16.9.12

We Are Trained by Our Wounds

People rejected the new expression of truth I preached, calling it heresy. Jesus, born in the land of Judaism, likewise was accused of heresy and was thus crucified. By comparison, my persecution was not nearly as painful or unjust. I could endure any amount of pain placed on my body. The charge of heresy against our church, however, was most unjust and more difficult for me. Some theologians who studied our church in its early days described our teachings as original and systematic. Some were prepared to accept them. This means that the magnitude of the heresy controversy surrounding our church could not be for theological reasons. It had more to do with issues of power. Most of our members had attended other churches before joining our church. This was a big reason our church was treated as an enemy by established churches. When Professor Yoon Young Yang, one of the Ewha professors, joined our church, she was taken to the police station to be interrogated. There she discovered that some eighty Christian ministers had written letters to the authorities criticizing our church. Clearly it was not the case that we had done something wrong. Rather, we were seen as posing a threat to the power of certain people and institutions. It was their vague feelings of fear and their extreme factionalism that drove them in their efforts to suppress our church. People from many religious groups were attracted to our church and its new teachings. I would say to our members, “Why did you come here? Go back to your churches,” and almost threaten them as I tried to chase them away. But they would soon return. The people who flocked to see me would not listen to anyone. They wouldn’t listen to their teachers or their parents. They wanted to hear me speak. I wasn’t paying them or feeding them, but they believed in what I taught and kept coming to me. The reason was that I opened a way for them to resolve their frustrations. Before I knew the truth, I, too, was frustrated. I was frustrated when I looked up to heaven and when I looked at the people around me. This is why I could understand the frustrations of the people who came to our church. They had questions about life, and they could not find answers. The word of God I conveyed answered their questions with clarity. Young people who sought me out found answers in the words that I spoke. They wanted to come to our church and join me on my spiritual journey, no matter how difficult it might be. I am the person who finds the way and opens it. I guide people along the path to heal broken families and rebuild the society, nation, and world so that we can finally return to God. People who come to me understand this. They want to go with me in search of God. How can people find fault with this? All we were doing was going in search of God. And for this we were subjected to all manner of persecution and criticism. Unfortunately, during the period when our church was involved in the heresy controversy, my wife made matters even more difficult for me. After our meeting in Busan, she and her relatives began to demand that I either quit the church immediately and start life with her and our son or else give her a divorce. They even came to Seodaemun Prison during my incarceration there to put the divorce papers before me, demanding I place my stamp on them. I know how important marriage is in the effort to establish God’s peaceful world, so I endured their demands in silence. She also subjected members of our church to horrible abuse. Personally I could endure. I did not mind her insults and reckless treatment of me, but it was difficult for me to stand by and watch her offensive behavior toward our members. She stormed into our church at all hours to curse our members, destroy church property, and take items that belonged to the church. She even threw water containing human feces at members. When she came, it was impossible for us to hold worship service. In the end, as soon as I came out of Seodaemun Prison, I acceded to the demands of her family and placed my stamp on the divorce document. I was pushed into a divorce against my own principles. When I think of my former wife today, my heart goes out to her. The influence of her own family, which was strongly Christian, and the leadership of Korea’s established churches had much to do with her behaving the way she did. She was so clear and firm in her commitment before we married. The way she changed gives us a lesson on how much we need to fear the power of social prejudice and established concepts. I experienced both the sorrow of divorce and the pain of being branded a heretic. But I did not bend. These were things I had to endure on my path to redeem the original sin of humanity, the things I had to endure to move forward on the path toward God’s Kingdom. It is darkest before the dawn. I overcame the darkness by clinging to God and praying to Him. Other than the fleeting moments that I would spend in sleep, all my available time was spent in prayer.

15.9.12

AlJazeera VIDEO about Messiah,메시아에 대한 AlJazeera VIDEO

New Buds Grow on Scorched Branches

The detectives of the Special Intelligence Section of the Office of Public Order who raided our church and took me into custody brought me to the Chung Bu Police Station. I was outraged to be charged with draft evasion but said nothing.
I had a mouth to speak, but I was never given the chance to say a word. Some saw my silence in the face of unjust treatment and called me “spineless.” I endured this sort of name-calling in silence as well, believing that this too must be a path that has been given to me. If this is the path I must follow to reach my objective, then there was nothing I could do about it. Because I followed such a clear path, I could not be defeated. The more I was attacked, the more care I took to act more honorably than anyone. Once I made this decision in my heart, the police had no control over me. When the detective was writing his report, I was teaching him how to write it. “Why don’t you include this content,” I would say. “And up here, you need to write it this way.” He did as I said. Each phrase that I told him to write was correct, but when the detective put them all together, he found that they led him to the opposite conclusion from what he had intended. He became angry and tore up the report. On July 13, 1955, on the sixth day of incarceration in Chung Bu Police Station, I was placed in prison once again. This time, it was the Seodaemun Prison in Seoul. I was shackled, but I was neither ashamed nor sorrowful. Life in prison was no obstacle for me. It might serve as a motivation to stimulate a heart of great anger, but it was never an obstacle in my path. For me, it was a way to gather additional capital for my future activities. I overcame life in prison by telling myself, “I am not someone to die in prison. I cannot die. This is only a springboard for me to take a great leap toward the world of liberation.” It is the rule in the world, and the law of heaven, that that which is evil will fall and that which is good will rise up. Even if I must go into a dung heap, I will not fail if I maintain a pure heart. As I was being led away in shackles, some women passed by, looked at me askance, and twisted their faces in disapproval. They exuded the feeling that I was grotesque even to look at, because they believed I was the leader of a sex cult. But I was neither afraid nor ashamed. Even if filthy words were used to harass me and our church, I would not be shaken. Of course, I had normal feelings. Outwardly, I maintained my dignity, but there were many times when I felt stifled and sorrowful to the marrow of my bones. Each time I felt my heart weaken, I endured by telling myself, “I am not someone to just die in prison. I will stand again. I am certain of this.” I redoubled my determination, saying, “I am taking all the pain into myself. I am carrying all the baggage for our church.” One could easily expect that my imprisonment would mean the end of our church, with all members going their separate ways. Instead, members came to visit me every day. In some cases, they even fought over who would come to see me first. Visitations were allowed only after 8 a.m., but members would line up and wait outside the prison gate from early in the morning. The more people cursed me, and the more alone my situation became, the more people would line up to visit me, encourage me, and shed tears for me. I did not even greet them with great emotion. In fact, I would rebuff them, saying things like: “Why do you come and make such a fuss?” Still, they followed me in tears. This was their expression of faith and love. They were not attached to me because I knew how to speak smoothly or eloquently. They liked me because they knew about the love that lay deep in my heart. Our members recognized my true heart. Even if I should die, I will never be able to forget the members who followed after me even as I was forced to stand shackled in court. I always remember their expressions as they sobbed to see me sitting at the defendant’s table. The guards at the prison were amazed. “How does this man make those people become so crazy,” they wondered when they saw our members flock to the prison. “He is not their husband, and they are not his wife. He’s not their son. How can they be so devoted to him?” In at least one case, a guard commented, “We heard that Moon was a dictator and exploited people, but it is so clear that this is not true.” This guard became a member to follow our way. Finally, after I was three months in bondage, the court found me not guilty and I was released. On the day of my release, the chief warden and all the prison section chiefs gave me a formal send-off. Within three months, they all became members of our Unification family. The reason their hearts turned toward me was simple. Once they could see me up close, they realized I was not at all the person portrayed by the rumors they’d heard. As it turned out, the false rumors circulating in society actually helped our evangelical efforts. When I had been led away by the police, all media and society had made a huge fuss. But when I was found not guilty and released, they were silent. The only report on my not guilty verdict and release was a three-line story in an inconspicuous corner of the newspaper that read, “Reverend Moon not guilty, released.” The vile rumors that had put the whole country in an uproar had all been false, but this information was completely buried. Our members protested, saying, “Reverend Moon, this is unjust. It makes us so angry, we can’t stand it.” They wept in front of me, but I remained silent and quieted them. I never forgot the pain I experienced when harassed and subjected to all those false accusations. I endured, even when so many people stood against me that I felt like there was no inch left for me to stand in all of Korea. The sorrow I felt from this time has remained with me in a corner of my heart. I might be a tree that is buffeted by the wind and rain and scorched by fire, but I would never be a tree that burns and dies. Even a branch that has been scorched will have new buds when the spring comes. If I continue on my way with humility and strong conviction, the day will surely come when the world will understand the value of what I do.

Funeral held for Rev. Moon in South Korea

Rev. Moon's funeral, Part 1 - Photos - Washington Times

Rev. Moon's funeral, Part 1

SHARE ON GOOGLE_PLUSONEMORE

<
8 of 46
>

Mrs. Moon sits in one of two seats reserved for the "True Parents," with the other one being empty, during the Seonghwa, or ascension, ceremony, known as the traditional funeral in western terms, for the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012 at the Cheong Shim Peace World Center in Gapyeong, Korea. Thousands of mourners from countries around the world came to witness the event and say goodbye to the head of the Unification Church. Some 15,000 fit into the stadium, where the funeral was held, with another 10,000 to 15,000 expected to be watching live simulcasts around the complex. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

More Photo Galleries

Rev. Moon's funeral, Part 1

Rev. Moon's funeral, Part 2

Rev. Moon lauded for efforts to reunify Koreas

It’s just one floral tribute among hundreds here, but the stand of white paper chrysanthemums draped by a ribbon of Korean characters bears some unique political and diplomatic weight. The wreath expresses the condolences of new young North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the death of Unification Church founder and spiritual guide the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who devoted much of his life and ministry to seeking an end to the long standoff that has divided the Korean Peninsula for more than 60 years.

Big Apple Circus tent goes up

The Big Apple Circus tent crew works on raising the tent and creating the circus ring where all the performances will happen in Dulles, Virginia.

Unification Church poised for a new era, officials say

The Unification Church is strongly positioned to preserve and expand both its global spiritual outreach and its commercial holdings as tens of thousands of believers gather to say a final goodbye to founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon, two top church officials said in interviews here this week.

Neil Armstrong rem

Rev. Moon's funeral, Part 1 - Photos - Washington Times:

'via Blog this'

Rev. Moon's funeral, Part 2 - Photos - Washington Times

Rev. Moon's funeral, Part 2

SHARE ON GOOGLE_PLUSONEMORE

<
9 of 19
>

The Seonghwa, or ascension, ceremony, known as the traditional funeral in western terms, for the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon was held Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012 at the Cheong Shim Peace World Center in Gapyeong, Korea. Thousands of mourners from countries around the world came to witness the event and say goodbye to the head of the Unification Church. Some 15,000 fit into the stadium, where the funeral was held, with another 10,000 to 15,000 expected to be watching live simulcasts around the complex. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)