Companion blog for the essay: "UNIFICATIONISM a critique & counterproposal"


"A religion does not need to be interpreted literally
in order to be valuable and taken seriously."
—Anonymous

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Daughters of Shim Jung - personal poems from @utblog - April 2013 to July 2013


7/25/2013 

chapel ceiling sky ~ one becoming grace bridges ~ adam's weak reply

7/23/2013 

tried to reach for you ~ journeyed in the rising sun ~ called, no one knew me

7/23/2013 

born to bear witness ~ speak to me of your true love ~ I have ears to hear

7/22/2013 

enthusiasm ~ dreams come to a focal point ~ burning passion found

7/21/2013 

I can bow to Love ~ I can bow to Christ in you ~ and you Christ in me

7/19/2013 

small ode to odd toes ~ under a great woman those ~ delightfully so

7/19/2013 

my life without yours ~ preposterous on its face ~ by definition

7/18/2013 

good friends calling friends ~ sometimes for no good reason ~ in spite of reason

7/17/2013 

I can bow to Love ~ I can bow to Christ in you ~ and you Christ in me

7/17/2013 

no room at the inn ~ for my beloved sister ~ what hope there for me?

7/16/2013 

Rembrandt painted truth ~ Joseph, Mary, Hannah, Christ ~ identified with

7/13/2013 

fire and thunder ~ circle faster and faster ~ only to look back

7/11/2013 

hearing another ~ under the skin of mere words ~ living red blood flows

7/8/2013 

sleeps on the heat vent ~ once curious and playful ~ now merely waiting

7/6/2013 

she choked couldn't speak ~ tears from watching "Lincoln" film ~ civil war savior

7/6/2013 

sisters july forth ~ waning moon, no fireworks ~ star-spangled night sky

7/2/2013 

surprised still leaping ~ wind rush ocean approaching ~ sudden cold, but thrilled

6/29/2013 

not seeking healing ~ pain is where precious love lives ~ life's carried treasure

6/29/2013 

new york blue morning ~ dancing rooms full, now silent ~ leaving vacancy

6/23/2013 

fell asleep dreamed me ~ dreamed you were pulled from my rib ~ level of the heart (Eve's Dream)

6/18/2013 

the entrance as word ~ in trance is more to the point ~ forgetting your Self

6/16/2013 

no room at the inn ~ for my beloved sister ~ what hope there for me?

6/16/2013 

odd fellows fathers ~ even myself being one ~ maybe that is why

6/4/2013 

give birth to a heart ~ strong contractions and deep pain ~ among family

5/30/2013 

oh sweet charity ~ faith and hope carries one through ~ greatest, charity

5/28/2013 

tame my warring tongue ~ weapon words to medicine ~ balm of gilead

5/27/2013 

you create me too ~ it is all this sharing hearts ~ no me without you

5/26/2013 

with you Holy One ~ walking in the cool garden ~ no shame, no hiding

5/24/2013 

how do you explain ~ ocean was there now withdrawn ~ oh come tsunami

5/23/2013 

space gone instantly ~ light screams between the mountains ~ and the sun rises

5/21/2013 

heaven calls our name ~ how do we represent You? ~ out of many, One

5/18/2013

lone high desert sage ~ touched by the light before eve ~ knows good nor evil




5/17/2013 

shepherds talk of love ~ sitting on the meadow fence ~ bleating fills the air

5/16/2013 

longing for someone ~ speaking warmly one to one ~ not servant, not king

5/15/2013 

thank you holy one ~ your love and care breeds courage ~ to go on and on

5/13/2013 

two glasses filling ~ one overflowing spirit ~ one flame in the heart

5/13/2013 

precious holy one ~ your true devotion moves me ~ you are selflessness

5/12/2013 

under standing me ~ is a vast ocean of love ~ birth and birth to be

5/9/2013 

no room at the inn ~ for my beloved sister ~ what hope there for me

5/9/2013 

thank you holy one ~ gifting me eternity ~ you know i love you

5/7/2013 

holy one I see ~ willingly you sacrifice ~ that I may yet be

5/6/2013 

just thought I would call ~ no particular reason ~ you were on my mind

5/6/2013 

womb came natural ~ knowledge life's distractions hide ~ returns in the tomb

5/3/2013 

white chrysanthemums ~ careful greenhouse oceans grow ~ red sport abruptly

5/2/2013 

climbed a high mountain ~ grand vision offered itself ~ butterfly lighted

4/29/2013 

lamenting no no ~ this world should never have been ~ child's first day at school

4/25/2013 

I hear the wild doves ~ after four years throwing grain ~ each note the reward

4/25/2013 

creative moment ~ without beginning or end ~ we learnt not to see

4/23/2013 

wives and husbands change ~ family friends come and go ~ flames in the fire

4/23/2013 

fresh black live earth turned ~ feed the soil not the plants ~ good tilth grows slowly

4/22/2013 

I can die happy ~ poem children born of love ~ thank you holy one

4/21/2013 

the glass is empty ~ but not empty of promise ~ empty of myself

4/21/2013 

biting winter wind ~ blows in spring as tall trees sway ~ holy one kindness

4/19/2013 

this well ordered world ~ forged for safety link by link ~ a chain for the soul

4/17/2013 

can it be wisdom ~ to be so fully detached ~ flowers bring no tears

4/15/2013 

dancing holy one ~ beyond names always to be ~ free fall into bliss

4/14/2013 

tall jeffrey pine tree ~ fire resistant powers ~ scent of vanilla

4/14/2013 

high desert springtime ~ mountain bluebird kestrel flash  ~ gifts urgent to share

4/12/2013 

waking up this morn ~ heard the birds singing outside ~ felt these are my birds

4/11/2013 

"no room at the inn ~ for my beloved sister ~ what hope there for me

4/10/2013 

when the moon turns cold ~ its night light gives no comfort ~ leaves me feeling old






originally tweeted on http://twitter.com/utblog

 © 2013

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Daughters of Shim Jung - personal poems from @utblog - January 2013 to March 2013



2013-01-12 

no room at the inn — for my beloved sister — what hope there for me

2013-01-28 

When it comes to love — church is the institution — of higher learning.

2013-02-14 

Eve and I leaping — tumbling through garden flowers — returning again

2013-02-22 

cadillac moonlight — sparkle on long island ice — spin rings round my heart

2013-03-01 

long I pulled harnessed — on blind narrow cobblestones — oh to run tail high

2013-03-05 

laughing sunlit bloom — dead dry words fall on cold stone — open spring flower

2013-03-05 

summer he heard her — from the highest treetop perch — sings new songs in hope

2013-03-06 

no room at the inn — for my beloved sister — what hope there for me?

2013-03-08 

siren out window — night quarry coyotes cry — for their lost brother

2013-03-11 

love is green and gold — my heart was bought and then sold — it took that to know

2013-03-13 

high desert clear night — sister venus brother mars — cosmos of kindred

2013-03-16 

his second coming — one bright light in a dark night  — again and again

2013-03-19 

possessive pronouns — do not take apostrophes — nouns do not exist

2013-03-23 

no room at the inn — for my beloved sister — what hope there for me?

2013-03-24 

"sold all that he had" — "had found one pearl of great price" — "kingdom of heaven"

2013-03-28 

dancing holy one — beyond names always to be — free fall into bliss






originally tweeted on http://twitter.com/utblog

 © 2013

Thursday, May 31, 2012

"Unwarranted Grace" - personal poem from @utblog - May 2012



Unwarranted Grace

This weekend, on one of our walks in nature, the Three Sisters
mountain air blew strong and crisp, but the sun was out and drove away the
cold.

All at once, and unexpectedly, a Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
landed on my hand for a moment to rest.

She slowly and gracefully moved her beautiful wings up and
down as she sat tasting my skin.

And as quickly as she came, she was off again on the breeze in flashes
of bright color.

I was a little sad, but at the same time felt honored and loved by
this unwarranted grace.

I felt changed by the experience and my thoughts warmly turned to
you.




originally tweeted on http://twitter.com/utblog

 © 2013

Sunday, September 18, 2011

WELCOME

Sometimes supportive, sometimes critical, this site is meant to be a thought provoking personal exploration and examination of Unification thought (as in Buddhist thought or Christian thought). This site is not affiliated with any group or organization, it is an expression of my own point-of-view. The goal of this blog is to humbly (I hope) and respectfully offer an alternative voice to partisan political views and activism (right or left) that if not examined could become institutionalized into the church culture causing the exclusion of many that would otherwise find salvation.

Also the goal is to illustrate through a comparative approach that we cannot have true religious freedom without the separation of church and state. I do wish great success and prosperity to the Unification Church as a "church." The purpose of a religion is to relieve suffering. As we have seen in the news lately and in history, unexamined religious beliefs and passions can lead to terrible, unnecessary and unintended suffering, especially when religion is used for political and secular ends rather than spiritual ones.

"With malice toward none and charity for all, let us bind up the nation's wounds."
— Abraham Lincoln


I am an amateur. I am not a pastor or church leader of any kind. I do not accept donations or hold meetings. Please support your local church.


email: unificationismtoday@gmail.com

"Why should we stubbornly adhere to a literal interpretation...when so much of the Bible makes use of symbolism and metaphor? We would do well to abandon such a narrow and old-fashioned attitude of faith." 
—Unification Church Divine Principle Chapter 2 Section 1.1
"What, then, is fascism? Fascism denies the fundamental values of modern democracy, including respect for the individual and his basic rights, freedoms of speech, the press and association, and the parliamentary system. Race or nationality is the ultimate value, to be upheld by a strong nation-state..." 
—Unification Church Divine Principle Chapter 5 Section 4.3.2

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Dear Unification Church, August 26, 2008

Aug 26, 2008

Dear Unification Church,
As an American, I appreciate your (our) efforts to win hearts for God and educate the public about the potential dangers of extreme "left-wing" Marxist-Leninism ideology. However, if I may humbly offer some constructive feedback, it is very important to remember that our own beloved fathers and family members experienced imprisonment, torture, injury and death fighting in World War II against the ideology of religious fascism (the "right-wing" extreme). My own father was on the USS Oklahoma in Pearl Harbor when it was sunk and hundreds of his shipmates were lost. Millions of innocent civilians overseas also suffered injury and death.

The ideology of fascism (in all of its various forms) has also been responsible for the suffering and death of millions of good people of religious faith throughout history. Unfortunately, and tragically, out of misguided ignorance, many of these atrocities were perpetrated in the name of God to the damage of the spiritual lives of millions. At the risk of sounding presumptuous, I think I can safely say that, not just communism, but fascism also, breaks God's heart. 

Some awareness of these facts need to be expressed by the Unification Church, especially in light of the recent church focus on political activism. I would like to humbly suggest that taking a balanced approach towards educating the members of the Unification Church and the public about the potential dangers of both communism and fascism would go a long way towards winning hearts and minds. Better yet, it seems to me, that the church needs to be a "church", and return to focusing on the saving of souls (no matter what their political bent), and distance itself from politics and government as much as possible. Both "liberals"  and "conservatives" need compassion and understanding. I wish the best of success to you (us) in this effort.

Sincerely and Respectfully


PS


Here is a very good Encyclopedia Britannica article describing fascism: