Why We Left
An Open Letter to the Unification Church from a former 2nd Gen.
Dear UC / FFWPU, The other day I was visiting some childhood friends who also grew up “blessed children.” We realized that if the Unification Church had actually practiced “true love”, embodied God’s love and compassion, and created truly kind individuals, we would probably still believe. But we didn’t encounter that God of love we heard so many speeches about while in the FFWPU. In fact, we encountered the opposite. We encountered a God who shames and punishes his children, a love with countless conditions, and a toxic culture that is constantly creating an “us vs them” dichotomy.
There was no room for those who were politically liberal, LGBT or gender nonconforming, or questioning their faith – and authenticity was hard to find.
We may have been drawn to the UC in the 70s, because many of us are also idealists with big hearts. Perhaps we’d fall in love with the communities of faith that existed in the early UC, and perhaps we’d find individuals with a love for God, a love for people, and ideals and visions that could rock the world.
But that was a faded reality by the time we came around. All talk of peace was for PR. BCs were constantly shamed, and members constantly used. There were remnants of what the First Generation encountered, but that was despite the Church, not because of it.
We left the UC / FFWPU because we could not find that Love we heard about. We were sorely disappointed, and we were unable to muster any faith in this thing. Believe us, we tried. We prayed, fasted, sought answers from elders, took cold showers, went to Cheongpyeong – but everything only confirmed something we knew in our hearts: this movement was not of God. All that was of God among us was despite the movement, not because of it.
We’re gone because you pushed us out. You made no room for us. You didn’t even attempt to live out that new truth you claimed changed your life. You were more focused on promoting and protecting your clan, and preserving and enforcing a questionable moral code, and glorifying a single man.
We were not blessed families. We were cursed.
Signed, A Former 2nd Gen, and supposedly a “blessed child”.
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