Young, handsome, articulate, telegenic, and charismatic--these are adjectives that describe the heir apparent to the Unification empire: Dr.Hyun Jin Moon (who also goes by the name "Preston"). The patriarch of the empire will turn 88 soon and it is only a matter of time before the younger Moon will need to step in. It was a matter of luck for both Preston Moon and the Moon empire that he is the heir of the Unification movement. As the third son, he was behind Hyo Jin the eldest who has drug addiction and other problems (I have written about him here) and the second son Heung Jin who died in 1984.
For opponents of Unification treachery, Preston Moon's leapfrogging to the front of the line is horrific news. Preston Moon is fluent in English, highly intelligent (he has an MBA from Harvard), a gifted speaker (watch a video of him preaching here), and has a keen business sense. He is also savvy about presenting himself in a more dignified manner than his father (note in the video I linked to that Preston uses sectarian right code words such as "people of faith").
The Cynic Versus the True Believer
Nansook Hong, Preston's former sister-in-law had few kind words for the Moon progeny in her tell-all book In the Shadow of the Moons. According to Hong, the Moon children were cynical, spoiled, and viewed their father's grandiose visions and claims of messiahship with derision.
This cynicism is precisely what makes Preston Moon dangerous. One of the things that has hobbled the Unification movement has been the megalomaniacal excesses of its founder, who sincerely views himself as the new Messiah. Preston prefers a more low-key approach. Preston was a major factor in the retirement of controversial Washington Times editor-in-chief Wesley Pruden. The only upside is that the cynic can be bought off or can be persuaded to change his/her course of action.
Addendum: Looks like a more logrolling between the Bush family and the Moon family. On Universal Peace Television, Michael Marshall, editor-in-chief of UPI interviewed the head of Bush the Elder's Thousand Points of Light Foundation, Robert K. Goodwin. . . Unification Church sources refer to Hyun Jin Moon as "Dr. Moon" even though his doctorate is an honorary degree from his father's diploma mill in South Korea, Sun Moon University. . . Preston Moon and Geroge W. Bush are probably the only living people who have two degrees from Ivy League unversities who have openly professed a belief in creationism. Honorable mention goes to Ann Coulter who has a B.A. from Cornell and a J.D. from the University of Michigan.
6 comments:
"Preston Moon and Geroge W. Bush are probably the only living people who have two degrees from Ivy League unversities who have openly professed a belief in creationism."
Creationism in the UC? Openly professed? Are you sure of your facts?
Please prove that you know what you are talking about.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Wells_(intelligent_design_advocate)
On the matter of creation versus evolution, the Unification Church teachings were, as they are on many points, ambiguous. I was a member of the church for 10 years and heard their lectures many times. They did believe in the literal existence of an Adam and Eve, but I spoke to members who thought that evolution and the existence of the dinosaurs could be reconciled with the doctrine. Others, like Jonathon Wells, whom I met when I was a member, decided it was his duty as a follower of "Father" to discredit evolutionary theory. I honestly don't think Moon himself cares one way or another. In one speech Moon claimed that white people were descended from polar bears, a clear (if bizarre) indication that he may believe in a form of evolution.
I am a member of the UC for 30 years now.
The polar bear comment was a **joke**. Rev. Moon has no belief that mankind is descended from polar bears. That is ridiculous.
Unificationist Ancestor liberation. Only 210 generations of course, at $70 per pop. A more open embrace of evolution might increase opportunities for ripping off members.
Of course the entire Moonist view of history and especially biblical history is false, fundamentalist, deeply flawed and anti-truth. To single out evolution is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Moonist 'ancestor liberation': only 210 generations back to Adam, at $70 a pop. (Mam comes gratis). A wider embracing of the evolutionary perspective by the Moon hierarchy might increase the potentional for fleecing 2nd and 3rd Gen Unificationists at Cheongpyeong.
However, to focus just on evolution is to miss the point. The role of people like Jonathan Wells has been to shore up Moon's uber-right American Christian allies as much as any concern for its legitimacy.
Moonist doctrines of science and history (especially biblical history) are deeply flawed, fundamentalist, and completely bereft of scholarly support. It's a Korean hillbilly cosmology and mythic history dreamed up by Moon's cultic forebears in turn-of-the century Korea. To single out evolution as the only example of Moon's twisting of truth is to miss the elephant in the prayer room.
Post a Comment