Sun Myung Moon
August 20, 1992
Nineteenth International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences and Fifth International Congress of the Professors World Peace Academy
InterContinental Hotel, Seoul, Korea
Photo date and location unknown
Honorable chairman, distinguished scholars, respected guests, ladies and gentlemen:
It is my pleasure to speak to you at this opening plenary session of the nineteenth International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences and the fifth international congress of the Professors World Peace Academy. I wholeheartedly welcome you to my homeland Korea.
God is the origin of the principle of the universe
Last year, in addition to the International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences (ICUS), we had two very special conferences: they were for the Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace (IRFWP) and the Federation for World Peace (FWP). These two organizations were inaugurated to establish a new order for the world. The Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace, in particular, will devote itself to bringing unity among the world's religions for the purpose of establishing world peace.
In the recent Gulf War we witnessed how the world came to be involved in a religious war. Such global disasters caused by religious differences will continue taking place in the future as well.
Up until the present, many politicians have exploited religious conflicts for their own selfish purposes. Faiths have been powerless and confused, not clearly recognizing their responsibility in relation to world peace. Now, through the IRFWP, leaders of the world's religions will cooperate harmoniously and become leaders for world peace.
Religion must be the conscience of every culture, setting the standard of public righteousness. Each religion takes pride in upholding its own traditions without ceasing. Every person believes their own religion to be better than all other religions. However, religious teachings not only have universal factors, but also they all stem from God. After all, the one God is the God of all religions. Therefore, religions need to emphasize their universal principles and, by doing so, purify and elevate themselves. The central value in each religion is God's true love, which can be described by the teaching, "Live for the sake of others." According to this teaching, the individual lives for the sake of the family, the family lives for the sake of the community, the community lives for the sake of the nation, the nation lives for the sake of the world, and my religion lives for the sake of other religions. This principle is so very true.
The source of the universal principle is God. In creating the universe, God invested Himself totally for the sake of His creation. Throughout history, it is God who has been continually sacrificing Himself in order to save fallen human beings, who have been living just as they pleased. The prophets, saints and sages who knew God's Will have followed His principles in their own lives.
Not content to keep the truth to themselves, they walked the way of sacrifice in order to teach others. Moses, Confucius, Buddha, Muhammad, Socrates and Jesus are saints who suffered hardships and were persecuted, even as they taught many other human beings. They sacrificed themselves in order to enlighten and liberate humanity.
The Federation for World Peace is a cooperative federation of politicians and governmental organizations. Today's world cannot be maintained by nationalism. The current flare-up of ethnic violence in Eastern Europe only demonstrates nationalism's destructive nature. National pride and self-determination are good and right only when they are dedicated to serving the world community. Patriotism that places one's own nation first, while promoting enmity toward other nations, goes against the universal principle of living for the sake of others. All such "isms" that go against the universal principle are destined to decline.
Now we are seeing a trend in which nations are joining to form multinational associations, such as the European Economic Community. This trend will intensify in the coming years. Throughout the world, nations will unite in regional communities, such as the European Union, the East Asian community, the community of Islam, the community of African nations and the community of North and South America.
Religious harmony and unity are necessary preconditions for peace
In order that politicians may transcend their own national self-interest, they must share the common values upon which they can unite as nations. Then, what can unite the European nations? Economic policies alone are insufficient. Many conflicts still exist between industrialized nations and agricultural nations. Even in the European Union, social policies are another source of contention. If we are to find a single common factor to unite all nations in Europe, it is that they are based mainly upon the Christian cultural sphere.
When compared with people from the Middle East or Asia, it is evident that Europeans share many things in common: a common culture, common social customs and, most important, a common way of thinking and worldview. The root of this common European culture is the Christian spirit. Christian culture is the foundation for the intellectual, social and political life of Europe.
However, throughout history European Christianity itself has struggled with serious divisions. As can be seen from the strife in Northern Ireland and in Yugoslavia, we can realize that their conflicts stem from unresolved religious struggles among Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox Christians. Therefore, religious harmony and unity are the necessary preconditions for political and social peace and unity.
A future ideal world will consist of communities of nations, with each community bound together by a common religion and culture and united through economic and political relationships. I foresaw this trend many years ago. That is why for more than forty years I have been promoting inter-religious activities, pursuing dialogue and harmony, despite the many sacrifices I have had to make.
For an ideal world to be realized in the future, we need to be able to prevent religious war. To solve this problem, I have been laying with painstaking care the foundation that can embrace all religions. Before I began my ministry, I took the Principle that was revealed to me and presented it before Jesus, Buddha, Confucius and the Prophet Muhammad in the spirit world, and they attested that it was true. Leaders of every religion now recognize that, to realize a world of peace, all religious people must focus on their faith's universal teachings and take positive steps to generate harmony with each other. It is my Godordained mission to bring the world into unity under God.
The Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace and the Federation for World Peace will work together as do mind and body. To this day, fallen people have allowed the body to dominate their individual life, creating a world of selfish individuals oppressing others for their own pleasure.
This is hell on earth. Only a few people have followed the voice of conscience, emanating from the mind, which spurs them to pursue religion and to resist the temptations of the body. Only these people can meet God and find heaven on earth. Likewise, few national politicians have listened to the voice of religion. Amid the clamor of politics, the voice of moral and spiritual values has been heard only faintly.
In the West as well as the East, politicians have tried to establish prosperity on economic and political policies without God. Their efforts have been and will be in vain. No nation can prosper without God's blessing. God blesses those nations practicing faith, morality and the principle of living for the sake of others.
Yet politicians still look only to the earth, blind to Heaven's influence. Communist leaders tried for seventy years to establish prosperity without God, and now their nations are bankrupt. Likewise the West is plagued by recession, crime and social decay.
However, these problems will not be resolved until religious leaders open their eyes and discover their true cause. When religious leaders unite for the sake of world peace under God, the politicians will obey the teachings of religion. Then and only then will we be able to solve our social and economic problems. Only then will the nations of the world naturally unite on the path of peace. The Inter-religious Federation for World Peace and the Federation for World Peace will succeed where the United Nations and many other organizations have not, because these federations are based on the foundation of the Principle.
The greatest task of our generation
Respected scholars! The role of scholars in developing the future ideal world is exceedingly important. This role is necessary to ensure a well-rounded education for all the world's citizens and dynamic communication between all segments of society. People learn to build their character through their families, churches, schools and social organizations. These need to cooperate with one another continuously in order to raise individuals of integrity who can nurture a civilized society. The greatest task of our generation is how to implement this well-rounded education in our pluralistic global village. You scholars are the treasure house of knowledge in society. However, your students learn more from the person you are than from the knowledge you teach.
Students imitate the teacher's habits, inherit the teacher's attitudes about society and are influenced deeply by the teacher's sense of values. You should always stand in the position of a teacher and strive to be inspiring examples for the future. Your mission, which is to set up a new cultural tradition rooted in the absolute value of true love, which originates in God, is precious indeed.
As you know, this conference has been organized as part of the first World Culture and Sports Festival. This is a historic event that is endeavoring to guide the spiritual culture of humanity, search for true values for humanity's happiness and lead the way to a new world of peace and harmony among God, people and nature. It is a festival that is gathering key members of the global community, scholars, religious figures, journalists, politicians and youth leaders, and combining their collective wisdom and practical experience regarding the unity of humankind.
On August 25, approximately thirty thousand couples from all regions of the world will receive the holy marriage Blessing, pledging to establish a new family tradition centered on God. The family is the most fundamental building block of society. The solution to all social problems begins with the solution to problems in the family. The ideal of "one world family in true love," transcending races, is related directly to the fulfillment of a peaceful world. People pledging to become exemplary, God-centered couples, creating blessed families, will provide a substantial model of ethics and morality. In this way, ideal families, societies, nations and an ideal world, representing the fruit of true love, will be realized. The fact that sixty thousand people of the world are gathering to receive the Blessing symbolizes unity under God and True Parents.
I invite all of you to attend this historic Blessing ceremony. In conclusion, I would like to introduce to you three projects that I am planning and promoting. The first is a book of scriptures, which I already have published, that strives to unite ideologies and the religious world. The second is an encyclopedia bringing together the wisdom and cultures of humanity in the twenty-first century, which the International Cultural Foundation has begun composing. Third and last is the University of Bridgeport, which I acquired for the World University Federation to promote the exchange of knowledge and the worldwide exchange of professors and students. These three new projects will contribute greatly toward creating and advancing a world of the new culture in the future global village.
Once again, I want to express my gratitude to all of you for attending this meaningful conference in Seoul. I am grateful especially to Dr. Tor Ragnar Gerholm, who has worked very hard as the ICUS chairman, and to Dr. Morton A. Kaplan. May your discussions at this conference be extremely fruitful. I pray that God's protection and blessing will be with you and your families.
Thank you.