Sun Myung Moon
December 18, 1983
First International Congress of the Professors World Peace Academy
The Little Angels Performing Arts Center, Seoul, Korea
Photo date and location unknown
Honorable chairman of this international congress, distinguished PWPA presidents from seventy-two countries and respected members of PWPA-Korea:
I am pleased to have this opportunity to share with you some of my convictions on the occasion of this international congress of the Professors World Peace Academy.
First of all, I would like to express my gratitude particularly to those PWPA chairmen who accepted my sudden invitation, which I extended to you several days after the conclusion of the meeting in Chicago of the International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences (ICUS) at the end of November. I know that all of you must have been busy with previously planned schedules and itineraries at this time of year. Once again, I greatly appreciate your coming here, interrupting your busy schedules. Ordinarily, no one is able to respond to such an abrupt invitation, extended only a few days in advance. I believe you will come to realize the historic and providential meaning of this congress and why it was so urgent for you to come here at this time.
The ultimate goal of PWPA
I have long thought that, in addition to their scientific achievements, scholars need to be pioneers in the realm of conscience, inspiring humankind through their bold and determined actions. This is absolutely necessary in order to cope with the problems of human history and to fulfill humanity's ideals.
With this in mind, I established the International Cultural Foundation in 1968 and convened the first annual ICUS in 1972, despite the difficulty of financing it at that early stage. Ordinarily, sponsorship of this kind of meeting is beyond the means of an individual or religious group. It ought to be held under the auspices of a government. Regrettably, no one seemed to be paying any attention to this very important need. Therefore, I determined to assume the responsibility and organized this international conference. Moreover, this year marks the tenth anniversary of PWPA.
Humanity today faces many dangerous problems. The greatest of these is the possibility of global war and nuclear disaster, which could occur only too easily amid the struggles, confusion and conflict of ideologies, owing to the absence of an appropriate value system. This threat results from the misuse of scientific knowledge by various political and economic interest groups, while religion, which is supposed to guide the human spirit in the right direction, is not fulfilling its appropriate role. Such dangers threaten the very survival of civilization.
I founded PWPA to be a trailblazing organization at this critical moment in human history, to mobilize those intellectuals who have devoted their lives to the advancement of human wisdom and to enable them to play a leading role in overcoming the dangers of the age and opening new pathways to world peace. The ultimate goal of PWPA is to help create a just and harmonious world order by encouraging scholars to search for new ideas and methods of achieving peace and prosperity. PWPA will provide scholars and other concerned leaders with the resources they need to solve the fundamental problems facing humanity.
Mutual cooperation and joint research transcending location
As you may know, my path to the twelfth ICUS was not an easy one. It was an enormous task to provide the extensive resources that were required. What was even more troublesome, however, was that I encountered so much jealousy, unjust accusation and persecution, although I was carrying out such a significant endeavor for humanity at great personal cost. I am happy to say, however, that the sight of so many distinguished scholars like you from throughout the world, who have responded positively to these initiatives and who understand my genuine motivation, comforts me.
Throughout history, all people have desired a peaceful world. Yet, conflicts persist. Unfortunately, dictators and unscrupulous political leaders have frequently misused the word peace, proclaiming their peaceful intentions but in reality exploiting, manipulating and oppressing people both within and outside of their own nations. The communists in particular are accustomed to using the word peace while constantly fomenting violence and war.
Often the appeal to peace has been employed as a tactic to achieve unrighteous ends, rather than being viewed as an ideal to benefit all. True peace does not depend on such tangible or external characteristics as intelligence, wealth, social status or political power. As long as there is no absolute standard by which to evaluate such worldly concerns, it will be impossible to forge a lasting peace amid the conflicts of interest among men and nations in a continuously changing world. Real peace can be built only on the foundation of true love, and loving relationships can be experienced only when we recognize the absolute values that place God at our center and bind us together.
I believe that PWPA will be international, multidisciplinary, future-oriented and action-oriented. No single discipline, no local prescription, can solve the problems facing all of humanity in this century. Mutual cooperation across national and regional boundaries and interdisciplinary studies that go beyond limited specializations are absolutely necessary.
Science today has become overspecialized. The challenges of our age can be met only by teams of experts from diverse disciplines, cooperating to examine problems from various perspectives. In light of the complexities of the modern world, the resolution of problems needs to be approached from a more holistic, universal perspective. Therefore, it is not easy to organize and operate a scientific body that can meet these needs. Unfortunately, scholars have widely accepted the disastrous notion of a scientific methodology that is somehow "value-free." As a result, evil people have often schemed to misuse the findings of scientific research for their own selfish purposes, to the detriment of human welfare and humanity's highest ideals. Deeply troubled by this, I have been trying to find alternative ways, with absolute values at their core, to solve the contradictions of our time through ICUS.
What PWPA should practice to realize peace
Absolute value is the axis of all sciences, as it is the standard of all other values. As long as the specialized disciplines are pursued using supposedly value-free methodologies, and as long as the standard of value differs from one individual to the next, where can we find the common standard necessary to attain the universal human community that human nature has long been seeking?
The concept of freedom also varies among individuals with different standards of value, among societies and nations, and among different economic, social and political systems. Then who will remedy the manifold injustices committed in the name of freedom? It is clear that human nature, in its pursuit of the good, requires a fixed standard of absolute goodness.
Moreover, the world is becoming smaller every day. As our world shrinks to a global village, the world's peoples are challenged to overcome national, racial and religious barriers and learn to live together in harmony. Consequently, history demands that we establish an absolute standard of value as the only possible foundation for the unity of humankind.
If the world is to solve its many problems, it needs leaders. I sincerely hope that the member-scholars of PWPA will participate actively, not passively, in the search for and realization of universal human ideals. PWPA exists not only for the advancement of the sciences but also for the practical promotion of the well being of humankind, thereby differing from most other scholarly institutions. Its members need to become social activists, orienting their students in a positive direction, seeking to influence public opinion and playing a leading role in public affairs. I encourage you to grapple in a nonviolent manner with the most difficult and pressing social and philosophical issues of the age, in order to provide humanity with the leadership it needs to cope with the seemingly insoluble problems it faces. The goal of PWPA is to put ideals into practice by generating new ideas by which peace can be realized, and actively participating in their implementation.
I have long been planning to establish a World University Federation, based on the extensive network of contacts already created by the International Cultural Foundation and PWPA. The time has now come to accomplish this, by establishing first-class universities in seventy countries on six continents, where young people of all races and nations are educated as world citizens. I want to instill in them the ideal of a peaceful world, where all people live as brothers and sisters, by promoting regular and extensive international exchanges of faculty and students, and by sponsoring numerous collaborative research projects with international staff members.
I have already informed the senior consultants of the International Cultural Foundation of my plan to compile and publish a great international encyclopedia, based on a clear concept of absolute value. Although many encyclopedias already exist, this encyclopedia, based on absolute values, is an indisputable requirement for the younger generation. I fully expect that it will take more than ten years to complete. All members of PWPA chapters in the world are encouraged to contribute to this historic work.
A separate project I am planning to launch is a new monthly magazine, which is scheduled to begin publication in January 1985. Its purpose will be to give people the knowledge and guidance they need to lead better lives. Each issue of over one thousand pages will feature articles of lasting interest. It will not be thrown away after a glance, but it will occupy a cherished place on bookshelves everywhere, being frequently consulted as a wellspring of wisdom and advice on every facet of human life.
Another project, which is already being implemented, is the publication of large quantities of high-quality books to educate people about basic social problems. I understand that the number of books of enduring worth is declining, because publishers are more concerned with profit than with quality and content. This new project will cost an enormous sum of money, but I am determined to have more than three thousand books of the finest quality published in the next ten years.
The reason to host the international congress in Korea
I will now explain why I invited all of you to Korea to observe the National Rallies for Victory over Communism and to attend the first international congress of PWPA.,
First, Korea has often been the victim of foreign aggression during her long history. Located on a peninsula, her geopolitical situation makes her a bridgehead between the continent and the ocean, and a strategic point for expansion of the great powers. Even today, the Korean peninsula is a strategic area of confrontation between the Eastern and Western blocs and is playing a frontline role for the free nations by holding off impending invasion by North Korea and Russia.
Korea is a worldwide testing ground. The spotlight of world attention is focused on her, waiting to see whether she will become a casualty of communism or whether she will remain a member of the community of free nations. From the providential point of view, I see the situation of Korea as a sort of microcosm, reproducing in miniature the major developments and confrontations of the age.
Directly or indirectly, all the major currents of world affairs, past and present, are converging on this peninsula. Therefore, if these problems can be solved in Korea, they can be solved worldwide. The resolutions and proclamations made by the distinguished scholars from Korea and abroad on this occasion are related to each of your nations. Because they represent the interests of the entire world, they will certainly have international impact.
Second, Korea has a long tradition of culture and thought that honors God, and it has enjoyed a rich spiritual life for nearly five thousand years. Our ancestors created a brilliant civilization based on Buddhism and Confucianism. Today, a scant one hundred years after the arrival of Christianity, the Korean churches have astonished all of Christendom with the ardor of their faith. What is more important is that in Korea all the higher religions have been harmoniously assimilated by the original spiritual culture, resulting in a social climate in which all the different religions coexist and complement one another without conflict. Korea is unique in this respect. Considering all these facts, we cannot avoid the conclusion that it is impossible for communism to long maintain a foothold on this peninsula. I firmly believe that, as surely as God exists, He will teach a lesson to the world by destroying communism through the Korean people.
Third, Koreans are an energetic, keen-minded, righteous people. With such a national character, they surely cannot fail to grasp the significance of historical trends and respond appropriately. Once the Korean people come to realize clearly the evil of communism, they will immediately rise up and demonstrate to the whole world a model national movement for victory over communism.
Fourth, Korea is a meeting point of Eastern and Western cultures. I think you will agree with me that many leading scholars are rather pessimistic about the future of Western civilization and are awaiting a great era of religious and spiritual transformation to come. The increasing fascination that Oriental thought and Oriental religions have for Westerners may be taken as evidence that the harmonious unification of Eastern and Western cultures is an idea whose time has come.
Atheism and communism are obstacles to peace
The very fact that distinguished scholars from around the world have come together here in Korea, with the objective of securing world peace and establishing an ideal world, illustrates this point very well. The very existence of PWPA and ICUS, following the inspiration of Rev. Moon, who was born in the Orient, would have been unthinkable in the past. This signals a major turning point in the intellectual history of humanity. It marks nothing less than the beginning of a new culture.
The best shortcut to achieving harmonious unification between East and West may be by means of a religious teaching that seeks to realize one worldwide family under God as our Parent. If the goal of PWPA is to realize world peace, and if all of us as brothers and sisters are truly serious about achieving this goal by uniting intellect with conscience, we now need a reawakening and a redetermination. A real and lasting peace for all humankind will never be achieved through horizontal relationships between individuals holding different values. It will be achieved only through universal recognition of the absolute values derived from God.
The fundamental obstacle in achieving this ideal of peace is atheistic communism. I have also clearly taught that capitalism is not the ultimate ideology desired by God. Communism, however, denies the very existence of God, and so it is the number one obstacle to a God-centered thought system.
I already proclaimed at the Chicago ICUS that scholars must actively protest against communist ideology. Some people may have felt that this proclamation and my advice on that occasion were expressed too strongly. Although one day may seem very much like the next in the passage of time, there comes a time that serves as a crossroads, watershed or crucial turning point in human history and God's dispensation. There is a time that will never come again. There is a time for irrevocable decision and a time for crucial determination. That time is now. I give you this solemn advice based on my serious consideration of the future of humanity.
Urgency to educate our youth based on clear values
The National Rallies for Victory over Communism that you attended in Korea can serve as a model that can be duplicated in each of your nations. If the leaders of the free world remain irresolute about communism, there will be no way to prevent the expansion and world conquest that communism dreams of. If professors do not confidently proclaim what is true and refute what is false, but remain aloof from the struggle with folded hands, to whom can we entrust the future of the next generation?
It is an absolute requirement in this era that education of the next generation be shaped by the firm moral convictions of their professors, who must communicate a clear sense of values. This needs to be the basic attitude of educators. From this point of view, the role of a professor is the same as that of a religious leader. We educators have to assume the responsibility of not only transmitting facts but also sharing with our students the meaning and purpose of human life.
I am convinced that a resolute determination on the part of the participants of this congress, grounded firmly on theistic beliefs, will enable PWPA to achieve its historic goal and assure a decisive victory over communism in your countries. Once again, I hope this congress will make a definitive contribution toward the construction of a strong international foundation for an alliance of all peoples for victory over communism.
May God bless each of your nations, and may He bless you and your families as well.
Thank you.