Category: Volume IV – (2001-2002)
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Seminar on Unification Thought (Editor’s Preface)
This issue of the Journal of Unification Studies presents papers from the Research Institute for the Unification of World Thought’s second Seminar on Unification Thought, which was held on the campus of the University of Bridgeport on August 18, 2001. Nearly a dozen Unificationist scholars, drawn mainly from the University of Bridgeport and the Unification…
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Understanding God: The Conceptual and the Experiential in Unification Thought
Journal of Unification Studies Vol. 4, 2001-2002 – Pages 7-16 How can we understand God? This is a difficult question. Because God does not supply us physically sensible contents[1] that we can detect and measure with a common standard, we cannot describe Him in an ordinary manner. Furthermore, we do not know exactly what kind…
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Prolegomena to a Philosophical Inquiry into the Spirit World
Journal of Unification Studies Vol. 4, 2001-2002 – Pages 17-32 The main purpose of this essay is to prepare the way, based on the contribution of Unification Thought, for bringing together two realms that have traditionally been separated by an abyss, namely the issue of the spirit world (the world beyond our physical senses) and…
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Knowledge of God? A Critique and Proposal for Epistemology in Unification Thought
Journal of Unification Studies Vol. 4, 2001-2002 – Pages 33-42 The chapter on Epistemology is one of the less developed chapters in Essentials of Unification Thought and in Dr. Lee’s earthly corpus of philosophy. Unlike most other chapters that present the Unification perspective outright, it begins with an overview of traditional epistemologies, and then tries…
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An Exploration of Questions in the Ontology of Unification Thought
Journal of Unification Studies Vol. 4, 2001-2002 – Pages 43-56 The English translations of Unification Thought have a quality that is reminiscent of St. Augustine’s writings. Augustine’s writings have been of particular influence in Christianity, but at the same time have sparked centuries of debate. This is because of a certain quality of his writing…
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God as Masculine Subject Partner
Journal of Unification Studies Vol. 4, 2001-2002 – Pages 57-72 How we view God is critical for a theocentric philosophy such as Unification Thought. Our view of God is the starting-point for a life of faith as well. For example, why do we call God “Father”? Could we call God “Heavenly Mother”? Is “Heavenly Parent”…
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A Reflection on Unification Thought, Evil, and Theodicy
Journal of Unification Studies Vol. 4, 2001-2002 – Pages 73-86 The question of evil’s origin remains a fundamental philosophical dilemma. Along with Exposition of the Divine Principle’s chapter on the Human Fall, the Essentials of Unification Thought[1] chapter on history and End of Communism’s analysis of Alienation[2] offer especially profound insight into the nature and…
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Notes Toward a Universal History: Insights from the Unification Principle
Journal of Unification Studies Vol. 4, 2001-2002 – Pages 87-100 How to convey the historical insights embedded within the Unification Principle is a crucial question. To this point, the Theory of History as developed by Dr. Sang Hun Lee in various texts of Unification Thought has been the chief vehicle for communicating these insights to…
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Freedom of Belief as a Human Right
Journal of Unification Studies Vol. 4, 2001-2002 – Pages 101-110 This address was delivered in Berlin on September 2, 2000 and published in Religion, Staat, Gesellschaft: Journal for the Study of Beliefs and Worldviews 1 (Berlin: Besier and Seiwert, 2001). My topic is the fight for freedom of religion in Europe. As a sociologist, it…