James Kovic:  

know, that's Reverend Moon's church. It's true, I was a Moonie for 26 years. And although I no longer am a member, I'll still say that it was an important and formative time in my life. If you're offended by what the Unification Church represents, I totally understand. You have a right to be suspicious. And even though I benefited a lot from my experience there, I was very naive and didn't question thoroughly enough what was happening around me. However, there wasn't any brainwashing or something in the food or any type of coercion to keep me from leaving. But there is a very a theology which gives some very convincing arguments that Reverend Moon is the Messiah. I studied it and I made a decision to commit myself to the church. But all through my experience I was fed, clothed, given travel expenses to fly across the country several times to participate in this mission and that mission. I fished for Blue Fin Tuna in Gloucester Massachucetts and was a purchase agent on a boat in Alaska to buy salmon for the church's seafood company. I was treated very well. Eventually I had the chance to attend the church's seminary in upstate New York. I also was introduced to my wife by Reverend Moon and married by him and his wife in 1989. However, there was one incident that I had with Reverend Moon's son, Hyo Jin that was the impetus for me leaving the church. He was attending the same class I was at the seminary. One day he gave a talk in front of the class. I asked a question concerning his topic. When my desire to follow up with a second question irritated him, he came over to me and struck me across the face. Nobody came to my aid, not even the professor. That's what did it for me. I eventually graduated but I began to distance myself more and more from the church and the members. Luckily, my wife got a job as a financial aid counselor in Norwich, Connecticut where we now live with our two children. You can read the personal testimony of that day in my class and many other things about the Unification Church in a book by Nan-sook Hong, the former wife of Hyo-Jin Moon. She was actually the one I'm indebted to, one for writing the book but also for holding him back after he hit me. She wrote "In the Shadow of the Moons" and it can be purchased at Amazon.com. I actually have something to thank Hyo-Jin Moon for. If it wasn't for the incident with him I'm not sure if I would have begun my own spiritual journey. I feel that his assault on me was a trigger that woke me up and allowed me to begin to see the truth about myself. If you want to email me here it is jknct (at sign here) snet (dot here) net