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F. Kaufmann: Address to Peace Summit 2023, Session VI-B
Written by Dr. Frank Kaufmann, President of PWPA USA; Editor-in-Chief of New World Encyclopedia; President of Twelve Gates Foundation, USA
Thursday, May 4, 2023
Address to Peace Summit 2023
May 2-5, 2023
This paper and presentation are an abnormal hybrid of genres. It is part classical history, part Heilsgeschichte (sacred history), part theology, and part apologia (apologetics).
The concern over mixing genres is that the scholarly norms and conventions that guide and regulate each genre differ. What is allowed in one form of writing is not in another, and what diminishes one form may actually elevate the other.
For example, if you are writing an apologia to help others understand more deeply what it means to be a Christian it would actually be a negative to distract us with debates over the impact of Josephus change of citizenship on the writing of early Christian history. This important debate would get in the way of fine apologetics. Yes, it might be of central importance to an excellent piece of scholarly, historical analysis of early Christianity.
The same examples can be created for any of the other genres that necessarily contribute to the piece I have been asked to present at this meeting.
The elements and the corresponding genres that combine in this presentation are:
- Classical history
- Heilsgeschichte (sacred history)
- Theology
- Apologetics
Cultural Influences on Western Civilization
Without wanting to be overly simplistic, I believe the evolution of Western Civilization in broad strokes can be reduced to approximately six major cultures and influences. These are:
- Hebrew (Jewish)
- Roman
- Greek
- Christian
- Muslim
- Pagan
The interaction among these cultures and how they combined to participate in the expansion of Western Civilization can be approached from any of several centers of emphasis, depending on what any given scholar believes are the main reasons history moves as it does. These emphases could include:
- Mercantile forces, commerce
- Military force
- Art
- Religion
- Language and literature
- Natural events of environment and climate
And any of the many various ideas about what causes human history to unfold.
The Genres Needed for Analysis
- Classical History
The most typical and common approach to studying these elements and influences has been until recent times the work of what I call classical historians. Classical Historians until recently have been expected to conform to the rigors of what is called historical criticism. (As an aside, people interested to try to understand why free societies are being overrun and dismantled by perverse and divisive aggressors who think of themselves as the avant garde of compassion and enlightenment, can find some clues to this tragedy in the abuse and abandonment of dispassionate truth-seeking in the realm of historical scholarship.)
- Heilsgeschichte
This is related to classical historical scholarship, but it is focused on what is called Hielsgeshichte, which technically translates as “Holy” History (like the second phrase in the famous Christmas hymn Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht … Silent Night, Holy Night). The term was introduced in the late 1930s by German theologian Gerhard von Rad, to mean salvation history, or “God’s history.” In the latter sense we understand the inquiry to investigate the ways God guides the unfolding of history to try to get it to conform to His purposes.
- Theology
Scholarship dedicated to the study of Heilsgeschichte must of necessity be beholden to the field of theology, once called “the queen of the sciences,” the foundational discipline that undergirds all other areas of knowledge.
If one is going to posit that history reflects the “work of God,” it goes without saying that theological scholarship must accompany explanations regarding the who, what, how, and what purposes and intentions might characterize this “invisible hand” behind all that has happened and why. Rigorously and responsibly seeking this who, what, how, and why is the work of theology.
Various faith traditions all must account for the human experience, not just in the present moment, but also what we’ve been through and why. The Mahabharata, for example, is a literary masterwork that carries the trappings of history (past events). It, not unlike the Christian story of Jesus, speaks of a time that God actually physically enters the flow of human events.
- Apologetics
The final genre that must be woven into this topic in keeping with the paper request from the organizers is what is called Apologetics. Apologetics is basically writing to explain one’s own faith accurately, carefully, and in a positive and attractive light. These are the genres one finds in this brief introductory draft paper.
Here is the title again: Spiritual and Political Concerns for Western Civilization Following the Crucifixion of Jesus
Quick inventory:
- Spiritual concerns follows “Heilsgeschichte” norms
- Political study follows the standards of classical history
- Understanding Jesus and the crucifixion requires theology
- Teachings of Sun Myung Moon requires Apologetics
Religious Environment at the Time of Jesus
At the time of Jesus, the world of established religions all existed in Asia, “to the East.” The religions of Asia minor included Judaism and Zoroastrianism. And the religions of East Asia included Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Taoism.
The religions not ‘to the East” were pantheons of Gods and Goddesses in polytheistic systems who were believed to guide life, and were found in Rome, Greece, and Egypt.
Beyond Rome, there were no major civilizational-level, organized religious systems. Ancient civilizations built on established religious systems all existed to the East.
Greece and Rome
What was impressive in the cultural influences coming from Rome and Greece was not its spiritual or religious foundation, but the remarkably advanced developments in language, philosophy, law, politics, and engineering. Rome is known for its contributions to law, language, and engineering to such a towering extent that Roman law has had a lasting influence on the legal systems of Western countries, with many modern legal concepts and principles continuing to have their roots in Roman law to this day. Similarly, Greece is known as the birthplace of Western philosophy and democracy. The ancient Greeks developed many philosophical ideas that have influenced Western thought for centuries and continue to define much of the cutting edge of Western thought even to this day.
But beyond Rome to the West, civilization had never reached the heights of settlement and organization such as were found in India or China having roots in what Karl Jaspers called the Axial Period. During the Axial Age, significant intellectual and cultural developments took place in many different parts of the world, including ancient Greece, China, India, and the Middle East. This period saw the emergence of some of the world's most influential philosophical and religious traditions, including Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Judaism, and early Greek philosophy.
Eastern Religious Civilizations
Christians (who hold the advent of Christ as the center point of history) should properly wonder why Christianity moved “West” into the great civilizational void? Was Jesus not above all a religious phenomenon? Is God not the God of this world? What is God’s plan for the entire world, especially spiritually and religiously? Why were these cultures and traditions planted and fortified if they were intended to remain ignored and unrelated to the Prince of Peace called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father with the government on his shoulders? (Isaiah 9:6)
The realignment of Christian theology to accommodate the early termination of Jesus' life and mission has, in essence, staved off serious inquiry into these questions. What are those religions and civilizations for? Why were they founded and developed? Why did Christianity move Westward instead of to places in the world that presumably should have been better prepared spiritually to recognize, inherit, and apply the life and the truth of the living God brought to the world through Jesus?
Once the early abortion of Jesus’ claimed and stated mission and timetable (the Kingdom of Heaven is Near Mark 4:17) is converted to become the religion of a Risen Lord Jesus sent to die for the atonement of our sins, questions about the work of God in the world such as the intense global activity during the Axial age, are no longer part of the Heilsgeschichte discipline.
Explanations about why Christianity moved West, once its theological roots are severed or rendered inconsequential, slip into the disciplines of classical history, and “root causes” are abandoned.
Paul of Tarsus and Classical History
Classical history, explaining the Westward progress and development of Christian civilization offers sound and reasonable recommendations that rest almost entirely on the great missionary accomplishments of Paul of Tarsus who never met Jesus during his earthly physical life. Paul’s conversion after encountering the risen Christ turned him into the towering Biblical figure who basically created the Christianity that went on to form Christian and Western civilization.
But why did Paul move West rather than to the great spiritual civilizations and cultures of the East? Classical history offers these explanations:
Paul was a Roman citizen. This gave him certain privileges and protections that would not have been available to him in the east. For example, as a Roman citizen, he could not be imprisoned or put to death without a trial. He was fluent in Greek, the lingua franca of the Roman Empire, which made it easier for him to communicate with people from different cultures. He may have felt more comfortable and familiar with the culture and languages of the West, where he spent much of his early life and education. The Roman Empire was the seat of political power. By spreading Christianity in the West, Paul may have believed that he could reach a larger and more influential audience. He had a network of contacts in the west. He had been raised in Tarsus, but he had also lived in Jerusalem and Ephesus. These cities were all major centers of trade and commerce, and they gave Paul access to a large number of potential converts.
Faint Mention of Heilsgeschichte
Only in passing do some historians add “Paul who often emphasized his belief that he was called by God to carry out his missionary work may have felt his course and direction was under Divine guidance. It is possible that he felt led by God to focus his efforts on the West rather than the East.” (Source: N.T. Wright (Nicholas Thomas Wright), British New Testament scholar, theologian, and Anglican bishop.)
But even accepting the faith infused explanation that this was “Hand of God” guiding Paul, we still are left without a compelling or comprehensive explanation of this fact of history. It is secondary. It points to God without further recommendations of God’s purpose and Telos.
Sun Myung Moon’s Explanation
To my knowledge only one thinker ever wrote explicitly to offer a view that flirts with the why of Christianity’s Westward expansion. This is Sun Myung Moon.
Dr. Moon states quite simply, with almost the same casual feeling of looking out the window to say, “It’s raining.”
Jesus Christ came to Asia Minor and began a movement that was originally supposed to move eastward to the Asian continent instead of westward toward Europe. The original direction was reversed because of the crucifixion. Instead of going eastward to Asia, the movement went to the west to get to Asia, ultimately making a complete circle of the world. This is the historical background. (Source: The Age of Heavenly Parentism, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, September 10, 1989.)
Reverend Moon’s comments here require a completely renewed return to reflection on the massive spiritual, religious, cultural, and civilizational developments of the Axial age so that they no longer are casually overlooked and ignored when trying to understand human, religious history.
The astounding, yet casually offered claim by Reverend Moon re-paints Heilsgeschichte onto the whole of human affairs in a way that is absent in the academy at large.
If there is any truth to what Reverend Moon says here, with a single word he turns the universe on its head. The casual phrase “The original direction was reversed because of the crucifixion” completely redefines reality and requires scholars and the rest of us to reconsider reality in a way that can affirm that God works everywhere, in all places, at all times with a clear and precise strategy and purpose.
Why does Dr. Moon say that the crucifixion is what caused this reversal of direction in Christian civilization?
The response requires a longer paper, and far greater research time than the miniscule time period given for preparation for this meeting. Taking these questions up in earnest requires a much more lengthy investment.
Quickly and superficially, Reverend Moon explains his assertion in this way:
Christianity was to move eastward. Therefore, unification of all the different religions would have occurred centering on the coming of the messiah two thousand years ago. Religion always represents the world of the mind. The political realm represents the world of the body. First of all, religious unity would occur centering upon the messiah, then external unity, which is political unity would occur. God's original plan was to have Jesus Christ be victorious, then unite with all other major religions of the east, then move to the west influencing the Roman Empire, which was a polytheistic country at that time. It had a very barbaric religion. (Source: True Parents' Birthday, Reverend Sun Myung Moon, February 20, 1991.)
In short, Jesus should first have established His reign in the embrace of the spiritual civilizations of his time.
You recall above the grand achievements of Greece and Rome, the civilizations that carried the growth and expansion of Christianity to the world. These are external and secular. They were, political and material; language, philosophy, law, politics, and engineering. The spiritual and religious systems of these incredibly advanced cultures of Greece and Rome were actually quite primitive. Religion and spirituality were not the strong suits of the cultures that carried Christian civilization to the world.
The power of Christian expansion rode on the rails of political and mercantile power, whether it be through the mighty expanse of the Roman Empire, the British Empire (on which the sun never sets), or through the wealthiest and most powerful country on earth, the United States of America.
Jesus Represents the Presence of God
But Jesus is a figure of spiritual presence above all. For Christian believers, Jesus represents the pinnacle of human spiritual potential.
But where in the Christian conquest of the Western lands do we find the delicate magic of spiritual wonder? If anything, tender spiritual elegance and radiant inner knowledge often lay among the indigenous people who often were crushed by the political and military force of Christian civilization.
From Reverend Moon’s perspective, this great political might that carried Christianity westward should first have been bolstered and upheld by the long built, careful and comprehensive spiritual and religious civilizations of the East. Only after this, should the political and engineering genius of Athens and Rome be ready to serve the expansion of Jesus’ Divinity.
Epilogue
Again, pleading brevity of time both for the presentation, and for the preparation period, I offer these final thoughts for the reader.
I start with the second most important words Jesus ever uttered. Matthew 5:48.
The first most important words of Jesus are found in John 14: 6 - 7, where he explains to his disciples,
6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
The second most important words of Jesus are Matthew 5:48 in which Jesus concludes a discourse with the injunction:
48 Be ye perfect, therefore, even as your heavenly Father is perfect.
To do this Christians must be committed to an arduous (albeit rewarding) path of spiritual growth.
Spiritual and Political
The Westward expansion of Christianity is bolstered by political and material phenomena. We grow and expand over the course of history into ever finer and more fair political structures. And we grow into ever greater prosperity through engineering excellence.
The spiritual, Westward expansion of Christianity should be an ever deeper attainment of inner improvement and command. The pursuit of Divine perfection that Jesus called for.
Spiritual expansion results in believers and societies moving toward unbound personal freedom and power. We are meant to live in this world unconstrained by any other, and with that freedom only love.
The spiritual westward expansion of Christian civilization moves toward creating free people, constrained by ourselves alone. This mirroring of God is the realization of becoming perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect.
The East and its vertical and spiritual traditions to which Jesus should originally have established himself still awaits its mission to more fully inform the beauty of Western political and material culture.
The secrets of how this eventually occurs are defined in Dr. Moon’s teachings on the “Pacific Rim Providence,” and are everywhere to be discovered as bright pebbles glistening within his teachings.
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