Schism in the Unification Church - The Theological Dimensions - Rough Draft

What is the nature, structure and organization of the church?

ECCLESIOLOGY

RELIGION OR MOVEMENT?

 Hyung Jin – Sean  Hyun Jin – Preston  “The Unification Church is a  “Our movement has religion in the same way that misrepresented Father’s work Buddhism, Confucianism and by validating the false Islam are religions…” perception that Parents are the founder of a new religion.”

UNIFICATION CHURCH EMBLEM GLOBAL PEACE FESTIVAL FOUNDATION

 “The roots of the name  The Global Peace Festival Unification Church should be Foundation celebrates and found in its emblem.” (June promotes the vision of One 23, 2009) “The Unification Family Under God through Church emblem will be used building interfaith broadly in all our witnessing, partnerships, vibrant public relations, service families, and a culture of activities, church activities, service and peace. and on our web sites.” .

EMBLEMATIC EMBLEMS

UNIFICATION CHURCH GLOBAL PEACE FESTIVAL FOUNDATION

 Establish God-centered  Facilitate intercultural and families interreligious cooperation  Teach Divine Principle  Strengthen families and  Bring New Members communities  Develop Related Projects  Foster a culture of service  UPF and peace.  WFWP  ACLC  interfaith partnerships  Universities  family strengthening initiatives

 Charities  service projects

UNIFICATION CHURCH GPFF MOVEMENT

Mrs Moon (advisor) “Father’s Legacy”

Hyung Jin Kook Jin (church) ($$$) Hyun Jin

Other GPFF Business USA Church Continental Businesses Projects Directors and Japan

What is the nature of the Messiah

UNIFICATION CHURCH HYUN JIN MOON’S MOVEMENT

 High Christology*  Low Christology  TP are divine incarnations  TP are human beings  ‘If you believe in Father because  Near-infallibility of Rev. Moon he is infallible, how is that any  Equal authority of Mrs. Moon different than worshipping an  ‘7 Deaths and Resurrections’ idol?’  Mrs. Moon has been  “Sent not called” manipulated  God of Day and God of Night  Demythologization *Most of the above are not official doctrines but can be seen as tendencies of the UC today  “When I realized that Father was not God, and does not know everything, I respected him all the more.”

Doctrine of salvation

UNIFICATION CHURCH HJM’S UNIFICATION MOVEMENT

 Everyone needs salvation  ‘Not an exclusivist vision’  Even True Children are  Hyun Jin completed his sinners and need TP course of filial piety  TPs job is to “carry our sins”  TPs job is to teach us the

 Stresses obedience more way of heaven  Stresses conscience more

Which writings are essential and authorized?

SCRIPTURAL CANON

UNIFICATION CHURCH HJM’S UNIFICATION MOVEMENT

 “8 Textbooks”  Peace Messages  Collected Sermons of SMM  (Divine Principle)  The Divine Principle

 Cheon Seong Gyeong

 The Family Pledge

 Peace Messages

 True Families: Gateway to Heaven  Owner of Peace and Lineage

 World Scripture

 Recent Declarations

SCRIPTURAL CANNON

UNIFICATION CHURCH HJM’S UNIFICATION MOVEMENT

 Birth ceremonies  Separate Seong Hwa  Marriage Blessing  Blessing?

 Special ceremonies for new members  Ancestor Liberation at CPL

 Miscellaneous

 Seong Hwa (funeral)

UNIFICATION CHURCH HJM’S UNIFICATION MOVEMENT

 Closer to Catholicism  Closer to Protestantism  Hyung Jin is the Successor  Hyun Jin is the Inheritor

 UC leaders are legitimate  UC leaders ‘not aligned with

 True Mother is the Key to God’s providence’ Resolving the Division  True Mother is part of the Problem

POLITICAL THEOLOGY

UNIFICATION CHURCH HJM’S UNIFICATION MOVEMENT

 Stresses freedom  Stresses peace  Leans right  Leans left

 More feminist  Less feminist

EMERGING POLITICAL THEOLOGIES

ORTHODOXY VS. HERESY?

UNIFICATION CHURCH UNIFICATION MOVEMENT

 The representative and the  The Unification Church that I inheritor is Moon, Hyung Jin. knew in the past has been The others [who say they are destroyed and its current inheritors] are the heretic regime has nothing to do and the destroyer. with my father’s vision.

PROVIDENTIAL PARADIGMS

SOLOMON AND ADONIJAH

JACOB AND ESAU

A FINAL WORD

ONLY LOVE CAN MAKE TWO PEOPLE BECOME ONE BODY CENTERING ON TRUE LOVE, FATHER AND SON, HUSBAND AND WIFE, AND FATHER AND MOTHER CAN MAKE ONE BODY. WHEN BROTHERS UNITE CENTERING ON TRUE LOVE, THEY BECOME ONE BODY. ONLY TRUE LOVE CAN MAKE UNITY AND ONENESS. THIS IS NOT THE LOVE OF RECEIVING, BUT THE LOVE OF GIVING.

A word about the PPT… My accompanying paper will be available soon. It is more nuanced and contains several disclaimers, such as

- The PPT emphasizes distinctions… there are also many commonalities

- I am a partisan of one side (although I tried in this presentation to be objective)

- What I describe are tendencies, not official positions

- There is overlap: for example, many people who oppose H1 agree with some of his theological tendencies (in my case examples include his “low Christology” and his emphasis on conscience v. obedience.

best regards