Shamans Are Possessed by Servant-Level Spirits

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2220

We believe in God who wants to realize one world, a world of one purpose. Since God is Jehovah and Lord of all nations, and the center of all centers, when we face Him from afar, we want to be His loyal subjects. We were born for this duty and responsibility. Understand that as we draw near to Him, He becomes our Father to whom we owe the duty of filial piety as His sons and daughters. That is our priority. Only when you have lived like that can you say to God, “If you want to send me to hell, send me there. If you want to send me to Heaven, send me there. Do as you please.” Nobody went to hell after living like that. (154-314, 1964.10.5)

Cheong Seong Gyeong 1189

Cain represents Satan’s side. It is the position of the elder brother. Abel represents God’s side. This is the battle. Originally, God would have loved the first-born son, and then the younger son. Due to the Fall, the first son, Cain, stands on Satan’s side. He belongs to Satan’s side. In order to save him, God designated Abel. God designates Abel to restore the right of the firstborn son. This cannot be achieved by force; you have to inspire people by love. You have to achieve restoration by melting them with love. If you cannot stand in the position of having loved them, if you cannot win their heart through offering your love, then you will not be in a position to truly love your own son or daughter. As viewed from God’s ideal of creation, the first-born son was originally to be loved first rather than the second child. (140-38, 1986.2.1)

Shamanism, Polytheism and Animism

1. Worship of Nature Deities

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

God instructs all people, from the most primitive to the most advanced, by means appropriate to their level. Thus, in the primitive religions of the past, God taught people to worship the things of creation, such as rocks and trees, as substitutes for God. This was the origin of shamanism. In this way God could teach the people and guide the direction of their lives. (91:271, February 27, 1977)
 
Shamans are possessed by servant-level spirits, confined within the realm of the fall. Yet through their revelations they can sometimes give accurate information from the spirit world to earthly people. There are groups of people on this earth who connect with the spirit world in this way. (76:95, February 1, 1975)
 
The spirit world is the world of angels. Why do the angels of the spirit world want to relate to the human world as gods? You have heard about shamanism, fortunetelling, superstition and such. They are religious forms in which there is not clear discernment of good and evil. As God leads the providence through religions, Satan also prepared religious forms to guard his world.
 
    In general, more than eighty percent of fortunetellers are women. Who do they contact? At the time of the Fall, the archangel led Eve and caused her to bring evil into the world. Likewise, during the course of restoration the same path is repeated: angels in the spirit world come down to the earth to lead and teach women, uniting with them. Hence, a shaman’s or fortuneteller’s work is to follow the direction and teachings of angels—but this time for good. (76:95, February 1, 1975)
 
In the development of history, we see that there was always some sort of faith. The birth of faith lay in ancient beliefs that modern people would call superstition. For example, when people saw a big tree, they revered it. When they saw a magnificent mountain, they revered it. Although most people do not recognize them, guardian deities actually exist in those places. (176:287, May 13, 1988)
 
People in ancient times had a close relationship with nature. Then the natural world and the spirit world were close to human beings—not distant and foreign as they are to people living in modern times. When people entered a grove of giant trees, they looked at them reverently and thought, “For thousands of years these trees have been here; through countless cycles of quickening in spring and dying in autumn they remain unchanged; their shade makes a pleasant environment for all creatures.” Observing them, they recognized that they were deficient in many aspects, and so they worshipped tall trees, great rocks and high mountains.
 
    They saw tall persimmon trees, thick with foliage in the summer and bare in the winter. With the arrival of spring their branches sprouted with new life: first buds, then blossoms, and finally delicious and fragrant fruit. They marveled at this, and sensed that those trees were better than they.
    Where is the fragrance in human existence? Do humans give off a fragrance that beautifies their surroundings, attracting birds and insects to nest in their branches? No. Compared to nature, man is humbled and recognizes his inadequacy. (November 4, 1990)
 
History knows that this is the age when the sun rises in the East. All people are turning in the direction of the light and lighting their own lamps. Some are doing it centering on God, but others are centering on low-level spirits. Even shamans are receiving the light based on their spiritual senses and experiences. Between shamans and non-believers, who is better? Believing in even low-level spirits is better than having no faith at all. (194:315, October 30, 1989)
 
 

You Also Blessed My Grandfather

John 19

38 Joseph from Arimathea was one of Jesus’ disciples. He had kept it secret though, because he was afraid of the Jewish leaders. But now he asked Pilate to let him have Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission, and Joseph took it down from the cross.

Richard: This is the time to be bold in our faith, and not cower or be silent.

Isaiah 65

2 All day long I have reached out
to stubborn and sinful people
    going their own way.

Shamanism, Polytheism and Animism

World Scripture takes a universal outlook in emphasizing the common features of all religions; nevertheless religions also have their unique characteristics and emphases. The following six topics treat specific religious traditions, pointing out their unique features and Father Moon’s teachings about them. It cannot be overemphasized that any treatment of a religion’s unique features in no way exhausts its spiritual riches or detracts from its universal qualities that join in common witness to the one God and one reality.
Not all the religions are treated here; just those on which Father Moon has commented upon out of his own experience. Korea is a religiously pluralistic country, with roots in shamanism, Buddhism and Confucianism; it has a large and vibrant Christian community and also a growing Muslim minority.
Father Moon’s views on shamanism are largely the result of his experience with the homegrown Korean variety. Shamanism remains strong in rural Korea, where its practitioners, called mudangs, are largely women. Their ability to communicate with spirits can be impressive. During his years in America, he befriended Eskimo shamans in Alaska and Native Americans in Brazil and Paraguay. Father Moon is very aware of the reality of the  spirit  world  and  the  spiritual  discipline  required  to  be  an  effective  channel  to  that  world.  For this reason, he does not cast dogmatic condemnations on shamanism and animism in the manner of bible-centered Christians. Rather, he regards shamanism as an authentic stage, albeit a low one, on the path of humankind’s spiritual development.
Notable also is Father Moon’s teaching that shamanism and polytheism are “servant of servant” religions, whose original objects of worship were fallen angels. This can be seen rather clearly in Greek and Hindu mythology, where the gods’ amorous activities with earthly women are of a piece with Satan’s seduction of eve at the human Fall. Nevertheless, God still taught through these forms by empowering devoted practitioners to rise above their gods and attain a higher moral plane. In this way, human beings transcended the position of servants’ servants to become their masters, thus opening a higher stage of religious development. Passages from Hinduism and Shinto illustrate how these traditions were thus elevated over time to form higher religions.

1. Worship of Nature Deities

O gods! All your names are to be revered, saluted and adored; all of you who have sprung from heaven and earth, listen here to my invocation.
    Rig Veda 10.63.2 (Hinduism)

Our ancestors the emperors of old governed the realm by first paying worship to the kami with reverence and awe. Widely worshipping the kamiof mountain and river, they thereby had natural concourse with heaven and earth. For this rea-son, summer and winter also turned in their sea-son, and the works of creation were in harmony.
    Nihon Shoki 22 (Shinto)

Sansang suira!
There are eight peaks within the inner mountain,
and thirteen famous places in the outer mountain.
Within these famous mountains and the great heavens of all Buddhas,
the great altar of the nation is protected by the great generals.
Was not General Chae Yong one of them?
The famous general of Korea,
who was favored by his people…
Oh, I am the great mountain god.
If I sit down, I cover three thousand li [the entire land of Korea].
If I stand up, I stretch over ninety thousand li [the whole world].
If I look down with my clear mirror, I can observe ten thousand li.
Oh, I am the great mountain god.
What can you offer to satisfy me?
Is the whole pig covered with a red cloth enough?
Is the bundle of three different colored silks enough?
Offer many rich silks to me.
Oh, you, the husband and wife of this home.
Do you remember who gives you the food that sustains you?
Who gave you a home?
Who gave you wealth?
Who gave you long life?
I, the Sansang, gave you blessings and aid in times of need.
    Invocation of the Mountain Spirit (Korean Shamanism)

War-bundle owners, I greet you. Ye elders, I am about to pour tobacco for the spirits.
 
Hearken Earthmaker, our father, I am about to offer you a handful of tobacco. My ancestor so-and-so concentrated his mind upon you. The fireplaces with which you blessed him, the small amount of life you granted to him, all, four times the blessings that you bestowed upon my ancestor, I ask of you directly. May I have no troubles in life.
 
Chief of the Thunderbirds, who lives in the west, you strengthened my grandfather. I am about to offer you a handful of tobacco. The food, the pair of deer you gave him for his fireplaces, that I ask of you directly. May you accept this tobacco from me and may I not meet with troubles. 
 
Great Black Hawk, you also blessed my grandfather. I am about to offer you tobacco. Whatever food you blessed him with that I ask you directly. May I not meet with troubles…You [night spirits] on the other side, who live in the east, who walk in darkness, I am about to offer you tobacco to smoke. Whatever you blessed my ancestor with, I ask of you. If you smoke this tobacco I will never be a weakling.Disease-giver, you who live in the south; you who look like a man; who art invulnerable; who on one side of your body present death and on the other life, you blessed my ancestor in the daytime, in broad daylight. You blessed him with food and told him that he would never fail in anything. You promised to avoid his home. You placed animals before him that he might easily obtain food. I offer you tobacco that you may smoke it, and that I may not be troubled by anything. To you, Sun, Light-wanderer… To you, Grandmother Moon… Hearken, all ye spirits to whom my ancestor prayed; to all of you I offer tobacco. My ancestor gave a feast to all those who had blessed him. Bestow upon us once again all the blessings you gave our ancestor, that we may not become weaklings. I greet you all.
    Winnebago Invocation at the Sweat Lodge (Native American Religion)
 
Ala, come and drink and eat the kola nut.
Chukwu, come and drink and eat the kola nut.
Ancestors, come and drink and eat the kola nut.
    I was told by a man of Ngbwidi, one named Ehirim, that a man of Agunese had stolen his yams; and so I summoned the priests of Ala and Aro holders and elders in order that we might inquire into the matter. I called them, even as my father, who was priest of Njoku before me, used to do.
    If any of these men, who have come to try the case, deal falsely in the matter, or if the accuser or accused or any person called to give evidence tells falsehood, then do you, Ala, Chukwu, Njoku, Ancestors, and Ofo, deal with that man.
    Igbo Invocation at a Trial (African Traditional Religions)
 
Parvati, on seeing her son Ganesha resuscitated, embraced him joyously and clothed him with new garments and ornaments. After kissing his face, she said, “O Ganesha, you have had great distress since your very birth. You are blessed and contented now. You will receive worship before all the gods…
    “All achievements certainly accrue to him who performs your worship with flowers, sandal paste, scents, auspicious food offerings, waving of lights, betel leaves, charitable gifts, circumambulations, and obeisance. All kinds of obstacles will certainly perish.”
    Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu declared in unison, “O great gods, just as we three are worshipped in all the three worlds, so also Ganesha shall be worshipped by all of you. He is the remover of all obstacles and the bestower of the fruits of all rites.”
    Shiva Purana, Rudrasamhita 18 (Hinduism)
 
 

God Wanted to See One Family Under God

Cheon Seong Gyeong 435

    What on earth are parents? Why can the strongest, most intelligent son in the world not ignore his parents, even if they are a burden? Why can he not control them with just one finger or do whatever he wants? You should know this. Since he is the strongest and most clever, he could say, “Hey, you!” and challenge them with his wits, but he cannot do that. Where is the origin of love? Where does love come from? From yourself? No. Love comes from parents. This is because the origin of love is not you, but your parents. There can be no result without a cause. So you know that when it comes to love, you are not the owner.
    So when you come before your parents, you should say, “Yes, Mother and Father, you are right.” When your parents remind you, “No matter how great your reputation is and how powerful you may be, you cannot do things that deviate from your duty to your mother and father,” you will reply, “Yes, yes, yes, Mother and Father, you are right.” Why? Because of love. It is because parents are the subject partners, and children are the object partners. The subject partner serves the object partner, and the object partner follows the subject partner. This is the Principle of Heaven. When this principle is breached, that house will collapse and end up worth-less. However ignorant or uneducated a person may be, he knows the Principle of Heaven because he is born in accordance with heavenly nature. Therefore, even the strongest champion has to bow his head to his parents. (50-134, 1971.11.6)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1265

    When the Messiah comes to earth, he will come as an individual and yet he is not just an individual. He is the fruition of the faith and devotion of the whole of humanity, the fruition of the desires of the whole of humanity, and the fruition of the love yearned for by the whole world. He is the fruition to which all courses of history are connect-ed. To put it simply, he is connected to the past, present and future. He is connected from the individual to the family, tribe, people, nation, world, and heaven and earth. (13-143, 1964.1.1)

Everyone Has the Right to Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion

3. Community and Solidarity among Religions

As far as I know, God is not sectarian. He is not restricted by minor details of doctrine. We should quickly liberate ourselves from theological conflict which results from blind attachment to doctrines and rituals, and instead focus on living relationships with God.
     In my view, we urgently need to purify the religious atmosphere into one in which believers can have living faith and every soul can communicate with God. In God’s parental heart and His great love, there is no discrimination based on color or nationality. There are no barriers between cultural traditions, between East and West, North and South. Today God is trying to embrace the whole of humankind as His children. Through interreligious dialogue and harmony we should realize one ideal world of peace, which is God’s purpose of creation and the common hope of humankind. (135:221, November 16, 1985)
 
Despite all efforts to the contrary, divisions and animosities among various religious groups continue. Religious wars are still being waged, as they have been for centuries. In spite of various ecumenical movements, religious arrogance, intolerance, and bigotry are still prevalent among devout believers. Thus, although most religions have professed the same God and often even the same views for centuries, their adherents have continually persecuted and warred with one another.
    God is beyond denomination, doctrine or sect. God’s purpose is and always has been to save the entire world, and not merely a certain race, nation, or religious group. As religious people, we cannot help God in the task of salvation as long as we fight among ourselves. Many religious leaders have realized this, but for numerous complex reasons their attempts to solve this problem have been repeatedly frustrated.
    One of my essential teachings is that interreligious harmony is a necessary condition for world peace. Since no single religion has manifested God completely, religious differences have been inevitable. Yet because we are all sons and daughters of the same Heavenly Parent, we are all brothers and sisters in one great family. Therefore, conflict and divisive hatred among religions is unnecessary. (133:274-75, August 13, 1984)
 
Is God alienated from the world? No, God strives to save the world. Nevertheless, each religion cherishes its own believers but does not care so much about other people. Look at Islam: it tries to save the world, but it puts itself first. It is likewise with Buddhism: so far its adherents have not been active in going out to society. (99:17, August 27, 1978)
 
It was not God’s original purpose to establish Hinduism, or Buddhism, or Christianity. God wanted to see from the beginning one family under God. (March 2, 2003)
 
In the Orient, people go in search of the state of Emptiness or No-self. Therefore, they look for quiet places where they can release their attachments to worldly things. In the West, on the other hand, people make efforts seeking for money and material things. Therefore they want quick results, and their eyes become large… Oriental people are small, with small eyes [that look into the distance], noses and everything. Their legs are short, too. From this, we see that the West is external and the East is internal.
    One of Satan’s goals is to permanently separate the internal from the external. God, on the other hand, tries to link the internal and external in a harmonious relationship. Thus we can foresee that when the West tries to unite with the East, God’s day of fulfillment is near. This is gradually coming to pass. (118:46, May 2, 1982)
 
The purpose of religion is to lead us to a united world. Although different religions have different names for God and different ways of worshipping Him, the central Being each religion worships is the one and only God. Therefore, the purposes and directions for human life taught by each religion inevitably converge towards one standard. Ultimately, each religion has to manage its own path in order that all religions may enter the era of reformation at the same time. (140:10, February 1, 1986)
 
With the progress of God’s providence, we witness that already in the spirit world there are no barriers between the four major religions at the level of their founders. Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed and Confucius communicate freely with each other and often visit each other’s realms. Because I know these things well, I strongly encouraged all clergy… to transcend their denominations and sects and to unite as one. (May 8, 2001)
 
When all religions are as one family—living in one accord, cooperating as one body and treasuring the same idea—then all will be liberated. In that day, self-cultivation will no longer be necessary. (393:183, October 3, 2002)
 

 
 
 

Harmony Between Different Religions Is Important and Necessary

Numbers 23

4 When God appeared to him, Balaam said, “I have built seven altars and have sacrificed a bull and a ram on each one.”

Richard: We should be busy doing everything we can to establish God’s Kingdom and His Righteousness.

Psalm 19

14 Let my words and my thoughts
    be pleasing to you, Lord,
    because you are my mighty rock
    and my protector.

Everyone Has the Right to Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion

3. Community and Solidarity among Religions

I came to the conclusion long ago… that all religions were true and also that all had some error in them, and whilst I hold by my own, I should hold others as dear as Hinduism. So we can only pray, if we are Hindus, not that a Christian should become a Hindu… But our innermost prayer should be a Hindu should be a better Hindu, a Muslim a better Muslim, a Christian a better Christian.
    Mohandas Gandhi (Hinduism)
 
Basically all major religions of the world carry the same message; therefore harmony between different religions is both important and necessary.
    Each system has its own value suited to persons of different disposition and mental outlook. At this time of easy communication, we must increase our efforts to learn each other’s system. This does not mean that we should make all religions into one but that we should recognize the common purpose of the many religions and value the different techniques that they have developed for internal improvement.
    Tenzin Gyatso, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama (Buddhism)
 
The Church therefore has this exhortation for her sons: prudently and lovingly, through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, and in witness of Christian faith and life, acknowledge, preserve, and promote the spiritual and moral goods found among these men, as well as the values in their society and culture.
    Vatican II, Nostra Aetate (Christianity)
 
My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
    Isaiah 56.7
 
And I [Jesus] have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.
    John 10.16
 
The essential purpose of the religion of God is to establish unity among mankind. The divine Manifestations were Founders of the means of fellowship and love. They did not come to create discord, strife and hatred in the world. The religion of God is the cause of love, but if it is made to be a source of enmity and bloodshed, surely its absence is preferable to its existence; for then it becomes satanic, detrimental and an obstacle to the human world…It is our duty in this radiant century to investigate the essentials of divine religion, seek the realities underlying the oneness of the world of humanity, and discover the source of fellowship and agreement which will unite mankind in the heavenly bond of love. This unity is the radiance of eternity, the divine spirituality, the effulgence of God and the bounty of the Kingdom.
    ‘Abdul’l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace (Baha’i Faith)
 
 
 

Everyone Has the Right to Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2094

What kind of people are True Parents? True Parents are the symbol of all hope, the symbol of absolute hope for fallen humankind. They are the fruit of history, the center of time, and the center of all nations of this world, in which six billion people live today. True Parents are the starting point of the future that can connect to the ideal world. (35-237, 1970.10.19)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1261

Because of the complex entanglement of the human lineage, restoration has taken six thousand years; otherwise, almighty God would have restored everything in a day. It’s as if there is a chronic disease in the bloodline; if it were to be pulled out all at once, everyone would die. That is why it has taken six thousand years. Did the first human ancestors fall through eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? How simple things would be if that were so. (155-295, 1965.11.1)

Tolerance, Religious Freedom and Interfaith Solidarity

2. Freedom of Religion

Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
     United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, Article 1

There is no compulsion in religion.
     Qur’an 2.256

Will you then compel mankind, against their will, to believe? No soul can believe, except by the Will of God.
    Qur’an 10.99-100

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance.
    Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18

Whoever honors his own sect and disparages another man’s, whether from blind loyalty or with the intention of showing his own sect in a favorable light, does his own sect the greatest possible harm. Concord is best, with each hearing and respecting the other’s teachings. It is the wish of the Emperor that members of all sects should be learned and should teach virtue.
    Ashoka, Twelfth Rock Edict (Buddhism)

A Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, held in honor by all the people, stood up and ordered that [Peter and the apostles] be put outside for a while. And he said to the council, “Men of Israel, take care what you do with these men. For before these days Theudas arose, giving himself out to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was slain and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this undertaking is of men, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!”7
    Acts 5.34-39

When the Messenger of Allah arrived in Medina he made a treaty with the Jews there: “The Jews of the Bani Awf tribe are one community with the Muslim faithful. The Jews practice their religion and the Muslims practice theirs. For them shall be their own wealth, property and persons. Except for he who has committed oppression or transgression.”
    Hadith (Islam)

The spirit can only acquiesce to that which seem to it to be true; the heart can only love that which seems to it to be good. Constraint will make a hypocrite of man if he is weak, a martyr if he is courageous. Weak or courageous, he will feel the injustice of persecution, and he will become indignant. Instruction, persuasion, and prayer: these are the only methods for the expansion of religion. Any method that excites hatred, indignation, or contempt is impious.
    Denis Diderot (Humanism

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Democracy is the system that God laboriously prepared over the last two thousand years. Democracy is the system that respects human rights. Democracy is the system in which a minority group can survive in the midst of a [hostile] majority. Democracy is the system that guarantees freedom—freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association, freedom of press, and freedom of assembly. America is the representative democratic nation, and in the American Constitution the most absolute among all freedoms is freedom of religion. It states that the Congress and government shall not make any laws that restrict religions. (100:246, October 19, 1978)

God’s spiritual providence of restoration during the two thousand years since Jesus’ day has prepared a democratic social and legal environment that will protect Christ at the Second Advent. Jesus was killed after being branded a heretic by the Jews and a rebel by the Roman Empire. In contrast, even if Christ at the Second Advent is persecuted as a heretic, in the democratic society to which he will come, such accusations will not be sufficient grounds for him to be condemned to death. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Moses and Jesus 3.3.2)

I am grateful to God that He is using me as His instrument to ignite a movement to spiritually awaken America, to call her to protect religious freedom in this most difficult time in human history.8(133:213, July 19, 1984)