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The noteworthy Korean evangelist/businessman renowned throughout the world for promoting his unique brand of New-Wave Christianity, a movement known as the Unification Church, has died at 92. A highly controversial figure, Rev. Moon played an essential role in the spread of New-Age religious movements internationally, with the Unification Church representing a unique mixture of eastern spirituality, commercial interest, and Christian Messianism.
NY Times Article
Mr. Moon died two weeks after being hospitalized with pneumonia, Ahn Ho-yeul, a spokesman for the Unification Church, his religious movement, told The Associated Press.
Mr. Moon courted world leaders, financed newspapers and founded numerous innocuously named civic organizations. To his critics, he pursued those activities mainly to lend legitimacy to the Unification Church, although his methods were sometimes questionable. In 2004, for example, he had himself crowned “humanity’s savior” in front of astonished members of Congress at a Capitol Hill luncheon.
![[image loading]](http://rt.com/files/news/moon-unification-church-dies-201/92-founder-unification-myung.n.jpg)
As an aside, what do TL's Korean members think of Rev. Moon? I know that most teenagers in the US with an interest in counter culture come across his name and are at least remotely familiar with the Unification Church, but I am not aware of how his homeland views him.
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On September 03 2012 05:36 farvacola wrote:The noteworthy Korean evangelist/businessman renowned throughout the world for promoting his unique brand of New-Wave Christianity, a movement known as the Unification Church, has died at 92. A highly controversial figure, Rev. Moon played an essential role in the spread of New-Age religious movements internationally, with the Unification Church representing a unique mixture of eastern spirituality, commercial interest, and Christian Messianism. NY Times ArticleShow nested quote +Mr. Moon died two weeks after being hospitalized with pneumonia, Ahn Ho-yeul, a spokesman for the Unification Church, his religious movement, told The Associated Press.
Mr. Moon courted world leaders, financed newspapers and founded numerous innocuously named civic organizations. To his critics, he pursued those activities mainly to lend legitimacy to the Unification Church, although his methods were sometimes questionable. In 2004, for example, he had himself crowned “humanity’s savior” in front of astonished members of Congress at a Capitol Hill luncheon.
As an aside, what do TL's Korean members think of Rev. Moon? I know that most teenagers in the US with an interest in counter culture come across his name and are at least remotely familiar with the Unification Church, but I am not aware of how his homeland views him.
I have a pretty bleh view of him, as he's a religious leader who ended up expanding into media (UPI and the Washington Times); always a big red flag in my opinion. Also, for decades he was a regular source of largesse for US government officials. If you're an American who dislikes how corrupt the US political process is, a large reason why lobbying got so lucrative was because the Moonies upped the stakes so much starting from the 1970s.
But, from a religious standpoint, he's fairly neutral. There's no reason to hate on him for that, it's not like he was preaching jihad.
The jury is out overall since I'm curious to see how his Church will function after his death. His family has already been in the papers (not his newspapers, other ones  ) for infighting over his inheritance. Will they tear the Church apart in their money grab?
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Pretty much a comic-book villain, in my opinion. Hard to make someone like him up. Too bad his newspapers won't go with him.
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Never really liked him, found him more of a cult leader. As far as I remember, because SK is quite the orthodox Christian country, most see MSM 이단, or heretical.
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I despise the guy. He is a major part of the reason why people despise Christianity.
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I don't know what you were expecting posting such a ridiculous figure on a website full of libertarians and socialists (along with a handful of conservatives that generally fall under liberals anyway)
He managed to take backwards ideologies like religion and make them even more ridiculous. Leave religion to "love and let love" and get these media whores buried into the ground as fast as possible.
No R.I.P. from me, the man was a joke and his legacy (if you want to call it that) sent even more people into the stone age.
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To be honest, I never got a clear picture of him from all I've learned over the years. A lot of people find Christianity to be a very welcoming message, and his organization was responsible for peace-rallies and other community-building exercises.
Then again, I can't help but look at his organization as an incredibly obvious personality cult - the ostentatious costumes, public coronation ceremonies as "the savior of mankind", personally dubbing himself "parent of all humanity", etc. Of course, I don't know whether his real motives were as divinely-inspired as he claimed. But I know I'm not terribly fond of people who lead others astray to enjoy lives of luxury.
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I can't describe how little I care.
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On September 03 2012 06:25 NeMeSiS3 wrote:
I don't know what you were expecting posting such a ridiculous figure on a website full of libertarians and socialists (along with a handful of conservatives that generally fall under liberals anyway)
He managed to take backwards ideologies like religion and make them even more ridiculous. Leave religion to "love and let love" and get these media whores buried into the ground as fast as possible.
No R.I.P. from me, the man was a joke and his legacy (if you want to call it that) sent even more people into the stone age.
Well to be frank I was hoping to get some Korean perspectives, and I can guarantee that some posters sympathize with at least a few of his social ideas. And even if responses end up being relatively homogeneous, the man and his respective movement are unique enough to warrant discussion methinks.
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a unique mixture of eastern spirituality, commercial interest, and Christian Messianism.
That sounds... less than appealing.
But RIP nonetheless.
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On September 03 2012 06:14 Shiragaku wrote:
I despise the guy. He is a major part of the reason why people despise Christianity.
What? Why? It's seriously really difficult to point out a religious authority that doesn't use its position as a source of power, I don't consider Moon to be uniquely "evil" or anything. Some of the things he accomplished even forwarded peace efforts around the world.
The anti-communist stuff was a little weird, but hey, the United States and the Papacy were already aboard that boat and it was a pretty difficult time to be pro or even neutral towards communism.
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I thought most of eastern Asia was atheist
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RIP, was an interesting figure to say the least. Slightly insane though. :X
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On September 03 2012 06:34 urashimakt wrote:Show nested quote +On September 03 2012 06:14 Shiragaku wrote:
I despise the guy. He is a major part of the reason why people despise Christianity. What? Why? It's seriously really difficult to point out a religious authority that doesn't use its position as a source of power, I don't consider Moon to be uniquely "evil" or anything. Some of the things he accomplished even forwarded peace efforts around the world. The anti-communist stuff was a little weird, but hey, the United States and the Papacy were already aboard that boat and it was a pretty difficult time to be pro or even neutral towards communism.
I know, but it does not change the fact that Jesus would probably tear down his luxurious church and mansion if he could. Yes, Jesus had his flaws, but if Moon had any sense of what Jesus advocated, he would be living in poverty advocating the rights of the poor, condemning the bourgeois society of modern religious organizations, and would probably be anything but an anti-communist, but not pro-Soviet.
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Another man who uses religion for personal gain. RIH
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The name of the movement sounds scary...Unitology anyone?
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Isn't he a cult leader who was accused by many people of sexually exploiting church members and used the church for his own personal and financial gain? Sounds like a great guy.
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It's sad that a man has past away, but this person is just an incredibly disgusting person. I don't think I've ever witnessed a more worse distortion of Christianity ever by anyone. His theology is mutailed beyond belief, and what's even more sickening is that he's been able to build himself a somesort of an economical empire with it. For the Catholics and the Protestants, this is certainly good news. Korea's public image of Christianity's been distorted long enough. He is no Christian, I assure you. Chrisitanity is just a brand for him to delude the weak into strengthening his empire. With the head gone, hopefully his empire will crumble in time.
Here's a wiki just to shine light on his cult: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_Church_and_mainstream_Christianity
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Dude I was reading about him on Wikipedia yesterday, how ominous.
And after reading that article I'm afraid I have very little sympathies.
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2531 Posts
No idea who he is. R.I.P. Although I am against religion...
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He invested in some things in my home town.
Bought a Football (soccer for USA) team and a LOT of lands.
Mostly, people regarded him as the usual corrupt Bon Vivant with too much money to care.
I don't really know anything else.
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creation of GAE DOK KYO -_______-
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A charlatan or a lunatic, or possibly both. Reminds me of Jerry Falwell in more ways than one.
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According to some of my family stories, that guy was a bastard. =/
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It's crazy how this guy managed to earn hundreds of milions, if not billions, internationally. Especially coming from south Korea in the 70s when it was a total shit hole that barely had an economy.
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I'm korean, and I can honestly say I've never heard of him. Weird..
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Could someone please explain why this person is such an "evil comic book villan?" I honestly don't know who he is. I'm curious to hear why he was such a horrible person being a religious figure.
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On September 03 2012 08:37 tGFuRy wrote:
Could someone please explain why this person is such an "evil comic book villan?" I honestly don't know who he is. I'm curious to hear why he was such a horrible person being a religious figure.
Being very religious myself, lots of things he did is anything but Christ-like. I already expressed my disgust and will use images to show why he is evil.
![[image loading]](http://www.unification.net/images/tp1.jpg)
I cannot imagine Jesus Christ wearing such fine clothing and raking in a lot of cash.
He also demands members, many of whom who were lacking money to give money to the Church. In my opinion, it should be the Church that gives you the money, not the other way around. He also has a weapons branch which helps fund the military of Indonesia and Egypt. I do not think Jesus would fund a military. And worse of all, he is a great example of hubris, he claims to be divine.
Bleh...I am too disgusted to go on about the guy...I just do not respect the guy for distorting Christianity which was originally a religion of the poor, intellectuals, and the weak to use it for personal gain and riches.
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like i said 개신교, 개독교 the true creator ... LOL
i dont think he is in heaven
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On September 03 2012 06:14 Shiragaku wrote:
I despise the guy. He is a major part of the reason why people despise Christianity.
Nah I'm pretty sure christianity is a major part of the reason why people despise christianity.
On September 03 2012 08:43 Shiragaku wrote:
He also demands members, many of whom who were lacking money to give money to the Church. In my opinion, it should be the Church that gives you the money, not the other way around.
Donating money to his church? You mean like every other christian church in existence? I never heard of a church giving money to its congregation.
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Crazy cult leader dies...R.I.P? I wouldn't say that.
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LOL, he was a massive cult leader.
Why are people saying RIP to this guy? His cult is a scam. Probably one of the biggest cult scams in the history.
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LOL, he was a massive cult leader.
Why are people saying RIP to this guy? His cult is a scam. Probably one of the biggest cult scams in the history.
Agreed, would be nice if the church died with him....now if only the biggest scam in history (Church of Scientology) were next!
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On September 03 2012 08:52 L3gendary wrote:Show nested quote +On September 03 2012 06:14 Shiragaku wrote:
I despise the guy. He is a major part of the reason why people despise Christianity. Nah I'm pretty sure christianity is a major part of the reason why people despise christianity. Show nested quote +On September 03 2012 08:43 Shiragaku wrote:
He also demands members, many of whom who were lacking money to give money to the Church. In my opinion, it should be the Church that gives you the money, not the other way around.
I actually blame the Churches and most Christians for the reason why people despise Christianity.
Donating money to his church? You mean like every other christian church in existence? I never heard of a church giving money to its congregation.
I guess I am some kind of Christian anarchist. The idea of churches are good, like the idea of a state, but they rarely, if ever serve their own people making their existence undesirable. And in my opinion, Christianity should be treated more as a philosophy, not as a dogma. And if I was in charge of a Sunday School, I would make the kids read Kierkegaard and Nietzsche before they read the Bible.
Atheism is not a bad thing, but I view it as a problem for Christianity when people become atheist before they are so disgusted with other Christians.
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I was about to offer condolences.. but after reading the Wikipedia article on him, it's a lot harder.
Rest in peace ?
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In my opinion he is the pinnacle of "make money off naive poor people" that has been a sweeping phenomenon since the conception of Christianity. Supposedly "Christ" lived poor and died for his people... So how do we repay that idea? (which btw, even if it proves false I think is a valid moral position to hold) We rip off everyone who goes on "faith".
On September 03 2012 07:18 Psychobabas wrote:
No idea who he is. R.I.P. Although I am against religion...
rant
+ Show Spoiler +Also all of these statements really piss me off...
This just in Hitler dies! "RIP, I didn't know who he was or anything but it's all good" -.-
If you don't know someone, don't comment or you can try to research the person to see if they were worth it to begin with. People like that remind me of the ones who see someone die and go to the family "Oh he was such a good friend" when they didn't know the poor bastard and he probably thought they were a twat to begin with or like post around and shit using it as a statement like "I am a good person, look at me feel emotions" ^^ Lives have value because we know that life and its accomplishments/experiences not because it's a "life". If you don't know it, don't comment on it.
my 2 cents
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This guy was a cult leader wasn't he?
I want to say good riddance but that seems a bit harsh
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On September 03 2012 09:38 NeMeSiS3 wrote:In my opinion he is the pinnacle of "make money off naive poor people" that has been a sweeping phenomenon since the conception of Christianity. Supposedly "Christ" lived poor and died for his people... So how do we repay that idea? (which btw, even if it proves false I think is a valid moral position to hold) We rip off everyone who goes on "faith". Show nested quote +On September 03 2012 07:18 Psychobabas wrote:
No idea who he is. R.I.P. Although I am against religion... rant + Show Spoiler +Also all of these statements really piss me off...
This just in Hitler dies! "RIP, I didn't know who he was or anything but it's all good" -.-
If you don't know someone, don't comment or you can try to research the person to see if they were worth it to begin with. People like that remind me of the ones who see someone die and go to the family "Oh he was such a good friend" when they didn't know the poor bastard and he probably thought they were a twat to begin with or like post around and shit using it as a statement like "I am a good person, look at me feel emotions" ^^ Lives have value because we know that life and its accomplishments/experiences not because it's a "life". If you don't know it, don't comment on it.
my 2 cents
I say not becuase i respect him, but human life always has value, and even the worst monsters could have done something else with their lives, so i mourn what they could have been if nothing else. The loss of human life is always bad, even when its someone we don't like.
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On September 03 2012 10:11 Jaaaaasper wrote:Show nested quote +On September 03 2012 09:38 NeMeSiS3 wrote:In my opinion he is the pinnacle of "make money off naive poor people" that has been a sweeping phenomenon since the conception of Christianity. Supposedly "Christ" lived poor and died for his people... So how do we repay that idea? (which btw, even if it proves false I think is a valid moral position to hold) We rip off everyone who goes on "faith". On September 03 2012 07:18 Psychobabas wrote:
No idea who he is. R.I.P. Although I am against religion... rant + Show Spoiler +Also all of these statements really piss me off...
This just in Hitler dies! "RIP, I didn't know who he was or anything but it's all good" -.-
If you don't know someone, don't comment or you can try to research the person to see if they were worth it to begin with. People like that remind me of the ones who see someone die and go to the family "Oh he was such a good friend" when they didn't know the poor bastard and he probably thought they were a twat to begin with or like post around and shit using it as a statement like "I am a good person, look at me feel emotions" ^^ Lives have value because we know that life and its accomplishments/experiences not because it's a "life". If you don't know it, don't comment on it.
my 2 cents I say not becuase i respect him, but human life always has value, and even the worst monsters could have done something else with their lives, so i mourn what they could have been if nothing else. The loss of human life is always bad, even when its someone we don't like.
On this note I could not agree more. I strongly dislike everything about Rev. Moon and his incredibly subversive movement; however, I consider the personal struggle to "love thy enemy" (as cliche as that sounds) a noble and worthwhile pursuit. Sometimes my dislike for an ideology or person seems so compelling that I am then inclined to try my hardest to deny myself the satisfaction of base contempt. Such is the case here.
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On September 03 2012 08:52 L3gendary wrote:Show nested quote +On September 03 2012 06:14 Shiragaku wrote:
I despise the guy. He is a major part of the reason why people despise Christianity. Nah I'm pretty sure christianity is a major part of the reason why people despise christianity. Show nested quote +On September 03 2012 08:43 Shiragaku wrote:
He also demands members, many of whom who were lacking money to give money to the Church. In my opinion, it should be the Church that gives you the money, not the other way around. Donating money to his church? You mean like every other christian church in existence? I never heard of a church giving money to its congregation.
Well, they do. The history of charity is strongly linked to Christianity (well, and pretty much all the other main religions out there). Heck, the Catholic Church was the welfare state before there was a welfare state.
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thought he was pretty much a giant cultist
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Good fucking riddance. This man was a blight in both Christianity and Koreans. Here's to hoping that his ridiculous cult dissolves with his death.
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I know that most teenagers in the US with an interest in counter culture come across his name
Which teenagers in what era?
And what a rare breed of counter culture enthusiast is connected to his brand of religious umm teachings instead of protesting wars, parenting, education, the political system, and corporations. I dare say teenagers in some eras past might have, but I'm afraid those teenagers are now quite aged.
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On September 03 2012 10:07 tokicheese wrote:
This guy was a cult leader wasn't he?
I want to say good riddance but that seems a bit harsh
Not really. Good riddance.
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On September 03 2012 16:28 Danglars wrote:Show nested quote + I know that most teenagers in the US with an interest in counter culture come across his name Which teenagers in what era? And what a rare breed of counter culture enthusiast is connected to his brand of religious umm teachings instead of protesting wars, parenting, education, the political system, and corporations. I dare say teenagers in some eras past might have, but I'm afraid those teenagers are now quite aged.
When I think of new-age spins on religion brought about by youth-dominated counter culture, I think of Hare Krishnas, eastern influence, and the multitude of communes/churches that sprung up around the US, including those led by "Moonies". The counter-culture was and is not purely a social issue protest-centric phenomena.
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Wait... I thought it is a "good" thing that this guy died?
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2531 Posts
On September 03 2012 09:38 NeMeSiS3 wrote:In my opinion he is the pinnacle of "make money off naive poor people" that has been a sweeping phenomenon since the conception of Christianity. Supposedly "Christ" lived poor and died for his people... So how do we repay that idea? (which btw, even if it proves false I think is a valid moral position to hold) We rip off everyone who goes on "faith". Show nested quote +On September 03 2012 07:18 Psychobabas wrote:
No idea who he is. R.I.P. Although I am against religion... rant + Show Spoiler +Also all of these statements really piss me off...
This just in Hitler dies! "RIP, I didn't know who he was or anything but it's all good" -.-
If you don't know someone, don't comment or you can try to research the person to see if they were worth it to begin with. People like that remind me of the ones who see someone die and go to the family "Oh he was such a good friend" when they didn't know the poor bastard and he probably thought they were a twat to begin with or like post around and shit using it as a statement like "I am a good person, look at me feel emotions" ^^ Lives have value because we know that life and its accomplishments/experiences not because it's a "life". If you don't know it, don't comment on it.
my 2 cents
lol? You think if I "research" somebody's life I would get a good grip of who he/she is? What if he isn't famous? People have the right to comment even if they don't know. And in any case, R.I.P. doesn't say much about my opinion of this guy. You know, you remind me of these christians who say "hey if you haven't found god yet, don't comment on christianity!"
And actually no, life has value because it is a life, not because you know the life. If your logic existed, nobody would actually give a shit about other people.
The world and logic don't work like that.
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EPT
