Question:

I really need an information about the Family Federation (Moonies/Unification Church). I am going to meet a student who invited me a couple of days ago. We decided to meet for a coffee and as I don’t know anything about them, I am thinking to let her share what she believes. But in the  meantime I want to get prepared and until now I didn’t find any kind of information in your website about them. Can you please help me with some information? Thank you very much in advance because I know how busy you are with travels and teachings.

Answer:

The Unification Church is a classic cult begun by Sun Myung Moon, a Korean national. He claims to be “The Lord of the Second Advent.” Essentially, he claims to be a second coming of the Messiah. He also claims that Jesus appeared to him personally in 1934, asking him to complete his work which was cut off when he was crucified.  He claimed that he and his wife were the “true parents” of mankind.   This man is clearly quite arrogant in his claims. There is literally no reason whatsoever to anticipate that someone like Mr. Moon could be the Messiah.  Moon founded his movement in 1954 and died in 2012.  The group is now led by his youngest son, with Moons widow as a spiritual leader.  The basic teachings of Moon are found in his book Divine Principle.  He describes God as having dual male/female qualities.

Other teachings of the Divine Principle include spiritualism–the belief in contacting now-dead people.  They have a strong emphasis on marriage as a realization of the male/female aspect of God.  The group is famous for its mass weddings in which partners are chosen by church leaders.  Moon taught that if Jesus had not been crucified he would have married.  He and his wife would, like Moon and his wife, have become the “true parents” of mankind.  The Divine Principle teaches that the death of Jesus was a mistake and that it is not sufficient for salvation.  It is clear from these teachings that this group is not “Christian” by even the broadest definition.

The group has many of the classic traits of a cult (using the word in its negative sense), including reverence for a human leader, control of marriages, where one lives, one’s money and even of one’s thoughts. If your friend is part of this cult you should tread carefully as she has been trained to believe you are from Satan and everything you say against Moon is Satan speaking to her directly. Members will often not be up front about their most controversial beliefs.  I know these things from personal interaction with members of this group.  I suggest you get to know her on a personal basis and begin to explain real Christianity to her–especially focused in on Jesus. Attacking Moon directly may not work, but sharing with her about the love of Jesus, about the resurrection and about your church and getting her to study the scriptures in a non-threatening way might help.

John Oakes