Responses to Questions on
Unificationism on the Internet - Volume 55
Date: Sun, 08 Aug 1999 18:01:22 -0400
From: Damian J. Anderson <damian@unification.net>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.unification, alt.support.ex-cult
Subject: Reasonable discussion of Unificationism
Michel Brebsom wrote:
> "Sunny (~,~)" wrote:
> >
> > It seems to be "human" nature to blame others for our own failures, and
> > to find fault with an ideology or religion we no longer "wish" to
> > embrace in an attempt to justify...more to ourselves than
> > anyone...leaving the fold. (...)
>
> Hi Sunny,
>
> I understand the idea behind your writing and I fully agree with it. Now
> apply this idea to Moon himself. What results of it? Let me tell you the
> result (I posted already similar replies these days):
>
> - Moon blames others for his own failures! (see Heung Jin's accident,
> Hyo Jin's "problems", and other things that Moon predicted but that
> didn't come true)
This is not true. Rev. Moon has taken full responsibility himself for the
failures of his son. He also told his son that he wants him to become the kind
of man that his Dad can be proud of. Rev. Moon made a great sacrifice by not
spending time with his kids and instead focused on his worldwide mission. It
is unfortunate that his children had to pay that price, but to me, this is a
testimony to his live for humanity, that he was willing to put us ahead of his
own family. He had hoped and expected that those leaders close to him would
help take care of his children, with each one designated with a different
person to be their caretaker. But it did not work out so well. He does not
blame those people or us however.
> - Moon looks for the faults in a world that is hostile to him and that
> doesn't accept him as the only world leader (what an ego!). Moon
> actually forgets that God was not sleeping since Jesus' lived on Earth
> 2000 years ago. Not everything is bad in our society. God raised many
> good things and with or without Moon God's providence will go on!
It is true that there are many good things in the society. I saw and spoke to
Rev. Moon just this morning, at Belvedere in Tarrytown. NY. He is not blaming
the world for anything that is happening to him. He is calling attention to
the things which our society needs to change, and goals which we need to
achieve, and is actively pursuing many projects which he believes will further
those goals.
> - Moon is not as perfect as he wants everybody to believe. I believe
> that you yourself do respect what you wrote above (see also Luke 6,41),
> but I bet that Moon is ready to proclaim that everybody should have
> these qualities (which actually is tolerance and self-criticism) but he
> will be the exception that confirms the rule.
I think you will find that Rev. Moon is not one to condemn individuals, but he
does point out the societal evils which he sees to be in need of remedies.
> > In my opinion, it is the coward who blames the religion and its
> > followers because he/she couldn't handle the sacrificial life and he/she
> > should try being truthful and honest with him,herself about why there
> > is the desire to accuse.
>
> On this newsgroup are participating critics whose purpose is not to
> blame UC and its followers for what happened to them (some of the
> critics have never been UC members), but to raise points for discussion,
> to give information that UCers would never receive through their
> leadership and warn UCers for troubles they might run into.
I think this is inaccurate. You may well have this motivation, but I see in
people like Craig Maxim and Bill Taylor a desire to humiliate and exact
revenge on the UC for some perceived wrong which has been done to them. It
would be a whole lot easier to address the substantive issues if the level of
hysteria on their part could drop a few decibels. Anton Hein appears to be
someone who is convinced that his particular brand of orthodoxy is the only
one acceptable to God, and then anyone who is heterodox in the light if his
orthodoxy is a member of a cult, which is to be exposed, reviled, ridiculed.
That is unfortunate, as it does not shed any favorable light on his agenda.
Danny has become downright reasonable! :-)
By the way, Michel, I do appreciate your calm and reasonable approach to this
subject matter, as tempers have gotten rather heated here of late.
Sincerely,
ITPN,
--
Damian Anderson damian@unification.net http://www.unification.net
Date: Mon, 09 Aug 1999 00:24:22 -0400
From: Damian J. Anderson <damian@unification.net>
To: Unification Church Internet Evangelism mailing list
<UNIF-EVANGELISM@LISTSERV.AOL.COM>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.unification, alt.religion.christian,
alt.support.ex-cult
Subject: The arrogance of the UC critics on a.r.u.
Bill Taylor wrote:
Damian J. Anderson wrote:
> By what authority do you declare a man ordained by God to
be the anti-Christ?
There is absolutely no evidence that SMM was ordained by
God. SMM has
bold proclaimed that he is greater than God and Jesus. That
alone
qualifies him as an anti-Christ.
I don't need evidence. I speak from the authority which I claim God has
invested in Rev. Moon, just like Anton Hein claims to speak from the
authority of the Bible. When it comes to questions of authority, you
really can't go anywhere with them. If you don't accept the authority,
you don't accept the argument. Even if Anton argues from scripture, my
interpretation and his of the same words will differ. In cases like this,
we need to take the question to God in prayer, and He can resolve it for
us.
> By what objective criteria do you determine that the
Unification Church
is a cult? Is a
> cult not just an unpopular and unfashionable religion?
No. Check out the CAN pages. The definitions are clear and
the
Unification Church is clearly a cult. You are already well
aware of
this. You know the kind of devotion, donations, and
decision-making power
that is required to be given over to SMM alone. If UC
members were truly
free and at the same time had access to the greatest
spiritual tradition
and theology in the world, wouldn't at least a few of them
have initiated
some projects that actually make a difference for mankind?
We do plenty of things to benefit humanity, but in your blind resentment,
you just can't see it. Here are a few of them:
www.unification.net/misc/orgns.html
The CAN pages would probably speak in my favor these days, since there
was a hostile takeover from Scientology, praise the Lord. :-) Why don't
you check it out yourself:
http://www.cultawarenessnetwork.org/
> By what objective standard do you determine what is good
for former
members of new
> religions? You sound like a misanthropic demagogue who
insists that only
your way is the
> best, someone who makes use of popular prejudices and false
claims and
promises in order
> to gain power.
You are being a bit silly, Damian. Lighten up. You are
perfectly free to
pursue this faith and none of us really care.
Oh I see. When I challenge you on your arrogant notion that you or Anton
or Craig or Dennis/Larry somehow know what is best for ex-members of new
religions, you tell me to lighten up. Yet you routinely drone on in this
newsgroup about all the terribly bad things the bogey man UC does or did
aeons of years ago. You are like the denizens of Dante's inferno, each
with your own little realm of hell, worshipping the false god of
resentment that you have constructed in your own image and likeness, and
then claim that it is really the UC. You could be like that in eternity,
still in your little realm of hell, endlessly droning on about how
terrible Rev. Moon is. Do you have nothing better to do?
The Unification Church / Family Federation is an organic, living and
growing organization, and it has learned from its past, and forging
towards a bright future. We have undoubtedly made mistakes. Our leaders
have made errors in judgment, but we are still sincerely pursuing our
stated aims.
These ex-members have many facts to back up their conclusions
about the
UC. They are not using ghost stories and media fables. 25
years ago your
argument might have had some merit but at this point the jury
is in.
With an attitude like that, is it any wonder that I have not considered
your posts worth the effort to respond to? Since there is no convincing
you, and there is not much room even to have a respectful dialogue, this
whole exchange is rapidly approaching the pointless. So cult or not, who
cares? It is a pejorative and demeaning label. What else would I expect
from you?
Remember Gamaliel in the Acts of the Apostles. He warned the men of the
Sanhedrin:
Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to
these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be
somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was
killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to
nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days
of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was
killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in
the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let
them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin,
it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to
stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting
against God. (Acts 5:35-39)
Be careful that you do not find yourself at war with God. It is not a
good place to be.
--
Damian Anderson damian@unification.net http://www.unification.net
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 00:00:10 -0400
From: Damian J. Anderson <damian@unification.net>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.unification
Subject: (False) Rumors of succession of Rev. Moon
Graham, &, Teri wrote:
> Hyo Jin Nim was basically installed as Father's successor in 1985
> through a ceremony called Il Seung Il (One Victory Day). Afterwards
> there was a special Holy Water Ceremony for all the members to inherit
> Hyo Jin Nim's absolute victory.
I don't know about this one.
> A few years later (around 1990), Father announced that Mother was his
> successor. A few years after that, Father ordained In Jin Nim in a
> ceremony that was reminiscent of John's ordination of Jesus (or
> Elijah's of Elisha).
Father ordained In Jin Nim as a minister of the Unification Church after she
graduated from Harvard Divinity School. It was not as his successor.
> After Hyo Jin's sins became well known within
> the movement, Father selected Hyun Jin Nim as his successor and a
> ceremony was held at the 43rd Street HQ. It was actually a couple of
> years ago now.
No, this is inaccurate. Father selected Hyun Jin Nim as the Vice President of FFWPU.
He did not make him his successor.
--
Damian Anderson damian@unification.net http://www.unification.net
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 00:45:10 -0400
From: Damian J. Anderson <damian@unification.net>
To: Unification Church Internet Evangelism mailing list
<UNIF-EVANGELISM@LISTSERV.AOL.COM>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.unification, alt.support.ex-cult,
alt.religion.christian
Subject: Re: How Damian is using Danny Harth
Craig Maxim wrote:
> In article <7ooeb3$na5$1@nnrp1.deja.com>,
> Craig Maxim <craigmaxim@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>
> > Have a look here folks:
> >
> > http://www.unification.net/news/news19990806.html
>
> Let me just expose some of Damian's lies even in the beginning
> of his little self-glorification article:
Let me remind you that you do not know the facts, so all you can do is cast
your paranoid suspicions abroad.
> -----From Anderson's website:
> >This last week or so, I have begun an effort once again to reach out
> >to ex-members of the Unification Church by answering their questions
> >on the Internet,
>
> Damian "reached out" to me by trying to find personal dirt on me
> that he could post publicly on the newsgroup! What a lying con
> he is! What a way to "reach out" to others....liar.
Well, actually, I held out the hand of friendship to you and to Danny. The
difference is that Danny responded with friendship and you did not. Not
only that, you misquoted what I said in the instant message. I can tell you
tomorrow exactly what I said. It is on my other computer. I saved a copy of
the conversation.
> >in particular, those on alt.religion.unification a Usenet newsgroup
> >which I created some years ago to foster promoting the ideas of
> >Unificationism and the discussion of them.
>
> Ooops? Excuse me? another lie already? Individuals do not "create"
> usenet newsgroups, they can only "suggest" them. The actual "creation"
> if you can call it that, is done by others, NOT Damian Anderson.
Well, Craig, for your information, that is not true. I administered the
news servers on the network at Cable and Wireless and I am very familiar
with the workings of news servers. I sent a message to the news servers
around the world, and the computers created the news groups, just as I will
post this message, and without any human intervention, the computers will
propagate it all over the world. Are you going to tell me I did not write
this message, and that the computers did? Sorry, but on this one, you
betray your ignorance. The alt.* hierarchy is open for anyone to create
newsgroups, if you know how. Other hierarchies require votes, charters, and
lots of formality. That is why I chose to create an unmoderated newsgroup
in the alt.* hierarchy. Some administrators have their computer
automatically create the groups. Others want to review every request, but
that quickly becomes very tedious, as there are so many. The wide
acceptance of the newsgroup makes other administrators then pick it up, but
by then, it already exists.
> He must be so proud of himself, that he lies to get as much credit as
> possible. Another example is when he has been called "the official" UC
> website. He never bothered to correct the reviewers. Why? He LOVES for
> people to erroneously believe that his site is the official one.
Who cares? My site has much more information than the official site, and
various top UC leaders want to make my site the official one anyway. My
site pre-dates the official site by quite a long time. Mine was the first
Unification Church web site, I believe, dating from March 1, 1995.
> He never bothered linking to Tparents.org until I posted the fact. He
> knows about the importance of meta-tags for coming up higher in search
> engine results. When I posted that the official UC site didn't have
> these tags, and therefore was not coming up in almost any searches in
> search engines, well.....Damian knows as well as I do that this means
> that his site will come up in searches but the official site won't.
> Does this bother Damian? Noooo!!! Of course not. He LOVES it! He still
> has not advised them and helped them, so they will come up in search
> results. Why should he? He wants people to think that his site is the
> official one. He has one little hidden link on his site to the official
> site, which the majority of his visitors will overlook! Damian couldn't
> be happier. Why? He has no integrity. He is a manipulator. A white-
> washed tomb. Trying to look clean on the outside, but inside full of
> death and rot.
Oooh, Craig, Why are you so ANGRY? What is it about you? Am I obliged to
fix everyone else's web site? The official UC web site was completely
inactive for about 18 months. I had no access to it. I will link to
whatever sites I choose. I have editorial control over content.
> >One such person was Danny Harth <ExUCer@aol.com>. We talked by AOL
> >Instant Message, and by e-mail exchanging photographs, and talked
> >about people he knew in the church. I even put him in touch with some
> >people he really wanted to contact, and he was able to talk by e-mail
> >with various people whom he had known almost 20 years ago during his
> >time in New York Church. We also talked on the phone a few times.
>
> >My intent was not to convert him or indoctrinate him in any way,
>
> (remember the above sentence!)
>
> >but simply to befriend him, and if at all possible, to defuse his
> >anger and bitterness towards his church experience, justified or not.
> >My intent towards other ex-members is similar. My hope is that through
> >this effort, some of these people would be able to rediscover some of
> >the things which had attracted them to Unificationism in the first
> >place,
>
> Oh, right! Not trying to convert anyone, just help them "rediscover"
> the things which made them want to be moonies in the first place! What
> a liar, he gets two lines down and conradicts himself unashamedly.
No. No. No. Do I have to explain everything? I just talked to Danny a few
minutes ago on the telephone. I made it clear to him what my motives are,
but he pretty much knows anyway. Rev. Moon has gone beyond the level of the
Unification Church. It has become limiting to the further growth of his
mission. He is proclaiming his mission as True Parents of all mankind
today, not just as True Parents of the Unification Church. So, what is
there to join? What drives Rev. Moon is God's suffering at the plight of
humanity. So, if someone is doing something to help alleviate the suffering
of humanity and of God, then he is doing God's will. I will support people
doing that, whatever group they belong to. My intent with Danny was to
defuse his anger and reawaken his idealism. I don't care whether he ever
gives one dime to Rev. Moon, or ever attends a church service at my church.
If he does so, that is great. What I do care about is that he is able to
overcome his anger towards people who may have abused him in the UC, and
start being more productive in his life. The formula course says it rather
well. The steps Rev. Moon talked about were:
(1) Separate from Satan. This could be letting go of your anger, your bad
habits, and cleaning up your spiritual environment, possibly separating
from harmful friends.
(2) Come to experience the love of God.
(3) Live for the sake of others.
If one does that, then God can come to dwell in your life and make His home
with you. Craig, you could learn from Danny. The way Danny has changed in
the last few days is indicative of what you need to do to clean up your
life. You appear to be consumed by such very negative emotions most of the
time. It must be killing you.
> >My hope is that through
> >this effort, some of these people would be able to rediscover some of
> >the things which had attracted them to Unificationism in the first
> >place,
>
> What attracted them in the first place Damian was lies! The moonies use
> workshops as mind-control indoctrination places. In one discussion, a
> member talked to Rev. Moon about his potential converts "asking
> questions" about the principle. Moon told him strongly: "No! You must
> not allow them to ask questions like that! They need to hear the whole
> presentation, then they can be guided to accept the truth."
Craig, as long as you believe that, you are really stuck. When I met the
Unifiaction Church in France, I studied the Divine Principle. That was all.
On the basis of that, within three weeks, I decided to dedicate my life to
this mission. If you don't understand my motives, you will just never get
it. You are rather poor at empathy. That is why even Danny is cussing you
out.
> TRANSLATION:
>
> MOON:
> "You idiot! The lectures are set up in a way, that one lie sets up the
> next one. If they hear the middle part out of place they can easily
> reject it all! They need to be guided through a controlled progression,
> which removes much of the ability to question, and makes a stronger
> affect on them!"
This is your delusion, Craig. Sweet dreams.
> Later on in that speech, the member asked Moon if they should keep
> secret that he is the messiah. Moon answered that they should not bring
> him up at all! Moon said, just give them the lectures, if they accept
> that, then they can accept me. Why is Moon saying this? Because the
> lectures are very psychological in nature. They present things in a way
> that create small lies, that set up bigger lies later. Moon knows
> people will reject him pretty fast, but if he can get them to accept
> the teaching, then they will have to take Moon as a package deal! It is
> very deceptive. In other words, Moon is saying: "Let the lectures get
> control of their minds, then I can take their minds and their lives
> where I want them to go."
This is an interesting window into your mind, Craig. When I first heard
about Rev. Moon, it was in the Guiness Book of Records. It was about
1975-1976. I saw an entry which said that Rev. Sun Myung Moon had married
1800 couples in one ceremony. I wondered how it was possible. Someone said
to me "He brainwashes people, and then they follow him." I considered that
viewpoint and quickly rejected it. I said something like "No, I don't
believe that. There must be some deeper motivation for them to make such a
big commitment as marriage in this setting. They are making a statement."
As long as you attribute crazy motives to me and the members of my faith
Craig, you will continue to demonize us, you will continue to misunderstand
us and to underestimate us. People join the Unification Church or dedicate
their lives to becoming True Parents because something deep within them is
awakened, something primordial, pristine, primal. We call that our original
mind, our original innocence. They come to know that they are truly sons
and daughters of Almighty God, they come to know that without their unique
contribution to the world, God cannot be completely happy, they come to
know that God wants them to be His love partner, they come to discover
their destiny as true human beings, as coequals with God Himself.
> Conversely, when Jesus was just walking up to some fishermen, he said
> "follow me" and the Bible says that straight away, they dropped their
> nets and followed Him. Jesus didn't need 7 day workshops. He said
> simply "follow me" and they did.
Yes, and then he taught them the Sermon on the Mount and taught them daily.
Some UC members joined and followed just like the apostles did. Others took
a little more time. You are one who needs a little more time. Perhaps you
are more broken than the average Joe.
Sincerely,
In True Parents' Names,
--
Damian Anderson damian@unification.net http://www.unification.net
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 00:51:33 -0400
From: Damian J. Anderson <damian@unification.net>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.unification
Subject: Re: The Truth About Rev. Moon
Damian Anderson <dsmith1@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> Dark Side of Rev. Moon: Truth, Legend & Lies
>
> By Robert Parry
This is another forgery by Dennis Smith / Larry Zilliox Jr. who is just
squirming because the bright light of scrutiny is finally upon him.
--
Damian Anderson damian@unification.net http://www.unification.net
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 01:00:14 -0400
From: Damian J. Anderson <damian@unification.net>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.unification, talk.religion.misc, alt.bible
Subject: Re: World Scripture - CREATION REJOICES
The DataRat wrote:
> Damian Anderson is our resident Moonie.
>
> The DataRat
Thank you for sharing that nugget of erudite wisdom, rat. :-)
--
Damian Anderson damian@unification.net http://www.unification.net
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 22:55:51 -0400
From: Damian J. Anderson <damian@unification.net>
Newsgroups: alt.support.ex-cult, alt.religion.unification
Subject: Re: Moonies Harass and Abuse
Anton,
It would appear to me that you have a very thin skin. You feel justified in
coming onto alt.religion.unification and vilifying Rev. Moon and his
disciples, but when someone disagrees with you, then according to you that is
harassment and abuse. If I take my viewpoint to alt.support.ex-cult, you take
great exception. Believe it or not, the Internet is open to free speech. Free
speech in my case means that I get to disagree with you, whether you like it
or not. Alt.support.ex-cult is an unmoderated newsgroup.
I have great concern for people who were at some time members of the
Unification Church and have become disillusioned and left. I am making
efforts to reach out to such people in a sincere and forthright way. It is
unfortunate that you are unable to see the goodness in the viewpoint of
others.
In True Parents' Names,
Damian Anderson
Anton Hein wrote:
> Anton Hein's (ahein@xs2all.nl) reply to "Damian J. Anderson"
> <damian@unification.net>, who - on Thu, 05 Aug 1999 02:31:08 GMT - wrote:
>
> > http://www.cesnur.org/testi/maryland.htm
>
> The alt.support.ex.cult newsgroup is meant for the support of ex-cult
> members.
>
> Using this group to promote cults like the Moonies, and cult apologist
> organizations like CESNUR, amounts to harassment and abuse.
--
Damian Anderson damian@unification.net http://www.unification.net
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 23:17:49 -0400
From: Damian J. Anderson <damian@unification.net>
To: Swatman100@aol.com
Newsgroups: alt.support.ex-cult, alt.religion.unification
Subject: Re: cult remarks from the outside
Mind control is a figment of the imagination of a group of anti-religious
zealots. 100 years ago, people who opposed the Mormons said that they mesmerized
people, just as people accuse the Unification Church of brainwashing today. There
is no scientific or factual basis for it at all. People are free to choose their
religion, just as they are free to choose which car they want to drive. You can
listen to the salesman if you want, but there is no obligation to buy. :-)
Regards,
Damian Anderson
Swatman100@aol.com wrote:
> do u think this mind control thing is for real? i just got on that censure
> site and they are quoting that Dr. Springer has been denied expert witness
> status in many courts, and that a psychological association has said she has
> no scientific studies to back up her theories
>
> i picked the site up from the CAN site and have heard of both as "apologist"
> or whatever, but the report is from journalists in the papers.
>
> the moonies i have heard of but discounted as fruits. from what u say on
> here , they are somewhere beyond fruit status, nearer to dimentia. how
> did so many intelligent people get off on this stuff?
>
> mind control--i have been worried by these nutty groups for over 24 months
> now, and i still think u have to be open to being controlled. i, evidently
> am not, and maybe too independent, or too suspicious of baloney.
>
> i say that most of this cult business can be filed under "charlatans",
> whatever else they name themselves.
> sonny
--
Damian Anderson damian@unification.net http://www.unification.net
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 23:06:29 -0400
From: Damian J. Anderson <damian@unification.net>
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc, alt.support.ex-cult,
alt.religion.unification
Subject: Re: South African Radio Interview Report
Excuse me madam. I don't think that a woman who has been married six
times is in any position to be passing judgment on who is a Christian
and who is not:
http://sefl.satelnet.org/~brats/husbands.htm
(1) Gary: I was 18 when I married Gary. He was tall, good looking,
and had LONG blonde hair. He was a poet and a dreamer.
(2) Larry: I met Larry at a Way Ministry Rock Of Ages and hung with
him for the week then married him. We were together for 2 1/2 years. I
had my son Joshua with him in 1979.
(3) Jim: I was with Jim for 6 months then married him. He was 6' 4"
to my 5' so we told everyone we were connected at the hip and the knee
! We were together for 4 years, no children.
(4) Larry: My second husband named Larry :) The father of my daughter.
(5) Dan: I met Dan at a friend's wedding reception. He was so handsome
and could dance like there was no tomorrow. We started dating and shortly
after I moved in with him. A year later we married. We had a son together.
(6) The DataRat: I met DR online in the alt.law-enforcement newsgroup.
He posted with such an intelligent and witty manner that I would read
everything he wrote. Then one day I had a question and emailed him. He
emailed back. The rest is history.
MrsRat wrote:
> Folks, Damian J. Anderson is a practicing Moonie ! He is in
> here to try to convert all he can into this cult.
>
> Damian said it best himself :
>
> " We trust Rev. Moon in a way similar to the way Christians
> trust Jesus "
>
> Moonies are NOT Christian. Go away Damian, no one wants
> to read your cult posts here.
>
> Those who wish to send a complaint to his ISP about his
> Moonie spam to our newsgroups can send it to news@cw.net
> Send them a copy of his post with full headers and your
> complaint about his post to your groups.
>
> --
> MrsRat
>
> Admin XWorld IRC NetWork
> http://sefl.satelnet.org/~brats/
--
Damian Anderson damian@unification.net http://www.unification.net