Pyeong Hwa Gyeong (134) Book 8. The Reunification of Korea and World Peace CHAPTER 3. The Resolve of the World and the Korean People
1. The crisis in the world today
First I would like to talk about the crisis we face today. The world today, simply put, is a world in great confusion. All societies today, in the East and the West, in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, in developed and developing nations, have fallen ill. Not a day goes by without another case of injustice, corruption, murder, robbery, exploitation, oppression and violence. These incidents increase with each passing day.
On the international level, strife, conflict, rebellion and wars have broken out within and between nations, peoples and religions. The downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, and the Rangoon and Beirut incidents, are only the latest in a history of brutal massacres.
People in the developed nations enjoy a life of abundance, while countless people in developing nations are grappling with hunger, and the number of people dying of starvation is increasing. Amid this confusion and horror, what is particularly deplorable is the fact that religions are not functioning properly and instead are fighting among themselves.
I point to examples such as the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, the clashes between Judaism and Islam, the infighting between Sunni and Shia in Iraq and Iran, and the denominational conflicts within Protestantism. Religions are supposed to prevent conflict and lead people to reconciliation based on the spirit of human fellowship, but instead they have given in to conflict.
As a result the world has become lawless, and humanity is drowning in a sea of violence, carnage, destruction and brutality. The confusion is intensified due to the barbaric schemes concocted by communists. Consequently, human culture now finds itself in crisis. It seems like a hopeless situation.
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