Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / July 21, 1983, edition 1 / Page 29
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ternatsve saions ns sine. IKI From page 1B an Oriental and nobody here trusts Orien tals. Moon said that if he were white and fesbyterian his word would not be ques tioned' : Because of the prejudice encountered, the Moonies concealed their identity from the public for many years in an effort to gain so cial acceptance. Materials distributed in air ports and other heavily traveled areas bore the Unificatioa Church's name, but always in very small print. In the summer of 1982, the philosophy changed when Moon staged the largest mass marriage in the history of ; the world (more than 2,200 couples ex changed vows in Madison Square Garden in New York) in an effort to gain worldwide at- ention. The same year, Moon was indicted for several million dollars in tax evasion, and he subsequently fled the country. 1982 was full of publicity, good and bad, and this year the group is redoubling its ef- brts in a worldwide three-year plan to make . the movement more visible locally, nationally and internationally. "Through the use of witness teams we plan to confront the world with three main things: immorality, Christianity and commu nism," Williams said. "Five teams will blan ket the United States, spending about three weeks in each place in an effort to draw at tention to the International One World Cru sade." Understandably, Williams neglected to mention another major interest of the Moonies. " Money. The Unification Church, which was brief ly visible in the area several years ago, ap pears to be financially sound. For years the church has been buying up businesses all over the country both for profit and as an ef fort to infiltrate communities and gain their trust and respect. One of the group's largest businesses, a catering company, is now vying for some very large corporate accounts, in cluding IBM. Moonies hope to eventually "inherit" the Earth, and by' establishing businesses through out the world they feel they will be better prepared to assume their "destined" respon sibility. ' Perhaps the most deceptive practice of all is the Unification Church's methods of in doctrinating members. ' New members are allowed only four to five hours of sleep per day and their nutri tional needs are often neglected in an effort to make them more open to the idea of join ing. When recruiting, the Moonies tend to fo cus on potential members that are in stages of transition. College students are prime tar gets because during the years that they are away at school they are constantly changing emotionally as well as spiritually. Other tar- f i gets include people in varying stages of vul nerability. Someone who has recently lost a loved one, been fired from a job, or for whatever reason is depressed is especially vulnerable to groups like the Moonies. Clay, an ex-Moonie living in Hillsborough, said that "mind control is the big thing with the Moonies. They repeat things over and over until the new member is willing to ac cept without question the teachings of Moon. New members are made to feel guilty about everything . . . that they are responsi ble for bad things . in their lives, etc." Moonies also encourage "dissolution of fami- ly and religious ties, and a complete render ing of all financial resources is demanded in the name of the church, Clay said. Once the Moonies have a new member, a number of things take place to insure that they don't lose him. Members are assigned spiritual parents in an effort to help the new member let go of his natural ones. The natural parents, with the exception of a few extraordinary circumstances, are considered a threat to the security of the movement. In the event that parents wish to see their chil dren, they must come to a Unification en campment. Visitation is limited and a member of the church is assigned to ac company the parents during the visit. The practice of "love-bombing" (mem bers overwhelm each other with praise, love notes and reassurance) has been found to be very effective in keeping members loyal to the cause. . V As soon as new members are considered ready they are sent out to "witness" for the church. These are the people that are seen soliciting money and members for the church. . . . Maranatha Ministries An organization often compared to the Unification Church, though significantly dif ferent, is Maranatha Christian Ministries J? v M i ? A ' Ivy- J. .v S S , . .: v y--- . : : : : , v Xv -S i - - I v., ..-. v.Aj S;..: $ .1: "l- n . f I J I - ' .v(. - . ' V..?- : : I I ....(.,v :' .'. i . w W00P i I l r ; .:- :'--:. : ; " ' y.:: ,' $ : :-: ' J : J..ii- .S I v - ' . V tlliiiliiiil lllliin i --i il 1 il i I " I I -1 "''MililT Tar Heeltori Thornn Terry McKnight distributes information on the Unification Church to passerbyson Franklin Street. and family issues, the Spiritual Counterfeits Project (SPQ hosted a meeting to discuss "matters of concern about the teaching and practice of MCM." "These matters included bitter complaints and accusations about the conversion tech niques and maintenance regime developed by MCM, whose goal is to deploy an army of single-minded converts in the task of making America into a theocracy," Schecter said. At a recent week-long rally on campus, '1 i control is tkj i!j tiling with tl:2 repczt things over and over until ih2 nov: member is will ing to accept vnthout ruestion ike teachings of Lie on." -Clay,. mi cx-Moome: (MCM), another organization in which money and membership are high priorities. Maranatha is a nationwide campus organi zation evangelical, charismatic and total istic in nature but it has been accused of employing destructive cult practices by some ex-members, their parents and numer ous campus observers at UNC. According to R.E. Schecter of The Advisor, a journal that informs the government and public on cult Tar HeelJoel Katzertstein Unification Church van sits on Franklin Street, people are invited to leam more about Rev. Moon and Unification concepts. Maranatha met for nightly prayer meetings with leader Dennis Darville. Attracting any where from 50 to 75 people on a given night, the meetings were designed to increase cam pus awareness of Maranatha as well as to in crease membership. To the typical UNC pas serby, the services were generally non-offensive. In fact, contemporary music pieces were performed by Maranatha musicians as a reg ular part of the service. Members were seen ; $ reaffirming faith in Christ by giving testi monials in front of the group. Several members periodically stood up with their 4 eyes closed and their arms outstretched as X) ther bodies swayed from right to left, while vi Darville led the group in prayer. Not to Be Underestimated The Way has not been as visible on cam pus as Maranatha, nor has it received world wide attention like the Unification Church, but its size and influence is not to be under estimated. According to Norman Acker, an ex member of the Way, this organization is very powerful. Acker joined the group when he was 15. . "After 2Vi years as a student leader I began having doubts about my involement and certain policies that The Way teaches," Acker said. like the Unification Church, The Way teaches it's followers not to think, but to accept. "I believed in certain things, such as the Trinity, that The Way opposed. I told them I needed a month to pray and think about my involvement. In essence what I did was step back and look at the in consistencies and the problems I had in deal ing with them. I came to the conclusion that The Way was not for me." . Acker said that he joined The Way because the people made him feel loved, wanted and important. "People who haven't had this kind of emotional support in their lives are especially attracted to The Way," Acker said. "There is a lot of hugging and affec tion, and they give a lot of positive reinforce ment. As long as you do what is expected things are fine. The Way makes you want to do what they say because of the way they make you feel when you do." On the other side of the coin,' however, The Way uses internal pressure peer coer cion, guilt and other psychological tactics to maintain the ideals of the group. One such tactic is a class called "The Power for Abun dant Living." Twelve sessions long, the clas ses last a minimum of three hours, and, ac cording to Acker, staying awake was a prob lem. "Being worn down for three hours at a time makes -you start accepting ideas that you might not accept under other circum stances." . " As with the Unification Church and Mar anatha, money is a big part of a member's involvement, Acker said. "In the 2Vi years that I was a member I must have invested at least a thousand dollars. The first class costs $85 and every class and meeting after that costs too. They tell us that it is a slight invest ment for all that we get in return." Acker said that much of the money is put back into the building and in the general ministry, but The Way has invested in at least two college campuses, airplanes, mobile homes, and a ranch for special retreats and training ses sions. Unlike Maranatha, which is accepting of other churches. The Way denounces the or ganized church and protests interpretation of the Bible. "Scripture shall not be privately interpreted except by the leader of The Way," Acker said. "They make it easy for people not to think for themselves. They'll make all the decisions for you if you let them." Because of the secrecy that many alterna tive religions employ, it is impossible to know everything that goes on within the groups. "Looking beyond the initial attrac tion of a particular religious organization is really important because you never know what you might be getting yourself into," Acker said. Thursday, July 21, 1833 The Tar Heel 9B
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 21, 1983, edition 1
29
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