Hyung Jin Moon
July 20, 2012
Excerpts
Chung Pyung Heaven and Earth Training Center
Excerpts from an almost four-hour speech that was given to participants of the ten-day special education for blessed families worldwide, held at True Father's request and in support of the inauguration of the Abel Women UN.
I was talking to one of my coaches the other day. He's not a member; he's a UFC fighter. After practice, He asked me, "So, what does the Unification Church actually believe?" I explained to him, "We believe Rev. Moon is the Messiah. He's the Lord at the Second Advent. He's brought a teaching that is radically different." I told him, "In the Unification Church, we are fighters for freedom and fighters for change.... My Father is a fighter. He fought against the Japanese when they were colonizing Korea. He risked his life...."
I told him, "Father Moon's vision for peace is not idealistic. He's never said, "Good people, be weak!" Good people have to be strong, so that if evil people want to harm other people, those good people can step in. We seemed to want to brush aside how strong Father is, how much of a fighter he is. I realize that I did that too.
Francisco Costa, Hyung Jin nim's MMA coach, and a dedicated church member, demonstrates a jujitsu arm lock during martial arts training for CARP students at Cheon Bok Gung.
On Training for Real Situations
Once when I did a demonstration, Father said, "All the young people should learn MMA, too." So, actually, in Korea, our CARP kids and in Brazil, our CARP kids are already learning jujitsu; they are already training in MMA. In Korea, in this year's program, they will begin training in jujitsu -- in real martial arts that you can use against bigger opponents.
You can defend yourself when you're witnessing. If you're a woman, you can defend yourself against a man. What if nobody comes to your aid? It can actually be a tool that saves a person's life, right? Mentally it makes you aware of the reality that some people may want to hurt you and you may have to defend yourself. If you always avoid this reality, you are not prepared if something happens.
You know, I love flowers, and I did practice flower arranging, and the tea ceremony and meditation -- all that. I love those arts, but I also love real hard fight training. When I was doing ministry, I wouldn't tell people that I was studying this or why I love it. I wouldn't tell my ministers, "Hey, moksa nims we are going to watch fighting today." [Laughter] I was privately watching the UFC. I was worried about how society would look upon it. "You know Rev Moon's son -- he is also a reverend -- he likes cage fighting! We thought he liked flower arranging." Yes, I do like gardening. But I also do love cage fighting. I realized that I was somehow ashamed of that and trying to hide it.
Picking up this kind of training is so taxing in your thirties. This is something you do in your teens. I recommend having your kids study MMA when they are five years old. Start them young. They should learn martial arts young -- very young. Girls, too, absolutely, should learn martial arts. Study young -- the younger the better -- because there is so much to learn.
The difference between this type of martial art and other types of traditional martial arts is that many traditional martial arts have become very theoretical. Once I started training again in the mixed martial arts, I also found myself becoming less interested in the theoretical arts and rediscovering a kind of realism which is very real in MMA. You are only going to use what is effective. It has to be useful in real combat.
I realized that the timing is so interesting, too. Because Father said to me, just recently, "You know, you are now thirty- three." I'm turning thirty-three by American age. He said, "Jesus died on the cross when he was your age. You have to be ready to be crucified." I realized... "Yes, Father." I have to be ready for serious training....
The returning messiah brings the sword of judgment. What would my Harvard professor think if he saw this sermon, with me talking about MMA and cage fighting?
"Oh Mr. Moon, you've certainly digressed." [Laughter] There is this kind of fear over what my teachers would think, what my peers would think.
I realized I had been very interested in pleasing the social norm. I realized... Am I trying to shape my life to please these people? What purpose does that have in eternity? Zero. It means nothing. If we believe True Parents are the Lord at the Second Advent, and the Messiah, you have to have a different priority, right?
I realized, on some level, that I had been ashamed of True Father. Because he is so opposite of what these people want a religious leader to be. He is so opposite. They want a soft-spoken, behave nicely, finish speaking within twenty minutes... [Laughter] They want something that they can accept. "Yes, give me a Messiah that fits my needs!"
Being with Father for a year and a half, I realized very quickly. No, he is not like that. He is not like the Dalai Lama. I've met the Dalai Lama. And of course as someone who meditates and who has tremendous insight into human psychology and how the mind works, I respect him. When I met him, it was a great joy for me. I was studying Buddhism at the time, comparing it with Christianity and meditative traditions.
It was a huge honor for me. You know, I lived with Tibetan monks for a year and a half or so. Yes, the Dalai Lama is wonderful, so soft spoken.
But being with Father, you very quickly realize, Father's not the Dalai Lama. I realized I had actually been ashamed of how eccentric and strong Father is. In my own mind, because it was much more digestible, I almost wanted to think that Father was like the Dalai Lama. And, you know, that would be much easier to present to the world. But I quickly realized that no, the Messiah is not the Dalai Lama. The Messiah is totally different.
When Christ, even in the Christian tradition, is to return, he doesn't return with the same love ethic that Jesus taught when he was here the first time. We all know the scriptures that say, when somebody strikes you, turn the other cheek. Jesus taught this kind of radical love ethic.
In the Christian tradition, Christ is to return; and the vision of his return is in the Book of Revelation. When he does return, he is not a nice guy. When Christ returns, he is not coming to be struck and to turn the other cheek. When Christ returns, he comes as the judge. He comes hard. He comes strong. He descends from heaven and he judges. This is within the Christian tradition. Most Christians don't want to pay attention to that. Right? But, actually, it was prophesied within the Christian tradition. When Christ returns, he is not the painted image of Christ -- floating along, always gentle, practicing Tai Chi. [Laughter] He's going to send you to hell -- that's judgment. That's prophesied within the Christian tradition. This is a very different Christ, right?
However, even if we are from the Christian tradition and we became members -- when we see Father, what happens? We end up judging him by the love ethic of the time of Jesus.
"Why is he yelling? Why is he so hard on True Mother today?" We will ask this even in our own hearts, but we have to remember this is the Lord. He is not here to make us feel good. He is here to bring the sword, to bring the scathing truth. This was very hard for me to digest.
On July 17, Father visited the workshop participants and held Hoon Dok Hae at the Chung Pyung training center; thereafter, True Parents invited small groups from among the 1,168 participants to attend Hoon Dok Hae at Cheon Jeong Gung each morning.
Standing Up and Fighting Against Evil
Most religions say, "We have to practice turning the other cheek and we have to practice disarmament." I know, for example, the Dalai Lama advocates the disarmament of nations. But if you promote disarmament, who's going to listen to that? The good nations, right? Democratic nations maybe will do it. But will the dictatorships listen to you about disarmament? Are they going to keep their promises? No. So what happens? The Abel-type nations, which are democratic countries, disarm. And then what happens? The Cain-type countries that don't listen to you have more weapons and greater means to conquer other countries. Then, what will happen?
This is why Father's Abel UN is different from the "Cain UN," because the Cain UN strongly promotes, as you know and may have experienced, disarmament.... The UN also promotes gay marriage, and alternative families. The UN has Family Day, and they teach different types of families. Of course, we know this is directly contradicting the four-position foundation, right? So what about the Abel UN?... How is that different? Is that just meant to be a copy of the Cain UN? Or is it actually totally different? Is it saying that Abel nations must be strong? Good, democratic nations and good people must be strong, because if they are bad, Cain-type people come, and they want to kill a lot of people. It's the Abel realm that has to stand up and fight.
[In response to an interjection from a woman in the audience:] In Wolli Wonbon Father talks about the Jesus ethic. Jesus says, if your enemy strikes you, give him your other cheek. Right? Maybe, as a woman, you feel that's good. But you know then you are actually against Father's teaching.
Father says in Wolli Wonbon, that when Jesus taught to turn the other cheek, it was the time when God was sowing the seeds of love. But when the Lord returns at his second coming, he will harvest the fruit. So, the ethic of turning the other cheek does not apply when the Lord returns.
Father wrote Wolli Wonbon in his own hand. He says, When the Cain realm strikes you, you have to strike back, and bring them into the dominion of God.
That is totally different. So, let's say, for example, we apply that to World War II. Let's say America used the ethic maybe you were unknowingly supporting, and said, "Okay, let's just be motherly. We don't want our children to die. We shouldn't use violence. Maybe we can have dialogue with Hitler." If [on that basis] America had not gone to fight, you would have a different world, and you would not have the foundation for the Messiah to begin his ministry.
[In response to the woman:] No, no, you're not taking time. What you are asking is very good. Let's give her a round of applause, everybody. [Applause] But do you see what I mean? You see, my whole point is, Father is radically different from what we think or what we want him to be....
I had been brainwashed by liberal media and also I went to super-liberal schools. I realized that. But when we were young, the True Family was always training with guns. We were training. You know, our brothers all did gun training. They all did all this kind of thing, and somehow, when I was going to school, I began thinking that this was crazy. You know, we're a religion, and we're out here shooting with these guns, right? And probably some of you members thought, "Man, those True Kids are crazy, they love those guns." But when I went to liberal institutions, they frowned upon it -- Guns are the problem. And of course, in the media you hear that all the time, all the time. We've been told that information by the Archangel. It's not actually true.
Do you understand how important it is that as a church we have this discussion? We could never even talk about these issues, any of these political issues; we were either left or right, but we could never look at them from the viewpoint of the Principle. Now, from a Principle-perspective, if you allow people to have freedom, to protect themselves, and they're able to do that, what is the result in society? Then, you look at the evidence, and you see that it prevents bullies from attacking....
The ten-day workshop included talks by Kook Jin nim (on the Freedom Society) and international vice-president Dr. Joon-ho Seuk (on the providential time line), Rev. Jeong-ok Yu's Original Substance of Divine Principle series and WFWP international president Mrs. Lan-young Moon's explanation of founding of the Abel Women UN.
Analyzing Society from the Standpoint of the Principle
It should not be, "Oh, no, I've always been told weapons are bad," or "I've always been told defense is bad." You have to watch out for the emotional reaction. You have to analyze with the intellect.... This is the first time in our movement that we can actually look at these issues through the lens of the Principle. [To the same audience member:] This is why I find it so exciting, Sister. I find it so exciting, because for the first time we can actually look at reality with our teaching and see how it that works. How would that work with free market economics? How would that work with political, with geopolitical situations, which include defense, right? How would that work with social issues?...
Kook Jin hyung is making a larger analysis of the world. Basically he is showing how free societies, democracies, collapse into tyrannies. You can see how close to freedom they are or how close they are to tyranny based on the relationship between government and its citizens -- the relationship of the Archangel to Adam and Eve. We can actually finally use the Principle to analyze issues socially. We can use the Principle to see political situations; what kind of policies would be enacted. Is it better to say we can't trust people and create all kinds of rules and regulations? What kind of society does that create? What are the consequences of that? So there are, for example, writers that he suggests people read, such as John Stossel, Friedrich von Hayek and Milton Friedman -- people who have been thinking along totally different lines from most others.
World Mission Headquarters Senior Dir. Sung Il Cho helped bring the audience abreast of Kook Jin nim's and Hyung Jin nim's recent activities; Mr. Jong Gwan Kim of the Korean church headquarters spoke on growth and development in Korea; Mr. Ho Yeul Ahn, on how the media have covered the Korean church in recent days; and Dr. Anthony Guerra, a special assistant to Hyung Jin nim, on a biblical view of the need for Abel to be strong; Mr. Jin Hun Yong was the lively and creative MC for the workshop.
People Can Take Responsibility to Manage Society
I was having a discussion with Tom Walsh, the international president of UPF just yesterday. He asked Kook Jin nim, "What about the vices of the community, Kook Jin nim? What would happen if people were given freedom? Let's take drugs for example. Or prostitution? Surely that should be outlawed?"
Kook Jin nim answered very simply. He said, "Do what God did. Teach them that it is evil. Teach them that prostitution is degrading. Teach them the reality about the issue. In the end, God let [Adam and Eve] be responsible for their actions."
For example, America has been waging war on drugs for thirty years. They are investing billions to fight the war on drugs. The idea is to get the professional drug dealers. No more drugs. And we will reduce crime. John Stossel did an excellent program on this. It shows that actually the opposite happens. Tons of money is being invested into fighting drugs, but there is no reduction in drug abuse and drug crimes have skyrocketed.
What happens in a social system when you forbid something? For example, America banned drinking and punished people, putting them into prison. What happened when America banned drinking? Al Capone appeared. What happens socially? You outlaw the vice. CVS' can't sell wine. So, nobody can sell it, but Al Capone can produce it and sell it to you for $1,000. He gets rich. The criminals get rich and have to protect their money so they create their own mafia. That is what happens. Prohibition creates a black market.
The government limits your freedom of choice but this creates a black market. This gives back your choice at a hugely inflated price and criminals become rich. When they become rich that attracts kids and then there is violence. This is the result of prohibition.
When they decriminalize alcohol in America, CVS then sells wine for about $20 a bottle, whereas Al Capone is selling it for $1,000. Who are you going to buy it from? From CVS, right? That puts Al Capone out of business, doesn't it?
Take the example of war on drugs. John Stossel has an excellent program on this that shows that you create a black market. Experts appear, claiming that if drugs are legalized, teenage drug usage will just skyrocket; that you will have social anarchy and all kinds of addicts on the street.
But Portugal has decriminalized drugs. Stossel took his team of reporters to Portugal and spoke to the police department. You can see the interviews where they explain that they have legalized drugs like heroin and cocaine. They have stores similar to CVS where you can buy heroin and cocaine. Drug abuse should have skyrocketed because it is now legal, right? But it didn't increase at all. Those who were addicted before are still addicted, but you know, people don't want to die. Drug abuse didn't increase. What about drug related crime? The Police Department claims that it doesn't exist. Just as with Al Capone, it is gone. It is out of business. I'm not making this up. You can watch his program....
Austere study arrangements helped the participants stay focused on the material presented.
God's Gift of Free Will and Responsibility
Do you know what God gave Adam and Eve? He gave them free will. But he gave them the freedom to choose to live or to die and they would have to live with the consequences. Do you know what that means? Responsibility. Freedom and responsibility. God gave freedom and responsibility to Adam and Eve. I know we say that true love is the most important thing, but what do we know about true love? Can true love exist if God's object partner doesn't freely choose to love God back? Can love exist, from a Principle perspective? Can love exist? It can't exist. Even free love cannot exist without the prerequisite of freedom. Free choice and responsibility are so important to God.
One sister told me that she was hoping for the world as the kingdom of heaven, with all the blessed families having repopulated the world as a world with no sin. [Laughter] You should be laughing. You should be laughing, because even we have sin, now. Right? She said to me, I was kind of hoping that that would be the kingdom. I mean, isn't there going to be a world without sin? I said, Sister, in the Principle, what did God give to Adam and Eve? He gave them free will. There's a danger with free will, if you want to say it that way. On the one hand, Adam and Eve can choose to love God. On the one hand, they can create free love. With free will, you actually have the possibility that true love can exist. The downside -- let's say the risk of giving Adam and Eve free will, is that they might sin. They might choose death over life. There is that risk.
God could have played it safe. He could have made Adam and Eve without free will. He could have had little creatures, wagging their tails with puppy dog eyes and everything. But God didn't choose that. He chose to give them freedom. He took the risk. Did He trust, did He believe in human beings, or did He not believe in human beings?
He actually believed in Adam and Eve. He had his heart broken, that's true. But He actually believed in Adam and Eve....
Ten-day workshop entertainment -- Netherlands national leader Johannes Campman stirred hearts with his piano medley of national anthems
God Would Rather Suffer than Take Away Our Free Will
It's amazing that we had not grasped this, but the Principle is fundamentally showing us a God who is not only a God of love, but a God that chooses to suffer and be tortured rather than take away human freedom. Throughout all of providential history God could have said, "I'm going to take away their freedom. They're messing it all up, and I don't trust them anymore. They're going to be robots from now on." God fought for your freedom. God fought throughout providential history to preserve the free will of human beings. Did you ever see the Principle in that light? If you actually think about it, it is true. He chose to suffer rather than take away our free will, because He knows that if He did that, we would never be able to freely choose to love Him.
The Unification Church Would Create the Freedom Society
I heard many leaders talking about theocracy, interpreting Father's words, implying we would make a theocracy. Well, the Taliban is a theocracy. Look at some of the examples of theocracies in history. Is that something inspiring? Not to me. Do I want to be part of building that? I don't know; I don't think so. Theocracies have always been oppressive, dominating their citizens....
If you understand the implications of what Kook Jin hyung is talking about in his talks on the Freedom Society and Strong Abel, what you will quickly realize is that if the Unification Church ever had national sovereignty, we would not create a theocracy. We would not create a dictatorship. We would create a free society that is also pursuing responsibility....
Ten-day workshop entertainment -- The African musical offering brought together vibrant personalities from across that continent.
Protecting Freedom, Changing the World
The True Children have to live for the glory of True Parents. When that happens, when that four-position foundation happens, and those relationships are working and they are moving, and that is rotating, God can be present. He can inspire a totally new vision for the world, a vision where we don't create tyranny, a vision where the Unification Church protects freedom for all the generations to come. [Applause]....
That is why there is only one king of kings, the True Parents of Heaven and Earth. [Applause] Only one king! And that king reveals to us God's gift to humanity -- free will and responsibility. He gave us freedom. We have to protect it. We can't let tyrants take it away. We can't let anybody take that responsibility and freedom away. If we protect that, we can protect nations from falling into tyranny. Seriously, you have to think about the implications of this. We can protect generations from falling into the hands of tyrants, which is the pattern of history. And which movement, which religion is doing that? Only one -- it's the Unification Church. [Applause]
Father was writing in Wolli Won Bon in 1951 about the free and ideal world. In 1951! He truly is the parent of the free world. He was dreaming this, that the whole world could experience the freedom -- not just the freedom to do what you want -- but the freedom and the responsibility that comes with that. It's with freedom that we can actually search for God.
I am so excited about this, because finally I can see a social and political vision that can change the world in seven years, and Godspeed, we can bring the kingdom of heaven before True Father is one hundred years old! [Applause] The free and ideal world -- not dictatorships, not tyrannies, not monarchies but the free and ideal world. We can show that True Parents' teachings reveal to the world that God has protected our freedom, and that we also must protect our children's and grandchildren's freedom. That it is in the spirit of God, to trust one another, to believe in family, to believe in faith, to believe that we can change the world.
I believe it. Praise God! Thank you, everybody for this time. [Applause] I'm ready. Are you ready? Ready to change the world!