First Ever ‘Voice of Unity’ Broadcasters Conference held in the Philippines

by Rev. Lloyd Howell-Manila, Philippines

To celebrate the one year anniversary of the radio broadcasting providence in the Philippines, the Philippine FFWP sponsored what we believe may be the first "National Unificationist Broadcasters Workshop" ever held.

The Philippines began the radio providence as a way to educate the steadily-growing number of blessed couples in the country now reported to be around 13 million. Mass education requires mass communications and radio is an effective mass communicator in the Philippines since many people do not have television. We have also found that local radio shows are more effective than national shows because of the many different languages which are spoken in the country. Through a local show, the broadcaster can speak the language of the locality to directly reach the local communities.

The radio project has expanded' over the past year, from one station in Manila, the capital, to 14 stations throughout the country. The shows vary in length from a half-hour to one-and-a-half hours and are produced in the native languages of the provinces in which they are broadcast. Couples are informed about the existence of the programs when they receive the Blessing. Each blessed couple is given a leaflet with the station ID and time of broadcast and informed that they can learn more about the Blessing and creating a true family by tuning in to the program, called "tinig ng pagkakaisa," (voice of unity).

The broadcasters' workshop was designed to evaluate and improve our broadcasting and determine the next step for the project. Organized by Eric Niduasa, assisted by Rev. & Mrs. Lloyd Howell and Fe Miranda, this workshop, held Dec. 27 & 28 outside of Manila, had 21 participants representing 10 of the 14 stations presently broadcasting in the nation's various provinces.

The hands-on conference consisted of several segments dealing with both the spiritual and physical aspects of radio broadcasting. participants offered ideas to expand the content and improve the technical aspects of production and also practiced mock broadcasts.

The first day also included a working session wherein broadcasters listened to and evaluated sample programs of their fellow broadcasters. Through this we discovered that we had some dynamic, professional-sounding disc jockeys in our ranks.

Several lectures were also given during the two-day forum. A professional broadcaster discussed "The role of radio in the Philippines," and General Florencio Magsino (ret.), one of the founders of our radio show, described the history of the program.

Rev. Howell gave a special presentation titled "The role of the media in god's providence" and Donna Howell spoke on "communication skills" and how to apply them to radio broadcasting.

Later a brainstorming session was held wherein a list of 40 program themes emerged as a basis for developing 1998's broadcasts. Out of this session some of the participants realized the importance of joining local broadcaster associations and committed themselves to do so.

Our task ahead is to determine how large an audience we are reaching, how effective the programs are, and just who is listening. If any readers have ideas for measuring these criteria, or need information on beginning a radio project in your country, please contact Lloyd Howell Or Eric Niduasa at e-mail: ucrp@vasia.com.

Europe's Sect Wars: A Cure Worse than the Disease

by Dan Fefferman-Washington, DC

A wave of legislation, investigations and outright discrimination against religious minorities is sweeping across Western Europe today.

The cause of the current fear of "sects" is complex. Part of it, no doubt results from concern that the tragedies of the Solar Temple and Aum Shinreko not be repeated. Part of it is due to organized lobbying efforts of the anti- cult movement coupled with sensationalized media accounts. And part of it seem to been rooted in old patterns of intolerance of things new, foreign or different. Whatever the causes, the new European Sect Scare is widespread, and it's for real.

German Sectophobia

The German government seems to be at the center of the European anti-sect hysteria. especially with regard to the Church of Scientology. The government has officially placed the Church and its members under police surveillance. Scientologists are banned from joining the ruling Christian Democratic Party. They are even forbidden to become dentists. Literature published by the Christian Democrats caricatures the church's religious symbol by transforming it into a skull-and -crossbones.

It's not just the Scientologists that receive the brunt of German intolerance. A pamphlet published by the Christian Democratic Youth, entitled "InSects: No thanks!" features a cover illustration of a huge fly swatter squashing a variety of mosquitoes and other in-"Sects." Among those sects singled out by the ruling party's youth arm to be treated as vermin are Jehovah's Witnesses, Unificationists, Hare Khishna adherents and Scientologists.

The German government went so far as to publish at taxpayers' expense a booklet attacking the Unification Church and has placed the church's founder, Reverend Sun Myung Moon, on the Schengen Treaty list, effectively banning him from entry into most European nations. The church won a court order preventing distribution of the booklet after it demonstrated some of the government's claims to be patently false. Meanwhile, the Dutch government took the unusual step of stipulating that Reverend Moon is welcome to visit the Netherlands, despite Germany's listing him as an undesirable.

The UN's Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance has taken a strong interest in the German situation and has recently concluded a fact-finding tour. A report will be forthcoming.

France A French Parliamentary report published in 1996 listed no less than 172 dangerous "cults" in France. Although the report has no official legislative power, it has nonetheless been quoted as authoritative in several court cases and has resulted in widespread consequences for members of minority religions. Observers report a "severe anti-minority-religion climate" has resulted from the report and media coverage of it.

A member of the Jehovah's Witnesses was fired from a public school after years of honorable service apparently for no other reason than that he was a member of one o the listed groups. At least one bombing has been linked to this atmosphere of hate. Shortly after a Paris newspaper responded to the Parliamentary report with a headline to the effect that "Something Must Be Done" about the cults, the headquarters of the French Unification Church were bombed.

Despite the protests of a number of French Catholic bishops, the Report even includes a Roman Catholic theatrical group on its list of "dangerous cults." The troupe, Office Culturel de Cluny, has been denied the use of public theaters for its shows and is reportedly nearly bankrupt as a result.

The French Ministry of Youth and Sport now employs anti-cultists to speak to youth organizations and athletic groups about the evils of minority religions, and Time magazine reports that there are plans to fund hundreds of offices nationwide to educate young people against organizations on the List.

Critics say the French report is riddled with unsubstantiated rumors and false information. According to an analysis by the academically-oriented Center for the Study of New Religions (CESNUR), the French Report "was completed without reference to any number of easily acquired resources that could have corrected the misleading information utilized by the commissioners."

Following a recommendation in the Report, the government has now established a national Observatory of Cults, with two extreme anti-cultists reportedly appointed as "experts."

Reports on a Rampage

The poor scholarship evident in the French Report has not stopped it from setting a trend for other countries in Europe. In Belgium, a parliamentary commission on cults released its report on April 1997. It outdoes even the French report both in sheer numbers of "cults" listed and in the types of organizations it considers dangerous-among them the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Seventh Day Adventists, Quakers, the Amish and (believe it or not) the YWCA.

The Report, which was adopted by the Belgian Parliament minus its embarrassing list, recommended that "mind control" be made a crime punishable by law. It also stated that a US Hasidic group, the Satmars, was engaged in kidnapping Christian children-a charge which would be ridiculous if it were not eerily similar to previous patterns of European anti-Semitism.

In Switzerland, the city government of Geneva has recommended making "mind manipulation" a federal felony crime, funding anti-cult groups, and creating a government body to oversee cults.

Austria too has published a list of dangerous "sects." Children of minority religions hear their teachers in public schools ridicule their parents' religious beliefs and practices and face derision by classmates as a result. Listed groups are not allowed to incorporate or own property. In effect, they must operate as underground organizations.

In Greece, the special status of the Orthodox Church results in severe limitations for minority groups. Smaller religions complain that they are denied official status and cannot legally hold meetings, conduct worship services or own property. Non-Orthodox children are required to attend Orthodox religion classes in public schools. Until recently, attempting to convince a person to change his or her faith- even with that person's permission-was a criminal act. In addition, any new place of worship could not be opened without the approval of the Orthodox bishop. The European Court of Human Rights, however, has declared these two laws void.

Pan-European Actions

Both the European Parliament and the Council of Europe are considering actions to control minority religions. The European Parliament has voted to investigate "sects" across all of Europe. The Parliamentary Committee on Civil Liberties has appointed a Rapporteur to prepare a draft report on cults. Whether the Committee will live up to its name is another question. {The EP draft report turned out to be fairly responsible. However, it faces an amendment process in which it can be substantially altered.}

Meanwhile, the Council of Europe, comprised of representatives of all European nations, approved in May a recommendation that each country create a cult oversight body and draft appropriate anti-cult legislation. Although the Council is a purely consultative body with no juridical authority, it is considered to be very influential among Europe's smaller nations.

Conclusion Europe today is witnessing a widespread trend toward controlling minority religions. While fears of a repeat of the Solar Temple and Aum Shenriko tragedies is understandable, European legislators apparently did not adequately consider the consequences of various governmental reports on the liberties of innocent people who hold unconventional religious beliefs. Could this be another case where the cure does more harm than the disease?

This is reprinted from the newsletter of the International Coalition for Religious Freedom. ICRF is still looking for correspondents who can help develop a religious freedom information network worldwide. We especially need help for Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the smaller nations fo the former CIS. IF you can help, please contact us at ICRF@aol.com.

Conspiracy Theory

As this article goes to press there is much talk about conspiracy. Certain liberals are in the headlines, speaking darkly of their persecution by a "vast right-wing conspiracy." Conservatives answer that they’re busy fending off an "arrogant left-wing power grab."

It is difficult to be up-to-date in this monthly forum, but we can certainly speak of wider trends and topics. Now and throughout history, few topics run deeper than conspiracies, real or imagined.

For decades the American Left has decried a wealthy "military-industrial complex." Recently, the Right has warned of a cozy "government-media complex." Both are alleged to be marching together toward diabolical goals.

It is said that "some people make things happen, others watch what happens, and some wonder what happened." The more informed and involved we are, the harder we try to understand why things happen. Then we begin to realize just how many factors shape the course of events. In addition, there may well be seemingly random factors, or influences unknown to most of us.

Conspiracies are often tied to events like the JFK assassination, which is the subject of numerous books. Many of these books can and do make mincemeat of the government’s "case," and raise disturbing, unanswered questions. Unfortunately, the answers the books try to provide are often contradictory at best. (Similar books are now being written about the controversial deaths of two high government officials.)

Conspiracy theories abound, and in Talk Radio and the Internet these have found a vast new forum. But are they true? Are any of them based in reality?

Analysis

Let us examine what an actual Conspiracy would have to consist of.

1) A powerful, clandestine organization, whether large or small, covert or partially known, ancient or relatively new. (In such matters, anything less would be ineffective.)

2) Selfless people, at least on an intellectual level, acting beyond their own narrow interests. (As opposed to seeking individual wealth or power.)

3) A self-perceived elite, acting boldly and outside the law. Regarding themselves as divinely, or satanically -or otherwise- appointed. (Otherwise they’d be as bland as other people.)

4) Non-democratic, even amongst themselves. No serious dissent would be allowed. (Few public dissenters have ever appeared.)

5) Long-term plans and determination. (Otherwise the project’s focus would die with its founders.)

6) A large-scale program and goal. (Small ones are simply uninteresting, and likely to be overwhelmed.)

7) Regard themselves as hidden-what? Guardians of society? Long-term opponents of . . . who or what? Shepherds of the masses? Rulers to be?

Organizations

The sheer variety of alleged conspiracies is impressive.

Some patently false ones supposedly involve: Jewish Elders, bankers (as a class), British royalty, space aliens, etc.

Many real organizations have been tagged as "more than they appear."

Amongst the spiritual: The Vatican, Masons, Rosecrucians, etc. And from the secular: the Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderbergers, etc.

There are historic entities alleged to continue in existence: The Knights Templar, Illuminati, Ninjas, etc. Also, remnants of annihilated groups such as the Sect of the Assassins, and Nazi holdouts in South America.

Some conspirators allegedly pull strings from within the centers of power, as dramatized in the "X-Files." One author posits an overarching "Committee of 300."

There are persistent rumors of generations-old, plain-folk-appearing satanic cults. This author has heard sincere reports of such in Las Vegas (from a liberal minister), Oklahoma (first-hand, from a local Unificationist), the Deep South (from various authors) and in Petaluma, CA (on local talk shows).

These latter were scoffed at, even by this author. Then they got eclipsed by news of the Polly Klass kidnapping. Next, by the capture and murder trial of the contemptuous, utterly depraved Richard Allen Davis. He had been observed hanging around town for quite some time . . .

Sometimes the theories themselves are evil, and have lead to terrible violence. The "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" hoax has been around for decades. The new "the IRS is a really private British corporation" hoax has proven quite resilient.

On the other hand, some true theories have had great difficulty gaining acceptance. Recently unsealed KGB records vindicate Joseph McCarthy-and this has hardly been reported. (However, there was only a communist agent behind every other bush.)

Someday, historians will catalog a shocking panoply of ugly (and perhaps even deadly) goings-on related to various present State and Federal officials.

Truth or fiction

Fiction writers have done much to popularize conspiracies. Anton Wilson writes extreme, mocking novels. Umberto Eco pens intricate European tales. David Morrell’s thrillers often top the charts. Jon Land and many others follow suit.

Many of these works are based in actual history, carried forward into a modern, James Bond-ish world. The fictional bad guys often include secret religious orders; holders of some talisman: ancient scrolls, the Grail, the Tomb of Jesus, etc.

Both conspiracists and fiction writers commonly trace such movements to ancient roots: Egypt’s Dar al Hikmat (House of Knowledge), Solomon’s Temple, or legendary ancient China.

Riding the growing wave of New Age movements and "pop spirituality," many pseudo-leaders are claiming these plots for themselves, giving them an ersatz reality. These include "Egyptian" and "Hebrew" priests, "Goddess" worshipers, "Aztec" revivalists, "doomsday" prophets, and so on. They range from merely foolish to quite dangerous.

Challenges

Could any such Conspiracy really pull it off? Probably not.

To do so, their children and heirs must carry on the secret plan. But in reality children seldom do such things, whether they’re the offspring of activists, plutocrats or dictators. Without the support of a commonly accepted culture, it would be especially difficult.

Also, many unpredictable factors influence society and its development. Various disasters ruin companies and nations, and fads sweep the popular culture. With the advance of technology this is now doubly true.

Further, the leading ideology changes over time, and with it, the goals of the current "elite." In America, over the course of a century, racial slavery/segregation and unbridled industrialization have given way to egalitarianism and environmental rhetoric. (The bondage is now more subtle and the pollution has been moved to the Third World.)

In reality, most Captains of Industry seek to build "empires of service." Some view their customers as sheep to be sheared.

A few politicians are statesmen, seeking their people’s long-term gain over short-term popularity. Most try to wrest all the control they can . . .

Reality

If potent Conspiracies do exist, they will be encountered as God’s Providence expands. It’s going to be hard enough dealing with known power centers! (See Into the Mainstream, July 1996 UNews.) Hopefully, any hidden powers will see the wisdom of God’s Principle.

Vast, long-term undertakings assuredly do exist, but they have spiritual, not human, roots. God and Satan are the real conspirators. They are masterminds with very different styles, not to mention goals.

In the past, few providential figures understood their true place in this great effort. Certainly, no mortal ever explained it to them. Even so, some knew they were following the past masters. For example, it is said that Charlemagne’s son Pepin the Short felt a close affinity with King David.

Just like known leaders, any and all conspirators (no matter how powerful) will ultimately be judged by their support of, or opposition to, God’s Providence.

The deepest trends of history are guided by regular people, men and women of good will. People empowered by their closeness to God. Parents, heroes, patriots, saints-and beyond.

Further reading

About changing ideologies: The Tempting of America by Judge Robert Bork.

An alleged real conspiracy: The Naked Capitalist by W. Cleon Skousen.

A fictional conspiracy: The Delta Decision by Wilbur Smith.

Some current worries: The Strange Death of Vincent Foster by Christopher Ruddy.

Becoming the Kind of Father You Really Want to Be

Fatherhood is Not For Babies
by Emma S. Etuk, Ph.D.
Reviewed by Bob Selle

Being a father involves much more than just having sex and siring offspring. Dr. Emma S. Etuk, a Nigerian-American history professor who lives and works in the Washington, D.C., area, makes that point over and over again in his little 97-page book. [Emma is a male name in Nigeria].

In it, Etuk, who is also founder of Nigeria for Christ Ministries, draws heavily from the Bible to construct a model of the ideal father. His assumption is that you can't be a good father without approaching the ideal through the Word of God.

"In America today, fatherhood is highly sexualized," Etuk writes. "And children, the dear products of our procreative endeavors, have become the unpleasant casualties of our free-for- all, insatiable sexual appetites.

"Fatherhood is not for babies. It is for mature adults.'"

Since children are "God's precious gifts to us," each child needs as good a father as possible.

So how do we become a good father? Etuk asks us to look at God, the Heavenly Father, and at Jesus Christ, the perfect image of God.

Jesus well describes God's nature in his Sermon on the Mount. There, God is depicted as allowing His sun to shine on the just and the unjust. God is liberal and good. He is loving, tolerant, patient, kind, and forgiving. This is the way a father should be, Etuk says.

There are four requirements to being a good father: 1) physical maturity, 2) intellectual maturity, 3) financial maturity, and 4) spiritual maturity.

To be physically mature involves not just sexual maturity but sexual purity.

Intellectual maturity means having a good level of education, one which will allow the father to guide his children through the many challenging areas of the educational system and the rest of today's society.

Financial maturity involves keeping a stable, decent-paying job prior to having children.

Spiritual maturity means being thoroughly and deeply grounded in God's truth and in prayerful relationship with God.

All in all, Fatherhood Is Not for Babies is a good read-inspiring and conscience-rousing. It can be bought for $7.95 by calling 1-800-325-9492 or 1-800-688-4986. 

Have A Heart Of Gratitude

Rev. J. H. Pak

Above all else in this year of 1998 we should have the attitude of deeply appreciating the True God; to love Him, to be proud of Him and to accomplish our mission of blessing 360 million couples is our privilege and honor and for this we can have a heart of gratitude.

For this reason, we should appreciate the Trinity of the True God and the True Parents, because they have provided for us this great opportunity to play a part in history. They have allowed us to participate in this great period of time; they have afforded us the chance to offer dedicated hearts and sacrificial service and they have truly given us the chance to taste victory. We have to feel deep gratitude to them for this.

At the close of 1997, 70 million couples had been blessed worldwide! That means 140 million people took a stand for marriage and family, against a selfish lifestyle. This turning point is a great miracle and a great victory.

What is the meaning of "gratitude"? It means "appreciation"--to be so sincerely appreciative toward someone for what they have given to you, done for you or been for you that you just long to give something in return and cannot rest until you do. That is gratitude.

If we receive love, protection and benefits, whether it be from God and True Parents, our family, our community, nation or world, we naturally reciprocate with our appreciation; the attitude of appreciation is very important. This is our responsibility. And we must have a joyful attitude. True Christians, True Unificationists, true believers of all faiths should always have a joyful attitude. We receive so much True Love so we must learn and practice how to express a heart of gratitude.

Two thousand years ago Christians underwent such fearful persecution from the Roman Empire but they always maintained their joyful attitude. Today, since we are given so much benefits of the age, it should be our natural response to serve and attend with joy; to have an appreciative attitude that we are so privileged to be living in this day when Heaven and Earth are coming together and that we can play a part in the history of it.

Jesus Christ always expressed appreciation to God. He always demonstrated his deep gratitude to God. Whenever God answered his prayers, Jesus was so appreciative. At the Last Supper, before he gave wine and bread to his disciples, he gave appreciation to God. So we can say that Jesus Christ was a man of true love and a man of appreciation.

True Father has always taught us to appreciate God, and he himself has consistently, without fail, demonstrated this appreciation to the Heavenly Father. Any victory which has ever been achieved, True Father has given the credit to God, always honoring the Father.

And True Father has always appreciated us. He has always rewarded victory and success, and he has always given compassion and encouragement when we have failed.

God always takes care of us. We need to grow up. Children, for example, stop crying and fretting when parents satisfy their desires; this is how they show appreciation to their parents. Very simple. But as adults, we should not need to receive in order to express appreciation. Rather, we should make offerings of sacrifice for our parents, comforting their hearts and bringing them hope. This is a mature way of showing appreciation. And this is how we practice True Love toward God and toward all others.

In the Exposition of the Divine Principle, it says that "God and the good angels and good spirits will bring us a sense of peace and the sense of righteousness " (p. 71). When we feel these things, we naturally feel a joyful response to God. On the other hand, if evil spirits are influencing us, we will not feel any appreciation and joy toward God; rather we are more likely to feel anxiety, fear and selfishness.

This year, we can expect our restored ancestors to come down to Earth and work with us. As this happens, it is best for us to have have right attitudes and right hearts--hearts of appreciation, hearts of peace, harmony and happiness. St. Paul said in the New Testament "the fruit of the spirit is love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control..." (Gal. 5:22); all of which create a good attitude. These are attributes which are evidenced in our lifestyle, our character and personality.

I try to show appreciation to my wife. Sometimes I bow to my wife in order to express all my gratitude to her. Between husband and wife, they must each think: "without him, without her, I am only half a microcosm; with him, with her, I am a complete microcosm. My perfection comes from my spouse." That must be our thinking. Through our eternal mate, we experience True Love. "Without my spouse, I am completely handicapped." God, indeed, gives us the chance to practice True Love through our partner. We can grow up through our spouse to reach perfection.

True Father uses the words Love and True Love in a different way. From Greek, we get the word eros. From God we get true eros, not satanic eros. To experience True Love we serve, sacrifice and dedicate ourselves without selfish motives. If we simply experience love without true love, it might be immoral and selfish. But as we learn by giving without thinking or giving and forgetting--agape love--between all human beings, we move to the God-centered level of physical love--eros -- to be enjoyed between husbands and wives.

When we recite the Family Pledge, all seven verses are centered on "our family" and "true love." Through this True Love, we reach our perfection. In our homes, we express physical love in many ways; but this in itself is not enough to reach perfection. It must be combined with unselfish True Love within the community and beyond.

In Pledge #2 "Our family pledges to represent and become central to Heaven and Earth by attending True God and True Parents; we will perfect the dutiful way of filial piety in our family, patriotism in our nation, saints in the world, and divine sons and daughters in Heaven and Earth, by centering on True Love." How can we become filial sons and daughters in the family, patriots in the nation, saints in the world and divine sons and daughters of God? By practicing True Love.

At Chungpyung Training Center now, participants are able to see their own internal spiritual personality. Each person can see his or herself and how poor and miserable they might really be in spirit. It is an awakening call to quickly liberate ourselves and to become more united and obedient to God's word. Heaven is trying so hard to make us divine sons and daughters.

In our tribal messiahship, we represent Adam and Eve's position, true parents' position, king and queens' position, ancestors' position. God and True Parents have given us this honor and position. We become a central family. Through a central family balance comes, from all directions, north, south, east, west. The central family practices sacrificial and dedicated love toward others. This is vertical love.

As true tribal messiahs, we love the family; we love our nation and continent, and love this world, beyond race, religion, and culture; and we serve people and live for the sake of the people by giving the blessing to the people. We do not refer to ourselves as saints, but future generations will. They will say "Saint so and so did so and so."

We strive for the highest crown: to become divine sons and daughters of God. To be a divine child is to be one in Spirit with God; to feel His joy and His pain as the True Parent; to be in harmony with Heaven and Earth, His creation; and to taste the sweetness and wonder of familyship with Him, even becoming His friend as we grow older. We become engrafted into God's Lineage. We become True Children of God. God becomes our True God and comes to live among us on the Earth. We become God's partners of True Love.

In all seven points of our Family Pledge, we say "centering on True Love" not "centering on love." In the past two years, True Father absolutely has given us the opportunity to go out and put True Love into practice. For this we are grateful.

Vertically, we appreciate God and True Parents; horizontally, we appreciate and can be grateful for brothers and sisters. Without each other we cannot accomplish our responsibilities. In everything we do, we depend on each other. We need each other. We can help each other, encourage and appreciate each other.

We also need to appreciate our Second and Third Generations. We are always sacrificing them in order to serve others. For the most part, they are uncomplaining. They live a pure lifestyle. They gave blessings with us. They know we are providing for them a safe and pure atmosphere, free from Satan. They are saviors for us. We have to appreciate our children. They hold the keys to our kingdom. For our physical love (eros) our spouse holds the key. We most certainly must appreciate our spouse for this reason.

For those couples who accepted the blessing from us, we are grateful. How would we have had the opportunity to practice True Love? And how else could we have fulfilled the 3.6 and 36 million couple Blessing without them? We should always look for the things for which we can be grateful.

With tears we show love for God and True Parents and express how truly we grateful we are for them. They are steering us in the right path to build the Kingdom on Earth and in Heaven.

When we see the movie Titanic we see all the people on this gigantic, beautiful ship eating, drinking, dancing, loving, with no idea that just moments away their destiny would change completely. Some on board were happy, some had problems; some were high society on the higher decks, others were lower society on the lower decks; but when the ship hit the iceberg, they all met the same destiny!

We might compare the Titanic to America. What is going on right now on this gigantic, beautiful ship America? Who is really concerned with this ship America? The captain of the Titanic was spaced out; his pride and ego got in the way of his good sense and wisdom. Is the leadership in America spaced out? God and True Parents are not spaced out. And those who value God and True Parents are not spaced out either. Some are trying to save the ship.

American people are amazingly creative. The same people who can produce such a powerful, technically brilliant, expensive movie as Titanic can surely also find creative, interesting and exciting ways to bring God's blessing to millions of people. We have much work to do. Let our hearts be joyful and let our hearts be eternally grateful for what we have and what we can do.

Blessing Prayer

RFK Stadium, Washington, DC United States Of America
November 29, 1997
Reverend And Mrs. Sun Myung Moon Officiators
(Translation from Korean)

Our most beloved Heavenly Father!

Today, November 29, 1997, we have gathered at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. We are deeply grateful that we could hold this 3.6 Million and 36 Million Couples Blessing with you, Heavenly Father, our Creator!

Dear God, we thank you that we could bring these couples together in a bond of true love with true parents in our hearts. Thank you for allowing us to have this Blessing ceremony. Here we can establish a new beginning by bequeathing the blood lineage of true parental love.

This place is the focus of the whole world: the nations represented by these chosen men and women and the entire spirit world. We are truly, truly, truly grateful that you have given your permission for this Blessing of Marriage to be held at this place. Heaven and Earth are in harmony here, and through the True Parents these true children can inherit God’s family tradition.

We recall the history of humankind. We know that the first ancestors made a mistake of one moment, which gave birth to billions of sorrowful years witnessed by you, the Parent of Heaven. We also know that to reverse that mistake, saints and sages have walked the path of suffering, sacrifice and offering, leaving behind a history of woe.

Jesus Christ came as the Messiah, as the second Adam, to fulfill the mission of True Parents. However, because the people did not unite with him and care for him, the mission was left unfulfilled. Although Jesus is the Messiah, he did not complete the responsibility of True Parents and did not establish a family to extend the messianic mission to the nation and the world. He had to take up the cross, leaving behind his promise to return.

God promised to send the third Adam, the Second Coming of the Lord. He comes to restore the 2,000 year history in which humankind failed to perfect the family and nation worldwide. Beginning from the position of perfected third Adam and standing in the position of the True Parents, I have formed the history of blessed families, centering on you, Heavenly Father and True Parents. This is so that we might inherit again the tradition of the heavenly blood lineage.

Today, 39.6 million couples are gathered to receive the Blessing. This is a time of glory for Heaven, pride for Earth, and liberation for humankind. We are grateful for this. Through the Blessing of marriage, Heaven and Earth are able to dwell together on Earth. Through this ceremony, God is able to establish the realm of the Sabbath on Earth and personally dwell directly with us. Also, through this ceremony, the world of angels and the world of saints and sages can dwell on Earth.

Through this, all families of the world are empowered to become your tribe by weaving together, one family after another. In this way, they are able to establish the one family and return joy to Heaven by cutting off Satan's blood lineage. We are truly grateful for your permission to have this eternal moment.

Now, by completing 39.6 million couples on Earth, and by being liberated through the grace of the Blessing, we cross the final battle line at which you can allow the Blessing, which Adam's family failed to bestow, to be given to all humankind.

Please, Heavenly Father, take direct dominion over everything from this moment on, as we press forward toward the final goal. I beg you to establish your reign of goodness. Reign from the position of both right and left, with Heaven’s dominion and realm of victory at the center. Engage the entire cosmos to complete the purpose of creation.

Proclamation of the Blessing

God our Father! You are the origin of all things in the universe and the source of true love. Today, together with the True Parents, you are connected from this RFK Stadium to the entire world. Through the Holy Blessing, these 3.6 million and 36 million couples want to create true God-centered families which can live eternally as models of true love. Heavenly Father, please come and personally direct this ceremony and bestow your eternal blessing of true love. Amen. Amen. Amen.

True Father’s Midnight Prayer

God’s Day 1998

Punta del Este, UruguayBeloved Father! Today is the very first hour to welcome the new year of 1998. Today we sent off the year of 1997 and welcomed the new year. In the world of your heart, every plan beginning from now on is for the liberation of all families of the world. I am really thankful that we can have a new year in which we can march forward to attend Heaven.

Last year, the foundation of the blessing of 40 million couples was accomplished, upon the 3.6 million couples, the 36 million couples connected to the growth stage victory. From today, toward the remaining 360 million couples, the families of all humankind should settle down centering upon absolute sex, which is God’s ideal of creation, and the couple’s relationship which is centered on absolute love.

Due to the loss of the ideal family throughout the many processes of history, towards the fulfillment of the religious aspirations throughout the Old Testament Age, the New Testament Age, and the Completed Testament Age, for the restoration of the standard of the original family through the path of indemnity, God has walked a historical path of recreation. For the reasons above, all human beings cannot avoid but begging for Your mercy.

There was a foundation of tens of millions of years of persecution and of public fighting in order to send True Parents to a chaotic world. Therefore, we received True Parents on earth. Centering on the victory of the realm of Christian Culture after 2,000 years, centering on the year of 1945, after World War II the circumstances represented the spiritual situation of the Eve nation, Abel nation, and Cain nation. At the same time, the external Eve nation, Abel nation, and Cain nation had been confronted so that the victorious foundation could be retained and Jesus was able to rule over the spiritual world.

On this foundation, the third Adam came and indemnified everything and tried to start the family level of the world. But because Catholics and Protestants could not make unity and because of the opposition of Christianity, centering on the Unification Church, this forty-year history of restoration was a bloody one. True Parents, who were sent to the people who did not know anything, had to go through a suffering course. We had become such people You could not even imagine according to Your Will.

I know very well how sorrowful You are to face this sad day. I also know the sorrow of True Parents who had to work hard until the fulfillment of their responsibility which was to establish the victorious foundation in 185 nations centering on Korea, centering on Japan, centering on America, and centering on Germany in forty years.

With this victorious foundation we have today, beyond the watershed of the Blessing of 3.6 million couples and 36 million couples on the worldwide level, and centering upon the Blessing of 360 million couples, the completion of the family identical to Adam’s family in the realm of human liberation occurred through the public hard work of heavenly Parents and earthly Parents, thus gaining approval of this time period of blessing. I am really thankful for Your grace and permission to connect this to humankind.

From now, 1998, to keep the final vertical period, centering on all humankind and with the Blessing of 360 million couples, we want to march forward to accomplish this life-or-death mission, to go over the peak of Han to accomplish Your final wish in the providential history of salvation which is the cutting off of the blood lineage of the satanic world.

The spiritual world, which has been helpful until now, the angelic world centering on God, the ancestors who stand in the position of saints which represents the angelic world, everyone absolutely must become one with the "Declaration of the Realm of the Cosmic Sabbath for Parents of Heaven and Earth" which can bring resurrection to earth, thus You can appear on earth. I am really thankful for the grace through which we can receive the whole body, the entire directions, absolute power and authority, and omnipotence in this time period in which we can completely liberate and indemnify the Han of the Fall since history began.

Please grant that all families which were blessed within a heartistic relationship centering on True Parents may be one, and they should be an absolute object before an absolute subject, which is what Heaven desires, with absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience. Thereafter, as Heaven wishes, they can establish the victorious Kingdom of Heaven in the heavenly world and the earthly world.

We are grateful to welcome this day centering on all men and women on this beach. We are grateful to come to the central place of the workshop on this 31st True God’s Day in the midst of nature, receiving this water which can connect Heaven and Earth. We are also grateful for this grace that can hold this memory in Heaven and on earth as the condition of grace through which your heavenly blessing can be one with earth and can be connected to all humankind. We are having rain at this moment, over 5 oceans and 6 continents, to which all land and water in the world can be connected. Please pour down abundantly the unification grace, I fervently desire and ask of You.

Such a blessing from God, to welcome the new year of 1998, at the time of the 31st True God’s Day, with the accomplishment of the blessing of 360 million couples, bringing the liberation of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, which can cut off the satanic blood lineage. Please grant the appearance of the Kingdom of Heaven where we can praise the victory and glory of the realm of the fourth Adam. I fervently ask and desire Your permission to establish one victorious way for the Unification soldiers who can march forward looking for the grace of blessing with the whole body, the entire direction, absolute power and authority, and omnipotence.

Father, bright 1998 came to us. I fervently ask and desire Your permission that everyone can be victorious soldiers and determine their minds, stretch out their bodies and embrace the universe with all their hearts, so that they can engraft the whole universe to the lovely original palace, with filial piety before God, together with all things, children and parents.

As we receive this glorious New Year, we start a new day and, at the same time, start a new year. I fervently ask and desire Your permission that everyone can leave the seed which can connect 365 days to the Father’s glorious day.

Father! I fervently ask that the blessing of this year that came with a promise can fully pour out the realm of heavenly victory in Heaven and on earth. I wish Your permission that this moment can be the time of the declaration of congratulation for victory in the name of Parents and in the name of God and, at the same time, can bind together the continuity of grace. I declare and pray this in the name of True Parents. Amen! Amen! Amen!

True Parents' Birthday

True Father's Address, True Parents Birthday
Seoul, Korea
February 2, 1998 - 10:00 a.m.
Unofficial Notes

Men and women must be careful, otherwise they lose their direction. You can't think if you lose your direction. We need absolute love. Absolute love has two ways or one? Two starting points or one? Absolute means only one way. The person who does not know how to be ashamed is the most shameful.

Man was lost in the springtime of humankind. Everything was turned upside down, with Satan on top. So what should we do? God had to work through the younger son to try to restore things. If we love as God originally intended, we spread life and love. Man has the original position of the Lord. But Satan came in by force. The mind which is centered on God should be minus to God, but the body, as a plus, has been on top. History has been like this. Who is going to resolve this?

We have to go down-that is, against the desires of our body. We have to serve, but we are arrogant and we do not want to do this. Does your body drag your spirit around, or vice versa? Why does the body dominate the spirit? Because of the fall.

Even professors do not realize that Satan is around their necks. If you can understand more deeply the heart of God then you can understand True Parents. Many Christians pray and ask God to take care of them. That is not a child of God. We need liberation. Because of you, there can be no liberation. We must go out from our home, parents, grandparents, nation-reject even our children-and go to the position of zero.

To begin the process of creation again we must go down to zero no matter who we are. One may say, "I'm a congressman..." But you have been selling out your nation. You should be judged. You are waking up a bit now, perhaps. You might be angry to hear this...

Were you called to live as couples or singles? So far, followers of religion were called to live single. This is because there was no true couple on Earth. It means the separation of the sexual organs from selfish motivation. A payment of indemnity. The sexual organ is the palace of love. Because no one was educated centered on God, Satan has claimed the sexual organs.

While visiting the spirit world I realized that everything is so filthy due to sexual misconduct. Everything has been claimed by Satan. Love has been claimed by Satan.

God established the concept of True Parents. A foundation that could not be revoked has been made. I am teaching against the flow of the world.

Maybe you are thinking that you wanted to see Reverend Moon. Take a look! You can decide if I am good looking or not. Do we need True Parents or not? Did your thinking change a bit? In the hour and forty minutes of reading (Hoon-Dok-Hae), everything was said. Do you not now think we need the True Parents? People think we have so many secrets and we are so frightening...

Korea is still so dark. If Christians were not be so stuck on the idea of Jesus returning on the clouds, they would have accepted me as the Messiah. You have met the Messiah. Do you want to see him? Do you just want to look, or do you want to live with him? Do you think you are deserving or well-matched to live with him? When people want to live with the Messiah, should everyone come into the house?

Because I am giving the Blessing of marriage, people are relating as brothers and sisters. Haven't you been waiting for true men and women like that? Through the fall, all history was destroyed. The love of man and woman is so frightening and dangerous. God has been working to restore this throughout history. How much blood has been shed by children and parents because of false love! Women must become true younger sisters, wives and mothers to men. God's love must be won again.

When I engaged young people, parents were so angry that I had engaged their children without their consent. Taking God's children back from Satan's world requires that kind of condition. I need to bring the women together, teach them, and send them back to save the men. Women know the secrets of men.

In the future, there should not be opposing political parties. They should work together for the nation. I am saying what I said in the 1960s when there were only three billion people on Earth. I will bring these words to the world even if it costs me my life. My own nation does not recognize me or my words.

The first and second Adams could not fulfill-look at how Israel suffered after that. The whole population of the world suffered for that. The second Israel, the Jewish people, have been persecuted for over two thousand years. During the Second World War the Christian nations were victorious. The United States was the Adam nation, Britain was the Eve nation, France was the Archangel nation. Conditions were established on the national level-so Reverend Moon could appear.

The first, second and third Adam has been [killed?]. The Unification Church is winning the victory, and shouting "Mansei." Christianity is becoming dry. In this time, we are to love and be proud of the True God by accomplishing the 360 million couples Blessing and eradicating Satan's lineage. The world should be one nation under God. Not a nation, actually-it should be a world under God. Nations should live for others.

Many tried to find a way to get rid of me, expending such effort to find one little thing on which to get me. They tried but they could not find anything wrong. Since they could not find anything, they tried to make something up.

The Korean people are still not paying attention. Don't you think the Koreans should be proud of Reverend Moon? If I visit you, will you receive True Parents? When you receive my books, you can read the words, and make them a basis for your life and for going out to the world. If you will just read these words together with your families and with those in your workplace you will see a new life beginning. Throughout the world people are recognizing me. Only my own nation is not recognizing me.

God wants to come and dwell on the Earth; we must break the lineage of Satan. Those who are connected to God can bring God to live with them. We should unite three generations together and we should reverse the sin of Adam's fall. Looking at Reverend Moon you can see what a true husband and father should be-as it should have been established with Adam and Eve.

Today, on my birthday, I am proclaiming the Completed Testament Age of Blessing and marriage. All the things that were reversed at the time of Adam and Eve are being restored- love, life and blood lineage. Earlier ages were indemnity. Now we are at the crossing point. All people can now be blessed. So the first and second realms of Adam had to be indemnified, as Satan [claimed these realms?]

Now humankind, moving up to the whole world, can be blessed, establishing the foundation for true love, life and lineage. This is the realm of the fourth Adam. Over the years, my speeches have generated 233 volumes. All these things are coming together in this age. All is being explained-family, tribal and national realms. We must bring God into our families. Parents must do this. All things together with God.

I proclaim now that all people who have opposed me are forgiven. Such a wonderful age this is. We can be restored through the family.

We can talk about all of history. People have come from throughout Korea. Blessing and eternal life is the topic. Everything was upside down and we are now redressing it. Now True Parents can resolve all things. If you do not understand about eternal life you cannot really understand True Love. Christians do not really know about the spirit world. If you really understood about eternal life, even if you were tempted to sin you would not.

So far, religions were so involved in their own cultures they could not bring a true understanding of eternal life. Does God really exist or not...? People are moving along the path of faith. We must prepare for our eternal life. As people get older, they become more serious about eternal life. So we need a true religion. Only that can bring people to an understanding. A clear concept of eternal life will enable us to go beyond...

If Adam and Even had been together with God... God created them to be His objects. This is not just words. We must experience True Love. How to express the reality of eternal life to people is the problem... We have to bring our hearts into a relationship with our bodies. People can become one. If we know God and we have a relationship with God, then we can have a concept of eternal life.

How long will you live? Maybe 70 or 80 years. Then you will have a lot of greed. People of eighty will want to live to be one hundred. You do not know when you will die-maybe as you take off your shoes tonight! You should think that you are going to die soon, within the next year, and you should desire to prepare for your eternal life in that short a time. The shorter the time, the quicker and better you will prepare for your eternal life. Are you thinking that you want to love God but have not

You should be so busy preparing. What kind of foundation is required? [A few minutes missed due to equipment failure]

We need to really be concerned about our eternal life. It is religion that has been concerned about this. True love-it is amazing truth-but what percentage of people have lived the True Love way? It is in that way that we can have eternal life. Things begin with love. When a child receives True Love the child can grow in True Love.

If we become one with God, then the universe and God are ours. God created in order to be together with humankind for eternity-we are to live eternally. God needs to live together with us. We are the eternal object of God's True Love. Do you want to live for eternity? We want to carry True Love with us, brag about it, leave it to our descendants. God wants an eternal object of His love. We must know this eternally. Such a God cannot help but look for his children who are to live with Him.

The eternal spirit does not age. Even the things of creation have a type of spirit. If God had not established love He would not have been able to experience joy. God, who lost His love, has been in such a position of suffering and sorrow. He absolutely wants to bring His children back to the point where True Love can be felt and where the whole universe can be in harmony.

Why does God give and give? If we give and keep giving it will come back to us. Give and give again-that is where the concept of eternity comes from. If we give we will never be destroyed-we will grow from small to big.

God gave humankind the unique position as the eternal partner of True Love with God. We have eternal life, and eternity comes from this relationship of eternal love. How do you establish a relationship of eternal love? Not just with a man or with a woman: eternal life is in the relationship between man and woman. Eternal give and take. If you only believe you live eternally, are you saved? No. Only if you have True Love.

Rats leave a ship when they know an accident is going to happen. But people cannot sense these things due to the fall of man. Humankind must get rid of the evil love, life and lineage and move to a realm where these things hold no sway and live centering on True Love. Whatever we are doing on Earth, we must connect to eternal life. We can be eternal! True Love does not change; everything else changes and is affected by the environment but True Love is unchangeable. This is because True Love is t

True Love is the center of all things and the center of all ideal relationships. All philosophies can disappear but True Love will not disappear. As long as God remains, True Love will remain. What is True Love? We hope that our spouse and children will be better than us. God also wants His object of True Love to be better than Himself. Who would disagree?

Human beings are so special! That means we can be higher than God. Only love has that special power. God wants to give so completely to His sons and daughters that human beings can even be above God in value. If we had not fallen we could have been so great. These are precious words. From such a high point we can look down at the universe...the liberated mind does not want to be dominated. With God, we can have True Love and be God's friend. If you are 80 years of age and your father is 100, you

God wanted to make his object of True Love eternal, and outside the realm of false love. True Love is the goal of this never-ending process. Through centering on True Love. God lives eternally and through our relationship of True Love with God, we live eternally. The environment of Eternal Love is that of eternal life. This is not something to dream of, but something to experience.

The speed of love is faster than light and electricity. Light can encircle the globe seven times in a second, but love is thousands of times faster. True Love can go straight through the universe-and keep going. Eighty-nine degrees is not a straight line. The meeting point between the vertical relationship with God and horizontal love between people is 90 degrees. They meet at a right angle. Front/back, right/left, above/below, elder/younger-all these come into order and balance according to t

The sun and the stars are round. The speed of love goes through the universe. With True Love you can travel throughout the universe. Why am I teaching you these things? Why do I say these things? I refer to myself as son-saeng (teacher) as a formality, not to glorify myself. I know the eternal Word of God. We cannot just live as we want to.

In the biblical age, we were preparing for True Love. Jesus said that those who seek to live will die, while those who seek to die will live. Reverend Moon knows these things. If we know God and eternal life, we cannot live randomly. We must give, we must invest our life one hundred percent. Then we can go beyond the fallen realm. If we do not invest one hundred percent, we cannot have eternal life. If we don't have eternal life we cannot meet God. Everyone thinks about themselves and tries to g

Egoism is the opposite of True Love. True Love is giving more than what one has and more. Investing even more than our lives. It is at this point that God begins to work. If we do not give more than our lives then it is not True Love.

We have Satan's lineage. So far, love has been Satan's love. We have to give everything. We must love our neighbors as ourselves-that means to invest even our lives for others. We have to separate from Satan's environment and we can only do that through True Love.

God has no concept of time. In eternity, the future is the same as the past and all are congruent. Even with all His power and knowledge, God cannot come to Earth without True Love. God has True Love. He can create anything by Himself. But God cannot create the ideal of True Love alone-He must have an object. He needs humankind. God does not need anything except True Love.

What is the spirit world? It is not just the world after death-it is the world where True Love is. Not just after death. It starts where True Love is. If I am experiencing True Love right now, this is Heaven. It is the connecting point of the spirit world and physical world. After death it has the same value. True Love can only be connected through a vertical and a horizontal connection.

The Unification Church is working for a true world, centering on true love, where humankind will bring God to this Earth though True Love. Then human beings will breathe God, and True Love will match the rhythm of the universe. In the spirit world and physical world everything will follow True Love. Everything will move to the rhythm of True Love. True Love is not merely earthly love. It matches all things, all directions-north, south, east and west.

In the Unification Church not so many people know about the meaning of the Blessing. The international wedding ceremonies-you have heard of these-are to bring families back in the proper direction. Everyone has to be blessed by the True Parents to be brought back to the right position. Unless people go through the door of the Blessing they cannot enter eternal life. To go through the gate of Heaven, people have to participate in the Blessing ceremony.

When we accomplish the 360 million-couple Blessing ceremony we will be able to influence all people and establish the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Satan's influence will be broken. People think about their individual salvation, but salvation is for everyone. Presidents should want to bring their nations in.

How much love am I giving and receiving? Couples giving and receiving True Love will go into the spirit world together and become one body with God. Our sprits become younger and more beautiful as we grow. We take off our old shell of a body when we die.

Before we can directly love God we should love the very food we eat and love our bodies

and all that is around us, and absorb the elements of nature. The first parents are those who gave birth to us. The second parents is the earth out of whose substance we grew. The third parents is death, which lets us into the next world.

We must resemble God to come to the third parents. We get married in order to resemble God and the Sung Sang and Hyung Sang come together to multiply the seed of God. We live to multiply True Love. Marriage is for this. The standard of marriage comes through the Blessing, based on True Love. Through the Blessing the universe is perfected. The place where True Parents were born is like the hometown for all humankind.

Korea, unite with me! If Korea unites with me, it will never be destroyed, do not worry. I have been through so much persecution, but have not been destroyed.