Unification Church

To the Editors of The Crimson:

Thomas Selover in his letter to The Crimson (October 24) compares Rev. Sun Myung Moon to Jesus Christ and states that the Unification Church will live on through the ages. unleashing new vitality, in spite of present-day persecution.

To claim that the Unification Church is a religious organization is to cleverly confuse the issue. The Moonies exist to make money--piles of it. Rev. Moon does not walk through the Judean desert preaching in tattered clothes. No! "Father" drives one of his many white Cadillacs to one of his several homes and lets his halo envelop all around him. Rev. Moon also dispenses with the thorns and the pain bit. Life is a pleasure for such a wealthy and happy man; so must it be for his brainwashed flock.

And brainwashed the members are. Once you are caught in the snatches of the cult, you are going to find it very hard to get out. Someone is constantly with you, day and night. You cannot sleep. You cannot eat. You become part of the group. There are games like "love-bombing" which insist that you love everyone around you and hate the rest of society, particularly your parents. You are constantly indoctrinated... and eventually trapped.

No, such an organization cannot be called religious. The Moonies are a modern and heartless corporation. There are hundreds of millions of dollars involved in the operations of this cult. Each of the flower-vendor members can earn well over a thousand dollars a week. As well, the young members milk their parents for money all the time. Mr. Selover is correct when he writes that the Unification Church will not adopt a fortress mentality but will instead work within the system--for it is only in the American system that such an ignominious association could operate. The Moonies feed on capitalism and prey on its confused population. It is no act of rebellion to join, or be corrupted into joining, the Unification Church. Rev. Moon, the Supreme Autocrat, will exploit you to the fullest and cart off his rewards. Mr. Selover, who is himself a Moonie, is not justified in discussing the cult as a religious phenomenon; the Unification Church is an economic entity that cynically mirrors the tragedy of American life. Adam Steinhouse '85