ACLC Holds Pastors’ Forum on Theology of Marriage

Sixteen clergy including two Buddhist monks joined the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC) pastors’ forum at the Missionary Baptist Tree of Life Church in Detroit, Michigan on Saturday, August 8, 2015. With marriage in the news, they chose the topic, “The Theology of Marriage: The Original Plan”, to highlight the Divine Principle view on the subject.

The presentation included scripture from the world’s religions. They began with a discussion on the Nature of God as the foundation for understanding God’s original plan for man and woman. Rev. David Kasbow highlighted the Chinese symbol of Yin and Yang showing the oneness and equality of masculinity and femininity in God’s design. He went on to compare this understanding to Gen 1:27 where God, in the Hebrew scripture, also teaches that the image of God is male and female.

They included some sections of True Father’s sermons in the presentation. One that got some attention was True Father’s view of God as being intimate and personal. They read from page 80 of the original Cheon Seong Gyeong, “Are arteries greater or veins greater? Which is greater? They are equal. Then who is greater, God or humankind? They are also equal. In terms of love, if God is the artery, human beings are the veins, so they have the value and privilege to be God’s equal.”

Some discussion of this topic ensued centered on the nature God, God’s relationship to humankind, and our original value.

The most animated discussion, however, was in response to the presentation on the Three Blessings. On the topic of the relationship between husbands and wives, the group read Ephesians 5:22, “Wives submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” Two women pastors said that in their churches, this verse is like a time bomb. Some of their women will not read it; they disagree with it and say that it hurts women. Everyone agreed that there needs to be some serious discussion of this topic.

Rev. Nathan Proche, host of the program, stated that he was excited when he saw that the title of the forum was to be, “The Theology of Marriage.” He said that people too often think of marriage as a one- day event. “They do not think enough about its meaning and what it takes to make it work. This presentation gave that content.”

ACLC plan to have their next seminar on September 12, 2015. This program will cover the section of the

Divine Principle on the Fall of Man and why the ideal of marriage does not exist. It will also include material on the restoration of marriage.