317. Self-Sacrifice for God and Humankind

Book 3: Cheon Il Guk and Our Mission
Part 2: True Parents, the Hope of God and Humankind
Chapters 1, 2 & 3: Self-Sacrifice for God and Humankind + A Testimony to a Selfless Life for the Sake of Humanity + A Life to End Racism and Religious Prejudice 

Chapter 1: Self-Sacrifice for God and Humankind

This speech was given by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, representing Reverend Sun Myung Moon, at the International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences XIII, on September 3, 1984, at the Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC. 

Honorable chairmen, eminent scholars, ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I welcome all of you to this XIII International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences (ICUS). It is because of your participation and diligent effort that each annual meeting has become increasingly important and successful.

A man called by God

Because my husband is not able to be here, he asked me to express his deepest gratitude to you all for coming to participate in this year's meeting. Your presence here is a testimony to the seriousness and excellence of this conference. It also indicates the importance this meeting has for the academic community and the world as a whole. Since this is a very unique occasion for me, I would like to take this opportunity to express some of my own testimony regarding the work and vision of my husband, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon.

My husband does not live for himself. He lives for God and for his fellow man. Now, however, he is confined to federal prison. Some of you may wonder why Reverend Moon has had to go the way of imprisonment. I only want to tell you that, as a crusader for God, my husband has suffered attacks and persecution throughout his life.

In 1971, he was called by God to come to America and lead a movement to reignite the fervor of Christianity and revive the founding spirit of the nation. He often said to me that he might encounter some persecution and might even suffer imprisonment. Despite that, he said he must go to America to do this God-given mission because the survival of the entire world depends on America fulfilling its responsibility.

For the last 12 years, he has given his heart and soul and every drop of his sweat and tears for the sake of this nation and the world. I thank God that at this critical juncture my husband has become a rallying point for religious freedom in the United States. The spiritual awakening in America is at last happening, and the unity of Christianity is also a fact. All these goals are so dear to my husband, and he is willing to give his life for these purposes.

Religious leaders of different creeds, races and nationalities are showing their solidarity with my husband and their support for religious freedom. It is very heartwarming for me to see this expression of support. My husband feels that he is not alone. He is praying every day in prison for God to bless this country. He is grateful to God that he has been given the extraordinary responsibility of leading the fight for religious freedom.

I am proud to be the wife of Reverend Moon, the mother of his children, and a firm believer in his vision. In this hour of tribulation for my husband, for our family and for our movement, I thank you profoundly for your sympathy, love and support, and most of all, for your prayers. My husband joins me in expressing our gratitude to you all.

Please continue to support the mission of ICUS

ICUS has always been very special to my husband. It is a remarkable example of a project devoted to the building of the kingdom of God on earth. Bringing together scholars from all parts of the world and from every academic discipline, it has the potential to address and solve the world's problems in ways that no other organization can do.

My greatest desire and prayer at this time is that you will continue to support the vision and work of ICUS and that you will continue to find ways to actively fulfill the crucial responsibility of the academic community. There is nothing that would please my husband more.

As for the Founder's Address that my husband gives every year as an ICUS tradition, may I call upon our eldest son, Hyo-jin, to deliver it. I would consider it a great favor if you would kindly permit my son to deliver his father's message. May God bless you, your families and your work.

Thank you very much.


Chapter 2: A Testimony to a Selfless Life for the Sake of Humanity

This speech was given at the acceptance ceremony of the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa awarded to the Reverend Sun Myung Moon by Plata Unversity in Argentina, on November 15, 1984, at the United Nations Headquarters, New York. 

As the wife of Reverend Moon, I join with my children and the members of the Unification movement throughout the world in saluting the courageous stand which you and your university are taking in recognizing and honoring my husband at this difficult time. It deeply touches my heart. I cannot truly express the profound appreciation which I feel on this occasion.

My husband is today in the United States federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut. He is in prison because he loves God rather than his own freedom. He is in prison because he loves humanity rather than his own comfort. He is in prison because he is a man of principle rather than a man of popularity, and he is in prison because he lives for history rather than for the present moment.

When we look at history, we see that men of God and men of principle have often walked a path of suffering. My husband is following that tradition. The Catholic University of La Plata has recognized the value of his life, his vision and his work, and that is why you are honoring him today. My heart is deeply grieved that he cannot be here to receive this honor in person, but it is more meaningful in history, after all, that you have honored him in this way during his confinement.

Today I came from Danbury prison where I spent the day with my husband. On my departure, he asked me to convey his very sincere gratitude for your most kind recognition of his work. Your action clearly testifies to the world that Reverend Moon is working for the sake of humanity and not for himself. Furthermore, this honor shows that his suffering is not in vain and that the people of the world appreciate his life-long dedication to the cause of God and humanity.

My husband has visited your great country of Argentina, and he has seen the tremendous future which lies ahead for the Argentine people and nation. Your university is one of the finest in the Americas and is upholding the tradition of a great teaching institution in accord with the 2,000-year heritage of the Roman Catholic Church. Your standard, particularly your stand on behalf of true freedom under God, has won his heart.

My husband feels great joy to establish this special bond with the Catholic University of La Plata. He and I are looking forward to visiting your great university in the not too distant future.

God bless you. God bless the Catholic University of La Plata. Thank you very much.


Chapter 3: A Life to End Racism and Religious Prejudice 

This speech was given in acceptance of the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity awarded to the Reverend Sun Myung Moon by Shaw Divinity School, on May 11, 1985.

Members of the faculty of Shaw Divinity School and Shaw University, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: On behalf of my husband, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon and our family, I would like to express my deep gratitude for the honor you have bestowed upon him this day.

The sole purpose of his life

My husband was especially moved when he read of the history of Shaw University and Shaw Divinity School, and of their founder, Dr. Henry Martin Tupper, for he found in the life of your founder two Christ-like characteristics to which he has dedicated his own life: love of God and service to humanity. I am told that on your Founder's Day you all gather around Dr. Tupper's grave in the center of the campus to pay tribute to this great man, and to read aloud the epitaph on his tombstone:

He counted not his life
Dear unto himself
That he might lift Godward
his brother.

Dr. Tupper received a great deal of persecution for his idealism and yet he persevered with courage. Reverend Moon, too, knows the meaning of being persecuted for the sake of ideals; he is in federal prison this very day on that account. Yet the sole purpose of his life will continue to be to lift all people Godward and ease the pain of suffering humanity.

My husband has also devoted himself to the cause of unity and understanding between races. When he was asked who the greatest American leader of the 20th Century is, Reverend Moon replied, "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” At a time when many oppressed people wanted to return hate for hate, Dr. King said, "We must return love for hate.” Dr. King was imprisoned over and over again, and he gave his life for what he believed, but his words continue to inspire us.

In the same tradition, my husband loves his enemies. He long ago forgave his accusers, and he loves America now more than ever. He is thanking God in prison because he has been used as an instrument to rally and inspire the American people to fight against all forms of oppression and injustice.

Reverend Moon shares with Shaw Divinity School and Shaw University a commitment to international, interreligious and interracial harmony. Since it is his belief that Jesus would have us live, work and study as one loving human family, he has dedicated his life and his ministry to end racism, religious bigotry and all forms of intolerance, not because he hoped it would make him popular or famous, but because it is right and because it is the Will of God.

Shaw Divinity School and Shaw University have had a great past, and Reverend Moon believes and prays that, with God's blessings, they will be used by God to establish an even greater future. He is pleased then to join in the great tradition of the Shaw Divinity School in working to love God and serve all God's children.

May God bless the Shaw Divinity School for its bold leadership and courage now as in years past, and may He use it as a living instrument to build His kingdom.

Thank you very much.