Christian School Essay
CHRISTOLOGY
~The Unification Church believes that no one really understood who exactly Jesus
Christ was before Rev. Sun Myung Moon came along. He was supposedly the first
person to accurately describe or explain who Jesus was, resolving the confusion
concerning the Christian doctrine on Jesus Christ in his Divine Principle. Rev.
Moon directly attacks the uniqueness of Christianity – the person of Christ. He
states that:
“[John 8:58] does not signify that Jesus was God himself. Jesus, on earth, was
a man no different from us except for the fact that he was without original sin”
(Walter Martin, p. 364).
He continues to say, “After his crucifixion, Christianity made Jesus into a God”
(Walter Martin, p. 364). This statement equates all men to Jesus in terms of
“divinity,” crushing the uniqueness of Christ’s person, and thereby viciously
attacking the Christian religion. He also suggests that Jesus may be called a
second God, for He is one body with God. This statement encourages polytheism,
however, and is a direct contradiction of the Bible. Jesus Christ is a divine
human being; he is 2 persons (sinful, saved) and has one will (God’s perfect
will). Unificationists deny the idea of the virgin birth of Christ. They think
that if Joseph did not spawn Jesus, then somebody must have. They disregard the
possibility of the Holy Spirit, and allege that Zechariah had sexual relations
with Mary and caused the conception of Jesus. If Zechariah had been the father
of Jesus Christ, he would have been the half-brother of John the Baptist,
creating a Cain-Abel parallel relationship, which would serve to illustrate the
traditional Christian comparison between Mary and Eve. Despite the incredibly
descriptive account of the virgin birth of Jesus in Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke
1:26-2:20, the Unification Church refuses to believe the possibility of such a
miracle.
~The Unification Church does not believe that Christ’s mission was to die on the
cross, atone for our sins, and rise again. They believe that God’s intent was
for Jesus Christ to find a bride, marry, and produce sinless children. The
original manuscripts of the Divine Principle say:
“The crucifixion of Jesus was a universal tragedy! The suffering of Jesus on
the cross was not the Will of God, nor was it an event predestined by God. …The
crucifixion of Jesus was a secondary choice…after it became obvious that he
would not be able to fulfill his mission” (Moon).
The revised Divine Principle says, “redemption by the cross has been unable to
remove our original sin…We, therefore, must realize that Jesus did not come to
die on the cross.” Rev. Moon claims that Jesus’ marriage was God’s primary
will, for “there had to be a bride, a Mother – another Eve. So God intended for
this perfected Adam – Jesus Christ – to restore his bride, the perfect Eve.”
Moon believes that Satan corrupted God’s plan for Jesus Christ. Supposedly,
Satan used the disbelieving Jews and Judas Iscariot to foil His plan. The
rebellious Jews handed Christ over to be crucified, and at this time Moon
believes that Satan invaded His body. The best Christ could do was to offer
spiritual salvation, since Satan had corrupted His body. Moon has even
criticized the Christian belief of salvation through Christ’s blood, saying:
“Today the Christian gospel preaches salvation by the blood of Jesus. How
ridiculous that is in the sight of God!” (Moon).
The crucifixion of Christ was a plan of God, however, to save sinners. Rather
than the blood of Christ appearing “ridiculous” in the eyes of the Lord, it is
actually referred to as “precious” in I Peter 1:19-20. Ephesians 1:7, stating
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of his grace,” drives home the fact that we as
Christians do have redemption in Christ’s blood. Christ himself said in the
Last Supper, “For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many
for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28).
~The Unification Church believes that there are three main categories of the
spirit world, each divided into three levels. Supposedly each world religion
has its own compartment, and they graduate to a higher level by helping people
on earth. Moon claims that Jesus was not bodily resurrected, but spiritually,
and has been stuck in a particular level of paradise, waiting on His liberation
by Moon in the twentieth century. Moon claims that Christians misunderstand the
teaching of the resurrection of Christ. He claims that a resurrection does not
necessarily mean that Christ rose physically. He believes that Jesus arose as a
spirit, for the Father was not pleased to see the resurrected Christ. Luke
24:39 affirms that Christ rose bodily, stating:
“Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does
not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”Furthermore, John 20:27 states:
“Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your
hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’”
Jesus predicted his resurrection in John 2:19-21 and in John 10:17-18. Acts 1:3
also states, “After his suffering, he [Christ] showed himself to these men and
gave many convincing proofs that he was alive….” Therefore, Christ was
physically resurrected, and his blood did serve God’s original purpose of
redemption for believers.
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Christian School Essay
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