"Exposition
of the Divine Principle" is a new translation of the sacred scripture of
the Unification Movement or Unification Church, a controversial new religion
founded by the Korean reverend Sun Myung Moon. An earlier translation was
simply called "Divine Principle". The Unificationists claim to be
Christians, but their doctrines are very different from traditional
Christianity.
According to Moon, God has a twofold structure, explicitly compared to the principles of yin and yang typical of East Asian religious philosophies. Adam and Eve fell due to a sexual transgression. Eve had sexual intercourse with Satan and hence received a Satanic, sinful nature. Eve then seduced Adam, who also partook of the Satanic nature. This was the fall. (It's also a version of the "Serpent Seed Theory".) As for Jesus, he wasn't God incarnate. He was a perfect man. However, Jesus failed in his mission. The crucifixion wasn't part of God's original plan. Nor was Jesus physically resurrected. His resurrection was purely spiritual. The disciples saw him in visions. Since Moon believes that the crucifixion was really a failure, he hates the cross and has started a campaign among Christian churches to take it down. He even convinced a group of evangelical clergy to travel to Jerusalem and bury a cross in the ground. (You can see this on Youtube.)
Apparently, there is no physical resurrection at all. People are figuratively "resurrected" when they join the Unification Church. The final resurrection is spiritual: when humans die, their spirits enter paradise. There is also a kind of re-incarnation: spirits of the dead return to Earth as guardian spirits of the living. For instance, Elijah was the guardian spirit of John the Baptist. Hell does exist, but will eventually be emptied and abolished. Sun Myung Moon thus teaches a form of universalism.
"Exposition of the Divine Principle" further tell us that Jesus will return as an ordinary but perfect and sinless man. He will be born from a woman, and hail from Korea. He will become the True Father and the Messiah. This is the Second Advent of Christ.
Could it be...?
"The Divine Principle" doesn't explicitly say that Sun Myung Moon is Christ who has returned. However, it certainly implies it. Who else could it be? The Unificationists call Sun Myung Moon "Father" and refer to him and his wife as "the True Parents". Conclusion: Sun Myung Moon claims to be Jesus Christ who has returned as a sinless, spotless man.
Small wonder that the Unification Movement gives traditional Christians the big chill. The "Moonies" are considered to be a blasphemous, heretical cult.
And then, maybe not. The Discovery Institute, an Intelligent Design think tank based in Seattle, counts evangelicals, Calvinists, Catholics and traditionalist Episcopalian among its members and supporters. However, one of its leading members is actually a Moonie: Jonathan Wells, author of the bestselling anti-Darwinist book "Icons of Evolution". It seems conservative Christians regard the Moonies as a cult...except when they write creationist books!
"Exposition of the Divine Principle" is an incredibly dry work of theology. It's not a particularly interesting read. People who want to know more about Unificationism without being bogged down by theological trivia can consult other books. George Chryssides has written a scholarly (but very uncritical) book about the church and its belief system, "The Advent of Sun Myung Moon". There are also critical books on the subject.
I suppose none of them is distributed by the Discovery Institute. :P
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