Responses to Questions on
Unificationism on the Internet - Volume 43
Aug 12, 1997
Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 00:48:02 -0400
From: "Damian J. Anderson"
Subject: Alt.religion.unification
On Tue, 12 Aug 1997, Eric B. Richardson wrote:
> Second, what you see on newsgroups is either negativity posted mostly by
> anti-cultists, most of whom have never had any affiliation with the UC, and
> operate on at best third hand misperceptions, or from members who respond
> to it. Damian was warned when he asked people about starting the group that
> this would happen, and most of the people that supported its creation never
> go there to deal with it. There are effective ways to deal with the
> newsgroups but most of us are too lazy and/or time-burdened to do it.
[snip]
> Again, the existence of the newsgroup is directly Damian's fault, and the
> failure to deal with it, all of ours.
Ho, ho, ho. "Damian was warned", "the newsgroup is Damian's fault" !!! ;-)
It is true that Eric Richardson disagreed with me at the time that I
created alt.religion.unification, and he still disagrees now. I happen
to think that the creation of the newsgroup was a good idea. I still
post to it daily. I just don't respond to the anti-cult people any more
as it was a waste of effort. If people read the newsgroup, they get at
least 3 pro-Unification messages a day from me, sometimes several
more. I don't even keep track any more of the constant flow of thanks
and positive messages I get via e-mail from Church members and
non-members alike, thanking me for Father's speeches, the World
Scripture and other materials that people find online, that I put
there.
You can find Father's speeches there as soon as they go online. So what
is Tilman posting that is so bad? He is a fanatic who would be posting
that kind of stuff whether I was on the net or not. That kind of
nonsense has been coming from the anti-cult lobby for years. There is
nothing new there. Indeed, they run out of things to say and end up
repeating themselves over and over.
It used to be that if you wanted to find information on the Unification
Church, you would look in a bookstore or a library and you would see a
collection of anti-cult books. Now, people look on the Internet and see
hundreds of speeches, explanations, whole books, discussions of True
Parents' essential message, in many languages, totally unfiltered by
the anti-cult lobby. I regularly get requests for answers for term
papers, newspaper interview requests, and so on. There were two
articles on my removing the porn from the Internet, one in an online
magazine, the other in Internet World, and both were positive. There
was another in a French Canadian newspaper about my posting Father's
words in French to French speaking newsgroups.
I happen to think that my ministry on the Internet has been a great net
plus, notwithstanding the fact that I have become a convenient whipping
boy for the anti-cult lobby. One anti-cultist called me the "chief
propagandist of the Moonies on the Internet." I wear that as a badge of
honor, since that is exactly what Father wants us to do, propagate the
teachings of True Parents! What better endorsement than from one's
enemies and the enemies of True Parents?
Many tens of thousands of people have become aware of the Unification
Church teachings through the Unification Home Page as a result of my
daily postings on the net. I still consistently get 3000 to 4000 items
downloaded per day. That is a whole lot more witnessing than I ever did
in person. Several former members have mentioned being very inspired by
the web page, reading Father's words, and seeing what he is doing these
days. The web page has won three major awards, it is listed in most web
guides, it is respected, it is perhaps the most extensive web page of
ANY church on the net. Excuse me for bragging a little, but I just
don't buy this nonsense about a.r.u. being "Damian's fault". It is an
essential part of my witnessing strategy on the Internet.
On a flight from Kodiak to Anchorage in September 1996, I told True
Parents in person about my work on the Internet and they were very
inspired. With that kind of endorsement, I don't need ANYONE else's
approval.
I love God and True Parents and I am proud of it, and I don't care who
knows it. If I lose my Internet account or my job or my life, then that
is the price I have to pay, and I give them willingly.
Sincerely,
In the wonderful name of True Parents,
--
Damian J. Anderson damian@unification.net http://www.unification.net