Wikipedia: Unification Church/Talk

(I think this was Ed Poor):

Note: I am a member of this church so I may be (a) biased in favor of it, but also (b) probably in a better position to understand its teachings and internal workings than others.

Yes, it was. I'm not sure when and where I should sign my contributions. I'm also trying to get a handle on the etiquette and mechanics of wiki in general. Any advice would be helpful. I mean, any helpful advice would be welcome! -- Ed Poor

There's plenty of stuff here in the Wikipedia FAQ and Wikipedia policy statements. In general, we don't sign contributions here, because no page really has an "author" per se; they are all collectively written. Commentary on talk pages, however, should be signed. --LDC

: S'Okay, we all had to get started somewhere. Wikipedians are very helpful and friendly and will hold your hand as needed while you learn. Ask lots of questions when you're in doubt. You can use the Summary field for that when you submit something. --Dmerrill

In this article, mention is made of their "novel view of the Trinity", while the Trinity article lists the Unification Church among groups that don't believe in the Trinity at all. It would be helpful to further describe what their view of the Trinity is and perhaps how it compares to the classical view. --Wesley, a trinitarian

: I will write this up soon. For now, the UC considers God to be unique, absolute and eternal. Jesus is a human being who achieved perfection. The holy spirit is an essence or force. (This is rough and needs more detail, which is why there's no Unification Trinity article or section.) --Ed Poor

Selected quotes on Jesus from the Divine Principle:

Jesus may well be called God because, as a man who has realized the purpose of creation and who lives in oneness with God, he has a divine nature. Nevertheless, he is not God Himself.

While on earth, Jesus was a man no different from any of us except for the fact that he was without the original sin. Even in the spirit world, where he has abided since his resurrection, Jesus lives as a spirit, as do his disciples. The only difference between them is that Jesus abides as a divine spirit, emitting brilliant rays of light, while his disciples, as life spirits, reflect that light.

A 400-word explanation of Trinity is at [1] (Note that it's buzz-word laden. It contains 6 unique terms plus 9 terms used in special senses!)

: Thanks Ed. I look forward to the fuller write-up. One thing I conclude from the above synopsis is that even though the Unification and Orthodox churches have very different teachings concerning the Trinity, the Trinity remains a practical doctrine, because it describes who God is, who we are, and what hope there is for the relationship between God and humanity. Peace, --Wesley