There have been several books written on this subject, in fact.
Hong, Nansook. (1998). In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family. Little, Brown.
Lambert, B. in Tingle, D. and Fordyce, R. 1979, Phases and Faces of the Moon: A Critical Examination of the Unification Church and its Principles, Hicksville, NY: Exposition Press.
Not that I've read any of them. But if you're interested..
Hmmm...maybe not interested enough to read a whole book, but wiki states they believe in the Bible and believe in Jesus. They're definitely a horse of a different color.
I would be interested to talk to someone who has participated in something like this.. I wonder what got them to want to do it, just like BrandonDay said. H Chen - In the books were there interviews? It would be interesting to know what the people involved think about the topic, and how they see it in their minds, instead of people scrutinizing the situation.
I don't think this is too unusual. I've read a few books on the cultural revolution. That, and combined with some of the readings I've done on cults and other christian religions, I don't find this too unusual. Some people use religion to connect themselves to humanity. Others use it to lose their autonomy and be freed from responsibilities and independent thought. Some people get tied into a urge to be apart of a group that (in their mind) represents something far greater then themselves. Kinda gets into that, "when the old god's die" comment.
It seems like the first book by Nansook Hong is a personal narrative about being a Moonie, so if you're interested in firsthand accounts, you should take a look at it.
You could also read Mao II as an attempt at surveying the psychology of the Moonies, and finding it everywhere. I think one of the arguments of the book is that its a mistake to identify the Unification Church as some kind of strange phenomena that we can point to, but that their mentality can be found everywhere. On the streets in New York, in the crowds at sports events. It is no coincidence that Delillo includes descriptions of soccer game crowds, talks about baseball, and pays so much attention to talking about New York City in his book.
Psychology on crowd dynamics understands crowds as one unit. People have done research on subway turnstiles, and found that during rush hour people will follow where others are going rather than rationally assessing the quickest way into the subway, thus you have clogs in certain places and free space in others. This is the same kind of thing that causes traffic jams.
I think that this ruins the intimate experience of what a wedding is supposed to be. You don't have that personal connection that you would have if you threw a traditional wedding where you invite guests, have your bridesmaids and best man, etc. It just ruins the whole wedding experience
This is so interesting to watch. I agree, I think that having a wedding like this doesn't make it personal. It is more of an allegiance to the cult or religion and is using marriage as the platform to show devotion. It is interesting though, the fact that this many people actually got married in these circumstances speaks for how powerful the Moonie cult was.
I saw an interview with a woman who was a Moonie. She was concerned with how she came to the cult and wanted to understand how people become part of cults. There is really no way of telling who will take part in activities like this and who won't. I think that's really interesting as well.
This is so insane. What compelled them to do this?
ReplyDeleteThere have been several books written on this subject, in fact.
ReplyDeleteHong, Nansook. (1998). In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family. Little, Brown.
Lambert, B. in Tingle, D. and Fordyce, R. 1979, Phases and Faces of the Moon: A Critical Examination of the Unification Church and its Principles, Hicksville, NY: Exposition Press.
Not that I've read any of them. But if you're interested..
Hmmm...maybe not interested enough to read a whole book, but wiki states they believe in the Bible and believe in Jesus. They're definitely a horse of a different color.
ReplyDeleteI would be interested to talk to someone who has participated in something like this.. I wonder what got them to want to do it, just like BrandonDay said.
ReplyDeleteH Chen - In the books were there interviews?
It would be interesting to know what the people involved think about the topic, and how they see it in their minds, instead of people scrutinizing the situation.
I don't think this is too unusual. I've read a few books on the cultural revolution. That, and combined with some of the readings I've done on cults and other christian religions, I don't find this too unusual. Some people use religion to connect themselves to humanity. Others use it to lose their autonomy and be freed from responsibilities and independent thought. Some people get tied into a urge to be apart of a group that (in their mind) represents something far greater then themselves. Kinda gets into that, "when the old god's die" comment.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like the first book by Nansook Hong is a personal narrative about being a Moonie, so if you're interested in firsthand accounts, you should take a look at it.
ReplyDeleteYou could also read Mao II as an attempt at surveying the psychology of the Moonies, and finding it everywhere. I think one of the arguments of the book is that its a mistake to identify the Unification Church as some kind of strange phenomena that we can point to, but that their mentality can be found everywhere. On the streets in New York, in the crowds at sports events. It is no coincidence that Delillo includes descriptions of soccer game crowds, talks about baseball, and pays so much attention to talking about New York City in his book.
Psychology on crowd dynamics understands crowds as one unit. People have done research on subway turnstiles, and found that during rush hour people will follow where others are going rather than rationally assessing the quickest way into the subway, thus you have clogs in certain places and free space in others. This is the same kind of thing that causes traffic jams.
I think that this ruins the intimate experience of what a wedding is supposed to be. You don't have that personal connection that you would have if you threw a traditional wedding where you invite guests, have your bridesmaids and best man, etc. It just ruins the whole wedding experience
ReplyDeleteThis is so interesting to watch. I agree, I think that having a wedding like this doesn't make it personal. It is more of an allegiance to the cult or religion and is using marriage as the platform to show devotion. It is interesting though, the fact that this many people actually got married in these circumstances speaks for how powerful the Moonie cult was.
ReplyDeleteI saw an interview with a woman who was a Moonie. She was concerned with how she came to the cult and wanted to understand how people become part of cults. There is really no way of telling who will take part in activities like this and who won't. I think that's really interesting as well.