Inauguration of the "Education Center for Ideal Families and World Peace" at the "New Hope Farm

by Peter Haider-Sao Paulo

We all arrived back from the New Hope Farm Saturday afternoon. More than 50 members had been there helping with the decoration, the cleaning and preparation of the offering table. Also the Brazilian state leaders went there after finishing their workshop. For the inauguration ceremony itself one other big bus and several cars with members went there. One bus came also from Goiania.

When we arrived last Monday after a 16 hour trip True Parents were already at the New Hope Farm with two grandchildren. In the morning I participated twice in the Hoon Dok Hae with True Parents. The reading was done from a book about True Father's prayers which was published recently in Korea. According to a report after the reading given by our Korean church president, Mr. Hwang, they are selling now several books through outside book stores and the books about True Father's prayers are the bestsellers of all our books.

In the morning of July 1st at 7.00 there was the pledge for the Declaration Day of God's Eternal Blessing. It was held in one part of the 1st floor of the house with the restaurant. About 20 Korean leaders and National Messiahs mainly from Latin America had come one day before and attended together with the Brazilian leaders. I expected to meet some Europeans, but nobody had come. First Rev. Kwak spoke about the meaning of this Holy Day and then Father spoke for about one hour. I hope to be able to report later more about the content of these speeches.

At 10.00 the Inauguration of the "Education Center for Ideal Families and World Peace" started. True Parents cut the ribbon before entering the main auditorium. Rev. Mauricio Baldini from Salobra Hotel was the MC and Rev. Cesar Zaduski gave the opening prayer. The Brazilian national anthem was played and True Parents showed their respect to the Brazilian flag like true Brazilian patriots. True Father read a speech about the "The Family and World Peace". Later Rev. Kwak, Pres. Choo from The Washington Times and Ku Bae Pak from Uruguay gave reports. Finally Rev. Oyamada concluded the ceremony with 3 cheers of Mansei. Together with many local VIPs, some 40 VIPs had come from Sao Paulo to attend this inauguration, several from Uruguay and Paraguay and a few from other nations. All together about 2000 people attended inside the new auditorium (temple), which was nicely decorated using mainly blue and gold, the colors of the Family Federation. Many more people attended outside.

After the ceremony True Parents and all VIPs (200) had lunch in the new restaurant. At the end of the meal True Father shook the hand of everybody by going through the dining room. All the VIPs were introduced to him. True Parents sang a few Korean songs and the Korean leaders joined in. At the end True Father gave for one hour an informal speech. Everybody including True Parents looked very happy.

The following day after the Hoon Dok Hae and breakfast, True Parents and several Korean leaders left for Forte Olimpo at the Paraguay river to continue the 1st 40 days fishing workshop. For several reasons, mainly visa problems, not so many Korean National Messiahs can attend this workshop.

The Brazilian group went with a van and a bus full of members to Rio Perdido farm. I went there once before after the rainy season. Now there was much less water. We could see many fishes and the water is very clear. Next day we started early to go to Salobra hotel and farm. There we visited True Parents’ house after breakfast. Rev. Baldini's wife explained to us the history of this place and how it is connected to the providence of the last two years. Later we went to the place were the river Salobra meets the Miranda river. After lunch our Korean NM Rev. Kim, who had come from Japan for the inauguration gave a short speech of greeting to all members. We waited to watch the game Brazil against Denmark on TV. After Brazil had won we left for Sao Paulo.

In Memoriam Oh Young Chun - The Best Korean I Ever Met

by Daniele Cohen-Bellevue, WA

This January 11, a very precious and humble Korean grandma went to spirit world. The seventh member to join our True Father long ago in Pusan.

I met her in Chicago, back in '76.

Because the Korean Sunday Service was by far much more interesting to me, I was a regular participant.

I immediately tried to befriend Oh Young Chun because she was so genuine.

I knew 2 Korean words at the time and she spoke no English but we connected. Have you ever had the feeling you have known someone all your life? It was like that.

All of a sudden she wasn't there at the Sunday Services. I asked around and finally found out she had cancer and was in the Hospital. I went to the prayer room with my heart in my hand and cried all night. I begged God to give me the cancer, after all I was young and could fight it easier. Besides, I told Heavenly Father, she did not deserve it, I was by far much more sinful and therefore I told God, give it to me.

My eyes were swollen and my voice was gone, but I felt as if God had heard me.

Sometime after that I was asked if I would like to live with Mrs. Oh and take care of her.

I thought to myself , "pinch me-I must be dreaming!".

As unworthy as I was somehow God was giving me such an incredible opportunity.

She called me her resident comedian. I tried my best to make her laugh. Taking her to the hospital for radiation and chemotherapy was heart wrenching. She never complained.

Throughout all the time I spent with her, I never felt worthy.

It was because of her that God was able to have His day of Victory over Resentment. On the 4th of July 1952, True Father, Won Pil Kim, and another member were arrested. It was Oh Young Chun that got them out in 40 days. She suffered a stroke during that time, due to exhaustion. The prisons' in Korea at that time could not compare to ours. You have to understand her desperation.

Many, many times she lamented to me the fact that the Church had become so big and impersonal. The folks joining now did not get the closeness she had with True

Father. She said there were many times Father would take her to the ocean, and point across the water and tell her that many people would come from all over the world to help Korea to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

Her mother had been a member of the inside belly church. Her mom had done the 1200 bows, made clothes for Jesus and prepared feasts for Jesus.

Father called Mrs. Oh, "patience." Believe me she had to have a lot of that to put up with me.

She told me that when she went to spirit world, she would be 33 again. When I dreamt of her in January, I did not recognize her right away. And then I remembered what she had told me!

She told me she would live in a beautiful mansion in spirit world and that she wanted me and my family to be with her. I am just so grateful to have had the years we had together, what an honor. My ancestors must have paid an incredible amount of indemnity so that I could be with her. Hope to see her at Lake Chon Pyong.

Just wanted to share such a precious time with all our family members.

Hyun Jin Moon Inaugurated as VP of FFWPUI

by Richard L. Lewis-NYC

Hyun Jin Moon was inaugurated as vice-president of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification International in an historic ceremony held July 19, 1998 at the Manhattan Center Ballroom, NYC. The ceremony was presided over by the founders of the FFWPUI, Reverend and Mrs. Moon. Rev. Moon declared, "This is the first time in my life to have such a precious ceremony. I give my heartfelt thanks to God."

It was truly a day of celebration. The ballroom was beautifully set for a banquet for 300 guests with congratulatory bouquets-at least 60 of them lining the hall-from the many different churches and organizations supporting the FFWPU. The guests were the melange of races, nationalities and cultures that we have come to expect in Unification community events, some in business attire, some in traditional garments.

Neil Salonen, secretary general of FFWPUI, opened the celebration by introducing Rev. and Mrs. Moon and their son, Hyun Jin, who took their places on stage to a standing ovation. (Hyun Jin Nims wife, Jun Sook Nim, while present, did not participate in the proceedings on stage as she is eight months pregnant with their fourth child.)

The invocation was given by Rev. Sun Jo Hwang, president of FFWPU-Korea, who offered a forceful prayer in Korean.

The welcoming address was given by Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak, president of FFWPUI, who welcomed "this young leader of uncommon potential." He described how all the work of True Parents has been brought into focus in the Family Federation and is the foundation for the providential victory in the next millennium.

He spoke highly of Hyun Jin Nim’s character and accomplishments: his transformation of UVG into a thriving business, his graduation cum laude from Columbia University and his recent MBA obtained from Harvard Business School.

He concluded, "The FFWPUI is blessed indeed to receive into its leadership such character and skills."

Neil Salonen then gave an overview of how FFWPUI is bringing institutions together around the world to support marriage. Noting that it was impossible to do a complete job of this-there was so much to include-he announced the recently-completed video introduction to FFWPUI which was projected onto a large screen on-stage.

The video covered the inauguration of FFWPUI in 1996, with clips of President Gerald Ford speaking there, followed by the foundation of Blessings that led up to that momentous event, starting with Father and Mothers Blessing in 1960 and ending with clips from the recent RFK and MSG Blessings of millions where a Hindu holy man spoke of Father "creating heaven on earth," Minister Farrakhan "to recreate a new heaven and earth," and Rev. Taylor "the great prophet, Reverend Moon." The video ended with a delightful animation of the FFWPU logo assembling itself around the center heart.

Father and Mother then ascended the central podium with Hyun Jin Nim. Leather-bound proclamations were brought to them; Father read them in solemn Korean and Mr. Salonen translated:

"Hyun Jin Nim is duly elected to the office of Vice President of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification International. Signed by Reverend Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han."

Hyun Jin received the proclamations with a bow to great applause. After Father and Mother had returned to their seats, Hyun Jin Nim give his Inaugural Address.

He spoke first of his gratitude to his parents and the great honor it was to participate in the Family Federation, "the culmination of my parents’ work. For, though the seeds have been planted, the world is still plagued with terrible problems."

He described the breakdown of the family and its central role in human life: "No matter what our station in life is, we are all child and parent, brother and sister, to other people."

He spoke of his parents’ difficult course and his own perception of it. "I vividly remember when my father had to go to Danbury prison. I felt such tremendous anger towards America. But Father consoled us, reminding us that through his sacrifice God would be able to bless America more."

He had to stop speaking at this point for the tears were welling from his eyes and his voice was breaking.

"They hold no bitter feelings," he continued, "they paved the path for us to be here today."

He spoke of his vision for the future. "I cannot help but feel unworthy for I have much to learn and prepare. But I want to use my youthful vigor to aid my parents." He outlined the two areas where he felt he could make a contribution, witnessing to his parents’ life and suffering course from his personal experience, and education of the second generation. "We have no systematic structure for passing on our heritage," he declared and pledged to remedy the defect.

Summarizing the goal of the Family Federation to establish God-centered marriages, he asked everyone to "embrace this message and join with me to spread this message to the world, for what we sow today we will reap tomorrow."

He left the podium to a standing ovation.

Dr. Richard Rubenstein, president of Bridgeport University, gave the first congratulatory address. He spoke of how education magnified the qualities that Hyun Jin Nim inherited from his parents. From his own experience in gaining two degrees from Harvard he could testify that "the MBA is the most intellectually-challenging course to leadership qualities." He concluded with, "We rejoice in his dedication to his parents’ ideals. I pray he will prosper in his parents’ course" followed by a blessing in Hebrew.

Mr. Joo, president of The Washington Times Corporation, gave the second address. He spoke of the challenge of a vision for the new millennium and welcomed "the emergence of new leadership."

He extolled Hyun Jin Nim’s qualities "as a son of filial piety, an outstanding example of a true family man." After enumerating his successes, including his winning of an equestrian Bronze Medal at the Seoul Olympics, he spoke of his admiration for Hyun Jin Nim’s secret giving of scholarships to the second generation-a secret he apologized, to laughter, for revealing. He concluded that Hyun Jin Nim was a "model for youth around the world" and that he would serve to "transmit his parents’ standard to the next generation."

Bouquets of flowers were presented to Father, Mother and Hyun Jin Nim and they then cut the celebration cake-a towering white ziggurat of the confectioner’s art.

Father then took the podium with Peter Kim translating at his side. He was clearly delighted, positively beaming with delight over the day’s proceedings. "This is the first time in my life to have such a precious ceremony," he declared with obvious satisfaction.

"Today is the completion of three generations," he declared, referring to the three generations that should have been established by Adam without the Fall. He recalled the sorrow of God whose son was alive but had to be banished to the wilderness and the 10,000 generations this sorrow has lasted. "God was the King of sorrow."

He spoke seriously of the Completed Testament Age, the importance of absolute faith, love and obedience and how the Messiah could alone comfort God’s heart.

Rather more playfully, he then segued into a discussion of the love organs of man and woman-"the love organ they share is more important than anything else"-with many of his comments eliciting giggles and laughter from the guests. He became more grave, however, when speaking of the consequences of its abuse. "To build ideal families we have to be serious about the use of our love organ!"

He then spoke of the difficulties in Hyun Jin Nim’s position: "It’s not easy, it is one of sacrifice." He noted that while Jesus was not able to start his public mission until he was thirty, because of the foundation of millions of Blessed couples, Hyun Jin Nim could start before this.

He concluded that his hope was that Hyun Jin Nim "will be greater than I am and fulfill the mission which is still to be done-he is certainly handsomer than I am [a comment that drew laughter from Mother as well as the guests] and he has an MBA, which I don’t! And after the seminary, he will take on the theologians as well!"

He left the podium to a prolonged standing ovation and beamed from his seat at the guests-he was truly happy.

Reverend Kwak led the assemblage in four resounding "Manseis."

As the celebrants departed the stage to join the guests for lunch, sparkling apple juice was served in champagne flutes for the toast, proposed by Mr. Salonen, for Hyun Jin Nims success. A boisterous clinking of glasses ensued.

A delicious lunch was then served of lobster appetizer, tournedos of beef entree, and a double dessert of fruit tart followed by a slice of the celebration cake.

After the entree, the entertainment began with David Eaton as MC and Kevin Pickard on piano, Alistair Farrant on keyboards, Adruma Victoria on drums and Mark McEwen on guitar.

Raoul Joseph sang two ballads, "Wonderful World" and "Can You Feel the Love," followed by ___ who sang a tender Japanese love song. They then sang a duet, the Kevin Pickard song premiered at the Seoul Blessing in 1992, "Fill the World with Love."

Next, to a rousing welcome, Hyo Jin Nim appeared and "strutted his stuff" across the stage-he was in fine form! First was a blues ballad, "Beyond My Dreams," followed by an emotionally-charged "Love Me Tender."

Next was Hyun Jin Nim’s turn-putting on his shades, he cut loose with a spirited rendition of "Go Johnny Go," meanwhile encouraging the VIP tables in the front to stand and dance around-which some did with zeal-and then getting the grandchildren up onto the stage to dance around with him. The demand for an encore was satisfied by his celebrated rendition of "Blue Suede Shoes" which he soon turned into an audience participation event: he came down to the floor and, to some consternation, got members of the audience to sing into his microphone along with him, ending with his brother Kook Jin Nim.

The grand finale was True Parents singing "Umaya Nunaya," Father with his own inimitable rhythm and Mother valiantly carrying the melody.

Rev. Pak then took another microphone and started a vigorous Korean marching song as the stage quickly filled with members of the family dancing around, soon joined in their cavorting by Rev. Kwak and Dr. and Mrs. Rubenstein.

To conclude, Rev. Kwak led three "Manseis" and the celebration was over. It was truly a Day of Joy for Father and Mother and for the future of our community. 

HSA National Headquarters Online

This year the UC & FFWPU headquarters offices in New York went online with our own inhouse servers.

Many of our major departments and related outreach programs are now hosted on the server as well as the personal sites of members.

In an effort to support our worldwide membership we would like to offer our members and related groups and businesses the opportunity to have their site on our server.

We will be happy to host your site at a very low cost to you. In fact, the cost may be free, if you give permission for us to put a small amount of link advertising on your site.

Businesses too can benefit from this. We have several business sites already on our server.

For those of you who are more serious and would like a domain name of your own, you can have your own host name and email address. For example:

www.shea.org with an email address of anyone@shea.org

For your own domain site you would pay a $50 set up fee plus fee for you name of $100 for the first two years. A monthly fee of $25 would be charged. If you pay for one year in advance the fee is reduced to $20 per month. The fee for your name after the second year is $35.00 per year.

For those of you who would like subaccount individuals would pay a one time set up fee of $25 and no charges after that for a year. Midcity.net would reserve space on your site for advertising. Your site address would be similar to:

www.familyfed.org/shea/ or www.midcity.net/shea/

For international subaccounts we would waive the set up fee as an offering to your mission.

To set up your site, please send an email to: site@midcity.net

Great Books for Children

by Zella Steward Forster

There is a marvelous series of books for children that I would like to bring to everyone's attention. The Serendipity books are written by Stephen Cosgrove and published by Price Stern Sloan in LA. There must be 40 books in the series but each story stands alone. These are small, inexpensive paperback books with a beautiful illustration displayed at the turn of every page.

These books are intended to be read *to* children. They are longer stories, which are perfect for bedtime, but the vocabulary is difficult for very young readers to read themselves. Every story has some sort of moral lesson. Here are a few examples...

"Leo the Lop"-The story of a little lop-eared bunny rabbit who wants to be like the other bunnies who have ears that stand straight up. The lesson... "You're special because you're you."

"Fanny"-The story of a 3-legged farm cat who is treated badly by the other animals until one of them actually becomes friends with her-"on a dare". The lesson ... "Being handicapped is only a state of mind".

"Sassafras" (this was a favorite with the littlest orphan when I worked on ANNIE)-The story of a very sassy little elephant who learns that words can hurt. The lesson... "Kindness is always appreciated more that sarcasm".

The lessons go from listening to your parents, to taking care of the environment, to taking time to play and appreciate life, to dealing with loss.

Each book has its lesson printed right on the cover -in case you're in a hurry or looking for something specific. The illustrations are beautiful, bright watercolor paintings and each little animal character is full of personality.

This is my all-time favorite series of children's books-for many reasons.

I have yet to find anyone-child or adult-who doesn't love these stories. And this is really a good thing when you have to read them more than once.

Helpful Hint-To help prolong the life of these (or any) paperback books I put clear Contact paper on the cover. This not only helps to keep the books from getting torn-it helps to protect them from spills and sticky fingers. You can wipe them right off.

Zella Steward Forster has two degrees in Education, is a certified teacher in Elementary K-8 and Vocal Music K-12.

Committee Session One: Family in the Media and the Culture

by Tim Elder

Arnaud de Borchgrave (Chairman):

Journalistic standards have declined even further since the World Media Association’s last meeting in November, 1997, despite expectation by some that major improvements might be on the way. The media’s focus on the alleged sexual affairs of the U.S. president is one illustration of this. Discussion of explicit sexual matters on television news programs has become such that some parents feel they cannot allow their young children to watch. The meteoric rise in the ratings of one talk show that deals with explicit sexual matters and features frequent displays of physical violence is another illustration of the continuing dumbing down of the media, the family and family values. Meanwhile television executives are still in denial on the influence that TV violence has on the behavior of children. Serious discussions related to matters of national security are often ignored by the media.

The proportion of Americans that surf the Internet for news has risen dramatically to 40%. Now, irresponsible reporting blankets the earth faster than ever before. There are journalists who care about family and family values, but very few of them work in Washington. There, journalists generally treat family values as a right-wing issue that lies outside the mainstream. They are busy building their power bases, and don’t pay attention to global trends. The Y2K problem, for example, has not been given nearly the attention that the seriousness of its implications would warrant.

Don Feder:

The New York Times coverage of the current controversy in New York on extending the privileges of married couples to domestic partnerships (heterosexual and homosexual) illustrates the failure of the media to cover social trends affecting the family in an informative, balanced and responsible manner. In its initial article of several thousand words, the Times failed to acknowledge any dissent to the new policy, and offered no speculation on the law’s impact on families. Later articles acknowledged dissent, but also included material that served to undercut the impact of such dissent. The paper reported on John Cardinal O’Connor’s stinging rebuke of the new law, for example, but then went on portray the cardinal as being out of step with American Catholics.

The issue is treated as one of civil rights, instead of as a threat to family stability. The Times never asks and rarely allows others to speculate on the impact of government sanction of fornication and perversion on the family. When marriage loses its exclusivity, it loses much of its attraction. The number of heterosexual couples in America who are living together is rising much more rapidly than the number of married couples. Putting "relationships" on par with those who have made a lifelong commitment accelerates the decline of the family. For my colleagues in the fourth estate, these are non-issues.

Robert Wussler:

The influence of mass media on public opinions and perceptions needs to be harnessed to help reverse the erosion of the family unit and family values. Among the mass media, television remains the most effective and influential. Since its invention more than 50 years ago, television has been the ultimate propaganda tool for both good and evil purposes.

In its infancy, television was already the preferred medium to distribute news, sports and entertainment. When it became the dominant medium sometime after World War II, television allowed its viewers around the globe to share – although passively – in the same message. The global village was truly born. During the Vietnam War, television gave viewers vivid images and sound of the horrors of war. With the introduction of satellites, important events such as a man walking on the moon could be witnessed by people around the world.

Recently, other media have come to the scene, including the Internet. The World Wide Web is threatening to become a significant marketing force, but it certainly won’t replace television, at least for a long time to come. Soon there will be 100 million households with television in America. U.S. households average over seven hours daily of television.

To deliver the messages of understanding, benevolence and respect, it is crucial to target the appropriate media, the right television programs. Otherwise the unprecedented power of television to deliver the powerful message will be lost forever. It is time to maximize the positive communication potential of television.

Humphrey Hawksley:

No emotion is more universal than those related to family ties. When journalists understand the family and the motivations in people that spring from the family, they will be able to explain the world much better to their audiences.

In China (where the presenter headed the BBC’s bureau) the one-child policy is having a profound long-term impact on the family structure. Thousands of young girls are being abandoned by those who would prefer to have sons. The current young generation does not have siblings. The next generation will not have aunts and uncles. The extended family that we associate with Chinese society will cease to exist. Also, a 1995 eugenics law in fact bans people from having children who are born with mental or physical defects.

At a hospital in a Cambodian town, I came across a situation where a nurse had caused the death of some patients by substituting water for the medicine in their saline drips. She did it to sell the medicine for money she needed to feed her family. In her society, this was justified in a certain sense, because her motivation was for her family.

In my own situation, my wife became pregnant with triplets. The babies were born prematurely in an emergency procedure. One child died hours after birth, and a second within a week. The doctor in Hong Kong told me the usual procedure was simply to throw the body away. Even in the sophisticated society of Hong Kong, a failed birth is considered a loss of face. I had to take control to provide my children with a proper baptism and funeral.

My wife and I have returned to England and totally rearranged our lives to accommodate the needs of our remaining son, who has been diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

Question and Answer session:

Question for Mr. Wussler: The primary reason that the images from Vietnam had such an impact was that there was no censorship. Do you agree?

Mr. Wussler: There was a degree of censorship. The fact network evening news programs led their broadcast with the story every night gave viewers a heightened awareness of the war. The decade of the 60s was caldron of violence that built up to crescendo in 1968 and 1969. TV got out of studio the late 50s, but in the 60s TV became a meaningful device. Vietnam fit into that. We saw more things,

Question for Mr. Wussler: You said the World Wide Web will not replace the TV, but the technology is moving so rapidly that it’s difficult to make such predictions.

Mr. Wussler: Computers are not used nearly as much as television. Maybe ten years from now, the television will be replaced. It won’t happen in the next three to five years.

Question for Mr. Feder: I’ve been married more than 27 years and I have an intact marriage. I am from an intact family. I can’t see how any two men or two women who want to live together can have any impact on my intact marriage. On the other hand, violence on TV does have an impact. Children view 10,000 hours of TV before they are 15, and most of these hours are filled with violent behavior. Those who produce films, movies, videos are making a great profit. What sanctions do you suggest against those who produce such materials and make a profit?

Mr. Feder: It may not hurt you, but it hurts your society. I don’t think homosexuality is something we want to encourage. It’s a disease ridden, violent life-style. Society wants to nurture the normal, not the abnormal. Society needs to encourage those who will nurture the next generation. In terms of violence on TV, I agree. To a large extent, movies and TV shape society.

Mr. Wussler: We must remember that we live in a democracy. Once, we tried to outlaw drinking. Now, we are trying to do so with tobacco. To set sanctions against those who make the programming is not what this country is about. The TV rating system has an impact, though not enough. The program "South Park," for example, stresses the devaluation of family and society. They have the right to do that.

Question for Mr. Hawksley: China has major population problem. What solutions would you advocate?

Mr. Hawksley: As a purely economic and political matter, China’s experiment is working. In the past 15 years, China has take 300 to 400 million people out of poverty. On the other hand, when you see a woman being dragged off for a forced abortion, or when you see the longing in the eyes of a person who wants a child, it makes you wonder about the extent to which such dictatorial methods can be justified. Part of the problem is that there is no meaningful exchange of ideas in Chinese society today.

Q. There are traffic laws. What can’t we have laws and regulations regarding content on TV and WWW? Why can’t we have laws against certain type of programming, and have police enforce these?

Mr. De Borchgrave: We have created a global village without a police department. We need new global standards, comparable to what happened in the 1930s when a global standard was adopted for civil aviation.

Mr. Wussler: It would be almost impossible to accomplish what you are saying. To make a change in 2020, you have to start today. By that time Internet will be hundreds of times faster. You can’t block ideas, even bad ones.

Divine Principle Study

Volume 2 - Part 8

Though free will did not cause the Fall, Adam and Eve lost their freedom because of their sin. The reason is that freedom exists only within the confines of God's law. Outside of God's law, there is no freedom.

To understand this apparent paradox, think of the freedom which we enjoy our society. This freedom exists only so long as we abide by the laws of the nation.

To take a simple example, if one chooses to run a red light, he may lose the privilege of driving. Similarly, our freedom of motion exists within the law of gravity. If we try to walk out of a fifth story window, we will quickly find the limits of our freedom! When such limits are ignored and freedom is misused, disharmony, chaos and destruction result.

In the case of Adam and Eve, the illicit love of Lucifer shattered God's law and destroyed the freedom of man. Because of this, man has lived under a Satanic bondage.

Spiritually man does not have complete freedom to do what is right and good in God's eyes. He is inextricably enmeshed in voluntary and involuntary captivity; this has been brilliantly analyzed by such thinkers as Augustine, John Calvin and Reinhold Neibuhr, as well as portrayed through our greatest novelists.

On this point the apostle Paul lamented: "We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing that I hate...Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Rom. 7:14-15,25)

Hence it is necessary man to restore his original liberty before he can build the Kingdom of God in his midst; though man may have free actions, those actions may not be the result of inner freedom. One of the signs, it is felt, of growth in the spiritual life of mankind is that in present times there is a universal demand for liberation on every level, whether it be in racial, national or theological terms.

In history, free will from a religious perspective is best illustrated in the lives of those who chose God and the spiritual liberty at great risk or even at the cost of their lives, for example, Joan of Arc, Martin Luther King, Cardinal Mindszenty and numerous Christian martyrs.

God Restrained

By and large most believers assume that God knows everything and can do anything; there are no restrictions on His power and no limitations on His knowledge. He is seen as omniscient and omnipotent.

On the basis of such belief it follows that God could foresee the possibility of the Fall of man. Actually, some traditional Christian theology goes even further, arguing that God knew that the serpent would seduce Eve and that she would successfully tempt Adam even before these events took place. In such theology God is said to see in His mind past, present and future as an instantaneous "now."

According to such thinking God knew beforehand of the coming Fall with its calamitous effects on human history yet did not prevent the monstrous transgressions. Whenever this sort of theology is taught, sooner or later some genuinely troubled believer will ask, "Why did not God intervene? Why didn't He prevent the Fall?"

Confronted with this kind of dilemma, many sensitive and thoughtful people have concluded that God is either not all good or He is not all-powerful; with our kind of world as evidence of His workmanship, He cannot be both.

This problem has been struggled with before. For example, when the devout Christian philosopher Liebnitz sought to defend God, he argued that ours was the best of all possible worlds; Voltaire demolished the argument with ridicule in his novel Candide. The classic Book of Job wrestles with the problem of God and the existence of evil without coming to a generally accepted solution. This where the situation remains. Within the Christian faith, many theologians have been content to declare that Christianity did not come to solve the problem of sin but rather to overcome the fact of sin.

Why then did God allow the Fall? In the Divine Principle view, God created man as His child to whom He could send His limitless love and from whom He could receive a full response. Thus God wanted man to live in the highest expression of love. If God's principle controlled man's love, then it could not be absolute. After reaching the state of perfection, man is no longer under God's principle, but under His direct dominion, where the bond between them in unconditional and inseparable.

Divine Principle suggests that God could foresee the possibility of man's fall; but though almighty and all-knowing, He would not intervene directly in Adam and Eve's affairs until, in accordance with His principle, they had grown to perfection. Adam and Eve, though warned, fell when they were immature. Had God intervened, He would have violated His own perfect system and usurped His children's responsibility.

Furthermore, God created man to be lord of all creation. To assume that position, Adam and Eve had to pass through a process of maturation; in this they were given a large measure of responsibility to develop self-initiative and self-discipline. They had to grow to a state worthy of trust by God, by their children, as well as by creation.

For this reason, God did not explicitly forewarn Adam and Eve of the archangel's temptation. They had to use their judgment in all situations. If God had exercised direct dominion over Adam and Eve, He would have been recognizing them as mature, which they were not. Also, it would have been an indication that Adam could not be trusted to reach perfection.

God's Integrity

For these reasons God sought to preserve the personal integrity of man. However, there is another side also, having to do with God's own integrity. Christian theology has always been determined to avoid a dualistic world view in which God and Satan are co-creators and co-rulers of the universe.

As a Being of perfect goodness and utter holiness, God could not recognize evil as part of His plan of creation. Therefore neither the sin of Adam and Eve nor the non-principled act initiated by Satan could be related to His divine creation. The Fall was man's affair alone. God is in no sense a responsible participant. If God had interfered with the Fall, He would have been automatically recognizing it as part of His creation. Since the Fall was initiated by Satan, He would in essence be recognizing Satan as another creator, virtually the equivalent of Himself. This God could not do.

Dan’s Greatest Hits: Getting Greater All The Time

by Richard Ramras-NYC

In the December Unification News, Dan Fefferman gave us some wonderful notes about the genesis of each of the 12 songs on his "Greatest Hits" audio cassette. After listening to his tape over and over again, continuously, and almost wearing it out, I finally got around to sending for copies to share with friends. They’re still available and well worth mailing (while supplies last) to your loved ones. Now for my two cents’ worth of fond reflections on each gem:

Come On In The Kitchen: This takes me back to my earliest workshop memories from 1973 (artist’s cottage, Belvedere). "The clouds of joy...are men who realize their purpose is divine," the heart of Chapter One plus...and my first hint that there was more to the Principle of Creation than logically correct, abstract, scientific formulae.

Generation Of Righteousness: An all-time classic revives the fervor of our rallies back when. Is there a payoff in spirit world for how many guitar strings explode with this hit?

The Kingdom Of Heaven’s At Hand: In this old-fashioned coded rebus, symbols are precious petals uncovering pearl-like kernels of apocalyptic telling it as it am.

I’ve Got A Right To Be Happy: So these are the islands! Fling off your sandals, half-close your eyes, and dance a spiral up into the lacy cumuli of bliss. "Let the listener hear the lovers’ dance that we all just began to learn...I want to dance till You cry and beg me to stop."

The Day Of Hope: To me, the very fact that such a wonderful song as this can actually exist is incontrovertible proof that Christ must have already returned and begun our kingdom-building. And catch the playfulness of that sweet little flute weaving in and out of the rollicking angels’ winglets, wigglets, whifflets and wooflets!

Shout About It!: One of our most beloved, respected elders has taught us how healthy it is for children to howl at least ten minutes a day, and this song’s the best howl (at least for adult children) in 12 continents and 185 counties!

The Lord Is One: Who can forget the twinkle in the song-leader’s eye as he teased us into doubting whether we’d repeat the last stanza...once...twice...? "All bound together, nobody can fall, loving each other, loving one and all."

The King’s Highway: This has an irresistible, barreling-along beat to sweep us away like a mighty river. Lately, I find myself singing the refrain as I pound the sidewalk, disconcerting some for whom the song is not (yet) familiar.

Life At Barrytown: Snoring below the songsmith’s bunk, sharing teary, heartfelt memories of Catskills newts, salamanders and frogs while our team sailed the Hudson...ah, yes, Barrytown!

Dedicate Your Love: "Each woman and man plays a part." We’re all in the cosmic drama of recreating the relationship of True Adam and True Eve in our own lives. "Unashamed now to...walk hand in hand through the wood."

The Marriage Has Come: An extra bonus of heavenly squigglets and squooshlets and qoophwoofs to drive us all wild! "All will share a common heart then when we arrive at Father’s home...bathing all the earth in light of music."

Absolute Sex: A real hand-clapper and thigh-slapper. "I don’t like the feeling...I’m half and not whole." And so do none of us! I’m sure this song will be quoted someday as part of the dictionary entry for earliest instances using Heaven’s restored vocabulary.