227. Let Us Bring God Back to America

Book 2: A Model for the Family Ideal and World Peace

Part 2: The Path to Exemplary Families and Global Harmony
Chapters 12 & 13: Let Us Bring God Back to America + The Cornerstone of the Culture for an Ideal World of Peace

Chapter 12: Let Us Bring God Back to America

This speech was read by Sun Jin Moon on behalf of Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon at the True Family Values Ministry 20th Anniversary Awards Banquet, held on December 5, 2015, at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Chicago, USA. 

Respected ladies and gentlemen from home and abroad! Beloved leaders who strive to establish true family values! The fulfillment of the Heavenly Parent's ideal of creation is rooted in family values. However, we see today that those values are rapidly deteriorating. It was in order to firmly establish true family values and fulfill the Heavenly Parent's Will to establish one family under God, that my late husband, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, and I began our providential work in the United States in 1971. Since that time, we have devoted ourselves to advocating true family ideals and values.

Heaven specially prepared and blessed the United States so that it could become a pillar of the global providence of restoration. However, my husband and I could see the tragic deterioration of family values in America. Therefore, in 1996 my husband and I invited more than 5,000 religious leaders from all over America to Washington, D.C., to awaken the nation, teaching about the absolute centrality of true family values. The content of this educational program inspired the clergy who had gathered on that occasion, and they resolved to participate in a great movement aimed at reviving America by restoring true family values centered on God, our Heavenly Parent.

I know that many of you who are seated here today have dedicated yourselves to this great and holy endeavor. It is through your devotion and your efforts over many years that this movement has grown and that we are now able to celebrate this very meaningful 20th anniversary. I would like to offer my heartfelt gratitude for your tremendous work. I also would like to congratulate today's award recipients.

The family should be rooted in heavenly morality, not human morality

Respected leaders! We are born in the bosom of the family, and we grow within the family. The family is our origin, our starting point and our school of love. This universal truth and the values embedded in the family transcend religion, culture, race and nationality. Our Heavenly Parent's ideal of creation, when He created Adam and Eve as the first human ancestors, was for them to fulfill His commandments, namely, to be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion over the creation (Genesis 1:27). However, due to the Fall of the first human ancestors, our Heavenly Parent's ideal of creation was unfulfilled. As a result, our Heavenly Parent was unable to experience the happiness of true love within an ideal family. Furthermore, throughout the course of fallen human history, true family values were trampled upon and swept away into oblivion.

If we consider the history of the rise and fall of civilizations, we observe that the decline of the family contributes to the decline of civilizations. For example, we generally can agree that Western civilization traces its roots to Hebraism and Hellenism. As great as these traditions are, they each tended to emphasize the individual more than the family. That is, we do not find in them a clear vision of ideal families nor a forceful declaration of the importance of true families rooted in our Heavenly Parent's ideal of creation.

Eventually, as Western civilization increasingly embraced individualistic ideas and philosophies, a culture centered on individualism emerged. Contrary to God's Will, the basic of unit of all relationships in society and the nation was not believed to be the family; instead, it became the individual. Regrettably, all relationships, including those between parents and children, came to be defined as a kind of legal or contractual relationship, similar to that which exists between a ruler and the citizens. This was a grave error. Once the relationship between parents and children is defined fundamentally in terms of a contractual relationship involving the personal interests of the parents and those of the children, parent-child relations come to be understood not in terms of heavenly morality but rather in terms of human morality.

Today the human family is divided and in the throes of war on every level. We are fighting with every living being and creation, arming ourselves against eco-wars, religious wars, territorial wars, political wars, racial wars, and community shootings, making our backyards and hometowns into battlegrounds. When we witness these heinous crimes against the human family, we are heartbroken and can empathize with the devastating pain of God's heart. Anyone can see that the world we live in today is not an ideal world where we all live in peace and harmony with our global brothers and sisters as one family under God. I believe that the root cause of these problems lies in the loss of true family values.

The United States was blessed by our Heavenly Parent with the ideal vision and mission of establishing not only one nation under God but also one family under God. Today this ideal is still alive, even though the erosion of family values is threatening the very foundation of this nation. Divorce rates exceeding 50 percent are directly undermining the sanctity of marriage and the family; unprecedentedly liberal attitudes about sex among teenagers and free sex among young people are seriously shaking the core values of this nation. Aware and concerned about this sad reality, Reverend Moon answered Heaven's call to come and heal an ailing America. In 1971, he left his homeland and family to come to America. Throughout his life, he devoted himself to restoring America's moral and spiritual roots in order to revive this great nation. As he toured the US from shore to shore, Reverend Moon boldly proclaimed that "God has sent me in the role of a doctor, in the role of a firefighter. That is why I have come to America.”

The hope and desire of America is for God, the Heavenly Parent!

Beloved leaders! What kind of country is this nation where you were born? What kind of nation are you living in? What dreams did your ancestors hold dear as they landed on these shores? What ideals did they strive to practice and cultivate in this nation?

When the Pilgrim Fathers sailed across the Atlantic Ocean under the most adverse conditions, surviving deadly storms and various setbacks, their only ray of hope was God, their Heavenly Parent. After arriving and settling on the new continent, almost half of the Pilgrims died from starvation during the first year; yet, despite the famine, the Pilgrims thought about future generations, and they stored the seeds they needed for planting in anticipation of the next growing season, rather than eating them. During these trying times, their only hope was to connect with their Heavenly Parent.

Later, when the founding fathers of this nation risked their lives and fought a David-versus-Goliath battle for independence against Britain, their hope and trust were in God, the Heavenly Parent. In their hearts and minds, God was everything. Their resolve, courage and determination to attend the Heavenly Parent was truly great and holy.

During the War for Independence, Britain was the global superpower. The king and the British soldiers united and fought for their empire. However, the founding fathers loved God, their Heavenly Parent, above all. They united and fought to advance God's Will. Their sincerity and sacrifice moved the heart of Heaven, and our Heavenly Parent answered the call of His sons and daughters who were fighting bravely in this great conflict. As a result, the United States of America, the land of religious freedom, was born.

America boldly showed the world that, despite having people of many different languages and cultures, it was possible to build one nation under God and, eventually, one family under the Heavenly Parent.

Unfortunately, the holiness that once characterized America has fallen into decline. Influenced by the self-centered rise in materialistic culture and the challenges posed by the weakening of spirituality and morality, America has grown increasingly secular. As a result, its core foundation has been shaken.

Reverend Moon and I witnessed these tragic developments. Our Heavenly Parent's presence should be felt everywhere. However, we could see that the hearts of people had become distant from God; even in families, schools, and some churches, it had become more difficult to feel the Heavenly Parent's loving presence. God was leaving America. Although it has already been 50 years, it seems like only yesterday that Reverend Moon and I walked down Manhattan's Fifth Avenue and, with tears in our eyes, felt that God, the Heavenly Parent, was leaving America. I vividly remember us crying our hearts out as we held onto God in desperation. With that heart, we pledged our absolute determination to lead a spiritual awakening in this nation.

Jesus' hope is the True Parents

Beloved leaders! What were the founding ideals of America? What ideals of Christianity led to the birth of the United States? Two thousand years ago, Jesus was born on this earth as the only begotten son and Messiah; what were his ideals and what was his mission?

Jesus' mission was to establish the Kingdom of God and to build one great, global family under the Heavenly Parent. As the only begotten son, he was to meet the only begotten daughter prepared by Heaven, hold the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and form a family, tribe, people, nation and world that would lead to the fulfillment of God's original ideal of creation. This world would be one united world with no divisions of religion, culture, race or nationality; it would be a world where the Heavenly Parent could fully love and live in oneness with the true parents, true children and all humanity as His beloved sons and daughters.

Tragically, due to the faithlessness of the people at that time, Jesus faced great resistance and persecution and was unable to meet the only begotten daughter whom Heaven had prepared for him. Therefore, he could not hold the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and the position of true parents could not be established at that time. Even though Jesus, together with the Holy Spirit, brings spiritual salvation to humanity, the ideal of true parents and the ideal of king and queen of peace had yet to be fulfilled. This is why Jesus had to promise, even as he hung on the cross, that he would come again. Jesus' profound anguish was expressed when he said in Matthew 23:37, "How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” These words still resonate deep within my heart.

Beloved leaders! My late husband, the Reverend Moon, and I clearly understood the suffering and sorrowful situation of Heaven and Jesus, whose death on the cross was not God's original Will. We, therefore, wanted to comfort and uplift Jesus, just as those around him should have done when he was alive. In 2003, we organized a program in Jerusalem to honor and crown Jesus as the king of peace; we wanted to restore his having been misunderstood and rejected 2,000 years ago. Also, since the cross was a sorrowful reminder that he was not received by the people of his time, we also engaged in a global movement to take down crosses in churches. However, these endeavors alone did not completely free the Heavenly Parent and Jesus from their historical pain and sorrow. In fact, we now understand that the 2,000-year history of Christianity has been a providential course to eventually find the only begotten daughter, fulfill the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and establish the long-awaited position of the true parents.

The life of True Parents to realize the ideal of the True Family

Dear leaders! In 1960 the Reverend Moon and I, standing in the presence of God and in the positions of Only Begotten Son and Only Begotten Daughter prepared by Heaven, received the God's holy blessing as the True Parents. Since the time of our holy wedding, our lives have been focused on the following goals: to liberate the Heavenly Parent, who is the Cosmic True Parent, restoring His lost position as our Parent, and to save the lost and fallen human race from the realm of death and suffering, and return everyone to the bosom of the Heavenly Parent. In order to achieve this ideal, the Reverend Moon and I have had to overcome unspeakable hardships and innumerable difficulties. Overcoming all these obstacles, we led and carried humanity, which had fallen into the state of being like orphans with no parents, along the path to salvation. The sayings "Seven failures will lead to success on the eighth attempt” and "Risk your life and invest yourself entirely for the cause” accurately characterize the course of life that we led.

True Father appeared on this earth as the Only Begotten Son of the Heavenly Parent, and he met me, as the Only Begotten Daughter, whom Heaven had prepared for 6,000 years. Together we strove each and every day of our lives to embrace all of humanity with the heart of True Parents. However, this meant that our life together would never be stable or serene; it was akin to sailing on a vast ocean during a deadly storm.

Nevertheless, Reverend Moon, as the True Father, completely fulfilled his mission, and, prior to his ascension, he earnestly asked and entrusted to all humanity the mission to fulfill their own responsibility as heavenly tribal messiahs.

Beloved leaders! At the time of the third memorial of my husband’s ascension, standing before the Heavenly Parent and the entire Unification community, this is what I promised True Father:

“True Father, from now on, please do not worry. We will absolutely fulfill our responsibility. Please be free and ascend to the eternal BonHyang Won [your eternal resting place] to comfort God, the Heavenly Parent, who has been lonely until now.”

Beloved leaders, you are witnesses to the kind of life my husband and I have led in order to realize the Will of the Heavenly Parent; you know the sincere efforts we have made to save and revive this nation that has been blessed by Heaven; you know the hardships and persecution we had to overcome. I am certain that your truthful eyes and truthful ears have helped you to understand for whom and for what ideals we have dedicated our lives.

My beloved leaders! Let us stand up for our Heavenly Parent who, for 6,000 years of human history, has anxiously searched for His lost children. Let us remember the Pilgrim fathers who, with the hearts of children desperately seeking their Heavenly Parent, traveled thousands of miles across a treacherous Atlantic Ocean and settled in America during the harshest of winters. Let us remember the people who came to this country from all over the world in search of religious freedom; let us remember how they overcame persecution and suffering so that America could take root as the land of faith. Let us remember their ardent devotion, their sincere faith and their lofty aspirations. God, our Heavenly Parent, has abundantly blessed America as a pillar of His providence. Let this beautiful nation once again attend the Heavenly Parent. Let us revive and transform America into a nation where the ideals of the family are alive, a nation where the Heavenly Parent can freely move, dance and sing together with us. If you devote yourselves to fulfilling this goal, Heaven and the unified nation of Cheon Il Guk will certainly remember each and every one of you.

I pray the love and blessings of the Heavenly Parent be with you and your families.

May Heavenly Parent truly bless America! Aju!

 

Chapter 13: The Cornerstone of the Culture for an Ideal World of Peace

This speech was given by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon at the Inaugural Convention of the Youth Federation for World Peace, held on July 26, 1994, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. 

Distinguished guests; youth representatives from 164 countries; students, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to express my warmest appreciation to you for participating in this inaugural meeting of the Youth Federation for World Peace. I am delighted to meet all of you in this beautiful capital city to discuss the important issues that are before us. Despite our very busy schedules, we have come here today because we can see and feel the problems the world is facing today. I pray that this bold attitude on our part can lead us into the next millennium where peace, freedom and love await us.

Today we are at a turning point in history. We are faced with an important choice. We can be either the harbingers of peace and love or the victims of yet more wars and conflicts. What we do now will determine whether or not we can witness together the emergence of true world peace.

During the Cold War there was an ideological confrontation between the left wing and the right wing. But now, with the end of the Cold War era, we are faced with deeper problems which threaten to destroy the moral fiber of our society and the sanctity of love in our families. The apparent breakdown of sexual morality and the widespread use of dangerous drugs already have taken their toll on our youth.

Tragic statistics

In the United States, for example, recent studies indicate that six out of ten high school students admit to having used drugs, 40 percent of fourteen-year-old girls will become pregnant before they reach their nineteenth birthday, and 30 percent of all children born are being born to single-parent homes. The HIV virus, moreover, has reached epidemic proportions, infecting one out of every forty people in our inner cities, while the suicide rate among our youth has increased 300 percent over the past three decades.

The United States is not the only country plagued by the problems that are destroying our youth. Countries all over the world have their share of this global problem. How wonderful it would be if we could eliminate our problems without having to make any efforts. But the issues before us are going to need much more than just good intentions. The world needs a new generation of leaders who understand the source of the problem and provide a comprehensive solution based upon a godly perspective.

We have to realize that the problems of our society stem from the neglect of the spiritual. When we neglect God in our lives, we lose the source of values that should govern and safeguard our society against selfishness and greed. Without a proper set of priorities, our world becomes an empty shell with grand promises and very little substance.

Hence, disregard for God leads to disregard for the family, and disregard for the family leads to disregard for the nation and world. Thus, the goal of the Youth Federation for World Peace is to reclaim God and the Godly family as the cornerstone of our civilization in an effort to remedy societal ills and reach the goal of true world peace.

Originally, God wanted to see the fulfillment of the ideal of creation in the parenthood of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve as loving children, and eventually as loving parents to their own children, would have been the model of a loving family centered on God. Such a family would have been the building block for an ideal world of love and peace. But the Bible tells us that God's ideal of the family was lost due to the Fall of Adam and Eve. Tragically, with the loss of this first family, the potential for the realization of an ideal nation and world was also lost.

Women must take responsibility

So then, how can we work to reclaim the ideal of the family? My husband and I believe that women must take the leading role. We founded the Women's Federation for World Peace in 1992 to inspire women all around the world to take responsibility for their families, communities and nations. Working in concert with the Federation for World Peace, the Women's Federation for World Peace has been working to educate men and women in the areas of politics, religion, arts and science to become role models as loving husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, and community leaders.

My husband and I feel that the time has come to create a complement to the Federation for World Peace and the Women's Federation for World Peace. The Youth Federation for World Peace, by educating young men and women on the importance of a God-centered family, will work together with these two organizations as a global family unit.

My dear friends! You are the future leaders of the world. The world is in dire need of dedicated young men and women who can redirect the course of history for the betterment of humanity. Human history has been a testament to the struggle between good and evil, starting from the conflict between Cain and Abel and culminating in the ideological confrontation between the communist world and the free democratic world. However, with the defeat of communism, representing the victory of Abel over Cain, or of good over evil, we have the opportunity to set the world right with God.

Ladies and gentlemen. World peace is not merely a mental construct; it is a way of life that begins with the individual, grows within a loving family, and reaches fruition in a global family. With the establishment of strong, true families centered on God, we can reclaim our youth from the bondage of substance abuse, violence and sexual immorality.

Armed with hope and love, I pray that the delegates of the Youth Federation for World Peace gathered here today can become beacons of light, shining the way into the next millennium.

May God bless you and your families. Thank you very much.