Unification Church

=== Criticisms of Moon ===

Moon's claim to be the [[Messiah]] and the [[Second Coming of Christ]] has been rejected by both Jewish and Christian scholars.<ref name="Dialogue with the Moonies">Rodney Sawatsky, 1978, [http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/apr1978/v35-1-criticscorner3.htm Dialogue with the Moonies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211184615/http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/apr1978/v35-1-criticscorner3.htm |date=11 December 2008 }} ''Theology Today.''</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100323061342/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,913685-2,00.html Mad About Moon], ''[[Time Magazine]]'', 10 November 1975</ref> Protestant commentators have criticized Moon's teachings as being contrary to the Protestant doctrine of [[Sola fide|salvation by faith alone]].<ref name="Daske, D 2005, p142">Daske, D. and Ashcraft, W. 2005, ''New Religious Movements'', New York: New York University Press, {{ISBN|0-8147-0702-5}} p142</ref><ref name="Yamamoto, J 1995, p40">Yamamoto, J. 1995, ''Unification Church'', Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Press, {{ISBN|0-310-70381-6}} p40</ref> In their influential book ''[[The Kingdom of the Cults]]'' (first published in 1965), [[Walter Ralston Martin]] and [[Ravi K. Zacharias]] disagreed with the ''Divine Principle'' on the issues of the [[divinity of Christ]], the [[virgin birth of Jesus]], Moon's belief that [[Jesus bloodline|Jesus should have married]], the necessity of the [[crucifixion of Jesus]], a literal [[resurrection of Jesus]], as well as a literal [[second coming of Jesus]].<ref name="Walter Ralston Martin 2003, pages 368-370">Walter Ralston Martin, Ravi K. Zacharias, ''The Kingdom of the Cults'', Bethany House, 2003, {{ISBN|0764228218}} pages 368–370</ref> Commentators have criticized the ''Divine Principle'' for saying that the [[First World War]], the [[Second World War]], the [[Holocaust]], and the [[Cold War]] served as [[Indemnity in the Unification Church|indemnity conditions]] to prepare the world for the establishment of the [[Kingdom of God]].<ref>Helm, S. [https://www.religion-online.org/article/divine-principle-and-the-second-advent/ Divine Principle and the Second Advent] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921143920/http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1163 |date=21 September 2008 }} ''[[Christian Century]]'' 11 May 1977.</ref>

In 1998, journalist [[Peter Maass]], writing for ''[[The New Yorker]]'', reported that some Unification members complained about Blessing being given to non-members who had not gone through the same course that members had.<ref>[http://www.petermaass.com/core.cfm?p=1&mag=48&magtype=1 Moon at Twilight] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010411094005/http://www.petermaass.com/core.cfm?p=1&mag=48&magtype=1 |date=11 April 2001 }}, [[Peter Maass]], ''[[The New Yorker]]'' "The campaign has dismayed some church members, because a blessing from Moon used to be a hard-won privilege, typically attained only after a person had joined the church, worked in it for several years, and agreed to marry someone—usually a stranger—selected by Moon. But grumblings about the blessing campaign are just the beginning of Moon's current troubles."</ref> In 2000, Moon was criticized, including by some members of his church, for his support of [[Nation of Islam]] leader [[Louis Farrakhan]]'s [[Million Family March]].<ref name="clarkson" /> Moon was also criticized for his relationship with Jewish scholar [[Richard L. Rubenstein]], an advocate of the "[[death of God theology]]" of the 1960s.<ref>John Warwick Montgomery and Thomas J. J. Altizer, ''The Altizer-Montgomery Dialogue: A Chapter in the God is Dead Controversy'' (InterVarsity Press, Chicago, 1967), p.7</ref> Rubenstein was a defender of the Unification Church and served on its advisory council,<ref name="AJA">{{cite web|url=http://www.americanjewisharchives.org/aja/FindingAids/RichardRubenstein.htm|title=Richard L. Rubenstein Papers|website=www.americanjewisharchives.org|access-date=28 January 2018|archive-date=29 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729145441/http://americanjewisharchives.org/aja/FindingAids/RichardRubenstein.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> as well as on the board of directors of the church-owned ''[[Washington Times]]'' newspaper.<ref>"Rabbi Joins the Board of Moonie Newspaper", ''[[The Palm Beach Post]]'', 21 May 1978</ref> In the 1990s, he served as president of the [[University of Bridgeport]], which was then affiliated with the church.<ref>[https://archive.today/20121208134740/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60616FA3D550C7B8CDDA00894DD494D81 U. of Bridgeport Honors Rev. Moon, Fiscal Savior], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 8 September 1995</ref>

In 1998, the Egyptian newspaper ''[[Al-Ahram]]'' criticized Moon's possible relationship with Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] and wrote that the ''Washington Times'' editorial policy was "rabidly anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and pro-Israel."<ref>[http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1998/403/op1.htm The same old game] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215193404/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1998/403/op1.htm |date=15 February 2009 }}, ''[[Al-Ahram]]'', 12–18 November 1998, "The Washington Times is a mouthpiece for the ultra conservative right, unquestioning supporters of Israel's [[Likud]] government. The newspaper is owned by Sun Myung Moon, originally a native of North Korea and head of the Unification Church, whose ultra-right leanings make him a ready ally for Netanyahu. Whether or not Netanyahu is personally acquainted with Moon is unclear, though there is no doubt that he has established close friendships with several staff members on ''The Washington Times'', whose editorial policy is rabidly anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and pro-Israel."</ref><ref name="wrmea.com" /> Moon has also been criticized for his advocacy of a worldwide "[[automatic theocracy]]",<ref>''Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church'', [[Frederick Sontag]], [[Abingdon Press]], 1 Jan 1977, page 122</ref> as well as for advising his followers that they should become "[[crazy for God]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unification.org/ucbooks/WofGW/wogw1-03.htm |title=''The Way of God's Will'' Chapter 3. Leaders |publisher=Unification.org |access-date=2012-01-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716085154/http://www.unification.org/ucbooks/WofGW/wogw1-03.htm |archive-date=16 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Crazy for God">{{cite web |url=http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/oct1979/v36-3-booknotes20.htm |title=Crazy for God |publisher=Theologytoday.ptsem.edu |access-date=2012-01-04 |archive-date=16 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216091315/http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/oct1979/v36-3-booknotes20.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>