International Conferences for Clergy

QUESTION: 1. Is the Holy Bible a complete revelation for the plan of salvation or do we need another gospel or another revelation to complete salvation?

ANSWER: The Bible is a complete revelation, however, the Bible also testifies the fact that the dispensation of salvation is not yet complete and will not be so until the Second Coming of Christ (see Acts 3:21; Hebrews 9:28; 1Peter 1:5; Romans 8:23- 24; 1Cor. 13:9-12; 1John 4:1-3; Rev. 21:1). Thus, the generation that is alive at the time of Christ's return must be open to a new message for, in order to complete salvation, He must reveal things to that generation that, heretofore, have yet to be revealed.

QUESTION: 2. Is the Holy Scripture inerrant and the final word of truth as to salvation and holy living? Give scripture!

ANSWER: The Bible is a perfect object of faith and infallible with regard to it's stated purpose (John 20:31). However, 1Peter 1:5 tells us that there is salvation to be revealed in the Last Times. Acts 3:21 tells us that Christ comes to restore all things. If we are expecting Christ to return to recite our own doctrines we will only be repeating the failure of the Pharisees of old.

QUESTION: 3. Truth will stand, however, truth always will be under attack. The problem lies in the fact that many people want to change scripture. You can get the Bible to say anything you want it to. Therefore, you must hold to the Bible and not allow anyone to set down their "Divine Principle" of any other!

ANSWER: I agree that truth will stand and also that truth will not be validated by the lip but by the life. The challenge is if indeed Rev. Moon is wrong then, will you, who are right, do more than Rev. Moon has done and is now doing?

QUESTION: 4. Rev. 22:18-19 warns us that we should not add or take away anything from the book of God's word. Doesn't the Divine Principle Revelation if fact, add to the word of God in violation of God's warning?

ANSWER: The Bible is not "a book", it is many books, 66 books. The warning of Rev. 22:18-19 is referring to "the book" of Revelation. This warning was given, of course, before any of the 66 books were canonized. If we are to extend the warning of Rev. 22:18-19 beyond the book of Revelation, then we had better stop reading the other 65 books. Of course we should not consider that even for a second. It is interesting that the Pharisees accused Jesus of being in violation of Deut. 4:2, which likewise warns that nothing should be added or taken away from the law. Obviously they were mistaken and we would likewise be mistaken if we think that the book of Revelation is assuring us that God will never speak or give to us a revelation for our time with regard to our contemporary responsibility. The Divine Principle is not scripture or an addition to the Bible. It is a revelation from Jesus with regard to present day global responsibility of Christianity. You should hear it all before you judge and take to heart the advice of 1John 4 ...to "test the spirits" to see if it is indeed from God.

QUESTION: 5. What is the ultimate authoritative ground of your faith?

ANSWER: God's word as revealed through His Holy Scriptures. this does not mean, however, that God is mute and does not speak a contemporary message for a particular age and generation. The Divine Principle is not a replacement for the Holy Word of God. God has sent the Divine Principle in order to solve the innumerable doctrinal schisms that have divided Christians in violation of Jesus' prayer that we may be one as God and Christ are one. Jesus is not satisfied for only one denomination to be "correct" nor is He happy that for centuries we have used doctrinal differences as a justification for our disunity. Remember, Jesus said ..."as God and Christ are one." This means more than casual tolerance of other denominations.

QUESTION: 6. Is there another revelation besides the Lord's and His apostles? By what criterion do we measure a revelation authentic?

ANSWER: 1John 4, tells us to test the spirit. If any revelation denies that Jesus is the Christ, it should not be true.

QUESTION: 7. Do you believe the "whole Bible" is symbolic? You have symbolized the Bible so much! Where is the literal?

ANSWER: Malachi 4:5 was symbolic. Other things in the Bible are symbolic as well. However, the whole Bible is not symbolic.

QUESTION: 8. You have no hermeneutic! You arbitrarily pick and choose what is literal and what is symbolic. Also, you arbitrarily decide what books or verses are authentic and which are not.

ANSWER: Keeping in mind that we are only touching on the major points of the Divine Principle, I would hope that you would give it more study before you pronounce judgement. I should mention that the Divine Principle is the object of very intense study of some of the worlds leading theologians. As far as your second comment is concerned, we believe that all the books of the Bible (and verses) are authentic. In that there are numerous ways those authentic books are interpreted, we could not say that all doctrines in every jot and title, are correct.

QUESTION: 9. You speak with a forked tongue! Why? How do you explain Galatians 1:6-9, which says "...But even if we or and angel from Heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!"

ANSWER: What does Paul mean by "Gospel"? He does not mean your particular doctrine of the Bible. There was not even a canonized version at that time. Paul had not even written all his letters, nor had there been the revelation to John. The "Gospel" refers to the fundamental kerigmatic message: Christ was born sinless, conceived by the works of the Holy Ghost, was the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant and Prophecy, His death at Calvary atoned for sin, His resurrection conquered death, and He will return at the end of the age to bring judgement and the Kingdom. The Divine Principle fully affirms the Gospel, but not every jot and title of everyone's doctrine who in innumerable ways disagree. The problem is that many Christians take Galatians 1:6-9 as a personal sanction from Paul for their particular denominational perspective on doctrine.

QUESTION: 10. Do you believe God's word is infallible and supersedes any other writing or instructions?

ANSWER: I believe that the Bible is God's word and that it is supreme over all other inspired works. I believe that it stands as an infallible object of faith. I believe that it is infallible with regard to it's purpose, that is..."that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have live in His name" (John 20:31).

Certainly, not every doctrine is fulfilling that basic requirement, but neither do I think that only one doctrine is fulfilling that requirement.

Jesus has sent the Divine Principle to clarify and, in clarifying, seeking to resolve the doctrinal schisms that are dividing the body in violation of Jesus prayer that we be one, as god and Christ are one. The Divine Principle is also a message from Jesus to this generation of Christians. It's purpose is not to change the basis of salvation but to alert Christians in the 20th century of their global responsibilities.

QUESTION: 11. Can one either lie or say anything to get someone to be in the family of the New Divine Principle of Moon? Do the ends justify the means? Is there a Tamar mentality as long as you do it for God?

ANSWER: Well, you will know them by their fruits...Unification Church members are well known for their honesty, service and sacrifice in front of God and man. If our foundation was based on a lie, you would not see such virtues appear.

You must take your case to God and ask Him why He chose to bring Christ's lineage from such a "fraudulent" woman.

QUESTION: 12. Is the Divine Principle a kind of syncretism between Jewish-Christian and Oriental beliefs? Furthermore, glorifies a human personality (Rev. Moon) and one nation (Korea). It seems that also the "gospel of success" is the "gospel" of the Unification Church. Has the Unification Church forgotten it's humble beginning? Did you forget that Jesus had not even a stone upon which to rest His head? Is economic success a real sign of God's favor?

ANSWER: We do not exalt a personality or Korea. We do love Rev. Moon and we love Korea. We do not pray to, or worship Rev. Moon. The majority of our world wide membership has never even seen Rev. Moon. What do you suppose could sustain them if it is the personality of Rev. Moon they exalt? How could God bless and protect a movement that exalted the personality of a man? As far as riches go, last year Christians spent over 1 billion dollars an gospel music records and tapes, Church paraphernalia, bumper stickers, trinkets and other such artifacts. Rev. Moon and his early followers literally endured starvation in an impoverished nation in order to build a Church foundation that could give service to all mankind. Today this massive industrial foundation is not our shame, it is our pride. It was built and is today growing still on the foundation of blood sweat and tears. It's purpose is to serve the world. Ten parts go to world service projects, three parts to activities such as the ICC, and one part (and only one part) goes to Unification Church self maintenance. I would confidently compare that standard with any church. We will also be judged if we are found remiss with Matthew 25: 31-46.

QUESTION: 13. Why do members of the Unification Church use Bibles other than the authorized King James Version of the Bible.

ANSWER: All Bibles written in the English language are translations from the original Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew texts. The Lord Himself did not speak King James English. However, the King James Version of the Bible is a fine translation. The standard for that determination is not the KJV itself, but how true any translation stays within the original Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew texts.

QUESTION: 14. How is the Divine Principle different from the Bible?

ANSWER: The Divine Principle is a revelation about the Bible. God has sent the Divine Principle, not as another doctrine, but to resolve the innumerable doctrinal schisms that divide Christianity.

QUESTION: 15. How does the Unification Church view the Bible?

ANSWER: It is truth, an infallible object of faith and perfect with regard to it's stated purpose in John 20:31.

QUESTION: 16. Which statement would you consider closer to the Unification Theology:

A) The Bible defines the Divine Principle.

B) The Divine Principle defines the Bible.

ANSWER: Neither. They define each other, and they define themselves.

QUESTION: 17. The concept of duality borrows much from the East, especially Taoism. Why is this not mentioned in the lectures?

ANSWER: That would be putting the cart before the horse. It would be like saying that because excavations at the Essene community at Qumran unearth literature that is virtually identical to the Lord's Prayer, it must mean Jesus borrowed the contents from the Essenes. The truth would be, however, that God was inspiring the Essenes to be able to identify with the virtues that Jesus was bringing. Likewise, Taoism did not invent the Principle of Creation, that were merely observing a truth, without understanding it fully. God will inspire some points in other religions to better prepare them to relate to the culminating virtues of Christ. Remember, the wise men were also from the east and were probably Zoarasterians, but this did not mean Jesus was borrowing from the Zoarasterians. God inspired a small element in the wise men's tradition and it was that small element that led them to the feet of the baby Jesus!

QUESTION: 18. If Rev, Moon's revelation was authentic, then how does this fulfill biblical teaching referring to Jesus as the only way to God and to Christian tradition, that Jesus was the final and most complete revelation?

ANSWER: But God's dispensation is not complete and that is why we are all waiting for the Second Coming. Christ returns to complete the course of restoration (Acts 3:21) and to fulfill the dispensation of salvation (Hebrews 9:28, 1Peter 1:5). When this is done, we will have regained the right to eat from the Tree of Life which was lost by Adam and Eve (Rev. 2:7). The revelation of the Divine Principle has been sent by Jesus in order to resolve the doctrinal schisms that have prevented the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer in John 17:20-23.

QUESTION: 19. Was the Divine Principle something understood and appreciated by the writers of the New Testament? If so, why is there no emphasis on the "Original Ideal" to the extent it's emphasized by the Unification Church? If was not, what is the authority of this revelation?

ANSWER: The original Ideal is symbolized by the Tree of Life in the Garden. The goal of salvation history is the "restoration of all things" and regaining the right to eat from the Tree of Life (Gen. 2:7, 22:14). The Bible is the Divine Principle of God. It documents man's fall from the ideal and the history in pursuit of the restoration of that ideal. The only difference is that, today, with this generation, the final chapter of that restoration history is being written.

QUESTION: 20. To what extent is the theology of the Divine Principle open to revision and/or development?

ANSWER: Divine Principle is not "all knowledge". Like any principle, the Divine Principle finds it fullest expression in application. I would say, it's application is limitless. It is why, Rev. Moon and His movement are involved in such a far reaching and wide range of activities and projects.

QUESTION: 21. Doctrinal confusion causes diversity to divert us from our primary commission to preach the gospel. Why has the Unification Church presented another theological perspective rather than concentrating on the primary commission?

ANSWER: Preaching the Gospel is not the only responsibility of Christians. Matt. 25:31-46 gives the other responsibilities that we must accomplish, the failure of which will just as surely seal our fate. In Jesus prayer (John 17:23), it is "complete unity" that is the condition that will evangelize the world to Christ's love. Ultimately unity will come about when we can share in the coming victory of the fulfillment of the Christian global responsibility.