Introduction A textbook, according to Webster's, is a manual of instruction, a book containing a presentation of the principles of a subject, used as a basis of instruction. A textbook for world peace, then, would instruct humankind on how to achieve a peaceful world through the application of the principles which can bring peace. This describes perfectly the book you are holding in your hands.
In these speeches the Reverend Sun Myung Moon and Mrs. Hak Ja Han Moon elaborate on the principles and conditions conducive to fostering world peace. Reverend Moon, founder of the Unification Church, established the Federation for World Peace in August 1991. Now a significant worldwide movement, the Federation emphasizes the need for a harmonious relationship between God and human beings as a precondition for realizing peace. It also recognizes the centrality of the family in shaping the individual personality and in fostering harmonious human relations.
Reverend and Mrs. Moon believe that because of recent religious and political developments, a unique opportunity now exists to promote world peace. They teach that all people are God's children and are thus brothers and sisters. They call upon such nations as America, Germany and Japan to share the fruits of their technological research with the developing nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America as a means to end the gap between rich and poor and alleviate human suffering. They have supported projects such as the International Relief Friendship Foundation in order to provide technical aid, food, clothing and medicine to the developing world. They have developed the fishing industry on every continent as a means of providing an alternative food source to those who continue to be victims of world famine.
Reverend Moon's message and his passionate concern has been echoed by the work of his wife, Mrs. Hak Ja Han Moon. This has led to her founding the Women's Federation for World Peace which emphasizes the special role which women are meant to play in promoting world peace and development. First established in Japan, the Women's Federation for World Peace has sponsored tours to the United States to promote American and Japanese cooperation and understanding. The Women's Federation has supported social programs in Southern and Southeast Asia. The Women's Federation for World Peace stresses that beyond her own children, a woman must empathize with and embrace all children who seek the comforting embrace of a mother. It has provided scholarships for advanced studies to women students in China, South Korea, the Philippines, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Thailand.
Beginning on April 10, 1992, Mrs. Moon began to reach out to women in her native land of Korea when she spoke before an audience of 150,000. Her message calls for women to have a larger vision, and she proposed the means to do this through a powerful religious and philosophical message referred to as Godism. Godism clearly demonstrates the important providential work which God is seeking for America to realize at this point in history.
The speeches in this volume offer insight into the message being conveyed by God through Reverend and Mrs. Moon. Although profound and challenging, the essence of Reverend and Mrs. Moon's message is that today's battleground is no longer a political demarcation line. It is instead the line which divides mind and body. Whereas St. Paul lamented the contradiction between mind and body, Reverend and Mrs. Moon boldly maintain that God has now offered a new way for good to overcome evil, and the path can be opened to a world of God-centered peace.
This victory of the human spirit comes upon the foundation of God's labor to save humankind. Further, it stands upon the foundation of Reverend and Mrs. Moon's lives of prayer and sacrifice, which have deeply touched those who have had the opportunity to observe them on a day-to-day basis. Finally, it stands upon the discovery of God's eternal purpose of creation in the absolute love between husband and wife, which is the foundation for world peace.
These speeches were delivered before audiences composed of leaders in government, media, religion, the sciences and academia, gathered from the four comers of the globe. Here we witness the emergence of Reverend and Mrs. Moon and the ideal of True Parents. This is the foundation for the realization of world peace in our time.
The editors pray for the reader's deep comprehension of the vision of the True Parents and of its overriding role in the accomplishment of world peace.
October 20, 1992