Sun Myung Moon
June 1, 1976
God Bless America Festival to mark the US bicentennial
Yankee Stadium, New York, USA
Distinguished citizens of the United States and honorable delegates of the world:
I would like to speak to you today on the subject “God’s Hope for America.” But first of all, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all of you for coming today and being part of this record crowd.
Here in this grand Yankee Stadium we have gathered to celebrate America’s two-hundredth birthday. Among this year’s many celebrations, our festival at Yankee Stadium is unique for the following reasons: first, we have gathered together in the name of God; and second, we are having an international celebration. Representatives from all over the world are here for this joyous celebration.
Today we are living in an age when we need to look at every individual and every nation as vital components of the world. In our world, there are basically two ways of life. One is the selfish way of life, and the other is the unselfish way of life, where one thinks beyond oneself and one’s family and lives for the greater purpose of the nation and the world. Throughout history, whether in the East or the West, those who played important roles were public-minded, selfless persons.
The well-being of the family has to come before that of the individual, the nation needs to come before the family, the world before the nation, and God before the world. This is the philosophy of the selfless way of life. The righteous men and women and saints in history were those people who selflessly sacrificed for God and humankind. Jesus Christ is indeed the supreme example of such a righteous man.
It is really God, however, who is supremely selfless, supremely public-minded. When human beings rebelled against Him, God did not take revenge; He forgave. And God has been working tirelessly to raise sinful people up out of sin into salvation. To do this, God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ. Even at the cost of sacrificing His Son, God wanted to save the world. God erected Israel as the chosen nation. The purpose of the chosen nation is also to save the world. And God elevated Christianity for the same purpose -- to save the world.
The Bible says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
Remember, the world is God’s goal. And just as Jesus willingly gave his life so that the world might live, God wanted all Christians to be willing to give themselves for the salvation of the world. However, today, Christians of the world are not even close to realizing this heart of God.
God seeks to build one family of humanity. Therefore, the family, church and nation that God desires transcend all barriers of race and nationality. The people who are a unified blending of all colors of skin and who transcend race and nationality are most beautiful in the sight of God and most pleasing to Him. Let us look at America. It is most important that we know whether the United States of America was conceived by God or not. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my firm belief that the United States of America was indeed conceived by God.
There were, however, two kinds of people among your forebears. One kind came to this land seeking wealth. The other kind came to this land seeking God and freedom. They dreamed of building a new nation with God at its center. If the former had become the mainstream of America, there would have been far greater strife, division and struggle between the different races and national groups. The United States would have been filled with unrighteousness and injustice. From the beginning, however, God intervened. Therefore, of all the immigrants, the righteous people of God were to find their proper place as leaders in America. All the different races and nationalities of the world harmonized in this land to create God-centered families, churches and the nation of America. Your forebears set the beautiful tradition of America.
Look at your own families. Most families have the virtue of a distinct international character. If your lineage has been in America for some time, it probably unites many different nationalities. In your bloodstream many kinds of blood are blended together. Nations that used to be enemies have united in your blood. When the individual and families that transcend racial and national barriers gather together to create a church, a society and a nation, that nation will become God’s ideal nation for all peoples.
There is only one nation like this in all of history -- the United States of America. It is apparent that this unique nation of America is the creation of God. The people of America have come from every corner of the world. To be an American does not depend upon what race you are, what belief you have or what cultural background you are from. It is only in this nation that no matter where you are from, you can say, “This is my country.” That is America!
America is a microcosm of the world. Transcending nationality and race, America has created a model for the ideal world. God Himself had purposely hidden this land of America from the rest of the world until His time was full, and then upon this land God raised up this model nation. In His providence, God anointed America with oil; He poured out abundant blessing upon this land. In a short two hundred years, God raised this nation to be the mightiest nation on earth.
But blessing always comes with responsibility. If one forsakes the responsibility, one also forsakes God’s blessing. Inevitably the blessing of God will leave, and the nation doing this will decline. Is it not true that the signs of such decline are already apparent in America today? Beloved American people, the time has come for us to repent. We must fear the wrath of God.
In reality, who are the true Americans? True Americans are those who have a universal mind. True Americans are those who believe in the one family of humankind, transcendent of color and nationality as willed by God. True Americans are those who are proud of international families and churches, and a nation consisting of all peoples. In the sight of God, there is no black, there is no white, there is no yellow. We must look at the human race as God sees it. America must return to the true founding spirit of the nation, to the ideals that her ancestors sought to establish with sweat and blood. America must return to Godism, an absolutely God-centered ideology.
God is the motivation, the cause and the foundation of the independence of America. America was born through the providence of God. If we are centered upon God, we will remain united and enjoy prosperity. However, as soon as we turn away from God, we will be divided.
Ladies and gentlemen, if America wants to keep the blessing of God as the leading nation of the world, it must form a partnership with God. Do you have God in your homes? Do you truly have God in your church? Do you have God in your society and nation? God is the cement. With God, America will stay together like concrete. But if God leaves, she will be like sand. When the flood comes, everything will be washed away.
America’s greatness and pride stem from God. With Him, America deserves the blessing and can remain as the mightiest nation. With God, you can preserve your dignity and the leadership of the world. If you allow God to leave America, however, this nation will decline; satanic hands will subjugate it. When this happens, the future of America will be dismal, tragic. America will become a living hell.
When God’s blessing is great, and one forsakes God’s Will, God’s punishment is equally great. In the early 1960s, America seemed to be the hope of the world, and the symbol of America was New York City. Today, however, the world has lost faith in America, and New York City has become a jungle of immorality and depravity. It has been transformed into a city under the attack of evil. Chicago is no different, nor Los Angeles. Throughout all of America, Satan is becoming the master. God has been forgotten in this country, and when forgotten, God can only leave America. Now is the very moment that this is taking place!
When the unifying force of God leaves America, nothing will be able to hold America together. The family will break down, churches will divide and America will become mortally ill because the cells of her body will be decaying. This will be the perfect opportunity for the evil of communism to overtake America. This state of emergency is here now. Someone must do something!
There are critics who say, “Why is Rev. Moon so involved in America’s bicentennial? It is none of his business.” Ladies and gentlemen, if there is an illness in your home, do you not need a doctor from outside? If your home catches fire, do you not need firefighters from outside? God has sent me to America in the role of a doctor, in the role of a firefighter. That is why I have come to America. Good medicine may taste bitter, and an operation may involve some pain, but the treatment must begin at once. Would a patient complain and push away the doctor’s hand when he touches the infected part?
For the last three years, with my entire heart and soul I have been teaching American youth the deepest truth of God. They now have a clear concept of what a God-centered family, church and nation is. They also know the threatening reality America is facing. Thus, they have become determined fighters to bring new life and salvation to America before it is too late. They know the critical state of the nation. They know the grieving heart of God. And they are absolutely determined to turn the tide back toward God. Their enthusiasm is beautiful to behold.
Your dedicated sons and daughters are champions of God crusading for the victory of God’s Will. As God’s front line, they are declaring war against evil. They are courageously fighting this noble battle. We must overcome evil. It is our mission to build the kingdom of God here on earth. Therefore, we must build a model of the kingdom of God right here in America, which God loves and has prepared the most.
Ladies and gentlemen, remember that these young people are working tirelessly. Their hearts are filled with tears and sighs, in order to create a world free of tears and sighs. These young people are struggling, agonizing over their mission to create a world free of struggle and agony. Our battle is God’s battle against Satan. For the sake of God, we will never retreat; we will win, whatever the sacrifice may be.
It is not important whether I am persecuted or not. I am concerned only about the Will of God and the mission God gave me. I am concerned that your rejection of me could result in the rejection of God. I am concerned that without knowing the situation clearly, you may be opposing God’s Will. If what I am doing is not the Will of God, it will not succeed anyway. If, however, what I am doing is the Will of God, then no matter how much some people reject and persecute us and try to block the way, this mission will succeed.
Why has Reverend Moon come to America where he has encountered such tribulation? Am I pursuing my own honor? Is money my goal, or power? No! Never! I came to America because this is the country that God, our Heavenly Father, has chosen. I came to America because I know the heart of God. I know that in spite of America’s rebellion against Him,
God will not abandon this country. His Will is to make America an example of a godly nation that the nations of the world can follow. I know God’s Will is to save the world, and to do that, America must lead the way. This is why I came to America. With God you can win; with Satan you will fail.
Ladies and gentlemen, during the American Revolution two hundred years ago, your brave ancestors in the Continental Army fought in the American War of Independence with faith in God. George Washington knelt at Valley Forge seeking divine intervention, and he and his army were able to win over the formidable British army. Only through divine intervention could he win the war and America’s independence. At that moment, God laid the foundation of land for America.
Approximately one hundred years later when, contrary to God’s Will, slavery and segregation were rampant here in America, God raised up Abraham Lincoln as His champion and brought about the victory of the Civil War, liberating the slaves and affirming equality for all people. By doing so, God laid the foundation of people for America, transcending race and nationality. Yet this was an external test. Today, a century later, America is undergoing another test. This time the test is an internal or spiritual one. It is a religious, historical and ideological test. On the other side of the world, the God-denying ideology of communism has risen up and is undertaking an all-out offensive against the free world.
Destroying America is the communists’ ultimate goal. They know America is God’s final bulwark on earth. More than anything else, this is a test of whether America will stand as God’s nation, or fall.
America cannot win this battle alone. She needs God. In this test you cannot win without God, who is the foundation of all truth and all goodness. A confrontation is inevitable between the two worlds -- the Godaffirming world and the God-denying world. This is a confrontation of worldviews. Therefore, as a champion of God, America must win over atheistic communism in the battle of ideas on the worldwide scale, on the foundation of the unity of races and nationalities. Our faith in God has to be stronger than communists’ faith in communism. America must win in the name of God. Then God will be able to establish His foundation, a new worldview of a higher dimension.
America’s forebears fled from religious persecution in Europe and came to the New World. In the spirit of building One Nation under God, they established a new nation here in America, which is now at the threshold of her third century. Similarly today, people are fleeing from the communist world of slavery to the free world. Many were persecuted for their religious beliefs and ideological differences. The time has come to unite them to build a new world centered upon God. The free world must unite and liberate the enslaved communist world. This time our task is to build One World under God.
To accomplish this, world Christianity must unite. The church needs to liberate herself from sectarianism. She has to undergo drastic reform and achieve ecumenical and interreligious unity. For this we need a spiritual revolution. We need a new teaching, and this should incorporate Eastern philosophy, uniting the cultures of the East and the West.
This new teaching will also be capable of unifying all the existing religions and philosophies of the world. Therefore, it has to come in the form of a new religious or spiritual movement. The Unification Church movement has been created by God to fulfill that mission. This spiritual movement must succeed first here in America in order to spread throughout the world. The new teaching that the Unification Church brings is Godism, an absolutely God-centered worldview. It has the power to awaken America, and it has the power to raise the model of the ideal nation of God upon this land.
With that done, the rest of the world will follow America’s example and will build the kingdom of God upon their respective lands. Then we shall all truly become brothers and sisters under one Father, God. This will be a world of love, a world of happiness. Our planet will be one home, and humankind will be one family. God’s Will, His long-cherished desire from the beginning of time, will finally be fulfilled. This will be the eternal, ideal world of God. Indeed, it will be the kingdom of God on earth. We will build it with our hands.
This is our supreme mission. It is truly our God-given, sacred mission. God is crying out to the world, and we are His instruments. The world must respond to His call. Listen to God’s commandment. Initiate a courageous march toward the kingdom of God on earth. Whatever the difficulty, let it not stop us. Our march is God’s, and it will go on to the end.
My beloved citizens of America, today let us pledge to God Almighty our loyalty and dedication to the fulfillment of this divine mission. Ladies and gentlemen, in the name of God, let us unite and together build the kingdom of God on earth!
Let us together offer our collective thanks to God. In the name of the people of the world, may I congratulate you on the two-hundredth birthday of the great nation of America. May God bless you, and may God bless America and her third century.
Thank you very much.