Unification Church and Judaism

The relationship between the Unification Church and Judaism has been marked by some controversy. The Divine Principle–the main textbook of Unification Church beliefs–has been accused of containing antisemitic references. Statements by Unification Church founder and leader Sun Myung Moon that Jewish victims of the Holocaust were paying indemnity for the crucifixion of Jesus have also been described as antisemitic.

Contents

History

The Unification Church was founded in South Korea in 1954. Its teachings are based on the Bible, but include new interpretations not found in Jewish and Christian tradition.[1] In 1975 church leader Sun Myung Moon founded the Unification Theological Seminary in Barrytown, New York partly in order to promote better relationships between the Unification Church and other religions, including Judaism.[2] A rabbi was hired to teach the Old Testament, along with other professors from various Christian denominations.[3][4][5]

The Divine Principle, written by Moon and other church members and first published in 1966, is the main textbook of Unification Church beliefs.[6] In 1976 the American Jewish Committee released a report of Rabbi A. James Rudin which stated that it contained "pejorative language, stereotyped imagery, and accusations of collective sin and guilt."[7] In a news conference presented by the AJC and representatives of Catholic and Protestant churches, panelists stated that the text "contained over 125 anti-Jewish references." They noted Moon's public then-recent condemnation of "antisemitic and anti-Christian attitudes", and called upon him to make a "comprehensive and systematic removal" of antisemitic and anti-Christian references in the Divine Principle as a demonstration of good faith.[8]

In 1977 the Unification Church issued a rebuttal to the report, stating that it was neither comprehensive nor reconciliatory, but rather had a "hateful tone" and was filled with "sweeping denunciations." It denied that the Divine Principle teaches antisemitism and gave detailed responses to 17 specific allegations contained in the AJC's report, stating that allegations were distortions of teaching and obscuration of real passage content or that the passages were accurate summaries of Jewish scripture or New Testament passages.[9]

In 1984 Mose Durst, then the president of the Unification Church of the United States and himself a convert from Judaism[10], said that the Jewish community had been "hateful" in its response to the growth of the Unification Church, and placed blame both on the community's "insecurity" and on Unification Church members' "youthful zeal and ignorance." Rudin, then the national interreligious affairs director of the American Jewish Committee, said that Durst's remarks were inaccurate and unfair and that "hateful is a harsh word to use."[11]

In 1989 Unification Church leaders Peter Ross and Andrew Wilson issued "Guidelines for Members of The Unification Church in Relations with the Jewish People" which stated: "In the past there have been serious misunderstandings between Judaism and the Unification Church. In order to clarify these difficulties and guide Unification Church members in their relations with Jews, the Unification Church suggests the following guidelines." This was followed by nine "guidelines" and a "conclusion."[12]

Statements by Moon about the Holocaust, made as early as 1978 and repeated as recently as 2003,[13] saying that its Jewish victims were paying indemnity for the crucifixion of Jesus, have been reported on in a number of sources, including the official record of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.[14] In 2003, Unification Church spokesperson and webmaster Damian Anderson defended Moon's statements against critics saying: "The fact is that the Jewish people committed a grievous sin in rejecting the Lord, and the world is today committing a grievous sin in rejecting the Lord. I will not water down what Father said to please liberal constituencies within his own church." [15] Some commentators, including David G. Bromley, a sociologist and expert on new religious movements, have suggested that these statements are a reason for the church being "considered anti-Semitic".[16]

Individuals

Reform rabbi Maurice Davis was an outspoken critic of the Unification Church in the 1970s and founded the 500-family national anti-Moon organization called Citizens Engaged in Reuniting Families (CERF).[17][18]

Daniel Fefferman converted to the Unification Church from Judaism in the 1960s as one of its first members in the United States. He has been active on interfaith and religious freedom issues especially those concerning relationships between the church and the Jewish community.[19][20]

Conservative rabbi Richard L. Rubenstein served on the advisory council of the Unification Church,[21] the board of directors of the church-owned Washington Times newspaper,[22] and as president of the church-affiliated University of Bridgeport. [23]

See also

References

  1. ^ Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains, By U. S. Department of the Army, Published by The Minerva Group, Inc., 2001, ISBN 0898756073, ISBN 9780898756074, page 1–42. Google books listing
  2. ^ Yamamoto, J. I., 1995, Unification Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House ISBN 0-310-70381-6 (Excerpt
  3. ^ Dialogue with the Moonies Rodney Sawatsky, Theology Today, April 1978. "Only a minority of their teachers are Unification devotees; a Jew teaches Old Testament, a Christian instructs in church history and a Presbyterian lectures in theology, and so on. Typical sectarian fears of the outsider are not found among Moonies; truth is one or at least must become one, and understanding can be delivered even by the uninitiated."
  4. ^ Where have all the Moonies gone? K. Gordon Neufeld, First Things, March 2008, "While I was studying theology, church history, and the Bible—taught by an eclectic faculty that included a rabbi, a Jesuit priest, and a Methodist minister—most of my young coreligionists were standing on street corners in San Francisco, Boston, and Miami urging strangers to attend a vaguely described dinner."
  5. ^ Helm, S. Divine Principle and the Second Advent Christian Century May 11, 1977 "In fact Moon’s adherents differ from previous fringe groups in their quite early and expensive pursuit of respectability, as evidenced by the scientific conventions they have sponsored in England and the U.S. and the seminary they have established in Barrytown, New York, whose faculty is composed not of their own group members but rather of respected Christian scholars."
  6. ^ "Divine Principle", New World Encyclopedia
  7. ^ Rudin, A. James, 1978 A View of the Unification Church, American Jewish Committee Archives
  8. ^ Sun Myung Moon Is Criticized by Religious Leaders; Jewish Patrons Enraged, David F. White, New York Times, December 29, 1976
  9. ^ Response to A. James Rudin's Report, Unification Church Department of Public Affairs, Daniel C. Holdgeiwe, Johnny Sonneborn, March 1977.
  10. ^ "Religion: Sun Myung Moon's Goodwill Blitz". Time Magazine. April 22, 1985. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,966889,00.html. 
  11. ^ "Unification Church seen as persecuted", The Milwaukee Sentinel, September 15, 1984, page 4
  12. ^ Guidelines for Members of The Unification Church in Relations with the Jewish People, Peter Ross and Andrew Wilson, March 15, 1989.
  13. ^ John Gorenfeld, Barry W. Lynn. Bad Moon Rising: How Reverend Moon Created the Washington Times, Seduced the Religious Right, and Built an American Kingdom, Polipoint Press, 2008, p. 245. ISBN 9780979482236
  14. ^ Reports include:
    • Jewish currents, Volume 30, 1976, p5
    • Parliamentary debates: Official report, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, 23 February 1977, vol 926 p1593 THE UNIFICATION CHURCH (Hansard, 23 February 1977)
    • Religious education, Volume 73, 1978, p356
    • Cults in America: programmed for paradise‎, Willa Appel, 1983, p171
    • Anti-cult movements in cross-cultural perspective, Anson D. Shupe, David G. Bromley, 1994, p42
    • Feher, Shoshanah. Passing over Easter: constructing the boundaries of Messianic Judaism, Rowman Altamira, 1998, p. 36.
    • Heartbreak and Rage: Ten Years Under Sun Myung Moon, Gordon Neufeld, 2002, p173
    • Sun Myung Moon forms new political party to merge divided Koreas, Church & State, May 01, 2003
    • Bad Moon on the rise, John Gorenfeld, Salon Magazine, Sep 24, 2003
    • False dawn, Lee Penn, 2004, p121
  15. ^ John Gorenfeld. "Bad Moon on the rise", Salon Magazine, September 24, 2003.
  16. ^ Anti-cult movements in cross-cultural perspective, Anson D. Shupe, David G. Bromley, 1994, p42; Feher, Shoshanah. Passing over Easter: constructing the boundaries of Messianic Judaism, Rowman Altamira, 1998, p. 36.
  17. ^ Mad About Moon, TIME Magazine, November 10, 1975
  18. ^ Rabbi Maurice Davis Is Called 'No. 1 Satan' by Rev. Moon, People Magazine, December 13, 1976
  19. ^ Ribadeneira, Diego (August 21, 1999). "Ire at school Star of David ruling unites ACLU, Pat Robertson". The Boston Globe (The New York Times Company): p. B2. 
  20. ^ Boettcher, Robert; Gordon L. Freedman (1980). Gifts of Deceit. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. pp. 152, 164. ISBN 0030445760. 
  21. ^ Richard L. Rubenstein Papers, American Jewish Archives
  22. ^ "Rabbi Joins the Board of Moonie Newspaper", The Palm Beach Post, May 21, 1978
  23. ^ U. of Bridgeport Honors Rev. Moon, Fiscal Savior, New York Times, September 8, 1995

External links