FWC School of Apologetics

1. FWC School of Apologetics An in-depth program that aims to equip believers to give answers for why they believe what they believe Each class you take is worth one credit Credits build up to certificates Bronze Certificate in Biblical Apologetics - 5 Credits Silver Certificate in Biblical Apologetics - 10 Credits Gold Certificate in Biblical Apologetics - 15 Credits Platinum Certificate in Biblical Apologetics - 20 Credits

2. Certificates will be distributed (and those who’ve earned them will be recognized) at our annual apologetic conference Classes related to the one you are taking today Religious Apologetics: Islam Eastern Religion (Hinduism & Buddhism) Catholicism & the Protestant Reformation The Occult Minor World Religions Judaism

3. The unification church August 17. 1990, headlines in the San Francisco Chronicle read “Rev. Moon says He’s The Messiah” Surrounded by a collection of swamis, scholars, lamas, imams, he declared himself the new world messiah.

4. Good Bible verses to keep in mind for both groups tonight Matthew 24:4-5: “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Matthew 24:23-28 “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets…

5. and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.”

6. Rev. Sun Myung Moon imparts the secrets of his divinity and theology in three major sources: The Divine Principle The Master Speaks Unification website What are some things that he has said in the past?

7. “I am the incarnation of God, the whole world is in my hands, and I will conquer and subjugate the world. God is now throwing Christianity away and is now establishing a new religion, and this new religion is the Unification Church. All the Christians in the world are destined to be absorbed by our movement.” There have been saints, prophets, many religious leads in past human history. But Master Moon here, is more than any of those people, and greater than Jesus himself…”

8. “I am a thinker, I am your brain. Where you join the effort with me, you can do everything in utter obedience to me, because what I am doing is not done at random, but what I am doing is under God’s command There is no complain or objection against anything being done here until we have established the Kingdom of God on earth. Up until the very end there can never be any complaints! I want to have the member under me who will be willing to obey me even though they may have to disobey their own parents and the presidents of their own nations. And if I gain half the population of the world, I can turn the whole world upside down” (as quoted in Time, June 14, 1976)

9. During a speech of Mr. Mon in New York City Yankee Stadium, he said: “Ladies and gentlemen, if there is illness in your home, do you not need a doctor from outside? God has sent me to America in the role of a doctor and in the role of a firefighter. For the last three years, with my entire heart and soul I have been teaching American youth a new revelation from God.”

10. What does the Bible say? Galatians 1:6-9 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

11. Statistics and information on the Unification church Worldwide member count is around 1 to 2 million people Most of the members live in Korea, and then Japan There are roughly 30,000 members in the United States They have invested quite a bit in the United States

12. The bought the New Yorker Hotel, right across from Madison Square Garden’ and it now serves as their international headquarters for the religion They are deeply involved in Politics in Washington D.C. They own and publish the Washington Times news paper In the 1990s Sun Myung Moon bought much of the commercial fishing industry in the U.S.

13. History Mr. Moon was born in the 1920s in North Korea He claims that on Easter morning in 1936, Jesus appeared to him and told him he was chosen to complete the “unfinished task” of Jesus Christ Rev. Moon claims he has been in regular contact with Buddha, Krishna, Moses, Jesus, and a variety of other prophets

14. Because of these claim he was ex-communicated by the Presbyterian Church in Korea in 1948 In 1954 he established his own church, called the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, which was later shortened to “The Unification Church” In 1970 Moon started his work in the United States

15. Who do the Moonies go after for recruitment? Why are people attracted to it? Why do people stay? Moon’s theology? Moon teaches that God created Adam and Eve and that Eve fell into sin through sexual relations with Satan. Because of this she passed that sin on to the whole human race

16. He says it was then necessary for a new Adam, Jesus Christ, to come to earth in order to marry a sinless, perfect, and ideal wife so that they might sexually procreate the Kingdom of God on earth. He states that Jesus came for the purpose of marrying the ideal wife and creating the perfect family. But he says that somewhere along the line, Jesus got sidetracked from His original goal and mistakenly got himself crucified

17. “Jesus was God’s son, the first established in this position after 4,000 years of preparation. He was the son of God living on earth in the midst of a nation centering on Judaism with the seed of the family of Joseph. The satanic side already had established nations and was attacking the side of Heaven, so Heaven’s side also needed a national standard on a complete foundation. That is why God labored for 4,000 years to form that single nation out of the evil world…

18. …The fruit of God’s labor was to have come by the people of Israel accepting Jesus and forming a worldwide foundation. This was to have led to the establishment of a world centered completely on God and Jesus on earth. Because Jesus died prematurely, however, this world was established only spiritually.” This is why god sent Mr. Moon to set of the Unification Church as a Utopia and governmental body

19. The Bible saw this coming… Jude 1:3-4 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

20. 2 Peter 2:1-3: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”

21. The Baha'i There are over 5 million Baha’is represented in 188 countries around the world today. The Baha’i faith started in the 19th century. Its roots started with a young Persian merchant named Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad, who took the name “Bab,” which in Arabic means “Gate” or “Door.”

22. On May 23rd, 1844, he announced that he was the bearer of a Divine Revelation which would change the spiritual life of humanity. He taught about a second messenger that would come who is greater than him He is kind of like John the Baptist This promised second messenger of God was Baha’u’llah, who was born to a wealthy, noble family in Persia during the 19th century. 

23. He grew to have more interest in helping the poor rather than having the wealth and prestige of this noble family. He had a vision from God showing him God’s will for humanity while imprisoned in Tehran in 1852. In 1863, he shared that he was the promised one that the Bab foretold about. He is seen as the latest prophet or Manifestation of God given to mankind.

24. Prophets: Moses, Jesus, Abraham, Krishna, Muhammad, Buddha, etc. The purpose of these individuals was to create the great religions and show them how to worship God Baha’u’llah was imprisoned or exiled for over 40 years, in which he wrote over 100 volumes of religious writings that the Baha’i community follow today.  Baha’u’llah died in exile in Palestine in 1892.

25. The basic teachings of the Baha’I faith God - There is one God, no Trinity. - God created the world.   - Even though individuals of different religions pray to God by different names, they are still praying to the same God under a different name. - Baha’u’llah taught that human beings cannot understand God completely or have a clear picture of Him in our minds. This is because God is too great and too subtle for this to happen.

26. Creation - God has complete control over His creation. - God has complete and perfect knowledge of His creation. Knowledge of God - The knowledge that we have of God are of His attributes and qualities, but not of His essence. - No one can actually see God because He does not have a body.  This would imply that Jesus was not God in the flesh. - What one learns about God is through prayer, meditation, and the study and application of the - various sacred scriptures of the prophets of God.

27. Revelation by Prophets -God chose different revelations throughout history to show His will to the world.  He used different manifestations or prophets to accomplish this process.  These prophets include the founders of the great religions of the world, including but are not limited to Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Muhammad, and Buddha. Their goal is to bring humankind into full spiritual and moral maturity. - Baha’u’llah is the latest of the prophets or manifestations of God to humanity.

28. - None of the manifestations of God are superior or inferior to any other manifestations.  So Jesus is no better or worse than Moses, or Jesus is not better or worse than Buddha, etc. - The differences in the various religions are not because of any fault of the various founders of the world religions.  It is because of the different requirements during the times in which these religions were founded.

29. The different religions set up by the different Manifestations of God are part of one single • plan by God.  • There is only one religion in the world, which is seen as the Baha’i faith.  This is the religion that has been progressively revealed throughout history by all of the major prophets of the previous religions.  - The revelation of God unto humankind will continue into the future. The implication of this is that there might be future prophets or Manifestations of God.

30. Unification of Humankind • Full equality of women with men. • Taking away all forms of prejudice. • Oneness of religion/a universal religion. • Taking away extreme poverty and wealth • Universal education. • Individual’s seeking religious truth for themselves. • Forming a commonwealth of nations. • The recognition that true religion and reason/scientific knowledge are in harmony.

31. The Afterlife Heaven and Hell are not seen as literal places where people go after death.  They are seen as being descriptions of an individual’s spiritual journey towards the light of God.  After death, the soul makes a journey throughout different worlds that takes the individual towards God.  Whatever place the soul goes is because of one’s efforts.

32. Passages Dealing with Hell: Matthew 25:41: “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” Revelation 20:10: “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

33. The Nature of Mankind The physical desires of humans are not evil or bad.  Everything that God created is seen as good.  Sacred Writings Baha’u’llah writings, which would be equal to over 100 volumes worth of work. The writings of the Bab, the forerunner of Baha’u’llah. The writings Baha’u’llah’s son, Abdu’l-Baha. The Bible, Quran and the various other sacred writings of the revealed religions.

34. What about the resurrection of Christ Jesus? The resurrections of the Divine Manifestations are not of the body.  All Their states, Their conditions, Their acts, the things They have established, Their teachings, Their expressions, Their parables and Their instructions have a spiritual and divine signification, and have no connection with material things.

35. That is one points you can push them on historically John 2:19-22 19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21 But he spake of the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

36. Many things in the Bible are not true if the Baha’I are correct! Jesus Christ is Divine and that He also pre-existed before His human form.  At the same time Baha’is believe that there are three levels of being: humankind, Manifestations or Prophets of God, and God.  The Bible says Jesus is the creator God

37. Memory Verse Jude 1:3: “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”