Founder's Address by The Reverend Sun Myung Moon
Federation Of Island Nations For World Peace World Convention
Federation of Island Nations for World Peace
June 16-18, 1996 -- Tokyo, Japan
Honorable guests from around the world, ladies and gentlemen representing Japan who are gathered here to attend the world convention of the Federation of Island Nations for World Peace.
I am aware of your daily efforts toward the realization of world peace, for which I am sincerely grateful. I realize that this gathering presents the opportunity to further mobilize our intellect and deepen our friendship and understanding so that we can have the coming 21st century as a brilliant era of peace. For me there can be no greater joy than sharing our responsibility and mission, and making an unwavering determination among ourselves for the realization of world peace through this convention.
Allow me to begin, first of all, with my explanation of the history and background with which I have come to propose before you the establishment of an unfamiliar organization named The Federation of Island Nations for World Peace.
The History of Civilization
When we look at the stream of development of civilization in human history, the ancient civilizations which emerged in the river valleys passed to the Mediterranean Sea including Greece, Rome and the Iberian Peninsula. Then it developed through the European Continent including Germany and France, and bore fruit as a Judeo-Christian culture in the form of the Atlantic Civilization centered on Great Britain, an island nation. Afterwards, civilization passed westward through the American Continent, and presently we have the era of the Pacific Ocean centered on Japan, an island nation. This represents the expansion of a Judeo-Christian civilization into Asia.
When we recognize this kind of movement of civilizations in light of God's Providence, we can see that the island nation that has been placed in the center of heavenly fortune today is none other than Japan. At the conclusion of the 20th century, Japan has come to stand in the limelight of human history in God's providence. Therefore, Japan's current prosperity cannot be explained without considering her relationship to the Judeo-Christian providence of God.
If Japan has a role in God's plan, our attention should be paid to the providential mission which Japan bears. It is because the purpose of God's providence is the realization of world peace. World peace is the very hope for all humankind.
There can be no better hope for human society than if the island nations around the world get together here and commit themselves to a federation of nations for the creation of world peace.
It is with this expectation and ideals that I established The Federation of Island Nations. I cannot but hope that the realization of world peace will come true as the island nations all over the world inherit the heavenly fortune which was given by God to Japan, and form a group of nations dedicating their collective will to the pursuit of world peace.
Characteristics of Island Nations
What are the characteristics of island nations? The earth's surface consists of land and ocean. Science today explains that the birth of the first simplest life form took place in the realm of water, namely the ocean. This tells us that the ocean plays the role of mother who conceives and nurtures life. In this way, if the ocean can be regarded as symbolizing femininity, then the land may be considered as symbolizing masculinity. Therefore, it can be said that island nations located in the ocean symbolize women, and that continental nations and peninsula nations symbolize men.
From a spiritual perspective, one might say that island nations have certain characteristics of woman, such as objectivity, dependability, nourishing-ness, endurance and receptivity. On the other hand, continental nations may be seen as manly; possessing such attributes as subjectivity, creativity, and provider.
Following this comparison, the position which an island nation should play can be described as identical with that which women fill in human society. Women get married and are traditionallly expected to wholeheartedly love and serve their husbands. By receiving love from their spouses, and giving birth to children, women may shine and blossom through this dynamic relationship.
As mothers, women have the important responsibility of nourishing their children, bringing them up and educating them. Likewise, we can say that island nations also have similar roles to play.
Looking at the history of God's providence of restoration or salvation, we see that there have always existed central nations and a central religion which takes responsibility for God's providence. For example, in the Old Testament Age, Judaism -- centering upon the Israelites -- took responsibility for God's providence of salvation. In the New Testament Age, the bearer of the responsibility was Christianity centering on Christians in the Western world.
The core of Judeo-Christian teachings which have been guiding present civilization is as follows: First, that there is a God, a Creator. Secondly, that the first human ancestors fell from grace by committing sin, and that the Messiah is needed for the salvation of sin. Thirdly, that the sinful history of humankind will inevitably come to an end and that the Kingdom of God on Earth will necessarily be built. Based on such a view of the providence of salvation, or restoration, the people in the Old Testament Age formed their history centering on the expectation of the coming of the Savior. Likewise, in the New Testament Age, Christians formed their history centering on the hope and faith that the Second Coming of the Lord would come as the True Father to liquidate their sins and realize the Kingdom of God on Earth.
With the longing heart of a parent, God has been guiding history. In order to appreciate the providence of God, it is necessary to see history from His providence, which is an attempt to end the suffering of His children.
In 1945, when World War II came to an end, world Christianity was at an extremely important point in the history of God's providence of salvation. Christian nations like Britain, the United States and France were in the central positions of the providence at that time.
In World Wars I and II, the three major Christian nations of Great Britain, the United States and France fought for democracy as the center of the allied nations. It was God's desire to see these three, major Christian nations join their forces to practice God's love in the service of mankind with a sacrificial and serving spirit to actualize world peace, without lapsing into nationalistic ideas centered on their countries. The end of World War II, in 1945, saw the opportunity of providing lasting peace for mankind through the establishment of the United Nations.
The Expansion of Communism
However, the historical reality was not the realization of world peace, but the expansion of communism, and the numerous conflicts that have come with it, as well as the spiritual decline and moral degradation of Christian nations. Humankind, which has endured the cold war between the United States and the former Soviet Union for more than 40 years, is passing through a spiritual wilderness which continues until the present.
For my part, I have traveled the world to reveal God's ideals and His providence in order to actualize the vision of world peace on the basis of God's original plan. To this end, I have established many international organizations, but the path is long, and there remains a lot of work for all of us to do.
What is the ideal of God? It goes without saying that the original ideal of God is to realize a peaceful world. In such a world, there are no divisions or conflicts.
It is a world filled with unity, harmony and joy. The greatest and the quickest means to this end is through true love. True love is the factor of unity and the origin of joy and happiness. That is why I would say that the prerequisite of peace is true love.
Then where does God's true love originate? The settlement place of true love is the family. If Adam and Eve had perfected themselves and established an ideal family through their marriage centered on God, true love would have been initiated there. And, the family of true love would have become the basis which would produce global true peace.
The reason why humankind is still unable to make true peace is because they are ignorant of true love. Why? The answer is, as mentioned in the Bible, humankind has separated from God. Since the fall of the first human ancestors, Adam and Eve who established the first family without God's blessing. Peace has been absent from this world ever since. Instead, divisions, conflicts, and struggles have come to rule this world. In the individual, the struggle between mind and body, the conflicts between husband and wife at the family level, and the struggles between societies are accepted as normal, everyday life.
The Loss of True Love
It is my conviction that all human problems are caused by the fundamental loss of true love. The fall of humankind meant the loss of true love. Consequently, Jesus came as the King of true love in order to restore the love which Adam and Eve had lost. By the same token, the Lord of the Second Advent is coming in order to restore true love. That is the logical conclusion seen from the view of the providence of salvation.
My life until today, and my quest for world peace, has been concentrated on the point of how humankind can restore true love. When we look at the moral degradation of the world, we can think of how great God's sorrow must be. Watching this world decline breaks my heart and brings tears to my eyes. The harm of immorality and adultery similar to the days of Sodom and Gomorra injures our youth as they tragically fall into the false enticements of so-called "free" sex. The greatest sorrow of God is to see mankind going down this path of irresponsible destruction.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to announce there is much hope. This optimism comes from a new and liberated role of women. Women are actively working around the world to save civilization from destruction. In particular, Japanese women are playing an important role. They are active in 160 nations practicing the spirit of "living for the sake of the world." This fills me with great joy. Women can save the world at this time of crisis. It is time for us to stand up, respect and recognize the power of women.
Delegates and honorable guests, I would like to state once again my essential thesis. You represent, for the most part, island and oceanic nations. Island nations have in common the characteristics of women and mothers. Therefore, they should unite their forces and cooperate so that they can fulfill the mission as mothers in front of humankind. Based on these reasons, I proposed and founded the Federation of Island Nations for World Peace.
Looking back on human history, women have played a vital role in both a positive and negative sense.
The Role of Women
According to the Bible, human history began with the tragic incident known as the fall of Adam and Eve. It is a matter of fact that we must all shoulder the responsibility for this act and resolve this issue. However, when we look at the passage in the Bible that Eve was the first to fall and begin the history of sin, we can see that the providence requires that an age must come in human history in which women will lead the way to redeem the fall of Eve.
We can see that the ideological trends in the 20th century, such as the movement of women seeking true liberation, indicate that women have begun to stand up for the sake of world peace. Because I know that such is the providence of God, in April 1992, I founded the Women's Federation for World Peace together with my wife.
Family Federation for World Peace
This movement of the Women's Federation for World Peace will develop into the movement of the Family Federation for World Peace in the near future, and all people may participate. By establishing true love in the family, it seeks to construct an ideal world -- the kingdom of heaven on earth.
The age of women is the worldwide trend of the 1990s and into the 21st century. We may say that love and cooperation, and the spirit of resolution and harmony will fulfill a historical contribution towards world peace.
This worldwide age of women means that the age of island nations will bear the characteristics of women. In this way, the age of women and the age of island nations are intimately linked together. The time when women stand up for world peace is the time when island nations should also stand up for world wide cooperation. Now is the opportunity for island and oceanic nations to fulfill their glorious and historical missions of realizing world peace. Is there a mission of greater glory than this?
Let us look back on the history of humankind in which women played central roles. There were courageous women who established testimonies based on an unbreakable faith in God. Without the perseverance of Abraham's wife, Sarah, Isaac's wife, Rebecca, or Jacob's wife, Rachel, there would be no history of the Israelites. Tamar, relying only on her absolute faith, risked her life to establish the lineage from which the messiah later appeared.
Like Tamar, Mary, the mother of Jesus also showed her absolute faith before heaven in order to give birth to God's sacred lineage.
The fall of Eve brought about spiritual death to humankind, and as a result, millions and millions suffered under false love, false life and false lineage. The path that Mary and Tamar took was a path to redeem the fall of Eve in an attempt to bring about true love, true life and true lineage.
Joan of Arc, at the tender age of sixteen saved her country of France from a defeat which was thought to be inevitable. A 16 year-old maiden was able to exert the kind of power to save an entire nation. By looking at these few examples, we can see the mark of greatness throughout history by the dedication of these women of determined faith.
When the Federation of Island Nations ignites and spreads through the virtues of service and dedication, the light of hope will burn brightly before the future of humankind.
Island nations must inevitably seek for the continent in the end. This is based on the same principle that a woman seeks a loving relationship with a man. This might be called the condition for the survival of island nations. Thus, the various activities for world peace carried out in island nations must inevitably bring a good influence on continental countries. In this way, when the positive effects of the efforts of island nations for the realization of world peace are spread to the continental realm, world peace will take a major step closer towards realization.
Conclusion
We strongly desire that the age of the 21st century will become a new millennium which is the brilliant dawn of the kingdom of heaven on earth, long awaited by humankind. The associations such as the Federation for World Peace, the Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace, the Women's Federation for World Peace, the Youth Federation for World Peace, and the Students Federation for World Peace, I am convinced will fulfill a crucial role for peace and harmony together with the Federation for Island Nations.
Ultimately, all of these organizations will bear fruit as the Family Federation for World Peace. This is because the final base for peace is the family and there is no way to establish global unity other than through rebuilding the family institution.
By thoroughly carrying out the education of youth based on an ideal that transcends race, nation and religion, the Family Federation for World Peace will be able to perfect an ideal family and attain the historical feat of a one-world family in which people from all corners of the world enjoy true and lasting peace. Your Federation of Island Nations will inevitably make the greatest contribution toward the highest objective of the Family Federation for World Peace.
I would like to conclude my message with gratitude toward everyone for the fact that the dream of a one world family based on the true love of God is approaching realization through the Federation of Island Nations. May God guide and bless you, your nations and your families.
Thank you very much for your attention.