Moonies

Moonies

Moonies is a religious movement that was started in 1954 by Reverend Sun Myung Moon in presented North Korea. The church is also known as the unification church, started as “The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity.” Since its establishment, the movement has attracted thousands of followers from more than 100 countries across the world. The movements consist of eclectic Adventist and aggressive theologians who believe that Reverend Moon has a similar influence as Jesus. The unification church belief reverend moon and his second wife are the “real parents” of the world who would unite the world with God.

In the 1970s, the unification church practices were termed as ‘cult’ as it was associated with exploiting its members. The leadership of the church came up and denied the charges. The preaching of Sun Myung is comprised of personal teaching and presence, a situation that has influenced his followers to call him the messiah of the modern world. There have been arguments about the legitimacy of the church as a Christian church, but there is no evidence that the church is against Christianity. As such, the church started buying major newspapers like the Washington Times to promote world peace.

Sun Myung Moon started his spiritual mission while in exile in South Korea after being accused of spying the government of North Korea during the Korean wars. He began to formulate doctrinal views that were based on family values and marriage. The results were the creation of a religion that was based on two aspects. In his views of marriage and family, he mixed the beliefs of Christianity on marriage and trustworthiness and honesty to affirm the importance of family.

Moon is said to have received a vision from Jesus on Easter time that informed him to take over the mission that was left by Jesus. In the vision, he was supposed to continue with the redemption of the world and join people with God and ensure he succeeded in the areas where Jesus had failed. As such, he crafted his belief system on shamanistic elements, Daoism, Buddhism, and Christian scriptures. According to the believers of the moon’s belief, they say reverend moon represents the next stage of Christian thought. Moon described God as an invisible being in which the life of human beings flows.

Moonies believe that a sin committed by human beings altered the original plans of God. They believe that Satan seduced Eve to engage in sexual intercourse, which, according to them, it came prematurely. This led to the fall of man. Man can be redeemed from these sins by a messiah, together with his wife, should restore the purity and dignity of humankind. He is to reconcile human beings with God, and this was the task reverend moon tasked to do. The wife to the messiah is the second Eve.

According to Moonies, unification refers to the second wife to the revered moon, who is “the true mother” and is a model of spiritual guidance and motherhood. This extended the ability to receive a vision, and thus “reverend” moon had assistance from his wife, Hak Ja Han. Moonies commonly refer to Hak as Mary. This was followed by Moon announcing that his son Heung Jin had become a “commander in chief” in the spiritual world. Jin was supposed to direct the unmarried.

The Moonies believe in life after death and the influence of spirits on human life. Moon’s son, Heung Jin, died after an auto accident, and just before his burial, moon titled him as the commander in chief of the spiritual world. Jin ruled and guided the unmarried. The church also performed a “marriage ceremony” to ensure Jin did not stay single all the time. This showed they believed in life after death. Afterward, church members started receiving vision and revelations from Jin, and this confirmed the position of Moon and his wife in heaven.

The spiritual realm has affirmed that cerebrating the cosmic power and superiority of Moon has not only came from his son but also Dr. Sang Hun Lee, a unification scholar. The realms have termed moon as more superior of all, and Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, and Confucius acknowledge the role of Moon. They refer to him as the “real parent” of humanity. This belief has been criticized by many who have called the belief as a “personality cult.” As such, the moon’s redeemer persona is crucial to the unification church and its defenders.

Wicca religion

Contemporary witches, Wicca, as they popularly prefer to call it, are a popular imagination based on western folklore, which is different from literary incarnations of evil. Religion does not cause harmful spells or communicate with spirits. The religion does not worship the devil, but claim practices types of magic and worship pre-Christian deities associated with nature. Members of the Wicca religion refer to be called pagans. Their beliefs, which are characterized by witchcraft, do not link to pre-Christian religious beliefs as it is claimed.

The religion can be associated with Gerald B. Gardner and Margaret Murray. Margaret was an anthropologist and a renowned prominent feminist who argued that western witch cults during the medieval period were used as survivals for the fertility of the religion. Gerald aimed at showing that the remnants of these medieval witchcrafts still exist in modern Europe. These researches have been rejected by anthropologists and termed them as extravagant claims. The religion seems to have revived with the repeal of the 1735 witchcraft act of England, which was done in 1954. As such, Gerald intended to revive craft by describing the ancient witchcraft in his book “Witchcraft Today.”

The religion is based on the belief that mystery and divine magic lies within us and the natural world. The Wiccan religion believes in the concept of sacred, which is not from outside but within nature. As such, the Wiccan communities worship varied pre-Christian gods, which are commonly viewed as personifications of power of nature that lies within human imaginations. When they use the term “God” or “goddess,” they do not refer to the biblical creator, but they use it to refer to existing power that lies with all living things. Most of the power is associated with human culture and personality.

Wiccans not only worship the power of nature but also aim at accessing those powers through ritual acts that involve the use of magic. This aspect of obtaining power through the magic that has placed the Wicca religion within the Melton’s family of magic present in the new faith. Wiccan acknowledges the exercise of power, which is embodied in Wiccan Rede, which acts as the guiding principles for ethical behavior. The principles teach witches to harm none but use the magic to achieve positive results.

Wiccans celebrate the phase of the moon as well as the changes in seasons. There two main ceremonies conducted by Wiccan communities designed to honor the God of the Sun and the Goddess of the moon. The celebrations are Esbat and Sabbat. Esbat ceremonies are carried out when the moon is full, but this can change from culture to culture. Sabbats are associated with the season, and the Wiccan calendar consists of eight sabbats, with the most popular being Yule or Yuletide, as described by Christians. The two ceremonies are different, as each has different functions. Esbat is meant to draws the powers of the moon to oneself while sabbat is intended to pay tribute to the certain character of a certain god.

Communities practicing the Wicca religion conduct a self-dedication ritual. The ritual involves several aspects that include preparation, purification, introduction promises, and offering and journaling. During preparation, an individual makes tools that will be used in the ritual. The practice is not a must, but it adds experience to the person. Purification involves identifying the venue of the ritual, purifying you, tools, and clothes to be used in the ritual. Introduction means introducing an individual to the goddess and gods of the Wiccan religion. You are not supposed to have identified a specific god at this stage. After an introduction, the individual is required to make at least one promise to the gods. An offering is then given that it involves food or drink share among the gods and participants in the ritual. An individual then starts journaling his or her journey into Wiccan religion.

Wicca religion is one of the most fragmented religions that exist in the world. Communities practicing the religion general gather in groups known as covens, although some prefer practicing their craft in isolation. A coven is a group of people who are led by a priest or priestess who has acquired adequate knowledge and experience to lead such a group. It is not a club or a substitute of neither a family nor a church as described by many people.

To participate in the coven and become a member of a particular coven, an individual is initiated to a coven. An initiation, according to Wiccan religion, involves being presented to the gods or goddesses and verifies your experience to the coven. If one is practicing his own, he or she is not required to prove his experience and thus can practice it with an open-minded high priest or priestess. When being initiated into a coven, one should consider the mutual respect among the coven members, the ability of the leader to answer all questions about the background and rules governing the coven. Also, initiates should consider there is there is a written guide of the coven. This makes the individual avoid doubts about the coven.