Posted on 07/12/2004 11:13:18 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
More than a decade ago, the World Media Association, a front group for Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, invited me to speak in Seoul, South Korea, at a conference on the press.
At the time, I was the 36-year-old editor of the Sacramento Union, the oldest daily newspaper west of the Mississippi – and already creating fits for the establishment U.S. media.
I was cautious about going, because I had heard stories about Moon having declared himself the messiah. I was told by people inside the church that was simply a misinterpretation of his remarks.
In Seoul, participants in the conference were invited to a ballet, sponsored by Moon, in an elegant hall, built by Moon, and to listen to Moon deliver a special address.
As one of the guests of honor in South Korea, I was asked to sit on stage, along with heads of state, dignitaries and other speakers, including Arnaud de Borchgrave, the former editor of the Washington Times, Moon's heavily subsidized daily newspaper.
Just before Moon was introduced to make his remarks in Korean, an English translation was distributed to the audience and those of us onstage.
Imagine my shock, as I read along in the translation to learn that Moon was saying that night that indeed he was the messiah. I was embarrassed to find myself sitting behind this man, perhaps, even, in some small way, lending credibility to his preposterous claims.
It was a lesson to me at the time on just how easy it is to be compromised.
I was reminded of this experience recently when my daily, nationally syndicated talk-radio show broke the news of Moon's "crowning" achievement at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in March. Stories followed in Salon, the Washington Post and elsewhere.
What was this coronation?
Dressed in a floor-length cape, Moon was dubbed the king of peace at a ceremony attended by several members of Congress – and several members of the Christian clergy.
"In the context of heaven's providence, I am God's ambassador, sent to earth with His full authority," Moon proclaimed. "I am sent to accomplish His command to save the world's 6 billion people, restoring them to heaven with the original goodness in which they were created."
The audacity of this event, brought to my attention by free-lance journalist John Gorenfeld, shocked people the way I was shocked more than a decade ago in Korea. But this coronation ceremony was preceded by events I consider to be even more disturbing. Judge for yourself.
What would you say if you heard that Christian ministers were being persuaded by Moon to take crosses down from their churches and toss them unceremoniously in dumpsters?
Moon says he got the idea for this campaign June 11, 2001, when lightning struck down the cross decorating the front of the Unification Theological Seminary. He considered this a supernatural, miraculous event. But I think he took the wrong meaning.
Instead of assuming, as I would, that God was issuing a warning about the use of the cross over Moon's blasphemous theology school, the self-proclaimed messiah deemed this to be a sign for him to tear down all the crosses on all the churches in America.
Moon said the cross was a symbol of Satan's victory, not God's.
The Unification Church claims hundreds of churches around the country have, for whatever reason, bought into Moon's undermining of Christian scripture and tradition by making the cross a symbol of Satan's victory, not Jesus' triumph.
For example, last year, Rev. John Kingara of the Worldwide Greater Mission Church in Worcester, Mass., followed Moon's advice and removed a cross from his church, replacing it with a crown, just as Unification seminars for pastors suggest. The cross, long cherished for the role it played for believers in the remission of sin, was thrown in the dumpster.
At Moon's suggestion, Pastor John Kingara of Worcester, Mass., throws his church's cross in the dumpster.
Who knows what motivates these ministers to follow Moon? I won't speculate why so many pastors – particularly those in economically depressed areas – might listen to a billionaire pseudo-messiah.
But I do know this: Moon is not the messiah. I know the Messiah. And Moon is no messiah.
And Myung Moon is no Christian.
Looney Moonie alert! Interesting how this story about the Congressional coronation just kinda slipped silently from the media's radar.
Moonie chicks.
Very clever, Joe.
Moonie chicks or Moonie checks?
God bless those cults!
anyone know who this was?
The Christian "symbol" (for those who need one) should actually be a large stone rolled away from the EMPTY TOMB! (Try wearing that around your neck...)
As a former follower of Sun Myung Moon, I can tell you that the reason Moon opposes the use of the cross as a symbol is because he believes that Jesus' crucifixion was not God's original plan and represents a partial failure of God's plan for mankind. According to Moon, Jesus was supposed to marry, have a family, and convert the whole world to his viewpoint. Hey! That sounds like what Moon is trying to do. Anyway, Moon wants Christian pastors to put up a crown instead of the cross. Not coincidentally, Moon has been crowned more than once in recent months. The long and short of it is that Moon wants Christians to revere Jesus less and to consider Moon to be a greater figure in God's Providence since he has supposedly accomplished more. The idea is absurd, but Moon's money goes a long way towards changing minds. Well, Moonie chicks and Moonie checks are both involved, really. Moon's female followers are expected to remain chaste until marriage, but he has been known to hand out submissive Oriental women to people who are willing to pervert their faith in order to accomodate Moon, such as Archbishop Stallings, who was married in the Moon church, and Catholic bishop Milingo, who was also briefly married by Moon, but then renounced the marriage under pressure from the Pope. On balance, Moon's money is the more persuasive of the two incentives for the majority of those he has won over. If you'd like to find out more about what it's like to be a follower of Moon, please read my book, Heartbreak and Rage: Ten Years Under Sun Myung Moon, a sample chapter of which can be read on my website, http://www.moonbook.com
I just heard about this a few days ago myself, when debating against someone in another forum that believes the Bush family and Moon have close ties. While I still don't believe Bush (GW) is influenced to any significant degree by the Reverend Moon, I still found the very fact that some of our Representitives participated in this disgusting, blasphemous event to be unsettling. Some of which were Republicans mind you.
To answer your question, you may find this of interest: Moon Crowned by US Congressmen. There is very little about this story in most major media outlets, I suppose since most in the secular media wouldn't find this very disturbing, and maybe even laughable, but I find it quite appauling. I'm not making any claims about "prophecy" or anything, but if you or anyone is a Christian at all, this should send a chill up your spine. At the very least, if through your own research, you find your own representitive(s) was/were present, then I would encourage writing to them, to simply express your disappointment in them.
I woulnd't mind hearing any more about this (from anyone reading right now), but I haven't been able to find any "updates" such as if any of those present were "duped", if they issued any statements to that effect, etc. If not, they should say something about it. Right now, this entire affair is like some "back room dirty secret" pulled over on the entire US population. Like something out of one of those "Left Behind" books. Something a few Congress critters would like us to just "forget".
::::: taking off the tinfoil hat, but keeping it close ::::::::
WOW did Moon miss the message.
And Joe Farah has gone completely bonkers since moving to D.C. and getting a radio talk show.
I don't wear a cross either - but I like your empty tomb idea a lot.
Absolutely agree with you on the prophetic nature of Jesus' death by cross...just venting on the need for those who have to have (and wear) a symbol. In adition to the empty tomb, why not the Icthus like the early church?
NorthGA, gotta ask you...what prompted you to look-up or respond to a thread that was 2+ months old?! Thanks for responding.
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