Skip to main content.
Religion News Blog is a non-profit service providing academics, religion professionals and other researchers with religion & cult news
ReligionNewsBlog

Religion news articles about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues

Navigation:
A Random Image


Related

More news articles & news archive on Unification Church


Translate



Advertisements *

What is a cult: Cult Definition
Simple steps to financial health and a good credit score


Elsewhere

What makes Benny Hinn so controversial?


Unification Church:

Unification Church denies pressuring followers to break with non-believers

The New Zealand Herald, New Zealand
Aug. 12, 2006
Lincoln Tan and Simon Collins
www.nzherald.co.nz

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 15604 • Posted: Sunday August 13, 2006  

  • Google Bookmarks
  • Google Reader
  • Gmail
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Blogger Post
  • Evernote
  • Facebook
  • Share/Bookmark
Click here... More articles on this topic: Unification Church

Moonie leaders deny a claim by an Auckland woman that their group asks supporters to leave their spouses if they do not join the organisation.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said the group used its “peace ambassador” scheme to recruit members. If their spouses did not join too, it encouraged them to break up.

“Peace meetings discuss how the family is the nucleus for peace, but how parents and couples may not be right for each other – the reason why there is no peace in this world,” she said.

“It will be revealed that the ‘True Parents’ of all humankind are the Rev Moon (the new Messiah) and his wife of the Unification Church, as appointed by God. For the world to have real peace, all must become his children.

“To become true children, followers must give up everything they own and donate them to the cause.

“Those that have spouses who object will be asked to leave their spouses, and the church will help them find a new mate, and they will be joined together in a mass wedding ceremony presided over by Rev Moon.”

A speech by the Rev Sun Myung Moon, published in 2004 on the Unification Church website, says his followers “must cast aside their friends and teachers, even their parents, and follow the True Parents”.

“Humanity must mercilessly eradicate all bonds and relationships with the satanic world, not showing even the slightest attachment, and in this way return to the zero point and mark the dawning of a new creation,” Mr Moon said.

Guy Steward, an Aucklander who has written a book about mind control, said he took part in an intensive weekend course run by the Moonies in New York 18 years ago.

“By the end of the weekend, they have pressured you up to make a decision about Moon, about whether he is the Lord of the Second Advent or not,” he said. “Then if you show more interest, they invite you to a week-long seminar… It’s like some of these other motivational seminars.

“It’s the intensity of it all and the control of your time that can make it fairly convincing to some people.”

But the New Zealand patron of the Universal Peace Federation, Sir Peter Tapsell, said the idea that the Moonies broke up marriages was “rubbish”.

“Everyone seems to have developed a tremendously strong belief that they are bad people, that they are dangerous, that they do all sorts of ulterior things. I have never seen anything like that.”

NZ Peace Council president Simon Kan said he did not know of anyone in the movement who had had to leave their spouse. “At the moment I have a problem with my wife, but they are not trying to get us to split up.”

  • Google Bookmarks
  • Google Reader
  • Gmail
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Blogger Post
  • Evernote
  • Facebook
  • Share/Bookmark


What You Can Do From Here

Read More Articles On These Topics
more cult news articlemore religion news Categories: Unification Church
more religion news aboutmore Religion News Blog articles about
Share, Blog About, Bookmark, or Email This Article
Subscribe
Follow Religion News Blog on Twitter


Read Another Article
Find Related Information
cult research search enginecountercult information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults
Find Related Books


Most Popular Today


Share This Article

To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:





Counter Cult Search

Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support.


Note: results are listed on another domain -- CounterCultSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.


Apologetics Search

Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs.


Note: results are listed on another domain -- ApologeticsSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.

About Religion News Blog
Religion News Blog (RNB), published by Apologetics Index, highlights news items and other resources on world religions, cults, religious sects, alternative religions and related issues. RNB's non-profit news clipping service is used by - among others - Christian apologists, countercult professionals, anticult organizations, cult experts, teachers, religion professionals, reporters and other researchers.

Home
Latest Headlines
RSS news feed [?]
Headlines by Email
News Trackers
Free content for your site
About RNB
Privacy Policy
Contact RNB
Link to RNB
Advertise on RNB
Apologetics Index
Cult FAQ
Apologetics Search Engine
CounterCult Search Engine