Promote International Voluntary Work and Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue book 8 chap 5

Promote International Voluntary Work, Intercultural
and Inter-religious Dialogue,
and Love for Nature
Chapter 5 Ethics Education for Peace

1. Gratitude, trust, and love for parents, teachers and social
leaders should be extended to other nations, toward nature
and toward God
2. The international community: A great human family in
harmony with nature
3. Intercultural education for peace
4. World peace through overcoming all the barriers that have
divided and confronted human beings
5. Intercultural and interreligious peace: The key to world peace
CHAPTER 5 PROMOTE INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTARY WORK,
INTERCULTURAL AND INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE,
AND LOVE FOR NATURE

In order to eliminate economic, national, racial,
cultural, ideological and religious barriers that have
always kept humanity apart and have been the cause
of countless conflicts and wars, it is necessary to
promote an intercultural education that encourages
young people to devote part of their time to
voluntary work to help other disadvantaged peoples,
and to urge religious leaders to settle their
differences through an interreligious dialogue in
order to work together to solve the pressing
problems that affect the world.
INTRODUCTION

The gratitude, trust, and loyalty that one feels toward
one's parents or nation for the protection, security, and
assistance received from them should be extended to all
other nations and cultures, that is, to the great family of
humanity.
In fact, many of the resources, goods, or objects we use on
a daily basis often come from others countries, so when
something goes wrong in those countries, it also affects ours.
In addition, we all benefit from the inventions, discoveries
and technologies developed by scientists and technicians
from other countries, which are the fruit of many years of
work and effort, and which make it possible for us to enjoy a
more healthy, comfortable and happier life.
Thus, our gratitude to our family
or nation should be extended to the
whole of all nations and cultures, to
the universal community of human
beings.
GRATITUDE,TRUST, AND LOVE FOR PARENTS,TEACHERS AND SOCIAL LEADERS SHOULD BE
EXTENDED TO OTHER NATIONS,TOWARD NATURE AND TOWARD GOD
Gratitude to humanity

We should also feel grateful towards all beings and
things that make up nature and the entire universe.
Without the light of sun, air or water it would be
impossible to maintain our own existence.
Planet Earth, with its entire delicate ecosystems,
is like a big mother that surrounds, protects and
feeds us continuously.
The different species of animals and plants and
the various mineral elements serve us as food,
medicine or energy sources that reconstitute, heal or
vitalize our body.
Gratitude to nature
Thus, the feeling of gratitude towards nature should move us to
treat it with great care and love, protecting and preserving the
environment, not destroying or contaminating nature in a ruthless
way for selfish reasons.

Lopez-Barajas, in the following quote, eloquently explains from the
pedagogical point of view the virtues of the human relationship with nature.
«Pedagogy is aid for growth. For this, contact with the visible world,
with nature, is of enormous importance.This relationship enriches us
during the youth in a different way from that of science about the
world out of books. It enriches us directly.
One could say that by remaining in contact with nature, we assume
in our human existence the mystery of creation, which opens before us
with unprecedented abundance and variety of visible beings, and at
the same time constantly invites us towards what is hidden, that is
invisible.
The wisdom seems to bring out in various ways the transparency of
the world. It is good for man to read in this admirable book, which is
the book of nature, open wide for each one of us.»
Emilio López-Barajas Zayas, «La familia es una institución permanente», en La
familia en el tercer milenio, UNED, Madrid, 1995, pp. 23-24.

Furthermore, when we come to the conclusion that the whole universe and
humanity, and the natural and moral laws that regulate them, must come
from an intelligent and loving first cause, a personalCreator, a Logos, a
Universal Mind or anAbsolute Spirit or Reality, then the same feelings of
gratitude that we feel towards humanity and nature will be extended to that
first cause, God or whatever you want to call it.
In fact, the human feeling of religiosity that gave rise to all religions, that is,
faith, love and respect towards God, is the extension of the filial love that one
feels towards one's parents and ancestors, the loyalty one professes to the
nation, and the veneration felt towards nature.
Gratitude to God, the origin of humanity and the universe
It is significant that most religions, although some believe in a personal
God and others in an impersonalAbsolute Spirit, coincide in attributing to
that first cause a loving paternal or maternal heart, something like the
ultimate source of an unlimited, unconditional and compassionate love
towards all human beings and all other creatures.

Just as a nation can be
compared to a large-scale
family, the international
community could resemble
a larger family on a
planetary scale in which all
people, families and nations
should be treated as
brothers and sisters.
From a religious
perspective, Sun Myung
Moon explains it as follows:
«From this point of view, the world is an expanded family.
There are people in the community of the same age as your
grandparents, aunts and uncles, parents, and brothers and
sisters… In the sight of God, all people in the world are His sons
and daughters.
Therefore, we should love all the people of the world as our
brothers and sisters. If you see a poor beggar who is about your
father’s age, you should care for him as if he were your father.
How beautiful!
Is God happy to see His children fighting? It is the principle of
family relationships applied to the whole of humanity, who are
the children of God’s family.»
Sun Myung Moon, Speech Collection Books, Seoul, HSA-UWC, 184:65-66,
(November 13, 1988).
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY: A GREAT HUMAN FAMILY IN HARMONY
WITH NATURE

When we rise to the planetary level, we see that
we all form part of the whole of humanity and of an
even larger ensemble of living beings and things of
nature.We are all so deeply interrelated and
interdependent that our survival, protection, safety
and well-being depend on the health of the whole of
humanity and the earth.
Therefore, we can arrive to the conclusion that the
international community of nations is like a large
family on a planetary scale.Thus, each nation, in
addition to pursuing its own interests, should fulfill
its fraternal duty to contribute to the progress,
welfare and happiness of the whole of humanity.
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY: A GREAT HUMAN FAMILY IN HARMONY
WITH NATURE

The aim of intercultural education,
which can include humanitarian,
ecological and interreligious
education, would be to help people to
expand their vertical links of
gratitude, trust and loyalty to their
parents, leaders and nation, and their
horizontal bonds of fraternity and
solidarity in such a way that they
become feelings of gratitude, trust
and loyalty towards humanity, nature
and God, and also feelings of
brotherly love for people of other
nations, races, cultures or religions.
In other words, the main objective of this
intercultural education would be to help people to
become good citizens of the world, faithful to
international institutions and organizations;
voluntary workers or missionaries to help people of
other nations; and great men, saints or benefactors
of humanity.
In addition, intercultural education should
encourage particular nations or cultures to fulfill
their fraternal duty to contribute to the
development and well-being of more
disadvantaged nations or cultures, overcoming
national, racial, cultural and religious selfishness.
INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Progressive increase in the value of human beings
Humans are strongly motivated by a deep desire or
ambition to become valuable, useful and important
people.
For this reason, they want to raise their value by
serving larger and larger groups of people, because in
this way, they will receive the gratitude and
appreciation of a greater number of people and their
value will rise extraordinarily by matching the whole
to which they are serving.
Since the greatest set of human beings is humanity
itself, those who lead a life of service for humanity are
those who come to be admired and even venerated as
great saints by people of all peoples and cultures, thus
reaching the highest value as human beings.

Progressive increase in the value of human beings
Live by
themselves
Individual
Live for
their family
Live for their
neighbors
Live for
their nation
Live for
the world
Family
Individual Individual IndividualIndividual
Family Family Family
Society Society Society
Nation Nation
World
MAXIMUM
VALUE
Saints and great
men and women
Patriots, great
leaders, and
national heroes
Exemplary
citizens and
neighbors
Children of filial
piety and
model parents
MINIMUM
VALUE

WORLD PEACE THROUGH OVERCOMING ALL THE BARRIERS THAT HAVE DIVIDED
AND CONFRONTED HUMAN BEINGS
There are four kinds of barriers, which we need to demolish in order to
achieve world peace:
1. The barrier of economic inequalities, which have led to multiple wars for
the monopoly of wealth, and revolutions against situations of economic
injustice
2. National barriers, which have led to innumerable wars between nations
for the conquest of populations and territories
3. Racial, ethnic and cultural barriers, which have always generated
tensions and conflicts because some races or cultures have claimed the
supremacy, domination and even extermination of other races or cultures
4. The ideological and religious barriers, which have provoked a many
bloody conflicts between nations with different ideologies and religions

Sun Myung Moon expressed in this quote his hope
that the XXI century will see the beginning of a new
era in which these barriers challenging humanity are
definitively overcame.
«Racial discrimination, religious struggle, and
selfish nationalism give rise to situations resulting
in the violation of human rights.The age when
people could be ruled by force has passed.
The twenty-first century is an age when people
live together, transcending races, nations, and
religions.This means that the age of ruling through
true love has begun.»
Sun Myung Moon, Speech Collection Books, Seoul, HSA-UWC,
369:221, (February 24, 2002).

 Promoting international voluntary work
among young people
 Overcoming, through reconciliation,
forgiveness and mutual service, old
racial, ethnic and religious resentments
and hatreds
 Enhance the economic development of
all depressed regions of the world
through the free transfer of technology
OVERCOMING THE BARRIER OF ECONOMIC INEQUALITIES

The first barrier to be removed is the barrier of
economic differences. In one family, it is unthinkable
that some brothers enjoy sufficient means of living
while others suffer needs.
When we consider humanity as a large family, it is
outrageous and repulsive to human conscience to see
that, while in rich or developed nations individuals and
families swim in material abundance and have
problems of being overweight, in underdeveloped
nations, on the contrary, individuals and families
suffer poverty, disease and hunger, to the point of
having nothing to feed their children who die of
malnutrition.
OVERCOMING THE BARRIER OF ECONOMIC INEQUALITIES

More developed countries, such as the United States, have the greatest responsibility to solve the
problem of hunger and poverty in the world, as Sun Myung Moon explains:
«When a famine occurs in one part of the world,
then the parts of the world where food is abundant
should rush more food into the hungry areas. We
have to build this kind of world. Presently, 20
million people are dying of starvation every year,
while America is wasting too much food. This is a
violation of the universal law.»
«Advanced countries have lots of money. But
whose is it? It is God’s. Whose is the power? It is
God’s. Whose knowledge is it? It is God’s as well.
God is the Parent of humankind. Therefore,
everything that belongs to God—material, power,
knowledge and such—belongs to humankind. For
this purpose democracy appeared in modern days.
In democracy, sovereignty belongs to the
people—to all humankind. That is why it is
believed that sovereignty should be under
control of the people. Yet, in reality, it is in the
hands of conglomerates.
At the present time, America is wealthy, but
she alone should not be wealthy. She should
distribute her wealth among other nations;
that is the heavenly way. America must aid
other nations financially, otherwise she
cannot continue being wealthy. What belongs
to America does not belong to America alone,
but belongs to the world.»
Sun Myung Moon, Speech Collection Books, Seoul, HSA-
UWC, 247:94, (April 25, 1993). 13:26, (October 16, 1963).

«Today, the industrialized North must reach out to help
liberate the South from pervasive impoverishment.The
developed nations must lend a helping hand to the support the
development of the developing countries and the new
democracies. Each nation’s attitude must be changed from a
selfish one to an unselfish one.
That in itself will be a revolution. Nations can do this when
their leaders think of themselves in the role of parents. From
that perspective, nations will regard each other as brother and
sister nations.Then a fresh new vision will emerge and new
opportunities will open up before of us.»
Sun Myung Moon, Speech Collection Books, Seoul, HSA-UWC, 219:120, (August 28,
1991).
That is why it would be necessary for the more developed
countries to have an authentic revolution or change of attitude,
from selfishness to altruism, as explained by Sun Myung Moon:
The industrialized North must mobilize to liberate the South from poverty

This problem has two aspects.The first is the need
to provide immediate relief to situations of
helplessness, hunger, poverty, disease or
humanitarian tragedy caused by natural disasters,
epidemics, accidents or wars.
The second aspect is the need to enhance the
economic development of all the depressed regions
of the world until the goal of the global equalization
of material well-being is achieved through the free
transfer of technology.
Immediate Relief and Global Equalization of Material Well-Being

In this regard, it would be highly desirable and beneficial to
promote, through intercultural education, especially among
young people, voluntary work or selfless service of assistance
to other peoples in situations of poverty that is carried out
through NGOs or other aid organizations.
This voluntary work is also very valuable and important
because of the great educational and moral value it has for
young people.
Through voluntary service to other peoples —if it is done
with pure and unselfish motivation— the ability to love people
from other nations or cultures can be developed, thus
overcoming national, ethnic or racial barriers.
What is the same, love the whole human race, and thus
mature morally to broaden the heart, understanding and
conscience to a cosmopolitan or universal level.
Promoting international voluntary work among young people

Through a voluntary and altruistic service, on the part of
the young people of the rich nations, for the benefit of the
people in need of the underdeveloped nations could be
dissolved, through unconditional love, forgiveness and
mutual reconciliation, the deep-rooted historical hatreds and
resentments produced by imperialism, colonialism, racism
and slavery.
In a sense, young people from rich or developed countries
who were to serve poorer peoples would be paying the debts
their ancestors incurred in conquering, colonizing, or
enslaving the ancestors of these peoples.
Overcoming, through reconciliation, forgiveness and mutual service, old
racial, ethnic and religious resentments and hatreds

Thus, young volunteers, risking their lives to serve, help
and love those who see them as their enemies, could not
only alleviate the physical hardships of these peoples but
also help to dissolve the historical resentments between rich
and poor countries.
That is to say, voluntary work can also contribute
decisively to world peace through fostering mutual
forgiveness and reconciliation between peoples, races or
cultures that for various historical reasons harbor mutual
ancestral resentments.
Overcoming, through reconciliation, forgiveness and mutual service, old
racial, ethnic and religious resentments and hatreds

As Sun Myung Moon says:
«When young people inspired by
God’s true love dedicate themselves
to sacrifice and service, they can
begin to solve poverty and hunger
throughout the world.
They can begin to heal the wounds
caused by differences between rich
and poor.They can help people
overcome the animosities and
hatreds arising from different
historical experiences.»
Sun Myung Moon, Speech Collection Books, Seoul,
HSA-UWC, 288:201, (November 28, 1997).

However, in order to definitively
solve the problem of hunger and
poverty and to eliminate the economic
differences produced by the unequal
distribution of wealth, it would be
required that the current process of
economic globalization would had as
its main objective the economic
development of all depressed regions
until the goal of the global equalization
of material well-being is achieved.
That is, that all peoples and cultures
can enjoy the same level or quality of
life as the rest of their sister nations.
To speed up this process would be very convenient and
necessary that companies and multinationals invest and
establish factories in underdeveloped countries, not only moved
—as happens now— by short-sighted interest in having cheap
labor, expanding markets or gaining immediate benefits.
Rather, they should have the goal of enhancing the economic
development of these underdeveloped countries by creating
joint ventures, transferring technologies and specialized
personnel, and reinvesting the benefits to create more work and
wealth in that country.
This, in the long run, would be much more beneficial for the
multinationals, since their affiliates would become in the future
the most prosperous economic companies of the country.
Enhance the economic development of all depressed regions of the world
through the free transfer of technology

Sun Myung Moon tells us about the importance and need for the more
developed countries to freely transfer their technology to underdeveloped
countries in order to achieve world peace and remove the barrier of
economic differences between nations.
«When advanced nations supply the less advanced nations with
technology in the spirit of helping them become economically independent,
instead of exploiting them and their resources, then humankind will
eliminate war and starvation. (…)
We can never have world peace until those nations which have been
blessed with material and technological advantages willingly share them
with the other nations of the world.The blessings of science and technology
are meant for all humankind, and they should be shared. Every nation should
have an equal chance to utilize technology for the people’s well-being, (…)
Otherwise, the advanced nations will be resented and hated by those who
are deprived.»
Sun Myung Moon, Speech Collection Books, Seoul, HSA-UWC, (November 25, 1988).

Bouché Peris tells us in the following quote that, along with sustainable development,
solidarity and cooperation are essential conditions that make possible a culture of peace.
«Along with sustainable development, and in coherence with it, a culture of solidarity
and an imperative of international cooperation without frontiers is imposed. (...)
Solidarity, then, is not a mere rhetorical question, but a moral duty of assistance in
critical moments, not only transitory, and in structurally given situations… Solidarity
thus understood is an indisputable anthropological category.
In this sense, cooperation is understood as not only a mutual benefit between
countries, but as an aid to the development and integral promotion of disadvantaged
communities, which pursues a human quality of life, an acquisition of knowledge
(banishing illiteracy), a democratic coexistence, a guarantee of respect for human rights,
among others.
In short, economic growth, it is true, but proceeded by equity, social justice and full
human fulfillment. Undoubtedly, these conditions make possible a culture of peace.»
J. Henri Bouché Peris, «Antropología de la violencia y la paz», en Educación para la Paz. El 2000, Año
Internacional de la Cultura de Paz, Marín Ibáñez, R., UNED, Madrid, 2000, pp. 82-83.

The second barrier to be overcome is the
barrier of national borders, which has been
the source of so many wars between nations
fighting each other for the domination of
territories and populations.
Today, nations should work closely
together to solve the economic, social and
human problems that affect to all or many of
them equally.
So the integration process, which usually
begins with the creation of unique markets
in which a free exchange of capital and
goods is allowed, should be expanded,
allowing the free circulation of information,
knowledge, technology, art, culture and
finally the free movement of people.As
Cortina says:
OVERCOMING NATIONAL BARRIERS
«We live —this is irrefutable— in a GlobalVillage
that has made the nation-states small and requires
global solutions for their problems. (...)
In a GlobalVillage selfishness is an old-fashioned
attitude, such as small endogamies, vulgar nepotisms
and cronyism, little local villagers, the defense of
mine, of ours, whether in politics or in the economy, in
the University or in the hospital.
Faced with universal challenges, there is nothing
more than the answer of a Universalist ethical
attitude, which has the horizon of a universal good for
the decision-making, even if it is necessary to build it
from the local good.The other, myopic opportunisms,
is not only outdated, but also suicidal and homicidal.»
Adela Cortina, Ciudadanos del mundo, Alianza Editorial, Madrid,
1997, pp. 260-261

In addition, because of this unstoppable
process of economic globalization, mutual
interdependence between nations is growing.
This makes national states lose much of their
power or autonomy, which is also good for
world peace, since many of the wars of the past
were due to the ambitions of power and
conquests of national states.
This process of integration between nations
should be further advanced to the point where
the former independent nation-states become
local administrations, the nations in provinces
and the national boundaries in mere
administrative delimitations, and its citizens in
world citizens.
In this way, it would be almost impossible to
reproduce the old conflicts or wars between
nations.
As Sun Myung Moon says: «Everyone longs
to live in one unified world that transcends
nationality.This longing springs from the inner
world of the heart.»
And on another occasion adds: «From this
time on, the definition of “my country” will
need to expand.Although everyone has their
home country where they were born and live, in
a larger sense, the entire world that God, our
Father, created is “my country.” »
Sun Myung Moon, Speech Collection Books, Seoul, HSA-
UWC, 115:177, (November 10, 1981). 219:121, (August 28,
1991).

The third barrier that should fall are the racial,
ethnic and cultural barriers that during great part
of the history have kept separate and isolated the
peoples of the world, and that caused that some
peoples or races dominate, colonize or enslaves
others.
In this sense, the increase in tourism and the
unstoppable phenomenon of immigration are
contributing to the fact that many nations are
turning into a mosaic of different races, ethnicities
and cultures that reflect the entire world.
This forces people to communicate, understand,
tolerate and coexist peacefully as good neighbors.
This same good coexistence and neighborhood
should be extended to all the nations of the world.
OVERCOMING RACIAL, ETHNIC AND CULTURAL BARRIERS

The different peoples and races of
the world should enrich each other;
learn from the positive features, both
spiritual and human as well as
material, that each of them can offer
to others.
This could create a richer and more
balanced common world culture,
while keeping the unique and peculiar
characteristics of each culture.

«The globalization of culture, largely caused by the multiplication and
efficiency of communication channels, and especially by the new
information technologies, makes that all the cultures, ways of life,
traditions and products, can be known, admired and imitated in every
corner of the planet.
Radio, television, movies, newspapers, books, communications
satellites and internet are gaining in popularity. Any audiovisual message
can reach almost instantaneously to the whole planet.
UNESCO in its Recommendations has insisted on the free movement
of cultural goods, with which the impact multiplies. It goes towards a
truly global civilization, towards the planetary village of which MacLuhan
spoke, or the electronic village, as it is now called. (...)
Marin Ibáñez, in the following quote talks about this process of globalization
of culture and the need for an understanding between cultures.

The challenge we face is to achieve the undoubted advantages of a
genuinely planetary civilization while preserving the cultural identity to
which each is entitled.
The contact of groups, of distinct cultures, forces a plural coexistence,
an overcoming of confrontations that without renouncing the diversity of
lawful ways of life make possible a common life. (...)
It is urgent to arrive at an increasingly broader and universal
understanding, at one culture that is not only national or continental, but
also planetary, while maintaining all the original and valuable of each,
including of course all regions and minorities.»
Ricardo Marín Ibáñez, «La educación intercultural y la paz», en Educación para la Paz. El 2000, Año
Internacional de la Cultura de Paz, UNED, Madrid, 2000, pp. 187-188.

The lack of education and ignorance has been and
continues to be one of the causes of underdevelopment,
poverty, dependency and submission of many peoples or
ethnic groups. For this reason, a globalization of education
should also be vigorously promoted.
Apart from the much-needed literacy campaigns and
access to a minimum basic education for children and adults,
especially women, new technologies should be used to
exchange and transmit all kinds of knowledge and
educational material at the international level, whether
scientific, technical or humanistic.
Access to higher and skilled education should be
facilitated for citizens of underdeveloped countries who lack
adequate educational institutions and who do not have the
means to study at universities in developed countries.
Promoting the globalization of education

It is also worth mentioning that in order to fully solve the
problems caused by racial and cultural prejudices, peaceful
coexistence, tolerance and mutual respect are not enough.
In fact, in many countries where different races or
cultures coexist, one can see how, in general, members of
each ethnic or religious community are secluded in their
own neighborhoods or ghettos, go to their own churches or
temples, and relate and marry almost exclusively to people
of their own racial or cultural community, without making
great efforts to communicate with or understand each
other.
This type of behavior continues to be ultimately proud,
ethnocentric and racist —on the part of all racial and
cultural groups— despite the fact that instead of hatred or
contempt, respect and tolerance are now professed.
In order to solve racial and cultural problems, tolerance and mutual respect are
not enough
That is to say, we allow people of other
races or cultures to be our neighbors, but
we do not want to mix with them and, in
this way, we draw new borders or lines of
division between neighborhoods.

Encourage interracial and international marriages
If we are all human beings as brothers and sisters
of the big human family, why we are keeping the
distance or creating new imaginary frontiers?Why
we cannot relate, mix, have friends and even marry
people of other races, religions or cultures?
Thus, if we want world peace, we should not stop
in the tolerance, but move towards to a deeper
communication, understanding and integration
between different ethnic groups and cultures.
In fact, we should move towards a progressive
integration or fusion between races and ethnic
groups by establishing blood ties through interracial
and intercultural mixed marriages.

«The quickest way to bring unity of all races is
international marriage. A man and woman selected from
two totally different cultural spheres and environments
have to become as one in harmony through God’s love. (…)
Only the most consistent and deep love can transcend
the differences of nationality, race, culture and
knowledge.»
Sun Myung Moon, Blessed Family I, p. 845
Sun Myung Moon, who became famous for promoting
such marriages, often repeats:

«In the sight of God, there is no
difference between black people, white
people and yellow people.
Love makes God color-blind. He does
not see the color of people’s skin.The
color of the heart is much more intense
and vibrant than skin color.»
Sun Myung Moon, Speech Collection Books, Seoul,
HSA-UWC, 258:122, (March 17, 1994).
On other occasion, he commented that a
mother who had in her arms a pair of her
children, one white and one black, would
be completely blind to the skin color,
adding:

OVERCOMING RELIGIOUS AND IDEOLOGICAL BARRIERS
The last, and perhaps the most difficult, of the barriers that should
be overcome to achieve world peace are the barriers of the different
worldviews or religious and ideological beliefs that separate peoples
and cultures.These barriers have been the cause of multiple and
bloody religious and ideological wars throughout history.
Especially, religious beliefs are the most rooted in human mind and
heart.That is why people defend them with more passion and
determination and perhaps they are also the most difficult to change.
From recent history, we can see that, while political ideologies last
for a while and then disappear; religions, instead, endure for millennia
and survive all kinds of social, economic, or political changes.
Therefore, in order to achieve world peace, it is absolutely
necessary to overcome this last barrier of religious beliefs which are
the ones that sustain different civilizations and cultures.

INTERCULTURAL AND INTERRELIGIOUS PEACE:THE KEY TO WORLD PEACE
 Universal love and universal moral order
 Promoting intercultural and
interreligious dialogue
 Proposal to create in the United Nations
a permanent council of representatives
of all the religions of the world
 Towards aWorld Constitution
 Need for a peaceful and silent revolution
that achieves inner peace within
individuals and family peace and
harmony

After the end of the military and ideological
confrontation between democratic nations and the
communist bloc, which finished with the victory of
democratic liberalism, many people thought that there
was no longer any danger of wars or world confrontations.
However, as Huntington rightly predicted, in the future
the danger of world wars may come from clashes, with a
strong religious component, among the great civilizations
of the world.
The tragic terrorist attack on theTwinTowers of New
York highlighted this real danger of clash between
civilizations and, therefore, the need to reach
understanding and peace among world religions and
cultures.
OVERCOMING RELIGIOUS AND IDEOLOGICAL BARRIERS

Samuel P. Huntington, in the final paragraph of his famous book, advises the following:
«In the 1950s Lester Pearson warned that humans were moving into “an age
when different civilizations will have to learn to live side by side in peaceful
interchange, learning from each other, studying each other's history and ideals
and art and culture, mutually enriching each other's lives.The alternative, in
this overcrowded little world, is misunderstanding, tension, clash, and
catastrophe.”
The futures of both peace and Civilization depend upon understanding and
cooperation among the political, spiritual, and intellectual leaders of the
world's major civilizations. (...) In the emerging era, clashes of civilizations are
the greatest threat to world peace, and an international order based on
civilizations is the surest safeguard against world war.»
Lester Pearson, Democracy in World Politics, Princeton University Press, 1955, pp. 83-84.
Samuel P. Huntington, The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order, Simon & Schuster, New
York, 1996, p. 321.

Many religious leaders warn and advise us the same
thing. Hans Küng, famous for being a fervent advocate
of the idea of achieving peace and reconciliation
between religions, tells us:
«All the religions of the world must recognize their
responsibility for world peace.
That is why I will not tire of reiterating a thesis for
which I have seen a growing sympathy throughout the
world:
There can be no peace between nations without peace
between religions or, more briefly: No world peace
without religious peace!»
H. Küng, Proyecto de una ética mundial, Trotta, Madrid, 1991, p. 98.

Sun Myung Moon also believes that interfaith harmony is
essential for world peace.
«The essence of my teaching is that interreligious harmony is a
necessary condition for world peace. No single religion has
manifested God completely.Therefore, diversity and differences
of religion have been inevitable.
Yet, as many great religious leaders have taught, because we
are all children of the same Heavenly Parent, we are all brothers
and sisters of the same one great family, and interreligious
conflict and divisive hatred are unnecessary.»
Sun Myung Moon, Let Us Bring Religious Harmony for the Sake ofWorld Peace, Lotte
Hotel, Seoul, Korea,TheThirdYouth Seminar on World Religions, August 14, 1984.

«Looking at religions, we see that each one is antagonistic toward the
others, believing that it is the best.This attitude creates an environment that
will cause great difficulties in the future. If religions maintain that standpoint,
how can they help build one world of peace? I believe that unless the walls
between religions are broken down, tremendous damage will result.
That is why I am carrying out interreligious work. Since religions have been
guiding their followers, of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds, for
thousands of years, breaking down the walls between them is tremendously
difficult.The four major religions —Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and
Confucianism— all have histories going back thousands of years. If they attack
and fight one another in the future, world peace will be destroyed and
humanity will perish.
The question is how we can bring these religious bodies together so that,
instead of fighting, they can dialogue with one another and head toward the
one world of peace.»
Sun Myung Moon, Speech Collection Books, Seoul, HSA-UWC, 210:117, (December 17, 1990).

Intercultural and interreligious peace:The key to world peace
The most important thing
would be to try to reach a
consensus in the essential,
in the common thing to all
the religions, that is to say,
to find universal values that
can be shared by all the
philosophical and religious
traditions.
In particular, religions should set aside all questions that
separate them —such as the authority of sacred texts, official
doctrines, exclusive loyalty to their founders, ecclesiastical
hierarchies, religious practices, rites, or particular customs—
and concentrate on the common to all, on what unites them,
which in essence are two fundamental ideas; the concepts of
universal love and universal moral order.

All religions agree on the idea that all humankind
should live in peace and harmony with each other and
with nature, as one big family united by a universal love
of divine, heavenly or cosmic origin. For all of them this
universal love is the supreme value, the purpose of the
universe, the meaning of life and the full happiness.
At the same time, all religious traditions agree on the
belief that there is an objective moral order in the
universe.That is, a divine, natural law or cosmic
principle that should regulate individual and social
human behavior. In fact, there is an astonishing
coincidence among all of them in the most important
and essential ethical precepts and principles.
Universal love and universal moral order

Ibn Arabi, Sufi mystic andalusí, and Gandhi illustrate these two
concepts common to all religions.
«There was a time when I criticized my neighbor if his religion
was not close to mine. But now my heart is capable of becoming all
religious forms: a prairie for the gazelles, the cloister of a Christian
monk, a temple for idols, the tables of the Mosaic Law, the book of
Qur'an. I profess the religion of love. And whatever direction the
horse may take, love is my creed and my faith.»
Ibn Arabi, citado por Joaquín Lomba, «El pensamiento islámico occidental», en Filosofías
no occidentales, Miguel Cruz Hernández, ed.,Trotta, Madrid, 1999, p. 271.
«Truly, religion should penetrate every one of our actions. Here
religion does not mean sectarianism. It means believing in a moral
order that governs the universe, which is no less real because it is
invisible.This religion transcends Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, etc.
It does not replace them; it harmonizes them and gives them
reality.»
Mahatma Gandhi, All men are brothers, Navajivan Publishing House, Ahmendabad, 1960, p. 77.

Thus, a key measure to ensure a stable and lasting
world peace would be to promote communication,
dialogue and discussion between cultures and to
deepen mutual understanding between different
religious, philosophical, scientific and ideological
traditions.
The aim of this dialogue should be to agree on a
fundamental core values or universal ethical principles
that can be accepted by all cultures and religions. A set
of values that can serve to solve the individual, family,
social, national and international problems that affect
the whole world.
The goal of all this research has been precisely this, to
try to synthesize that core of universal values that can
be shared by all traditions.
Hence, the proposal of universal
ethical principles that we have
presented in the sixth volume of this
research, which we hope will be useful
for the desired goal of world peace.
Promoting intercultural and interreligious dialogue

In this regard, the United Nations should play a
key role in achieving this goal. Following the
recommendations of leading thinkers and religious
leaders, the UN should periodically organize
international conferences of religious leaders, such
as those held in 2000 to mark the beginning of a
new millennium.
It would also be highly desirable that —as Sun
Myung Moon proposed along with other religious
leaders at the beginnings of the century— a
permanent council of representatives of all religions
of the world should be established at the United
Nations.This advice would be of great help in
mediating in current conflicts and wars.
Proposal to create in the United Nations a permanent council of
representatives of all the religions of the world

Sun Myung Moon reveals his proposal in the following quote:
«World peace can be fully accomplished only when the wisdom and efforts
of the world’s religious leaders, who represent the internal concerns of the
mind and conscience, work cooperatively and respectfully with national
leaders who have much practical wisdom and worldly experience about the
external reality or “body.” In this light, it is time for us to give serious
consideration even to the prospect of restructuring the United Nations. For
example, perhaps it is possible to envision the United Nations as a bicameral
institution.
The existing United Nations structure, composed of national
representatives, may be regarded as a congress where the interests of each
member nation are represented. However, I submit that serious
consideration should be given to forming a religious assembly, or council of
religious representatives within the structure of the United Nations.This
assembly or council would consist of respected spiritual leaders in fields such
as religion, culture and education.»
Sun Myung Moon, Speech Collection Books, Seoul, HSA-UWC, (August 18, 2000).

«Of course, the members of this interreligious assembly
will need to have demonstrated an ability to transcend the
limited interests of individual nations and to speak for the
concerns of the entire world and humanity at large.
The two chambers, working together in mutual respect
and cooperation, will be able to make great advances in
ushering in a world of peace.The wisdom and vision of
great religious leaders will substantially supplement the
political insight, experience and skill of the world’s political
leaders.»
Sun Myung Moon, Speech Collection Books, Seoul, HSA-UWC, (August 18,
2000).
He concludes by explaining how beneficial the existence of
these two chambers would be for world peace:

It is unlikely that the liberal and markedly individualist model ofWestern
Constitutions could be accepted by all the other non-Western cultures or
civilizations, and thus become the model of a future World Constitution.
For this reason, it is necessary to expand and enrich the classical liberal
democratic values based on human rights to create a more complete core of
values that can be accepted by bothWestern and non-Western cultures. Only
then would it be feasible to elaborate a universal Constitution, and then from it a
legislation and an international court of justice that can be accepted by all
nations.
From this, it would be very easy to advance in the process of global
integration, which could lead to the formation of a common army that would
ensure compliance with this international law and that would mediate in all
possible regional conflicts that could arise between nations or ethnic minorities.
We might even think of aWorld Parliament and some form ofWorld
Government or aWorld Federation of Nations that would forever drive away the
specter of wars.
Towards aWorld Constitution

However, all these possible economic, political, legislative,
judicial and administrative measures on an international scale —
despite being very necessary actions that would undoubtedly
contribute to the goal of world peace— still they would not be
sufficient to ensure a truly stable and lasting peace.
As we have already explained, world peace begins with inner
peace within individuals and family peace and harmony.
Therefore, what would be most needed is a peaceful and silent
revolution, through an ethics education based on core values and
universal ethical principles that would help a majority of people
to change their attitudes, motivations, heart and conscience, as
well as achieve the moral maturity, self-control, or inner peace
necessary to form harmonious and stable families, healthy and
solidary communities, and a fair and peaceful world.
Need for a peaceful and silent revolution that achieves inner peace within
individuals and family peace and harmony

Sun Myung Moon, in the following quotations, expresses his
prophetic vision for the new millennium and his strong hope
that this peaceful and silent revolution will take place, leading us
to the desired world peace.
«The new age in the twenty-first century is an age of
universal values. It is an age when material things do not
dominate our mind and spirit. It is an age when we live in
oneness with God.
In the twenty first century, people will realize that living
for the sake of others is far more valuable than living for
oneself. Self-centeredness will fade away and altruism,
based on interdependence, mutual prosperity and
universally shared values, will finally and triumphantly
emerge.»
Sun Myung Moon, Speech Collection Books, Seoul, HSA-UWC, 219: 122, (August
28, 1991).

«The future world will be the world of a new culture of
heart that brings harmony between God, humanity and
creation, and a culture of love based on true families.
It will be a world of true love where everyone lives for the
sake of others and all people live together in harmony and
cooperation. It will be a world of interdependence, mutual
prosperity and universal values.
In the future, we have to live the dream of one global family
in which we are all brothers and sisters. It will be based on the
ideal of true family centered onTrue Parents and realized by
true love that transcends race.»
Sun Myung Moon, Speech Collection Books, Seoul, HSA-UWC, 288: 174, (November
27, 1997).

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