Life as a Spectator Sport

Much has been said lately about Bush losing his "base," one important segment of which is a loose collection of various flavors of Christians.

It can be difficult to understand why all these people are so fervently in favor of Bush, given that many of them disagree loudly with each other. The obvious answer is that Bush opposes many of the same things as they—for example, homosexuality and abortion. Being against some of the same things doesn't mean any two groups are for the same things, however, and some of these people might be surprised to learn who else Bush counts among his religious faithful.

The strangest bedfellow of all must be the Unification Church, headed by Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Televangelist Pat Robertson was so uneasy about the prospect of Moon's organizations receiving government funds that he publicly questioned the wisdom of Bush's "faith-based charity" program. His concern was evidently justified, as last summer, a group associated with the Unification Church received a grant of $475,280 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Free Teens USA, an after-school celibacy club in New Jersey. Free Teens denies any affiliation with the Unification Church, but according to documents obtained by Salon.com under the Freedom of Information Act, "the director and chief finance officer of the Free Teens USA club, as well as others listed on the group's board of directors, are former or present high-ranking Unification Church officials who omitted those leadership roles from their applications for the federal grant."

An earlier Moon organization, "Pure Love Alliance" was kicked out of Chicago's public school system in 2000, after being accused of using the abstinence program as an opportunity to proselytize. PLA's message and goals are still widely disseminated on the internet, but the group's own website is no longer in existence.

Regardless of the value of abstinence, some of the educational methods used by Moon affiliates are dubious, at best. This post to a forum called ChristianLinks seems to be far more about money than about education:

Call for Abstinence Curriculum Representatives

From: Peter F. Brown
Date: September 1, 2003

Dear UC Brothers and Sisters,

Some of you may know that I've written a curriculum for teenagers, called "The True Love Thing to Do", at http://worldcommunity.com/tl. It's a 2 1/2 hour marriage preparation, abstinence and character education seminar workbook that can be done at home by parents, or in a group setting.

The curriculum content and information are all posted at the above url.

As you all know, educating young people about these issues is a very important cause in our efforts to build the Kingdom of Heaven. I believe that the above curriculum helps educate young people about the "heartistic" reasons to be abstinent, and also helps prepare them for a heartistically based marriage.

As the publisher of said curriculum, I'm actively looking for part time reps who feel comfortable approaching churches and other organizations, to ask them to purchase quantities of the booklets and then hold seminars in their venues (the rep doesn't have to hold the seminar -- it's hosted by the church deacon, etc.).

The seminars are very easy to do and don't require any training or high-tech elements. They use the 'Reading and Discussion' method used at ALC conferences, where one teenager reads a section from the podium and the rest of the teenagers follow along with their copies of the booklet. Then they discuss the content in round table discussions -- all moderated by the teenagers. Usually, only one adult needs to be present. The directions about how to hold the seminar are in the booklet.

The sales rep who approaches the churches gets a very healthy commission -- $4 for each booklet. The booklets retail for $15 and wholesale for $9, so the churches can make a good profit also. Commissions are paid immediately upon receipt and clearing of the payment from the church.

It's the kind of process that might require a month to broker a sale to a church, but can be done part time, based on a few conversations. So, a box of 100 brings in $400 to the sales rep and $600 profit to the church, a *hot* selling point for churches! (The churches can charge the parents for the teenagers' seminar "tickets".)

For those of you who are in or have access to foreign language countries, I'd be delighted to have the curriculum translated into other languages. It's been written in a style that will hopefully "work" for any culture. The first, very early draft was actually written on spec for Communist Chinese High School students. It mentions God very briefly, in context of scientific study, so it should appeal to a broad audience.

If you're interested in becoming a commission-based rep, please email me at 'peterbrown@worldcommunity.com' or call 804-769-9045. Again, you can view the curriculum at http://worldcommunity.com/tl.

God bless you all!

Peter F. Brown

--
Damian J. Anderson damian@unification.net http://www.unification.net

The "ALC" referred to by Peter Brown is "American Leadership Council," whose website states that American Leadership Councils are a project of the American Family Coalition and the Washington Times Foundation. The Washington Times, of course, is the newspaper owned and operated by Rev. Sun Myung Moon. "UC" refers to the Unification Church.

Not all Christian leaders are flocking to Sun Myung Moon (though Jerry Falwell accepted $3.5 million through the Christian Heritage Foundation to bail out financially troubled Liberty University). Christianity Today, in an article titled In Perspective: Why Are Pastors Flying to Moon?, said:

Many conservative evangelical speakers have attended Moon-connected rallies including a Family Federation for World Peace event in 1986 where Ralph Reed, Beverly LaHaye, Gary Bauer, and Robert H. Schuller spoke. A 1998 Christianity Today article reported:

"Conservatives find Moon attractive because they share many of his moral and political values," says James Beverley, theology and ethics professor at Ontario Theological Seminary. "Those similarities are significant enough that questions of theological differences are put on hold." Beverley, who has studied Moon for two decades, also notes that speakers at such events often have their trips to exotic locales fully financed in addition to receiving generous honorariums.

The links between the Bush family and the Unification Church (now known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification) are manyfold. The elder President Bush and Barbara Bush have both spoken at events sponsored by Rev. Moon. Attorney General John Ashcroft was the featured speaker at a prayer luncheon in 2001 where Rev. Moon received an award for his work in support of "traditional family values."

One of the inaugural events for the new President George W. Bush was sponsored by Rev. Moon. Called "America Come Together," the luncheon was ostensibly an interdenominational event to which 1400 pastors and religious leaders were invited. Rev. Moon spoke to the attendees, however, and on the way out of the hall, participants were offered a book on the Unification Church and other Moon pamphlets. To their credit, some of the Christian leaders who attended the luncheon expressed their dismay upon learning that the event was sponsored by Moon.

David Caprara, a former director of Moon's American Family Coalition, was appointed by George Bush to head the AmeriCorps VISTA program, part of the War on Poverty. Caprara continues to participate in work to bring Christian pastors under Moon's influence.

Josette Shiner, a longtime Unification Church member whose writing is still published on church websites, was appointed a deputy U.S. trade representative for Asian and African negotiations, according to a press release dated August 6, 2003. Shiner claims to have left the church, but unlike other ex-Moonies, would say nothing of her experiences in the church or her reasons for leaving it. While an editor at the Moon-owned Washington Times, she gave a speech on the role of women in the 21st century during a WFWP (Women For World Peace, a Moon affiliated organization) tour.

Perhaps the association between Rev. Moon and the Bush administration is not so surprising, as they seem to share some goals besides teen celibacy and opposition to gay marriage. There is an eerie similarity between much of Bush's rhetoric and the phrasing of Rev. Moon's followers. The online book, Application of the Divine Principle, is described in its introduction as a "companion to Divine Principle in Plain Language by John Godwin. The Divine Principle is the basic theology of Sun Myung Moon. The Principle teaches God's providence—His plan for mankind. We learn how God has worked in human history to bring the Messiah who will teach us how to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. After we hear the Divine Principle and accept its perfect logic and truth, the first thing we ask is: What do I do now? How do we build an ideal world?"

The book explains one way to build an ideal world: "Father explains that democracy is of God now, and we need to elect godly men who [are] not afraid to be hawks and use force against tyrants and not afraid to impose democracy on authoritarian nations." (Note: Moon styles himself as the 'True Father' of mankind and is therefore often referred to as 'Father' by his followers)

Among other statements, Sun Myung Moon has said, "the Unification Church is plus and Christianity is minus." He teaches that Jesus was illegitimate, born of an adulterous relationship between his mother Mary and John the Baptist's father, Zechariah. He states that Jesus failed in his mission to create a "Heavenly Kingdom" on earth, because he was killed before he could marry, and that he, Rev. Moon, is the final Messiah who will complete the work.

What is his position on Christian scripture? "Until our mission with the Christian Church is over, we must quote the Bible and use it to explain the Divine Principle. After we receive the inheritance of the Christian Church, we will be free to teach without the Bible. Now, however, our primary mission is to witness to the Christian Church." (Sun Myung Moon, Master Speaks: 7, 1965, p.1)

What is his position on the future of America? In a speech to British followers, a tape of which was smuggled out by dissidents within the movement, Moon said: "History will make the position of Reverend Moon clear, and his enemies, the American population and government will bow down to him. That is Father's tactic, the natural subjugation of the American government and population."

It is completely baffling that Christian leaders continue to support Sun Myung Moon and his anti-Christian message. It is equally baffling that a president who uses his religion as a selling point for re-election would continue to be associated with this movement.

The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section

This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here.

RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email to liz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002