Unification View of History

History as Providential

Unification thought sees history as the theatre in which God works in order to complete God’s providential purposes for the world. Unification thought sees God at work in history, therefore history is not a series of accidents or merely the story of human achievements, successes and failures. History, in Unification thought, is to be understood from thee perspectives – that of the Fall, that of recreation and that of restoration. Since the first human couple, Adam and Eve, sinned and spoiled God’s creation God has worked in history to recreate human beings and to restore the world to perfection. History is therefore to be interpreted providentially. God’s aim is to restore ideal families, centered on God. When true or pure love subsists between each individual and God, between husband and wife, between parents and children, between sibling and siblings, between neighbors and when the earth itself is treated with respect, God’s work of restoration will be complete and the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth is fully present. Unification speaks of a 6,000 period during which God has been searching for the true family.

The Goal of History

The goal of history is the realization of the ideal world of creation. This will be achieved when humans realize and accept their responsibility to care for God’s earth, to live lives that are acceptable to him, as Able did in the Genesis account. When individuals or even nations co-operate with God, history moves towards its goal but when people who put their own interests first, as Cain did in the Genesis account, dominate history fails to progress and may even digress or regress. Progress towards restoration can also be made when whole nations fulfill an Abel-like rather than a Cain-like role. Unification thought analyses history by categorizing nations and prominent personalities as Abel-like or as Cain-like. The influences of Satan, and of God’s Angelic or Archangelic servants, can also be read into historical events. Adam and Eve (that is, the male and the female) also became enemies as a result of the Fall and this enmity continues to affect history. History is thus the story of the cosmic struggle between good and evil. The ultimate goal is unification – of men and women, different races and religions and of the human family within a single Unified Nation. The aim is the restoration of what humanity lost at the Fall.

Unification Historiography and Historical Dialectic Approaches

Unification historiography shares with such approaches as Marxist and Hegelian what has been called a ‘law-governed’ understanding of history. Hegel understood history in terms of the process of ‘thesis’-‘antithesis’ and ‘synthesis through which humanity would progress towards the triumph of reason over irrationality. Freedom, in his view, would be the end of history. Marx believed that dialectic is at work in history, whereby the ideal human society in which all own the means of production will be achieved by a process in which those who are oppressed become conscious of their condition and rise up against their oppressors. Unification thought presents the laws of recreation and restoration as the true laws of history. Unification historiography also resonates with a World History approach. World history seeks to avoid a Euro-centric view of the world that locates all human achievement in the West and seeks to construct a holistic view of what was happening in the world at any given time. World history also identifies tendencies and parallels, such as the birth of the City at about the same time in China, Central America and Mesopotamia, or the simultaneous flourishing of philosophy that occurred during the Axial Age in different parts of the world. In Unification thought, such parallel developments were not accidental but can be seen as examples of history progressing providentially towards restoration. Unification history identifies such parallels as those between the Hebrews 400 years of slavery in Egypt, and 400 years of Christian persecution under Rome, or 400 years of rule by the Judges of Israel and 400 years of the Church Patriarchs. Such parallels tell us that the restoration process was being prolonged, due to obstacles and human waywardness. In order to restore the lost original, indemnity has to be paid and such parallel occurrences represent ‘ages of providential time-identity’ when what a previous ‘central figure’ in history failed to achieve has to be repeated. Unification sees God’s hand behind all the religions of the world, so affirms that God stands behind all history (not exclusively behind that of a particular nation or religion).

Unification Historiography and World History

On the other hand, in Unification thought, parts of the world may be especially blessed at specific times in order that God’s purposes can be advanced. Thus, Britain’s colonial possessions were part of a divine strategy. God blessed England, allowing industrial and commercial development, which was spread widely throughout her Empire. While occupying other people’s territory is unacceptable, the legacy of Empire was not entirely negative. The spread of Christianity, also providential according to Unification thought – teaching love of enemies and a life centered on God – was also greatly aided as a result of Britain’s imperial achievements. Britain’s development as a ‘Christian nation’ was providential, and the cultural link with Rome is also important as part of the process by which achievements that promote unity and peace (the Pax Romana) are preserved and passed on for future generations. An example of how this providential view of history shed’s theological light on an historical even can be illustrated by an analysis of World War Two. In world war two, the nation that was on God’s side, that is, England, can be seen as a ‘restored Eve nation’ fighting against Germany, which was a satanic nation. Unification thought sees significance in the fact that Britain has been blessed by prosperity during the reign of several Queens, who represent restored Eves. As an island nation, Britain always longed for subjects, for a ‘continent’, hence she was providentially well placed to establish an Empire. However, her spirit was that of a Mother, and as mother she providentially gave birth to the United States, which has also had a specific role to play in world affairs, that is, to lead the world towards unity. In World War Two, God protected England because she had faith and was righteous. Germany, who murdered many people of faith, was defeated. In the immediate post-war period, the US failed in her mission of bringing Unity because she allowed the Soviet Union to seize control of the Eastern bloc, while Grmany (and later Korea) were divided. The period of the Cold War is, in Unification thought, viewed as a contest between on the one hand the democratic world, which centered on Christian thought, built the Abel-type individual, family, nation and world and the communist world on the other which built their own Cain-type individual, family, nation and the world.