Earticle

This paper has reviewed over the real factors that brought legalization of a practice of religious faith represented by conscientious objection to military service in the Republic of Korea. This country had long refused its legalization typically due to such reason that the Korean War had not been over completely but just entered into an armistice state. This brought a question to the author what were then the real factors that had brought it happen because the armistice state had not been changed. After comparatively reviewing over the Constitutional Court Decisions in 2011, one for prevention and in 2018, the other for grant in legalization, the author found that the main factors that made it possible were the long-time suffering of the objectors. Also, their suffering had no merit to the military draft system and so national defense. And this mainly became the cause that had moved the South Korean public including the law makers as well as the judges. This legalization gives one implication that could be applied to other trials to legalize a religious faith-based practice by the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification such as religious objection to the Anti-discrimination Law which would soon allow same-sex marriage in this country.

While most religious philosophies have God directly involved in creating the Universe, Unification Thought locates all of God’s creative effort in the creation of the Logos (the Word of God, Natural Law). The Logos guided the evolution of the universe up to the Origin of Man. This was (symbolically) God’s 95% responsibility. The remaining 5% to complete the Purpose of Creation was Human Responsibility.

Can Korea, Japan, and China make for East Asia peace and turning point for peaceful world order through past liquidation with mutual cooperation, respect and recognition between three nations centered on peace of Korean Peninsula? This study intends to suggest an answer to this question based on the understanding and practice of East Asian peace based on Unification Thought. Based on the research results, the proposals for peace in East Asia are as follows. First, the role of non-governmental organizations in the international community will be enhanced if military tensions in East Asia are reduced. Second, it is anticipated, however, that when sisterhood relationships between cities develop into a sisterhood between their citizens, the scope of possibilities for mutual understanding will be much greater, and mature civic consciousness will further develop. Third, faith-based civic groups need to take a central role and strengthen solidarity.

According to Unification Thought, Original laws, referred to as fundamental laws, may manifest themselves as the laws of the natural world. However, there can be found neither examples of originals laws nor any demonstration of such manifestation. It is my research interest to identify original laws and reveal their manifestation as the laws of the natural world. In this study, I have focused on quantum mechanics as the law of the natural world and traced back toward the source giving rise to such a phenomenon as a way of identifying an original law. In this process, numerous examples in the history of science as well as of civilization are considered in view of God-given creativities and application capabilities according to Unification Thought.

In Christian theology, the Trinity’s same substance is traditionally regarded as divine nature, which defines three persons are God. However, the consubstantial nature of three persons should include both divine nature and human nature in that the doctrine of the Trinity originated from the trial to understand the unified nature of God and man Jesus, and in Unification Theology, the ontological identity of the Trinity is the True Parents of Heaven, Earth, and Humankind, who achieved the unity of God-man-woman in love. In this paper, I demonstrate the Trinity’s homoousia as “True Parental Nature” through the process of resembling the Divine Image: a united being of Sungsang and Hyungsang, a harmonious being of Yang and Yin, and a being of individuality. The perfected person to resemble the Divine Image, in accordance with God’s purpose of creation, is the True Parents. Human beings gain divine nature through the process of becoming True Parents in a reciprocal relationship with God, conversely, God possesses human nature by taking on the body of man and woman, the body of True Parents. Thus, the same substance of the Trinity, the perfected unity of God-man-woman in love as the True Parents of H.E.H, is True Parental Nature.