The Unification Church desperately wants to portray itself as a mainline legitimate religious group. But the use of deception, insider/outsider doctrines, and information control relegates the Unification Church to the status of a cult.

EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF DECEPTION BY
THE UNIFICATION CHURCH

DID MARY HAVE SEX WITH ZACHARIAH??!

One characteristic of many cults is a form of information control which cult watchers call "outsider" doctrines and "insider" doctrines (e.g. see the book Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steve Hassan, a former Unification Church member, p. 66). An outsider doctrine is presented to the general public or potential converts which is more palatable and likely to be accepted, while the insider doctrine, presented to members or those deep within a group — is something completely different. A classic example of this can be found in the Unification Church. It has long been a secret inner teaching within the Unification Church, passed on by word of mouth, that Jesus was an illegitimate child, conceived through Mary having sexual intercourse with Zachariah the father of John the Baptist! (Such has been testified by many former Unification Church members). Realizing how such a repugnant teaching might shock and turn away potential converts, especially Christians, it was attempted to keep word of this doctrine within their Church.

DECEIVING CHRISTIAN MINISTERS

Several years ago the Unification Church put forth massive concerted efforts towards gaining the sympathy, acceptance and support of Christian Ministers, sending over 7,000 of them on all expense paid trips to Korea. While there the Ministers attended lectures about the teaching of the Unification Church, which the Unification Church said was to seek to promote understanding of what they really teach. Concerning these trips and lectures David Racer, Jr. writes in his book, Not For Sale:

"The purpose of these trips was to give clergy a close look at Moon's work....The purpose of all this was not to convert anyone to their theology, I was told, but to help build understanding about the true teaching of their beliefs away from all the distortion caused by a prejudiced media or prejudiced clergy." (David Racer, Jr., Not For Sale-The Rev. Sun Myung Moon And One American's Freedom [St. Paul, Mn.: Tiny Press, 1989], p.24. )

Kevin McCarthy, the principal lecturer at these conferences, compiled a list of over 500 of the most common and important questions that the Ministers asked him and the answers he gave, which were later published by the Unification Church in a book made available to Unification Church members -- Q & A, (Volume One) 500 Questions Asked by Christian Ministers about the Divine Principle and the Unification Movement. On p. 64 of this book it is recorded that the question was asked by a Christian Minister, "What is the Unification view on the conception of Jesus?" The Unification response as given by Mr. McCarthy:

"The Divine Principle makes no new comment on the virgin birth of Christ other than that it was the work of the Holy Spirit and that Jesus was born as the sinless Son of God. The Divine Principle, however, does include the conditions in Jesus lineage as also a part of the work of the Holy Spirit that led to the sinless conditions of Jesus' birth (such as I touched on in the dispensation centering on Tamar and Judah)." (Kevin McCarthy, Q&A Volume One -- 500 Questions Asked by Christian Ministers about the Divine Principle and the Unification Movement [Richmond, Va: Future World Publishing, 1991-1992], p.64)

This is just blatant deception. While it is true that the Divine Principle itself doesn't say anything about the Virgin Birth, nevertheless the Unification view (that is the question that was asked!) was and is to vehemently deny the Virgin Birth and the secret inner teaching, though not written out in the Divine Principle, but (at that time) passed on by word of mouth, was that Jesus was conceived not of a Virgin by the Holy Spirit, but by Mary having a sexual relationship with Zachariah!

On p. 62 of this same book it is recorded that a Christian Minister (or Ministers) asked, "I have read that the Unification Church members believe that Zachariah was the human father of Jesus. Is this true? If not do you believe in the Virgin Birth, that is, that Christ was conceived in Mary (a virgin) by the Holy Spirit?"

The Unification answer to this was another tap dance around the issue to avoid answering the question including again the statement, "The Divine Principle makes no new comment on the virgin birth." Again, while it is true that the Divine Principle itself makes no new comment on the Virgin Birth, that is not the question that was asked. The question was what do Unification Church members believe — do they believe that Zachariah was the human father of Jesus(?), do they believe in the Virgin Birth(?) — and the fact was then and is now that Unification Church members believe that Zachariah was the human father of Jesus, believing that Christ was conceived by Mary having sex with Zachariah!

In a book that was published in 1992 (with Moon's permission and endorsement) by the Unification Church for Unification Church members, entitled, "The Victory of Love", the Unification Church teaches that Jesus was illegitimate and implies that Zachariah was his father (p. 17)! On p. 210 of this same book, the Unification Church teaches: "Elizabeth also showed her good heart in the way she supported Zachariah. She knew what happened to Mary and Zachariah, but she absolutely and unconditionally supported them."

DECEIVING THE GENERAL PUBLIC

And on p. 251 of the same book, the Unification Church specifically teaches that John the Baptist and Jesus were elder and younger brothers! During Rev. Moon's 32-City U.S. Speaking Tour in May and June of 1993, while speaking to the public, Rev. Moon publicly taught and proclaimed that John the Baptist was Jesus' elder cousin (of course this is the Biblical teaching and the generally accepted view). But when speaking privately to Unification Church members at Tarrytown, New York, shortly after the 32-City Tour was over (Aug. 1, 1993), Sun Myung Moon proclaimed (with Unification Church members responding):

"Who was Jesus' father? Christians say that Jesus was born to a virgin. Without man is it possible to conceive? [Impossible.] Who is Jesus' father? [Zachariah.] Who taught that? [You did.] Several times in six months I said that. Who is Jesus' father? Zachariah." (Sun Myung Moon, "Declaration of Return to the Home Country," speech given August 1, 1993 at Tarrytown, New York, translated by Sang Kil Han, from the Unification Church member magazine Today's World, October 1993, p.9.)

This means that while he was preaching one thing to the general public in the 32-City Tour (outsider doctrine) he was simultaneously teaching something completely different privately to his devoted followers, (insider doctrine)! Regardless of what your own personal views are concerning the birth of Christ, my point is this:

It is one thing for a group to have an erroneous or even controversial or unpopular teaching. It is quite another thing for a group to purposely mislead and deceive the public about what they believe, and to perpetuate fraud and deception to those who would make honest inquiry.

This is the practice of a cult. It is deception. It is sin!

UNIFICATION CHURCH LEADER LIES TO ME

We have published a book called, Questions for the Unification Church, and as a result of this, one of the leaders from the National Headquarters of the Unification Church here in New York City, Mr. Andrew Compton, began to correspond with me. In a letter he sent to me dated June 15, 1994, Mr. Compton, trying to answer questions about a chapter in our book entitled, "THE VIRGIN BIRTH", stated: "We believe ... that as Scripture says, God chose a virgin and through the Holy Spirit brought about Jesus' birth. ... Maybe in the future Rev. Moon will come out with a clear statement on this point, but up until now he has not." Later in the same letter he emphasized: "Let me make it clear that our church does not teach as doctrine, that Mary slept with Zachariah." (Note: the speeches of Sun Myung Moon, such as the one quoted from above, are considered as Scripture and thus as doctrine by the Unification Church.)

It is understandable that the Unification Church does not want people to know that they teach this realizing that it would cause public outrage, scare away potential converts, and cause them to lose the support of Christian Ministers they have been deceiving! But everything I have said has been thoroughly documented, quoting directly from Unification Church materials! Notice also the date of Moon's speech [Aug. 1, 1993] and the date of Mr. Compton's letter to me [June 15, 1994] in which he claims that Moon has never come out with a clear statement on this point! Legitimate religious groups are honest about their beliefs, whether you agree with them or not. The use of deception and "insider" "outsider" doctrines relegates the Unification Church to the status of a cult.

STEVE HASSAN--FORMER U.C. MEMBER SPEAKS

Steve Hassan, a former Unification Church leader, is today considered one of America's leading experts in counseling people who have been involved in cults. His book, Combatting Cult Mind Control is highly acclaimed by both mental health professionals and clergy as an authoritative work on the subject. Mr. Hassan is highly respected for his work in educating the public about the use of deception, mind control and other techniques used by cults. On the internet is an article by this former Unification Church member entitled, "The Truth About Sun Myung Moon", http://www.freedomofmind.com/groups/moonies/moonorg.asp see Groups, Moon Organization). On p.11 of this article Mr. Hassan says:

"Moon is also a man who believes that the `ends justify the means'. I have experienced firsthand the deception used by Moon and other leaders in recruiting, fundraising, public relations and politics. I was in charge of all transportation for a 7-day fast in front of the United Nations in which hundreds of Unification members were told by Moon not to reveal to anyone who we were....I was deceived throughout my own recruitment into the group. When I asked the members purporting to be Queens College students if their group was `religious', they looked me in the eye and said, `Oh no, not at all.' That was only one of hundreds of lies I was told and later told members and the public as well." (Steve Hassan, "The Truth About Sun Myung Moon", Website address (Url): http://www.freedomofmind.com/groups/moonies/moonorg.asp (see Groups, Moon Organization)

MOON TEACHES:

I myself have heard it preached from the pulpit at a Sunday service (for the general public) at the National Headquarters of the Unification Church of America in New York City, that there are no contradictions between what the Bible says and what the Divine Principle says. Yet when I went to a Seven-Day Meeting of the Unification Church and asked a question about Matthew 5:17-18, which contradicts the teaching of the Divine Principle, the teacher of the Seven-Day Meeting (Mr. Compton), told me and all those present at that meeting that Matthew was wrong there, that Matthew did not really understand the deep things of God, things like we had discussed in the Seven-Day Meeting. In other words, the teacher was saying that the Bible was wrong there, and placing the teachings of Sun Myung Moon and the Divine Principle above those of Jesus Christ and the Bible! I could understand this if the Unification Church publicly taught: "We don't believe the Bible. There are contradictions between what the Divine Principle teaches and what the Bible teaches. We hop, skip and jump through the Bible, picking and choosing whatever we want to accept, whatever we feel comfortable with, whatever looks to us like it fits into our "system", and we throw out the rest of the Bible." But this is not what the Unification Church teaches. The Unification Church publicly teaches that there are no contradictions between what the Bible says and what the Divine Principle says. And the Divine Principle declares on p. 152,

"In order for us to have a right faith, we must first establish direct rapport with God in spirit through ardent prayer and next, we must understand the truth through correct reading of the Bible."

This shows me that there is something deeper going on than a different view of God's heart, or a different interpretation of how the Bible correctly reads. There is a deep, dark evil going on of lying to people and deceiving people in the name of God, of lying to people about what they really believe in order to advance their agenda and the kingdom of Rev. Moon. In the November, 1993 edition of the Unification News which is a newspaper for the Unification Community and made available to some non-members, is an article entitled, "Unification and the Question of Scripture", by Dr. Frank Kaufmann. The article is derived from a paper presented at the Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace Conference held at the Chicago Parliament of the World's Religions 1993 (in other words presented publicly). The article states:

"People who call themselves members of the Unification Church have three core texts which function as Scripture. These are: 1. The Divine Principle, 2. The Speeches of Sun Myung Moon, and 3. The Bible, including the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament."

But whenever this author has confronted Unification Church members with a teaching of the Bible which contradicts their teaching, the Unification response has been to reject the Bible as wrong and to choose the teachings of Sun Myung Moon and the Divine Principle over the teachings of the Bible and Jesus Christ. The article elsewhere states:

"3. The Bible: The Christian Bible is used as Scripture in the life of Unification piety."

As has already been mentioned this article was published in the November, 1993 edition of the Unification News. Just one month previously, in the October, 1993 edition of Today's World which is a magazine for Unification Church members, an article was published (the Peter's Long Search, p.38-39) which speaks of a Russian couple, the Prorotechenkos, who had been searching for the Messiah. The article says that they came to New York and attended Sun Myung Moon's Yankee Stadium rally in 1976. Speaking of a meeting between this couple and Rev. Moon way back in 1976, the Unification Church's own magazine, Today's World reports (referring to Rev. Moon as "Father"):

"Soon after Yankee Stadium the Prorotechenkos had the opportunity to meet Father in person. On this occasion both of the Prorotechenkos bowed and Paul Prorotechenko kissed Father's feet. He showed several holy Scriptures of their Christian denomination to Father and told him -how desperately they had been searching for him. Father explained to them in a calm voice that the Bible and other holy Scriptures have passed, and now there is a new law, the Divine Principle." (Toni Spari, "The Peter's Long Search," Today's World, Oct.1993 p. 38).

(Remember the previously quoted statement made to Christian Ministers, "The Divine Principle is not a replacement for the Holy Word of God."!!)

Whatever your personal views are concerning the Bible, again my point is: It is one thing for a group to hold a particular belief, it is quite another thing for a group to purposely deceive the public and Christian Ministers about what it really believes in order to advance its own agenda.

Rev. Moon teaches: "You can do it even without the Old and New Testaments. You do not need them anymore." (Sun Myung Moon, "My Life of Faith", Today’s World, May, 1995, p. 15.)

IS THE UNFICATION CHURCH REALLY TRYING "TO UNITE CHRISTIANITY"?

The Unification Church claims to be Christian and one of its stated goals is the unification of Christianity. This is even declared in the official name of their organization, "The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity". This goal of seeking to unify Christianity is reiterated over and over again to Christian Ministers, as is recorded in Unification responses to Christian Ministers in the aforementioned book, Q & A, (Volume One) 500 Questions Asked by Christian Ministers about the Divine Principle and the Unification Movement.

But in the Unification Church book, The Victory of Love, concerning how to deal with Christian Ministers, and the real goal of the Unification Church, the supposed spirit of Heung Jin Nim Moon has instructed Unification Church members:

"Of course, in order that the Ministers feel at home, you must declare your love to Brother Jesus, but at the same time do not forget your goal, which is to bring them to the Lord of the Second Advent." (Purportedly by the spirit of Heung Jin Moon, The Victory of Love [New York, N.Y.: The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, 1992], p.41.)

Rev. Moon has instructed Unification Church members:

"Until our mission with the Christian Church is over, we must quote the Bible and use it to explain the Divine Principle. After we receive the inheritance of the Christian Church, we will be free to teach without the Bible. Now, however, our primary mission is to witness to the Christian Church." (Sun Myung Moon, Master Speaks: 7, 1965, p. 1.)

It is true that some people have made false accusations and slanderous remarks against Rev. Moon and his Unification Church. I deplore all such unethical, unjust and unchristian activity as morally wrong. Such actions only serve to make the average Unification Church member feel that they are being "persecuted for righteousness" and only strengthens their resolve and commitment to the group.

On the other hand, the Unification Church has been masquerading as a Bible believing Christian Church, which is a lie (bad fruit)! The Unification Church has been deceiving the public and the Christian community trying to make people think that they are a Bible believing Christian organization.

In a speech given to Unification Church members by Hyun Jin Moon, Rev. and Mrs. Moon's third son, at their World Mission Center in New York City on January 1, 1994, he taught:

"Why are we Christians? We are not Christians. From now, the Unification Church is not a Christian church. It is the fulfillment of Judaism and Christianity; it is the final church of God, it is the final teaching group. This is true."..."The New Testament Age has ended. This means that the age of Christian responsibility has passed." (Hyun Jin Moon, "Live Up to the Ideals of the Principle," Speech given January 1, 1994 in New York, as recorded in the Unification Church Member magazine Today's World, March, 1994 pp. 27-28.)

This is far different than saying, "We are Christians" and "We are just trying to unite Christianity." Even the very name of their movement, "The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity" is a deception! Concerning their claim that they are seeking to unite Christians here are more documented quotes from Unification Church publications which indicate otherwise, and which show the real motives of the Unification Church in their contact with Christians:

"...I know the established Christian theology....I know the enemy, but the enemy doesn't know me. Thus the enemy has already lost the war..."(Rev. Moon, Today's World, Feb 95, p. 14)

My teachings are the keys to enter the Kingdom of Heaven....To open the door, you need to obtain the key from me. If you try any other means to get into the Kingdom of Heaven, it does not work." (Rev. Moon, Today's World, May/June 94, p. 12)

"From now on, American Christianity must follow me." (Rev. Moon, Today's World, Nov. 93, p. 5)

"Is there any religious leader in the United States who can surpass me? [nobody]." (Rev. Moon, Today's World, Nov/Dec 94, p. 18)

"Christianity and all other religions must recommend the Unification Church as the true solution." (Ibid., p. 18)

Rev. Ahn of the Unification Church gives us the Unification Church teaching:

"Today God's word comes only through Father. If other people receive God's word, that word is that Reverend Moon is the Messiah." (Rev. Ahn, Today's World, Jan 1995 p.39)

"Christians are all blind. When they learn Divine Principle, their eyes will be opened and they will understand." (Rev. Ahn, Today's World, Jan 95, p. 27)

The Unification Church does some "good" things that on the surface make them appear to outsiders as very "good" and Christian, but the heart of their teaching is blasphemous and deceptive. The Unification Church talks much about the bringing together of all cultures and races, which of course is good. But their real goal is the unity of all peoples in following the false Messiah, Rev. Moon and setting him up as the absolute ruler of the world. Deception and outright lying is sometimes used by members in seeking to recruit people. True love does not come through deception and lies! The Kingdom of God does not come through deception and lies.

We wholeheartedly affirm the principle of religious freedom — in a person's right to have a free choice to believe as they see fit (as long as they harm no one else and obey the laws of the land). I uphold the right of Unificationists to believe in Moon as the Messiah and his many bizarre doctrines if that is what they want to believe, and I hope they also respect my right to disagree with those doctrines and preach against such in civilized discourse and exchange of ideas. But a group has no right to deceive and exploit others to further its agenda. First of all this is just plainly and obviously morally wrong. And secondly, when a group misrepresents what it really believes and deceives people about what it really believes in seeking to convert them, in seeking to impress them, in seeking to manipulate them to join or support their group, they have actually undermined and attacked that persons religious liberty by not giving them the opportunity to make a truly informed and thus honest and free choice about what they want to believe. This is the practice of a cult. This is and has been the ongoing practice of the Unification Church.

Ephesians 5:11 Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from the Birmingham jail)

And as Dr. King used to often say:

"Carlyle was right, `No lie can live forever.'"

This article by David Wolfe

Note: Whenever in this article quoted words are put in bold print, italicized or underlined, these were used by this author for emphasis. (10/96)

for more information contact New Covenant Publications at our e-mail address: .or write to: New Covenant Publications, P.O. Box 167, Radio City Station, NY NY

Copyright © 1997 New Covenant Publications