| Newsgroups: alt.religion.unification,alt.religion.christian,alt.support.ex-cult
| Subject: Returning ex-members of the Unification Church
Returning ex-members of the Unification Church
Perhaps it never occurred to you Anton Hein, but some people who are
former members of the Unification Church find that the best thing for
them in their lives is to return to the Unification Church, not to become
consumed by hatred of their former religious way of life, or the people
they knew as a part of it. I have many hundreds of people on my mailing
lists who receive Rev. Moon's sermons daily. They sign up here:
Many of them are former members of the church. Several people have
contacted me who were former members of the church, who did all kinds of
things that they regretted since their involvement in the church, and who
wanted to come back. This is not the picture of former members that you
paint, but this is the reality.
I believe that most people who have had some involvement in the church
over several years and who have left are then always ambivalent at some
level about that choice. I think that those who are most virulent in
their opposition such as Glenn Emery here or Craig Maxim or Steve Hassan
or Graham Lester, they had some big hopes and dreams that are not yet
fulfilled, and they blame the UC for their failed hopes. Some are ashamed
or bitter about something in their life and lash out against others to
mask their own pain and shame.
We live in a world of broken dreams because of sin and evil. Even God
Himself has unfulfilled dreams, I believe. God dreams for the same kind
of world that most humans dream for, a world of peace, and love and
harmony and fellowship, where people have a deep bond of love with God
and the people around them and their environment. I dream for that kind
of world, and I would not be surprised if you do too. The mission of the
Messiah is to lead humanity in constructing that kind of ideal world. It
is the mission of all Christians, and of all religious people.
In case you did not know, or did not want to know, the majority of
Unificationists live in their own homes, have jobs and families much as
anyone else. The difference is that they are motivated by a vision which
affects everything that they do, whatever profession they are involved
in. For example, I work as a software engineer for Raytheon Systems
Company under contract to NASA on the Earth Observing System which
currently receives from the Landsat 7 satellite about 1.2 terabytes of
remote sensing imaging data per day. One terabyte is 1000 gigabytes.
Here, take a look:
and
When we have the Terra satellite launch, currently scheduled for December
9, 1999, then we expect to get about 1.2 terabytes of data per day. Then
when we have other launches our data load will increase. In case you
think or would like others to think that I am some kind of mindless
automaton who does not participate in the real world, please take a look
at my resume and judge for yourself:
Take a look at a picture of me, and see whether I look like a wild-eyed
fanatic:
As long as the Unification Church is a valid topic of discussion on the
alt.support.ex-cult, then I think it is only right that the UC point of
view be represented.
Sorry, but I don't think that God is a totalitarian dictator who shuts
people up. Anton, you seem so intent on drowning out a message which WILL
be heard. You spend so much time railing AGAINST what you hate. Why not
come out in favor of something you LOVE? It would be such a pleasant
change. Take off the mantle of the inquisitor and become a loving human
being, a Christian in the full meaning of the word, someone who loves as
God and Jesus Christ love, someone who loves God and others with his
whole heart and soul and mind. That is the kind of Anton I know can be,
but we have yet to see.
Sincerely,
In the name of the True Parents of all humanity and of all of history,
Damian Anderson
Anton Hein wrote:
| On Sat, 30 Oct 1999 04:08:51 GMT, Damian J. Anderson
|
| wrote (<7vdqtp$47k$1@www.unification.net>):
|
| > REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
| > SPEAKS ON
|
| Damian Anderson insists on spamming the alt.support.EX-CULT
| group with sermons
| by cult leader Sun Myung Moon. Such abusive harassment draws
| further attention
| to the cultic nature of the Unification Church.
|
| The Unification Church is considered a cult both
| theologically and
| sociologically.
|
| The Unification Church claims to be a Christian movement, but
| deviates
| significantly - in teachings and practices - from orthodox,
| Biblical
| Christianity.
|
| A Biblical Response to the Unification Church
| http://www.tdl.com/~marzioli/unificat.htm
|
| Theologically, the Unification Church is - at best - a cult
| of Christianity.
|
| Cults: a theological definition
| http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c09a01.html
| (...)
| A cult of Christianity is a group of people, which
| claiming to be Christian,
| embraces a particular doctrinal system taught by an
| individual leader, group
| of leaders, or organization, which (system) denies
| (either explicitly or
| implicitly) one or more of the central doctrines of
| the Christian faith as
| taught in the sixty-six books of the Bible.
| - Alan Gomes, Unmasking The Cults
| Zondervan Publishing House, 1995
|
| Sociological definitions of the term "cult" include
|
| ... consideration of such factors as authoritarian
| leadership patterns,
| loyalty and commitment mechanisms, lifestyle
| characteristics, [and]
| conformity patterns (including the use of various
| sanctions in connection
| with those members who deviate).
| - Ronald Enroth, "What Is a Cult?" in A Guide
| to Cults and New Religions,
| e.d. Ronald Enroth (Downers Grove, Ill,:
| InterVarsity 1983), p14
|
| http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0877848378/christianministr
|
| There is ample evidence of the Unification Church's cultic
| characteristics, as
| well as its abuses and illegal activities. See, for example:
|
| One Mother's Tale: Moon & an NYU Freshman
| http://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/moon2.html
|
| and
|
| In the Shadow of the Moons : My Life in the Reverend
| Sun Myung Moon's Family
| by Nansook Hong
|
| http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316348163/christianministr
| Hong, who arrived in the U.S. from Seoul as a
| 15-year-old bride handpicked by
| the Reverend Sun Myung Moon for his son, shares her
| story of 14 years of
| harrowing abuse at the hands of the Moon family, and
| her eventual escape to
| make a new life.
|
| Former member Ingo Michehl, M.Ed., (C. Psychology), writes:
|
| As most former members, who were finally able to free
| themselves from the
| manipulative influence of the group, I now am
| convinced that it is a
| dangerous, destructive cult.
| - http://www.trancenet.org/moonism/
|
| What does Moon himself say about those who oppose the
| Unification Church?
|
| So from this time of peak every people or every
| organization that goes
| against the Unification Church will gradually come
| down or drastically come
| down and die. Many people will die -- those who go
| against our movement."
| (Sun Myung Moon, Master Speaks 2/14/74)
|
| The movement Moon heads is a cult, both sociologically and
| theologically.
|
| About the Unification Church
| http://www.apologeticsindex.org/u05.html
|
| About Cults: Definitions, characteristics, counseling
| resources, etc.
| http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c09.html
|
| Anton
| --
| Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/
| Apologetics and Countercult Information about Cults, Sects,
| and Alternative Religious Movements - for Research and
| Ministry.
--
Damian Anderson damian@unification.net http://www.unification.net