text:
Change of Blood Lineage through Ritual Sex in the Unification Church
Kirsti L. Nevalainen (Author)
Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (January 18, 2010)
BACK COVER (with additional text by the author)
Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, has declared himself to be the Messiah, the Lord of the Second Advent and the True Parents of humankind. He claims he has come as the Messiah at the end of the world as the Bible prophesied. He established the substantial Kingdom of God on Earth, called Cheon Il Guk, on June 13, 2006. The headquarters of this new Kingdom is his luxurious royal palace in Cheongpyeong near Seoul, South Korea. The palace cost over one billion dollars.
The Kingdom of God has a heavenly constitution which all citizens of the Kingdom are obliged to follow. Only Blessed Couples and their descendants are qualified to be citizens of the Kingdom of God on Earth because they have participated in the Blessing of Marriage ceremony which removes the original sin from them. According to Sun Myung Moon all other people are fallen and come from the satanic blood lineage. Only people who have participated in the Blessing of Marriage ceremony can cut off their satanic blood lineage and become engrafted into God's blood lineage through the Messiah. This change of blood lineage takes place through ritual sex.
The Blessing of Marriage ceremony of the Unification Church is directly derived from the pikareum or yongch'e ceremony of Korean messianic groups from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. A pikareum ceremony means 'change of blood lineage' and a yongch'e ceremony means 'receiving a new spiritual body'. Even though there were two names in use in Korea they had the same meaning, uniting a human being with God and Goddess in spirit and body. And this took place through ritual sex. A male spiritual leader united sexually with his female disciples and a female spiritual leader had ritual sex with her male followers. It was believed that through this process God and Goddess became incarnated in human form. But before a spiritual leader could transfer his or her divinity to the followers he or she had to first unite sexually with God or Goddess through a spiritual sexual union, so he or she was able to receive a new spiritual body directly from God or Goddess. The Unification Church practiced the pikareum or yongch'e ceremony from the mid 1940s through the 1950s until 1962 when The Holy Wine Ceremony and The Three Day Ceremony replaced this original sexual ritual. Both of these ceremonies are integral parts of The Blessing of Marriage.
(pikareum = pi + kareum = blood + replacement or exchange)
1.1. Aims and Methods of the Research 1
1.2. The Messiah has arrived 6
1.3. Earlier Research about the Unification Church 31
2. KOREAN SHAMANESS – WEDDED TO GOD
2.1. Main Tenets of Shamanism 39
2.2. Naerim Kut – Initiation Rite 52
3. CHANGE OF BLOOD LINEAGE
3.1. Engrafting of Sun Myung Moon into the Blood Lineage of God 61
3.2. Ritual Sex in the Jesus Church 76
4. THE BLESSING OF MARRIAGE 93
4.1. The Holy Wine Ceremony 100
4.2. The Holy Blessing Ceremony 105
4.3. The Three Day Ceremony 108
5. PARALLELS TO THE SACRED MARRIAGE RITE IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST
5.1. Divine Rule on Earth 119
5.2. The Fall Story 131
CONCLUSIONS 139
Pages 1-37
l. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Aims and Methods of the Research
I was a member of the Unification Church for eight years, from May 1971 until May 1979. I joined the Unification Church in Bremen, Germany, while doing my language practicum there. In July I moved from Bremen to Frankfurt and stayed there until January 1972. During that time I translated The Divine Principle, A Study Guide by Young Oon Kim into Finnish1. In January 1972 I started a missionary work in Finland together with a German member Ms. Ellen van Kampen2. We did only religious missionary work and were not active in the political arena. I worked in Finland until August 1977 and then we had about 60-70 active Finnish members. Most of these members travelled abroad and worked in International One World Crusade teams in Asia, Europe and America. In August 1977 I left for the USA and I stayed there until Christmas 1978. Soon after that I left the Unification Church in May 1979.
The main reason why I left the church was Rev. Moon's fierce Anti-Communism. I could not accept his interpretation of Communism as Satan incarnate. Rev. Moon had founded several anti-communist political organizations and it was supposed that every Unification Church member was willing to work against Communism. During my stay in the USA in 1977-1978 I was able to witness the so called Koreagate scandal. This was an affair relating to the lobbying and corruption of US Congress representatives in favor of the political and economic interests of South Korea. For instance Rev. Moon was accused of bribing American congressmen in order to keep the US troops in South Korea. I decided to leave the Unification Church because I did not want to participate in Rev. Moon's anti-communist political activities in the Cold War. Because of my membership in the Unification Church for eight years I came to know the movement quite well both in Europe and the USA.3
This book is a Religious Studies research and it belongs to the discipline of Religionsgeschichte or the history of religion. I examine the early history of the Unification Church in North and South Korea and Sun Myung's Moon's connections with Jesukyo the 'Jesus Church'. Rev. Moon was a member of this church during 1938-1947 and he adopted the doctrines and practices from the Jesus Church. The most important sacrament of the Unification Church is The Blessing of Marriage. Through this ceremony fallen people are cut off from their satanic blood lineage and engrafted into the blood lineage of God and the Messiah, Sun Myung Moon and his wife Hak Ja Han. I examine in this research what was the historic development of this sacrament into its present form in 1962.
My main thesis is the following: The Blessing of Marriage of the Unification Church is directly derivative from the pikareum or yongch'e ceremony of Korean messianic groups from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. A pikareum ceremony means 'change of blood lineage' and a yongch'e ceremony means 'receiving a new spiritual body'. Even though there were two names in use in Korea they had the same meaning, uniting a human being with God and Goddess in spirit and body. And this took place through ritual sex. A male spiritual leader united sexually with his female disciples and a female spiritual leader had ritual sex with her male followers. It was believed that through this process God and Goddess became incarnated in human form. But before a spiritual leader could transfer his or her divinity to the followers he or she had first to unite sexually with God or Goddess through a spiritual sexual union. So he or she was able to receive a new spiritual body directly from God or Goddess. The Unification Church practiced the pikareum or yongch'e ceremony from the 1940s through the 1950s until 1962 when The Holy Wine Ceremony and The Three Day Ceremony replaced this original sexual ritual. Both of these ceremonies are integral parts of The Blessing of Marriage.
My second thesis is that the yongch'e or pikareum ceremony of Korean messianic groups is similar to the initiation rite of a Korean shaman or shamaness. It is called Naerim kut or Gangsin kut. In this initiation rite a shaman or shamaness is officially married with God or Goddess and has a spiritual sexual relationship with Him or Her. God or Goddess takes a permanent abode in a shaman's or shamaness' body. So they become incarnations of God or Goddess. Korean Shamanism believes in the immanence of God. God is able to live concretely in human beings and so He or She can be in contact with human society through His or Her mediators, the shamans or shamanesses. The shaman or shamaness can be married to an earthly husband or wife, too. This earthly marriage can take place either before or after the initiation rite Naerim kut or Gangsin kut.
My third thesis is that the Sacred Marriage Rite in the ancient Near East is identical with the yongch'e or pikareum ceremony of Korean messianic groups. This rite's structure and theological meaning is the same as the yongch'e or pikareum ceremony. The Sacred Marriage Rite was the theological and political basis of ancient theocratic city states in the ancient Near East. Through this sexual rite God and Goddess became incarnated in the King and Queen and they became divinities in human flesh. Only after going through this Sacred Marriage Rite the King and Queen of the theocratic city state had legitimacy in the eyes of people. The Fall account in Genesis chapter 3 was authored by a Yahwist theologian and it represents a theological and political attack against the Sacred Marriage Rite of Canaanite people. It is important to understand the political and cultural background for the Fall story in Genesis 3 because Rev. Moon takes the Fall literally, as a historical fact. The main premise of his theology is that people are fallen and are coming from the satanic blood lineage. Therefore the Messiah must come again and cut them off from their satanic blood lineage and engraft them into the blood lineage of God.
In order to support my theses I am going to examine first the initiation rite Naerim kut or Gangsin kut in Korean Shamanism. It means a shaman or shamaness becomes possessed by God or Goddess and has a spiritual marriage with God or Goddess. Through this spiritual marriage and spiritual sexual relations with God or Goddess they become divine beings in flesh. Next I will examine the ritual sex practices called yongch'e or pikareum ceremonies of the Jesus Church. It was the female spiritual leaders who were possessed by God or Jesus and had sexual relations with them and through these unions they became divinities in the flesh. The female spiritual leaders acted like shamaness Mudang. After their spiritual marriage with God or Jesus they transferred a new spiritual body yongch'e to their male followers who in turn shared it to their female followers. And finally I will examine the Sacred Marriage Rite in the Ancient Near East and seek parallels between it and the yongch'e ceremony.
The first chapter serves as a general introduction to Rev. Moon's world view, his theology and political ideology which cannot be separated. The Unification Church is essentially a political church. The second chapter deals first with Shamanism in general and then particularly with Korean characteristics of Shamanism and the Naerim kut initiation rite of a shaman or shamaness. The third chapter deals with the yongch'e or pikareum ceremony of Korean messianic groups, including the Unification Church. And it examines also how Rev. Moon participated in the yongch'e ceremonies in North Korea and later in South Korea. The fourth chapter deals with The Holy Wine Ceremony, The Holy Blessing Ceremony and The Three Day Ceremony of the Unification Church which replaced the original yongch'e or pikareum ceremony in 1962. And finally the fifth chapter examines the Sacred Marriage Rite in the ancient Near East and highlights the parallels between it and the yongch'e or pikareum ceremony. And it deals also with the Fall story in Genesis 3 as a critique against the Sacred Marriage Rites at Canaanite temples.
1.2. The Messiah has arrived
The Unification Church is a new religion. By a new religion it is meant a religious movement centered on a new doctrine, a new sacrament, and a new community established through these two factors. The new doctrine of the Unification Church is expressed in The Divine Principle4 and Rev. Moon's speeches called Hoon Dok Hae5. The new sacrament of the Unification Church is The Blessing of Marriage. And a new community is the "Family of Love," centered on the True Parents of humankind, Rev. and Mrs. Moon. They understand themselves as the new divine family in God's direct blood lineage.6
The Unification Church or The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity was born in North Korea at the end of the 1940s. Officially the Unification Church was founded by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon7 in 1954 in Seoul, South Korea. The teaching of the Unification Church is uniquely Korean. It is a synthesis of Korean old religions Shamanism, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. In addition to these eastern religions the Unification Church doctrine has adopted Christian teachings. It is a typically eastern practice of pursuing several religious traditions simultaneously. In Korea a religious seeker can be attached to many religions at the same time. Rev. Moon's family converted to the Presbyterian Church when he was ten years old and so he became influenced by the Christian doctrine.
Rev. Moon began to preach and attract followers in North Korea from the summer of 1946. Mainstream Christians rejected Rev. Moon and therefore he began to associate himself with some new Korean Christian sects on the fringes of Christianity. These groups were highly spiritualistic, they were prophesying, speaking in tongues, receiving visions, sinking into trances and consulting with spirits. At the same time they were rejecting the traditional Christian doctrine of the Second Coming; instead of Jesus returning on the clouds of heaven they were expecting a new Messiah, a Lord of the Second Advent, to be born in Korea. These spiritual groups had also new teachings and interpretations about the Fall of man and how to restore fallen men back to God. Rev. Moon adopted the teachings and rituals of these spiritualists into his own doctrine and church practice and began to spread his new message.8
The various religious traditions of Korea had been constantly influencing each other and it was inevitable that when Christianity arrived it would become part of the amalgam of the Korean religions. Numerous small religious groups arose in Korea which were strongly influenced by the indigenous Korean faiths, but claimed Christian identity which was vigorously challenged by the mainstream Christian churches. It is estimated that there were at least 170 such groups which emerged in Korea after the Second World War. In the minds of many Koreans Christianity and Shamanism were basically identical. Christian missionary activity enabled the propagation of Shamanism in Christian guise. Many Koreans who supposedly embraced the Christian faith did not actually understand the differences between Christianity and Shamanism. Teachings and practices varied from group to group, but their main features were that they were syncretistic and had messianic expectations, laid emphasis on communication with the spirit world, practiced healing and prophecy and were trying to transform the existing socio-political system. These Christian-related spiritual groups were messianic, that is, they believed the Messiah was already among them, or at least his arrival as a physical man was imminent. In common with many new Korean religions the Unification Church proclaims a 'this-worldly' goal, centered on a messiah who emerges from Korea to unify and save the world.9
The basic ingredients of the doctrines of the new religions are: syncretism, the advent of a future world, paradise on earth, faith in a savior, the notion of Koreans as a chosen people, faith in the Chonggamnok and shamanistic faith.10 The Korean people, the Third Israel, have believed in the prophecy that the Righteous King will appear and found a glorious and everlasting kingdom in their land. This messianic idea among the Korean people was revealed through the Chonggamnok, a book of prophecy written in the fourteenth century at the beginning of the Yi dynasty. The hoped-for Righteous King foretold in the Chonggamnok has the appellation Chongdoryong (the one who comes with the true Word of God). This is a Korean prophecy of the Christ who is to return to Korea.11 Unification Church came into existence in 1947 in North Korea. When Moon was in Pyongyang before the Korean War, his messianic group had such names as Kwang-ya Kyohoe (the "Wilderness Church") or Chaegun Kyohoe (the "Second Root Church"). Its formal name, Segye Kidokkyo T'ongil Sillyong Hyophoe, was decided on in May 1954. It can be translated into English as the "Godly-and-Spiritual Association for the Unification of World Christianity". The word sillyong as a noun means "god-and-spirit".12
On June 21, 1977, the Commission on Faith and Order of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (the NCC) released to the press and other interested persons a "Critique of the Theology of the Unification Church as Set Forth in Divine Principle". The conclusion of the Critique is that the Unification Church is not a Christian Church, and that its claims to Christian identity cannot be recognized. The Critique concludes: A. The Unification Church is not a Christian Church. 1. Its doctrine of the nature of the triune God is erroneous. 2. Its Christology is incompatible with Christian teaching and belief. 3. Its teaching on salvation and the means of grace is inadequate and faulty. B. The claims of the Unification Church to Christian identity cannot be recognized. 1. The role and authority of Scripture are compromised in the teachings of the Unification Church. 2. Revelations are invoked as divine and normative in Divine Principle, which contradict basic elements of Christian faith. 3. A 'new, ultimate, final truth' is presented to complete and supplant all previously recognized religious teachings, including those of Christianity. So the Critique judges the Unification Church to be non-Christian in four doctrinal areas: trinity, christology, salvation, and scripture.13
The Unification Church is not a Christian church because it does not accept Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus are the ground and means of the salvation of persons and of the whole creation. Every church which calls itself Christian must adhere to the success and continued messiahship of Jesus Christ. Unificationism has departed so much from Christian orthodoxy that it cannot be categorized as a Christian Church.14 According to the teachings of the Unification Church Jesus failed miserably in his mission because he was not able to have a family. He failed to leave descendants through whom he could transmit pure blood to humankind. Jesus could not create the physical or political Kingdom of God on Earth. This is the Messiah's primary purpose when he comes to the earth as the Son of God. The qualification of the Messiah is that he must be able to defeat the evil and erect the Heaven on Earth. This Son of God on earth must find a divine Bride for himself, marry Her and have children with Her. In this case their children are born without original sin. Their family is the first True Family of God on earth and a perfect family, tribe, society, nation and world will be born out of this nuclear True Family. The Messiah and his divine Bride become the True Parents of the new sinless humankind.15
According to The Divine Principle Christ at the Second Advent, who is to come as the center of Christianity, is at the same time the person of the Maitreya Buddha who is to return according to the teachings of Buddhism, the True Man Jin-In who is awaited in the Chinese religious tradition, and the Chongdoryong for whom many Koreans yearn. He is the central figure whose advent is expected in other religions as well. The Jews would then agree that Christ at the Second Coming was the long awaited Messiah, the Hindus would accept him as Kalki (Vishnu's incarnation in the future age), the Muslims as the hidden Imam and the Baha'is as the messenger of the new age. All religions will find the fulfillment of their purposes at the Second Corning of Christ and are gradually coalescing into one cultural sphere.16
The Unification Church teaches that all people of the earth, in the past and in the present, have been born from the blood lineage of Satan who is their real father. In the Garden of Eden the first Adam and Eve fell under the temptation of Satan. Eve had an illicit spiritual sexual relationship with the archangel Lucifer who became Satan. After that she seduced Adam to have sex with her physically. So the Fall took place in two stages: the spiritual sexual Fall between the archangel Lucifer and Eve and the physical sexual Fall between Eve and Adam. After this event Satan dominated Eve and Eve dominated Adam. The order of dominion became wrong. When the fallen Adam and Eve had children they were born from Satan's blood lineage. So all human beings are Satan's descendants and fallen; Satan's blood is running through their veins and they must be restored back to God through the Messiah. This engrafting process takes place through The Holy Wine Ceremony and is later completed through The Three Day Ceremony. These two ceremonies are parts of The Blessing of Marriage. All fallen people who participate in these sacraments experience the rebirth, are cut off from their satanic blood lineage and are engrafted into the True Family of the Messiah. Gradually all humankind will form one great family under God and the True Parents. So the Kingdom of God on Earth and in Heaven will be born. There can be no Heaven in the spiritual world before the Heaven on Earth is established. After physical human beings have lived first in the Kingdom of God on Earth only after that they can enter the Kingdom of God in the spirit world. Only Blessed Couples and their children who are without original sin can enter the Heaven in the spirit world after their physical death.17 The Kingdom of God in the spirit world was opened in 1984 when Rev. Moon's son, Heung Jin Nim, who died in a car accident entered Heaven.
The main mission of the Unification Church is to create God's blood lineage concretely on earth. The Unification Church teaches God wants to give birth to physical sons and daughters. When these children of God have reached maturity spiritually and physically they will marry each other and bear children without original sin. Through this process God will be able to create his own progeny on earth and a perfect society will be born. Rev. Moon has declared that he and his Wife Hak Ja Han are the True Parents of humankind and the first parents who have reached spiritual perfection. They have started God's physical blood lineage and will establish divine rule on earth. A new theocratic global world will be born with Rev. and Mrs. Moon and their physical children as the center.18 In October 1968, in Seoul, Rev. Moon proclaimed publicly that he is the Messiah.19 For the second time Rev. Moon declared that he and his wife Hak Ja Han are the Messiah, the Lord of the Second Advent and the True Parents of humankind on August 24,1992 in Seoul, Korea.20
At the third declaration of messiahship an extraordinary event happened on March 23, 2004, in the Dirksen Senate Office building on Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. More than 300 people and a dozen lawmakers attended a congressional reception honoring the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in which Moon declared himself as the Messiah and said his teachings have helped Hitler and Stalin be "reborn as new persons". At the March 23 ceremony Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) wore white gloves and carried a pillow holding one of two ornate gold crowns that were placed on the heads of Moon and his wife Hak Ja Han. Moon then delivered a long speech saying he was "sent to Earth …to save the world's six billion people …Emperors, kings and presidents…have declared to all Heaven and Earth that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent."21
The second coronation ceremony took place on June 13, 2006, in Cheongpyeong near Seoul, Korea. Members of the international Unification Church came from all countries and continents to present crowns to Rev. and Mrs. Moon and crowned them as the King and Queen of Cosmic Peace. On this same coronation ceremony Rev. Moon established officially the substantial Kingdom of God on Earth, Cheon Il Guk. On that day Sun Myung Moon and his wife and children were moving to live in their new royal palace, 天正宮 Cheon Jeong Gung Palace which is on the side of a mountain.22
▲ The Cheon Jeong Gung Palace was opened on June 13, 2006. It cost $1billion.
▲ The Cheon Seong Wang Lim Palace – Palace of Heavenly Presence, The Original Palace – is beside Cheongpyeong lake. It was opened in November 1999 for Sun Myung Moon's 80th birthday. In the photo, the palace is lower right and the tall building at the back is the hospital where Moon died in 2012.
▲ The main hall of the Cheon Seong Wang Lim Palace can hold up to 10,000 people. The two palaces are about a mile from each other.
The Cheon Jeong Gung Palace on the mountain is the center of the new Kingdom of God on Earth and from there Sun Myung Moon and his wife and children are governing the new world. Rev. Moon established also the Peace Kingdom Police Force and the Peace Kingdom Corps for the welfare and future of humanity. These two organizations will safeguard law and order in the new world. The new Kingdom of God on Earth has a heavenly constitution which all citizens of the Kingdom are obliged to follow.23 The Kingdom of God on Earth is inhabited by Blessed Couples and their descendants. The Unification Church has issued yellow-gold Cheon Il Guk membership cards to keep in wallets. The Cheon ll Guk cards have True Parents' photo on them.24
Rev. Moon is not unique while claiming to be the Messiah. It is estimated that there were about seventy people belonging to different spiritual groups in Korea who declared to be the Messiah or the Lord of the Second Advent around 1945.25 A real race of Korean Messiah candidates began. The winner is the one who is capable of founding the physical Kingdom of God on Earth. So far no one has succeeded in this task. Rev. Moon has no sovereign country, no physical foundation where to establish his theocracy. So Rev. Moon has not yet accomplished the task of the Messiah even according to his own criteria.26 In this light his public messianic declarations and coronation ceremonies and royal life style have been premature.
Rev. Moon's fifth wife, Hak Ja Han27 was declared as perfect and a co-messiah by Rev. Moon in 1992. This means the Unification Church considers her to be the incarnate Goddess or the incarnate Holy Spirit.28 She married Sun Myung Moon in South Korea when she was a 17 year old school girl. Rev. Moon was then, in 1960, 40 years old. Hak Ja Han is a mother of 14 children. As a female co-messiah she is supposed to save all women of the world. Many might expect her to create her own theology or philosophy of history from a female point of view which certainly differs from the masculine interpretations of human history of her husband. One of her most important missions should be recording Women's History. Until now the recorded and interpreted record of the past of the human race is only a partial record because it omits the past of half of humankind. It is distorted because it tells the story from the viewpoint of the male half of humanity only. In the patriarchal past women have been kept from contributing to History-making, that is, the ordering and interpretation of the past of humankind. It is necessary to add the female vision to the male and as a consequence that process will be transforming. The denial to women of their history has reinforced their acceptance of the ideology of patriarchy. Men's version of history, legitimized as the "universal truth," has presented women as marginal to civilization and as the victim of historical process.29 So long as males create the theological language, it matters little whether they "add women in" or ignore them completely. Women will still be second class citizens, doomed to be forever equated with their bodies and negativity while males achieve positive status and are equated with rationality, intellect, spirit, and with God.30 But so far Hak Ja Han has not presented her own female interpretation of the past history of humankind. In her public appearances she merely repeats Rev. Moon's theology.
Sun Myung Moon is a global theocrat who combines religion, economics and politics in his oflice. He is a multi-billionaire who controls a huge business empire in Korea, Japan, USA, South-America and other parts of the world. His factories manufacture arms, for instance M-16 automatic rifles, Kahr pistols, Thompson machine guns, air craft weaponry, heavy machinery, computers, pharmaceuticals, electronics, build ships or process ginseng and seafood.31 Rev. Moon's fish businesses deliver raw fish to about 7000 sushi32 restaurants throughout the US. Further Rev. Moon has titanium mines, automobile assembly lines, fishing fleets, newspapers, TV-channels, hotels, casinos, luxurious mansions and estates in many countries and enormous land properties for instance in South America. Rev. Moon and his family are living in extreme luxury. Most of his followers on the other hand live in poverty. After serving Rev. Moon and his church for many decades without pay the members and their families are left alone to survive. In the 1970s most young Unification Church members dropped their studies at universities when joining the Church and so they did not get any schooling to any profession. Their financial situation is desperate in many cases. The only exception to this rule is Rev. Moon's small elite troop of original disciples from Korea. Their families live quite comfortably in the USA and other countries. Originally all Rev. Moon's money came from his followers who were doing fundraising in the streets for eighteen hours a day or they had jobs and donated their salaries and assets to the Church. Later many disciples founded different businesses for the Church and were fundraising the first capital for them. Rev. Moon's industries employ volunteers from the Unification Church who work at sub-standard wages. The members also perform most of the repair, renovation and maintenance work of the Unification Church without pay. The staff at Rev. Moon's mansion "East Garden" in New York includes chefs, launderers, housekeepers, hairdressers, nannies, plumbers, carpenters, auto mechanics, lock-smiths, electricians, tailors, gardeners, dentists, doctors, and dozens of security guards always on call. Rev. Moon has grown enormously rich because his followers were employed as cheap labor force who worked long hours through days, evenings, nights and weekends and were paid minimal wages or not at all.33 Today Unification Church members are required to pay one third of all their income, assets, inheritance and scholarships to the Church.34
Today the companies which were originally founded by members to profit the Unification Church have been transferred into the personal possession of Rev. Moon and his immediate family members. Kook Jin "Justin" Moon, Rev. Moon's son, graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with an economics degree in 1992. Then, under his father's orders, he instituted a boardroom shake-up of the Unification Church's many companies, and placed Moon and his family members in the key positions. Like his father the son was afraid when his father died, the disciples would betray the Moon family. He wanted everything in the family's name. The Unification Church International Inc. is a for-profit holding company which controls many companies through one or more intermediary corporations, such as Virginia-based One-Up Enterprises. Rev. Moon's son Hyun Jin "Preston" Moon is the President of the Unification Church International Inc. and the second son Kook Jin "Justin" Moon is the President of Saeilo Enterprises Inc. and Tongil Group. True Family Trust, based in Liechtenstein, is said to play an important part in the Moon family's financial operations. The main wealth basis of Sun Myung Moon lies in Asia, Korea and Japan.35
This appropriation of the wealth of the Unification Church into the personal possession of Rev. Moon and his family members seems to be in contradiction with The Divine Principle. It states that all God's children have the same original value. Just as parents love all their children equally, God desires to provide pleasant environments and living conditions equally to all His children. God wants to create a socialistic society on Heaven's side because socialism embodies God's ideal. Early Christians lived according to this ideal in some respects by sharing all their goods in common.36
Sun Myung Moon has repeatedly declared that his political goal is global theocracy. He has expressed his desire for political and economic control originating from centralized religious power. This global theocracy is headed by the returned Messiah, Rev. and Mrs. Moon, and their direct physical descendants. Their family line forms a new royalty governing the world. What is essential to understand about the Unification Church and its related operations is that its religion and politics are virtually inseparable. In one of his speeches from 1973 Moons says: But when it comes to our age, we must have an automatic theocracy to rule the world. So we cannot separate the political field from the religious. Democracy was born because people ruled the world… Then, we come to the conclusion that God has to rule the world, and God loving people have to rule the world – and that is logical. We have to purge the corrupted politicians, and the sons of God must rule the world. The separation between religion and politics is what Satan likes most.37 Moon does not recognize the legitimacy of constitutional democracy. Democracy is just a transitory phase on the way toward the global theocracy.38
Moon's greatest obstacle in his way to fulfill his mission, the building of the Kingdom of God on Earth, has been international Communism. According to Moon Communism was in our days the incarnation of Satan on earth. Rev. Moon founded his INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR VICTORY OVER COMMUNISM (IFVOC) on January 13, 1968. Through its various rallies, lectures and seminars IFVOC encouraged people to be firmly armed with an anti-communist ideology. Moon established his international anti-communist bases in the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, South America and the United States. Rev. Moon sponsored the IFVOC conferences all over the world. The honorary chairman of these conferences was a prominent Japanese industrialist named Ryoichi Sasakawa. Sasakawa was a fascist youth leader in the 1930s and he was convicted as a Class 'A' war criminal at the end of World War II. In addition to Sasakawa, Yoshio Kodama and many other prominent Japanese politicians, including former Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, were supporters of Rev. Moon's IFVOC. Yoshio Kodama and Nobusuke Kishi were former fascists, too, and convicted as Class 'A' war criminals like Sasakawa. Kodama was the head of the Japanese organized crime yakuza. Prime Minister Kishi was a supporter of Rev. Moon and a CAUSA official. CAUSA International or THE CONFEDERATION OF THE ASSOCIATIONS FOR THE UNIFICATION OF THE AMERICAS was founded by Rev. Moon in 1980. The Unification Church made an alliance with the Japanese underworld and used vast amounts of money, funds of unknown origin, for influence peddling in the United States and South America through a variety of front groups. According to Moon, CAUSA had to fight against three main enemies of God: godless communism, Christ-less American liberalism, and secular-humanistic morality.39
In the late 1980s the Cold War ended. Anti-Communism had long been the glue which held the right wing together. With the demise of the Soviet Union, the Moon organization, along with the New Right and Religious Right, turned its attention to enemies at home. This focus appeared dramatically at the 1992 Republican Party convention, as speakers called for a cultural war against secular humanism. In 1992 the Republicans, with the New Right and Religious Right, talked about "family values". The Unification Church began its fight against free sex, pornography and homosexuality. They consider this to be the ultimate battle between God and the forces of evil.40
The sexual revolution in the 1960s liberated especially women to express their sexuality freely. According to Rev. Moon "…many American women have inherited the lineage of prostitutes, but in reality these prostitutes are earning money, this is their job. However, American women are even worse because they practice free sex just because they enjoy it… God hates the American atmosphere. Satan created this kind of Hell on the Earth."41
The Moon organization emphasizes a highly conservative and patriarchal social order, in which Rev. Moon directs women to be subservient to men. Many Moon affiliates focus on family issues and insist on the centrality of the patriarchal family as the moral basis of society. Rev. Moon wants to control people's sexual life absolutely.42
Rev. Moon's ties to the international Right, his opposition to labor unions and his extremely conservative views on gender and sexuality provide strong bonds to the right wing in US politics. The Moon organization provides millions of dollars for conservative political organizations and candidates. The organization was deeply involved in the anti-communist crusades in Central America during the Reagan years and it paid large sums for "educational" trips for journalists and Congressional staffers.43 According to Anderson's report, CIA and the Unification Church members cooperated in the Sandinista War. In the Central American hinterlands it was sometimes difficult to distinguish CIA operatives from the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's disciples. The Messiah had a solid presence in the region. CAUSA has helped "freedom fighters" with basic supplies, cash and emergency relief. Anderson has seen gun-toting guerrillas in Honduras clad in red CAUSA T-shirts.44
In 1980 Moon made friends in South America when Bolivia's Cocaine Coup plotters seized power. According to Bolivian government and newspaper reports, a Moon representative invested about 4 million US dollars in preparations for the coup. CAUSA listed as members nearly all the leading Bolivian coup-makers.45 Besides collaborating with Sasakawa and the Japanese yakuza and the Cocaine Coup government of Bolivia, Moon's organization developed close ties with the Honduran military and the Nicaraguan contra movement, which were permeated with drug smugglers and human rights violators. Senator John Kerry's contra-drug investigation concluded that a number of contra units were implicated in the cocaine trade. According to Senator Kerry's report, issued April 13, 1989, it was clear that individuals who provided support for the contras were involved in drug trafficking, the supply network of the contras was used by drug trafficking organizations, and elements of the contras themselves knowingly received financial and material assistance from drug traffickers.46
Ties to the White House after Nixon continued into the administrations of Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Senior and George W. Bush Junior. The Moon organization was also involved in the election campaign of George Bush the younger in 2000 and Rev. Moon's newspaper The Washington Times adopted an extremely aggressive approach towards the Clinton administration. The Washington Times has also attacked President Barack Obama by accusing him to be a Muslim. According to the newspaper there is mounting evidence that the President not only identifies with Muslims, but actually he may still be one himself. Further Rev. Moon's newspaper accused President Obama of aligning himself with Shariah-adherents.47 Moon has donated millions of dollars to the Bush family.48
Moon's ties to the Bush administration were on display when Moon was honored at a "Prayer Breakfast" on January 19, 2001, at the Hyatt Hotel in Washington during the inauguration events. Many insiders consider Moon to be a key backroom figure and the main funder in the US right, to whom an increasing number of conservative politicians are indebted. The Unification Church has built a pervasive, Washington-centered political machine that buys and lobbies political figures in surprising numbers. Almost all conservative organizations have some ties to the Unification Church. Conservatives fear repercussions if they expose the church's role.49
1.3. Earlier Research about the Unification Church
The Unification Church is the most researched new religion in the West. Since Rev. Moon came to the United States and moved the headquarters of his church there in 1971, the Unification Church has attracted a lot of public interest, even controversy. Hence derives also the interest of sociologists to study this movement from different perspectives. These sociologists have been interested in Unificationism more as a social movement than in its theology.
Sociological studies about the Unification Church have dealt mainly with such issues as recruitment, conversion and maintenance of faith. One of the first studies of this type was The Doomsday Cult by John Lofland. He conducted a field research among members of the first Unification Church mission in the United States in the 1960s when the church was in its early phase in the Bay Area of California and still on the fringes of society. Dr. Young Oon Kim was sent by Rev. Moon as a missionary to the USA in 1959 and John Lofland's research deals with the early developments of the Unification Church under her leadership.50
Another important research about the Unification Church is by David G. Bromley and Anson D. Shupe, Jr., both well-known sociologists in the field of new religious movements. They conducted their research work about the Unification Church in the 1970s in the USA when Rev. Moon had begun his public ministry there. They examined the Unification Church through the resource mobilization perspective. The strength of this perspective is its emphasis on the organizational aspects of social movements. For example they examined how the Unification Church aggregated resources relevant to the pursuit of its goals. Also this emphasis led to a concern with how the Unification Church organized itself internally and externally. Rev. Moon conducted numerous speaking tours in major American cities and at the same time his followers intensified the proselytizing of new members. Many college students joined the church. They dropped their studies at the universities, moved to live in the communities of young people and began their fund-raising activities and missionary work for Rev. Moon. In many cases new converts cut off their relationships with their parents, relatives and friends. Therefore Rev. Moon's church began to arouse strong controversy among the parents and the public. Anti-cult organizations were built in the USA in order to combat the Unification Church and many members were kidnapped by their parents and deprogrammed by hired specialists. The church was accused for using brainwashing techniques in the recruitment of new members.51
Eileen Barker, of the London School of Economics, has published a portion of her observations, which she recorded over a period of time with members, in a study dedicated principally to the reasons why many young people decided to follow Unificationism. She studied the Unification Church as it was in England in the 1980s. She has concentrated especially on the controversial brainwashing theory and concluded on the basis of her study that brainwashing techniques are not used in the Unification Church. It is, however, clear that any process of conversion to religion or political ideology employs latent techniques of desocialization and resocialization.52
James H. Grace has conducted sociological research work about the Unification Church in the 1980s and focuses on the central concern of Unification life and thought: sexual conduct. The marriage, blessed by Rev. and Mrs. Moon, is the purpose of life for Unification Church members. Therefore Dr. Grace's book can serve as an introduction to the heart of Unificationism. The primary purpose of his work is to present an empirically based, "objective" account of sexuality and marriage in the Unification Movement and to provide a viable sociological explanation of this phenomenon in terms of how it functions within the group. His research data indicates that the group's ability to maintain and enhance member commitment is closely related to its sexual and marital practices. Grace does not, however, deal with the influence of Korean Shamanism upon The Blessing of Marriage Ceremony.53
George D. Chryssides conducted a phenomenological study about the Unification Church in 1991. In this research he has dealt with the origins, beliefs and practices of the Unification Church. Chryssides strives to examine the nature of the Unification Church as a religion, and to demonstrate how its distinctive religious beliefs and practices have developed as a result of its Korean origins. Chryssides acknowledges the importance of understanding a religious community as if from within, without bringing to bear one's own preconceptions and prejudices. The self-perception of a religious community is therefore of supreme importance. Chryssides does not believe that the Unification Church ever practiced the yongch'e or pikareum ceremonies for changing the fallen people's satanic blood lineage into God's blood lineage. Therefore he does not see the relationship between the Korean shamanistic initiation rite Naerim kut and the yongch'e or pikareum ceremony of Korean messianic groups, including the Unification Church, and further between them and The Holy Wine Ceremony and The Three Day Ceremony.54
There are much fewer researches about Rev. Moon's theology than sociological studies about his church. Among theologians interested in the Unification Church was the late Jesuit professor and sociologist Joseph H. Fichter. One of his first articles on the subject, somewhat favorable to Unificationism, was published in 1979 in the magazine America and aroused some controversy.55 Later, in 1985, Fichter published a book about Rev. Moon's church and theology. His research is a sociological analysis of the main structural features of the Unification Church and is probably best listed in the academic discipline of ecclesiology. He had two objective reasons for making a study of the Unification Church. The first was his deep desire to promote the ecumenical outreach and the second motive was his concern about the prevalent religious bigotry that is expressed against the so-called "cults", the new religious movements.56
Another exception is a doctoral thesis by Alfred O'Connor at the University of Wales, 1995. The title of his work describes very well his main focus: "An Understanding of Sin and Redemption in Traditional Christianity and in Unification Theology". The major purpose of this work can be seen as an attempt to begin an ecumenical dialogue between Unification Theology and mainline Christian doctrine. O'Connor seeks to present a productive ecumenism that takes into account the unique innovative characteristics of Unification Theology.57
Another doctoral thesis about the Unification Church was completed by Sarah Lewis at the University of Wales in 1996. Her Religious Studies thesis is a phenomenological study of the theology of the Unification Church. The aim of her work was to investigate the status of the Unification Church as a Christian church, especially in the light of the messianic claims of Sun Myung Moon. She suggested that Unification Theology adheres to some areas of the early Christian tradition, yet despite these parallels, that it diverts largely from the orthodoxy that ultimately triumphed. She concludes that Unificationism has departed so much from Christian orthodoxy that it is misleading to categorize it as a Christian church.58
Choe Joong-hyun submitted his dissertation about the Unification Church in the Graduate School of Syracuse University in 1993. He states that the Unification Church poses a tough question related to the disaster causation model, because it did not grow to any significant degree during the first decade following the start of the Korean War in 1950. The Korean War did not significantly help the Unification Church in terms of their membership growth. The founder of the Unification Church, Sun Myung Moon, could not secure sufficient means for reaching his potential audience during the post-War period. The Unification Church's failure to reach potential converts came from its delayed "sanitizing" of a deviant ceremony, that is the yongch'e ceremony 'receiving a new spiritual body' or pikareum ceremony 'exchange of blood lineage'. If this ceremony had been "sanitized" on time, then the group might have had a better chance to become a mass movement during the 1950s. Choe Joong-hyun acknowledges that there is no information available how the yongch'e or pikareum ceremony of the Korean messianic groups, including the Unification Church, came about. He does not see the influence of the shamanistic initiation rite upon this ceremony nor does he find any parallels to other religions.59
So far there is no research which examines the relationship between the Korean shamanistic rite Naerim kut or Kangsin kut and the yongch'e or pikareum ceremony of the Unification Church and further between them and The Holy Wine Ceremony and The Three Day Ceremony. I hope this research will shed some light upon these relationships and additionally find some significant parallels to other religions.
1 Jumalalliset Prinsiipit, Opinto-opas, saksasta kääntänyt Kirsti Laaninen, Gesellschaft zur Vereinigung des Weltchristentums e.V., Essen, 1971.
2 Her birth name was Ellen Kocher.
3 See more about the history of the Unification Church in Finland: History of The Unification Movement in Finland, Helsinki, March 2006. http://www.euro-tongil.org/finnish/finnish_history.htm
4 Exposition of The Divine Principle, The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, Second Printing, New York, 1998.
5 HOON DOK HAE, The Gathering for Reading and Learning Words of Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
http://www.unification.org/ucbooks/HDH/index.html
6 Flasche, Rainer, The Unification Church in the Context of East-Asian Religious Traditions in Acta Comparanda II, Antwerp: Faculteit voor vergleijkende Godsdienstwetenschappen, 1987, p. 27.
7 Sun Myung Moon's original name was Mun Yong-myung. Yong means "Dragon". He was born in a village called Sangsa-ri near the small town of Jeongju in North Korea on 6 January 1920 as a son of a farming family.
8 Chryssides, George D., The Advent of Sun Myung Moon, The Origins, Beliefs and Practices of the Unification Church, Macmillan Professional and Academic Ltd., Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London, 1991, pp. 46-107.
9 Chryssides, George D., The Advent of Sun Myung Moon, The Origins, Beliefs and Practices of the Unification Church, pp. 79, 88.
10 Moon, Sang-hee, Fundamental Doctrines of the New Religions in Korea in Korea Journal, Vol. 11, 1971, p. 23.
11 Exposition of the Divine Principle, The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, Second Printing, New York, 1998, pp. 404, 405.
12 Choe, Joong-hyun, The Korean War and Messianic Groups: Two cases in contrast, Dissertation, Syracuse University, 1993, p. 94.
13 Wells, Jonathan, Theological Witch-Hunt: The NCC Critique of the Unification Church, Journal of Unification Studies, 1997. http://www.tparents.org/library/unification/talks/wells/Wells-97000.htm
14 Lewis, Sarah M., Unification, Christianity and the messianic claims of Sun Myung Moon, Doctoral thesis, University of Wales, Lampeter, 1996, pp. ii, 378.
15 Moon, Sun Myung, God's Will and the World, The New Future of Christianity, September 18, 1974, New York. http://www.unification.net/gww/gww-17.html
Exposition of the Divine Principle, The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, Second Printing, New York, 1998, p. 112.
16 Exposition of the Divine Principle, The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, Second Printing, New York, 1998, p. 150. See also Chryssides, George D., The Advent of Sun Myung Moon, The Origins, Beliefs and Practices of the Unification Church, 1991, p. 176.
17 Exposition of the Divine Principle, pp. 63-65, 112-119, 284.
18 Moon, Sun Myung, Preparation for Blessing, May 20, 1978, Lancaster Gate Church, London, England.
http://www.unification.net/1978/780520.htmI
Moon, Sun Myung, Our Mission in the Last Days of Providential History, Founder's Keynote Address, Congratulatory Banquet, Crown of Peace Awards, Washington DC, December 13, 2004.
http://www.unification.net/2004/20041213_2.html
19 Kim, Chong-sun, Rev. Sun Myung Moon in The Unification Church I, Views from the Outside, Edited with an introduction by Michael L. Mickler, Garland Publishing, New York, London, 1990, p. 287;
Chun, Young-bok, The Korean Background of the Unification Church in The Unification Church I, Views from the Outside, Edited with an introduction by Michael L. Mickler, Garland Publishing, New York, London, 1990, p. 17.
20 Moon, Sun Myung, Reappearance of the True Parents and the Ideal Family, Women's Federation For World Peace, World Convention, August 24, 1992, Seoul, Korea: "I have fulfilled my mission as the Lord of the Second Advent, Savior and the True Parent. I am proclaiming this in this place because the time has some to do so. Those who accept this will be blessed. If this race listens to me, how good that would be for this country. How good it would be if the statesmen listen to me. Whether a person listens to me or not is his individual responsibility; however; the time is coming when all people of the whole world will listen to me."
http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/sunmyungmoon92/SM920827.htm
21 Babington, Charles and Cooperman, Alan, The Rev. Moon Honored at Hill Reception, Lawmakers Say They Were Misled, Washington Post Staff Writers, Wednesday, June 23, 2004, page A01.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61932-2004Jun22.html
Stolberg, Sheryl Gay, The Talk of Washington: Reverend Moon's Senate 'coronation, International Herald Tribune, The IHT Online, Thursday, June 24, 2004.
http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?file=526375.html
Moon, Sun Myung, Declaring the Era of the Peace Kingdom, Address to the United States Congress, The United States Capitol, Washington, DC, March 23, 2004.
22 More than a billion US dollars was spent on this royal palace of Sun Myung Moon: Michael L. Mickler, Jumong: A Window into Korean and Unification Culture in Journal of Unification Studies, Vol. 10, 2009,
page 51. http://www.journals.uts.edu/volume-x-2009/340-jumong-a-window-into-korean-and-unification-culture.html
https://uts.edu/Journals/volume-x-2009/340-jumong-a-window-into-korean-and-unification-culture.html
23 Moon, Sun Myung, God's Ideal Family and the Kingdom of the Peaceful, Ideal World, March 25-April 3, 2006, Republic of Korea.
http://www.unification.net/2006/20060202_1.html
Moon, Sun Myung, Cheon II Guk is the Ideal Heavenly Kingdom of Eternal Peace, June 13, 2006.
https://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/SunMyungMoon06/SunMyungMoon-060613c.htm
Moon, Sun Myung, True Parents' Entrance into the Original Palace and Coronation — Building an Era of Tranquility and Peace for Cheon Il Guk and the Kingdom of the Peaceful, Ideal World, FFWPU International, June 13, 2006.
http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/SunMyungMoon06/SunMyungMoon-060613b.htm
24 Doo, Ken, Cheon Il Guk Membership Cards, November 4, 2002.
http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Talks/Doo/Doo-021104.htm
25 Breen, Michael, Sun Myung Moon, The Early Years 1920-53, Refuge Books, West Sussex BN6 9SZ, U.K., 1997, p. 167. https://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Books/Sm-Early/0-Toc.htm
26 Exposition of the Divine Principle, The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, Second Printing, New York, 1998, pp. 220, 264: Therefore, even though the national foundation for the Messiah was established under Joshua's leadership, it would be necessary to build a sovereign kingdom from which the Messiah could confront the satanic nations of the world.
Moon, Sun Myung, God's Fatherland and the Age of Kingship in Cheon-il Guk, World Summit on Leadership and Governance, Lotte Hotel, Seoul, Korea, February 5, 2003: … We do not yet have God's Kingdom. A person without a nation does not have a permanent domicile, a nationality, or the possibility to register as a citizen. For this reason, we must accomplish in the present world the establishment of an ideal nation that is in keeping with God's desire. We must form the heavenly kingdom with one mind, one body and one thought, so as to constitute one nation centering on the religion and state of the chosen people of the third Israel. We must live on the earth as citizens of this nation. In that nation we lead our own families and kin, and inherit the lineage of the true and good parents who love their country and their nation as victorious sons and daughters. Only in that way will we enter the Kingdom of Heaven in the spiritual world… If there is no nation, it all will have been for nothing. This is why we must understand that the establishment of God's Kingdom is the most important task in all heaven and earth… We cannot receive God's love unless we have a nation. This is because only after we have been victorious over nations under Satan's kingship can God's Kingdom be established.
27 Hak Ja Han is written in Korea in the form Han Hak-ja, and Sun Myung Moon in the form Mun Sun-myung. Sun Myung Moon was matched to Ms. Choi Sun-gil in 1943 and officially married to her in 1945. They divorced on January 8, 1957. Sun Myung Moon married Ms. Hak Ja Han in 1960.
Los Angeles Times, September 3, 2012 "Moon … problems with the North Korean government, which jailed him [in 1948] on charges of bigamy … He was freed in 1950. Moon's first marriage, to Choe Sung-kil, ended in divorce in 1957. He had a son with her and another with Kim Myung-hee, who lived with Moon during the 1950s. In 1960 he married Han, then a young disciple."
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-sun-myung-moon-20120903,0,619774.story
Moon's common law wives have been:
1. Ms. Kim Chong-hwa in North Korea
[Moon lived in her house in Kyungchang-ri, Pyongyang, with her husband, Chong Myong-sun, from October 1946 to February 22, 1948 when Moon and Kim were arrested and both were charged with bigamy since she was also married, and had three children. Kim was sentenced to eighteen months in jail. Moon, Sun Myung, Sun Myung Moon's Life In His Own Words: Part 10: "There was a woman [Ms Kim Chong-hwa] who was an important figure in the providence. I visited her house for a year and a half and witnessed to her husband and all the other members of her family. The husband might have wanted to kill me, but he couldn't do anything." http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Books/SunMyungMoon-Life/SunMyungMoon-Life-10.htm ; Breen, Michael, Sun Myung Moon, The Early Years 1920-53 pp 79-88: "A few days after his arrival in Pyongyang, he [Moon] met Kim Chong-hwa and her husband, who lived nearby. She was the women's group leader at the Somunae-pak Church, one of the largest Presbyterian churches in the city. She would become his main follower in north Korea."; Hagiwara, Ryo: The Life of Sun Myung Moon – the Messiah of a Perverted Sex Religion, 1991, p. 70 "Sun Myung Moon was first arrested by the security police on August 11, 1946. He was detained for three months at the Daedong police station [in Pyongyang]. The charge was for causing social disorder, for alleged sexual immorality. On February 22, 1948 Sun Myung Moon was arrested for a second time by the 内務省 Ministry of the Interior [not the 内務署 Interior Department] for his coerced marriage with a housewife, Mrs Kim Chong-hwa. On April 27 he was sentenced to five years in Heungnam prison."
淫教のメシア • 文鮮明伝 – 萩原遼
2. Ms. Kim Myung-hee in South Korea [She left Korea for Japan in July or early August 1955; Hee-jin Moon was born in Tokyo on August 17, 1955. They returned to Korea on October 2, 1959.
Moon, Sun Myung, Sun Myung Moon's Life In His Own Words: Part 37 Organization and Outreach in Chaotic Times. Moon speaks about the son he had with Kim Myung-hee and there is a photo of him with Hee-jin Moon http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Books/SunMyungMoon-Life/SunMyungMoon-Life-37.htm ]
3. Ms. Choi Won-bok. Ms. Choi Won-bok lived with Rev. Moon from the mid 1950s through the 1960s until 1977 in South Korea and in the United States. She was considered to be the "Second Mother" and a member of the True Family. See a photo: The True Family circa 1969.
http://www.tparents.org/Library/Moon/Photos/Mph-1954/tp-690000.GIF
▲ Ms. Choi Won-bok is standing on Moon's left in the Leah position, while Hak Ja Han is on his right in the Rachel position.
See also Moon, Sun Myung, The Significance Of God's Day, Master Speaks, January 1, 1972, Washington, D.C.
"Master [Sun Myung Moon] stood in Adam's position and Mrs. Choi stood in Eve's position." https://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/sunmyungmoon72/SM720101.htm
and
Moon, Sun Myung, The Meaning of the Day of Victory of Love, January 2, 1997, San Paulo, Brazil. http://www.unification.net/1997/970102.html
Ms. Choi Won-bok described her relationship with Moon in this way:
One day I said to Father: "I also want to have a spiritual experience." Smiling, he replied to me, "I don't let intellectuals do this sort of thing – because when such a person becomes intoxicated / euphoric, they will rely solely on the spiritual experience and will not get more important work done." I was about to give up, but I was somewhat lonely and wanted to have the experience. He understood this. He said, "Would you like to experience it just once?" So straight away that night I was able to experience it. From her testimony at the Fukuoka Church, Japan, on December 5, 1990. Here is the original Japanese from the UC magazine:
祝福 Shukufuku no. 69 (June 25, 1991) p. 72
私がいつかお父様に、「私も霊的体験をしてみたいのです」と申し上げると、笑っておられて、「理知的な者にはあまりさせないよ。それに陶酔してしまうと、霊的経験にだけ頼って大きな仕事ができない」と言われました。それで、諦めようと思ったけれども何だか寂しく、体験してみたいと思っていますと、お父様はお分かりでした。「一度だけ体験してみたいか」とおっしゃったのです。すると、その晩直ちに体験できました。
The six 'wives' of Sun Myung Moon:
https://tragedyofthesixmarys.com/six-wives-sun-myung-moon/
28 Moon, Sun Myung, The Meaning of the Day of Victory of Love, January 2, 1997. Salo Paulo, Brazil: Because of this process, I could not raise True Mother until 1992. Because women are talkative, a woman has a great possibility to disclose providential secrets. Therefore, after accomplishing all things for forty years, from 1952 until 1992, with the liberation of women, True Mother could stand beside me with equal qualification. From that time, I began a three to four-year course of handing over my authority to True Mother. I am going such a way now until this year.
http://www.unification.net/1997/970102.html
29 Compare Lerner, Gerda, The Creation of Patriarchy, Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford, 1986, pp. 3-14, 223.
30 Lowney, Kathleen S., Passport to Heaven, Gender Roles in the Unification Church, Garland Publishing, Inc., New York, London, 1992, p. 194.
31 It is very difficult to reconcile Rev. Moon's businesses of arms manufacturing on a massive scale with his mission as "King of Cosmic Peace".
Sun Myung Moon and weapons manufacturing:
http://howwelldoyouknowyourmoon.tumblr.com/post/145933930243/sun-myung-moon-and-weapons-manufacturing
32 Eng, Monica and Alexander, Delroy and Jackson, David, Sushi and Rev. Moon, How Americans' growing appetite for sushi is helping to support his controversial church, Chicago Tribune, April 11, 2006.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/chi-0604sushi-1-story-story.html
33 Bromley, David G. and Shupe, Anson D., Dynamik zwischen Ideologie und sozialer Organisation in sozialen Bewegungen: Der Fall der unifikatorischen Bewegung in Das Entstehen einer neuen Religion, Das
Beispiel der Vereinigungskirche, Kehrer Günter (Hrsg.), Kösel-Verlag GmbH & Co., München, 1981, pp. 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 127.
Survival of the Richest, Yeon Jin Moon, April 1, 2006. The words of Reverend Moon's Family.
http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/moon-family/YeonJin-060401.htm
Fisher, Marc and Leen, Jeff, A Church in Flux Is Flush With Cash, Washington Post Staff Writers, Sunday, November 23, 1997; Page A01.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/main.htm
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/part2.htm
Isikoff, Michael, Washington Post Staff Writer, Theological Uproar in Unification Church; Rev. Moon Recognizes Zimbabwean as His Reincarnated Son, Washington Post, March 30, 1988.
also published in the Los Angeles Times
http://articles.latimes.com/1988-04-01/news/vw-787_1_heung-jin-nim
http://www.skepticfiles.org/cultinfo/wp-mon33.htm
Hong, Nansook, Black Heung Jin (Cleophas Kundiona) In The Shadow of the Moons, My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, New York, Toronto, London, 1998, pp. 49-50, 117, 143-145, 150-153, 210.
Hong, Nansook was interviewed on 60 Minutes (video has nearly one million views)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIqZklMi8WE
34 Moon, Sun Myung, Cheon Il Guk is the Ideal Heavenly Kingdom of Eternal Peace, June 13, 2006, Cheongpyeong, Korea: … In addition, all citizens of Cheon Il Guk will provide funds for the well being and peace of humanity, not by taxation but by voluntary contributions. They will demonstrate the model of offering the first three tenths of their income for public purposes…
http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/SunMyungMoon06/SunMyungMoon-060613c.htm
35 Mintz, John, Church's Pistol Firm Exploits a Niche, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, March 10, 1999; Page A1.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/march99/moon10.htm
https://culteducation.com/group/1277-unification-church/23915-churchs-pistol-firm-exploits-a-niche.html
Paine, Harold and Gratzer, Birgit, Rev. Moon and the United Nations: A Challenge for the NGO Community, 2001, Global Policy Forum, WEED, November 2001.
https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/176/31366.html
Compare Rev. Sun Myung Moon: His Family, A Project of the Universal Peace Federation.
http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Publications/Smm-Org/family_children.htmI
36 Exposition of the Divine Principle, The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, Second Printing, New York, 1998, pp. 341-343.
37 Moon, Sun Myung, Significance of the Training Session, Third Directors' Conference, Master Speaks, May 17, 1973, Translated by Mrs. Won-bok Choi.
38 Clarkson, Fred, "Moon's Law": "God Is Phasing Out Democracy" in CovertAction, Number 27 (Spring 1987), p. 46.
39 Moon, Sun Myung, CAUSA Seminar Speech, August 29, 1985, Manhattan Center, Translator – Bo Hi Pak: This country desperately needs a God-centered president, senators and congressmen. America's intellectual establishment is liberal, godless, secular, humanistic, and anti-religious. We are declaring war against three main enemies: godless communism, Christ-less American liberalism, and secular-humanistic morality. They are enemies of God, the True Parents, the Unification Church, all of Christianity, and all religion. We are working to mobilize a united front against them.
http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/sunmyungmoon85/850829.htm
See more about Rev. Moon's anti-communist activities and cooperation with different right-wing governments, organizations, politicians and the Christian Right in the following works: Clarkson, Fred, "Moon's Law": "God Is Phasing Out Democracy" in CovertAction, Number 27 (Spring 1987), pp. 36-46; Clarkson, Frederick, Eternal Hostility, The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy, Common Courage Press, Monroe, Maine, 1997, pp. 15, 45-75, 135-136, 181-182; Kaplan, David E, and Dubro, Alec, YAKUZA, The Explosive Account of Japan's Criminal Underworld, Futura Publications, A Division of Macdonald and co (Publishers) Ltd., London NW1 7QX, 1987, pp. 98-99, 237; Anderson, Scott and Anderson, Jon Lee, Inside The League, The Shocking Exposé of How Terrorists, Nazis, and Latin American Death Squads Have Infiltrated The World Anti-Communist League, Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1986, pp. 46, 64-69, 85, 105-106, 123-130, 181, 255, 264, 272; Diamond, Sara, Spiritual Warfare, The Politics of the Christian Right, Pluto Press, London N6 5AA, 1989, pp. 58-59, 68-70, 78-79, 116, 163, 171, 176, 191, 195; Paine, Harold and Gratzer, Birgit, Rev. Moon and the United Nations: A Challenge for the NGO Community, 2001, Global Policy Forum, WEED, November 2001.
See also Gorenfeld, John, Bad Moon Rising, How Reverend Moon Created The Washington Times, Seduced the Religious Right, and Built an American Kingdom, Foreword by Barry W. Lynn, PoliPointPress, LLC, Sausalito, CA, 2008. John Gorenfeld reports in his book about Rev. Moon's political activities in the USA during the last five decades.
40 Junas, Dan, Report on the Religious Right in Washington State, ACLU of Washington, Religious Freedom, Religious Right Report, Section 3, 1995.
http://www.aclu-wa.org/issues/religious/3.html
https://www.optouttoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Ref_Dan_Junas_ACLUReligiousRight.pdf
Introvigne, Massimo, The Unification Church, Studies in Contemporary Religions, Signature Books in cooperation with CESNUR (Center for Studies on New Religions), Elle Di Ci, Leumann (Torino), Italy, 2000, p. 26.
41 Moon, Sun Myung, The Time of Liberation for the Family of World Peace, Belvedere – International Training Center, Translator – Peter Kim, September 8, 1996. http://www.unification.net/1996/960908.html
Fisher, Marc and Leen, Jeff, Stymied in U.S., Moon's Church Sounds a Retreat, Washington Post Staff Writers, Monday, November 24, 1997; Page A01.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/part2.htm
42 Paine, Harold and Gratzer, Birgit, Rev. Moon and the United Nations: A Challenge for the NGO Community, 2001, Global Policy Forum, WEED, November 2001.
Junas, Dan, Report on the Religious Right in Washington State, ACLU of Washington, Religious Freedom, Religious Right Report, Section 3, 1995.
Moon, Sun Myung, The Parents of Heaven and Earth and the Family of Absolute Unity, Belvedere International Training Center, Translator Peter Kim, August 4, 1996: …Do you think that God welcomes free sexual behavior? (No.) In America the establishment of homosexual and lesbian couples is now beginning. Drinking alcohol, smoking, taking drugs are all Satan's weapons… Free sex is like a poisonous snake, promoting AIDS and destructive diseases. One bite from this poisonous snake forever cuts down the ideal world. The enemy Satan is behind this hateful free sex action…
43 Clarkson, Fred, "God Is Phasing Out Democracy" in CovertAction, Number 27 (Spring 1987), pp. 38, 39. Paine, Harold and Gratzer, Birgit, Rev. Moon and the United Nations: A Challenge for the NGO Community, 2001, Global Policy Forum, WEED, November 2001.
44 Anderson, Scott and Anderson, Jon Lee, Inside The League, The Shocking Exposé of How Terrorists, Nazis, and Latin American Death Squads Have Infiltrated The World Anti-Communist League, Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1986, pp. 128, 233, 234.
Parry, Robert, Secrecy & Privilege, Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, The Media Consortium Inc., Arlington, Virginia, 2004, pp. 235-240.
Gorenfeld, John, Bad Moon Rising, How Reverend Moon Created The Washington Times, Seduced the Religious Right, and Built an American Kingdom, pp. 219-222.
45 Parry, Robert, Secrecy & Privilege, Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, p. 231.
46 Parry, Robert, WTimes' Hypocritical Obama-Nazi Slur, August 17, 2009.
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/081609.html
One of the ugly ironies in the Right's depiction of President Barack Obama as Hitler and health reform as a plan for Nazi-style euthanasia is that the owner of the Washington Times, which has pushed this line of attack, has had longstanding ties with World War II-era Nazis, neo-Nazis and rightist "death squads."
Indeed, the Washington Times founder and funder, Sun Myung Moon, built his international religious-business-media empire in collaboration with Japanese fascist war criminals and with operational assistance from ex-Nazi SS officer Klaus Barbie, the so-called "Butcher of Lyon."
The 89-year-old Moon also has had close ties to later generations of neo-Nazis and right-wing murderers, especially in Latin America where Moon-related organizations threw in their lot with brutal military dictators including some involved in cocaine trafficking.
Yet, in the 1970s and 1980s, Moon emerged as a major financier for the American Right. He sponsored lavish conservative conferences, slipped millions of dollars into the pockets of right-wing activists, supported prominent Republicans and – in 1982 – launched the Washington Times, which has been a prime propaganda vehicle for right-wing causes ever since.
Though the prominence of Moon and his Washington Times has diminished in recent years with the emergence of an even richer media mogul, Rupert Murdoch, and his flagship Fox News, Moon's newspaper has continued launching key propaganda themes and serving as a clearinghouse for right-wing disinformation campaigns.
47 Gaffney, Frank J. Jr., America's first Muslim president? Obama aligns with the policies of Shariah-adherents, The Washington Times, Tuesday, June 9, 2009.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/9/americas-first-muslim-president/
During his White House years, William Jefferson Clinton — someone Judge Sonia Sotomayor might call a "white male" — was dubbed "America's first black president" by a black admirer. Applying the standard of identity politics and pandering to a special interest that earned Mr. Clinton that distinction, Barack Hussein Obama would have to be considered America's first Muslim president.
This is not to say, necessarily, that Mr. Obama actually is a Muslim any more than Mr. Clinton actually is black. After his five months in office, and most especially after his just-concluded visit to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, however, a stunning conclusion seems increasingly plausible: The man now happy to have his Islamic-rooted middle name featured prominently has engaged in the most consequential bait-and-switch since Adolf Hitler duped Neville Chamberlain over Czechoslovakia at Munich.
What little we know about Mr. Obama's youth certainly suggests that he not only had a Kenyan father who was Muslim, but spent his early, formative years as one in Indonesia. As the president likes to say, "much has been made" — in this case by him and his campaign handlers — of the fact that he became a Christian as an adult in Chicago, under the now-notorious Pastor Jeremiah A. Wright. …
48 President George H. W. Bush has even participated in the Holy Wine Ceremony which ceremony is supposed to change the satanic blood lineage into God's and True Parents' blood lineage. This event took place in the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A & M University.
See Gorenfeld, John, Bad Moon Rising, How Reverend Moon Created The Washington Times, Seduced the Religious Right, and Built an American Kingdom, pp. 49-51, 174, 175.
Parry, Robert, Secrecy & Privilege, Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, The Media Consortium Inc., Arlington, Virginia, 2004, p. 274. According to Parry, sources close to the Unification Church have put the total Bush-Moon package in the millions, perhaps as much as 10 million dollars total from the Moon's organization.
Gorenfeld, John, Bad Moon Rising, How Reverend Moon Created The Washington Times, Seduced the Religious Right, and Built an American Kingdom, 2008, pp. 217, 218, 219.
50 Lofland, John, Doomsday Cult, A Study of Conversion, Proselytization, and Maintenance of Faith, Enlarged edition, Irvington Publishers, Inc., New York, 1977.
51 Bromley, David G. and Shupe, Anson D., Jr., "Moonies" in America, Cult, Church, and Crusade, Sage Publications, Inc., Beverly Hills, London, 1979.
52 Barker, Eileen, The Making of a Moonie Choice or Brainwashing?, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, 1984.
53 Grace, James H., Sex and Marriage in the Unification Movement, A Sociological Study, The Edwin Mellen Press, New York, 1985.
54 Chryssides, George D., The Advent of Sun Myung Moon, The Origins, Beliefs and Practices of the Unification Church, 1991.
55 Fichter, Joseph H., Marriage, Family and Sun Myung Moon in America (New York, N.Y. 1909), October 27, 1979, pp. 226-228.
56 Fichter, Joseph H., The Holy Family of Father Moon, Leaven Press, Kansas City, 1985.
57 O'Connor, Alfred, An Understanding of Sin and Redemption in Traditional Christianity and in Unification Theology, Doctoral thesis, University of Wales, Lampeter, 1995.
58 Lewis, Sarah M., Unification, Christianity and the messianic claims of Sun Myung Moon, Doctoral thesis, University of Wales, Lampeter, 1996.
59 Choe, Joong-hyun, The Korean War and Messianic Groups: Two cases in contrast, Dissertation, Syracuse University, 1993.
The Making of a Moonie – choice or brainwashing? (1984)
by Eileen Barker
page 265, note 31: "In conversations with scores of non-Unificationist Koreans the first information I have been given about the Unification Church has, in almost every instance, been that Moon engages (or has engaged) in immoral sexual practices with his followers."
The "pilgrimage to adultery" of Unification Church leader Sun Myung Moon
Cartoon about Sun Myung Moon from the ChoongAng Ilbo – Central Daily newspaper, August 3, 1955.
"Unification Church leader and a pilgrimage to adultery"
Text at the top of the cartoon: 「愚婦X文教主 = 所謂 陰陽심판」
"Foolish X Reverend Moon, the so-called Yin-Yang referee"
lower right corner text: 社会戯評 = Social commentary cartoon
(Yin-yang is an allusion to male-female relationships.)
Where Sun Myung Moon got his theology
The Korean background of Sun Myung Moon's church
Moon's theology for his pikareum sex rituals with all the 36 wives
Moon's Theology of the Fall, Original Sin, Jesus and Mary, the Wife of Jehovah, and Tamar:
1. Graham C. Lester: Jesus, Judas and Mary
2. Sun Myung Moon said he "came through the fallen lineage" and had original sin.
3. How did Moon remove his original sin? & Finding the "wife of Jehovah"
4. Kirsti L. Nevalainen explains about "the wife of Jehovah" in Pyongyang in 1946
5. Ruth A. Tucker, PhD: Moon's Other Gospel of Sex Rituals to "Womb Cleanse"
6. Three testimonies about Sun Myung Moon's pikareum sex rituals
7. Sun Myung Moon: "God himself nursed Adam and Eve"
8. Tamarism is a key theology upon which Moon based his mission
9. Graham C. Lester: Five of the many ways in which the Divine Principle view of the Fall is nonsensical
10. John H.: Sun Myung Moon's Divine Principle Theory Applied
Young-oon Kim joined, but it ended in tears and flames
Here is a chart of Korean fringe religious groups whose ideas Sun Myung Moon used:
Chong Deuk-eun – Great Holy Mother who also did pikareum
Moon's teacher: Kim Baek-moon and "sexual union with God"
Shamanism is at the heart of Sun Myung Moon's church
Holy Grounds and the Shamanic Guardians of the Five Directions in Moon's church
Any understanding of the so-called New Religions of Korea would be difficult without some knowledge of shamanistic influences upon them.


Celebrate the Summer Solstice! Grab a drink, get some food and party with us! Make Music NY is a day where several bands play in several locations throughout New York City. Here at Rockaway Beach, hosted by local band Squid, a line up of 5 bands in total will be performing. With each of them bringing their own style and taste, you'll be sure to find a favorite!


text:
Restoring a Critical Watershed Ecosystem
Watch the Global Dialogue on Natural Solutions
The Sepulveda Basin encompasses some 2,000 acres of federally owned land and nearly eight miles of the Los Angeles River and tributaries. Current use has degraded the area and its natural ecosystems, making the area more prone to flooding, threatening biodiversity and complicating water reclamation. When officials solicited comments for a new master plan for the river, the San Fernando Valley chapter of The Climate Reality Project saw not just a problem but an opportunity.
Advocating for nature-based solutions during the planning process, the activists built a strong community-based coalition to demand that decisions be made through a lens of climate change and biodiversity. While the solution sounds advantageous to all, organizers quickly realized that nature-based solutions existed outside the traditional developers' toolkit of construction materials. Building awareness along the way was a key component of the work.
Organizer Diana Weynand points out the importance of shifting the thinking that goes into solutions that some don't even realize is a climate issue: "Climate change experts are not involved in the decisions to "beautify" the LA River and Sepulveda Basin. The City and County are following the advice of engineers who understand only building with man-made materials to control nature rather than partnering with nature to unlock the myriad of climate-adaptive values of nature-based solutions. We have to change their 'concrete' way of thinking."
Want to get started taking action in your community with Climate Reality?
find a chapter near you or start one today!
What was the problem you saw?
In 2021, the San Fernando Valley chapter of The Climate Reality Project gave public comment on the Los Angeles River Draft Master Plan. Specifically, we advocated for nature-based solutions to be used when redeveloping the river. Our suggestions, along with many others in the environmental and climate area, were roundly dismissed. "It can't be done," officials said. We disagreed.
We want the Los Angeles River, especially the portion in the Sepulveda Basin that runs through the San Fernando Valley, to once again flow naturally without concrete barriers. Taking the concrete out would help with water reclamation, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration – all of which LA desperately needs. What's more, during large surge storm events there are flood concerns with the river, but studies have shown that the flooding could be managed naturally.
What was your idea/insight to solve it and the end result/vision you wanted to achieve?
In the fall of 2021, we were inspired by a presentation by Melanie Winter, Founder and Director of The River Project in Los Angeles. Her feasibility study focused on a reach of the river, within the Sepulveda Basin — a 2,000-acre area of land that is federally owned.
Melanie and her team had developed a fluvial geomorphic modeling analysis to inform a vision of what the Sepulveda Basin could become. But the 2,000-acre area is federally owned and Los Angeles leases parts of it for recreational purposes. To make the vision a reality, we had to reach out on all levels—federal, state, county and city—to achieve our goal of giving the area its best chance of being naturally transformed.
Her study showed how this place could become a Central Park-like oasis in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, simply by returning ecological function to the river and tributaries and applying nature-based solutions to its development. We wanted that vision to become the reality for the Sepulveda Basin.
Why is this solution important to your country and community?
Using a nature-based approach to adapting the Sepulveda Basin for the 21st century will have huge benefits to our community. It will help mitigate climate change, recharge groundwater supplies, expand flood detention capacity… and create an "emerald gem" in the heart of LA that will provide a respite in nature for the San Fernando Valley and the many disadvantaged communities that surround the area. A very important aspect in gathering support for our climate change issues is to get people to reconnect with nature and once again cherish its value. This project will do that as well.
What were the biggest challenges you faced/ran into?
This is a federally owned flood management facility, but the city leases portions for recreation. Often, people in the most powerful positions and with the most funding (federal and state) defer to the City.
Climate change experts are not involved in the decisions to "beautify" the LA River and Sepulveda Basin. The City and County are following the advice of engineers who understand only building with man-made materials to control nature, rather than partnering with nature to unlock the myriad climate-adaptive values of nature based solutions. We have to change their "concrete" way of thinking. Not an easy task.
How did you mobilize people to take actions?
First, we educated our chapter by having The River Project share their feasibility presentation with us – several times. Then we started to reach out to others who were already involved in the area and asked them to join us. We reached out further to others who might be interested, including state legislators and city council members.
We have been working with The River Project to share with non-profits and community-based organizations what Los Angeles would gain should nature-based solutions be implemented to bring the LA River back to life. We have received very positive feedback from climate activist groups to government officials.
Who were key stakeholders/partners that worked with you?
The River Project, members of the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area Steering Committee, and representatives of surrounding neighborhood councils.
What insight, ideas, or suggestions would you offer someone looking to take action in a similar way?
For big projects such as this, that cross federal, state, county and city interests, it helps to build a coalition up and down the legislative food chain. You have to encourage leaders to break up their "concrete" way of thinking. We drafted a resolution to clarify the vision we were holding for this space so it could be clearly communicated and shared. In essence, we built a playing field and started inviting other teams to join our league.
How did this project you created promote equity or justice in your community?
This project will equitably distribute the 112 acres set aside for urban agriculture to facilitate access to surrounding communities, enhance connections to public transit, create an additional 830 miles of multi-modal trails, more than double the number of soccer fields, establish a formal site for traditional Indigenous practice, and create new community gathering areas.
We are reaching out to local grassroots groups who advocate for equitable access to outdoor space. With the 2028 Olympics planning to host events at the site, collectively advocating for a community-informed vision for the Basin can help ensure a more just and sustainable event. As our involvement progresses, the voices of surrounding communities will be central to the planning.
The Climate Reality Project on Facebook
The Climate Reality Project on Instagram
The Climate Reality Project on LinkedIn
The Climate Reality Project on Twitter
The Climate Reality Project on YouTube

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home › Abandoned Mississippi › Another Important House Needs Our Help – Georgiana Plantation
Another Important House Needs Our Help – Georgiana Plantation
By W. White on January 24, 2017 • ( 8 )
Preservation in Mississippi has actively followed the progress of Prospect Hill Plantation since 2009, when Malvaney posted "An Important House Needs Our Help." Since 2011, Prospect Hill has been owned and slowly but steadily restored by The Archaeological Conservancy, spearheaded by The Conservancy's Southeast Regional Director Jessica Crawford. Prospect Hill Plantation was immortalized in Alan Huffman's book, Mississippi in Africa. Earlier this month, Huffman spotlighted another endangered antebellum plantation that needs to be rescued: Georgiana Plantation, near Cary in Sharkey County.
In a January 8 post, "Saving Georgiana," Huffman chronicles the plantation house's long history. As stated before on Preservation in Mississippi, despite its reputation, the Delta was never an antebellum plantation kingdom. The Delta was composed of far too much primordial swamp for that to occur until widespread drainage projects in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Some antebellum settlement did occur but only in scattered pockets with an ever dwindling number of extant buildings. This makes Georgiana an especially important house as it was constructed circa 1840. Not only is it a rare antebellum Delta plantation, but it is an unusual raised cottage with a lower-ceilinged brick first floor, a cypress log second "main" floor, and a frame half story under the side gable roof. Stylistically, vernacular is the best description. It has massing similar to Greek Revival raised cottages of similar age but no Greek Revival detailing.
After roughly 175 years, Georgiana is feeling the effects of time and requires prompt restoration efforts. Its owner realizes that and wishes to see the house preserved. From Huffman's post:
Charles Weissinger, whose family owns Georgiana and who farms the surrounding land, hopes to find a way to bridge that gap, to preserve the house as a valuable remnant of the Delta's long and complicated history — and avoid the fate suffered by so many other vanished historic structures in the area. In Weissinger's view, "Georgiana is the number-one unaddressed house in Mississippi" when it comes to endangered historic sites.
Because Georgiana and the last of its adjacent slave cabins are deteriorating, Weissinger said his family has decided to offer the structures and surrounding acreage to an individual, agency or group that will restore and protect them – for free. "My father talked to family members about restoring the house, but no one had the money," Weissinger said. "If someone agreed to preserve Georgiana in perpetuity, we'd be willing to donate it," he said.
Anyone with experience restoring and maintaining historic buildings knows that "free" is a relative term, but there is no question that Georgiana is worthy of preservation. The house and its outbuildings are the only surviving antebellum structures in the area, and fill an otherwise empty niche in the state's architectural inventory: That of a rustic, absentee plantation home with matching slave quarters that illustrates the workings of an antebellum cotton empire in its original context and setting.
Weissinger is likely correct in that Georgiana Plantation is Mississippi's most ignored historic house. It is not listed on the National Register, and the MDAH HRI listing has some photographs from 2008 but no architectural or historical information. With a restoration of the highest quality, it is possible that Georgiana would not only qualify for the National Register but also as a National Historic Landmark since antebellum plantation landscapes with intact slave cabins are so rare.
This is an incredible opportunity to preserve one of Mississippi's rarest types of historic buildings: antebellum Delta plantations. As Huffman discusses in his post, Georgiana is the last antebellum plantation remaining in the area with its contemporaries falling victim to weather, neglect, disinterest, and architectural salvage as recently as the 1980s (not including Altorf Plantation in nearby Brunswick, Warren County which was demolished in 2011). As we have seen with Prospect Hill, the challenges in raising the funds to do needed repairs will be difficult but not insurmountable for an individual or group of committed historic preservationists. Hopefully, either a newly formed or long established preservation group or a well heeled individual will commit to taking on this restoration project.
‹ MissPres News Roundup 1-23-2017
Preservation Presentations This Week ›
Categories: Abandoned Mississippi, Antebellum, Delta, Demolition/Abandonment, For Sale, Historic Preservation, Vernacular Architecture
Tags: Featured
Dolly Wade West
This is an extraordinary discovery for me — my aunt by marriage, Ethel Goodman Wade (Mrs. William Stacy Wade) lifelong resident of Cary, took my mother and me to visit Georgiana many years ago. I live abroad and regret not having the means to contribute to this worthy project. Happy to keep informed.
Ethel Goodman Wade was my aunt (my father's sister), and I spent a lot of time with her ( Aunt Toot) and Uncle William down at Cary. I still live here in Sharkey County and have been out to Georgeanna many times. Did any of the Goodmans ever live out there? I know Dr. Burleigh and Dr. Samp Goodman owned a lot of land out there. You know anything about this? Henry Goodman
Dolly West
July 9, 2017 • 4:58 pm
Hello — I just saw your reply — months later! Thank you and pleased to hear from Aunt Ethel's family (the name "Toot" comes back to me!). I don't know, but I thought at the time Aunt Ethel took us there that it was part of her family history. Sorry not to have further details. I very much miss her and my Uncle William — he, and my Uncle Charlie, his older brother, both passed away in their 60's, way too early, but Aunt Ethel was with us into the 1980's, and my mother and I were able to visit her often at Wade's Woods in Cary. She was always a favorite in our family. All the best.
lisebreen
Considering the important and violent history written up by Huffman, I hope that someone has notified the Slave Dwelling Project to inform a larger network.
Thomas Gentry
October 29, 2019 • 6:44 am
The "violent history" occurred in Liberia(Sierre Leone), not Claiborne county.
The owners of the plantation made peaceful efforts by providing that he plantation be sold at their deaths, and that the proceeds from that sale be distributed to the to liberated slaves. The former slaves had a choice: either remain here, or accept voluntary colonization back to Liberia through the efforts of The American Colonization Society…much like the Marcus Garvey solution proposed by Senator Bilbo.
Erica Speed
Hot off the presses – Georgiana is the subject of an article in Mississippi Heritage Trust's latest edition of Elevation. We were honored to have Alan Huffman write the article as only he can do. We wholeheartedly agree that this is a vital and most worthy project for preservationists – low-heeled or high! We stand at the ready as always to help further this project in anyway we can. Our 10 Most Endangered List for 2017 debuts in October and this vehicle for advocacy and awareness is one of many tools in our toolbox. We stand by W. White in his/her keen observations written in today's post. We ask that all and any join us and stellar preservationists like Alan Huffman in saving this rare treasure of our past – good, bad or ugly – it has a story to tell.
Elevation may already be in your mailbox or contact us to be included on our mailing list. The edition will also be added to our website shortly. http://www.mississippiheritage.com
Tiffiney Britton
July 9, 2017 • 8:28 am
My Grandmother's home stood adjacent to this treasured site (until my cousins burned down the house cooking bologna sandwiches). Such childhood memories came back from reading this article.
Leland Speakes lll
I would be interested in acquiring a property such as this. I have recently restored the Jones Mansion in merigold, Ms. Ample funds are available for renovating a property with a Delta historical heritage of this particular property. I may be reached at speakes@tecinfo.com. Thank you.
Leave a Reply to Leland Speakes lll Cancel reply
2,162,715 posts read since 2009
About MissPres
Welcome to Preservation in Mississippi, a blog about historic buildings, places, and even a few people in Mississippi. Preservation has a long history in the Magnolia State, and we hope this blog will help build a stronger community of local and state preservationists. Join the discussion, talk back, agree, disagree, etc. by adding your comments (insightful, silly, but always respectful) and sharing important stories from your neck of the woods.
New to MissPres?
How did MissPres get its start? Are you sentimental enough to be a preservationist? Who is E.L. Malvaney? Find the answers at "To Be Or Not To Be, That Was the Question."
Richard Lieberman on Suzassippi's Mississippi…
Thomas Gentry on Roadside Mississippi: Dairy Fr…
Thomas Rosell on Roadside Mississippi: Pizza as…
Carunzel on Roadside Mississippi: Pizza as…
Nichole Wiggins on Roadside Mississippi: Dairy Fr…
Thomas Rosell on Who remembers Burger Chef…
Former Grease Monkey on Who remembers Burger Chef…
Dooney Tickner on Who remembers Burger Chef…
Mary Ellena Ward on Who remembers Burger Chef…
suzieflamingo on Who remembers Burger Chef…
Lost Mississippi: Jacksonian Highway Hotel/Lefleurs Restaurant
Duncan, Mississippi after the 1929 Tornado, Part 1
Final 101 Mississippi Places To See Before You Die
Deupree's Historic Homes: Bonner Home ("Cedarhurst")
Roadside Mississippi: Pizza as Architecture January 15, 2020
Who remembers Burger Chef? January 7, 2020
New research available on Mississippi's oldest building October 22, 2019
Beat The Heat: Aerolux Shades and Awnings October 3, 2019
Itawamba County's Historic Banner School, Preserved…For Now September 9, 2019
New Deal in Mississippi: Laurel Sweet Potato Starch Factory September 3, 2019
Historic Natchez Foundation Unveils New Website August 13, 2019
Two preservation related events this week August 6, 2019
HABS in Mississippi: John Ford House, Marion County July 11, 2019
Mid-Century Mississippi: Subsistence Homesteads July 10, 2019
Community Heritage Preservation Grant Applications Open July 9, 2019
MissPres News Roundup 7-8-2019 July 8, 2019
101 Places to See Before You Die!
Goings-On About MS
Click here for a calendar of events in the great big world of Mississippi preservation
Mississippi River Basin Model Cleanup February 1, 2020 at 8:00 am – 12:00 pm Buddy Butts Park, 6180 McRaven Rd, Jackson, MS 39209, USA Please join us for our monthly clean up event. We are working to take back the model from the overgrowth. We have several types of activities from removing dirt, debris on the panels to cutting down and removing invasive trees. Activities for all ages including kids who can help with littler prevention.
MHT Heritage Award Recipient 2014