Happy True God’s Day! (1/1/23 Heavenly Calendar) 1/22/23 Solar.
Cheon Seong Gyeong 2124
The new millennium that just began is a time to clear away the divisions and conflicts of the past century and to actualize the ideal of a single global family of harmony and unification. I wish each and every one of your families blessings for the new millennium. I would like to begin by earnestly thanking you for having come here from all over the world to congratulate me on my eightieth birthday. Most of all, I would like to return all glory to God who has preserved me until this day.
Cheon Seon Gyeong 1189
For what purpose does God designate Abel? He does it to establish the rights of the firstborn son and to correct the tradition within the family, not in order to save Abel’s children. Unification Church members don’t understand this point. You say, “Ahem! I am Abel,” but you leaders must remember that you cannot say, “Because we are in the position of Abel, that’s it!” The reason all of you are placed in your positions is to restore a tribe that holds the right of the eldest son. If you want to receive blessings, earn the right of the firstborn son and share the blessings, then you can receive some of them. The right of the firstborn son is not for you. Focused on the Lord who is to come, you must develop a connection with the vertical heavenly world. This will not happen with only the horizontal physical world. I was going to explain this last point in more detail in terms of the Principle but, as I believe you understand this, I am putting it in simple terms. Since I, the founder of the Unification Church, came to know this path, I could not help but establish the logic of “living for the sake of others.” We were born for the sake of others. You must also realize that man was born for the sake of woman. There is no such thing as “I”. (136-130, 1985.12.22)
Society
Government for the People
3. Democracy
Teachings of True Father Sun Myung Moon
In these last days of human history, heavenly law has descended upon the earth in the name of democracy, bringing an end to the long phase of history in which people sought to obtain happiness by seizing property, land and people. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Eschatology 2.3)
At the time of Jesus, people’s lives were as insignificant as flies to the persons in power. The system of laws into which Jesus was born was just like a world without laws. If the administrators or persons of power wanted to have him killed, it could be done as easily as killing a fly. Jesus’ proclamation of a fundamental human revolution could not be permitted or accepted under the system of that society. We can say that the fact that Jesus was nailed to the cross was an almost unavoidable occurrence under the system of those days. God, who knows this so well, knows that one of the most necessary things for the days of the second advent of the Messiah is a system of laws in which a person cannot be killed just because it is someone else’s will. The system which God prepared for the last two thousand years is democracy.
Democracy is the system which respects human rights. Democracy is the system in which a minority group can survive in the midst of a majority group. Democracy is the system which guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of press, and freedom of assembly. If we consider the Constitution of America, which can be regarded as the representative nation of democracy, the most absolute freedom among all freedoms is the freedom of religion. It is stated in the Constitution that the American Congress and Government shall not make any laws which can restrict religions. (October 19, 1978)
The French Revolution established democracy with the proclamation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Nonetheless, the democracy born out of the French Revolution was a Cain-type democracy. Although it destroyed absolutism… the leading thinkers behind the French Revolution were Enlightenment figures such as Denis Diderot (1713-1784) and Jean Le Rond D’Alembert (1717-1783), who adhered to atheism or materialism. Furthermore, despite its ideals of individual freedom and equality, the actual course of French democracy in the years of the revolution and afterward tended toward totalitarianism….
From their very origins, the democracies which emerged in England and the United States were different from the democracy born out of the French Revolution… The English and American democracies were founded by sincere Christians, the fruits of the Abel-type view of life, and were born out of their victorious fight with absolutism to win religious freedom. Hence, these are Abeltype democracies. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Preparation 3.1)
Democracy is the ideology of brotherhood. It promotes equality by upholding freedom. But is freedom alone enough to secure happiness? No. To secure happiness, love must be the highest value. (201:73, March 1, 1990)
If democracy were to use love as its basis, then the world would become one. That kind of democracy could become world-level democracy. Even communism, if it were centered on true love, could also make one world. Where there is love, the word “purge” cannot exist. (90:311-12, January 15, 1977)
While much in America seems attractive, if you dig deeper you will find some disagreeable aspects. There is always a taint of racism. People live as isolated individuals and have not become as one community. The law is not always in agreement with human rights. (90:304, January 15, 1977)
If a black person wanted to run for the presidency, would white Americans support him? What do you think? Would they elect a capable black candidate? …As long as blacks and whites are fighting over their rights, are there truly human rights?
The democratic world is a world of individualism. It takes no account of relationships, such as husband and wife. Each individual is his or her own center. Yet in reality, people cannot exist without relationships. Everything exists in the context of relationships. A society that valued relationships above all else would encourage everyone to make relationships with their counterparts, for that is the very nucleus from which the world will become one. First, families become one; then they build relationships with their neighbors and unify their neighborhood. Based upon this principle, people would assemble themselves into a single structure, connecting everyone throughout the world. (228:8, March 1, 1992)