Sun Myung Moon
July 1, 1977
Unification Theological Seminary, Commencement Address
Barrytown, NY
Delivered in English
Honorable guests, distinguished professors, members of the graduating class, ladies and gentlemen.
Today, July 1, 1977, is another historical day for the Unification Church. It is also a day for laying a momentous milestone in God's history of restoration. Today we mark the first graduation of our Unification Theological Seminary.
I would like first to thank all those who have come to witness this memorable occasion. And I would indeed like to extend to you members of the graduating class my heartfelt congratulations as well as my gratitude for your accomplishments in this institution. I wish you great happiness throughout your entire life.
Today you are leaving this beloved temple of learning, bidding farewell to your distinguished and loving professors, as well as to your fellow students. On this occasion I would like to share a few words with you.
The world in which we live today is a world of confusion and chaos. This is because people cannot determine what is the true standard of life and what is the true central point of subject of the universe. This confusion exists in the lives of individuals, families, societies, nations, and the world. We live in a world in which the absolute standard or central point has not yet been found. In short, the world has not found the Lord.
History proceeds according to the law of cause and effect; the cause is always manifested in the result. If we sow evil seeds, we inevitably reap evil results. If we sow good seeds, then good results are destined to follow. The reason this world is confused and chaotic is that it started out wrong; it started in error. An evil master with an evil standard sowed the beginning of history, and today we are reaping the evil results.
In religion, we call the evil beginning the Fall of Man. When we say "the Fall" we are referring to a departure from the original state. The results of the Fall are comparable to those of an illness, which is a departure from a state of health. Due to the Fall, the original standard and central point which God intended were not realized, and the world has never known its true master.
Since the Fall is a deviation from the original, to restore the original state we must move in a direction opposite to the Fall. For this we need a leader or guide. As you know, to cure an illness we need a doctor who can diagnose the cause of the disease and who can prescribe the proper medicine. Likewise, since our goal is restoration of the original state before the Fall, we need a leader who knows precisely what transpired to cause the Fall so that he can prescribe a solution for its cure -- in this case so that he can bring about the salvation of man.
The only person who truly knows the cause and content of the Fall is God, and He desires the restoration of man to his original state. This desire of God is to be fulfilled on every level - the individual, family, society, nation, and world. To accomplish this task God must choose leaders and since the restoration of man can be compared to the healing work of a physician, God needs to build a hospital where He can train able physicians.
Throughout history, philosophy and religion have served to train able leaders and physicians for God. Through these leaders God wants to guide the different people and cultures into one unified direction toward His ultimate goal. God is actually leading mankind toward one ultimate standard, one central point, and one subject who is absolute, harmonious and eternal. In the end, God wants to lead mankind to the true Lord.
To represent His absolute, unchanging and eternal standard and to reveal the central point, God sends the Messiah. He also sends the Messiah in the role of Lord to mankind. The Messiah is comparable to the head surgeon of a general hospital. He is the prototype for all saints and righteous men. He is unique in that he is irreplaceable. The Messiah is needed by the individual, family, society, nation, and world. The necessity for the Messiah is absolute. He is the infallible guide who will lead mankind to its ultimate destiny of restoration.
The Unification Church and its ideology have come into being to lay the worldwide foundation for the work of the Messiah. Today, your goal must be to become true physicians and true leaders who can represent the will of God and the Messiah. In effect, you must make yourself the limbs and body of God and the Messiah. You have the privilege to becoming the first builders of the heavenly family, tribe, nation, and world, and ultimately of setting the original standard, of revealing the central point, and of being the subjects of the universe.
Today I urge you to be the true physicians and true leaders who will inherit the main tradition of God and live in His image. Go forth to the world for the salvation of mankind, and lead all people of the world to enjoy total restoration. Remember, you are God's physicians and God's leaders. May God bless you abundantly. Thank You.