Hyung Jin Moon
June 20, 2012
Excerpts
Hyung Jin nim spoke at a meeting for church regional presidents held at the Cheon Jeong Peace Palace on the Day of All True Things, June 20.
I would like to say something about the extension of the life of faith into the realm of politics and economics. This is something that we've not fully developed in our movement. In earlier days, our church grew quickly in certain countries; there were many prophesies and many expectations. Over a few years, there was a remarkable revolution. The Divine Principle gave people clear answers about God, clear answers to issues Christianity could not solve, including about how the Lord would return. Many people at that time found great hope through the Principle.
Yet for various reasons, the hoped-for results did not come. Even though True Father accomplished great things, including fighting against and winning over communism, we have not been able to clearly provide the answer to the question of what should happen in the future. But now with the coming of Foundation Day, I truly feel that a turning point for the world is coming -- and not just spiritually.
My brother Kook Jin has been studying the Principle deeply. He began his own business, and within the free market system he has been very successful. Through his business work, he has made investments in several countries. To do this successfully, you have to understand the political situation in different parts of the world. Combined with such a background, he is also a person of strong faith.
Kook Jin nim has provided us with a significant insight into the Divine Principle and its application in society. I believe it is a revolutionary understanding.' From the Principle's perspective, we divide the world into its Cain and Abel spheres, internationally. In the First World War and the Second World War, for example, we distinguish the nations that stood on the Cain and Abel sides, on Satan's and God's side. But we have not applied the same analysis much within nations.
Looking at the Role of Government through the Lens of Divine Principle
What Kook Jin nim is saying is quite simple. In the Principle, we read about Adam, Eve and the archangel Lucifer in the Garden of Eden with God. Lucifer was the servant of Adam and Eve. He was to serve them. God gave three blessings to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden: To perfect themselves as individuals, to raise a family and to have dominion over the creation. Over the years since I was a child, I have thought a lot about this. All of us have. We've dealt with it in our mind–body relationship training, in taking care of our family members so that they grow up relating with God's will, and in taking care of the creation.
Through the teaching about the Fall, we learn about Satan's way of doing things. Father has revealed how Satan led Adam and Eve to fall. The story of Adam, Eve and the archangel that we see in the Principle is very important. It is not just a theological story. There is more to the conclusion than that we should live morally; there is a secret within the story.
One day, Kook Jin nim asked me, "Within a country, what position does the government hold among Adam, Eve and the archangel?" The answer is very simple isn't it? The government is naturally in the archangel position. The archangel was meant to help Adam and Eve as they grew up, to help them take the position of Lord and owner. The government is the same. We use the word "public servant." This is someone who takes care of the citizens and works for their benefit. Of course, if we visit a local government office, the people working there are probably all very kind. Kook Jin nim is not speaking of whether government employees are good people or not, but referring to the position that government itself holds within a certain model.
Kook Jin nim goes on to explain how nations in the free world can end up under tyranny if a particular scenario plays out. He identifies four stages in this course.
When we think of the free world, we think of democratic countries. We begin with the first stage, a free country that strives to maintain freedom for all its people. But as time passes, politicians have to be elected, so they speak about things that are attractive to the people and win their votes -- such as social security, free education and free health care. This becomes populism. This is the second stage. These programs are then adopted as government policy. As more programs are demanded, and offered, the economy begins to decline as the government struggles to pay for the increasing number of social welfare initiatives. Where does it get the money to pay for them? It must come from the people, as the government has no money of its own. Taxes therefore increase. Eventually the country runs out of money and must borrow, which creates national debt. This is the third stage. The economy begins to collapse. When this happens, who is it that has a plan to help the nation? A tyrant has a plan. He comes into power, renouncing democracy, and says, Everyone must follow my policies. Under this scenario, a country can change from a free society into a dictatorship in four stages.
In a dictatorship, the government effectively owns everything and the citizens own nothing. In the Garden of Eden, Satan seized everything from Adam and Eve. He took away all ownership, he stole the three great blessings.
In the United States, the social welfare state was gradually set up in the 1940s. If a wife or mother wants, for example, to receive social welfare benefits, the husband (the father) must be outside her home. Then, the more children you have, the more welfare assistance you can receive for them from the government. This leads to two problems. The first is that many more divorces occur. Secondly, it creates a culture of promiscuity, because no matter how many men you have children with, or how many children you have, regardless of who the fathers are, you can receive financial support.
Nice, sweet words come from the government: We will take care of you. Especially if you don't have a husband. We will help you and your children, even if you have many. In other words, "Don't marry your husband, marry me, Lucifer." Marry the government. It's the same thing. Precisely what happened in the Garden of Eden is occurring in democratic countries, and this is the means by which freedom disappears.
If we look, we can see who has caused the breakdown of the American family, even the Christian family in America. It is "Lucifer." The government, acting in the position of an archangel and using the social welfare system, has provided incentives for people to divorce or to be sexually promiscuous. You may already know that President Obama is supporting homosexual marriage. The UN has also said that it will support same-sex marriage. This attacks the four-position foundation. Father has been fighting to save the family.
Lessons of History
Religions have supported tyrannical kings in order to ensure the primacy of the position held by their faith within their country. Religions have not actually given freedom to people. They have given support to social welfare, to socialist systems. The Protestant churches in America, for example, have supported the government social welfare system to a high degree. They continue to do so today, and the Catholics have joined them.
Although most African American leaders have been strong advocates of government welfare, these people's ancestors were brought to America from Africa to be slaves. Abolitionists began a movement to liberate the slaves. A well-known leader in that movement was a former slave, Frederick Douglass; he told his people not to receive even one dollar from the government. He was concerned about their falling into slavery of another kind. In its demands for government support, American society today exhibits the diametric opposite of Douglass' ideal. Lucifer is stealing a nation's freedom -- Adam and Eve's freedom.
On the national level, in Europe for example, many countries are facing the reality of decline. Democratic countries are declining through the impossible economics of populism. Parallel to the Fall, democratic countries are accepting Satan's sovereignty and falling into dictatorship. This course is the same as that seen in the Garden of Eden. This hasn't just happened in ancient democracies such as Greece and Rome. It happened in Argentina fifty years ago. And Adolf Hitler changed a German democratic government into a tyranny.
Avoiding the Pitfalls and Choosing a Principled Path
Adam and Eve had freedom of choice. They could choose to love. Without freedom, you cannot love. You would just be a robot, and you would be unable to make the choice to love God. Freedom is so important in the Principle. Without freedom, people cannot become God's object partners. They can only be robots. Of course, if you have freedom, you can choose to do wrong, that is true. But because you have freedom, you can also choose true love. Without freedom, you cannot choose love. In the Garden of Eden, Lucifer spoke sweet words to Adam and Eve in order to snatch away their freedom.
No one has known this secret. It is contained within the Divine Principle. This leaves us, as Unificationists, spellbound. We hold in our hands a secret that can protect freedom. If we know for sure that the government is in the position of an archangel, we know that we should not be gradually increasing the size of the government, but rather decreasing its size; that is, decreasing the power of the archangel, and giving the people greater freedom.
When the government takes ownership of everything, the citizens own nothing, and the citizens in the end can only be in the servant position. Conversely, if the citizens have ownership of everything, and the government has ownership of nothing, the government can only be in the servant position.
Think about the ideal world that True Father looks toward. He looks toward a world without national borders, without laws, without lawyers, without judges, without police.... Surely such a world is impossible? Yet it is possible.
America in its early days was a nation after that pattern. It had the greatest freedom. And the second amendment to the U.S. Constitution recognizes American citizens' right to bear arms. With the right to bear arms, if the government becomes bad, it gives Americans the responsibility to fight against the tyranny of even their own government. The early presidents spoke of the citizens' responsibility to revolt against the government if it went wrong. America's constitution freeing its citizens to own guns means they can play a role in policing their country.
Then, if the government is not going to be the main support, who is responsible to sustain me if I stumble in life? Who will help me? There are two primary organizations. The first is family and the second is religion. These two institutions are much better than the government at this task.
The government gives money based more on secular thinking than on family values. It may even send the message "you need to be divorced in order to receive our help." In contrast, if a religious organization is going to help someone, it first teaches values and ethics, and instills the word of God. So you can only receive help if you respond by changing yourself. You receive help little by little and that enables you to regain your independence.
It's the same system with the family. It's not unconditional. There is responsibility, one person for another. So if one person falls into ruin and comes humbly, rather than with an arrogant attitude, of course his family will help him. That family will help their family member continue on his path of growth. That's why we need to act maturely and to appreciate and value our familial relationships. In a free society, accountability is created.
It is not the same if the government gets involved. Governments usually don't impart a system of values or give a moral imperative. They can bring you into a state of dependency and into a state of virtual servitude. This is how Satan has worked since the Garden of Eden. If we watch how democratic countries lose ground, it is precisely in the order I have described. People are tempted by free education, free healthcare and the like. "If you believe in our government, we will take care of everything for you." Do Americans want to go to live in a place like Cuba? Absolutely not.
Through sweet promises, a nation's citizens give up their freedom to the archangel. And if they want to regain it, they don't have guns, or other weapons with which to fight back. That's the end of it; they are reduced to being servants.
The Primacy Of Freedom
God trusts people. God trusted Adam and Eve and gave them freedom. He told them in plain words not to eat the fruit, but at the same time He gave them freedom. He didn't say, Oh Adam and Eve are going to go wrong, so I should create the police and the army and build a brick wall around the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He gave them freedom. In this regard, those who believe in people stand on God's side.
In his or her heart, every person in the world pursues freedom. But freedom is not free. Responsibility is actually a heavy burden. In a free society, people understand that responsibility. They know the government is not going to take care of them. That's why we have to be responsible for our actions, become mature, build good relationships, and raise our children well.
All religions have an explanation for how peace will be established. Religions with a tradition of meditation say that peace will come through that method. Christians talk about peace centering on the teachings of the Bible, and Muslims talk about peace through obedience to the holy Koran. In True Father's Original Divine Principle, Father definitively explains how he is going to realize the ideal world of peace.
In the Original Divine Principle, Father's teaching is very clear. There must be freedom; before peace can come, freedom must exist. In pledge four, we pledge to "perfect the world of freedom, peace, unity and happiness." Freedom comes first. Without freedom, only those with power, those who are strong and despotic, can climb to the top. They never wish to give up their power. They will not give freedom to their people. But without freedom, there can never be happiness. Only with freedom can we find the path to peace.
Why did True Father have to come as a religious man? There is an important reason. Religion is different. It has teachings that are unchanging even over many generations. Religion can teach difficult concepts through simple means. And when people learn that protecting freedom is God's will, they will make it a priority. As a generation passes and a new generation arises, new fighters for freedom will also come into being. New owners of Cheon II Guk, global citizens who protect freedom, will appear.
The words "ideal world of freedom" is in fact Father's very own; they are his prophecy, and his belief. The Original Divine Principle book tells us about the heart, the knowledge and the emotions of the Returning Lord in 1951 as it explains the importance of freedom from the perspective of the Principle of Creation.
When we understand about the "freedom society" and those who fight for freedom, we will clearly understand that True Father is indeed the founder of the ideal world of freedom.