|
 Christian School Essay
OUTLINE
- I. Historical Summary
-Origin, foundation, etc. of the Unificatioon Church
- II. Theology Proper
-Unification Church theology versus Christiian theology
- III. Christology
-Unification Church views on Jesus Christ vversus the Christian views on Jesus
Christ
- IV. Bibliology
-Unification Church views on the Bible verssus the Christian views on the Bible
- V. Pneumatology
-Unification Church views on the Holy Spiriit versus the Christian views on the
Holy Spirit
- VI. Witnessing Tips
-How one can better share the Gospel with mmembers of the Unification Church
- VII. Bibliography Historical Summary
~Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Holy Spirit Association for the
Unification of World Christianity (a.k.a. The Unification Church), was born in
the village of Kwangju Sangsa Ri in northwestern Korea on January 6, 1920. He
was raised by Confucian parents who later converted to Christianity in 1930, and
he became a Sunday school teacher himself. According to Moon, as a young
�Christian�, he had a dramatic spiritual experience while he was praying on a
Korean mountainside on Easter morning in 1936. He claims that Jesus appeared to
him and asked him to complete the mission Jesus had begun 2000 years ago. Moon
meditated on this vision, and after realizing that he was the only one who could
save the world, he complied with God�s calling to deliver humanity from Satan�s
control. ~Rev. Moon claims that he spent the next nine years spiritually fighting with
Satan. He claims that Satan tried to cause him to either sin or feel incapable
of fulfilling the role of Messiah; supposedly he defeated Satan, completing the
first requirement of attaining the office of Messiah. In 1946, Sun Myung Moon
studied under Paik Moon Kim, from whom he learned what would become the
structure for his own teachings of God.
~Also in 1946, Rev. Moon was arrested by Korean police and was allegedly
tortured for his faith. He compared his suffering from the communists to that
of Jesus Christ. In 1948, Moon was again arrested and sentenced to five years
of hard labor at a prison camp in North Korea, known as Hung Nam. His prison
term was cut short, however, by the Korean war � Moon escaped the prison amidst
the fighting between the communist and United Nations� forces.
~After fleeing imprisonment in the early 1950�s, Rev. Moon settled in Pusan,
South Korea, where he then formed a small following. His followers devoted
themselves to him and his doctrines, calling him �Reverend� because they viewed
him as their pastor and because of his religious knowledge gained under Paik
Moon Kim.
~Reverend Sun Myung Moon officially established his church in 1954, calling it
the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, also
known as the Unification Church or the Unified Family. Though his wife left him
during this same year, she supposedly realized later on that it was �wrong� to
do so, and became a devoted member of the church. In 1957, Moon published the
first edition of the Divine Principle, which explains the basic theology of his
teachings and of the Unification Church. Six years after his divorce, he
remarried, this time to a woman by the name of Hak Ja Han. Their wedding, known
as �the Marriage of the Lamb� (taken from Revelation 21:9) among members of the
Unification Church, was the beginning of a long marriage in which she gave birth
to 13 children.
~Membership in the late 1950�s grew at a steady rate while extending throughout
South Korea. Moon then spread his movement into Japan, spawning the second
greatest Unification Church following in the world. He then sent his first
missionary in 1959 to the United States. Though Moon sent missionaries to the
United States, and even visited himself, it was not until his �Day of Hope� tour
in 1971 and 1972 that he began to attract Western support.
~Later in 1981, Moon was indicted on several accounts including fraud and tax
evasion. He pleaded not guilty to these charges on October 22, 1981, but was
found guilty of evading several thousand dollars in income taxes on May 18,
1982. He was sentenced to eighteen months in jail and fined $25,000. Moon
served 13 months, getting 5 months off for good behavior, and was released from
federal prison on August 20, 1985. Despite his reputation as a convicted felon,
he was regarded as a type of martyr rather than a criminal. They again compare
his suffering and persecution to that of Jesus Christ.
~Today the Unification Church has spread throughout the world, including
countries that were previously European communist strongholds. The majority of
the Church�s followers are located either in Japan or Korea. Rev. Moon
continues to pursue his dream of spreading his message throughout the United
States, so that he may influence the rest of the world through this particular
nation.
EMAIL THE AUTHOR:
[email protected]
 Christian School Essay
HOME
|
ESSAYS/ACADEMIC PAPERS-SECTION