Some Interesting Educational Videos:
"Don't be a Sucker"
1947 US War Department public service announcement warning about the rise of fascism in America. (Internet Film Archive)
"Prelude to War" 1943 US War Department
"Chapter I of Frank Capra's "Why We Fight" series,describes World War II as a battle between the "slave world" of fascism and the "free world" of American liberty. In the "slave world," the entire populations of Germany, Italy and Japan have been hoodwinked by madmen, opportunists who capitalized on their people's desperation and weakness to rise to power. These demagogues promised revenge for past losses, and in the process convinced their people to give up their rights and accept dictatorship. In the "free world," the principles of equality, freedom, and liberty characterize the greatest leaders,embodied in the works and words of Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln.This freedom is a threat to the fascist dictators of the Axis powers,who claim that democracy is weak and must be eradicated." (Internet Film Archive)(or totalitarian rule) is a political system where the state, usually under the control of a single political person, faction, or class, recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible.[2] Totalitarianism is generally characterized by the coincidence of authoritarianism (where ordinary citizens have less significant share in state decision-making) and ideology (a pervasive scheme of values promulgated by institutional means to direct most if not all aspects of public and private life).[3] Totalitarian regimes or movements stay in political power through an all-encompassing propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media, a single party that is often marked by personality cultism, control over the economy, regulation and restriction of speech, mass surveillance, and widespread use of state terrorism. — from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totalitarianism Fascism is a term used to describe authoritarian nationalist political ideologies or mass movements that are concerned with notions of cultural decline or decadence and seek to achieve a millenarian national rebirth by exalting the nation or race, and promoting cults of unity, strength and purity. Fascists promote a type of national unity that is usually based on (but not limited to) ethnic, cultural, national, racial, and/or religious attributes. — from the Unificationist "New World Encyclopedia" Ryoichi Sasakawa (May 4, 1899 - July 18, 1995) was a Japanese businessman, politician and philanthropist born in Minoh, Osaka. He was accused but acquitted of being a Class A war criminal after World War II, was a self-proclaimed fascist, kuromaku (political power-broker), and the founder of The Nippon Foundation. While he is widely known throughout Africa and much of the developing world for the wide-ranging philanthropic programs that he established, he is at the same time viewed with hostility by many intellectuals for his right wing ideals and ties to Japan's motorboat racing industry and support for the Unification Movement. — from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Duck Test
The duck test is a humorous term for a form of inductive reasoning. The duck test can be explained this way:
If a bird looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it's probably a duck. A person can figure out the true nature of an unknown subject by observing this subject's readily identifiable traits. It is sometimes used to counter abstruse arguments that something is not what it appears to be.
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"The Third World War"
"It is folly; instead of transforming themselves into angels, they transform themselves into beasts; instead of elevating, they lay themselves lower."
— Michel de Montaigne, 1533-1592, French philosopher writing during the French Wars of Religion.
Divine Principle Part II Chapter 5 Section 4.4 The Third World War (the Unification Church Sacred Scripture)
"The First and Second World Wars had the providential purpose of dividing the globe into the communist world and the democratic world. Afterward, yet another war must take place to bring about their unification. This conflict is the Third World War. It is inevitable that the Third World War take place; however, there are two possible ways it may be fought.
One way to bring Satan's side to surrender is through armed conflict. However, at the conclusion of the conflict, there should come an ideal world in which all humanity is to rejoice together. This can never be built merely by defeating enemies in battle. Afterward, they must be brought to submission internally, that everyone may be reconciled and rejoice sincerely from the bottom of their hearts. To accomplish this, there must come a perfect ideology which can satisfy the desires of the original nature of all people.
The other way this war may be fought is as a wholly internal, ideological conflict, without the outbreak of armed hostilities, to bring Satan's world to submission and unification in a short time. People are rational beings. Therefore, a perfect, unified world can be established only when people submit to one another and participate in unification through a profound reawakening."
If the present (or future) Unification Church leadership's vision and interpretation of the "kingdom of God" continues to be (contrary to scripture) a literal and political one, the "Third World War", that the Unification Church Divine Principle predicts here, would be an armed conflict no doubt. Millions of innocent people would suffer and die in such a war -- women, children and grannies -- just like in WWII* (72 million casualties). So where will the "Legacy of Peace" be in that? The unexpected ultimate long-term legacy of Unificationism would be one of death and warfare.
However, if there could be the "profound reawakening" (also mentioned above) to the symbolic, metaphorical and spiritual kingdom ("perfect, unified world") of understanding and compassion (the one actually recorded in the New Testament), the outcome could be the desired one of love and peace. It just takes a "rational" shift from one point of view to another.
"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:" — Matthew 7:24
God is not political. God is not a liberal or a conservative -- He is not a communist or a fascist -- He is our Father.
The main challenge of our age is the growth of intolerance and sectarian violence that arises from radical fundamentalisms of all kinds. All religions are true. However, a religion does not need to be believed or interpreted literally in order to be valuable and taken seriously.
"I am sure that human sympathy is superior to ideology."
Religion isn't the problem. I am deeply fascinated with all religions. It is the literal, legalistic, political and mean spirited way that some people interpret and use religion that is the problem.
Someone once said: "there are three pillars to human happiness: love, peace and freedom. You cannot sacrifice freedom for the sake of love and peace." People must be free from the constraints of an officially enforced (and fallible) government sponsored state religion to actually find God for themselves (not just believe in Him) and love God. The most any other person can do is help to show you your own path that you must walk. "Nobody else can walk it for you."
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"The lonesome sparrow sings
There are no kings inside the gates of Eden"
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"The capability of people for good makes democracy desirable.
The capability for evil makes democracy necessary."
— Reinhold Niebuhr
The capability for evil makes democracy necessary."
— Reinhold Niebuhr
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Parallels in History
March 7, 1936 – World War II (Prelude to): In violation of the Locarno Pact and the Treaty of Versailles, Germany reoccupies the Rhineland.
March 7, 1936 – World War II (Prelude to): In violation of the Locarno Pact and the Treaty of Versailles, Germany reoccupies the Rhineland.
March 7, 1951 – Korean War: Operation Ripper – United Nations troops led by General Matthew Ridgway begin an assault against Chinese forces
September 18, 1931, The Second World War began with the invasion of the Japanese (and Korean) army from Korea into Manchuria.
January 7, 1926, birth of Kim Jong-pil
February 22, 1943 World War II: Members of White Rose are executed in Nazi Germany.
September 3, 1939 – World War II: France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland, forming the Allies.
September 3, 1945 – Three-day celebration was held in China, following the Victory over Japan Day on September 2.
September 18, 1931, The Second World War began with the invasion of the Japanese (and Korean) army from Korea into Manchuria.
January 7, 1926, birth of Kim Jong-pil
February 22, 1943 World War II: Members of White Rose are executed in Nazi Germany.
September 3, 1939 – World War II: France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland, forming the Allies.
September 3, 1945 – Three-day celebration was held in China, following the Victory over Japan Day on September 2.
Unification Church related companies
Kahr Arms Factory: http://www.kahr.com
Separation of Church and State
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
—John Dalberg-Acton
—John Dalberg-Acton
US Bill of Rights Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
The Constitution of the Republic of Korea (South Korea)
Article 20: [Religion, Church] (1) All citizens enjoy the freedom of religion.
(2) No state religion may be recognized, and church and state are to be separated.
The Constitution of Japan Article 20: Freedom of religion is guaranteed to all.
No religious organization shall receive any privileges from the State, nor exercise any political authority.
2) No person shall be compelled to take part in any religious acts, celebration, rite or practice.
3) The State and its organs shall refrain from religious education or any other religious activity.
The Virginia Act For Establishing Religious Freedom Thomas Jefferson, 1786
Well aware that Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion, who being Lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either...
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