Farewell Address -- Fourteenth International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences

Sun Myung Moon
December 1, 1985
Houston, Texas

Mr. chairman, ladies and gentlemen. It seem like we just met, and now it is already time to say -- not goodbye -- but so long. This year's conference has had a very special meaning for me. The year 1985 marks the conclusion of 40 years of my public ministry a number of biblical significance, as many of you know. Many things have been accomplished in that time. Yet much more remains to be done. ICUS was one of our first international projects and I will always remember it...like a first love. It is very dear to my heart.

Yesterday my wife and children and I visited the NASA Space Center in Houston. We were especially impressed by the space shuttle and the moon landing craft. Did you know that the first word spoken from the surface of the moon was "Houston"? So you can see that Moon and Houston already have a long-established historical relationship.

My visit to NASA gave me a couple of other deep impressions as well. One is the power of science which brought about such extraordinary accomplishments. The other thing which impressed me deeply is the vastness of space, still largely unknown and uncharted by science. It can only be measured in light years.

One unique aspect of space is its character. Everything in the universe, including the earth itself, is round. Everything in the universe, down to the sub-atomic level, seems to either be spherical or moving in a circular motion. This spherical shape and circular motion alone is the perpetual motion of the universe. When we think in these terms of circular shape and motion, only then can the human mind begin to grasp the concept of eternity.

Every spherical object, large or small, without exception, has a center and an axis. Every circular motion revolves around an axis. Without an axis, there can be no circular motion. An axis is invisible, and yet it carries the entire weight of a body and represents the whole. As an anchor, the axis maintains order and discipline in the universe. In the ideal everything must have a center and an axis. Motion must be centered around that axis.

I have been reflecting upon how this principle applies to this conference. The position of the center is God. The axis is absolute value. For this reason, every ICUS conference has dealt with some topic in relationship to absolute values. It is my conviction that every aspect of human existence must begin with recognition of a center, and must revolve around this central axis, which is absolute value. Then individual life, families, societies, nations, and the world can have a definite purpose, discipline, and order. And most importantly, life could then have perpetual motion and exist for all eternity.

Scientists have always known about the physical axis of the universe. What I am adding to this is the idea that there is also a spiritual axis of the universe, around which everything revolves.

What do you think of this theory, my dear friends? Does Moon's Axis Theory make sense?

I have been very happy to hear from your reports that the quality of this conference has been second to none. As a matter of fact, my wife had some initial concern about choosing Texas as the site of the conference. Since Texas is famous for having everything bigger and better than anywhere else, she said to me, "Don't you think this ICUS is too small to be held in Texas?"

I told her, "Quality is more important than size.' Once I talked to a Texas millionaire. Since he said he was a rancher, and knowing that everything in Texas is very big, I asked him how large his ranch was. Expecting that he owned at least several thousand acres, I was surprised to hear him say his ranch was only 40 acres. I was shocked. I said, "How can you be so rich from only a 40-acre ranch?"

He replied, "Well, my land is very special"

"What's so special about it?" I asked.

"It sits on top of 10 million barrels of oil," he answered.

I feel like ICUS is my 40-acre ranch, and your knowledge and experience is like 10 billion barrels of oil. When I look at you today, I feel like a Texas billionaire.

I would like to recognize one man who has worked tirelessly to ensure the quality of this conference. That man is Dr. Kenneth Mellanby, our conference chairman. Would you kindly join with me in giving him a round of applause?

We also have two distinguished vice-chairmen: Dr. Gerholm and Dr. King. Shall we also give them a round of applause?

Yet without having the presence of each one of you distinguished participants, this conference would never have been so successful. So let's give one final round of applause to the person sitting next to you.

I thank you for your hard work.

I think this conference has marked the beginning of a new era for ICUS. We are moving forward into a new challenge lying just ahead. We have more confidence than ever in the purpose and tradition of ICUS. Under the theme "Absolute Values and the New Cultural Revolution;" we shall continue working tirelessly to lead a changing world in the direction of true peace, freedom, and prosperity for all.

God bless you, your families, and your work. Please have a safe journey back home. I am looking forward to meeting you again next year in Washington DC. I also want to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. Thank you very much. 

Memories of Sun Myung Moon in Danbury Prison -- Interview of Larry and Teresa Evola

Tania Redmond
December 1985

Larry and Teresa Evola with their two daughters.

Larry Evola was transferred to Danbury from another prison and arrived there on July 20, 1984, the very day that Father was admitted. Later, Father told Larry and his wife Teresa, who also became close to Father and Mother, that Larry's transfer to Danbury was no accident but heavenly destiny. By the time Mr. Kamiyama's sentence was over, Father had gotten to know and trust Larry, and Larry had developed a genuine affection and loyalty for Father. So Larry became his guard and companion.

While Larry was in Danbury, Teresa ran the pizza shop that the Evolas owned in Queens, New York. Larry was released on August 20, 1985 and is now back in Queens with his wife and children. Several church members have gotten to know the Evolas well. This interview was conducted by Tanya Redmond in December 1985.

Larry: I had heard a lot about Father before coming to Danbury and I was never prejudiced about him. Years ago the Moonies used to come into our pizza shop and fundraise with flowers. Somebody would always ask, "Are you a Moonie?" When they'd say yes, some people said, "That's good" and some said, "That's bad" But I was never against any religion or any person.

Teresa: We had always heard the negative stories, the propaganda. But we're the type who doesn't really judge anybody. We never look at a person from somebody else's point of view; we wait and see what our own impression is. So we never thought, "Who is this guy? Is he really doing what the newspapers say? What kind of people are following him?" When Larry first met Father, he didn't think, "Here's this famous man -- what can I get out of him?" No. Larry just extended his friendship and his help the way he would for any of the other inmates that were there.

Larry: I would do it again if I had to. I would do anything for him.

Teresa: As a matter of fact, we've received altogether too much.

Larry: Yes, we've received a lot. The experience, the spirit, the people around him that we met, the way Mother used to treat us -- it was all something that I never could have even imagined before I went to Danbury.

Larry Extends Himself to Father

The night Father came, a lot of inmates were watching TV and waiting around to see Rev. Moon. We couldn't go out because of the ten o'clock curfew, and through the windows all we could see were lights and police and cars. He came in very late, about 12:30 a.m., with Mr. Kamiyama.

Every new inmate is supposed to get sheets, a blanket, a pillow, and a pillowcase. But at that time of night there was nobody around. The guards found some sheets in a locker but no pillows. I had an extra blanket on my bed from last winter, so I thought, "I'll give him my rolled-up blanket if he needs something for his head"

I knew where he was, but it was hard to locate him in the dark, so I called out, "Hey, Rev.!" Somebody said the Rev. was already in bed. He woke up and I said, "I have a blanket for you. Use this." So he took it and thanked me.

The next day I walked up to Mr. Kamiyama and said, "If you two need anything until you get your money posted, I have crackers, juice, grapefruits, oranges. You can have whatever you want. Maybe the Rev. would like something. What kind of juice does he drink? Does he like apples?" At first Mr. Kamiyama said, "No, no, no...," but then he said, "Well, okay, maybe I'll take some pineapple juice"

The three of us became closer and closer, because I helped Father with whatever he needed. When I would walk by, Mr. Kamiyama would say, "Please come and sit with us" And I would say, "Hello, Rev. How are you?" They began to see that I was friendly and didn't have any prejudice.

Every night Father and I used to walk all around the grounds a couple of times. And every morning after breakfast Father would do his exercises -- big movements with his legs and shoulders. I would usually have my coffee on the table outside, while he did his exercises.

Then Father would get a book and sit under a special pine tree that he liked until it was time to go to work. He would sit there for three or four hours straight, never taking his eyes off his book. Everybody was amazed. How could he do that? The sun used to hit him in the neck. While the sun was high, he would be in the shade for a while; but after a few more hours, the sun would hit him again. He was so deep into reading that he didn't care if the sun burned him. And oh, did his neck ever get red!

Teresa: Sometimes he wouldn't even remember that it was dinner time because he was concentrating so deeply on what he was reading. Larry would go to him and say, "It's time to eat!"

Larry: "Okay, one more chapter!" he would say. I'd say, "We gotta go eat, because otherwise we're gonna miss dinner" "Okay, okay! One more, one more!" When the time ran out, I would run to pick up his newspaper, the Styrofoam pad he sat on, his book, and his glasses, and say, "You go. I'll put these inside, and meet you at the cafeteria right away." I used to worry about him, because if you miss dinner, you don't get anything to eat until the next morning.

Father always kept the cafeteria at Danbury spotlessly clean and in order.

Many Important Visitors

Teresa: There were a lot of people who came to visit him. One was Dr. Joseph Lowery. Larry and I were sitting right there in the visiting room when we heard Dr. Lowery say that he wanted to serve some of Father's time. At first we thought it was just a figure of speech. Later we found out that he had literally gone and asked the warden, but the prison wouldn't allow it.

One of the greatest events we ever witnessed at Danbury was the visit of a famous government official. When he came he took Father's hand in both his hands and said, "On behalf of the United States government, I apologize seeing that was a turning point for me. I said to myself: If a famous public official comes here and apologizes on behalf of the whole United States government, there has to be something very significant happening. At that time I still was not aware of all the facts concerning why Father had been put in prison, but I learned about them later. The government had really gone after an indictment that never should have been brought in the first place. And this man apologized so sincerely! I was flabbergasted. Father just shook his head, and invited him to sit down at one of the long tables in the middle of the visiting room. They had a discussion and exchanged viewpoints. Larry and I witnessed a lot of amazing things, and that was one of the most spectacular.

Larry: There were always about six or seven people sitting around the table with him. One day I told Father, "That table looks like the Last Supper!" And he laughed. Many church leaders from Japan, Korea, and all over the United States used to come and visit him. They would bring a lot of papers and magazines -- a lot of printed information. He would know everything about what was happening with the church.

I noticed that Father never hid anything from anybody. Whatever was happening in the church, good or bad, he would tell me. He is totally honest. If a situation was difficult, Father would say, "Little by little, things will improve." He has courage. If people said, "No, maybe this won't work." he always had hope that things would get better and better. He never gets discouraged. He only gives everyone else courage. He would say to people, "Everything will be okay. You will get stronger. You will become a better person."

Growing Through Hardship

Larry: I used to be a little worried for my wife. Father would see that sometimes, when I got off the phone after talking to her, I was not too happy. I used to tell him, "My wife has a problem with the workers at the pizza shop. Why can't the employees do their work right and make it easy for her? She has the kids to take care of." "She will make it," Father would say. "In a way, this period of time is good for her; she will become stronger."

Teresa: You know how some people say, "Oh, there's nothing to worry about." They don't understand a thing. But Father understands everything. When he told me not to worry, I trusted him. He wasn't just trying to pacify me.

Knowing Father and Mother made it easier for me. They were a great help, encouraging us and just being there. A lot of the members came out to visit them, and all of a sudden these people were meeting us and honestly offering their help. I said to Larry, "Look at this. People that we don't even know are offering to help us, but expecting nothing in return." Larry and I are like that, too. But when you look out into the world, you very rarely see those qualities in people. Most of the time if people offer help, it's because they want something. This was really unbelievable.

The employees were getting a little out of control, especially because I wasn't there on a full time basis. I was seeing Larry two or three times a week. I told Larry, "If you want to keep this business I have to be there steadily. Either I come and visit you, or I stay down there. Something has to suffer, one way or the other." We made the decision that I would continue going to Danbury. And everything finally worked out all right. And I think in many ways the difficulties brought us closer.

Larry: Now the business has increased ' a little more.

Mother's Inner Beauty

Teresa: My impression of Mother is that she is just gorgeous. She's beautiful. When Larry told me how many kids she had, I said, "What?" My jaw just dropped! I said, "She can put any 22-year-old girl to shame with her beauty." And she has this inner beauty that just shines out and envelops everything.

I had the chance to be with her on a few occasions and get to know her. One Sunday Larry and I were in the visiting room. The prison officials had started a policy of terminating some people's visits if there were too many visitors. I had arrived there with the children at 10:00. Mother had been there since 8:30 as usual. Around 11:30, they terminated both our visits. Mother and I were standing close to the door, and we talked for about half an hour. Then Father told Mother, "Take Teresa to East Garden" I had no other plans really, and it was still early in the day. Larry said, "Sure, Teresa, go ahead." I'm not usually very shy, but at that moment, I did feel shy.

Larry: By that time, I was close to Father, and to both of them. They were already like family to me. I had never been to the house, but from the way Mother talked, I felt like I had already been there. So when Father asked Mother to take Teresa to East Garden and let the kids play there, I said, "Yes, go ahead, take Teresa."

Teresa: I didn't really feel worthy. Anyway, I followed Peter Kim's car and Mother's car. There was a whole line of cars, and we all drove together to East Garden. When we arrived Mother said, "Let's let the kids stay here, and we can go out." We drove to New Jersey, which was just across the river. Mother turned to me in the car and said, "It's going to be my birthday soon, and we have a family tradition. When it's our birthday, we can buy gifts for whomever we choose. And I want to buy something for you" I said, "Oh, no please" She said, "I want to! You can't refuse."

So Mother took me shopping. She bought me a beautiful blue suit, a beautiful shirt, and a black coat. And she wanted to buy more and more, but I said, "Please, no more!" She is incredible. Her heart is so big. There were a couple of other people with us, and she bought things for them too, and a few things for her children. Then we went to eat lunch. She wanted to take me to a movie, but I saw that she was a bit tired. It had been a long day, so I said, "Maybe another time." But it was all absolutely unbelievable.

Mother has all the best feminine qualities that any woman dreams of; she is everything that any woman would want to be. She's very refined and delicate, and extremely polite. Her heart is as big as she is, and even bigger. When we were waiting for the car to come around in the parking lot, she said to me, "Be a good wife to Larry," I said, "I'll try" She's just so gentle and loving -- so caring toward everyone. I could see that she genuinely cares for every person she knows, for every person she comes in contact with, and for every person that she influences in a physical sense or even a spiritual sense. You can see that quality in both Father and Mother; they are really the way parents should be. They're parental not only towards their own children, but toward everyone else, too.

Father giving a rare interview in the visiting room at Danbury prison.

Parental Love

Larry lost his father about a week and a half after Father came to Danbury. In many ways, Larry felt even closer to Father than he had been to his own dad. He even told that to Father. Father and Mother have a parental love. That's the way they guide you. And they do it so naturally that you don't even realize that they are watching over you and helping you. It just comes out and you automatically feel their guidance and their love.

After a while I started to see who Mother really was. What impressed me the most was seeing how Father and Mother were so loving toward each other. There were a few times when there weren't very many visitors, and they were able to spend some time by themselves. I could see just by the way they looked at each other that they felt so much love for one another. I think Larry and I had a special glimpse into certain aspects of their lives that many people unfortunately don't have -- those special times they shared together, and the special times they shared with us.

Whenever one of the children had a birthday or there was some special occasion, Mother would bring rice cakes for Father.

Larry: With 12 kids, there's one birthday a month at least.

Teresa: Mother knows how much Father likes rice cakes. But she would always make sure to keep something for Larry and me. Her heart is just too much even to put in words.

Larry: And the members! It's all Father and Mother talk about.

Teresa: Do you know, when I asked Father something about the Principle, he said, "Read the Principle, and then read it again, and then read it again.." He puts so much faith in the Principle, and he feels that his revelations are the hope for the world. His true hope is that through reading the Principle, people will realize what has been done so far and what needs to be done, and how to take on the responsibility to overcome the state that the world is in.

Larry: Father wants to help everybody -- the whole world. He used to tell me, "Moonies are good people. They work hard, and they're very close to one another." Sometimes we hear bad things from other people but. I always say, "I know the Moonies; they don't do things like that. They know their religion, and they study hard. The more they study, the more they know about God and the right way to do things. They really have faith."

Teresa: What Larry means is that the more you study and learn, the more you realize what needs to be done. Then your faith can become stronger and you can realize your responsibility. You'll take on the hard work, no matter how hard it gets, and hopefully, you'll be able to report a change. Father's ultimate ideal is just to be able, in his lifetime, to bring the world together and create heaven on earth. That's what we would all love to see. His ultimate hope is to see it now. Father really does have faith in people. He believes that they can do it. I guess that puts it all in our ball park then.

Always Thinking In Advance

Larry: That's why he's always busy speaking everywhere. He knows that people need him to be around. He knows that the members work hard, but he works ten times harder than anyone. He's always thinking in advance. He plans for something that will take place months later. And the way it is planned -- that's the way it comes out, maybe even a little better. He figures out how the people will react, how he should prepare everything. And then when all the results come in, everything works out just the way he said they would.

Teresa: Father thinks on such an extremely large scale. We could never even think one hundredth of the way he thinks. He looks far into the future and feels that everything is possible. Often people would come to him and he would give them an assignment. Then they would look at each other as if to say, "We have to do this?" Then Father would say, "You can do it!" I don't understand any Korean, but I knew what he was saying. Sometime later they would come back and sure enough, they did what Father recommended -- and it worked! Then he would give them something even harder to do! He's unreal!

Larry: His mind is so big. But he's a man who doesn't have to have expensive clothes, or expensive cars, or expensive anything. He's very simple. He could live on bread and butter and not complain. He is happy with whatever you give him or whatever he has.

Teresa: The way the media depicted him was so different than what I saw. The media depicted him as some kind of extravagant fanatic. When I met him, I saw that he was so simple, so down-to-earth. He doesn't have any phony airs, and neither does Mother. When you really come down to it, they are both very down-to-earth and extremely humble.

Larry: The papers used to talk about all the money that he makes. But Father said that whatever he makes is already forgotten: it all goes for education, for the church, for the children. He says, "Whatever we do is for the people. And that's why we have to work hard, because it's for the world. I don't need anything. I'm old. How long I can live?" I said, "You're going to live for another hundred years at the rate you're going. You're going to see me go."

He's physically strong. He can put any younger guy to shame, and I'm talking about guys that are just 30 years old. They move slow compared to him. When he starts walking, I have to run after him. Every time I said, "Let's go for a walk," by the time I got my jacket on he was already gone. So eventually I learned to get up and start running, carrying my jacket, and I would put it on, on the way out. That was the only way I was able keep up with him.

Prayer In The Chapel

Larry: I often had the chance to pray with Father. Every Sunday morning at about four o'clock we would go to the chapel and pray. We were only allowed to stay for one hour. Afterwards we would call Mother, and then go for breakfast.

Usually when we prayed it was dark. I couldn't see too well. He would fold his legs up in the chair and pray. He prayed in Korean and I prayed in English. One day I asked him, "What do you pray about?" I heard the words "Washington," "White House:' and things like that. I said, "When you pray, it sounds like the newspaper." Teresa and I are not used to praying that way. Father expresses his hopes for God, but he also specifically mentions whatever concerns the church -- "Bless the churches, the buildings, the people, the President."

Teresa: Father would set up a symbolic chair there for Mother, too. He would sit in one, cross-legged, and lead the prayer, the meditation period, and the final blessing, which would be for everybody in general as well as for specific issues. Finally he would mention all of his children.

Larry: I used to move the desk and whatever else was in the way, and then I'd set two chairs here and two chairs there. He would sit by the window, facing us. Bill Sheppard and I sat across from him. I used to ask questions to find out about how he prays. When he explained, even though he still didn't speak English very well, I could understand most of the words. If I didn't understand then I would say, "Can you say that again?" or "I didn't understand you." Then he would explain in the best way he could, or maybe he would put it in other words. He made a lot of progress with his English in one year, mainly because he didn't have any other choice. And after six months, Father was with me all the time. He had to speak English with me, unless he wanted to speak Italian!

Teresa: He wasn't allowed to preach or convert anyone. He wasn't allowed to show his true faith, or openly be the religious type of person that he is. He had to just be another inmate. He couldn't tell anybody what he really felt they should do with their lives. But he would always stress to all the inmates that their wives and children should come first. When the inmates felt anger, he said that instead of arguing with each other, they should try to look at each other as brothers and not with so much hatred and dislike. Father was very good at making peace among them and helping them see the real priorities.

Larry: So when people wanted to say something, they'd think twice about it. With Father around, the inmates were more calm. Father's a man who's very easy to get along with. If you don't want to get along with him there must be something wrong with you. When the other prisoners were unhappy, he used to explain to them, "Things will be okay. This is just jail; it's temporary. You have to try to do your best." 

Absolute Values and the New Cultural Revolution -- Momentum and a Forward Leap

Sun Myung Moon
November 29, 1985
Fourteenth International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences
Founder's Address
Houston, Texas

Honorable chairmen, eminent professors and scientists, ladies and gentlemen: As we begin this fourteenth ICUS meeting here in Houston, I would like to express my appreciation to each of you for your commitment to, and support for, this conference and its theme, "Absolute Values and the New Cultural Revolution:' Since I was unable to be with you at last year's ICUS in Washington, I am particularly moved to stand before you this morning.

As you know, I was recently released from prison, on August 20, 1985, having spent thirteen months in confinement in the United States. I thank you again for being concerned with my situation caused by unfair treatment, for visiting me in prison, for writing letters to comfort me, and for your tremendous effort in making pleas to the authorities on my behalf.

Those who were so eager to fabricate a crime and have me imprisoned invested a great deal of money, time, and effort in the attempt to block the work which God has called me to perform. However, despite opposition, the Unification movement prospers worldwide. Contrary to the expectation that my imprisonment would bring the breakup of the work of our church, we have received unprecedented expressions of understanding and support from all kinds of people, including Christian clergy. Through such an experience I have learned once again, as I always maintained, that victory comes through persecution countered with God- centered righteousness.

The Necessity of a New Breakthrough

My experience in prison has made clearer to me the critically dangerous state of the world It let me feel the urgent necessity of a worldwide great awakening and of a new breakthrough. As a result, I have come out of prison with a renewed sense of urgency and determination to commit myself and the Unification movement to the cause of world peace and global prosperity at any cost.

Today's world shows us various miserable situations in spite of wonderful scientific development, efficient technology, and economic abundance in many places. There is constant strain and war among nations, and in most of the world such problems as poverty, illiteracy, disease, violence and crime, drug addiction and mental disorders, social discrimination and inequity, broken families, and teenage immorality make the future of this planet appear gloomy. Why do anxiety and agony increase day by day even though many leaders -- especially conscientious, distinguished scholars -- have been devoting themselves toward realizing a happy ideal world? The reason must be mental exhaustion and a moral, spiritual crisis. Traditional value systems are now inadequate for societies which are changing with unprecedented speed. Ethics and morals have ceased to fully function. Criteria for goodness have been disappearing.

At a time when these problems are causing self-contradiction, conflict, and disunity both in individual lives and on the societal level, how can we speak of moral standards or of eternity? If in such a reality there is no God, then we cannot at all expect complete ideals or happiness ever to be realized. We would conclude that the world cannot but perish. But, if there is God the Absolute, then we can conclude that God will conduct a Providence for changing this negative state of reality to the absolutely positive one by jumping toward one standard -- that is, the standard of absolute value. God is our Parent with only true love for all humankind. The purpose of any negative effects of God's Providence in the past was never to destroy humankind. Such effects were only part of a process for a dramatic leap ahead; the undesirable effects were to be followed by new and hopeful things to come.

Throughout history there have been numerous moments of leaping forward. There have been many instances of people contacting God the Transcendent through moments of complete negation of the present reality and then leaping toward a better future. Ordinary moments are not likely to be a ground for leaping. Pioneers, through positively digesting the paradoxical moments, have been able to leap and create wonderful things.

Loving your enemy, as practiced by Jesus on the cross, may not be easily understood. But Jesus showed us God's Providence for urgently changing a moment of being completely denied by the world into one of a leap of complete positivity. As a result of that leap, a new page of resurrection Providence was opened.

I think the Unification Church holds a world record in the history of persecution. However, such persecution has not always been bad for the Unification Church. If the Unification Church is not overwhelmed by suffering but overcomes it and lives God's will through leaping with the momentum, the suffering itself will become a preparation for eternal life centered on the Absolute. With such a view, we should recognize that the reality of today's world is not cause for despair, but provides momentum for God to permit us a leap towards a new world.

The initial motive for humans to develop science was the desire to realize world peace and prosperity. However, the methods employed in the specialized fields of science have not resulted in meeting that original expectation. Our expectation of science was centered on the well-being of humankind, but instead, science has mostly been concerned with developing the material environment, which is the object of human beings, who are subject. Therefore, the true happiness of humankind has not been realized by the scientific pursuit of higher living standards or by applying theories of politico-economic equality. We conclude, therefore, that scientists should be awakened to assume a new mission.

Today's man is urged to establish, through insight into the depth of his being, a new standard of ethics centered on the absolute order of reality. The new ethic requires us to love nature, to reconsider the dignity of human beings, to seek love among all humankind, and to search for God as the origin of love. Scholars are to assume a mission for accomplishing the cultural-spiritual revolution for the realization of such ideals as human perfection and world peace, along with the external, technological revolution.

My Expectations for Scholars

Long before the first ICUS, I became certain that scientists should play a decisive role in building the good, hopeful, future society. My support and enthusiasm for ICUS for the past fourteen years has come from my respect and my expectation for scholars' potential to solve the problems of the world. I hope that such a potential can be developed and mobilized through ICUS and that scholars with responsibility will actively contribute to the realization of the new cultural revolution.

This is the fourteenth ICUS. The number 14 is twice the number 7. According to Unification theology, the number 7, like the number 3, is an important number signifying perfection. Up until now, ICUS has been committing itself to relating scientific studies with the discovery and realization of absolute values. In addition, it has been concerned with the integration of knowledge, that is, with in interdisciplinary and integrated approach to the understanding of reality. The criterion for absolute value comes from God as the origin of absolute love. Without establishing absolute values an integrated approach is not possible.

Many people have now come to recognize the necessity of absolute values. I am grateful that the chairmen and the members of the Planning Committee have overcome misunderstandings and walked on this new path as pioneers. From now on, where is ICUS supposed to head? Could we be satisfied with annual conferences just as before? My answer to this question centers on my recent emphasis on the "New Cultural Revolution' I think that the potential and foundation for realizing the original ideals and happiness of humankind is greatly endangered, since humankind is now challenged most seriously and essentially by evil.

We, as the ICUS family, should stand up and actively assume the great mission for creating the world of new culture, which must be established at any cost. Exploration of absolute values cannot be meaningful for its own sake; truth has eternal direction, and the ideal world centered on absolute values must be concretely realized. This realization requires that we act determinedly and leap beyond the difficulties found in the present reality.

A New Culture Is Demanded

Today, the world should change. Now is the time for scholars to responsibly come to the forefront, advancing toward the new cultural revolution centered on God's truth and love. The new cultural revolution should pursue God's ideal for humanity and all creation. In order for this ideal to be accomplished, each of us should fulfill our responsibility in realizing true love, not only knowledge, as absolute value.

Humankind should now leap forward. Creation of a culture of new dimension, through which we can completely overcome the limits of finite reality, is demanded. We should wake up from the illusion and laxity of any arrogant belief that the power of human reason alone can bring about the perfection of individuals and the world without relating to God's expectations for the original human character and without relating to God's Providence behind the turmoil of human history. Humbly recognizing the limits of human beings, we should fulfill the ideal of union with God through leaping forward, not missing the historical momentum introduced by God's Providence. Since God's ideal for the creation was wholly meant for human beings, it is a natural conclusion that the ideal should be fulfilled through human response to God's comprehensive concern.

Respected scholars! I have been committing my whole life to fulfill God's will, that is, to fulfill human responsibility. I never tried to avoid even the most rugged path of the pioneer. For instance, I determined to offer an alternative to the existing attitudes of the news media. I have closely watched the process of the news media's offering information, right and wrong, to the public. I know through my experience, as many of you do, that the power of the news media, if misused, can destroy reality and undermine the foundation of goodness. Therefore, for years we have been sponsoring at great cost The Washington Times. Recently, I inspired a weekly news magazine called Insight. Further, in this coming month, we are going to release a monthly magazine called The World and I. These projects aim to offer alternative media for education, and mass communication that will contribute to such values as truth and the common good.

I Ask You To Become Pioneers

I ask you to be pioneers in a new cultural revolution through participating in the continuous pursuit of truth, by actively contributing articles to The World and I magazine. Furthermore, I envision the publication of dictionaries for the different specialized fields of science, with the help of our worldwide PWPA membership and Paragon House Publishers. All this will become part of the preparation for publishing an encyclopedia of human events which will, under the guidance of absolute values, contribute to right insight into the original human character and become proper material for education.

Respected scholars! Remaining indifferent to the existing world of paradoxes, posing no alternatives, could we say that we have fulfilled our leadership and social responsibility? We must show a standard through not missing this precious momentum which has come not merely by chance but which God has granted us historically and globally. We should be examples ourselves by leaping ahead and firmly awaken all people to fight against injustice. Leaping involves risky adventure. Fully-dimensioned adventure on a false foundation would bring greater difficulties. However, wherever there is truth, there is always bound to be its practice. We must be champions for the practice of absolute values and actively lead the world.

I hope that this conference will not only become a forum for free discussions in which useful conclusions are reached, but that it will also become a historical event through which we, with our determination, can push this suffering world to give birth to the world of new culture. I deeply thank the members of the Preparation Committee for their very hard work for this conference.

May God bless all of you and your families! 

Remarks at the Farewell Banquet of the Assembly of the World's Religions

Sun Myung Moon
November 20, 1985

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I hope all of you have enjoyed this Farewell Banquet and this Assembly as much as Mrs. Moon and I have. It seems like we first gathered together for this historic conference as strangers to one another and now, even as we have come to recognize that we are truly brothers and sisters. It is time to depart. But this does not need to be a sad moment if we take it as an opportunity to carry this spark of renewed brotherhood back to our own communities of faith.

When I first told my wife I was to convene an Assembly like this she asked me whether I thought representatives of so many different religions with such different backgrounds could really get along. What would happen if they just fought all the time? I reminded her of our thirteen children -- each one is so different they seldom ever all agree on anything. Did she really think any of them would rather be an only child? They are bound together in harmony because they realize how much their parents love them. So I believed, it would be the same with us. When we really recognize how much our Parent, God, loves each of us, how could we fail to get along? And I think we succeeded rather well, don't you agree?

Of course, my wife was also quick to remind me that a man alone cannot become a parent by himself. In the Orient, great pearls of wisdom are passed down in proverbs, like those of Confucius. In America it seems people do this by bumper stickers. I saw one the other day which said, "When God created man, she was kidding"

Actually that bumper sticker makes a good point. We haven't always been able to feel the love of our Creator, because we didn't always understand that God is both our Father and our Mother. Then, as I see it, we really are all brothers and sisters.

Even though we have only made a beginning here at this first Assembly, I believe it will lay the cornerstone for a great new beginning in world religious harmony. As I reflect on the gathering of so many religious traditions here at Great Gorge, it is very much like the gathering of many smaller river branches into one powerful central stream flowing toward the ocean. Those many branches, from every direction, are of many different lengths and volumes; they have flowed through vastly different terrains -- some smooth and serene, some rocky and torturous. But here, having overcome all obstacles, the branches come together in one great stream. Indeed, this is a natural and necessary pattern for life, whether we speak of the meeting of rivers or religious traditions -- for what hope is there if there is no point of congregation?

It is true. The coming together of our various traditions and beliefs, much like the meeting point of the branch rivers with the main stream, is full of cross currents and sometimes pretty rough water -- but that is not a bad thing, it is to be expected. In fact, the river's flow to the great ocean will be stimulated by these many currents...

For me, that great ocean, the goal of our living river, is the Kingdom of God on earth. We may call that ocean by many names but it is One, and it is our common destiny. Again, we may be challenged by the saltiness of its waters just as we may have been challenged by coming here. But beyond ourselves let us go forward in faith with what we have started here.

I would especially like to thank the Planning Committee for their great effort to organize this meeting. Would you join me in giving them a hearty round of applause?

And I would like to thank all of you for your enthusiastic participation. Shall we give ourselves a round of applause?

Finally, I would like to invite all of you to give special thanks to God who brought us here together out of such diversity. Shall we give our Creator a round of applause?

God bless you and your work. I pray for your safe return home and hope we will all meet again in 1989, if not before. 

Dialogue and Alliance

Sun Myung Moon
November 15, 1985
Assembly of the World's Religions
Founder's Address

Father speaks at the Assembly's closing banquet.

Honorable chairman, scholars, and leaders from religions around the world, and ladies and gentlemen! I welcome you from the bottom of my heart to the Assembly of the World's Religions. Our gathering here is not an ordinary event. It is itself a great accomplishment that we, from 85 countries and with such a diversity of religions, cultures, traditions, and nationalities, should come together to open our minds, to harmonize with each other, and to share our concerns about the future of humankind. I am sure that God also is delighted with this historical event.

We come from different religious backgrounds. Our answers to the fundamental problems of human existence are not identical. Our understandings of the causes of human suffering do not have the same frame of reference. Our ways of seeking world peace are diverse. But still we have a common ground: all of us try to solve problems in the context of our relations with the Ultimate.

Throughout East and West, North and South, people living in the situation of sin, disbelief and confusion have yearned for love, happiness and peace that is true and eternal. They have been making every effort to overcome the temptations of their evil desires and, by following their good desires, to find the happiness with which their original mind will rejoice. Although human experience throughout history cautions us that pursuit of such ideals is rarely successful, people's original minds are not likely to give up. All humankind irrespective of differences in peoples and traditions pursues this ultimate goal.

We Are Bound to Depend On the Absolute

If we humans are not able to fulfill such a purpose by our own effort, then we cannot but depend on the eternal, true, absolute Being beyond ourselves. We humans know that we are finite beings. Since we cannot determine our own destinies, we are bound to depend on the Absolute to whom we ascribe supreme power. We believe that since there is an Absolute being who wills true love, peace and happiness, all these things can surely be realized only with Him.

We should know more about this Absolute, the source of the ideals which humanity is seeking.

I have become familiar with the content of the spiritual world through my own spiritual experience and by deep communication with the Absolute. I have learned God's will, love and heart. Religion is not merely truth or ethical teaching, but centers on people's original impulse to find that upon which they can absolutely depend and relate with.

True religious intuition meets the Absolute and the Infinite. Through this intuition we can hear God's call for each of us. Such a state of original communion with the Absolute transcends any particular religious system or form. In such a state only do humans reach perfection and happiness. This God-human relation is one and universal. Because the Transcendental Power is one, and humanity's capacity to enter into the relationship which it offers is universal, the ultimate goal of human beings cannot be more than one. The goal of an individual is one. The goal of a family consisting of such ideal individuals is one. The goal of the ideal nation and world is one. All ways run toward God's ideal world of love, happiness and peace.

God's Motive for Creation

The ideal of love, happiness and peace is not possible for an individual in isolation. It can be found only in relationship with another. Even the Absolute Being cannot fulfill the ideal without relationship. If God is alone, who is there for God to love? In what is God to find His ideal? In this light, we can understand God's motive for creation. God created humanity in order that God might realize His ideal and fulfill His love. Only in human life in the world can God realize such ideals as love, happiness and peace.

In this sense, how precious is the original human being! Human beings are not on the same level as God. However, God and human beings are supposed to be in relationship and ultimately to become one. In other words, God and human beings are in a parent-child relationship. Just as God is eternal and absolute, human beings also become beings of absolute and eternal value as the children of God.

Furthermore, human beings are the objects for the realization of God's ideal. God's eternal and absolute will is consummated where He becomes completely one with humanity. Thus, the purpose of human life is also absolute and eternal.

God is eternal, unchangeable and absolute. God's purpose of creation was also eternal, unchangeable and absolute, and was to found one ideal world, unified with one purpose. Today's world of sin, conflict and disbelief came into being because humanity fell from the original way. God has worked through the world's religions to restore fallen humanity to its original state. The salvation of fallen humanity will be completed by God's providence through the Messiah.

The Messianic Hope

As God's purpose of creation is absolute, the purpose of God's restoration providence must also be fulfilled at any cost. Therefore, the messianic hope of an ideal world is not just a vague dream, but should become a substantial reality in our lives. Likewise, the purpose of all religions is to realize God's will in our daily life on earth. For the purpose of the whole providence, God has been broadening the foundation of goodness through many religions, each appropriate for its own age, people and environment. But the ultimate purpose of all these religions is only to realize God's will, that is, the ideal world of peace and happiness. Religions should be concerned with God's will for world salvation more than with the salvation of the individual or the welfare of their own denomination. I think that now is the time for all religious bodies together to search again for the true will of God.

As far as I know, God is not sectarian. He is not obsessed with minor details of doctrine. We should quickly liberate ourselves from theological conflict which results from blind attachment to doctrines and rituals, and instead focus on living communication with God. I think we urgently need to purify the religious atmosphere into one in which believers can have living faith and every soul can communicate with God. In God's parental Heart and His great love, there is no discrimination based on color or nationality. There are no barriers between countries or cultural traditions, between East and West, North and South. Today God is trying to embrace the whole of humankind as His children. Through inter-religious dialogue and harmony we should realize one ideal world of peace, which is God's purpose of creation and the common ideal of humankind.

God is Calling for Action

Respected representatives of the world's religions! When we take an honest look at reality today, we come to see that it is time not only for belief but for action. Why do we find such serious problems prevailing in our societies, problems including confusion in value systems, moral corruption, drug addiction, terrorism, racial discrimination, genocide, war, unjust distribution of wealth, disregard for human rights, and totalitarian communism? These vices are the natural outcome of hedonism, atheistic materialism, and secular humanism that denies the relevance of God. All these are the effects of the declining faith and spiritual exhaustion of this generation.

Who can take responsibility for today's world? Can the military or the politicians? Can businessmen or people with new technology? Never. God is asking religious leaders, today's prophets and priests, to solve these problems.

All religious people should feel responsibility for the shaky spiritual foundation of this generation and should repent. Throughout the long history of religion, we have not made a convincing witness for our living God. We have not been sincere in the practice of love. Our past hypocrisy has allowed atheism to prevail. We should feel deeply guilty about all this.

Today God is calling us. All religious people, standing on the internal foundation of deep self-reflection, should challenge the prevalence of all evils and work creatively in order to realize God's will on earth. The living God wants to relate with us not merely in the context of scriptures and rituals, but rather hopes to dwell in the hearts of people who keep God's will in their minds and live it in everyday life.

Banners of Living Faith

After long prayers and reflections on the future of the world and humankind, I have begun to feel that God's enthusiastic hope and the Holy Spirit's strong power are sweeping over the whole world. Today the world should be renewed. Religious leaders all over the world should join together and encourage a movement of purification in every religion. There should be repentance and the renewal of true commitment. The world should change. There should be a new reformation. The banners of "living faith" and "practical faith" should be waving everywhere around the world. Every religion should work beyond its own benefit to liberate the world from poverty and disease. By the practice of love and the burning conviction of faith, our witness will convince even atheists of the truth of the living God. Only through a religious and spiritual revolution bringing great harmony, love and compassion will we finally realize the ideal world of peace.

Respected representatives! In response to God's sublime call, the world's religious bodies should come out of the quagmire of hostility, misunderstanding and ignorance. With mutual respect and friendship they should build a large cooperative community of religions. Then together, we should show our religious will in action and practice everywhere on this planet.

Religion is not merely oriented to the world beyond. The earth is God's creation, and it is on this earth that God's will is to be realized. If the Kingdom of Heaven or Sukkavati is God's ideal place, we cannot go there merely by hoping. Rather we should live for, love and care for our brothers and sisters and the things of creation. It is in relationship with others that we can realize the ideal.

Uphold the Truth of Religion

Even though religion transcends ordinary social ethics and social policy, we should not ignore its functioning in society. Religious people should be concerned with actual problems and apply God's will to their practical solution. Moreover, religions should stimulate spiritual renewal and give an elevated value perspective to those in charge of politics, the economy, social programs and education. With their minds enlightened by the Spirit, these people can solve the problems in their fields. God is calling for religious people with living spirituality to uphold the truth of religion and to relate it to the situations in their societies. People who are grounded in truth and in living communication with God are bound to influence others and bring about a revival of spirituality everywhere. True religions do not follow the trends of the secular world, but, centering on God's will, should enlighten the world and lead the people, even in the face of opposition and persecution.

The movement for inter-religious harmony and unity and for living faith may go through a lonely path for some time, but it will soon receive tremendous support from many fresh- minded people who see things from a historical and global perspective.

I have been putting all of my energy into reforming the world and realizing God's ideal on earth in accordance with the direction of God's providence. I have been mobilizing the total energy of the Unification Church to work first of all for world peace through inter-religious harmony. I sincerely hope your religions also actively cooperate and join in this path, not because I want to reduce my effort or spare the financial resources of the Unification Church, but because I hope to see as early as possible a total mobilization of spiritual resources and creativity from all religious traditions in the direction of God's providence. This path will lead to the realization of the world of peace.

As you may know, the Assembly of the World's Religions is a project with historical significance. While even the secular world is seeking harmony through the United Nations and the like, should religious bodies fight each other? I have long been expecting certain leaders of the elder religions to initiate an assembly of the world's religions. After a long period of waiting, I have initiated this project, because I believe it should be done at any cost. While this meeting itself is a meaningful accomplishment, the Assembly will, I hope, become more and more significant with meeting after meeting.

I Have Three Hopes

I have three hopes for these Assemblies. First, world religious traditions should respect each other and at least work to keep in check any inter-religious conflicts and wars. Secondly, the Assembly will hopefully serve the world by becoming a cooperative community of religions. It will hopefully agree upon and make resolutions calling religious people to practical action, encouraging all people to live by God-centered values, and fostering the development of human minds and spirits. Thirdly, the Assembly should, I believe, develop into an organization in which the major leadership of all religions participate. The Assembly has to lift up the highest values and purposes of life and to offer them to all religious people, all groups, and all nations. Only in communion with the Absolute and with love for one another can individuals, groups and nations prepare for and become a part of the Kingdom of God on earth.

I hope all of you, as representatives of your religions, find spiritual unity that can be the foundation for a bright future and for a new religious reformation that can lead the world. Through presentations and discussions, during plenary sessions or in committee, in artistic performance, meditation and prayer, please respect each other's faiths and contribute as much as possible to the harmony of the whole. Let us all march forward to fulfill the world-historical mission of religions, that is -- the realization of God's will on earth.

I thank all members of the Planning Committee for their efforts in planning and preparation and all the staff serving the Assembly's practical needs for their hard work.

May God bless this historical conference and each of you representatives. 

Reflecting on the Last 40 Years

Sun Myung Moon
November 13, 1985
Excerpts
Leaders' Conference
World Mission Center
Translator: Bo Hi Pak

The dispensation of God is based on the restoration and salvation of the fallen world. This has been God's goal. He established a plan, and step by step the dispensational goal has been pursued throughout history. God does not want to demolish everything and start out from scratch. His plan is to restore or recreate existing things. In order to understand the meaning of the dispensation of recreation, you must first understand the ideal of creation.

God and man both have to undertake the ideal of creation. What is the central theme of that ideal? The central theme is love. Love is the center of God and the center of man.

However, love cannot be fulfilled all by itself. Love requires an object. God created mankind as His object of love. Through the laws of nature, which are God's laws, man gradually evolved and developed into the ultimate creation. Even though God is almighty, He could not take the creation of mankind lightly, because men and women were created to be the ultimate object of God. God poured every ounce of His energy, blood, and sweat, and every bit of His integrity and sincerity and know-how into creating the best, the finest, the most supreme being as His object.

When we look at our surroundings, we always find the pair system. The universal prime force always expels anything that does not create a pair. In order for something to continue to exist, it must be in the process of either making a pair or maintaining the pair. Through the subject and object relationship within the pair system comes the fulfillment of the ideal of creation. It is the ultimate relationship.

As you know, sometimes evil flourishes. How does it do that? Through the same principle of a subject and object relationship. When an evil subject and object have give and take for an evil purpose, evil will multiply. However, evil give and take always reaches a limit; a point will be reached at which an evil subject will no longer find its object.

Evil Will Eventually Subside

Therefore, evil will subside. But goodness continues all the way to the end. This is the difference between good and evil. Evil is temporary and goodness is permanent.

The Unification Church has discovered this principle; therefore, we can observe and judge society by this principle. We can see clearly whether something will continue to prosper or be destroyed. We can tell this by looking at the quality or the direction of give and take between the subject and object.

Suppose all of a sudden I appeared in a bar. As a religious leader I would not, of course, condone the activities taking place there. That does not mean that because of my religious convictions I would just start smashing everything into pieces and kicking everybody out of the bar. That's not what I would do. Instead, I would use the law of subject and object. I would create a more attractive substitute for the people in the bar and gradually divert their attention and ultimately their purpose from evil to goodness.

An evil person can change by coming in contact with either a good object or a good subject. In this way, a person's purpose can be changed from evil to good.

By using this principle, the Unification Church has prospered. By observing people in the society we can find ways to use this principle to teach others how to prosper. The Unification Church's history is a good example of how this principle can be applied for the sake of God's providence.

For example, True Parents represent God in the absolute subject position. I am engaged in looking for an object. When I find an object, I pour all my energy, all my sincerity, all my trust -- everything -- into the object. By doing so, that object has to be united with the subject. Thus prosperity will occur. This is the process of recreation. I do not try to convert anybody to my way. I am always centered upon the ideal of creation, and the heart of God. The heart of God and the ideal of creation are always the central themes. I am trying to bring the whole environment into the ideal of unity. By doing this, one harmonious world centered upon the heart of God will be created.

As much as God poured every ounce of energy into His creation, particularly into human beings, we, as subject, must pour out every ounce of energy, every drop of blood, and every bit of our sincerity in order to win our object. We use the same process, the same principle. And we get the same results. This is how God created the world; this is how we recreate the world.

Unity Has Been Created

I want you to understand that by 1977, my ordeal in the United States was virtually over. However, in order to hasten the restoration of America and the free world, I willingly went another step to suffer a trial and a jail term. Through four generations of U.S. presidents I constantly confronted the United States. If I had failed this, I would have lost the United States. By my victory at Danbury, unity has been created between the United States and Christianity, and the base for unifying the free world has been laid. On a physical, substantial basis, the restoration of Christianity on the level of the nation has been established.

During my crucifixion period in Danbury, 7000 ministers heard the CAUSA message. Those 7000 represent those who, at the time of Elijah, did not bow down and worship Baal. At the time of Jesus, there were nowhere near 7000 people supporting Jesus. If there had been, Jesus' life would not have ended in crucifixion. He would have marched toward the Roman Empire, conquered Rome, and fulfilled his mission at that time. Because of the crucifixion, I had to restore the foundation for national level restoration while serving in Danbury.

However, I am now on the worldwide level of the dispensation. Therefore I want to reach 70,000 ministers with the CAUSA message, which will symbolically represent over 120 nations of the world. Upon the resurrection of Jesus 120 disciples went out to preach the gospel to the world. Now, 2000 years later, I am physically restoring 70 nations. Now that physical restoration is possible, all the nations of the world are in a position to welcome me.

This is really the final stage of the dispensation, because the ministers represent the Abel-type people of the universe. Therefore, when they go out to win the Cain-type people of 120 different countries, the world will be completely restored.

Seventy thousand ministers multiplied by their wives, their children, their friends, and their associates will eventually number 600,000 people. This is an incredible foundation. We will transform this nation into the land of Canaan by reaching out to 600,000 people. The realm of the heart of God has to be established. That is the ultimate goal. It starts out from the individual and goes to the family, the tribe, the nation, and the world.

I have loved America more than any president in its entire history. I sacrificed more for the sake of America and shed more blood, sweat, and tears for the sake of America than any of its leaders. By doing so, I have put myself in a position of subject -- not just the contemporary subject but the historical subject. All the presidents and the leaders of this country in the past and the present should feel like bowing down in front of Rev. Moon.

Many people might say, "Well, Rev. Moon, that is your interpretation. How do we know that?"

I tell them, "By investing all my heart and soul for the betterment of America from the position of America's enemy, I demonstrated visibly how much I truly care for and love this country: I invested an incredible amount of resources, energy, and effort for the benefit of the leadership of this country. I founded organizations without which this nation could not be restored. Danbury, therefore, has become a visible manifestation that, when America tried to destroy me as its enemy, instead of taking revenge, I loved America.

Father and Mother prepare to cut their celebration cake on True Parents' Birthday, February 14, 1986.

The Power of God Intervened

The enemies of Rev. Moon and the Unification Church were absolutely determined to totally destroy me and the Unification Church. They half succeeded in a way, but then the power of God intervened. The power of God transformed that humiliation into victory, turned that crucifixion into a resurrection. That was the power of God. No one could even imagine that such a power of God would come to intervene!

America's "enemy" was put into Danbury, but I came out resurrected. In a way, my victory created the birth of a new movement, in which everything that was lost was regained and multiplied. It was also like a new birth of the nation. The base for the leadership that will transform the entire world was founded in Danbury.

Now I can say this: When the president of the United States is centered on God, and the senators and congressmen are centered on God, this country will be able to stand up straight and forge ahead into the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. That is the concept of the Divine Principle. It is a correct concept, don't you think?

This is the indemnity process for the sake of recreating the ideal. It is the restoration of the heart of God. It is the path of the dispensation I have walked during these past 40 years. Have you walked that path? Have you passed through the eight stages of restoration? Since you failed to go through the eight stages of restoration, I myself, in the elder son's position, paid all the indemnity for you, in order to restore the elder son's birthright, so that the classic struggle between Cain and Abel could be restored. Upon the victory at Danbury we can move on now.

The political parties in this country, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, are always fighting like cats and dogs, in a classic Cain and Abel struggle among themselves. I am in the position to represent the true Abel to both the Democrats and the Republicans. Abel will restore the elder sonship in front of both political parties. Do you think God is working only through the Republican Party? Or only through the Democratic Party? No. God has to work through a new entity as the elder brother to both parties.

How Can You Take Rest?

I don't even consider whether you are Korean or Japanese or American. It doesn't make any difference to me. I consider only one thing -- how we can achieve our goal of unity. The entire strength of the Unification Church around the world shall be mobilized for this goal. Do you realize how serious I am? How can you take rest? How can you take time to relax? From now you have to assume responsibility for the world providence.

We have to make an absolute commitment here and move forward. This is the final stage. From the historical point of view, the dispensational point of view, the American point of view, the international point of view, communism's point of view, morality's point of view, Christianity's point of view -- from every point of view -- we are at the final stage, the conclusive stage. All phenomena show that the world is decaying, and there's only one new life force emerging. This is the Unification movement -- the new life blood.

I came from nothing, and I have been fighting every step of the way to reach the final goal. From now on I am urging you to do exactly the same. If you cannot do it, then you have no real reason to live. You might as well be dead. Do you want to inherit my mission and do God's will?

This is our mission and our purpose. That's why we are gathered together here. How can you sleep? This is an emergency. Some might say, "Well, it might not work:' Have you tried? If you try and it does not work, then you have done your role, and you have obeyed me. If results still do not come, I will take responsibility from that point on. But if you neglect your duty, I cannot take responsibility. Do you follow? Just determine yourself to go through your own Danbury 10 times. With that kind of commitment you will succeed.

Because of the dispensational failure, I had to go to Danbury myself. That fact brings shame to America, to Japan, to the Korean leaders, and to all of those people who did not fulfill their responsibility. Knowing that, how can you sleep at night?

I went to Danbury to pay for all the providential failures. When I went to Danbury I earned a great victory, a great treasure. You must not abandon this treasure.

Know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Those who really listen to me and know my meaning shall be liberated. I am determined that American Christianity and the American government shall be guided by God's will. Our foundation is very small, but the foundation of all Christianity is much greater. This is why American Christianity is so important.

This this is the final hill we are crossing over. The destiny of the world is at stake. I have committed everything I have for this cause, every ounce of energy, including the Unification Church. How can you members of the Unification Church just try to hoard your money, saying, "What about my family? What about my apartment? What about my bank account?" There's no time for that. No matter what the sacrifice may be, we must bring out the resources that will support the next three years of the dispensational goal in the United States.

Throw Everything You Have Into It

Even if you must throw everything you have into your investment so that you become a naked body, you have to do it. In a way, we must become naked. After all, Adam and Eve didn't have clothes to wear. So if you really want to return to the Garden of Eden, you should be willing to go naked. Throw everything you have into it. Then God will restore what you need. If the Kingdom of God is built by naked bodies, do you think God will punish us? No! God will be absolutely inspired.

Try to imagine the heart of God, who created everything for the sake of joy. Ever since the creation, for all these thousands of years, God has never tasted one ounce of joy, nothing but broken heartedness. Since the beginning, the work of restoration has been stalled, stagnating. Then finally, for the first time, God found His chance and opportunity. He was overjoyed that the many thousands of years of grief and His broken heartedness could be remedied. The era of the True Parents is one chance in a million. So when God is looking down at this situation, how desperate He is for us to succeed!

After World War II God gave America a great opportunity to reach out to the world. When America and Christianity failed to respond to this opportunity, the heart of God was broken again. I started out once more from nothing, and in 40 years I had to reconstruct the foundation for the second time. Now the second chance to restore the world has arrived. We cannot miss this chance.

I had to restore many thousands of years of wrongdoing in 40 years. But that was my destiny. To accomplish this, God pushed me ruthlessly. It has been an incredible 40 years.

August 20, 1985 was the exact end of the 40 years. I have been the flag bearer all this time -- one lonely, frontline soldier. Nobody knows my heart. When those 40 years were over, when the month of August came, do you know how much I felt the overwhelming weight of those 40 years -- the grief as well as the hope?

In 1945 liberation came to Korea. But that nation was in incredible chaos and turmoil. Now, even though Korea is independent, it is still at the same historical point -- it is so fragile and chaotic and confused that the people don't know where to go. I will go very soon to Korea to bring the ideal that God intended to bring to that country 40 years ago.

Korea is the father country, and the elder brother country is Israel. The United States must restore these two nations. If America leaves Korea, or even offends Korea, then the United States will plunge down into the dungeons of hell. In the same way the United States cannot abandon Israel. President Carter tried to abandon Korea. Because of this he did not serve a second term. Any government official who tries to hurt or abandon Korea cannot be tolerated in the sight of God.

The True Family holds pledge service on the morning of True Parents' Birthday in the large hall at Han Nam Dong, Seoul, Korea.

The Unity of the Family

When we speak of unification we mean all levels of unification -- between mind and body, between parents and children, between husband and wife, and between brothers and sisters. The core of unification is the family. When family unification is not accomplished, nothing else can be accomplished.

In recreating the family, the important thing to remember is the original mind of creation, the original heart of creation. What kind of family did God intend to create? A family that could represent the ultimate center. In 1960 the True Parents emerged into the world for the first time. Then the first true family, the subject family, was born. By having give and take with that family, other families could come together surrounding the True Parents, creating tribes.

For 40 years I have been concentrating on the eight levels of the restoration of the family, based upon the heart of God. Because after all, the fall of man represents the breakdown of the family. The family has been infiltrated and destroyed by evil. Restoring the family to the heavenly standard must be accomplished through eight different stages. This is the essence of my accomplishment during these past 40 years.

If you are a church leader, how can you stand at the pulpit and lead others when there is discord and disharmony going on in your own family? When the church is not united, how can you expect the nation to become united? The same principle applies everywhere. God knows. You cannot deceive God.

When you fight with your spouse and then you look at your children, don't you feel sorry? Your children are looking forward to being children of harmonious parents, but when you suddenly discover that you are not harmonious parents, you feel ashamed in front of your children. When the husband and wife are not united, that is a very shameful position.

Those husbands and wives present -- if any one of you has ever had a fight with your spouse, raise your hands please. [Only two or three people raise their hands.] Not even one fight? I am talking about the past. If you raise your hands and confess in front of me, then you will be forgiven at this moment. Those who wish to be forgiven, those of you who have had fights with your spouse, raise your hands please. [Everybody raises his hand.] Amazing! From now on, you will have no more fights? Then you're forgiven.

So from now on, husband and wife should walk together hand in hand. Even when you go to the bathroom, you should take your spouse with you. At East Garden before I come downstairs I always wait for Mother and we come down the staircase hand in hand. You should do this too.

Between husband and wife, whoever initiates a fight is the villain. The person who is not responsible for starting a fight should be the first one to admit that he was. That makes the other person very uncomfortable; it makes his conscience hurt. Between you and your spouse, you know who is right or wrong.

A fight never starts with the fists; it always starts out with words. So as soon as you see that a fight is starting, whoever notices it first should raise his hand. That means armistice -- time to make an agreement. The other person should also raise his hand. In other words, you should make a treaty between yourselves -- a promise that, when you feel you are doing or saying something wrong, you will raise your hand. Between a husband and wife there should be some competition going. Each one promises, "Next time I'm going to raise my hand first" You should want to control your fighting with this kind of agreement, this kind of covenant.

We are living in a new age, a different time. The evil forces which have always taken the upper hand are going down, and the good forces are coming up. A turning point has been made. The person who follows one very clear channel of command will receive a blessing.

This morning as we are gathered together, we declare and pledge that this day is a historical event, a turning point of history. This is the axis of history. Because of you, history will begin to turn. You are the axis.

Even though I am living in the United States, I am not an American citizen. You should also feel that you are heavenly citizens, not just citizens of the United States. This country is committing incredible crimes in the sight of God. God does not want you to be citizens of a criminal nation. You belong to God; you are God's people.

So far, you have been complaining about everything. From now on I'm not going to accept any more complaints. As the Bible predicts, the first shall be last and the last shall be first. That era has arrived. If you complain, no matter how much you are trying to advance, you will remain behind. I have gone through very extraordinary experiences here in this country. If you are always complaining, how can I trust that you will follow me when I am in Korea? If you just keep complaining, you will not make any headway.

The International Era Is Coming

By 1990, from the standpoint of God, the national level of the providence will be over; the national level will be transcended. It will be time to use the standard international language -- Korean. Eventually, your national language will be considered a dialect.

When 1990 comes, you must not complain that you don't know Korean, because I have warned you way in advance. You have had sufficient time to prepare. The international children who are attending the Little Angels School right now may be attending our international conferences, because they will be completely fluent in Korean by then. The second generation will be able to understand me.

You don't take me seriously, but wait and see. You have the time to eat three meals a day, but you say you have no time to study Korean. Any national leader who has a language deficiency won't be allowed to come to my conferences. I will not send him any IW's in my name. I will not listen to any reports from that country. If I deal with such a country, it's almost like admitting that within the Garden of Eden there are two nations. That kind of situation cannot be tolerated,

By the time I am 80 years old, preparations for a complete international foundation will be accomplished, and those who do not understand the heavenly standard language will not have any important duties within the Unification Church. It is that serious.

How incredibly disturbing this language barrier is! There's only one book needed to teach the truth, but because of our language problem we have to translate this book into many dozens of languages. What a waste! If we had one language from the North Pole to the South Pole, we could have one Divine Principle printed up, and everybody could read it.

Never before has there been a person to unite all the languages until I came, and there will never be another one after me, because I brought in the era of the True Parents. The world's people shall become True Parents' children. So everyone is obligated to learn the mother tongue. That's the only way the language problem can be solved. There's no other way except through the True Parents.

I must accomplish this task before my life here on earth is over. This is one of the greatest tasks I must fulfill within my lifetime. From the point of view of the Principle this is the greatest accomplishment in all history.

You should feel that you are a POW right now. Satan has made a prisoner out of you. He took you to Germany and made a German out of you. Or he took you to Italy and made an Italian out of you. Or he took you to Japan and made a Japanese out of you. You are a POW of Satan. You've got to be liberated and come back to your home country, your homeland. In order to do that, you must learn the language of the homeland. Unless you learn the mother tongue, you will not be registered into heaven. Your registration will not be accepted unless it has been written by you in Korean.

One Language Centered Upon God

By the year 2000, unless we create one unified linguistic and cultural sphere, the world will not have any hope. You pledge every Sunday morning in paragraph five: "I am proud of the one language and culture centered upon God' "One language" is mentioned in that paragraph as the fourth thing to be proud of. It is mentioned even before the lineage, before the heart of God, because without language, you have no heart. Without language you are incapable of creating a new lineage. This is the Principle secret, if you are children of the True Parents, then you must inherit the True Parents' language.

If you had been really serious about understanding the contents of the pledge, then you would have asked me, "Why is one language and culture so important, Father? Why is it mentioned fourth in that paragraph, instead of last?" Nobody ever asked me. But you have pledged it.

In America I can trust you and guide you in a certain direction because I know your language. If I were totally ignorant of your language and culture, then I would not be safe here. All kinds of deceitful transactions could take place right under my nose. You could be saying in front of me, "Father is a problem-maker. He's giving us so much trouble. So let's bury him alive. That'll take care of him." But you cannot do it because my eyes are wide open, my ears are wide open. I know what you are saying. Besides, I also have spiritual antennae!

If you came to Korea, you wouldn't understand what the Korean people were saying. They might be talking about you: "I don't like those big-nosed guys. I'd like to bury them alive." You wouldn't know anything, so you would just smile and say, "Oh, thank you, thank you" You see? The same kind of situation could happen to me. So learning a language is part of the desperate struggle to survive. Do you follow?

You know very clearly what needs to be done. All the Korean leaders are responsible for teaching Korean. In all 50 states, in every country, we need to have language teachers. Utilize a Korean resident in your state and invite him or her to be a teacher. We have plenty of teachers available in this country and we have no reason not to use them.

This is a time for crossing the Jordan River and entering Canaan. True Father is in the position of Moses. Each one of us is to become a true Cain of Moses. Cain does not follow his own will. This is the time to obey my instructions literally. If you don't obey, you will suffer the consequences. Not only you but your children as well.

You must be serious about my word. After attending a meeting with me, you Americans have a tendency to gather together and interpret my words in your own way. But you must take my words at their face value and go home and practice them exactly as they were spoken. Don't try to get together and analyze my words among you. When you meet together you might say to each other, "But I think Father is saying this, don't you think so?" In that way Satan can come in.

Why is Japan flourishing? Because the Japanese leaders always videotape my speeches and record my exact words. As soon as they get back to Japan, they send the videotapes throughout the country, so that all the members in Japan hear my exact instructions. This is why spirit world is working so strongly with Japan.

I am asking you to record my actual words. You should not compromise my word. The spirit world is not helping the American churches and the American church is not flourishing because of this tendency.

No More Room for Flexibility

If you know anybody who comes to hear my words and goes back and tries to compromise my teaching, who tries to do something different from your understanding of me, or who tries to disseminate his own interpretation, don't even deal with that person. The Israelites in the Old Testament also interpreted God's words in their own way. They had many different opinions. This is how the Israelites became divided. The situation required that God give them the Ten Commandments, very carefully defined and spelled out, so there could be no confusion about the law.

The Israelites were becoming too flexible about God's word. By giving them the Ten Commandments, God put them in a position to be judged directly. After receiving them, they had no choice but to follow the Ten Commandments or perish. And many people perished. There was no more room for flexibility.

Actually, the law was to have been given after they entered into the land of Canaan. It was to have been the law of the established kingdom, God's Kingdom. But because of the disobedience of the Israelites, because they interpreted God's word in their own way, God had no choice but to confront them as soon as possible with the Ten Commandments.

So you must listen to my words and take them at face value, without adding or subtracting even one iota.

The Heavenly Kingdom's constitution will appear through whom? Through Bo Hi Pak? Through you? When you are following me on the way to the land of Canaan, in the process of reaching the land of Canaan, you must value my words as much as you would value the constitution of the Heavenly Kingdom. Without listening to me, there is no way you can help but be a prey of Satan.

Let's say ten people are listening to me. Ten people are listening to the same words. How could those ten people come out and talk about ten different things? Unless you take my word seriously, even though you may be working very hard and even though you may momentarily flourish, the seed you are sowing will not be a true seed. When you sow, the grain and the weed look the same. But when the time comes for the fruit to appear, you can see the difference. One type of seed comes out as a grain and the other comes out as a weed.

So if you plant a seed that is not my word, people may come to you, but they will disappear like the morning dew. The true seed comes from God through the True Parents. The seed does not come through Dr. Durst or the regional directors. I think that much you should understand. The Principle comes from a firm foundation, not from expedience.

The Principle is not actually my own word, my own idea. It comes from God. Therefore, I am bound by the Principle and I suffer according to the Principle. If this were my own word, I would have made it convenient so that I would not have to suffer. If I had been doing any arbitrary thing on my own will, these 40 years of the dispensation would have been wasted. They would not have brought any fruit. I would have been destroyed in Danbury.

My position is like that of an ambassador of God. If an ambassador representing a sovereign nation comes to the United States, he speaks of behalf of his own country. He does not speak his own word; he speaks for his government. He would make a big mistake if he tried to speak out or act in a way that was expedient for his own sake, for his own safety. He might very well betray his own country. Am I not correct?

Father and Mother in the Sol Ak Mountains in Korea.

I Won't Let You Settle Down

You are my messengers, my ambassadors. You are going to sow exactly the seed I have given you and then you will reap the harvest. God does not want the crops to come out of your own seed. God wants the crops to come out of the Father's seed. A prepared people does not want your seed. This is extremely important to understand.

My goal is to save America. My goal is to set the tradition in America. Otherwise, America will go in an entirely wrong direction; it will decline, crumble. I am being deliberately harsh on you today. Do you know why? The reason is so that the United States of America will survive, so that you will survive. The time has come for the Unification Church persecution to be over. When persecution ceases, you will decline unless you have some new challenge. Unless you make a new dedication, a new commitment, and new sacrifices, you will 'perish. This is why I am deliberately scolding you.

The people of the Roman Empire 2000 years ago became quite prosperous. They thought their prosperity was for their own enjoyment; they just wanted to eat and drink and have pleasure. They became very selfish and immoral. God did not bless the Roman Empire for that. The mission of the Roman Empire was to receive Jesus and save the world. Today, Americans think that their blessings are just for the American people. They eat and drink and have fun and are becoming very immoral, but the reason God blessed America was so that the people could accept Father and save the world.

The persecution period of the Unification Church is coming to an end, but not because God wants you to have an easy time and settle down now. No. God wants you to be effective to go out and save America and the world. If you don't do that, then I will push you out. Nobody will persecute you except me. I will persecute you in order to preserve your salvation. I may even push you out to Africa or South America. I won't let you settle down.

This is, in a way, a historical pattern. I know this pattern very well. The time has come for the Unification Church to be accepted. This is the time when our vitality shall be renewed. Our sacrificial spirit shall be rekindled. And with that spirit, we can gratefully go to Africa, South America, anywhere, even to the most backward countries. The United States will never perish if its people sacrificially sell their land, their jewelry, and their fortunes, and go out to save the rest of the world. When America moves in an altruistic manner, living for the sake of others, this country will never perish.

So for that reason, you should prepare yourselves to go out to a foreign country. Do my words convince you? I do not want you to perish. I would like you to be prosperous. For that reason, I am giving you a hard time. That's the way of true love. Do you feel good? In a way, this is a cleansing period. I am chopping you down to cleanse you. This is the only way you can be forgiven. I am paying indemnity on your behalf. By this small amount of dispensational scolding you are taking, I am cleansing your sins.

If you go the hard path, the world will bow down to you. If you are humble before God and True Parents, and are willing to go out sacrificially to the world, then the world will come under you, and bow down to you. 

The Way of the Children

Sun Myung Moon
November 12, 1985
Excerpts
Children's Day
World Mission Center

Are the people in the world of the same kind or different kinds? The question is simple, but there is no easy answer. It is very difficult to answer, as a matter of fact. Let's take a sparrow. Is there only one kind of sparrow or are there many different kinds? What is the language of sparrows in different countries? Do they speak the same language? There are many kinds of cows in different parts of the world; sometimes they come in different colors. Do they moo in the same language or in different languages? What about this man [Dr. Pak] standing beside me? Why he is standing there? In the original world, is it natural to have an interpreter beside you, or to speak directly? I do not bring out this man because I like to but because I have to.

So as you can see, there is a problem in our world today. If all people speak only one language, there would have been far fewer wars, far fewer problems, and much less crime, on all levels.

Do you think that in the beginning there were many pairs of human ancestors or only one pair? Why should there be one pair? Why couldn't there be 100 or 1000 pairs? Of something that is absolute, something that is the best, there can be only one--there cannot be two. God created all things, but He created one thing that was supreme, the very best. Could He have been thinking of many things that were the best? If the Supreme Being desired to have some very perfect, very absolute, very supreme creation, there could be only one. What do you think the Supreme Being desires most? God has been thinking of only one thing. God desires true love.

When you talk about true love, it always denotes two parties. You cannot impart love all by yourself. In order to engender love, God has to have an object. What kind of object has God been thinking about?

A True Man Must Resemble God

Has God been thinking about the world's tallest mountain as the object to fulfill His love? Would He consider a beautiful bird as His best object because it can sing and fly? No. He desires a true man. What is the definition of a true man? Instead of two clumsy eyes does a true man have one eye on top of his nose? Does a true man have two extra shoulders? That would be mighty powerful -- instead of two arms, he could have four arms. No. A true man must be the very object God is most fond of. God likes Himself very much; therefore, in order to be liked by God, that person must resemble God himself.

So, whether we are men or women, whom do we take after? [God] Well then, is God more like a man or more like a woman? God bears a resemblance to both. Do they have the same or different features? If they are two different kinds of beings, are they trying to get away from each other, or do they start from opposite ends and try to come together? If they are supposed to come together, when should they do that? When they are crawling babies? When they are little boys and girls? Man and woman can be truly united only when the mind and body come together.

When men and women grow to a certain age, there is an outburst of love; they come to understand, to feel, and to want love. Why do they want to be united? The reason is simple, but very important. A man or a woman individually cannot be a total entity of God. He or she is only half of God. So in order to create the total image of God, men and women have to come together. In a way, a man is trying to penetrate his spouse and come out on the other side. A woman wants to do that too. Each wants to penetrate the other, and be united.

God has two eyes but one focus. When men and women become united, they converge into one focal point. When they are focused upon total unity, then God can come and dwell within them. God will embrace them, saying, "Indeed, you are My image. You are My perfect image. I take delight and joy in your' In that way there is total unity.

God Dwells Within Men and Women Together

To whom does love belong? Love belongs to God, man, and woman. When men and women are united, a horizontal unity of love is created, which allows them both to be vertically united with God. Otherwise, if God came down to only men, the women would complain. If God came down to only women, the men would complain. God doesn't want to be unfair.

Love is eternal, permanent. Permanent love must have a storehouse. Love's storehouse is within men and women. But love does not actually exist within a man, or within a woman, but in between them and surrounding them. Both must possess it together. That is the ultimate reason why God created a difference between men and women. God created that difference so that love could bring men and women together horizontally in oneness with God, and so that the dwelling of God in humankind would become absolutely permanent. That is the ideal of creation.

Today, particularly in America, love has become a fun thing. Women go hopping around from one man to another -- another night, another person. They think that's the way their happiness can be fulfilled. Do people like that deserve to be part of humankind? There is a basic moral principle of love, but the world is dropping down from that principle to the standard of animals. The Unification Church has reestablished the moral principle of human love. Even if the Principle were merely a hypothesis, we would still accept it, because there is no other way we can rationally explain the purpose of creation. how glad we are to have such a Principle, to accept it and to live it!

Where did you come from? How were born? The important thing is whether you are the fruit of just fun love, or the fruit of I serious, true love. That is the key question. It is a tragedy if one is born as the byproduct of promiscuous, fun love.

The Department of True Love

Let's say you want to become a university student and you want to take a special major. If there were something like a department of true love, wouldn't you want to apply? You are, in a way, enrolled in the department of true love. You experience many ups and downs. Some people get tired, and some people flunk out, but those who try to succeed in the true love department are called Moonies. So you are attending True Love University, right? True Love University and the true love department offer probably the most difficult courses you can ever imagine. But they are the most worthwhile, aren't they? Even if you lose a leg or an arm, you will still want to continue. Even if you become just a stump, you will still want to graduate from the true love department. Today you are listening to the college president, coming out and preaching to you the true love theory.

What we are talking about is an absolute standard of love. There is no room for discussion or negotiation. If other scholars have special opinions, it doesn't make any difference; the true love principle has no compromise. Suppose you are a truly loving husband and wife, sitting down and loving each other. Do you want to have a third party come in and start up a discussion with you about the depths of your love? No. You want to keep the love between you as a husband-and-wife matter. You don't want to decide true love matters in a democratic forum.

[Father draws on the blackboard.] This is a true love tree, with many branches. Some branches reach all the way across the world, yet they are still part of the true love tree. There is just one root system; therefore the quality is the same. All the energy coming out of the roots goes to provide energy to every leaf and every branch in that tree, and vice versa. They can have give and take in that way. That is true love. True love has many flowers, many branches, and many leaves. All men were supposed to be born upon this true love family tree, but they were not. That is the tragedy of all tragedies.

True Love is the Common Denominator

From this true love root, as the branch goes to the west, it becomes white people; as it goes to the east, it become. yellow people; to the south, it becomes black people; to the north, it becomes Eskimos. That's how the human family was supposed to come from the same root. They were to be completely immersed and completely attached within the one most important institution God created: the family. The family is the building block. When you look at the love between husband and wife, between parents and children, and between brothers and sisters, are they supposed to be different in the white family, the black family, and the yellow family? No. Different colors are supposed to have the same love. What is the common denominator, the common bond to bring them all together? True love is that common denominator.

Whether you live well or live poorly depends on how close you are to the central principle of love. That is the measure of your happiness. Happiness or unhappiness cannot be determined by how much money you have, but by the purity of your exercise of love. Between a husband and wife, if there is another person involved, one of them must be unhappy. How inconvenient a marriage would be if the husband called a different woman every night and said: "Oh, hello. I need you tonight!' How happy would that couple be? But with purity between husband and wife, their love is preserved; that is the happy family.

In the Unification Church the marriage principle is absolute. Once you're blessed, that goes for eternity. Your couple shall be preserved as a true family coming out of one central root. I know it is not easy in many cases. But no matter how difficult it may be, would you like to pursue Father's way of life, or would you rather be like a butterfly, shopping around for your love? What do you think? Father's way or the butterfly way? We follow Father's way because that's the way we can be connected to God; that's the way we can possess God's absolute love. Once we possess God Himself, we possess the universe, we possess everything. Centering on true love we can even control God. How much happiness that will bring!

Rev. Moon is a smart man: If there were an easy way, a fun way, a convenient way, I would have gone that route a long time ago. But there is no such way. Therefore, I have been investing my entire life living and propagating this way of love. Do you think Mother is a happy woman? Is Father a happy man? Why? Because Father and Mother are united, centered upon God's love, which is absolute. From here, we can know what the concept of True Parents is all about.

Centering upon this absolute love of God, the first man and the first woman were to become absolutely united in love and become a father and mother, actualizing' the concept of True Parents. Humanity was supposed to have started from true parents. This is Children's Day; but if you do not know the concept and definition of True Parents, you have no way to know the definition of true children.

Kwon Jin Nim Moon, Sun Jin Nim Moon, and one of the blessed children offer a song on Children's Day 1985, at the evening entertainment in the Manhattan Center, New York.

The Process of Engrafting

What kind of children are you? We come to the Unification Church in order to become true children. The whole of fallen mankind was born into the fallen lineage. Therefore, in order to transfer our lineage to become true children, we have to be engrafted into the true love tree, which is the tree of the True Parents. There's no other way you can truly change your lineage, except by going through the engrafting process.

In order to engraft one tree into another what is the first action to be taken? Should we start with the branches? No. First we must cut the root area. Then we have to get a section of a true root from the "true olive tree' That's the Messiah. Unless the Messiah, the true olive tree, comes, no engrafting process is possible.

The end of the world is the age of the coming of the Messiah. That is when the engrafting process becomes possible. In the whole wild olive tree farm, there will be a cutting process -- all the roots will be cut and cut and cut. As you know, God has everything operating on a timetable. Until the true olive tree is ready, God will not start cutting the wild olive trees. But at the end of the world, both phenomena will occur at the same time: the preparation of the true olive tree and the cutting of the wild olive trees.

What is the Unification Church, then? The Unification Church is a branch of the true olive tree; it represents the true olive tree. Therefore, when the Unification Church is ready, under the husbandry of God, it will bloom and spread around the world. Then the grafting process will take place on every level: society, nation, and world. Accordingly, God is coming down on all levels today, shaking society up. Now, at the end of the world, all the pessimistic outcries of the dying democratic world, the dying communist world, and the dying religious world, give way to cries for life, the battle-cry of those who are ready to live. The engrafting process has been prepared. The wild olive trees have been cut. The Unification Church, shouting out with life, is the true olive tree. It is our responsibility and mission to go out now into the world so that we can engraft ourselves onto the roots of the wild olive trees.

If at least two thirds of a tree remains after being cut, the tree can still live; it can still get nourishment from its roots. But if 50 percent is cut, the tree will die. So before the trees die, the true branches must be engrafted into them. This is will I am busy sending out branches to South America, Central America, Africa, Europe, Asia, all over the place. The missionaries may complain: "Oh Father, we are helpless, and you send us out into this remote country all alone?" But the branch has to be, in a sense, autonomous. You must go out and find the root and engraft the branch yourself. Throughout the entire world, there is a craving for true olive tree branches. We are the only ones who have the branches they need. Before they die, we have to engraft ourselves into their root firmly, to give them life.

This is the time. Therefore, I have declared an emergency in the Unification movement. This is the time for the wife to go out to the world with more love than she has for her own husband, and to love other children, embracing them and giving them life. And the husband will do the same. We must become the most loving parents, the very best. Instead of embracing our own children, our arms should reach out to many generations in many nations. Unification families must reach out to families of five different colors of skin, and let them have life through you, connected to the same root of True Parents.

The nourishment of the tree will be distributed fairly. The place where there are more roots, more leaves, and more activity will pull more nourishment to it. But no nourishment will be drawn by the inactive place where nothing is happening. The love of God always flows toward the place where there is more activity, more result. This is a law of nature.

East and West Must Flourish Together

The branch goes up toward the clear, blue sky, toward the beautiful sunshine. The root, on the other hand, goes down deeper and deeper to a much dirtier place, to get more nourishment. In that way they coexist. When you move the root from one place to another, the branch will also be moved; they flourish together. So there is a certain affinity between the branches and the root; the root can communicate with the branches, and the branches can communicate with the root.

The people who shall eventually govern the world are the people who, like the branches reaching out into the blue sky, have the highest ideals, but who at the same time, like the roots, strive to dig down deeper into the dirty, dark places. If both characteristics are found in one race, that particular race will flourish. Western civilization is something like the branches, growing higher and higher towards the sky and sunshine. Oriental culture is like the root, digging down deeper and deeper, trying to gain deeper meaning and more nourishment. These opposites characterize Western and Eastern civilizations.

So far, Western civilization has been rather boastful and arrogant, looking down on the Orientals: "Look how dirty they are, how clumsy and backward!' But then you must realize that Oriental culture has depth and energizing quality, and is therefore long-lasting; it will survive, it will flourish. A branch cannot create its own root, but in Oriental civilization there is always the opportunity to make new branches, and to grow; the root has that power.

Today, the West has a tremendous interest in Japan, which is a symbol of Asia. The West is studying what Japan does, hoping to discover the secret of its success, trying to learn precision from Japan. This is, in a way, a survival action by Western civilization.

My order to the Japanese members is this: You must not become Americanized Japanese. The American people must themselves become Orientalized. I am not speaking from prejudice. I am speaking out of a certain destiny, out of a providential thrust. East and West are supposed to work together in harmony, like branches and roots, and when they come together both must survive.

Develop a New Unity With True Parents

Today I am speaking with exceptional and extraordinary purpose and meaning, because this celebration of Children's Day is the first Unification Church celebration after my victory in Danbury. Therefore, beginning from the president of the church, and extending to all the members of the Unification Church, we must renew ourselves today, making a new commitment, grasping a new understanding of Father, and developing a new unity with the True Parents.

We are indeed privileged that we all belong to True Parents. True Parents are our root, the roots of love. With this privilege there is no limit to what we can do; we can move forward and truly fulfill our task of engrafting the whole world onto the true root and creating a new, moral, God-centered world.

In this respect, in our movement the Korean language and culture has become very important. Its significance will soon be recognized all over the world. Why should we learn Korean? God contacted true love through one certain point on earth, and that is the land of Korea. God planted true love upon the earth in that land through the True Parents, who were the first people to speak the true love language. It is only natural, then, that their language should become our mother tongue.

The Korean language is the language of the motherland of love. So when everybody is pursuing true love, that language must become everybody's mother tongue. And since you have to speak that language, you have to know how to write it as well. With this language, we can get down to our deepest roots, to the very end of the taproot. We can ultimately reach the deepest place in the heart of God. Our original minds know that.

A Treasure Hunt of Love

We are on a treasure hunt through a labyrinth, looking for the passage to true love. How romantic life is in the Unification Church! The most serious undertaking is to go through the labyrinth and find true love. Each step is so precious, so important, so vital. Even if it takes one thousand years to take one step, still you cannot avoid this path. You must go ahead and keep searching for true love until you find it.

Can you go your own way, the way of your own liking, to find that treasure? I am the pioneer, the forerunner; everyone else must follow.

Do you think you have to make a lot of noise on this treasure hunt and put on a great show? No, you don't need cheerleaders. You have to go all by yourselves. It's a very internal path, very lonely at times. But no matter what you have to go through, if you can find your treasure, going this road will give you ultimate fulfillment. We are not talking about any material gain; we are talking about reaching the personification of true love. You will be living monuments of true love. That is the goal. Nothing else matters.

My mission is to create a true love highway, so that anybody can take this highway to reach the goal of true love. Eventually this will create the Kingdom of God on earth. The highway resembles the true love tree: There are the main highway, branch highways, and little roads, each ending up in some cul-de-sac which is like the leaf. That's the way the true love highway develops and a network is created. If you start on the top, at the cul-de-sac, the leaf, you can join the bigger roads, the bigger branches, and ultimately join the king of highways, the universal highway of true love, and go all the way to the heart of God.

One Ultimate Point of Unity

Dr. Durst represents U.S. Route 1, so he must bring a lot of true love into that highway. Then there are the regional director highways, and the fifty smaller state leader highways, which also bring a lot of true love.

But then Dr. Durst, who is in charge of U.S. Route 1, might say, "Well, I want to make a totally different highway, an American highway. I don't want to worry about the king highway" That is a crazy idea. It will not work. The ideal is for U.S. Route 1 to be firmly connected into the king highway of true love. Any country that wants to follow its own way is trying to bend the trunk into its own direction. But that cannot happen, because the trunk begins from the True Parents, and moves straight up, all the way to heaven's throne, in one straight line.

There is a taproot, way down in the deepest corner, which is always connected to the highest part of heaven. As this root develops, it harmonizes with all the other roots, in Japan, England, Germany, South America, Africa. True love alone can melt them all together. Then all the roots will be joined together into the major highway, and be connected to the heavenly throne, so that every national characteristic can touch the trunk. There must be one ultimate point of unity.

Although Adam and Eve were created out of God's root, ever since the fall all kinds of diverse and perverted cultures have come into being. My mission is to bring all these perverted individuals, families, and cultures into one straight line centering on the True Parents. There's no way the rest of the world can go its own direction, because the straight line is the absolute standard.

I Didn't Avoid the Barrier of Prison

When the entire world is united around this one central line, Satan is automatically separated out. I went to Danbury in order to expedite this providence, so that the line which started from the original root, the Garden of Eden, would go straight up, unbending, all the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. Through the suffering of a modern-day crucifixion, this process has been expedited.

If there is a prison blocking you, you cannot shy away from it. You've got to penetrate the barrier of prison, and go over it, breaking down Satan's barrier. If I had tried to avoid prison by running away to Korea or Japan or South America, this would not have been accomplished. So if God has a plan for you to dramatically break through a certain barrier, you must not avoid it. You must stick with it you must break through and go to the other side.

Satan doesn't like the place of sacrificial suffering. Satan is very boastful, and likes to live luxuriously. Satan loves to complain. He loves jealousy, greed, and vanity. You've got to know which way to attract Satan, and which way to repel Satan.

The prison is a place where people constantly complain, and blame other people. Everybody has somebody to blame for their being in prison. Somebody else did something wrong. But when I entered the prison, I was silent. I decided, "I'm not going with this crowd. I'm grateful to God to be here. And I'm not going to utter one word of complaint" I knew why I was in prison. Where I go doesn't make a difference. The prison was the most important barrier God wanted me to break through.

Only Your Responsibility Remains

Throughout history, so many saints died in the name of their religion, for the sake of true love. True love is greater than life's value itself. Therefore, even though you might lose your life, for the sake of the tradition of true love you've got to go the path of sacrifice. That is my uncompromising principle!

Ultimately, the world is destined to come under true love. And I am the only one in history living this way of life. True love and the universal power have protected me. For that reason I have come this far. Now I am ready to command the world to join with me in true love.

I was born for this mission. I persevered through this mission, I suffered for the sake of this mission, and I created a couple, Father and Mother. This is a couple unique in all history, who won a victory in the name of true love. For that reason, this couple is called the True Parents. True Parents are those who are victorious over true love. You are in a position to protect the True Parents; to not only know them, not only serve and love them, but protect them. And you have a mission to create heaven on earth.

The Bible says, Know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Now you know the truth and you are becoming free. In a way, you are achieving total, inner, spiritual freedom. Now only your responsibility remains. This is not mere Principle theory. It is workable. Particularly after my victory in Danbury, it can be physically accomplished right here on earth.

You cannot bypass this. You cannot adjust it to your liking. You cannot negotiate, you cannot compromise. However, once you reach the goal of achieving this absolute standard of love, then everywhere you go you are free, and you can enjoy everything in the entire universe. That's the way life should be.

Today, Children's Day, you should pledge to absolutely follow the True Parents. You should feel, "I'm honored to be your child, and I want to follow your path. I'm not going to fail you, but bring a victory to you. I'm not going to complain if I get tired. I'm going to be always vibrant, and be victorious over Satan. The most important thing is that God gave me True Parents, and I am going to fulfill my responsibility to them" If you can say this, stand up now and make your pledge. 

Inter-Religious Cooperation: The Responsibility of Religious Leaders in Building a Culture of Peace

Reverend Sun Myung Moon
Founder’s Address: "Dialogue and Alliance"
Assembly of World’s Religions 1985
November 15, 1985

Honorable Chairman, scholars, leaders from religions around the world, ladies and gentlemen!

I welcome you from the bottom of my heart to the Assembly of the World’s Religions. Our gathering here is not an ordinary event. It is itself a great accomplishment that we, from 85 countries and with such a diversity of religions, cultures, traditions, and nationalities, should come together to open our minds, to harmonize with each other, and to share our concerns about the future of humankind. I am sure that God also is delighted with this historical event.

We come from different religious backgrounds. Our answers to the fundamental problems of human existence are not identical. Our understandings of the causes of human suffering do not have the same frame of reference. Our ways of seeking world peace are diverse. But still we have a common ground: all of us try to solve problems in the context of our relations with the Ultimate. Throughout East and West, North and South, people living in the situation of sin, disbelief and confusion have yearned for the love, happiness and peace that is true and eternal. They have been making every effort to overcome the temptations of their evil desires and, by following their good desires, to find the happiness with which their original mind will rejoice. Although human experience throughout history cautions us that pursuit of such ideals is rarely successful, people’s original minds are not likely to give up. All humankind irrespective of differences in peoples and traditions pursues this ultimate goal. If we humans are not able to fulfill such a purpose by our own effort, then we cannot but depend on the eternal, true, absolute Being beyond ourselves. We humans know that we are finite beings. Since we cannot determine our own destinies, we are bound to depend on the Absolute to whom we ascribe supreme power. We believe that since there is an Absolute being who wills true love, peace and happiness, all these things can surely be realized only with Him. We should know more about this Absolute, the source of the ideals which humanity is seeking. I have become familiar with the content of the spiritual world through my own spiritual experience and by deep communication with the Absolute. I have learned God’s will, love and heart.

Religion is not merely truth or ethical teaching, but centers on people’s original impulse to find that upon which they can absolutely depend and relate with. True religious intuition meets the Absolute and the Infinite. Through this intuition we can hear God’s call for each of us. Such a state of original communion with the Absolute transcends any particular religious system or form. In such a state only do humans reach perfection and happiness. This God-human relation is one and universal. Because the Transcendental Power is one, and humanity’s capacity to enter into the relationship which it offers is universal, the ultimate goal of human beings cannot be more than one. The goal of an individual is one. The goal of a family consisting of such ideal individuals is one. The goal of the ideal nation and world is one. All ways run toward God’s ideal world of love, happiness and peace.

The ideal of love, happiness and peace is not possible for an individual in isolation. It can be found only in relationship with another. Even the Absolute Being cannot fulfill the ideal without relationship. If God is alone, who is there for God to love? In what is God to find His ideal? In this light, we can understand God’s motive for creation. God created humanity in order that God might realize His ideal and fulfill His love. Only in human life in the world can God In this sense, how precious is the original human being! Human beings are not on the same level as God. However, God and human beings are supposed to be in relationship and ultimately to become one.

In other words, God and human beings are in Parent-child relationship. Just as God is eternal and absolute, human beings also become beings of absolute and eternal value as the children of God. Furthermore, human beings are the objects for the realization of God’s ideal. God’s eternal and absolute will is consummated where He becomes completely one with humanity. Thus, the purpose of human life is also absolute and eternal. God is eternal, unchangeable and absolute. God’s purpose of creation was also eternal, unchangeable and absolute, and was to found one ideal world, unified with one purpose. Today’s world of sin, conflict and disbelief came into being because humanity fell from the original way. God has worked through the world’s religions to restore fallen humanity to its original state. The salvation of fallen humanity will be completed by God’s providence through the Messiah.

As God’s purpose of creation is absolute, the purpose of God’s restoration providence must also be fulfilled at any cost. Therefore, the messianic hope of an ideal world is not just a vague dream, but should become a substantial reality in our lives. Likewise, the purpose of all religions is to realize God’s will in our daily life on earth. For the purpose of the whole providence, God has been broadening the foundation of goodness through many religions, each appropriate for its own age, people and environment. But the ultimate purpose of all these religions is only to realize God’s will, that is, the ideal world of peace and happiness. Religions should be concerned with God’s will for world salvation more than with the salvation of the individual or the welfare of their own denomination. I think that now is the time for all religious bodies together to search again for the true will of God.

As far as I know, God is not sectarian. He is not obsessed with minor details of doctrine. We should quickly liberate ourselves from theological conflict, which results from blind attachment to doctrines and rituals, and instead focus on living communication with God. I think we urgently need to purify the religious atmosphere into one in which believers can have living faith and every soul can communicate with God. In God’s parental Heart and His great love, there is no discrimination based on color or nationality. There are no barriers between countries or cultural traditions, between East and West, North and South. Today God is trying to embrace the whole of humankind as His children. Through interreligious dialogue and harmony we should realize one ideal world of peace, which is God’s purpose of creation and the common ideal of humankind.

Respected representatives of the world’s religions! When we take an honest look at reality today, we come to see that it is time not only for belief but for action. Why do we find such serious problems prevailing in our societies, problems including confusion in value systems, moral corruption, drug addiction, terrorism, racial discrimination, genocide, war, unjust distribution of wealth, disregard for human rights, and totalitarian Communism? These vices are the natural outcome of hedonism, atheistic materialism, and secular humanism that denies the relevance of God. All these are the effects of the declining faith and spiritual exhaustion of this generation.

Who can take responsibility for today’s world? Can the military or the politicians? Can businessmen or people with new technology? Never. God is asking religious leaders, today’s prophets and priests, to solve these problems.

All religious people should feel responsibility for the shaky spiritual foundation of this generation and should repent. Throughout the long history of religion, we have not made a convincing witness for our living God. We have not been sincere in the practice of love. Our past hypocrisy has allowed atheism to prevail. We should feel deeply guilty about all this.

Today God is calling us. All religious people, standing on the internal foundation of deep self-reflection, should challenge the prevalence of all evils and work creatively in order to realize God’s will on earth. The living God wants to relate with us not merely in the context of scriptures and rituals, but rather dwelling in the hearts of people who keep God’s will in their minds and live it in everyday life.

After long prayers and reflections on the future of the world and humankind, I have begun to feel that God’s enthusiastic hope and the Holy Spirit’s strong power are sweeping over the whole world. Today the world should be renewed. Religious leaders all over the world should join together and encourage a movement of purification in every religion. There should be repentance and the renewal of true commitment. The world should change. There should be a new reformation. The banners of "living faith" and "practical faith" should be waving everywhere around the world. Every religion should work beyond its own benefit to liberate the world from poverty and disease. By the practice of love and the burning conviction of faith, our witness will convince even atheists of the truth of the living God. Only through a religious and spiritual revolution bringing great harmony, love and compassion will we finally realize the ideal world of peace.

Respected representatives! In response to God’s sublime call, the world’s religious bodies should come out of the quagmire of hostility, misunderstanding and ignorance. With mutual respect and friendship they should build a large cooperative community of religions. Then together, we should show our religious will in action and practice everywhere on this planet.

Religion is not merely oriented to the world beyond. The earth is God’s creation, and it is on this earth that God’s will is to be realized. If the Kingdom of Heaven or Sukkavati is God’s ideal place, we cannot go there merely by hoping. Rather we should live for, love and care for our brothers and sisters and the things of creation. It is in relationship with others that we can realize the ideal. Even though religion transcends ordinary social ethics and social policy, we should not ignore its functioning in society. Religious people should be concerned with actual problems and apply God’s will to their practical solution. Moreover, religions should stimulate spiritual renewal and give an elevated value perspective to those in charge of politics, the economy, social programs and education. With their minds enlightened by the Spirit, these people can solve the problems in their fields. God is calling for religious people with living spirituality to uphold the truth of religion and to relate it to the situations in their societies. People who are grounded in truth and in living communication with God are bound to influence others and bring about a revival of spirituality everywhere.

True religions should not follow the trends of the secular world, but, centering on God’s will, should enlighten the world and lead the people, even in the face of opposition and persecution. The movement for inter-religious harmony and unity and for living faith may go through a lonely path for some time, but it will soon receive tremendous support from many fresh-minded people who see things from an historical and global perspective.

I have been putting all of my energy into reforming the world and realizing God’s ideal on earth in accordance with the direction of God’s providence. I have been mobilizing the total energy of the Unification Church to work first of all for world peace through inter-religious harmony. I sincerely hope your religions also actively cooperate and join in this path, not because I want to reduce my effort or spare the financial resources of the Unification Church, but because I hope to see as early as possible a total mobilization of spiritual resources and creativity from all religious traditions in the direction of God’s providence. This path will lead to the realization of the world of peace.

As you may know, the Assembly of the World’s Religions is a project with historical significance. While even the secular world is seeking harmony through the United Nations and the like, should religious bodies fight each other? I have long been expecting certain leaders of the elder religions to initiate an assembly of the world’s religions. After a long period of waiting, I have initiated this project, because I believe it should be done at any cost. While this meeting itself is a meaningful accomplishment, the Assembly will, I hope, become more and more significant with meeting alter meeting.

I have three hopes for these Assemblies. First, that the world’s religious traditions respect each other and at least work to keep in check any inter-religious conflicts and wars. Second, that the Assembly serve the world by becoming a cooperative community of religions. It will hopefully agree upon and make resolutions calling religious people to practical action, encouraging all people to live by God-centered values, and fostering the development of human minds and spirits. Third, that the Assembly develop into an organization in which the major leadership of all religions participate.

The Assembly has to lift up the highest values and purposes of life and offer them to all religious people, all groups, and all nations. Only in communion with the Absolute and with love for one another can individuals, groups and nations prepare for and become a part of the Kingdom of God on earth.

I hope all of you, as representatives of your religions, find spiritual unity that can be the foundation for a bright future and for a new religious reformation that can lead the world. Through presentations and discussions, during plenary sessions or in committee, in artistic performance, meditation and prayer, please respect each other’s faiths and contribute as much as possible to the harmony of the whole. Let us all march forward to fulfill the world-historical mission of religions, that is, the realization of God’s will on earth.

I thank all members of the Planning Committee for their efforts in planning and preparation and all the staff serving the Assembly’s practical needs for their hard work.

May God bless this historic conference and each of you representatives.