It is human nature to try to make sense of our experiences and the world in which we live. This is also what scientists, philosophers, theologians and psychologists try to do. We ask ultimate questions such as what is the purpose of life? If God exists why do people suffer? Why did God create human beings? What is right and wrong?

Sun Myung Moon himself went through an intense period of questioning when he was a teenager trying to find answers to such questions.

Amajor turning point in this quest was when he had an encounter with Jesus. Later when his spiritual senses were open he met many of the other great figures of religious history such as Moses, Muhammad and Buddha.

Through an intense study of the Bible and the natural sciences, Sun Myung Moon discovered a series of universal Principles that appear to underpin and explain the whole of reality. Through his personal encounter with God he also realised why God created human beings and what the purpose of life is. He discovered that God feels all the suffering of people as His own and is broken-hearted by what goes on. These principles enabled him to uncover patterns in the Bible which show how God has been working with people to restore the world. For example, he realised that the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus was an unnecessary and tragic mistake. If he had been able to live out his natural life as did Buddha, Moses and Muhammad he could have accomplished much more: Judaism would have been reformed from within, European history would have taken a very different turn, and so much suffering and conflict would have been avoided. In this example, as in other key matters that have occupied seekers after spiritual truth, the Principle allows us the freedom to ask the question ‘What if things had gone differently?’, thereby replacing dogmatic religious views with an appreciation of God as a loving parent of all humankind whose plans are often thwarted by human beings acting out of ignorance.

When one listens to talks on these Unification Principles, or makes a personal study of these ideas, one is not required ‘believe them’ as an act of faith; most people find that they resonate with their true self, and their life experience confirms them – it is a process of revelation and reason leading to enlightenment. They help one to understand oneself. They also enable one to discover one’s own place in the providence of God and thus live a more meaningful and purposeful life.

Some of Sun Myung Moon’s disciples systematized his teaching and published them in a book called Exposition of the Divine Principle. It is mostly an application of these principles to the task of elucidating certain themes in the Bible so as to reveal God’s providence. It is therefore not a ‘new’ truth set up to rival other sets of belief but a means to unlock knowledge that is already in our possession.