Thoughts On The Success Of Homosexualism

UViews March 1994

Homosexuality is something like Communism. As in the case of Communism, we love the sinner but hate the sin. As with Communism, homosexuality has moved from being a personal spiritual problem to being an ideological threat, promulgated not by the numbers under its sway but by a few leaders at the control of the language and institutions. In fact, I would term this developing interpretation of society, history and nature, "homosexualism." As with Communism, our best strategy against homosexualism is vigilence and containment, as we develop a superior alternative while it rots from within.

In 1977 at the Unification Theological Seminary, I researched the contemporary Christian response to homosexuality. I found that Christianity cannot defeat homosexualism. Christianity has neither an ideological nor a practical answer. Ideologically, Christians are worshipping a bachelor Messiah and a God who is three males in one. These archetypes fit right into the homosexualist viewpoint. There is no fundamental male/female archetype in Christian tradition.

This matter rested uneasily in the Christian closet for 2,000 years, subsumed under the category of the fall. At the close of the second millennium (that is, this week), the closet is being emptied. The day I write this, in fact, March 12, the rules of the Church of England are being changed to approve the ordination of women to the Anglican priesthood. The Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, regretted the conflict engendered, but generously assured opponents of the change that they would continue to have "a full and honored place within the church." (RNS, 2/28/94). It is not clear whether those opponents now desire a place in the church, or even consider it to be the same church. A Church of England priest, Rev. Francis Bown, expressed the view that the Anglican claim to Catholicity is killed forever, and that "now it is just a liberal Protestant sect."

Of course, the same issue is dividing the Catholic Church. Protestants, by God's providence, are farther along the road of progress. The ordination of women to the clergy is a long-lived fait accompli; the burning moral question challenging the ethical acumen the finest of this generation's Protestant theologians is the validity of homosexual marriages.

As Reverend Moon says, all these problems are rooted in a confusion of the God-given relationship of man and woman. The image of woman simply has not gained status equal to that of man in the Jewish or Christian traditions. Where do Christians find it? For Catholics there is the cult of Mary, virgin mother (another oxymoron). An inspiring but not very realistic model for Catholic women. For Protestants, well, Jesus has been feminized over the past 400 years. Read The Feminization of American Culture, by Ann Douglas. She explains how the liberal Protestant clergy combined with the upper middle class women on the eastern seaboard in the nineteenth-century to feminize Jesus, Christian theology and much of American culture. The image transitioned from Jesus the vengeful judge to a Jesus with silky blonde hair and flowing gowns, carrying lambs in his arms with children gathered around.

This does not work today; even women reject this image. And so we have the mainstream Protestant denominations co-sponsoring a conference on "RE-Imagining . . . God, Community and the Church." There, 2,000 Christian leaders attended and participated in "a mil-and-honey ritual and invocations to the feminine deity Sophia." (RNS 3/7/94) Methodist and Presbyterian conservatives are criticizing the conference, in particular those aspects of it, as "dominated by heresy and paganism," presenting aspects which were "alternatives" to belief in the triune God and celebration of the holy eucharist. The hierarchies of these churches are defending the conference, justified as exploration of "ways in which women's experiences and feminist scholarship can be incorporated into theology and spirituality."

Thus it would seem that to do justice to the feminine, fundamental Christian beliefs and traditions may be sacrificed. But in the present Christian context, this is taking place within a framework of either/or: either the tradition or the innovations, either bread and wine or milk and honey. What is needed is a new overarching model, which exalts the tradition and contextualizes it in a more wholistic understanding of the providence of God.

In any case, the result of my research at UTS was that logic cannot prove homosexuality evil, nor can the Christian tradition, out of which homosexualism arose, answer it. Under the Christian archetype, wherein religious celibacy competes for and generally wins the highground commanding God's attention, who can expect anyone to comprehend the absolute value of heterosexual marriage? The ideal of Christian celibacy, rooted finally in Jesus' bachelor status, predetermined for 2,000 years an incorrigible ambivalence on the part of Christians toward the physical body, on the one hand, and toward the sexual relationship which produces it, on the other. Blood, that of Jesus and of the martyrs, is the seed of the church, but it is not the seed of human procreation. Hence the awful and ultimately unnecessary division between physical life and spiritual life, between birth and rebirth. If the Christian church and culture is to resolve this problem, it must discover a new fundamental paradigm.

The ideal of celibacy is the archetype of the middle ages, an era of God's providence which we rightly treasure. It was an era in which newborns were all but exorcised before being brought into the church for baptism and the receiving of godparents. The church recognized that the root of life itself is invaded by evil. That root of life, of course, is sexual intercourse. The disease of sin infects the sexual organs themselves, because our bodies are intrinsic to our personal being.

Why did not the ideal of medieval Catholicism maintain its hold on the human imagination? The answer lies in two places. One, it lies in the very genius of Christianity (and of all religions): it points beyond itself. Its very finality includes the hope for its own transcendence. "I am coming soon . . . I am coming soon . . . I am coming soon . . . " echoes through the sad, crucifix-adorned cathedral of the ages. "Yes," Jesus tells us, "I returned in the spirit after the cross, but in some way greater than that again will I live with you." Two, the desire more basic than that of any religion, that of true man/woman love, is not revealed or saved by Christianity. I heard the story of a Catholic being asked by her priest why she had joined the Unification Church. "Why attend a funeral," she replied, "when you can attend a wedding?"

I nonetheless cheer the efforts of those theologians who feel there is a line to be drawn and make efforts to do so and to protect it. One such, reported in the Religious News Service of March 7, is Roman Catholic Cardinal Giacomo Biffi. Biffi is speaking out on behalf of the Pope's recent opposition to the European Parliament's resolution of February 8 which would recognize homosexual marriages and allow homosexual couples to adopt children. "The parliament," reports the RNS, "an advisory body of elected representatives from the 12-member nations of the European Union, approved the resolution by a 159-96 vote." The Pope said that this resolution legitimizes a moral disorder, and Biffi defended the papal statement. The Christian community, he said, "should wake up and realize that defending the truth as it has been revealed by God is the most elementary and the most necessary act of charity toward the others and it should have the courage to openly challenge anti-Christian opinions." For example, he said, in ministering to divorced people, one should not just comfort them, but let them understand that "divorce is an egotistical act in opposition to God's plan." "In short," reports the RNS, "the cardinal warned against placing more emphasis on compassion than on truth. He said people are always concerned about showing compassion and love for unwed mothers and AIDS victims, 'but much less worried about remembering that the violation of God's commandments and behavior against chastity always brings with it the risk of self-destruction."

And yet, what is the Cardinal protecting? It may be a line drawn in a war which has been won already .

The Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, spoke to a luncheon of religious leaders during the second Assembly of the World's Religions. Present were the Grand Mufti of one nation, the chief rabbi of another, Tibetan Buddhist monks, Hindu swamis, Christian ecumenists, Sikh gurus and Baptist ministers. With what teaching did he seek to bring forth their hidden oneness? The rabbi exclaimed it afterward in the lobby, to his friend and to everyone else within earshot: "It was so amazing! He talked to us all about the sexual organs!"

Imagine Jesus living to the end of a long and fruitful life, accepted for who he was, the only son of the living God. Like us but without sin, he would have had a wife of stature equal to his, a family, grandchildren. Imagine that by a ripe old age he would get around to telling the people the facts of life.

Imagine the New Jerusalem. Are there children on the streets of gold?

How do they get there?

What does the Messiah come to do?

Paul, following Jesus' path of tears, wrote that in Christ there is no male nor female, Jew nor Greek, slave nor free. The separation into Jew and Greek, slave and free, I would submit, are results of the fall, and Paul was right with regard to the rightful ending of those divisions. But Paul was wrong, ultimately, concerning male and female. The separation into male and female is not a result of the fall; it is a principle of creation. In fact, the very image of God is male and female (Gen. 1:27), and the male and female in and of God were concretized directly as a man and a woman (and indirectly in the structure of the entire universe and all its parts), whose longing would naturally be to re-constitute the unity of God in marriage.

This re-constitution of God's unity by two separated, complimentary beings is the Unification model of the Trinity, the three-in-one: God, man and woman. This is the substantialization of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and one should treat every Christian couple as a representation of the Trinity. Hence, the Trinity is life-giving, procreative.

From this viewpoint, ideological homosexuality, or homosexualism, is a denial of God, for it is denying the image of God. One could probably compare it with one or other of the classical heresies which denied the Trinity. Further, any worldview which accepts the balance of forces in nature summarized in the yin/yang duality, a description of multiplicity as subtley comfortable as the Trinity is with the unity of God, cannot countenance the homosexualist one-sided view of man, nature and God.

The Need For A Conservative Alternative

Thus sayeth Wililam Kristol, Chairman, Project for the Republican Future, in an article published in the conservative periodical, Imprimis: " . . . the fact that liberalism is dying is no guarantee that conservatism will triumph. Conservatives must promote their own agenda. First, conservatives must fight against liberalism on philosophic grounds. . . Second, conservatives must make the fight against liberalism broad rather than narrow. . . . Third, conservatives need a positive agenda. . . Fourth, conservatives must remember that it is easier to achieve big rather than little reforms. . . . Fifth, conservatives must make arguments that go beyond economics." (Italics Kristol's.)

What Kristol really is saying is that conservatives need a religiously-based system of principles and ideas, an ideology, if you will. The problem is that conservativism have always been anti- ideological. Just the facts, said Locke against the rationalist Descartes. Just proven practice, said Burke against the French philosophes. Just common sense free market and fair play, said the leaders of the democracies against the communists. The downfall of monarchism and Thomism was the end of the influence of conservatism as an ideological alternative. Nothing has successfully taken its place, although the Puritans tried.

Democracy is inherently anti-ideological. Therefore, Kristol timidly refers to what the conservatives need as "an agenda," and the Imprimis editor calls for "a real alternative" to liberalism. Come out and say it, folks: conservatives need a God-centered ideology, a God-centered system of ideas and principles which cohere meaningfully to define this world and tell us what is right and what is wrong. Just because the Reverend Sun Myung Moon is the only thinker who has such an ideology doesn't prevent you from acknowledging this simple necessity, does it?

The problem is that we have exhausted the resources of the Christian paradigm and spiritual foundation. Liberals say deconstruct everything and conservatives call us back to the sources; in an ironic way they are saying the same thing: where we are presently situated is unacceptable. Even the President, comments Kristol, has no nerve to talk about "progress," as did Kennedy; all he can call for is "change." (If the Whitewater developments continue I expect to see a political cartoon soon with a bedraggled Bill on the street begging for spare change.)

Please note: I said we have exhausted the resources of the Christian paradigm, which Christians have been the first to admit is an historical event awaiting further development. I did not say we have exhausted the resources of God. As Christians should know, God's giving of a further revelation does not nullify the earlier revelation, although it does modify our comprehension of the earlier revelation.

Unificationism is the ideology which we need. This is a call to non- Unificationists.

Unificationism is the ideology which we need to develop. This is a call to Unificationists.

A Prophet with Honor: On the Occasion of Billy Graham's 75th Birthday

"A prophet with honor"-it's an oxymoron, first of all. A prophet rails against that which is politically correct, that which is accepted wisdom, that which is popular with the masses. Hence, a prophet by definition is not honored. Second, it's the title of William Martin's acclaimed new biography of Billy Graham.

Contemporary America has rendered the role of a true prophet nearly impossible. There is a niche for everyone; our pluralist society can digest everyone from Malcolm X to Governor Wallace without much trouble. And it definitely has had no trouble digesting Billy Graham; in fact, Rev. Graham has been a main dish satisfying the American appetite for the word of God since the late 1940s, when a number of Hollywood celebrities came forward at his Los Angeles revival.

Last fall the Religious News Service merely repeated what Life magazine trumpeted in 1949 and Time magazine repeated in its recent cover story: Billy Graham is a star. The RNS, no friend of revivalism, calls him "a highly respected figure in an era of fallen religious leaders and clerics . . . a highly popular figure as well. Indicators are his standing in polls, the honors he has received, the attendance at his crusades, the many invitations he receives to speak and the money his supporters donate to his association." Graham is a "frequent guest at the White House in both Democratic and Republican presidencies. The Vatican and Kremlin are among some of the unlikely places where the Southern Baptist preacher has been welcomed."

A prophet? Or a priest sanctifying the American way of doing things with the soothing balm of Christian forgiveness?

Billy Graham has preached to 180 million people in 180 nations for over 45 years, and is reaching ever larger audiences through satellite broadcast. But to what effect? Graham himself said that America has "retrogressed" culturally, citing "sex and violence on TV, terrorism and killings by children and young people." This is a Baptist preacher? Cultural retrogression? Say what . . . ? We used to call that going to hell, Billy.

Billy Graham's God-given ability was--and is--there for a purpose. According to an earlier biography Graham made his decision to devote his life to preaching, while he was praying with friends at night. One of those present testifies that during the prayer the young Graham was flat on his face crying out to God. In his prayer he asked God to use him as His instrument for the sake of the second coming of Christ.

We wonder, however, whether Rev. Graham prayed to understand how Christ is coming again. Rev. Graham remains a member of the "coming on the clouds" school of Bible interpretation. We Unificationists, who accept the messiahship of the True Parents, must repent for leaving Billy Graham adrift on the tide of success. He doesn't believe in Reverend and Mrs. Moon or the Divine Principle; he has no inkling of the meaning of True Parents. Satan blinds the minds of the unbelievers, according to Paul.

John the Baptist scorned Jesus the Lord. He could not fathom that his younger relative, a man with no credentials, a man about whom controversy swirled, judged by the pharisees and the saducees and the Greeks and the Romans as a heretic and blasphemer, was in truth the Lord of Creation.

So John had better things to do than associate with Jesus. He railed against the king's adultery, and lost his head for it. Rev. Graham, on the other hand, prayed with Mr. Clinton.

There was another president with whom Graham was rather close: Richard Nixon. At the time of Watergate, however, Rev. Graham stated his shock at the unseemly language and disapproved of the behavior of the unpopular man. He withdrew from the public square and emerged from the Watergate debacle unscathed. Who stood up for Mr. Nixon and for the institution of the American presidency? It was not Nixon's golfing partner; rather, it was an unknown foreign preacher named Sun Myung Moon.

It was Rev. Moon who invested all his resources to call this nation to forgive, love and unite in support of their elected leader. He did not hide his convictions; he published full-page ads in the main newspapers in all 50 states. He called us to fast for three days on the steps of the Capitol on behalf of the president, senators and congressmen. Wouldn't you know it, within months of the congress's destruction of the president, there were congressional hearings being held about Rev. Moon.

Christ is prophet, priest and king. Judging from the course of Jesus Christ, the only one of these three positions which can be validated from the Messiah's historical experience is that of prophet. Rejected, despised, criminalized, deemed a nuisance to the state and an enemy of established religion-well, that sounds like most prophets, like Jesus, and like the Reverend Moon. No one, especially those who are successful at promoting the traditional religion, likes a prophet.

After his ascension, Jesus was exalted by the faithful as not only a prophet, but also the chief priest and true king. But the Kingdom on earth, as Jesus foretold, will appear with the second coming.

"But Lord, I was an evangelist who maintained worldwide popularity for over fifty years!"

"Here's the Book."

On the occasion of Billy Graham's 75th birthday, we thank God for preserving his life to this point, and giving him the strength, by the reckoning of the physicians, to stand and preach for another five years. Will it be five years of the same non-prophecy? Graham's ideal of being faithful to the Lord to the end is a relative good. New wine must be put in new wineskins.

Mr. Graham, we pray that within the next five years, which will take us nearly to the end of the second millennium, you will see the light and that God will allow you the honor for which you prayed as a young man. There is still time for you to be of use to Christ's second coming. But the days are drawing short, and to enter God's Kingdom, one must be poor in spirit, and like a child.

They Know What to Do

by Dianne Hickler
Kissimmee, FL

I'd like to relate an incident from our family.

Recently my husband and I took our three children for a day at Busch Gardens, a theme park near Tampa, Florida. It was around Christmas so the park was very crowded. As we sat watching a dolphin and sea lion show, I looked at the large crowd of people sitting all around us. Suddenly, looking around at the crowd of people, I was overwhelmed. Here we were, just one small family surrounded by an ocean of people in need of the Divine Principle. I felt depressed. I thought, "How are we going to restore this world? The people are so involved with themselves. Every day children are being born on Satan's side. How can they change and accept True Parents?" My eyes filled with tears.

The next morning I was having breakfast with my family and I shared my feelings. Our daughter Aeryun is our eldest, now seven years old. I asked her how we could reach all the people and tell them about True Parents. Without giving much thought, she said, "If you tell one person every day and they tell their friends and then those people tell their friends, then we can reach the whole world."

The words resonated deeply in my heart. My husband and i looked at each other amazed, knowing that this simple truth is Father's formula for victory.

Even though they are yet children, the blessed children know what we should do.

The Unpleasantness at the Board of Ed Who Will Save the Children? - The Raping of America's Children

by Clifford F.-Brooklyn, NY

Despite our victory here in Brooklyn at winning parental opt-out, which is the right of parents to opt their children out of receiving condoms in the New York City schools, the war is by no means over; in fact, the battle has only just begun, seeing that our education system is so far below the ideal anyway. To quote Rev. Kung, "Some people can fall into the trap of becoming complacent after winning a small victory. There is a long hard road ahead." I felt that the unity of brothers and sisters centered on God and True Parents and our district leaders, John and Christine Kung, gave us the energy and power to bring victory in this situation. I felt that our energy was affecting everyone present at the Board of Education meeting on Jan. 11, 1994, a meeting where members of the Board of Education would decide whether or not to give parents the opportunity to have a say in their children's sex education. The opt-out concession was jointly proposed by Chancellor Cortines and President Carol Gresser to appease the wrath of irate parents upset by the education system's obsession with condoms and sex education. As one mother so aptly put it, "Why don't you get back to what the hell you're supposed to be doing," which is, as we say in Brooklyn, "readin' and writin' and `rithmetic."

People could feel the unity between us even though we didn't all sit together. I sat beside one lady from an organization called "PROVE"- Parents for the Restoration Of Values in Education. I had never met her before, but when she found out that I was supporting parental opt- out we immediately became bosom buddies. It didn't even matter that I was a "Moonie". Her reaction was amazing. Each time someone from the Brooklyn center spoke, automatically she would ask me, "Do you know this person also? Is she with you?" She was somehow drawn to each one of us because of True Parents' light in us. One day described the whole situation of the School Board and sex education in New York as statutory rape. She compared it to the Amy Fisher/Joey Buttafuoco case, and she said it probably wouldn't be long before someone brought a law suit against the Board of Education for the raping of America's children. She highlighted that many of these children who are being handed condoms are under the age of sexual consent. Just where is America going?

One thing that became blatantly obvious was that we need to make news briefs, preferably TV or video documentaries, highlighting the injustice that has been perpetrated against our children. We need a television station that will take a stand on the side of morality. We need to show the unfair attack and bias of the media against those who would dare to thwart the evil desires of a few misguided groups. We must utilize the popular media to bring True Parents' message to the world. The media blatantly ignored those who opposed condom distribution, even though these people by far outnumbered those who were for condom distribution. They repeatedly focused on the young gay and lesbian teenagers who vociferously opposed opt-out. I can see how urgent it is for us to gain dominion over the media in order to create a true love culture. I can see Father's vision and Hyo Jin Nim's vision for the role of the media in God's providence. Some media personnel even expressed their disappointment that so many people spoke against condom distribution-i.e., they didn't take a neutral position. I could hear them muttering angrily under their breath many times.

Some members from the Brooklyn center were filming the event. When the media people realized that they were supporting opt-out, they were quite irate-shocked that someone from the media would be supporting opt-out. After the Brooklyn camera person gave her speech, the press cameramen turned their backs on her, muttering loudly, "They just don't get it." One man standing to her right said loudly, "Genocide. People like you are like genocide." I think they even felt rather betrayed. It showed quite clearly where our media are at and what kind of people are controlling the media. However, this media person actually wished her luck in the end. If we could have just one television station, we could become the bastions of truth for this nation and the world. We could revolutionize news. We could be the ones breaking the god news and showing the plight of the few who would dare to uphold the truth.

One brother's speech so moved one member of the Board of Education that she came over and spoke to him after the meeting. She wanted to know what had changed him from being homosexual someone so concerned about morality. She asked, "What makes you so special?" He testified about Father's vision and works and she warmly embraced the ideas and said, "Visit me any time." He eventually had his picture taken with her, along with a few WFWP members plus one well-known politician who supported opt-out. The motion to permit parental opt-out was passed as a 5-to-2 vote majority in favor of adopting this scheme. Parents were elated. Even though some parents had earlier expressed the idea that it was unfair for them to be burdened with the paperwork involved in opt-out, what they said was those parents who want their children to have condoms should opt in! This motion however was not recognized by the Board.

One thing that Father spoke about before came through. He said if we do not take responsibility for the moral and ethical education of our children centered on God and True Parentism, they will in the future accuse us.

The validity of this statement rang through at this meeting when several young people, including one student who is a non-voting member of the Board, voiced their disappointment at the way parents have been avoiding their responsibility. One young lady clearly said parents don't know what is happening. They have not been attending the meetings. The general feeling from the young people was that they felt betrayed by their parents. They felt that if their parents had told them differently, they probably would have acted differently. They said that it was parents' responsibility to give moral guidance to their children, not the schools'. This might sound hypocritical since the schools are pushing their own brand of "morality"-which is sexual immorality! Because of the absence of parental involvement, these students felt justified in taking the responsibility to protect themselves by using condoms. They felt that there was nothing else that they could do, so for the more radical students, any form of parental involvement posed a threat to their condom haven. Some parents felt threatened by these statements, but I couldn't help sympathizing with these young people. It reminded me of an old statement. I hate to use this, but I must: "Spare the rod and spoil the child." And the rod doesn't mean a stick. What this means is: if we love our children, we will teach them right from wrong.

Another obvious thing was that teachers actually coach their students to go up and speak to support the demand for condoms in school. The question is: if they are aware that this device is not effective in HIV prevention, how can they then justify its use? How can they justify giving children this false sense of security? In my speech to the Board of Education, I recommended that there should at least be a government health warning on all condoms similar to that on cigarette packets. There were two moments of brightness when one young teenage boy and one young teenage girl spoke in favor of abstinence. It had so much power it was incredible. When the young teens from Act Up got up and said, "Give us condoms or we will die," it sounded a bit pathetic. But when these kinds boldly declared, "We abstain. This is the only 100% foolproof way of not catching AIDS," and asked the Board, "Why don't you tell the truth?" it really went home.

I was particularly appalled at the press's handling of Ninfa Segarra, a once apparently "liberal-minded" person who supported condoms in school, but did an about-turn when she read the actual curriculum that was to be used in our public schools. She felt that it wasn't fit for her children, so it wasn't fit for any children. She was once hailed by many major newspapers as a champion for liberalism, but once she did an about-face, she became a stick-in-the-mud in their eyes and became subject to media character assassination. We've all been down this road before.

Out of 100 speakers, there were approximately 12 student speakers. Out of the 88 parents, approximately four wanted free condom distribution. Many parents also requested total abolition of condom distribution in schools on the grounds of safety and morality. Most of this was largely ignored by the media. The more I observed the media personnel, the more obvious it became that most of them were extreme left-wing and gay-rights supporters. They mocked the parents and ministers, but leapt with enthusiasm at the student condom supporters as they spoke, afterwards rushing keenly to interview them. However, one media person did manage to approach the two teens who spoke in favor of abstinence. Having observed the media's whole attitude towards this issue over the past months, I can't help feeling appalled at their biased attitude and obvious contempt towards morality and ethics. Who will save our children?

We need to make TV programs involving kids who support abstinence. We've got to make it popular to abstain. The popular media does not support abstinence, or if they do they are not showing it. They are convinced that it is a religious thing. Well, it is not. It is a life thing. I will stick my neck out here and say that we should be spending more time developing our communicational abilities. This is a new age. This is the Completed Testament Age. It is the age of telecommunications. God desperately needs this medium. Again, I must reiterate that it is Father's vision and Hyo Jin Hyung Nim's vision that we use the popular culture to bring Satan to his knees. Let us go all out and support them and prepare for this future.

The Portrait of Jesus

by Madelene Pretorius - Manhattan Center Studios

Manhattan Centers latest video, under Hyo Jin Nim's direction is entitled The Portrait of Jesus: A Shade of Difference which investigates the transformation that the image of Jesus has undergone through the centuries. Since the visual depiction's of Jesus is almost a recapitulation of the history of Christianity, the video outlines a history of Christianity and how it is reflected in the paintings of each timeperiod.

Despite the fact that no historical likeness exist of Jesus, it seems that one commonly recognized Eurocentric portrait has become accepted by the popular culture all over the world. The video is specifically poised at researching the factors that have influenced the choices that people have made, in identify an image as visually resembling the historical Jesus, and why a particular image is popular in representing what Jesus looked like most, during a certain time period.

To this extent the video pictorially traces the representations of Jesus from the earliest depiction's in the first centuries up until the development of the popular European image which has been shaped by Hollywood, Commercialism and Advertising. It would appear that under immense cultural influences from the west, especially through media images, that non-Europeans still seek to adapt and emulate Western civilization which includes that of a very Eurocentric image of Christ. Although the transformation in the image of Jesus has been a developmental process beginning from the early representations of Christ through to the Renaissance, it was not until the nineteenth and twentieth century that the popular image of Jesus as we know it today had been effectively spread to all four corners of the globe.

The video features interviews with world class art historians and academics from institutions such as Harvard, Yale and Graduate Theological Union, addressing important issues such as cultural imperialism, pluralism and the relationship of the Church towards the Arts as it pertains to the image of Jesus.

As Prof. Margaret Miles (Harvard Divinity School) states, once Jesus as a historical figure becomes a media images one has to ask questions as to what are the power dynamics, and the institutions that are ratified by a particular figure. To this extent therefore all the portraits of Jesus are built on human imagination, and reflect the longings of the people who designed them and the people who used them in pious practice and worship.

In the twentieth century the images of Jesus has evolved into a degree of universalism. Christ has become equally accessible to all people, with equal intimacy The content of the video wishes to revitalize a Jesus more like his self expression as we find in scripture discourage the influence of an image that is tied to a single class or culture or race.

Thus Harvey Cox, professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School states that the majority of Christians in the world today are not of European extraction which has had a profound change both in the theology and the worship of Christianity and also in the depiction's of Jesus. There are now multiple depiction's and visualizations from all different kinds of cultures.

Through exploring the nature and power of images in the video we have discovered a wealth of images that have been created throughout the centuries. Treat yourself to a collage of conversation and visual presentations.

The Kirov Tradition Comes to America - Washington's Kirov Academy

by Stephen Henkin

The esteemed Kirov technique is now being taught in our nation's capital. Can a Western Baryshnikov be far behind?

Classical ballet has been described as the architecture of human movement synchronizing with the movements of artistic evolution, and nothing has embodied this understanding more than the fabled Russian dance tradition. Long the cultural heart of Leningrad (now once again St. Petersburg), the Kirov Ballet tradition has become a pinnacle of human discipline, refined by the various arts over time: a marriage of ancient classicism with gothic mystery and austerity, Baroque embellishments, Romantic otherworldliness, Tchaikovsky's stirring music, Leon Bakst's striking and innovative set design, and a folkloric tradition endowed with gusto and flair. "Scratch a Russian and you find a Tartar," a great ballerina once said, in recognition of the dance embodying the Russian character and soul.

Triumphant Survivor

Yet despite Russia's turbulent history, economic crises, and the vagaries of artistic influences, not only has this cultural treasure- the Kirov tradition-survived, but it has crossed the Atlantic and come to flourish at the Kirov Academy of Ballet, a forward-thinking and well-equipped dance school located directly north of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Academy executive director Jeffrey Benson described the goal of this unique institution, which has been recognized by both the American and Russian governments as a leader in the area of cultural exchange.

"I actually see our [academy's] responsibility is not just to teach ballet, but to contribute to the culture of America and North America," Benson noted, adding: "Coming out of the Soviet past, the Kirov has always been something of a mystery-nobody knew how they did that magic. I'm seeing here it's not magic-it's sheer blood, sweat, and tears that gets them to that level [of dance]. Our overall responsibility, I feel, is to broadcast the quality of the aesthetic of this very special art form. And I think our responsibility is to keep the public informed, enlightened, and to broaden the popularity of classical ballet. It's a delightful, pure, noble art form that is good for society."

Founded originally as the Universal Ballet Academy in September 1990, the school is the only institution outside Russia to bear the name Kirov. It is also uniquely situated to have as its artistic director Oleg Vinogradov, who has held the same position at the renowned Kirov Ballet since 1977. With a current enrollment of seventy-seven students, twelve of whom have graduated from the preprofessional program, the academy offers young dancers a variety of programs and levels of instruction according to their degree of proficiency. An internationally recognized faculty trains aspiring young dancers in a pedagogy based on that of the Agrippina Vaganova Choreographic Academy in St. Petersburg and the performance aesthetic of the Kirov Ballet.

Loyal to the Method

For Benson, the change in the academy's name signals a new level of cooperation with their founding Russian organization: "We always wanted to be known as the Kirov center of training in America. We made an effort with the director of the Kirov theater to acquire their name. And after three years, they note that we are loyal and intend to teach the Kirov aesthetic, to teach the Kirov methodology." The Kirov Academy's parent organization, now called the Kirov Ballet of St. Petersburg, had its origins in the St. Petersburg of 1738 when Jean-Baptiste Lande, a Frenchman, founded a dance school for the servants of the czar's court. This institution became the basis for the St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet School, which was the center of Russian ballet until the October Revolution. The Kirov tradition, derived from its predecessor, the Imperial Russian Ballet School, is based on the work of such leading nineteenth- century choreographers as Jules Perrot (Ondine, Esmeralda, Giselle), Arthur Saint-Leon (La Fille de marbre, Le Violon du diable), and Marius Petipa (La Bayadare, The Sleeping Beauty, Pharaoh's Daughter). These choreographers helped define the character and integrity of the Kirov company that we see today.

The French ballet master Petipa, in particular, guided the company to its greatest period. From his arrival in St. Petersburg in 1847 on, he produced over fifty ballets, including the original Swan Lake, which he conceived with Lev Ivanov, one of the few Russian ballet masters during this period. Besides being the most challenging dance work for soloists and companies alike, Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty remains the highest achievement of classical academic dancing.

Under the tutelage of these key ballet masters, the Kirov style experienced a surge in its choreographic development from the 1840s through the 1890s. Their artistic innovations included the unity of mime and dance into a cohesive dramatic structure; virtuoso feats of brilliance, both of temperament and physique, brought off with dazzling energy; prodigious leaps and pirouettes in a very masculine and bravura style; classical inventions that set off the gifts of the principal artists; exciting stage effects; an unerring sense of proportion in narrative and placed dance sequences; the balance of group dances against solos and processions with set displays; and underlying all, a strict emphasis on training in the fundamental techniques of dance in the inimitable Kirov style and aesthete.

Sensation in West

The Imperial Ballet, then based at the Maryinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, caused a sensation when it appeared in the West, both individually and with the troupe Diaghilev for his Paris seasons from 1909. Two years earlier, Anna Pavlova had danced for the masses on her world tours. Perhaps the most celebrated ballerina of all time, Pavlova brought her repertory performance to unsophisticated audiences often totally unaware of the Russian dance tradition.

Although the company lost 40 percent of its personnel after the 1917 Revolution, it maintained its extensive repertoire and technical proficiency under Agrippina Vaganova. The company's penchant for building upon the Kirov legacy helped found the Vaganova Academy in Leningrad. The demanding training and precise aesthete of the Vaganova Academy, so named in 1957, and its predecessor, the Imperial Ballet School, has given birth to some of the world's most exceptional dancers, including Pavlova, Vaslav Nijinsky, George Balanchine, Michel Fokine, Maria Danilova, Alla Sizova, Rudolph Nureyev, Natalia Makarova, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

In 1961, the Kirov came West to London's Covent Garden. The heritage of a great classical tradition, painstakingly cultivated in the dancers' intensive training, was obvious. At the same time, three young Leningrad artists chose to dance in the West: Nureyev was the first, leaving in 1961, followed later by Makarova and Baryshnikov. All three have since brought further acclaim to their parent company. During the Cold War the reputation of the Kirov as a bastion for pure, classical technique and impeccable training continued to grow, but the company's performance level itself declined due to key defections and the lack of infusion of new young talent into the corps.

The esteemed Petipa-Vaganova method incorporates all of the choreographic advances in Russian dance, and Washington's Kirov Academy stands as their fortunate inheritor. The academy's preparatory division, ages eight to twelve, features introductory ballet classes in barre technique, floor technique, and improvisation. The professional division, ages twelve through eighteen, is the primary focus, offering a systematic and consecutive method of professional ballet training. The curriculum includes classical technique, repertoire studies, character dance, historical court dance, adagio studies, music, ballet history, and body conditioning. Students develop practical skills, muscular self-control, basic coordination and expression, and in later stages the mastery of more complex movements and combinations. Modeled after the Vaganova Academy program, the school will be granting in June of 1995 its first degree for a full six-year program, combining grades for dance and academics.

Carrying the Torch

The torchbearers of the Kirov tradition at the academy are Vinogradov and his wife, Yelena, who serves as deputy artistic director. Like her husband, Mme. Vinogradov graduated from the Vaganova Academy in 1958. Since then, she has danced as a soloist with the Novosibirsk Theatre of Opera and Ballet; taught ballet at the Novosibirsk Choreographic Institute; worked with the Kirov Ballet as both a dancer and coach; and has been invited by many well-known ballet companies and schools to stage, teach, and coach.

Mme. Vinogradov cites the difficulties of training under the school's exacting tutelage: "Ballet is one of the most complex art forms, and we seek to train the students in the expression, the artistry, the nuances, the style of the Kirov Ballet, and these things are very difficult to learn. A dance student needs to have both the natural gifts, the physical characteristics that are prerequisite for the profession, as well as ... certain professional qualities. The academy's auditions are quite competitive, and aesthetic factors as well as dance ability are included in the criteria for selection. It is just as hard to get into our school as it is into the Vaganova Academy.

"Ballet is something that has to be seen. The subtleties of ballet are difficult to really speak about, and that's why the essence of ballet instruction is showing the ballet students. There are no textbooks or primers that can substitute for the live contact between the ballet student and his teacher. Therefore, we select our ballet instructors on the basis of their pedagogical gifts: their ability to show, to demonstrate, to convey the secrets of the profession," she says.

Treasured Resource

The faculty itself reads like a Who's Who from the world of dance. One such treasure of the Kirov Academy teaching staff is Alla Sizova, after an extraordinary performing career. A native of Moscow, Sizova graduated from the Vaganova Academy in 1958 and was admitted to the Kirov Ballet, becoming one of its most popular ballerinas. A winner of two gold medals (Vienna, Varna) and the Anna Pavlova Prize from the Paris Academy, Sizova brings to the academy great expertise in interpreting lyrical and romantic roles. Her performance experience spans virtually all realms of the classical ballet repertoire.

Another gifted teacher is Rudolph Kharatian. A graduate of the Choreographic Institute of Erevan in his native Armenia in 1966, he spent the following year at the Vaganova Academy. Kharatian studied with noted Soviet teachers Alexander Pushkin and Natalia Dudinskaya, then went on to become a principal dancer with the Spendiarian National Opera and Ballet Theater in Erevan. His career in choreography began in 1971, and in 1979 he founded the Armenian State Television Dance Group, a chamber ballet ensemble. Specializing in choreography and stage production, Kharatian graduated in 1985 from the Moscow State Institute of Theatrical Arts, where he studied with Rodislav Zakharov, who has trained most contemporary Soviet choreographers.

Leningrad-born teacher Ludmila Morkovina graduated from the Vaganova Academy in 1953 and became a member of the Maly Theater of Opera and Ballet. During her twenty years of performing, Morkovina danced numerous lead and solo roles from classical and modern ballets. She has taught at the Vaganova Academy, the Ballet Nacional de Panama, and the Ballet Sopianae in Pecs, Hungary. From 1970 to 1980, she coached members of the Maly Theater. During 1989 and 1990, Morkovina taught at the Conservatory of Istanbul in Turkey.

A 1944 graduate of the Vaganova Academy, Leningrad-born Nikolai Morozov was soloist with the Maly Theater of Opera and Ballet. After dancing many lead roles, Morozov began teaching there at the age of twenty-eight. He has also taught at the Vaganova Academy, the Higher Ballet Institute of Cairo, and at the Conservatory of Istanbul. He has served as teacher-repetiteur at the Warsaw Theater of Opera and Ballet and the Maryinsky Theater. He directed both the school and the company of Ballet Nacional de Panama. His credits include the staging of several ballets for Leningrad Television Studios.

The sole American in the academy teaching corps, Adrienne Dellas- Thornton, originally from Detroit, has studied under Alexandra Danilova, Richard Thomas, Robert Joffrey, Antony Tudor, and Hector Zaraspe. After dancing several principal roles, Dellas created the ballet department of the Sun Hwa Arts School in Seoul, Korea, in 1976 and was founding artistic director and choreographer for the Universal Ballet Company, established in 1984. Among her forty original works are the ballets Ulysses, Monument, Joie de Vivre, and Shim Chung (The blind man's daughter).

A Soviet `Star'

Faculty member Vladimir Dzuluhadze, of Tbilisi, Georgia, graduated from the Moscow Institution of Theatrical Arts. Soon afterward, he began a career as a coach and ballet master, as well as guest soloist and principal dancer with various companies including the Bolshoi Ballet, Moscow Ballet, Kiev Ballet, and Tbilisi Ballet. Dzuluhadze has performed internationally with "Stars of the Soviet Ballet" and also served as ballet master and acting artistic director for the Ballet Mississippi Company.

Mme. Vinogradov views the success of teaching ballet in terms of the whole person: "Any arts or creative profession educates or cultivates people, not only the professional aspect but the personality; it cultivates the individuality of the person. In particular, the arts and ballet cultivate the intellect as well as a person's behavior, mannerisms, self-discipline-all of these things are developed through the arts. Without possessing this multiplicity of qualities that are cultivated by the arts, a person cannot really go out on the stage and really represent the art. He or she has to be a well-rounded, fully developed individual."

The experiences of the Kirov Academy students themselves provide insight into how well the Kirov instructional method is being received. For fourth-year student Tanya Marchman, sixteen, of Williamsburg, Virginia, her desire to transcend her experience at a small private dance company first took her to Russia, where she was accepted to train with the Bolshoi for eight years. "My director back home saw a flyer [for the Kirov Academy] and said I could have the best of both worlds-I could stay in America and still get the Vaganova style.

"My teacher is Mme. Morkovina. She's a wonderful teacher. She's taught me everything I know now. She's taught me to be a professional, to let my feelings out when I'm dancing. She helps us with everything we do. She tells me that I can do it, and no other teacher has ever told me that. Others have told me that I can't do it, and that [I'm] awful. She corrects me if I need it, but she's always there in the wings to let me know that I can do it. Most Western companies run wild, but the Kirov keeps order. You learn discipline from them," she says.

Fourth-year preprofessional student Josh Brooksher, seventeen, of Mesa, Arizona, stresses the rebuilding aspects of learning from the Kirov. "I started from the very beginning all over again. New students are told, `You are going to feel awful for the first two months.' They take apart all of the technique you have learned and they replace it with their technique, and you slowly learn the Kirov style. My teacher is Mr. Kharatian. Because he's danced so long on the stage, he knows all of the little secrets. He can teach you how to bends your legs so you can keep your hips square. He knows `tricks,' as he calls them.

Learning the Aesthetics

"Western dancers can learn the aesthetic quality from the Kirov. Western dancers dance mainly with emotion, but there's no placement. Here you can learn to express emotion exactly through a technique. I took company class with the Kirov. It's a phenomenal technique-they keep their technique, but they can still express emotion. It's not like a machine," says Brooksher.

Preprofessional student Oscar Charles Hawkins, Jr., twenty, of Brandywine, Maryland, auditioned for the academy in the middle of 1991. "They started pulling me apart to see how flexible I was- making me turn in and out. They signed me up right away even though I was only dancing for three years. I was scared. Before, I took Modern, ballet, and the [Lestor] Horton technique. At the Kirov Academy you learn to really think about each position; other schools don't stress each position cleanly. Here you have to think about things before you really do them," says Hawkins, who would like to join the Stuttgart Ballet and return when the Kirov Academy forms its own company.

Fourth-year student Margo Caslavka, seventeen, of Riverside, California, cites the technical aspects she has learned at the academy. "I've learned definitely a lot of placement, how to hold your arms, and the Vanagova style and the beauty of the port de bras. And that it takes a lot of endurance and strength to be a dancer. It's much more intense than anything I ever expected. Intense meaning the number of classes, the training, and the strict, precise demand that there is on the body of a dancer.

"Western dancers can learn how to use their port de bras-the carrying of your arms-and make it harmonious with the lower body. In my old ballet school the arms were terrible and had no relationship to the lower body. The Vaganova technique in itself is very precise, and it's written down, academic," she says.

In an eagerly anticipated first, students of the academy went on an international tour with The Nutcracker (Mexico City; Panama City, Florida; and New Orleans) last December with six principals of the Kirov Ballet. The December 8 opening performance in Mexico City was well received by local critics. According to the Diario, "The Nutcracker, presented at the Auditorio Nacional, is a spectacle full of beauty. ... [Kirov Ballet] dancers along with the Washington school [Kirov Academy] offered a great performance filled with harmony of beauty and movement. ... The impeccable technique and execution of the principal dancers, likewise the children, exalted the classical ballet to one of its maximum representations." Academy students appear to have learned their Kirov dance lessons well.

Synthesis of Styles

Concerning the future, Mme. Vinogradov speculates about the implications of merging East-West dance styles: "I think that we certainly envisioned a synthesis of the principles of the Kirov Ballet and the outstanding principles of Western ballet when we were invited to consider coming to found the school here. We as a school are not existing in isolation.

"We are not here to impose or compete with anyone from among the Western ballet institutions. Our goal is not to impede or interfere with anyone else's development. We just would like to be a presence for overall enrichment," she concludes.

This ambitious transplant of the Kirov tradition seems to be bearing good fruit in America. It may be only a matter of time before we see a Western Baryshnikov or Makarova.

Stephen Henkin is an arts editor at The World &I. This article is reprinted with permission of The World & I, a publication of The Washington Times Corporation. This article appeared in the April 1994 issue (p. 114).

Support Needed for New Russian Centers

by Maarten and Myra Meijer-Moscow, Russia

You have received, in broad strokes at least, already so much news about the CIS providence. We would like to put you in touch with just one aspect of the more local providence.

In the western district of Moscow we recently opened our third church center. These three centers are operated almost exclusively by the roughly two dozen Russian members who live there. This includes providing daily Divine Principle lecture programs as well as paying for all center expenses and outreach, themselves. In the CIS this district was the first to become fully self-sufficient. We want to extend this now by developing our own workshop education system. In the past we were able to rely on beautiful resorts in the Baltics and along the Black Sea coast. But now even places in the larger Moscow area have become impossibly expensive. It's going to be even worse by summertime. This is why we have decided to buy our own workshop place. Buying property in Russia, by American standards, is still quite cheap. So we do not want to miss a God-given opportunity before the window closes also in this respect.

Our members have, with additional vigor, been fundraising in sub-zero temperatures on Moscow's ice-laced streets in order to provide the needed funds. Taking the (lack of) value of the ruble into consideration, they have done surprisingly well. Some of our brothers and sisters have become familiar faces outside the entrance of the Tverskaya McDonald's! However, if we have to rely exclusively on the earnings from local fundraising activity, it may take longer than we can afford to wait, before we can acquire our own workshop center.

We know that all of you are making many sacrifices for the American providence and that many of you have assisted the work in this country as well, as staff in past seminars, often at your own expense. In many cases you were the ones through whom our members first received the love and truth of God. We would like to ask for your help once again, though, for this very important, very specific project. You can be sure that this is one of the most worthwhile programs that you could invest in, because it will directly benefit the Divine Principle education of Russia's second generation. You may even consider this as a home church/hometown witnessing and fundraising project and encourage your relatives, friends and contacts to donate towards this project.

People are genuinely well-disposed towards Russia and sympathetic towards its suffering population. They will be inspired that our church is making an efort to help this country. And if there is no way in which you can give support financially, we will always be grateful for your prayers. Please pray for all of our Marianas (3), our Irinas (4), Yelenas (3), Sashas (3), Sergeis (2), Pashas (2), and for Natasha, Kostya, Olga, Svetlana, Angelika, Tatiana, Anastasia, Anna, Dmitri, Marina, Ivan, Anton, Ilya, Volodya. They send you their love!

Please make your checks out to Maarten Meijer and write in the memo "Russia House." Mail to: Maureen Tardy, 38 Afterglow Ave., Verona NJ 07044. If you wish we can send you a financial statement. For information call Maureen Tardy (201)239-4404.

Maarten and Myra Meijer live with their children Renee and Ubbo in Russia. They worked for two years as district leaders of the Western Moscow area.

Soul Of Russia - Life In The Russian North: Hard and Raw

by Erin Bouma

I have now traveled in the CIS east to Kazakhstan, west to Byelorussia and the Baltics, south to Ukraine and Crimea, so this summer it was my turn to look more closely at the Russian north in Karelia. This northwestern part of European Russia, near the White Sea and bisected by the Arctic Circle, was known as Lapland up to the mid-19ths century, when its name was changed to the Kola Peninsula. Eastern Slavs came there in the 11th century and joined the native Finns, Vepsy and Karelian peoples, who today make up only 1/5 of Karelia's population.

The two best-known places in Karelia to the "outside world" are the city of Murmansk, the only big city (400,000) above the Arctic Circle and, until recently, a very closed military port for the Russian Northern Fleet, and Solovetskiy Island in the White Sea. The Island was settled by Russian Orthodox monks in the 15th century, who later built a huge monastery-fortress to live and worship in while protecting them from the attacks of Swedes. Tragically, in 1923, Solovetskiy Island became the site of the first "gulag" prison under Lenin, with the monks and priests serving as the first prisoners.

I didn't get a chance to visit either Murmansk or Solovetskiy Island on my 10-day journey to Karelia in late August, but I did spend a week in a 200-person village in mid-Karelia not far from the small town of Chupa on the railroad line. I lived with my friends-a Russian family with two children-who had spent a delightful month there the previous summer. We shared a two-room basic apartment in a barracks-type building and, along with the village, had no running water or toilet. This village had been settled during the Stalin period and so there was no village church, but several log cabin homes added charm to the picturesque setting of lakes and forests of birch, pine and fir. We were not directly on the White Sea but experienced the dramatic sky changes constantly rearranged by the northern sea winds. The "senior citizens" of the village were generally Russian and Ukrainian and had come there in the 1940s. One grandfather, a handsome, hardworking 70- year-old, is reported to have been sent there as a prisoner, and his wife and her sister followed later.

I tell you after one summer week in this remote area, Moscow really is the lap of luxury. This is truly the place for few distractions. Not every home has a TV, but I was able to see the insides of five houses and apartments, sometimes to watch the American soap opera, "Santa Barbara" (which is very popular here and much better than the melodramatic Mexican and Brazilian ones). I couldn't help but think how different the worlds of glamorous wealth and romance are from the gritty, harsh world of the Russian Arctic. Our building used an especially smelly collective outhouse, a water tap outside (washing dishes and clothes in the nearby lake), one communal bathhouse (banya) for the village, one telephone for local calls only, two TV channels, and fresh milk delivery only on Friday afternoons.

I once went into the sad little general store, which stocked some staples, a little cheese and butter, a few pastries, some onions and vodka, of course. What really shocked me was the scarcity of fresh summer fruits and vegetables. Much of the rural Russian countryside has equally humble living conditions, but at least in summer and early fall their gardens yield apples, plums and assorted berries, as well as tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, leaf lettuce and radishes, in addition to the basic winter fare of potatoes, cabbage, beets and onions. But the diet of northern Karelia is built on their garden potatoes, mushrooms and berries from the woods and fish from the sea (which was only served in its salted version). In the village, two families had chickens, two families had cows, two families had pigs, and several people owned a few sheep which wandered the village together in a flock. My Moscow friends told me that the people must be too lazy to try to raise a greater variety of food for their needs.

In these living conditions I saw a surprising number of young families and couples with toddlers. But it's a hard life: teenagers marry young (just out of high school); grandmothers chop their own wood supply for winter with axes, men are often drowned in the freezing waters when fishing and there is much alcoholism (especially in the winter). There is really no work in the area, but the evidence of a rock quarry and small abandoned sawmill showed that there was more activity in the Soviet period. I had to think of American Appalachian life, rustic poverty, amid natural beauty to find a comparison.

I was clearly the first American to visit the village, and many people couldn't quite grasp that I couldn't understand their questions or answer in fluent Russian. Nevertheless, I was embraced (often literally), given souvenirs of deer antlers to make a coat rack and a small hand-braided rug, and encouraged to come back soon.

My friends, Lorik and Eugene, were very preoccupied with gathering mushrooms and berries to bring back to Moscow for the winter. I chose to spend more time on walks, reading or resting, while I dealt with biting insects which caused me considerable itching and swelling. It was rainy and cool the whole week and we heated the rooms by means of a large wood stove in the center room.

The only signs of religious life were pictorial icons in some apartments and rooms and, probably, some families have Bibles. I learned that Finnish missionaries (I presume Lutheran) visit once a year and offer several days of programs and distribute small gifts and literature. I understand that the event is very attractive to the young people and somewhat exciting but that the older people remain skeptical or uninterested.

While in the village I visited our landlord's family who were holding a birthday party for their 11-year-old daughter. The children had already had some sort of celebration and retired out to the front lawn of the cabin to dance to some music tapes. The adults, family and friends, then took over the small cabin for their party. The parents of the girl had spent the past few weeks cutting wild hay in southern Karelia to make some money and had brought some tomatoes and cucumbers, chicken and beef for the meal. Lena, the birthday girl, particularly impressed me when she received a nice, imported chocolate bar as one gift and proceeded to share it with the adults, including one set of grandparents, before having a small bite herself. In fact, my friends had rented their apartment for six weeks by bringing a pair of school shoes for Lena and a school bag for her younger sister from Moscow as a rent payment.

Few people in the village had cars. More common were motorcycles with sidecars. One trip I made to Chupa and back was in the cab of a small semi-truck (interestingly, with five adults and two children). There is also a regional bus that makes the journey a couple of times a day and that we took upon our departure. Lorik and Eugene held a good-bye party for about eight town residents who then herded us and our belongings across the hilly village to await the bus. We arrived in Chupa about 5:30 and fortunately had a place to stay until our 3:30 a.m. train to Moscow passed through.

Without a doubt, the warm and tough people of Karelia have certainly won my respect and affection. The stark beauty of their landscape, however, is pale compensation for the hardships and isolation they see. I pray that their future will be much brighter than their present.

Self Interested

by Paul Carlson-San Leandro, CA

This article deals with that most annoying of human troubles, "selfish behavior." It covers attitudes from childish vanity to the deepest arrogance. Selfish behaviors range from the mildest "couch potatoes" to the vilest criminals. (See "High Crimes and Spies" for more on criminality.).Christians believe it is rooted in an underlying "sin of pride." The Bible and every accepted holy text emphasize the importance of unselfish behavior.

First, a brief overview. Some "selfish people" will touch nothing. Afraid of "chemicals and toxins," they are obsessed with "purifying" their bodies, through intensive nutrition, etc. While others fear illness, going to many doctors, taking many pills. Many "go for the burn" through intense exercise, even hurting themselves with steroid drugs or eating disorders. Some, especially celebrities, try costly fashions or cosmetic surgery. Making "external trouble," some will "hit" people with robberies, etc. Lastly, with "spiritual trouble" some will touch anything, as pimps or prostitutes.

Yet there is an opposite gamut of unselfish people. Some work to "clean up the environment" for the benefit of ALL people. Some teach sensible nutrition to the public, or become doctors, to heal people. Some teach fitness, and get those "couch potatoes" to exercise! There are "Abel type" celebrities who use their appeal to inspire, and to advocate good causes. Some people become police or emergency workers, to aid those in trouble. Finally, there are "real world" saints who will also "touch anything," doing what it takes to help those in misery. Like Schweitzer in Africa, or Mother Teresa in India. Or Rev. Moon in Hung Nam prison.

Rev. Moon has said that "intellectuals are responsible for most of the world's troubles." Stupid selfish people can, at best, be an unwelcome house guest- and at worst, they can ruin a handful of lives. But, smart selfish people can ruin many millions of lives. Such as the "Savings and Loan scandal" figures, who stole the life savings of thousands of hardworking people.

Some people try to uphold a sort of "good selfishness." Most budding students go through an "Ayn Rand phase." She rightly abhorred socialism and collectivism as the monsters they are. However, she also denied God, or any sort of "larger purpose." (She does have some rather damning -very relevant- things to say about "socialized medicine.")

Society honors those who are unselfish. Rev. Moon has said that "soldiers who sacrificed their lives in battle" are among those "highest in the spirit world"- and people honor their memory. From a "mayor's ribbon" to "world sainthood," people are recognized for their sincerely unselfish deeds.

Many thinkers believe that selfishness is "normal." From Darwin to Spencer, people are seen as ruthless and greedy, from their deepest roots. Then, as Hobbes said, "life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short." And, too often, it is "

Selfishness and unselfishness form patterns of behavior in everyone's life. And these apply to many personal and social issues. Some specific "hot issues":

Many people try to "find happiness" through the use of alcohol, and/or illicit drugs. In doing so they destroy themselves, and often others around them as well. But others share their "thrills." Perhaps through an "Iron Man" triathlon, or sky diving. These challenges inspire and entertain people.

Many people seek "good looks." Women enlarge or shrink (quite normal) body parts, while men fuss over their naturally balding heads- often with expensive surgery. For vanity and personal advantage. But others wish to look good for a "public purpose." Leaders, spokesmen, actors, etc. are helped by a good appearance. And Godly leaders can be more successful in this way also!

Many people push "causes" for selfish reasons. To relieve their guilt at selfish gains. To win the quick (if temporary) approval of the public. Or to seek position and power for themselves. But others genuinely wish to help people. To teach, to assist, to spiritually save.

Many people engage in sexual activity for personal thrills, or to seek emotional solace. Not to mention for easy gains. Often without concern for the consequences. (Rev. Moon has had some harsh words for women who wish to enjoy sex, yet deny their ultimate role as mothers.) But many people honor God and themselves through sex within marriage. Shared joy; and Godly purposes can be fulfilled!

Speaking of "consequences," many women have abortions for selfish reasons. To avoid "crimping their style." And the men involved often encourage -even force- such abortions... However, (yes, this is controversial!), there are unselfish reasons to have an abortion. Some pregnancies result from criminal force, thus having a very terrible "spiritual foundation." Also, they can be for "self defense," to save the precious life of the mother.

There are countless reasons why people marry. Often, immature self- seeking reasons. From childish "clinging" to calculating "gold digging." (Hollywood provides an encyclopedia of these!) Yet many people marry for good reasons. With good heart and the approval of their elders. With common faith and purpose. Including God's own purposes.

There are many "spiritual seekers." They "trek" in the Himalayas, and the Amazon. Or walk on fiery hot coals. (Actually, that's quite easy to do.) Burdened with their own guilt and difficulties. There are also true visionaries, who think of other's pain first.

Similarly, there are seekers after "secular" knowledge. Do they want prestigious degrees, for their own honor? Or do they wish to teach others, and to advance the knowledge of humankind?

Of course, individuals go through many of these things, at various stages in their lives. Sometimes, these war within each mind constantly!

Many people pursue "thrills" at the expense of others. The Outline of the Principle (Level 5) refers to this as "evil joy." Fleeting, if sometimes intense sensations, which drain the heart and spirit as surely as "good joy" fills them. There have always been "whispered tales," and later, books and "comix" that are presented for the purpose of stimulating this evil joy. Also certain films, and most recently, user controlled video games, which intensify this "stimulation" even more. (The companies that produce these ought to be deeply ashamed.)

Can "organizations" be selfish? Todays' leftists stake their careers on the bugaboo of the "big corporations," those sources of "all that is evil in this world" " Yet, these consist of directors and shareholders, workers and customers, partners and competitors, and sometimes unions and consumer groups. In a "free market society" a truly selfish entity could not survive for long. (They need the protection of an intrusive government to do that!) Better, a balance is found that serves the needs of all parties.

What about entire nations? It has been said that "nations have no friends, only interests." Actually, in all history, the "free trading" nations have prospered. Isolated nations become poor, and perish. For both economic and spiritual reasons, generous nations do better. America rebuilt postwar Europe, and Japan. It continues to try, in Somalia and elsewhere. Of course, it's better to teach and aid the people, rather than just "shoveling money"- into leader's Swiss bank accounts!

Different societies have found their own answers to these "selfish behaviors." In "Napoleonic Law," citizens are required to come to the aid of others, (such as accident victims) under penalty! In America, charity and even heroism are common enough without such laws. Actually there are "Good Samaritan" laws that protect such heroes from potential lawsuits! But that's another story, and further selfishness.

Throughout history there has been speculation about selfishness and sacrifice. Some philosophy teachers deny the existence of "altruism" entirely! Or at least, confuse the student and induce a deep-seated cynicism. (Author's note: I had such a teacher in High School; a friend found this at Harvard.)

Biologists chip in with their "theories of evolution." Darwin, and his modern advocates Richard Dawkins and James Wilson attempt to reduce everything to the "physical plane." Darwin spoke of the "survival of the fittest"- a truly merciless force slicing its way through the living world. Dawkins introduces the "selfish gene," and applies "game theory" math, to explain that ALL organisms are motivated solely to preserve themselves and their posterity. Anything else being cultural 'window dressing'. Wilson claims that even religions are ultimately selfish, "conferring survival advantages" upon their practitioners.

Anthropologists search for "primitive roots," comparing today's busy life with the situation on the savannas of Africa, hundreds of thousands of years ago. Dominance, mating, sharing and playing are all reduced to their primitive origins.

Psychologists reduce everything to individual brains, and tangled minds. Joseph Campbell uses Freud's and Jung's theories to fill human dreams and history with "mythic heroes." Some reduce all to a "search for sex," or "for our lost mother." Others are more negative, finding all rooted in the "fear of death"- obviously this would include religious convictions.

Some of these scholars miss the lack of morals -even of ethics- in such lines of thought. Unfortunately most of them are off on the wrong track, often building edifices of very impressive sounding "psychobabble."

As a matter of fact, the scholars just cited are correct. People DO physically spring from primitive life, and "dog eat dog survival" prevailed. Otherwise, no one would be here to read this! Humans did live, due to the Fall of Man, as primitives for many thousands of years. Acting like beasts, then -and sometimes- now. The psyches of "fallen people" are dark and fantastically tangled. Without True Love; seeking sex, or comfort- from people who turn out to be just as troubled " Fallen, selfish people have good reason to fear death. And people do have "mythic heroes." Because "God's Providence" must, and does raise them up! And they must be followed to victory. The spiritual world sends those "dreams of ideals"- not the other way around. People DO honor, and try to build "morals." Even Dawkins admits this, almost without realizing it. (Because we've lacked them and we know it. Our God-given "original mind" doesn't let us forget it!) C.S. Lewis points this out, brilliantly, in "Mere Christianity." Even lacking so much, humanity has come very far- but only with God's help. Nothing less could overcome man's selfishness and wrong desires.

The Divine Principle explains about "self purpose and whole purpose." Possession and capability, offering and serving. It explains that people have BOTH "physical" and "spiritual" selves- and natures. Also, it describes, in simple outline, an "ideal society." There is a function for "equal distribution of goods." This is NOT the government-forced "equality of misery" of the humanists. Rather it is a dynamic and natural function. Bringing prosperity, for as John F. Kennedy stated, "a rising tide lifts all boats."

By overcoming the Fall, and restoring proper order to lives and families -and leaders- the Principle and the True Parents can cut through this "Gordian Knot" of selfish behavior. And bring about a world of "true life, true love, and true ideal"; with everyone "living for others, before God."