Heung Jin Moon
Encyclopedia
Heung Jin Moon (October 23, 1966 - January 2, 1984), also referred to by members of the Unification Church
as Heung Jin Nim or posthumously as Lord Heung Jin Nim(Korean
:흥진님 귀족):, was the second son of church founders Sun Myung Moon
and Hak Ja Han
. At the age of 17 he died in a vehicle accident in New York State. Three months later his parents conducted a spiritual wedding ceremony between him and Julia Pak, daughter of church leader, Bo Hi Pak
. He is officially regarded by the Unification Church to be the "king of the spirits" in heaven
(ranking higher than Jesus
). After Moon's death, some church members claimed that they were channelling
messages from his spirit. In a 1988 a church member from Zimbabwe
, named Kundioni, claimed to be the incarnation of Moon. His acts of violence against church members were a source of controversy within the church. Moon is now believed by church members to be leading workshops in the spiritual world
in which spirits of deceased persons are taught Unification Church teachings.
) and died on January 2. Unification Church leader Chung Hwan Kwak
stated: "A truck lost control as it approached the car Heung Jin Nim was driving. Heung Jin Nim swerved the car to prevent the two friends who were with him from taking the brunt of the impact, and instead took it on himself."
. According to the tenets of Unificationism, only married couples may enter the highest level of heaven. His parents conducted a spiritual wedding ceremony three months later, February 20, 1984. Pak, who now uses the name Julia Moon, said: "I will never forget in my whole life and for eternity this great honor of being Heung Jin Nim's bride, which I do not deserve".
The Unification Church teaches that Heung Jin Moon's death had cosmic significance, and that he is now in a position in heaven higher than Jesus. Sun Myung Moon explained that his son's death was a great victory as it saved his own life; that his assassination by leftist terrorists
was foiled on the same day as the accident, "that his son's loss was a providential act allowed by God in order to protect [Sun Myung] Moon's calling", and that there was a karmic
connection between the two events:
A week later Sun Myung Moon taught that Heung Jin Moon "had a new mission and was free to travel between his spirit world and our physical world". He also "proclaimed that Heung Jin became a leader to Jesus in the spirit realm
".
Longtime president of the Korean Unification Church Young Whi Kim wrote: "They all refer to Heung Jin Nim as the new Christ
. They also call him the Youth-King of Heaven. He is the King of Heaven in the spirit world
. Jesus
is working with him and always accompanies him. Jesus himself says that Heung Jin Nim is the new Christ. He is the center of the spirit world now. This means he is in a higher position than Jesus." Sun Myung Moon's right hand man Bo Hi Pak
announced that Heung Jin Moon's sacrifice "carries far greater importance than the crucifixion of Jesus Christ".
). Other members said they experienced automatic writing
from him, or other kinds of spiritual communications from him. According to one report: "Often it was unlikely people who ['channelled' him], even people who were not that spiritual. There was a sister in Britain called Faith Jones who gave guidance from him. A Dutch brother called Gerrit van Dorsten, who had been on the New York City Tribune also did." Andrea Higashibaba, then state leader of the Unification Church of Tennessee, wrote a lengthy article in Today's World magazine detailing her encounters (in spirit) with Heung Jin Moon, leading up to a "liberation ceremony" for deceased civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
. Soon many members around the world were "channeling Heung Jin Nim." Typically these messages were ones of love and support.
an member of the Unification Church
named Kundioni. Kundioni's name was not known by most church members at the time, but he met with Sun Myung Moon and members of the "True Family", who apparently accepted the "Black Heung Jin Nim" as a temporary union of the spirit of Heung Jin Moon with the mind and body of Kundioni.
Kundioni came under criticism by both members and outsiders for his violence and harsh methods, including a beating that resulted in the hospitalization of church leader Bo Hi Pak
. Church members do not believe that the severe violence was committed by the spirit of Heung Jin Moon. At a certain point after his world tour of Unification churches, Sun Myung Moon said that Kundioni was no longer channeling Heung Jin Moon, and sent him back to Africa.
In 1987, leaders of the Unification Church were told that Heung Jin Moon had returned to earth in the body of a Zimbabwean member. The African was accepted by Sun Myung Moon and church officials as Heung Jin Moon's continuous channel - a "twenty-four hour" a day "embodiment" - and became known as "the Black Heung Jin Nim."
With Sun Myung Moon's approval he toured the world visiting Unification churches in a number of countries over several months, accompanied by church leaders and security guards. As channel for "Lord Heung Jin Nim" he was in a position of authority above that of all members, including top leaders apart from his parents Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han. Those members who confessed to certain sins received beatings; Damian Anderson (still a current Unification Church member) reports seeing him "knock people's heads together, hit them viciously with a baseball bat, smack them around the head, punch them, and handcuff them with golden handcuffs." Sun Myung Moon's right hand man Bo Hi Pak
received a beating that was potentially life-threatening and required hospitalization. Anderson was particularly upset that top church officials and their assistants prevented people by force from leaving.
Church members believed that because the medium was a "twenty-four hour" "embodiment" or "returning resurrection" of Heung Jin Moon's spirit, and that "the Zimbabwean's body was merely the instrument of Heung Jin Nim's spirit", these were really the actions of Heung Jin Moon; Larry Moffitt
, a church media executive, wrote:
Unification Church
The Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
as Heung Jin Nim or posthumously as Lord Heung Jin Nim(Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
:흥진님 귀족):, was the second son of church founders Sun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon is the Korean founder and leader of the worldwide Unification Church. He is also the founder of many other organizations and projects...
and Hak Ja Han
Hak Ja Han
Hak Ja Han or Hakja Han Moon is an influential member of the Unification Church and the wife of the church's founder, Sun Myung Moon. They married in April 1960 and have 13 children and 20 grandchildren...
. At the age of 17 he died in a vehicle accident in New York State. Three months later his parents conducted a spiritual wedding ceremony between him and Julia Pak, daughter of church leader, Bo Hi Pak
Bo Hi Pak
Bo Hi Pak is a prominent member of the Unification Church. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was a major leader in the organization, running projects such as newspapers , schools, performing arts projects, political projects such as the anti-communist organization CAUSA International, and was...
. He is officially regarded by the Unification Church to be the "king of the spirits" in heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
(ranking higher than Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
). After Moon's death, some church members claimed that they were channelling
Channelling (mediumistic)
In spirituality, channelling or channeling is the belief that communication of information occurs by or through a person , from a deity, spirit or other paranormal entity outside the mind of the channel...
messages from his spirit. In a 1988 a church member from Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, named Kundioni, claimed to be the incarnation of Moon. His acts of violence against church members were a source of controversy within the church. Moon is now believed by church members to be leading workshops in the spiritual world
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
in which spirits of deceased persons are taught Unification Church teachings.
Death at age 17
In December 1983, his car collided with a jacknifing tractor-trailer on an icy highway (State Route 9 in Hyde Park, New YorkHyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town located in the northwest part of Dutchess County, New York, United States, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie. The town is most famous for being the hometown of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt....
) and died on January 2. Unification Church leader Chung Hwan Kwak
Chung Hwan Kwak
Chung Hwan Kwak is a prominent leader of the international Unification Church, having been appointed to many leadership positions in Unification Church affiliated organizations by church founder Sun Myung Moon. Kwak has been the Chairman and President of News World Communications since 2002...
stated: "A truck lost control as it approached the car Heung Jin Nim was driving. Heung Jin Nim swerved the car to prevent the two friends who were with him from taking the brunt of the impact, and instead took it on himself."
Spiritual marriage
Moon's death came before his planned arranged marriage to ballerina Julia Pak, daughter of Moon's interpreter, Bo Hi PakBo Hi Pak
Bo Hi Pak is a prominent member of the Unification Church. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was a major leader in the organization, running projects such as newspapers , schools, performing arts projects, political projects such as the anti-communist organization CAUSA International, and was...
. According to the tenets of Unificationism, only married couples may enter the highest level of heaven. His parents conducted a spiritual wedding ceremony three months later, February 20, 1984. Pak, who now uses the name Julia Moon, said: "I will never forget in my whole life and for eternity this great honor of being Heung Jin Nim's bride, which I do not deserve".
Significance attributed to Heung Jin Moon's death
The Unification Church teaches that Heung Jin Moon's death had cosmic significance, and that he is now in a position in heaven higher than Jesus. Sun Myung Moon explained that his son's death was a great victory as it saved his own life; that his assassination by leftist terrorists
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
was foiled on the same day as the accident, "that his son's loss was a providential act allowed by God in order to protect [Sun Myung] Moon's calling", and that there was a karmic
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
connection between the two events:
A week later Sun Myung Moon taught that Heung Jin Moon "had a new mission and was free to travel between his spirit world and our physical world". He also "proclaimed that Heung Jin became a leader to Jesus in the spirit realm
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
".
Longtime president of the Korean Unification Church Young Whi Kim wrote: "They all refer to Heung Jin Nim as the new Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
. They also call him the Youth-King of Heaven. He is the King of Heaven in the spirit world
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
. Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
is working with him and always accompanies him. Jesus himself says that Heung Jin Nim is the new Christ. He is the center of the spirit world now. This means he is in a higher position than Jesus." Sun Myung Moon's right hand man Bo Hi Pak
Bo Hi Pak
Bo Hi Pak is a prominent member of the Unification Church. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was a major leader in the organization, running projects such as newspapers , schools, performing arts projects, political projects such as the anti-communist organization CAUSA International, and was...
announced that Heung Jin Moon's sacrifice "carries far greater importance than the crucifixion of Jesus Christ".
Posthumous, widespread channeling of Moon's spirit by Unification Church members
After Moon's death, Unification Church members around the world spoke to small groups of members, saying that the messages they were conveying were from Heung Jin Moon, being received by them spiritually (see Channelling (mediumistic)Channelling (mediumistic)
In spirituality, channelling or channeling is the belief that communication of information occurs by or through a person , from a deity, spirit or other paranormal entity outside the mind of the channel...
). Other members said they experienced automatic writing
Automatic writing
Automatic writing or psychography is writing which the writer states to be produced from a subconscious and/or spiritual source without conscious awareness of the content.-History:...
from him, or other kinds of spiritual communications from him. According to one report: "Often it was unlikely people who ['channelled' him], even people who were not that spiritual. There was a sister in Britain called Faith Jones who gave guidance from him. A Dutch brother called Gerrit van Dorsten, who had been on the New York City Tribune also did." Andrea Higashibaba, then state leader of the Unification Church of Tennessee, wrote a lengthy article in Today's World magazine detailing her encounters (in spirit) with Heung Jin Moon, leading up to a "liberation ceremony" for deceased civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
. Soon many members around the world were "channeling Heung Jin Nim." Typically these messages were ones of love and support.
Black Heung Jin Nim
Black Heung Jin Nim (also known as "Second Self Heung Jin Nim") refers to the alleged embodiment of the spirit of Heung Jin Moon in the body of a ZimbabweZimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
an member of the Unification Church
Unification Church
The Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
named Kundioni. Kundioni's name was not known by most church members at the time, but he met with Sun Myung Moon and members of the "True Family", who apparently accepted the "Black Heung Jin Nim" as a temporary union of the spirit of Heung Jin Moon with the mind and body of Kundioni.
- "Sun Myung Moon authorized the Black Heung Jin to travel the world, preaching and hearing the confessions of Unification Church members who had gone astray."
Kundioni came under criticism by both members and outsiders for his violence and harsh methods, including a beating that resulted in the hospitalization of church leader Bo Hi Pak
Bo Hi Pak
Bo Hi Pak is a prominent member of the Unification Church. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was a major leader in the organization, running projects such as newspapers , schools, performing arts projects, political projects such as the anti-communist organization CAUSA International, and was...
. Church members do not believe that the severe violence was committed by the spirit of Heung Jin Moon. At a certain point after his world tour of Unification churches, Sun Myung Moon said that Kundioni was no longer channeling Heung Jin Moon, and sent him back to Africa.
Viewpoints on channeling
Several views of the phenomenon have emerged. Members generally believed that the channeling was legitimate at first, pointing to the endorsement by Sun Myung Moon. Some critics do not believe there ever was genuine channeling. Church members do not believe that the worst violence was committed by the spirit of Heung Jin Moon:In 1987, leaders of the Unification Church were told that Heung Jin Moon had returned to earth in the body of a Zimbabwean member. The African was accepted by Sun Myung Moon and church officials as Heung Jin Moon's continuous channel - a "twenty-four hour" a day "embodiment" - and became known as "the Black Heung Jin Nim."
With Sun Myung Moon's approval he toured the world visiting Unification churches in a number of countries over several months, accompanied by church leaders and security guards. As channel for "Lord Heung Jin Nim" he was in a position of authority above that of all members, including top leaders apart from his parents Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han. Those members who confessed to certain sins received beatings; Damian Anderson (still a current Unification Church member) reports seeing him "knock people's heads together, hit them viciously with a baseball bat, smack them around the head, punch them, and handcuff them with golden handcuffs." Sun Myung Moon's right hand man Bo Hi Pak
Bo Hi Pak
Bo Hi Pak is a prominent member of the Unification Church. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was a major leader in the organization, running projects such as newspapers , schools, performing arts projects, political projects such as the anti-communist organization CAUSA International, and was...
received a beating that was potentially life-threatening and required hospitalization. Anderson was particularly upset that top church officials and their assistants prevented people by force from leaving.
Church members believed that because the medium was a "twenty-four hour" "embodiment" or "returning resurrection" of Heung Jin Moon's spirit, and that "the Zimbabwean's body was merely the instrument of Heung Jin Nim's spirit", these were really the actions of Heung Jin Moon; Larry Moffitt
Larry Moffitt
Larry Moffitt is vice president of The Washington Times Foundation, an independent not-for-profit charitable foundation that works alongside The Washington Times newspaper...
, a church media executive, wrote:
- By January 1988, working at what one account described as "an incredible pace," Heung Jin Nim in his new form conducted four special three-day conferences in Africa, then successive conferences in Greece, Thailand, Columbia, Argentina, France, England, America and the Far East. ... Heung Jin Nim conducted three conferences in the U.S.: at the World Mission Center in Manhattan, at the Washington, D.C. church, and at a church workshop site in the San Francisco Bay Area. These were attended by approximately 800 members each. He also conducted a smaller session at the church’s seminary at Barrytown, New York and several more private sessions. Most importantly, he met Rev. and Mrs. Moon and appeared to gain their sanction. According to one description, he "ran over to Father and practically jumped into his arms, saying ‘Father! Father!’ Then he embraced Mother tightly, crying, ‘Mother! Mother!’ " At the beginning of the New York conference, Hyo Jin Nim MoonHyo Jin MoonHyo-Jin Moon was the eldest son of 14 children of Sun Myung Moon and Hakja Han Moon. For ten years he was head of the Unification Church-owned Manhattan Center Studios recording facility in New York City...
, Heung Jin Nim’s elder brother, spoke in tears, stating, "I have the most reason to be skeptical, but now I know it’s my brother. Please receive him." These conferences and the accompanying worldwide tour consummated the Heung Jin Nim revival but also terminated it. By summer 1988, Rev. Moon directed Heung Jin Nim’s embodiment to return to Africa, an order that he disobeyed. At this point, there was a consensus that Heung Jin Nim’s spirit had left the embodiment and an evil spirit had taken over.