The Holy Spirit Association Essay Example for Free

The Holy Spirit Association Essay With the official name of The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, the Unification Church was founded by Rev. Sun Myung Moon in 1954. By 1959, the church has already expanded to America where its international headquarter has been established. At present, the church claims that the number of Unificationists reach three million in more than a hundred countries. At the age of 16, Moon asserted that Jesus Christ appeared to him on Easter morning. Christ instructed him to finish the task Christ has started, that is, to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth. He urges all religions to unify their beliefs so as to attain Gods will. However, Moons character has been questioned as well as the practices of the Unification Church. Even before establishing the Unification Church, Moon has already been accused of immoral practices. He urged the female members of his organization to have sex with him so that they would be cleansed of the influence of Satan. He was arrested for this act but was released at the end of the Korean War. In the United States, he was largely criticized for his recruitment and leadership style, as well as his ways of raising fund. Furthermore, he was convicted of tax evasion and served a prison term. Because of the free labor of his followers, Moon has a built a multimillion-dollar empire, with a number of businesses such as manufacturing, banking, publishing, pharmaceutical companies, and others. He recruited U. S. military officers by offering them business deals and political donations. From his religious power, he believes that he would be able to establish a government that would rule the world. His most distinguishing characteristic is his authoritative leadership. Whatever Moon dictates is absolute and final. Even a seed of doubt to Moon means that a person allows oneself to be part of Satans work. He believed that Adam and Eve were supposed to have a brother–sister relationship until perfection is achieved. After that, the two would have to be married and bear a child, starting the kingdom of God. This promotes the belief that the fall was a sin sexual in nature. To rinse out this sin, God gave Christ the mission to marry and to have perfect children. Unfortunately, Christ was not able to complete this earthly mission because of his death. Thus, Moon proclaims that a â€Å"third Adam† is needed to complete both spiritual and physical salvation. This third Adam would complete what Christ has been sent for to do, that is, to produce sinless children. The Unification Church believes that Moon is the third Adam who would form a perfect family; thus, his children are all sinless. This perfection would extend to members of the church by complete obedience to him. Moreover, an individual would also be salvaged by paying indemnity through fasting, recruiting, fund-raising, etc. Furthermore, Moon belied the concept of trinity in the bible. Rather, he postulates that the first trinity is composed of the third Adam (Moon), his bride, and God. People are encouraged to form their own trinities through marriage and with God. He emphasized that it is through marriage that the kingdom of God would start. Therefore, salvation is only for married people. This would also explain the mass weddings conducted by Moon, in which every couple is charged a mass fee. As blessed by God, Moon and his wife propagate true love, true life, and true marriages; thus, they refer to themselves as the True Parents. The Second Coming, he insisted, is not the coming of Christ but of the third Adam. The purpose of third Adam in the grand plan of God is to establish the kingdom of God on earth and in heaven through perfect marriage and formation of sinless children.