The first English version of Unification Thought was published in 1973, entitled Unification Thought. Since that time, several editions have been published, including Explaining Unification Thought in 1981, Fundamentals of Unification Thought in 1991, and Essentials of Unification Thought in 1992. The reason why new books, with new titles, continued to be published over the years is because the Rev. Sun Myung Moon has continually revealed new content in the numerous speeches and sermons he has delivered to a great variety of audiences worldwide. In accordance with the changing world situation, his thought continually takes on new and different dimensions.
In the process of systematizing the Rev. Moon’s thought, the author continually integrated this new content within the context of the existing system of thought, and published the result as a new book. Nonetheless, the essence, or core, of the Unification Thought perspective has remained unchanged. New content was added in order to supplement and enrich this basic perspective, and this would appear as a new book.
The final text by the author was published in Korean in 1993, under the title Essentials of Unification Thought (Head-Wing Thought). That book served as the culmination of all of his writings. Its Japanese version was published in 2000, and its English version, New Essentials of Unification Thought, has now been published as the present text, which the reader holds in her/his hands.
The relevance of this text is no less today, in 2006, than it was when it first appeared in 1973. Today we live in a changed and changing world. The Communist system has collapsed, and yet Communist philosophy, the materialist dialectic, which denies God, still exists, in various forms and manifestations, thus continuing to confuse the world in a diverse number of ways. Furthermore, evolutionary theory, which would deny any idea of creation by a designer (God), is currently widely accepted, and promoted as the only viable scientific perspective, and is promoted as objective truth.
An even greater concern lies in the fact that ethnic, racial, and cultural conflicts and tensions, most, if not all, of which have a religious impetus in their background, continue as they have in the past, only now threatening ominously to explode in greater and greater violence. This, in spite of the fact that religions surely must all spring from one and the same ultimate reality as their fundamental ground. In the context of this extremely precarious cultural and social situation, this latest publication of New Essentials of Unification Thought is of the greatest significance.
Unification Thought is also called Head-Wing Thought or Godism. HeadWing Thought seeks to unite both left-wing and right-wing ideas by overcoming materialism and humanism. Godism embraces and unites all religions by clarifying God’s fundamental attributes, His basic principles and methods of designing and creating the universe, and the universal laws of science and morality which underlie all of natural and social reality. It sets forth a practical way by which a peaceful world might be realized, a world wherein all human beings might live together as one family, united in one heart, with God as the True Parent. Therefore, Unification Thought has the potential of accomplishing a truly historic task.
I sincerely hope that this book will serve as a beacon of hope to give the bright light of inspiration to a world presently mired in anxiety and confusion.
May, 2006
Sung-Bae Jin, Ph. D.
President, UTI of Korea