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Beyond the Cain-Abel Culture
The unification movement says that it wants to build a culture of heart. You find this on their web sites, in their publications and as the theme of conferences. However, little is said about how this culture should look like. Consequently, you will find little strategy how to move towards that goal.
The actual culture in the unification movement that has developed over the years is a difficult and complex one. It originates from the teaching around the Cain-Abel relationship, a central issue in the theory on restoration. I call it here the ‘Cain-Abel’ culture.
This is not a term from the book. The aspects of this culture have never been the expressed goal of development. The ‘Cain-Abel culture’ is an entirely undesirable and unintended, yet dominant outgrowth from the movement’s view of human relationships and responsibility in the context of a divine providence.
Strictly speaking, the concepts around Cain-Abel belong firmly in the past, theoretically. But they have merged deeply into the thinking and attitudes of the movement’s members and created a reality that is difficult to change. The issues are compounded by cultural differences – especially the differences between modern day Confucianism and Christianity. Another problem is that the Cain-Abel relationship has completely merged and may be even replaced a relationship that is fundamental to all existence and in particular human society – the subject-object relationship.
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