An examination of the second generation of the Unification Church (“Moonies”) from a post-Cold War perspective.
This paper examines the second generation of the Unification Church as an American subculture following the Cold War. It begins by describing the background and biases of the researcher, then goes into an overview of the Church’s religious beliefs and culture. Then, the paper examines the role of second generation Unificationists, or Blessed Children, as they are known within the Church. Blessed Children are crucial to the Church’s survival, so the writer examines their position in the Church from the perspective of the Church, from the perspective of parents, and from the perspective of the Blessed Children themselves. The paper describes the challenges of being Blessed Children, as well as the problems the Church will face as the second generation comes into power.
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: Overview of Religious Beliefs
True Father and His Divine Principle
The Blessing
The Spirit World
Holidays and Other Religious Traditions
Chapter 2: The Importance of Blessed Children: The Mission, Should You
Choose to Accept it…
True Parents’ Words
The Blessed Children’s Blessing – “Who’s Going to Take
Responsibility?
What Will the Future Bring?
Chapter 3: You have been born with responsibility, whether you like it
or not. – How Blessed Children view their role in the Church
The Blessing, Purity, and the Lineage
Living for the sake of others
Problems and the Future of the Unification Church
Chapter 4: Concluding Remarks
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: Overview of Religious Beliefs
True Father and His Divine Principle
The Blessing
The Spirit World
Holidays and Other Religious Traditions
Chapter 2: The Importance of Blessed Children: The Mission, Should You
Choose to Accept it…
True Parents’ Words
The Blessed Children’s Blessing – “Who’s Going to Take
Responsibility?
What Will the Future Bring?
Chapter 3: You have been born with responsibility, whether you like it
or not. – How Blessed Children view their role in the Church
The Blessing, Purity, and the Lineage
Living for the sake of others
Problems and the Future of the Unification Church
Chapter 4: Concluding Remarks
Bibliography
The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity was founded in South Korea in 1954 by Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Moon was born in 1920 in South Korea, and raised Presbyterian. When he was fifteen years old, Jesus Christ appeared to him in a vision, and told him to finish the work that Jesus had been unable to do. Through this encounter, Moon learned that Jesus was not actually God, and that the Christian concept of the Trinity is in error. It also turns out that Jesus’ mission in life was to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth, by marrying a perfect woman and having a perfect family. According to Unificationist belief, Jesus and his wife were to become the Second Adam and Eve, and through their union they would be able to restore the perfect order of creation that was disrupted when the first man and woman fell from God’s grace in the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, due to the Jews’ unbelief that he was the Messiah, Jesus was put to death before being able to realize this mission. He was, however, able to offer spiritual salvation for those who believed in him – i.e. Christians. Physical salvation would be impossible until the Third Adam was sent by God to finish what Jesus began. With the perfect marriage of the Third Adam, the Third Adam and his wife will become the “true spiritual parents of all humankind.” Members of the Unification Church believe that Rev. Moon and his wife are the long-awaited Third Adam and Eve, and thus refer to them as True Parents. Members of the first generation of Unificationists are thus True Parents’ children; more specifically, they carry the name Jacob’s Children. Jacob was a historical figure in the book of Genesis, a book whose history forms the foundation for much of Unificationist teachings.”