Selections from Notes of Speeches on Ecumenism

Father invited all nine professors of this Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) on the last day of this term and Father gave them directions. Why don’t you do research on your belief system, i.e. Judaism, Protestantism, Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy and other denominations. Father asked them, ‘compare your belief, your church, your denomination, your religion, with our Unification Theology, Unification thought and Divine Principle, and write something. I’ll help you! Secondly, you know your own religion, why don’t you bring famous, renowned scholars, professors and great thinkers in your religious denomination to us, to me?’

Through international conferences in each area of each professor, which Father will support, the professors associated to us will be given a chance to speak out, to compare, study and research for other academics. Throughout the world Rev. Moon and the Unification Church have become controversial, so they want to hear about us academically. So, our professors will be the keynote speakers, because their research will be helpful in letting others understand on the occasion of such international conventions.

By the way of intensive studies and scholastic work, the conclusion will be clear: Unification Theology and Unification thought is far better than their own. So, a comparative study of their thought with the Unification view will clarify all these things and our professors will become experts on the Unification system and movement.

Their research books will be given out, and the Divine Principle should be added. Then, naturally, these scholars will have to study it, no other way. Why must they study it? Because they are thinkers, they know what the decline of Christianity is. Even their own religion, their own denomination, is sinking. So, they are thinking, where do we find a remedy, a recipe to rescue us? But they know, very soon, that the radical, constructive forces of Unification Theology and Unification Thought are what they must study.

So, from this year on especially, you have to help your professors in writing books. Many plans are going on now. Father gave the permission, so you guys and girls give your professors your help. Whatever they are going to write, sometimes you will have to correct it. You have to give them time, because they don’t know the depth of the study of the Divine Principle. First of all ten professors, including Dr. Richardson or Dr. Lewis, representing Protestantism, ten top, prominent scholars from around the world come together; by the same method they learn it, then the entire contemporary protestant churches will become sympathetic and will be coming to us.

In order to be a real leader in the field of religion, they’ll have to come to UTS where, by that time, we

will have a Ph.D. course, too. This will be the world headquarters to unite all religions, to lead the theological world. This will come from this place where you are studying now. Do you think that this is possible, that it is within reach, or that Father just imagined it?

They’ll think they would like to have you, by the 1980s. Other institutes, seminaries, schools or universities will like to have their staff and faculty from among the Unification Theological Seminary graduates. So, all the large cathedrals and denominational churches will welcome you; they will like to have UTS graduates. Don’t you think they will? Very soon this place will be connected to the worldwide scholarly community, so these people will want to come closer to us. They will be naturally concerned about you, they will like to have you in their own big churches, denominations and seminaries. Is it possible? Actually, from the practical point of view, all the other, outside seminarians have a similar education, but they don’t know how to revitalize their churches. They know how you Unificationists are doing under the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, so they are thinking that if they hire you and they get help from you, their church will grow, while others cannot do this kind of thing. So, your value is great. The spirit world is totally on our side. In this way, we will advance, we will make progress.

Father is planning for this place to become the world head office. From here, he will set up the system vertically and horizontally we will cover the whole area and bring unity and academic accomplishment in every religious realm. This is our Father’s plan. So, you are not only Seminary students. Another function you have is to build this seminary into a world famous institution. Through our professors’ plan, some of you will be assigned to the Catholic community, some to Judaism, some to Greek Orthodoxy or Protestantism. Through all these things, you will be doing preparatory work from now on, this year.

We have four denominations: Protestant, Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Judaism. So, our students, ten people, will be assigned to assist these four major denominations religious denominations, and from there ground will be set up, and we’ll have to push forward. Through your interfaith activities, if you are assigned to these four committees, you will investigate available documents to discover other world- renowned scholars for each committee. Already, you sent two thousand copies of the theological affirmations to schools and libraries. This will be more narrowed down. Four people will divide their research. These people have been writing books all their life. You have a library here. Study them; this is wonderful, you will have an individual correspondence. Make connections on a continuous basis. Four people will do. Four people in front will cover their entire religion or denomination. Raise questions. They will answer back, because, if anybody says to them, ‘you are wonderful scholars, you wrote wonderful things I have been reading as a student,’ or whatever, they will be listening to you. … For the sake of the relationship between scholars and students, they must respond to you. So you are to research now …

Then you will ask, ‘I want to know more about it, I want your resume. What is all you have done?’ You can make a personal relationship. Four people on each committee will have a continuous basis to approach these big scholars. So, how do you approach the professors on our side? Already you approached them. Then, may I visit you sometime on the weekend? I would be glad to see you personally. Then you’ll say another three friends studying about you, why don’t you let us join together? Then, he will be glad, ‘wow! please come!’

One team of four people studies the Presbyterian faith or whatever, Protestantism. You are then the experts in that area, because the denomination itself can sometimes not be understood by its own people. If you are objective and see the good points, the bad points, the middle points and you have a synthesizing force, you will later be invited to hold lectures about their denomination and how to develop it and give it vitality.

You will become the teachers, because you know more than they do. They only have their own denomination. You have the Unification theology and comparative studies; you are knowledgeable Seminary graduates. So, you will be invited as their lecturers.

From this year 1977 on, a new mission of UTS was given by our True Parents. So, really an interfaith team of professors should be formed here at the Seminary, with your help. … Our spirit, Rev. Moon’s spirit of unification is to be interfaith oriented, not discriminating against other people. This will be the real meaning of the interfaith theological seminary.

One example. Dr. Richardson is a wonderful, dynamic force in the theological camp and, centering on his studies, suddenly he switched to Unificationism. There is the dynamic power of the Unification Theology, right there. It is a witness, not only to you, but to the whole world. This is true, isn’t it? This means, many conscientious, renowned scholars will do the same thing Dr. Richardson did. This is the whole fact. It is simple. You don’t have to worry about witnessing on a one to one basis, although we have to fulfill that 1 / 1 / 1 motto, but what Father is saying here is of a higher dimension. If you people bring forty world- renowned scholars, let the forty turn all scholars, thousands of scholars upside down and transform them to our Unification system, just like we see it in Dr. Richardson. Simple.

Then you will challenge the Lutheran professor, why don’t we give a revival to the Lutheran denomination? We’ll help you! Your denomination, Methodism, is sinking down, your Baptist Church is in trouble, we will give you the solution, let us do that. … They don’t necessarily have to be big shots; we can even use them as lecturers or instructors from the Lutheran denomination, those who are very smart. Then, we have an association with them, and send them back to their own denomination with us. We give something to them. Instead of denying their denomination, let them stay as they are. We give more good things to them, to develop their denomination.

Those who are going to the field … will be working in the state to help the university. You will become the chaplains, the campus ministers, so that you will be the key person to influence campuses, the president, the dean, the vice president, whatever. That is Father’s plan for the graduating class field work. That is why we have a curriculum similar to the other seminaries. Same thing, there is nothing different. If we have different curriculum, they will shake their head. They don’t want to be there. Because it is the same, the professors keep coming. Later we can expand the curriculum, of course. There is nothing different. The reason we have inter-religious concerns in our seminary is to smash the denominationalism in Christianity and the religious fighting among the different religions. By showing our peacefully working together here as an example, automatically they will say, ‘Oh, look at the Unification Theological Seminary, even though they are of different denominations, they are working together, that is an example.’ They will learn, and automatically they will stop fighting among the denominations.

Then later for instance an Islamic scholar will say, ‘why doesn’t a Unification Seminary graduate come here teach at our Islamic center our seminary in Washington DC?’ Then you will be hired by these people. A big shot in Islam will coming May 30th. If he is a good guy, we can interweave in the exchange among the denominations, among the different religions.

So you will not only go to the Unification Church, you will go to Islam, because you are equipped with all this while you are here. Interfaith. You may think how in the world can I as a Moon scholar go to Islam, but Father will forgive you. (Laughter) Father will pray to God, ‘this guy has a special mission, I send him.’ If you did that by your own self, your conscience would bother you, so you come to Father and Heavenly Father must accept it.

Think of it. Free people - Moon graduates - to go to the Buddhist temple, think of it. The whole denomination of Buddhism will become united. You will stimulate Buddhist monks and theologians to study more their own theology, because they have a weak point. Unificationism Theology is a bigger umbrella! Then whenever graduation comes, all peculiar gowns or ritual coming in with Buddhists with their shaved heads and Muslims with their own costumes and Greek Orthodox with big crowns, Baptists will come with beards, just think of it. An assembly of all the different kind of costumes, different denominations, different religions will appear. The world religions will draw the conclusion that the ideal religion must be like Unification religion. That means they are automatically under the umbrella of Unification.

September 20, 1979

We study here and have one objective, but having a theological seminary is another means of waging war. In other words, in order for us to be understood, we have to have many friends as allies against the many enemies we have. So, Barrytown has been very functional, very good in carrying out that mission, too. Many theological scholars and students have passed through here, and every time they came here and went back they were impressed and they changed.

Once we invite famous scholars from other schools here, and once they are fairly impressed and learn and slightly change and go back, we would follow them and ask them to provide some friendship or acceptance. In other words, what Father did was preparing many people who would understand us and help us by accepting us. Every one of the scholars and theologians and … Christians know, everyone knows that there is bound to be a revolution in their hearts … Without that, Christianity will not only not survive, but it will be meaningless.

Anyway, their coming here is in fact a sacrifice for them, because they suffer a bad reputation. … Then, you the students always try your best to tell them know what the Unification Church stands for, the theology and the ideology and Rev. Moon’s own heart… if you try to talk to them, they try not to listen to it. Then you do it … Sometimes, they don’t understand deep things, yet they know one thing strong and clear: it is that … the Unification Church students work differently. Their eyes are correctly set, they are never wandering, never unfocused, they are very exact people, very sincere and they have high integrity; they are genuine people. They have that strong impression engraved in them by the time they leave here.