Unification Church

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{{cquote|The Moonies are a dangerous mind control cult with millions of followers and billions of dollars. Reverend Moon is a religious nut who is trying to take over the world. Moon openly admits that he thinks he is God and he expects to be worshipped! [They are] deeply rooted in the press, the Christian evangelical movement, and the Republican Party. If you're a member of the Press, a Christian, or a Republican, this should scare the Hell out of you.|300px|100px|Marc Perkel|<ref>Perkel, Marc. "The Moonies are not your friend." ''Everything you wanted to know about Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church.'' 1 May 2008. [http://www.perkel.com/politics/moonies/ perkel.com]</ref>}}  The Moonies have been repeatedly accused of splitting up families and pressuring Moonies to break  ties with their family of origin.
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{{cquote|The Moonies are a dangerous mind control cult with millions of followers and billions of dollars. Reverend Moon is a religious nut who is trying to take over the world. Moon openly admits that he thinks he is God and he expects to be worshipped! [They are] deeply rooted in the press, the Christian evangelical movement, and the Republican Party. If you're a member of the Press, a Christian, or a Republican, this should scare the Hell out of you.|300px|100px|Marc Perkel|<ref>Perkel, Marc. "The Moonies are not your friend." ''Everything you wanted to know about Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church.'' 1 May 2008. [http://www.perkel.com/politics/moonies/ perkel.com]</ref>}}   
  
 
The '''Unification Church''', officially called the '''Family Federation for World Peace and Unification''' but more commonly known as the '''Moonies''', is a personality [[cult]] formed by and around "Reverend" Sun Myung Moon, a nutjob from South Korea who claims he is the second coming of [[Jesus]]. Since April 2008, it has been led by its "officially anointed" chairman, Moon's 28-year-old son Hyung Jin Moon.  Moon and his wife were banned from entering Germany and other West European countries in the Schengen agreement  because it was felt he had a bad influence on young people.<ref>The Federal Interior Ministry's 1995 immigration exclusion (refusal to issue a visitor's visa) continued in force against the founder of the Unification Church, Reverend Sun Myung Moon, and his wife, Hak Ja Han Moon. The 1995 decision also placed Rev. and Mrs. Moon on the "Schengen" list, which bars their entry into many other European states, and was based on the Government's characterization of Rev. Moon and his wife as leaders of a "cult" that endangers the personal and social development of young persons. The Unification Church was seeking to overturn the ban in the courts. (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71382.htm) </ref> No sanction was placed on the organisation, however.
 
The '''Unification Church''', officially called the '''Family Federation for World Peace and Unification''' but more commonly known as the '''Moonies''', is a personality [[cult]] formed by and around "Reverend" Sun Myung Moon, a nutjob from South Korea who claims he is the second coming of [[Jesus]]. Since April 2008, it has been led by its "officially anointed" chairman, Moon's 28-year-old son Hyung Jin Moon.  Moon and his wife were banned from entering Germany and other West European countries in the Schengen agreement  because it was felt he had a bad influence on young people.<ref>The Federal Interior Ministry's 1995 immigration exclusion (refusal to issue a visitor's visa) continued in force against the founder of the Unification Church, Reverend Sun Myung Moon, and his wife, Hak Ja Han Moon. The 1995 decision also placed Rev. and Mrs. Moon on the "Schengen" list, which bars their entry into many other European states, and was based on the Government's characterization of Rev. Moon and his wife as leaders of a "cult" that endangers the personal and social development of young persons. The Unification Church was seeking to overturn the ban in the courts. (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71382.htm) </ref> No sanction was placed on the organisation, however.
  
In 1971 Moon moved to the United States and began recruiting from among the counterculture in Berkeley and San Francisco, expanding to most U.S. cities by 1973.  They were one of the main groups (along with the [[Children of God]] and [[Synanon]]) to prompt public concern over cults starting in the early 1970s.  Moon would arrange the marriages of church members and hold mass wedding ceremonies[http://www.fotomundo.net/Galleries/Cube/Politics_&_Religion/moonie%20mass%20wedding_std.jpg], members lived together communally, and the stereotype of the typical Moonie became the brainwashed follower selling flowers in the airport.
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In 1971 Moon moved to the United States and began recruiting from among the counterculture in Berkeley and San Francisco, expanding to most U.S. cities by 1973.  They were one of the main groups (along with the [[Children of God]] and [[Synanon]]) to prompt public concern over cults starting in the early 1970s.  Moon would arrange the marriages of church members and hold mass wedding ceremonies[http://www.fotomundo.net/Galleries/Cube/Politics_&_Religion/moonie%20mass%20wedding_std.jpg], members lived together communally, and the stereotype of the typical Moonie became the brainwashed follower selling flowers in the airport. The Moonies have been repeatedly accused of splitting up families and pressuring Moonies to break  ties with their family of origin.
  
 
==Bad Moon Rising==
 
==Bad Moon Rising==

Revision as of 15:20, 2 May 2008

The Moonies are a dangerous mind control cult with millions of followers and billions of dollars. Reverend Moon is a religious nut who is trying to take over the world. Moon openly admits that he thinks he is God and he expects to be worshipped! [They are] deeply rooted in the press, the Christian evangelical movement, and the Republican Party. If you're a member of the Press, a Christian, or a Republican, this should scare the Hell out of you.
—Marc Perkel, [1]

The Unification Church, officially called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification but more commonly known as the Moonies, is a personality cult formed by and around "Reverend" Sun Myung Moon, a nutjob from South Korea who claims he is the second coming of Jesus. Since April 2008, it has been led by its "officially anointed" chairman, Moon's 28-year-old son Hyung Jin Moon. Moon and his wife were banned from entering Germany and other West European countries in the Schengen agreement because it was felt he had a bad influence on young people.[2] No sanction was placed on the organisation, however.

In 1971 Moon moved to the United States and began recruiting from among the counterculture in Berkeley and San Francisco, expanding to most U.S. cities by 1973. They were one of the main groups (along with the Children of God and Synanon) to prompt public concern over cults starting in the early 1970s. Moon would arrange the marriages of church members and hold mass wedding ceremonies[1], members lived together communally, and the stereotype of the typical Moonie became the brainwashed follower selling flowers in the airport. The Moonies have been repeatedly accused of splitting up families and pressuring Moonies to break ties with their family of origin.

Contents

Bad Moon Rising

Bad Moon Rising: How Rev. Moon Created the Washington Times, Seduced the Religious Right and Built an American Kingdom is the title of a book by John Gorenfeld about the Moonies. ISBN 0979482232 ISBN 978-0979482236.

Politics

Ironically (for his ex-hippie converts, at least), Moon himself is a hard-core right winger who ran full page ads defending Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal, started the blatantly partisan Washington Times newspaper (which is just as partisan as the neoconservative Washington Post, but at least unlike the Post doesn't try to hide it), was a heavy promoter and funder of global warming denial and anti-environmentalist activity during the 1990s, and has close ties with the Cheney-Rumsfeld-Ashcroft gang. Moon is strongly in favor of conservative family values, which is ironic considering that he is a serial adulterer and "fornicator", once preached a doctrine based on promiscuity and has had three wives in succession, who gave birth to a total of 16 children.

The New York Times reported in 1997 that Moon "has been reaching out to conservative Christians in [the United States] in the last few years by emphasizing shared goals like support for sexual abstinence outside of marriage and opposition to homosexuality." Moon also appeals to the Second Amendment crowd. In March 1999, the Washington Post reported that "the messiah" owned the lucrative Kahr Arms Company through Saeilo, Inc. (CEO/president/lead designer: Kook Jin "Justin" Moon).[3][4]

Media empire

Part of Moon's influence can be attributed to his being a very wealthy man - before coming to the U.S. he had built a successful media empire in Korea. [more detail please]

For their U.S. media empire, see also:

The most recently compiled list of Moonie media fronts (April 2007) can be viewed here.

References

  1. Perkel, Marc. "The Moonies are not your friend." Everything you wanted to know about Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church. 1 May 2008. perkel.com
  2. The Federal Interior Ministry's 1995 immigration exclusion (refusal to issue a visitor's visa) continued in force against the founder of the Unification Church, Reverend Sun Myung Moon, and his wife, Hak Ja Han Moon. The 1995 decision also placed Rev. and Mrs. Moon on the "Schengen" list, which bars their entry into many other European states, and was based on the Government's characterization of Rev. Moon and his wife as leaders of a "cult" that endangers the personal and social development of young persons. The Unification Church was seeking to overturn the ban in the courts. (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71382.htm)
  3. Fitrakis, Bob. "Dark side of the Moon." The American Atheist 38.2 (2000). 1 May 2008. americanatheist.org
  4. Farragher, Thomas. "Moon arms factory: His father preaches peace, and he makes guns." Boston Globe 21 March 1999. 1 May 2008. rickross.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_Church#Controversy

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