I should mention that the vast majority of Unificationists are mortified by Hyung Jin's behavior. The movement's younger folks have universally ignored it; only a handful are involved either in support or opposition. Many elders can barely stomach even watching the SC's sermons
Any person who wants to indulge in criticism, labeling, hate-speech like Hyungjin and Sanctuary Church do, is not a genuine Unificationist. They simply follow the way of division, the way of Satan, the way of destruction. What we need to learn is the way of mutual respect and harmony. TM exemplifies this way of true love.
If members who committed the following crimes, ended in hell..
How shocking, H2 IS TEACHING EXCUSE OF THESE CRIMES:
(1) The crime of being thoughtless of others and talked about them;
(2) The crime of insulting someone's personality;
(3) The crime of disrespecting his parents or partner;
(a) The crime of being excessively and unreasonably narrow-minded;
(5) The crime of being arrogant;
(6) The crime of having selfish nature;
(7) The crime of using logic and reason to abuse people's emotions
(8) The crime of not offering money and not use money for public purposes
As
Won Pil Kim wrote from the spirit world, "True Father is very busy" in the spirit world and "His main concern and worry is the situation regarding True Mother and their sons.. We should live with the hope that one day, True Parents and their children will live happily together forever." Read
MY DREAM with Mother and Hyungjin to understand the spiritual background of that situation.
Paul's Article
PC's List of Concerns
In 1998, within a
Unification News column titled
United We Stand, I speculated about possible future schisms within the Unification Church worldwide. Back then, spiritual mediums were popular in our movement, and I supposed that similar individuals might someday cause divisions by claiming to speak for the ascended Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
As it happens, and for multiple reasons, several of Rev. SM Moon's own children (plus a man who claims, without evidence, to be an illegitimate son) are now leading ministries of their own. Most of them assert their right to be the entire movement's
only real and true leader, and so their current separate organization is supposed to become the whole show. (Whether this is realistic or not, schismatic fervor usually overrides historical knowledge or common sense.)
Here I am addressing the small-yet-determined new Sanctuary Church ("SC") movement launched by Hyung Jin Moon, his older brother Kook Jin Moon [KJN], and Hyung Jin's wife Yeon Ah. If this article seems harsh, it pales in comparison to their own words and actions, and to most of the SC's vocal supporters. (There's no need to take my word on how drastic things have become. Here's a
video clip which illustrates the situation quite well.)
These concerns are drawn directly from Hyung Jin's own videotaped sermons, and from direct statements by his Sanctuary Church leadership. I have made several corrections, thanks in part to three SC members who have responded in detail. I do not wish to be factually inaccurate.
♥ For outside observers, I should mention that the vast majority of Unificationists are mortified by Hyung Jin's behavior. The movement's younger folks have universally ignored it; only a handful are involved either in support or opposition. Many elders can barely stomach watching the SC's sermons, while most hope for eventual reconciliation.
This list has grown so long it's become a chore for most people to read, so I've provided an
abbreviated version to review.
Technical note: the embedded web links are for clarification, illustrations, and further explanation, and will open in a new window. Be careful not to overload your web browser.
- Paul Carlson
The List of Concerns:
- Continuing, vile and lurid, public accusations against his {Hyung Jin's} own mom? Still going strong on that, after more than a year? Encouraging dozens of other people to launch new and harsher ways to condemn her? (How many religious figures, or secular VIPs, spend so much time and energy condemning their own mother? {Hak Ja Han, Mrs. Moon, known as True Mother} Despite several public requests, SC members have not found even one comparison. One rare example was the book and movie Mommie Dearest, which came out in the 1990s, long after Joan Crawford's death.)
- Extensively quoting the Bible, however, introducing starkly new and unfamiliar interpretations? (Including the use of Biblical prophecies such as "the AntiChrist" and "the Whore of Babylon" to describe his actual mother; terms which every educated Christian knows refer to two different entities, one an individual man and the other symbolizing a nation. He's also called her "a Jezebel" and other non-flattering names.)
- Photoshopping his own mother out of historical and providential photos? (When many genuine copies are extant, guaranteeing quick exposure. SC members respond with 'special pleading,' such as, "This is such a terribly disastrous situation, so he really got incensed, and had to act strongly."
Over a year later, squabbles over sacred photos continue. False allegations about the removal of portraits of SM Moon (from UC buildings) have been made, and persist, despite being refuted every time. Most recently, Hyung Jin formally targeted portraits displayed at the 4th anniversary of Rev. Moon's ascension.)
- Strident concerns about two specific collections of Rev. SM Moon's sermon-quotations (one older and one newer version), and claiming that the older collection is paramount above all others, to the point of its going out-of-print having (allegedly) caused utter providential ruin? (When all of those precious words remain fully available via hundreds of sermon volumes, and all are continually honored worldwide; while the SC is allowing that one collection to remain hard-to-find, by refusing to publish their own print edition; perhaps to keep this lack alive as an emotional wedge issue.
Several nascent efforts to republish the 'original CIG' volume have come and quickly gone, while SC members endlessly repeat the same debunked excuses, concerning some skewed ideas about copyright law.)
- Condemning hundreds of wonderful new Blessed couples to a fallen hell, claiming their holy weddings (in three large annual ceremonies, plus others worldwide, so far) were not just invalid, but dominated by Satan? (Thus crudely alienating the movement's best young people, and for trivial reasons.
More than a year onward, the mainstream UC's Cheongpyeong retreat center has become very popular with Unificationist young folks, and thousands continue to attend those Blessings performed by Mrs. Moon; while virtually all continue to ignore the SC. Several of the SC's vocal supporters have responded by insulting and defaming those young people, which might feel righteous but isn't likely to help much.)
- Objecting strenuously to taking True Father {Rev. Moon} off life support, hinting in turns that he was deliberately killed, or at least, should have been kept on life support until Foundation Day? Telling SC members he has a video of Father in his hospital bed, conscious and pleading for his life? (When the planned Foundation Day was more than 5 months away, and Rev. Moon had suffered multiple organ failures. According to the doctors involved, at the best hospital in Seoul, Rev. Moon had slipped into a deep coma. Hyung Jin has shown no one this alleged video, yet SC members choose to believe him.
Further, miracles of revival often take place after a patient's artificial machinery is disconnected.)
- Negating the Age of Women (as declared many times by Rev. Moon) and replacing it with an Old Testament style patriarchy? (Making vivid statements such as, "Women are 5% and Men are 95%," but with no explanatory details or actual theology.
As time goes on, the more compassionate Yeon Ah has taken less of a public role, while Hyung Jin emphasizes the doctrine of 'rhema' (Greek for word or utterance) but interpreted as strident spiritual warfare.)
- Being completely tricked by secular men who advocate delusional paranoid conspiracy theories? Among a mere handful of nonreligious, special guest speakers, Hyung Jin invited two famous 9-11 Truthers to speak from his own official pulpit? (Paul L Williams and Richard Gage, also indirectly Alex Jones and etc.; with their outlandish material claims, that require physical evidence, which is wholly absent. Also, SC members will defend Gage, Jones, etc., and their myriad lunacies, with profane sarcastic swaggering posts on Facebook and elsewhere.
A year and a half onward, more people have come to support the SC, and not all are conspiracy mavens. However, those still dominate the SC, from the leadership on down, and new Sanctuarians are never seen to question much less challenge that, but are more likely to get into such a paranoid mindset. This includes pseudoscientific anti-vaccination claims, which could endanger any children in SC circles.
At least one prominent SC supporter takes this to extremes, posting on openly anti-Semitic pages and sites, with enthusiastic agreement. This is uncommon, and probably a sign of mental illness, however other SC members are rarely seen to distance themselves from this fellow, much less to denounce his horrific conspiracy theories.)
- Changing his focus and style and declared beliefs, every two years or so, through all of his adult life? (Now deemed by the SC as spiritual growth, some observers see this as instability. Martial arts, Buddhism, Pentecostal, invented SC rituals, etc., but then turning around to deem his years in Buddhism to be "a mistake," while both praising and severely criticizing that religion.)
- Boldly preaching complete falsehoods, about many terrible things the UC/FFWPU is now supposed to be teaching, or forbidding? (When the actual story is revealed, such as about an Eve = Subject lecture chart, or the supposed banning of the "Blessing of Glory" song, apologies are made then retracted by Hyung Jin's underlings.
After more than a year of this, going much further, like chastising UC members by asking, "Why do you people believe that the Han Mother is God, and worship her as your new Golden Calf?" and similar. These assumptions are so bizarrely unreal they have no serious answer.)
- Attracting several vocal Sanctuary Church members who are well-known to have psychiatric problems, or neurotic compulsions, or abusive childhoods; then instead of urging them to get serious help, cheering their anti-UC rants and just egging them on? Appointing some of them as national or continental leaders? (For privacy reasons, no names are given here. In contrast, many UC pastors and elders have become licensed counselors, while UC members have successfully opposed the installation or reinstatement of certain prominent-but-troubled leaders.
Some of these folks have gone silent but others have taken their place. The SC continues to allow enraged ad hominem (with ALL CAPS and etc.), along with rambling nonsensical, online posts; while reserving irate corrections, or outright banning, for rational critics.)
- Stepping away from his duties as International President, denouncing the organization he'd been a leader of, and then after losing his official position, "firing" each-and-every UC/FFWPU leader, with no exceptions? (Long after he'd moved to Pennsylvania. After being tolerantly ignored by everyone, continuing to act as though he'd been correct, and effective.)
- Saying it was a huge violation to alter the Blessing marriage vows, or to institute a new Benediction, or to change any tradition once instituted by Father, when Rev. Moon himself had created several versions over the decades? Yet making a whole range of changes, some minor or passing, and some major and dramatic, himself? (Earlier actions have included a rise-from-coffin rebirth ceremony, and a try at full immersion baptism. Also criticizing the huge donation requests made to Japanese UC members, which may well be a righteous position, yet those too were instituted by Father. With no explanation of why some things are inviolable or not, or defining which SC rituals are official or not, rather basing this solely upon Hyung Jin's personal authority.)
- Spending months telling everyone that the Cheongpyeong ancestor liberation process is utterly fraudulent, then (without much detail), declaring that he can do it better, with the same parameters though for less money? Finally offering that service in a way nearly identical to Cheongpyeong's? (Again, a mixed issue, as Japanese UC members really are asked for huge sums, when everyone else (who wished to participate) donates more affordable amounts. Further, he is negating his own scathing predictions of spiritual hell, since he's also claimed the surefire ability to lift any departed soul up into heaven.)
- Accepting his closest Sanctuary Church supporters' bold assertions that he and his wife have not, will not, and implicitly can not, mess up or go off course? Also, Hyung Jin proclaiming that he and his wife, and (next) his own male descendants, have become the only full embodiments of the True Parents? (Despite slamming his own sibling's many failures, ignoring their many successes, and previously admitting that he himself is a sinner.)
- Preaching about apocalyptic Biblical visions-of-doom such as those of Ezekiel and Revelations, with their infamously harsh (and apparently taken quite literally) depictions of immanent widespread destruction? Also, repeating the popular Christian prophecies of Jonathan Cahn and others, which explicitly indicate a living AntiChrist, a literal Rapture, and the incipient Second Coming on the Clouds? (Something very different from the Divine Principle {"DP"} view, and with no coherent explanation of how the SC prophecy differs from Cahn's.
After a year has passed, and the SC's informal "the UC will crumble within a year" and formal "Shemitah judgement" declarations have both failed, two trends are emerging. Some SC members now claim that Cahn was off by one year. Others now say that a Biblical-apocalyptic Seven Year Tribulation is already underway, however flatly refuse to explain (or even speculate) about what this really entails, much less, how SC members are assured of favorably surviving such global calamities.)
- Claiming that the FFWPU symbol (with its stylistic three-generation family) is satanic, with the upraised arms seen as beastly horns; a terrible sign of an accursed movement and leadership? (When nobody, including Hyung Jin himself, had noticed for all these years. Creator artist Pier Angelo Beltrami is not, by any account, a satanist!)
- Proclaiming a new Cheon Il Guk {Heaven on Earth's} constitution, which quotes the entire Bill of Rights in guaranteeing individual liberty, then continuing with numerous references to Crowns and Kings, which ideologically and historically are anathema to that document? Granting the two brothers by name lifelong absolute irrevocable powers, as combined religious and secular rulers, with only their own direct male descendants inheriting those top offices? (The official document, as written by Kook Jin and his Freedom Society friends, proclaims all that and more!
Readers may download it here, as a 98 kb PDF. Scholars have noted the 'emergency powers' clause, the veto of Supreme Court decisions; the idea of state, national, and global-level monarchies; the focus on "false flag operations" as a particularly terrible crime, and the 'can never be changed' provision.)
- A propensity to latch onto popular or fringe scientific theories, and "run with them" to unwarranted or extreme conclusions? Using one such notion to boast and bash, not mentioning how that particular theory was created and popularized by atheist secular humanists? (That is, E.O. Wilson's classic r/K Theory of reproductive strategies, which places all humans into one category. Later on, some Evolutionary Psychologists attempted to expand that into human cultures, politics, even personality types. Hyung Jin doesn't name Wilson, while his SC defenders immediately claimed one personality type for themselves, deemed it superior, and utilized this as a put-down.)
- Allowing his SC members to whisper, or to shout, scandalous lurid rumors about long-respected UC leaders, and with zero evidence? Floating specific accusations of child sex abuse, of extramarital affairs by True Mother, and much more? (Coming only from anonymous sources and/or sudden "recollections," when for decades even the strongest opponents of Rev. SM Moon never said those things; against men and women who Father kept at his side for decades.)
- Announcing that the "Six Marys" rumors are literally true, saying that Father was 100% correct in every such (alleged sexual) activity? Also advising all Unificationist sisters to desire, and to dream of, having literal sex with Father? (With no source given for many otherwise-unknown biographical details. This while pledging to keep his own marriage monogamous.)
- An odd relationship with Korean traditions, so that individual freedom and style are verbally emphasized, while simultaneously, a rigorous and ancient decorum is enforced, even beyond the SC's precincts? (Mother is sharply castigated for "sitting in Father's chair," even as Yeon Ah is praised for being a great female preacher. When many photos of True Parents sitting in each other's chairs, over the years, were shown, SC members doubled-down by claiming to know that only certain of those chairs represented consequential "thrones.")
- Showing a thin skin and dramatic flair, quick to cry "Persecution!" and yet, not showing much of the dignified fortitude that Christian and other saints are known for? (Reacting to a legal letter, sent to YouTube, with a blood-red teardrop at the pulpit. Also, SC-Japan leaders comparing their own situation to the historical (severely tyrannized and martyred) Hidden Christians, like a Japanese version of violating Godwin's Law.)
- A religion which abjures grace and forgiveness, but instead makes continual, not-so-veiled threats of violence? Hyung Jin warned UC leaders, "I'm coming to get you!" and then (in a later sermon) described his own personal AR15 rifle, and gets praised for that? (SC members have sent warnings of "swift punishment for thoughtlessly sinful Han Group members," including (for example) a Facebook post with a news photo of massacred bodies. Then they reminded viewers it was just an unofficial outlet, yet that photo was left online and even defended, by a moderator who's also a Sanctuary Church official.)
- Local SC leaders in Moldova going to that country's police, and denouncing local UC members, causing raids to occur and two brothers to be thrown into prison? While several top SC leaders reacted to this quite differently from each other, and erased various online posts, while each has tried to shift blame onto a handful of (genuinely unpopular and weird) Korean UC leaders over there? On the SC's busy if "unofficial" Facebook page, many SC members cheered that police action, and claimed it was deserved and inevitable? (Unlike the 2009 case of Elizaveta Drenicheva in Kazakhstan, this being an inter-Unificationist squabble makes it much harder for human rights activists to help free those prisoners.
As of January 2016 those two men were released, but remain under suspicion.)
- Claiming, suddenly and with only the assertion itself for backing, that Rev. and Mrs. Moon have spiritually divorced, that the ascended founder became so disappointed that he rejected his long-time wife? Thus telling people that the True Parents, who are the very foundation of Hyung Jin's own life and ministry, are no longer valid, and getting praised for saying so? (A vindictive claim and ugly style, which are the extreme opposite of the hope and love and unity which True Father became most famous for, even befriending his deadly enemies Gorbachev and Kim Il Sung.)
- Issuing an official Christmas Day proclamation that mentions, not peace or love or salvation, but a clarion call to "Rise!" and that on a "battleground" of their own singular declaration? (A harsh and nearly extremist tone, vastly different from the gracious compassion of the Christ Child known to all Christians, along with the divine glory and sacred repose traditionally celebrated on Christmas.)
- Adding brand-new theological terms, such as TehShinJa, applied as a unique, previously unforeseen, role for Hyung Jin? (According to SC members, Rev. SM Moon used the term in specific regard to Hyung Jin and Yeon Ah, during their crowning ceremonies. Otherwise it appears, as such, nowhere in Rev. Moon's collected sermons (in English), though he does utilize many other Korean (kept in Korean) terms. Further, he may have used the term (which Korean businessmen employ in a secular way) before, then translated into various English words, in which case it wouldn't be unique to Hyung Jin.
Rev. Moon placed a great deal of trust in Hyung Jin. So a major concern now is, has the young couple fulfilled that special role, and should they have attempted to claim total authority while Mrs. Moon/True Mother is very much alive and active in leadership?)
- Continuing to accuse True Mother {Hak Ja Han} of making bizarre, self-aggrandizing claims? Posting snippets of charts and speech notes, with no context, then asserting she's created a "lesbian theology" of her own? Claiming that one specific Japanese chart is a severe rewrite of the DP, the worst of heresies? (Actually the chart is a standard lecture page. It was written about 20 years ago, by long-time teacher Mr. Ken Sudo, based upon Rev. Moon's sermons and with no unusual content whatsoever. Context helps, so that entire lecture manual (in Japanese) can be downloaded here, as a 512 kb PDF document.
In addition, Hyung Jin tried this again, within a month! He displayed a Korean document from the pulpit, and made similar claims. It was (supposedly) created for Christian ministers, and slipped to the SC by a sympathetic Korean man. All queries for details were ignored; only the first page was ever shown, and without any English translation. Perhaps cooler heads prevailed, because after that it was dropped, and not mentioned again.)
- Claiming that every term or phrase uttered by True Mother equals the formal doctrine of the UC/FFWPU? Posting alternate translations of what she has said, casting every single word in the worst possible light? Loudly announcing that "the Han Mother just said this!" when, in reality, those words came from a (supposed) revelation experienced by an SC supporter? (Even though such false claims are soon exposed, the SC persists in throwing rhetorical mud, obviously hoping to confuse or dishearten mainstream Unificationists. This continues with video snippets of Rev. Moon's speeches, mere seconds plucked from countless hours of speeches, then given drastic new English translations.
Also: the Catholic Church respects the Pope as the Vicar of Christ, however, doesn't regard everything the man says as official new Catholic doctrine. Similarly, the UC has the Divine Principle and collected Holy Books, which are its formal doctrines, and they're universally respected.
Ironically, the SC is now teaching its own version of the DP, by appropriating a highly-detailed and contemporary lecture series, developed in recent years, called the OSPD. (Along with one Korean man who was among its first teachers.) Hyung Jin himself also participated in the UC/FFWPU's own OSPD events, as recently as 2012. Such a reinterpreted SC version can strongly emphasize patriarchy and physical lineage and similar points which support Hyung Jin's still-unfolding claims.)
- Claiming several times (in his "Interview With Hyung Jin" video and etc.) that he himself quit several positions, and cut off all ties with the UC, and left everything behind when he moved to Pennsylvania? (When he also complains about being fired from various positions. Also, he and Kook Jin reportedly appropriated some $300,000 from the Young Jin Moon Foundation, in order to purchase the SC's main building in Newfoundland, PA.
Please note, one SC leader prefers Hyung Jin's own precise wording, in saying "I walked away," over the statement that he "quit" certain positions. That same outspoken leader, endeavoring to refute this list-point, added to it instead, by mentioning a YJMF loan toward the purchase of a house.
Also note, this wider "he was fired [unjustly]" issue has some merit, though the whole story is convoluted and debatable, reaching back to organizational infighting in Korea. Further, SC members often praise Hyung Jin's personal decision to leave Korea, and also to "rescue" his son from a cloistered life there, by bringing the child to rural Pennsylvania.)
- Claiming to be "ten thousand strong" in proud public announcements, yet also having mentioned that the SC (supposedly) keeps no formal membership roles? With only two or three reported instances of non-Unificationist families converting directly to SC membership, anywhere in the world? (When queried on the source of this number, an SC leader mentioned donors. This probably included Richard Panzer's fund in support of Moldovan families, so the author of this web page would've been included as an SC supporter! Oddly enough, Unificationists of all stripes have hoped to get away from this inflated "glowing report syndrome," long known among Rev. Moon's close staff; while Mrs. Moon has also spoken against the practice.
Small but very loud? In June 2016 a petition drive was launched, undoubtedly sincere and heartfelt, by a second-generation Unificationist. That young man's father is reportedly an SC supporter, however the fund-page's explanation also included Hyun Jin. The SC promoted this heavily, and after more than a month, the petition had 206 signatures. (The screen shot was taken after two weeks.) In fairness, this would include only the English-speaking world. The highest, most generous, estimate of global SC membership is about 5000, including children.)
- Continuing to spell out numerous (alleged) failures, and now claiming that God must "use force" to advance His much-delayed divine providence? This said by a self-proclaimed Second King whose "First Prince" {Kook Jin/KJN} is a firearms manufacturer? {* see note} (Supernatural force only? All too possibly, this becomes a recipe for some tragic, self-incited, bloody disaster. Especially with the rural, clannish, libertarian rankled-at-government, Sanctuary Church membership's zealous combination of allegiance to one man, their conspiracy-theory paranoia, and fundamentalist prophecies of deadly judgment.)
- Hyung Jin taking the occasion (in late 2016) of the funeral [Seong Hwa Ceremony] of a respected elder Unificationist to praise the man a little, and then to lambaste the UC members who attended at great length? (Tasteless in the extreme. This was an elderly Black man who's among the first western members to join the UC, and quietly switched to the SC late in life. A few days after that SC funeral, the FFWPU/UC congregation in Washington DC held a remembrance that was dignified and well attended.)
- Kook Jin holding a joint Q&A session (on October 31, 2016) in which he makes some outrageous death-dealing statements? While the SC audience listened in silence? In detail, and sic, with emphasis added: "The Queen Mother doesn't become King, she is a woman . . . The tradition of kingship is very clear . . . If Queen Mother tries to usurp the throne, it's the King's responsibility to arrest her and to execute her. It's the same thing as we study the Bible . . . study in the Principle."
Later in that same Q&A, KJN says, "Adam should have gotten rid of Eve." (The first in reference to True Mother, who is those two brother's own living mother! The second is a drastic new theology, with Adam exiling if not slaughtering the newly-fallen Eve. So far, every SC advocate insists that KJN's references were historical, not possibly aimed at our present day. But! The SC's founders expecting their loyal supporters to explain-and-defend matricide? That's so monstrous there is not much this page author can add, beyond revealing their own actual words. Also note, KJN himself divorced his first wife, and the second bore him a child in remarkably short order.
Additionally, in private conversation, KJN has drawn a Biblical parallel between his own situation and that of King David's family (from the book of 1 Kings), in which the younger brother Solomon had his ambitious older brother Adonijah executed -- a scenario in which KJN is Solomon and his oldest-living-brother Hyun Jin is Adonijah.
Hyung Jin has amplified this yet again in a Sunday sermon, with pained scorn toward critics of his and KJN's recent statements. (This sermon was on November 20, 2016; video is available.) He said repeatedly that his own mother ought to be "locked up" or even "beheaded for her crimes" -- offenses which, as explained on these pages, exist only in those brother's own sick imagination.)
- Building up an entire new mythos, and making grand political claims, of Hyung Jin and the SC being responsible for Donald Trump's election? Proudly listing some contributions and accomplishments, adding that Pennsylvania was the state which put Trump over the top? Claiming that a spiritual ceremony done over a year earlier is now causing major social transformations? (As the saying goes, "success has many fathers." Eric Trump personally thanked KJN for a financial contribution, and the brothers attended a local Trump campaign appearance. In fact, SC elders had teamed up with certain Unificationist (former) colleagues, to launch some effective political efforts, and now that shared credit has vanished from their narrative. Obviously, several states gave Trump a victory. The 'ancestor liberation ceremony' done by Hyung Jin is on this list, added back at that time, and it had no political trappings whatsoever.
Also please note, this list point is not about politicians, with their merits or flaws, rather about people cooperating then pretending it did not happen. By the way, various Unificationists voted for the entire range of presidential candidates.)
- Harshly criticizing his sister In Jin for running (along with her estranged husband) a Multi-Level-Marketing campaign, and pitching it to Unificationists; also repeatedly bashing the idea-and-practice of pushing members to offer large donations, then here comes the small beginning of his own fundraising efforts? (The SC has reportedly been carried by profits from Kook Jin's Kahr firearms company, and by donations from several older (and well-off) converts. This may not be sustainable, and such a mercantile project is an obvious next step. Consider that fifty-and-one hundred dollars, for that (rather brief) constitution of theirs; also twenty-five and forty-five for some plain t-shirts, is extraordinarily steep! It's also worth noting that, unlike the UC, the SC does not pay their clergy.)
From 2015 into early 2016, three SC members responded in full to this list. Mr. Jerry Heying's critique is the most detailed. The reader is welcome to weigh his blog entry's tone and content, use of jargon and overall clarity, the quality and helpfulness of the answers, its wider social relevance, and etc.
(I have replied, on another page, to the text found online as of 18 January 2016, while here I am slowly adding more points as needed, plus more explanatory links.)
♦ What makes the SC so attractive, at least to certain people? Several timely factors.
Rev. and Mrs. Moon did begin to place their oldest son Hyo Jin in charge of things, then after that young man's difficulties and death, a middle son Hyun Jin, and then more recently the younger Hyung Jin and Yeon Ah. So, each of them has a visible claim on leadership.
They enjoy a bucolic rural location, with a sincere appreciation for nature. Also a readiness to prepare for, and to survive, various widespread disasters which could afflict the USA and humanity.
Partly it's some Unificationists' reaction to bad experiences with specific UC leaders--as if several of those same old leaders aren't gaining top positions in the SC now. Much of it is a simple desire to recapture the Good Old Days of a new religious movement, with thrilling emotions and a self-reenforcing loyalty toward one charismatic Top Man. (Mostly by elders who can recall those days, plus a few younger folks who've heard so much about it.)
Looking at SC converts, strong feelings and reported dreams (each private and subjective) are paramount, while informative doctrines, much less charitable service or public outreach programs (all visible and objective), are sparse. The idea of ecumenical unity is vehemently rejected by many SC advocates, rather some have embraced conspiratorial anti-Catholic screeds.
In Japan, a major attraction is a liberation from the ongoing (and, many do say, grossly unfair) guilt-trip-style demands for large personal donations. Not that the SC is going to operate with no money, they now boast about how much they received in 2015, but most of it came from the Kahr firearms company.
SC member's communications are frequently accompanied by blistering condemnations of UC members in general, and sometimes in very personal exchanges, casting the traditional Unificationist's beliefs and situation in the worst possible way. This is a form of the 'false dilemma' argument. As in, "Sorry I tried, but cannot help you, you poor uncaring sinner." Then later, in frustration, "Get on the SC bandwagon right now, or you must be a #@&^%#~!!!! heretic, maybe an atheist." Or even, with apparent seriousness, "You must work for the CIA." As in: obviously you're being paid by The Conspiracy to hamper our glorious work here.
In a more formal sense, this 'appeal to emotion' (whether intense fulfillment or righteous indignation) and 'appeal to authority' (in granting one man exclusive widespread authority), dominate virtually all the testimonies of the SC's newfound membership. There is little else, rather their current distinct theology is mostly oppositional. Some observers, and without much objection from the SC itself, have dubbed it a 'protest movement' more than a formal church organization.
This is in profound contrast to Rev. Moon himself, who spent much of his time, initially in Pyongyang, then again in Busan, writing out a formal scripture; and empowering his Unification Church members to learn those profound revelations and discoveries. Also to discuss them, in hope and wisdom and compassionate outreach, with a wide range of others. He always found truths in every faith's teachings, and looked for common ground and cooperation. (With Korean Christians, Buddhists, shamans, etc., and in the 1950s some American servicemen.)
The SC is slowly expanding its teachings, mostly via Hyung Jin's video-taped sermons, and with little-if-anything in print. (Also, Hyung Jin's after-service Q&A sessions, which are reportedly quite candid, have not been made available.
It should be noted that one SC members has, as of May 2016 or so, begun to provide sermon transcripts, as PDF documents.)
♥ As for my own
bona fides, I have belonged to the Unification Church for more than 40 years, am Blessed in marriage by Rev. and Mrs. Moon, and have served in good standing for all of this time. I've supported and defended their offspring (the True Children) for decades. I'm very impressed by Hyung Jin's
Strawberry book, and his great efforts to establish local church councils, encourage transparency in leadership, to expose any possible corruption, and more. I've long applauded his efforts (along with many other people) on behalf of religious freedom, especially in Japan, where 'deprogrammer' kidnappings continue to this day.
It pains me terribly to watch my own movement go through such travails, even if I predicted it, and although
every new religion has faced such a course. My articles, such as this one, point out clear and simple errors, and if folks recognized this and made efforts to correct those errors, things would quite likely improve for everyone. (By the way, as of August 2016, I've been kicked off the SC's most popular forum, without warning or explanation, for the
third time now. Ironic that its name incorporates 'Truth' because some uncomfortable truths are not welcome there.)
Even after schisms began to develop, six years ago by Hyun Jin (with his UCI/GPF spinoff) and later by Hyung Jin (with his new SC), I have defended these men against foes who've vowed to ruin Rev. Moon, along with his teachings and heritage and movement. I've noticed that when such "negos" get involved in these discussions, if they are dishonest and/or scornful, everyone (including UC/FFWPU, SC, and GPF supporters) will band together to reject those insidious intrusions.
These schisms much resemble the US Civil War, a conflict in which the military and political leaders on each side knew each other, had often worked as colleagues, and enjoyed much in common. After that war, with a few tragic exceptions, those leaders reunited and once again served one whole nation. Similarly, I hold forth hope that the unification movement will soon and ultimately reunite.
● Hyung Jin's own videotaped words, from a Q&A session held in Seattle (in 2012), are instructive. This is a 16 minute
segment, from toward the end of that session. Another 3 minute video is from an official
sermon he gave in 2009.
Contrast this with his current tone, here seen in an eight minute
video clip from 2015, which shows dramatic differences.
It's a matter of speculation as to how-and-why he has, not just "broken his silence" as now claimed, but changed his own ideas and style so thoroughly.
Many observers credit the influence of
Kook Jin, who is a firearms manufacturer (including machine guns)
{* see note}, an outspoken libertarian (yet who advocates monarchy), a political monarchist (who also promotes his own brother as a brand-new, overarching, global monarch), and a leading conspiracy theorist (a Sandy Hook
Truther and beyond), plus more.
Sanctuary Church members are making great use of the Internet, with some busy Facebook groups, numerous YouTube videos, video blogs, and so forth. UC elders have responded gradually, and with restraint. Several have posted sermons analysis and commentary on the SC, plus current developments.
Below are several links and downloads with resources about this controversy.
Short Videos:
Andrew Wilson
Tyler Hendricks
Cheon Seong Gyeong
Papers:
Unificationist historian Michael Mickler's article on schisms in Christian history, which sheds light upon the current situation.
The Sanctuary Church Schismatics
A paper by scholar Thomas Selover on True Mother's current position and leadership. (As a PDF download.)
The Providential Significance of True Mother's Leadership
A research paper, presented by Dan Fefferman to CESNUR, with an overview of two Unificationist schismatic factions. (As a PDF download.)
SCHISM in the Unification Church
