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—Sun Myung Moon
Those who have kept up with the post or are familiar with Unification Thought and the teachings of the Divine Principle, you will recognize a common underlining theme in each one.
Reverend Dr. Sun Myung Moon made it his life mission to speak about reversing the fallen history and what he had learned in his 90 years in search of the ultimate way to completely be rid of humanity's sinful fallen lineage.
In short, humanity's wrong turn began with the wrong use of love through the sexual organs and in his quest he found that to reverse this is through connecting our love to God and our sexual organs only between husband and wife.
For the next week, we will focus on this part of the teaching.
Many think that a pastor should not bring up the topic of sex, but God created sex to be abundant and enjoyed between a husband and wife. Because sex education is not being taught in the home or in the church's, Satan has been teaching his ungodly way of sex. It is time to reclaim this holy part of the body and return it to God.
Here Father Moon gives a speech on the topic:
"When children are young, the joy of their lives is in seeing their parents’ faces. Next comes the deep attachment they develop with their siblings and friends.
But as they begin to turn into young men and women, they become intensely fascinated with the other sex, and the longing for conjugal love rises in their hearts. This is the “urge to merge” with a mate and become more complete, the longing for oneness in heart and body with their life companion, to team up with a partner to impact the world in a greater way.
These developments are a direct call of the four realms of heart and are necessary to a life fulfilled in true love. Traditionally, parents and indeed their whole society guided young people along a clearly defined path to meet a mate and come into marriage.
Centuries ago in the West and presently in parts of the East, elders arranged marriages while youth were yet teenagers. In the modernized world not long ago, individuals dated to select their own mate for marriage. In either case, sexual love was expected to be reserved for marriage. Presently, however, these ways have become all but lost.
Dating is no longer with the intent to marry, but simply to have fun and companionship.
In fact, there are few clear rules or guidelines to help steer couples to the altar. Sex has become an expression of casual interest with little connection to marriage.
It is indulged in at earlier and earlier ages; 16 is a common age to lose virginity in most Western countries. Parenthood is no longer related to marriage and the widespread use of contraceptives and abortion intends to sever sex from parenthood as well.
A “divorce culture” in which a high percentage of first marriages fail has broken young people’s confidence to marry and adult confidence to advocate it. This plus the lack of stigma attached to sex outside of marriage has led to the widespread practice of couples living together before or in place of marrying.
Perhaps to an unprecedented degree, a multitude of powerful forces conspire against young people keeping the tradition of giving their bodies and souls to one person for life. Yet this remains the standard imprinted in the heart and conscience by the Creator.
For what reason do we marry? It is in order to realize the purpose of [human] creation.”
Nothing else can satisfy individuals’ yearning to live a life of honor and significance, to be loved unconditionally and to give their children the security of their parents’ enduring unity.
Desirable and Attainable?
To conform to this norm requires youth and single people to believe in the value and viability of both purity and marriage. Just as importantly, they need to believe in their own capability to be successful in each enterprise.
On one hand, they need to be sold on the beauty of reserving sex for marriage. One young woman sums up her sense of this when she writes, “It is sexuality dedicated to hope, to the future, to marital love, to children, and to God.”
At the same time, confidence that they personally can practice it is essential. This is not easy in many societies given the dearth of role models to look up to.
On the other hand, the idea of saving sex for marriage only has meaning if they view matrimony as desirable. More pointedly, they must see it as an attainable goal for themselves. When so many in society model marital failure, it is common to find individuals who doubt they can succeed in marriage:
“I want to be married, but most people I know have divorced or given up on it. I don’t know how I could do better.” In such cases, they may well decide to give up their chastity and dreams of marriage for a live-in lover, the closest thing to marital commitment they believe they can achieve.
For these reasons, helping young and single people to be responsible regarding their sexual desires and to achieve the life purpose of marriage requires support for both goals. This support may encompass many facets—from basic relationship insights and skills to inner qualities and the lessons gleaned from family relationships to considering practical issues of when and how to meet a potential mate.
Education for Character, Abstinence and Marriage Preparation
Guiding young people into matrimony and safeguarding their chastity is a multi-faceted endeavor involving many overt and subtle contributions from the family and community.
The disruption of traditional culture in the developed countries has left in many cases a profound vacuum that leaves adolescents and young adults with an unprecedented lack of assistance in this critical task. Families and societies have adapted in some measure to meet the need.
The most noticeable developments have been the rise of education for character, sexual abstinence and more recently, the emergence of marriage and relationship education.
Character education has been a rising trend in many societies. Whether in elementary school or at the university, whether in a secular or parochial setting, intentional character education aims to bolster the moral development of students and foster emotional and social learning.
Methods include bringing out the ethical dimensions of classroom instruction, creating a more caring school community, conducting service learning projects and utilizing cooperative learning techniques.
Many view character education as a socializing influence that promotes better interpersonal relationships, including those between the sexes.
Formal education about sexuality has been a growing trend worldwide, especially with the proliferation of sexually transmitted infections.
Much of this, however, is focused on control of the physical consequences of sexual relations, not primarily the support of purity. In response, what is called abstinence education has emerged.
Whether offered in a secular or faith-based setting, this is formal, research-based instruction characterized by an emphasis on reserving physical intimacy for marriage. Nations as diverse as the United States, Uganda and India have supported this effort with government funding.
The last thirty years has witnessed an explosion of scientific understanding about what makes marriages succeed and fail. This has been translated into programs imparting certain knowledge and skills that are supplementing the traditional premarital guidance offered in faith and family settings to great effect.
For instance, in cities where judges and clergy agree to conduct marriages only for couples who have received premarital education and counseling, divorce rates have dropped dramatically.
They are also increasingly being offered in schools and other contexts. In the United States, several states and cities have mandated marriage education for all high school students, and such courses for personal enrichment are increasingly common on college campuses. The hallmark of such programs is training in better communication skills and greater facility in dealing with conflict
Complementary Education
The three kinds of education are naturally complementary and interdependent. The most effective abstinence programs incorporate marriage and relationship education, just as the most comprehensive relationship education cautions against physical intimacy outside of the context of commitment. This burgeoning formal instruction in the understanding and skills needed for sexual abstinence and marriage preparation is of great value.
Three Facets of Marriage Preparation
Yet for Reverend Moon, there are other components of chastity and marriage support that are equally if not more important. We may consider the great religious traditions and their appeal to and cultivation of personal character. There are also the lessons gained and the wholesome influence of personal relationships with elders, youngers and peers. This is where character education has an important role to play.
Finally there is the question of the age of entering into marriage and parentally involved mate selection; these represent yet another facet of depth and power. If these various facets can be likened to
Parental Involvement in Mate Selection
Right Age of Marriage
Relational
Knowledge
Skills
Character
Enriching
Relationships
Olympic medals, knowledge and techniques alone represent the bronze medal level. This combined with character and family relationships compares to the silver medal status. If parentally involved mate selection and right marital timing are added, this represents the highest, gold medal level
Return for Tomorrow's Post: 7 Days of Holy Sex Day 1: Significance of Sex
This text was rewritten and derived from the Textbook: True Love, Chapter "Purity and Preparation for Marriage"
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