The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1984 |
Some Christians today may be puzzled when they hear about indemnity and man's portion of responsibility. They think, Almighty God is a God of love with a soft heart. They might think that they can simply believe in Jesus and they will be saved, without having to do anything else.
Let us examine what is meant by "belief in Jesus." To what extent does someone believe in Jesus? Does a person believe in Jesus only as he relates to him as an individual, or Jesus within the family, or Jesus as he reigns over the society, nation, the universe, or the Jesus who is in God? That makes a lot of difference.
A favorite Bible verse of Christians today is John 3:16, which says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but shall have eternal life. " Many Christians put the greatest emphasis upon the second part of the verse and forget the most important thing: that God so loved the world. God did not love the church, or the individual so much that he sent his only begotten Son. It was because God so loved the world, the universe.
Thus Jesus is the one who came to save the world. When we believe in Jesus the world is very much in our minds. God is in Jesus and Jesus is in God.
When you say you believe in Jesus, do you only believe in those things which make you feel good? Do you reject those things about Jesus which make you feel painful? We should accept what Jesus taught and do those things which Jesus himself would want us to do. We must not take part in things which Jesus would not like. What are those things which Jesus would not like? They are, simply, Satan and sin.
We are to separate ourselves from Satan and sin and believe in Jesus from that position, rather than from a position in which sin, Satan, and Jesus are all mixed together in our lives. Jesus wants to rule over a world from which Satan and sin are eradicated, not a world in which sin is mixed together with everything and in which people have just a vague belief in Jesus. This is why Jesus said, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." For what should we repent? We must repent of the fact that we have been living together with Satan and sin throughout our lives. Then we can serve heaven.
Where are the faithful believers in Jesus and where are the righteous churches that can publicly proclaim proudly that they are absolutely separated from Satan and sin and that they are following Jesus exactly as he would have them do? Since no one can say they are living in perfect love in an ideal world with no suffering and tears, Christians who truly follow Jesus must be struggling to separate from sin and to love the world from the perspective of Jesus, the Savior who labors still to bring the world to God.
But sadly, we know that Satan exists within the churches as everywhere else; there is almost as much sin there as in the rest of the world. All too many Christian leaders are so compromised with the world that what they love and hate is no different from what the rest of the world loves and hates; there is very little difference between the world and those churches. Which would Satan find more pleasure in -- the church or the world? Why would he like the sins of the church more than those of society in general? Satan likes the sins of the church more because then he can protest to God, "Look at those people in the church -- they don't love others; they even hate others! They are not faithful, either. This must be my church."
The churches which remain this way must perish at the time of the last days along with the evils of the secular world. God has promised that he will destroy all evil at the time of the last days. God would even destroy such churches before the rest of society.
What really surprised me when I first came to America was the way Americans used the names of Jesus Christ and God as an exclamation -- not to praise them, but to put them in the worst position. I wondered what people meant when they said, "Jesus Christ!" and I realized that they were describing something bad. What led to this kind of custom? What do the best words imaginable have to do with the worst things that can happen to people? Have you sometimes observed that certain Christians may be worse than people of the secular world? Those who claim they believe in God may actually be worse than those who don't -- they are more egoistic, less loving and giving, etc.
This American nation is founded upon Judeo-Christian principles, yet Americans have become very individualistic. Was Jesus an individualistic person? How did Americans come to be so egoistic and individualistic when Jesus had nothing of an egoistic nature? We can come to the simple conclusion that if people really believed in Jesus they would not have become like that. Instead of believing in Jesus for Jesus' sake and for God's sake, some people believe in him for their own benefit. In other words, they use Jesus and God for their own sake. What do you think about this?
Returning to our original point, God sent Jesus to humankind because He loved this world so much. Did humankind believe in Jesus the way God wanted them to, or did people generally believe according to their own discretion and desire? This is the most important determining factor of a person's belief.
The greatest error occurs when people think that they can "just believe" in God and Jesus and they will receive more and more blessings from God. Such people feel they can have everything they want, without doing anything in return. That is similar to the attitude of a thief, who just takes things without working.
Did Jesus believe in God in that way? Did he think that because God sent him as his only begotten son it meant he had all power? Did he feel that all he had to do was to keep on believing and claiming his faith in God, and then he could subjugate all the Roman Empire automatically? If Jesus couldn't do that, what is the justification for thinking that other people can do that? In other words, many people say that Jesus couldn't just believe in God and do nothing, but that we can. Jesus believed in God and we believe in Jesus. Jesus didn't just say, "God, I believe in You so You must bring all the people and all the Roman Empire under my domain." It is clear that such a thing would not work for Jesus. If everything could have come to Jesus automatically, why did Jesus witness? Why did Jesus gather and train the 12 apostles, the 70 disciples, the 120 elders? Why did he have to do all that and endure so much persecution along the way? Jesus went the way of persecution and bloodshed according to God's dispensation; he had no other way to go. Jesus knew the suffering that lay ahead of him, but he also knew he had to go that way in order to accomplish God's will.
Do you think I am placing unnecessary stress on this or do you understand that this point is the most crucial one of belief? Jesus had to go the way he did because he knew what God wanted him to do -- namely, to save the world and all mankind by loving them. Therefore, it stands to reason that everyone else who loves Jesus must also do God's will -- to love the people of the world and save them.
Because God so loved the world He sent his only begotten son. Jesus had the obligation, the mission, to make the world one which could receive the love of God. Jesus looked around and saw that the world was not lovable. Is the world lovable today? At this time, there are many different churches with great power and influence in the world. They embrace this world in their own ways. Can God look at them and be completely pleased with them? Communists have even infiltrated the churches and developed theologies to suit their own purposes, such as liberation theology. How can God love such churches? We can understand that the true, correct faith is not the way many Christians have been going, but rather it is the way Jesus tried to establish in his time -- to gather the people, teach the people, and establish the kind of world which God could freely love. Jesus had to love the world in order to accomplish his mission. This was the work of God and also the work of Jesus -- it was the purpose for which God sent Jesus. Jesus had to bring the world to God for God to accomplish His purpose of sending Jesus to the world.
Then what would have happened? When all people became worthy of receiving the love of God freely, everything would have been accomplished. God loved the world, so he sent Jesus. When the people of the world arc able to freely receive the love of Jesus and God, they will be satisfied. These things have to be accomplished; it is very clear.
Today, God is allowing humankind to be punished through Satan, namely through the spread of communism. This is like a healthy body being invaded by germs -- all the cells go on alert, and the white blood cells have to eat up the germs soon enough or else the person will not survive. In this huge, once-healthy country, the germs of Satan and communism are coming in fast. Unless the churches in America come up with the means to eliminate these germs as fast as they spread, the country will not survive.
The "germ" of communism is proclaiming that the society belongs to the working class, the laborers. Satan but God is saying that the world belongs -- is claiming this -- to all God-centered people, not simply to the "laborers." Since Satan has his own movement which is proclaiming an ideology, there should be a movement on God's side which is claiming with an even stronger voice, "No, you are wrong! The world belongs to God-centered, religious people, no matter what economic class they belong to!" The people of the world will be hearing two different voices shouting at the top of their lungs; they will have to make a choice. Which side will have the greater chance of being followed -- those who are advocating a false doctrine, or those who are stating a righteous fact?
If groups of Christians emerge from this hopeless world who are loving others, thinking more of serving than being served, and doing as Jesus did, then God will be able to fulfill the promise he made when he sent His only begotten son. Jesus sacrificed himself and gave up his own life; he remained completely faithful to his mission of making the world lovable by God, making the people worthy of receiving God's love. If some new Christian group emerges at this time, following the path which Jesus trod, then Christianity and the world will have hope for the first time in a long time.
Look around and see which denominations would fit these specifications. What about members of the Unification Church? Why don't we do the same things that many other churches do and believe exactly the same way that they do? Why do we fight against communism? We do this because it is the germ which will destroy all religion if it prevails. Our movement is trampling down on Satan and sin and especially communism, destroying those germs, and on the other hand we are sacrificing ourselves as Jesus did and bearing our own cross so that God can give His love to the world.
Would God say he likes Unification Church members? Would God be ashamed that we work harder than other Christians? No. God would say, "How proud I am of the Moonies!" Are you sure he would say that? How about Jesus? When he looks at the Unification movement, would he say, "Oh, you should be ashamed of yourselves; my other followers don't work the way you do. You embarrass me."? No, instead, Jesus would say, "You are my hope, my pride."
If God loves us and Jesus loves us, what about the people of the world? They might be saying, "We hate those Moonies," but as they say such things, they are watching us, and gradually they are discovering that there is nothing wrong with us. They are gradually coming to like us, and they will come to see hope in us. When other Christians have a real chance to see us and work with us, will they continue to hate us or will they love us?
Jesus sought to bring the entire world to God, and we are determined to do that. Jesus was to confront the Roman Empire. I have been confronting the government of the U.S. and I have pledged to preach the Gospel in Moscow, as well. The most powerful effort of America to stop me has been to put me in jail, but will such a thing stop our movement?
Since God so loves the world, I continue to push you out in order to make this a lovable world. When we undertake something worthwhile, it is important first to have a logical understanding of why we must do it. We do must the things we do because of human responsibility.
Does God really love me or not? When you look at how hard I have worked and how I have been persecuted, don't you think God might have done something more on my behalf? You say that God really loves me, but I might argue with you and say, "If God loves me, what has He ever done for me?" At no time in my entire mission have I ever had a peaceful moment. Wherever I have gone, I was not readily welcomed at first; it was only after I had given much and taught many things that people would begin to understand. I have had to fight continuously to gain ground for God -- inch by inch.
If God were to give me the power to work miracles and somehow retaliate against those who persecute us unrighteously and show them dramatically how wrong they are, they would not continue to mistreat us. Why does God allow these unrighteous things to continue? When Jesus was crucified, God was certainly watching the scene. Did God not have the power to stop the Roman soldiers and rescue Jesus from the cross? Jesus was God's own son. What kind of a father could bear to see his own son's blood being shed in such an unrighteous way and not do something? Can we call such a God a God of love and justice? Where was God's justice then? When my court case was over and the judge pronounced my sentence, why didn't God do something? Was it because God did not have the power to do anything? Why did God seem to pretend not to know about it? That is a riddle. In this common yet very important issue comes the understanding of the human portion of responsibility.
Man's portion of responsibility is a cosmic truth. Great discoveries have been made in science, such as Einstein's theory of relativity; however, the discovery of the law of human responsibility is the greatest of all. Without understanding this principle, the most fundamental issues in life remain as a puzzle. "Why do righteous people always have to suffer? Why is a great man's name only resurrected after his death?" The answers to these questions hinge upon the principle of human responsibility.
The Moonies are the ones who are supposed to appreciate this fact of man's responsibility the most, but ironically you hate it as much as everybody else does. Have you accomplished your portion of responsibility or not? The heaviest consequence of this principle is the requirement that humans make effort to indemnify sin. How long the human indemnity period will last is not known by anyone -- not God, not spirit world, not me, not anyone. We may keep asking why the misery in life must go on, but it is a fact that as long as there is sin in the world, we must take responsibility for it. If anybody, including God, were to remove the human burden of indemnity, people could no longer have the dignity of responsible beings. This is not to deny the reality of God's grace, but even grace comes for the purpose of assisting people in fulfilling their portion of responsibility. Therefore God did not intervene when Adam and Eve committed the fall. God did not intervene because he would not violate man's portion of responsibility.
I have been persecuted for twelve years in this country, yet I have not done anything evil or wrong. Many people are watching what has been happening to me and are curious about the source of the persecution. Many other well-educated people and scientists can see that even though the majority of the world is accusing Rev. Moon, I have been doing things that are worthy of praise and even assistance.
Yet there is no more efficient way for people to go from the extreme of being unworthy of God's love to being worthy except by going through persecution. The first thing we must do is separate ourselves from Satan. Do we do that when our lives are cozy and comfortable? No, the best way to separate ourselves from Satan is when we are enduring tremendous persecution. After Satan has opposed someone so much then God can freely love that person, and Satan will have no chance to accuse him anymore. Thus, a way is created by which God can more speedily love all those who have been unworthy of his love. Quickly the conditions are made for God to embrace them.
Remember the reason why these things have been happening -- everything begins from the point of human responsibility. After man's responsibility is accomplished, what happens then? Once an individual successfully fulfills his portion of responsibility, that person enters the realm of the direct dominion of God. Does God maintain that dominion over a person by giving him a lot of money, or what? It is only through love that God gains direct dominion over mankind. Once that direct dominion is achieved, people can lead the kind of life, for the first time, which God originally intended for them to live.
In the Garden of Eden there was no crime or sin. Adam and Eve could do nothing really wrong except to violate the commandment God gave them. Once Adam and Eve had come under the direct dominion, that would have meant they had passed through the time of the possibility of the fall. The only thing that would have been left for them to do was to experience love. Nothing else would have been truly significant. Love is the most essential and important element of the world; unless someone had violated that, nothing would have been a sin. Therefore all a person must accomplish is to receive the "certificate" of God's love. God can make the world a totally peaceful place. Satan will be unable to complain against God at all. When we finally possess God's love, we never want to commit a crime or a sin at all. The reason why people commit crimes and sin is that they want something they don't have. When God's love is with us we are satisfied and have no need for anything more.
Since the fall occurred, however, and since restoration efforts have consistently failed, we find that it takes a long and complicated route, step by step, to separate from Satan -- from the individual level of indemnity, the family level, the clan, society, national, world level, to the cosmic level.
This is not something I made up; the principle of human responsibility has existed from the very beginning, although it hasn't been so well understood. It existed when Adam and Eve were alive, but all they needed to do was simply keep God's commandment and live for 21 years faithful to God. Before Satan existed, there were no additional indemnity condition to be met. But with the fall and with the multiplication of Adam and Eve's fallen family into a society, nation, and world dominated by Satan, human responsibility became heavier. Now we must separate from Satan on every level by fulfilling conditions of indemnity. This law of indemnity is applicable not just to specific individuals or just to Unification Church members but to everyone. Whether someone understands or believes this law or not, he must eventually go through these steps.
This is the reason why we go the path we go. This is why I have welcomed persecution and will not shrink from the course that lies before me. I never pray to smooth my way or to lighten my burden. I will fulfill my own portion of responsibility.
Do you need restoration by indemnity or not? Do other Christians need it also? What about Jesus -- did he walk the path of restoration by indemnity also? Clearly, that was the path he trod. What about Rev. Moon? Yes, no matter what, there is no way I can avoid that. No matter how almighty God is, there is no way even He can avoid the cross of indemnity. He must endure uncertainty and heartbreak as He watches His children stumble along the path. Therefore, we should march on to fulfill our responsibility well.
This world is doing such bad things -- free sex, with no thoughts of chastity. Many young people today have had so many experiences they feel they are already old and mature. But things are so different within the Unification Church society. Young men have been accustomed to trying to date attractive young women, but that is not the custom in the Unification Church. In the secular world, if a boy gazes at a girl for more than ten minutes he naturally reaches out to kiss her, but here we are together for hours, days, even years and we never kiss! We talk here about love in a different sense. We say we must love the world, love the cosmos, and it is a new concept to young people. A young person might ask himself, "When does my own love come to me?" However, he trusts that it will come, so he doesn't have to worry. Is this something good or something bad?
Unheard of events are happening now. Parents are kidnapping their own children -- grown-up children 30 years old and older, college graduates, and so forth. When those children are kidnapped, do they tell their parents, "Oh, I have been waiting for you to come and rescue me. The church wouldn't let go of me."? Or do they look desperately for a chance to escape from the kidnappers and come right back to the church?
Since you joined this church I have always taught you to love your parents; I have never taught you to look at them as "false parents" or to denounce them in any way. However, many parents have kidnapped their children and have said many bad things against me. When that happens the children are moved to say, "On what grounds can you say such things? Have you investigated those charges on your own?" However, all their negativity is usually based upon the words of other people -- "They said..." is the only foundation for their negativity. Satan always makes up stories and can inspire people to say anything to suit their own purposes. The world is a deceitful place.
For whom do we go through these things? As we said in the beginning, "For God so loved the world..." and because God loves the world so much, we do what we do. God so loved the world that He gave them His only begotten son -- He loves the world, but He cannot give His pure love to the world directly. Therefore, He had to send His son to prepare the world. What kind of love are we talking about, then? God loves the world as a father loves his son; no closer love exists than that between father and son. We are doing exactly this: we are making this a world which can be lovable to God. We are turning the hearts of the children to the parents and ultimately to God.
Jesus completely occupied the love of God, but He did not want to stop there. He knew why God sent him to the world, so he did everything possible to pass along God's love to other people. Jesus received the purest love from God, and he wanted to spread out that love to the whole world. He wanted to make all humankind into God's sons and daughters.
Jesus wanted all the people of the world to be loved by God, just as he was. Jesus was the one who was first loved by God; all humankind was supposed to be those who were second-loved by God. Therefore, the relationship between Jesus and all humanity is like that between brothers and sisters. How close you can feel to Jesus when you realize that he is your elder brother!
Many Christians have believed that Jesus or God are the subjects of religion and we are their objects and that subject and object can never get close to each other. They are so high and omnipotent that we can't even think about being on the same level of relationship with them; if we do, that is blasphemy. But we can see that Jesus is not the distant subject of religious belief. He is a part of your daily life, just like brothers and sisters in a family, not like the teacher of a religion relating to his followers. Maybe the first step of relationship had to be distant like that, but eventually Jesus wanted everybody to be a part of the same family.
When Jesus is able to approve of the situation on the earth, God can automatically approve of it. When Jesus can love the people, so can God. All he will have to say is, "Father, they are ready to receive your love, so please love them." Thus, the meaning of John 3:16 will be accomplished: "God so loved the world..."
That is the kind of church we are working in and that is the goal we are working toward. We must understand that clearly. The democratic world may decline one day; the communist world will certainly be eliminated and leave no trace behind. However, the love of God will remain for eternity.
Remember, the world is God's goal. And just as Jesus willingly gave his life so that the world might live, God wanted all Christians to be willing to give themselves for the salvation of the world. However, today, most Christians are not even close to realizing this heart of God.
God seeks to build one family of humankind. Therefore, the family, church, and nation which God desires transcend all barriers of race and nationality. The people who are a unified blending of all colors of skin, and who transcend race and nationality, are most beautiful in the sight of God and most pleasing to Him.
America is such a microcosm of the world. Transcending nationality and race, God meant America to be a model for the ideal world. Look at your own families. Most families have the virtue of a distinct international character. If your lineage has been in America for some time, it probably unites many different nationalities. In your bloodstream many kinds of blood are blended together. Nations who used to be enemies have united in your blood. When the individuals and families that transcend racial and national barriers gather together to create a church, a society, and a nation, that nation can become God's ideal nation for all peoples.
America is now a big, established country with many customs and traditions. However, the only ones worth following are those which are based upon universal principles. There were two kinds of people among your forefathers. One kind came to this land seeking wealth. The others came to this land seeking God and freedom; they dreamed of building a new nation centered upon God. If the former had become the mainstream of America, there would have been far greater strife, division and struggle between the different races and national groups. The United States would have been filled with unrighteousness and injustice. From the beginning, however, God intervened. Therefore, of all the immigrants, the righteous men of God were to find their proper place as leaders in America. All the different races and nationalities of the world harmonized upon this land. The beautiful tradition of America was set by your forefathers in accordance with God's providence.
God abundantly blessed America, but blessing never comes alone; it comes with responsibility. If a nation forsakes its responsibility, it also forsakes God's blessing. Inevitably the blessing of God will leave, and the nation will decline. Is it not true that the signs of such decline are already apparent in America today?
In the early 1960s, America seemed to be the hope of the world, and the symbol of America was the city of New York. Today, however, the world has lost faith in America, and New York has become a jungle of immorality and depravity. It has been transformed into a city under the attack of evil. Chicago is no different, or Los Angeles. Throughout all of America, Satan is becoming the master. God has been forgotten in this country, and if forgotten, God can only leave America. Now is the very moment that this is taking place!
The time has come for us to repent. Who are the true Americans'? True Americans are those who have a universal mind. True Americans are those who believe in the one family of man, transcendent of color and nationality as willed by God. True Americans are those who are proud of such international families and churches and of the nation which consists of all peoples. In the sight of God, there is no black; there is no white; there is no yellow. We should look at the human race as God sees it. America should return to the true founding spirit of the nation, to the ideals which her ancestors sought to establish with sweat and blood. America should return to Godism, an absolutely God-centered ideology.
If America wants to keep the blessing of God as the leading nation of the world, she must form a partnership with god. America was born through the providence of God. If she is centered upon God, she will remain united and enjoy prosperity. However, as soon as she turns away from God, she will be divided. God is the cement. With God, America will stay together like concrete. But if God leaves, she will be like sand. When the flood comes, all will be washed away.
When the unifying force of God leaves America, nothing will be able to hold America together. The family will break down; churches will divide, and America will become mortally ill because the cells of her body are decaying. This will be the perfect opportunity for the evil of communism to overtake America. This state of emergency is here now. Someone must do something!
There are critics who say, "Why has Rev. Moon, a Korean preacher, come to America? This country is none of his business." If there is an illness in your home, do you not need a doctor from outside? If your home catches fire, do you not need firefighters from outside? God has sent me to America in the role of a doctor, in the role of a firefighter. That is why I have come to America.
Good medicine may taste bitter, and an operation may involve some pain, but the treatment must begin at once. Should a patient complain and push away the doctor's hand when he touches the infected part?
With my entire heart and soul I have been teaching American youth a new revelation from God. They now have a clear concept of what the God-centered family, church, and nation should be like. They also know the dark reality of America. Thus they have become determined fighters to bring new life and salvation to America before it is too late. They know the critical state of the nation. They know the grieving heart of God. And they are absolutely determined to turn the tide back to God. Their enthusiasm is beautiful to behold.
We must reach a decision which will bring hope to America. Who will tackle this difficult situation? Not everyone understands. If some righteous Christians take on this responsibility for God, maybe America will survive. Can you, who know about it, take on that responsibility?
There are so many dens of prostitution -- and pornography is rampant. Who is going to put a stop to it? Who is able to do something about crime, homosexuality and lesbianism, alcoholism, and all the social evils here? Those young people who are becoming addicted to drugs are melting their own brains, like butter. They will not live very long, or if they do they will live like vegetables. Their numbers are increasing every year. Drugs are peddled on the city streets in broad daylight. Who in the world is going to put a stop to all this? Where does the trend of free sex originate from? The movies, television, and so on are stimulating it. Who will put a stop to those gambling places which trap people in another form of addiction?
Certainly American Christianity has the responsibility to stop all these evils, but has it actually been capable of doing it? No, it has not been able to prevail over them. I have called for Christians to unite, because only in unity will there be sufficient strength to overcome the corrupt trend of American life. If Christians don't do it, who will? Will the communists do something to stop it? No, they will encourage the acceleration of evil here because they want to destroy America. Present-day Christianity does not have the conviction or moral power to stop communism here, either. Rev. Moon is one of the handful of people who are trying to alert America, "You must protect yourselves from communism or you will be in peril within a few years. " Why do I do this? It is because these things are the origin of God's sorrow, the things that stop humanity from becoming better.
Why do you think I matched black and white people in marriage? Do you think I did it for the sake of fame or reputation? Certainly not. We are seeing the first stages of a racial confrontation that is certain to come in the future unless the true religious spirit flourishes. Black and white people will fight against each other and so much blood will be shed. To prevent such an occurrence, I took the responsibility to bring black and white people together in marriage. This is the solution to those racial tensions.
Anyone with a reasonable mind will be able to see that what I have been doing all these years springs from a deep conviction and principle. How can you Americans take this time casually? You have eyes and ears, but do you hear the scream of this world which is on the verge of dying? It is like a giant animal crying out in pain and agony. Your ears must be able to hear that cry.
Satan blinds people to their true condition and convinces them they are happy. To protect the world from further mistreatment by Satan, we must liberate the young people. Otherwise Satan will have the world in his hands, a world like a living corpse.
When a cancer starts, the victim hardly notices it. As it progresses, he notices it only a little bit. However, that person will probably die unless the cancer is stopped. America is in the same situation. I have been telling you Christians that you cannot remain idle or indifferent. You cannot just think about your own life and your own family and going to Heaven eventually. That attitude among conventional Christians is a problem.
Do you love America? Your love for America means nothing unless you take this task seriously. Go out and appeal to the people, tell all of them what is happening to America. This is our mission -- to cry out and proclaim the truth. If they absolutely refuse to listen, then they are already buried by their sin. What else can you do? There is nothing else to do but burst into tears. At that point God will listen to your prayers. If you just pray calmly, God will not respond. If you pray while you are being persecuted and working hard, God will respond.
It is not important whether I am persecuted or not. I am only concerned with the will of God and the mission God gave me. I am concerned that without knowing the situation, those who oppose me may be opposing God's will. If what I am doing is not the will of God, it will not go too far anyway. If, however, what I am doing is the will of God, then no matter how much some people reject and persecute us and try to block the way, this mission will succeed.
Why has Rev. Moon come to America where he has encountered such tribulation? Am I pursuing my own honor? Is money my goal, or power? No! Never! I came to America because this is the country which God, our Heavenly Father, has chosen. I came to America because I know the heart of God. I know that in spite of America's rebellion against him, God has not abandoned this country. His will is to make America an example of a godly nation that the nations of the world can follow. I know God's will is to save the world, and to do this America should lead the way. This is why I came to America.
Today, America is undergoing an internal or spiritual test. She is invaded by moral decay and is confused about her national values and purpose. Meanwhile, the God-denying ideology of communism has risen up to undertake an all-out offensive against the free world. Destroying America is the communists' ultimate goal. More than anything else, America will survive this test only if she stands as God's nation.
America needs God. In this test you cannot win without God, Who is the foundation of all truth, and all true ideology. A confrontation is inevitable between the two worlds -- the God-affirming world and the God-denying world. Behind the rattling of nuclear armaments and the skirmishes in Central America lies a confrontation of ideology. America cannot win this confrontation by a reliance on her economic or military power alone. Rather, if she stands as a champion of God, exhibiting the harmonious unity of all races and nationalities, America will be able to win ideologically over atheistic communism.
To do this, world Christianity must unite. The church must liberate herself from sectarianism. She must undergo a drastic reform and achieve an ecumenical and an inter-religious unity. For this, we need a spiritual revolution, and it has come in the form of a new Christian movement. The Unification movement has been created by God to fulfill that mission. The new ideology which the Unification Church brings is Godism, an absolutely God-centered ideology. It has the power to bring Christians of all creeds, and other religions and conscientious people, into unity without insisting on uniformity of belief. It has the power to awaken America, and it has the power to raise the model of the ideal nation of God upon this land.
With that done, the rest of the world will follow America's example and will build the Kingdom of God upon their respective lands. Then we shall all truly become brothers and sisters under one Father, God. This will be a world of love, a world of happiness. Our planet will be one home, and humanity will be one family. God's will, his long-cherished desire from the beginning of time, will finally be fulfilled. This will be the eternal, ideal world of God. Indeed, it will be the Kingdom of God on earth. We will build it with our hands.
This is our supreme mission. It is truly our God-given, sacred mission. God is crying out to the world, and we are His instruments. The world must respond to His call. Listen to God's commandment. Initiate a courageous march towards the Kingdom of God on earth. Whatever the difficulty, let it not stop us. Our march is God's, and it will go on to the end.
Today let us pledge to God Almighty our loyalty and dedication to the fulfillment of this divine mission. In the name of God, let us unite, and together build the Kingdom of God on earth!