Theology

410 - Unification Theology  and Unification Seminar

420 - The Unification Faith (Pledge, Book of Tradition...)

430 - World Scriptures

440 - Teaching materials : The “eight textbooks” (before 2013) and the Cheon Il Guk Scriptures

450 - Theological development

460 - Work in progress, research

470 - True Parents

480 - Misc: miscellaneous! 

490 - Timeline

Many Christians find it difficult to accept the possibility that God's new revelation could originate in Korea. Some may be blinded by racist prejudice against Asians. Many more are so accustomed to thinking of Christianity as a Western faith that they remain completely unaware of the vitality of that religion in other parts of the world. Then, among Fundamentalist Protestants, events in Israel are thought to be of primary importance as signs of the coming messianic age.

According to the Biblical precedents we cannot limit the place or person to whom God can reveal His message. As Barth stressed, God is always sovereign, which implies complete freedom on His part. He therefore chooses whom He wills. "How odd of God to choose the Jews!" says a poet. At a time when the world had great empires like the Egyptian and Babylonian, God selected the Jews to be an instrument to fulfill His purpose. Then, at a subsequent period He commissioned a prince in the Pharaoh's palace to lead the Hebrews from slavery. In another time, God selected a shepherd boy to become the new king of Israel. Still later, not a high priest or noted rabbi but a carpenter's son from little Nazareth was anointed to carry out the messianic role. From the Biblical record, we learn that God reveals Himself in unexpected ways. With that background in mind, one should not be astounded if a Korean feels called by God to announce the coming of God's kingdom on earth.

Another pertinent clue to contemporary revelationmodernbe discovered in the Biblical tradition. When someone is chosen to carry out God's special will and he fails, his role is given to another. Let me cite three examples. Moses is unable to enter the Promised Land and his mission is turned over to Joshuabe discovered in the Biblical tradition. When someone is chosen to carry out God's special will and he fails, his role is given to another. Let me cite three examples. Moses is unable to enter the Promised Land and his mission is turned over to Joshuamoderng Saul fails and his throne is given to David. In New Testament times, Jesus is rejected by the religious authorities of his land, so the apostle Paul is commissioned to look at the Gentile world for the right place to plant the Christian faith. As a g Saul fails and his throne is given to David. In New Testament times, Jesus is rejected by the religious authorities of his land, so the apostle Paul is commissioned to look at the Gentile world for the right place to plant the Christian faith. As a modern Jewish scholar (Franz Rosenzweig) explains, the function of Christianity is to enable the Star of David to shine brightly in the wider Gentile environment. 22 For various reasons what Judaism could not do became a solemn mission transferred to the Christian church.

This practice on God's part in the past has significant implications for our doctrine of revelation. Having considered past history, we can make the following conclusion: in carrying out His central purpose for creation, God will appear in a new place and anoint a different individual to the messianic office once occupied by Jesus. However, two possible misunderstandings of this idea must be avoided. First, it does not mean that God will never appear to comfort, advise or inspire believers other than in the new place chosen for His central purpose. On the contrary, one can expect numerous supernatural phenomena in many parts of the world to open our eyes to the advent of the messianic age. Secondly, this does not in any way detract from the historic mission of Jesus. A new Messiah is called to continue Jesus' work which he longs so deeply to see realized. God has not changed His mind because conventional Christianity has declined. He has not decided to abandon the present followers of Jesus and go off in a totally new direction. Not at all. God's present plans actually reinforce, revitalize and extend the purpose to which every Christian denomination is deeply committed. God's New Age and new revelation represent His answer to the millions of Christians who daily pray, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

God can provide new revelation only in a place which has been prepared. In Israel's case, God took centuries to cultivate the hearts of the people. No land had ever been so spiritually nourished as Israel was by the successive ministries of the great canonical prophets. From Abraham onward, the Israelites were constantly reminded of the principles of justice, mercy and peace upon which God could inspire the building of a beneficent social order. Especially in the Deuteronomic legislation, the exalted prophetic principles were applied to the concrete problems of society. Very important also were the numerous trials to which the Hebrews were subjected in order to help them experience God's heart.

Somewhat the same sort of thorough preparation occurred in the Graeco-Roman world prior to St. Paul's apostolate to the Gentiles. Because of the conquests and cultural activities of Alexander the Great, there was created a more or less unified civilization from the borders of India to Spain. Roman soldiers subsequently provided protection from foreign aggressors and maintained internal security. The empire of the Caesars ordinarily governed far more justly and with greater respect for local traditions than anything men had previously known, at least on such an immense scale. Greek and Roman philosophers prepared a moral and intellectual foundation for Christianity. Since all the educated and commercial classes could speak some Greek, Gospels and Epistles written in that language could be understood by sizeable numbers of people in Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, the Balkans and western Europe. Furthermore, the Romans had constructed a network of good roads which missionaries could use as they spread the Christian message. Religiously, too, the Mediterranean world was ready for the Gospel. The atmosphere was permeated with mystical longings, and many actively sought divine light from strange places.

As these were determinative factors enabling God to reveal Himself in the Old Testament and New Testament periods, one can assume that similar conditions in our day could produce the same kind of divine activity. History never repeats itself exactly. Nevertheless, as Toynbee and others have pointed out, there are ages which are roughly parallel and exhibit similar characteristics. As God has already used Israel, the Graeco-Roman world and western Europe to carry out special activities concerning the dispensational course of history, one can reasonably expect Him to look elsewhere to proclaim new revelation for our age. At least subconsciously, many people may recognize this fact. Hence, today there seems to be a remarkable amount of interest in the faiths of other lands.

Our age has witnessed the growing relatedness of all nations and cultures around the world. Modern men live for the first time in a single global village. If God has some special word for our time, it cannot be restricted nationally, racially, culturally or even religiously. Politically we are all internationalists. Racially we have to accept the distinctive values of every ethnic group. Gone forever is the Western-oriented and white-dominated culture of the last three centuries, as Third World theologians insist. In matters of faith, too, the false barriers between Christians and so-called heathens are being tom down...