| Synopsis: |
In writing any account of someone else's religious beliefs and practices, any author must find himself between two poles: what members of the religion wish to tell, and what the public wishes to know. Nowhere are these polarities more distant than in the field of new religions. The public wishes to know about "recruitment", "brainwashing", and fundraising within the Unification Church, while the authors discussion with UC members elicited far more material on their own inner spiritual life. After consideration the author has concluded that a common meeting ground is simply not possible, and that any book, including this one, has to be a compromise. Just as any mainstream Christian would be irritated by an inquirer's relentless pursuit of questions relating to the precise ingredients of the eucharistic wine, it is understandable that UC members should feel that the author has given too much attention to the more obviously external manifestations of their faith in some of their ceremonies. However, while recognising the importance of the insider's definition, the author still believes that it is important to answer many of the commonly asked outsider's questions too, and it is simply |