UPF France Feels Called to Act After Recent Attacks
The Universal Peace Federation (UPF) France felt called to act after recent terrorist attacks that took place around the world, including Paris, France last Friday. As stated in their letter below, they hope to open a deeper dialogue toward building lasting peace in France and all over the world. Have you felt called to act in response to recent events? Share your story so your initiative can gain support and momentum to make a change.
Faced with the unprecedented violence which pummeled our country last night, in the name of the Universal Peace Federation, we offer our prayers for the many victims and we express our pain and our sympathy to their families. We are profoundly thankful toward our fellow citizens who are on the front line to protect our population and toward those who provided medical care to the injured, often at the risk of their life.
This brutal violence has struck not only France; it has recently struck other countries, Turkey, Russia and Lebanon, to cite only the most recent. This spiral of violence threatens the entire world. If we are profoundly shocked as French citizens, it is as human beings that we have been aggressed. This terrorist attack reinforces our solidarity not only with our fellow citizens, but also with the citizens of every country in the world.
How and in the name of what can acts so barbarous be committed? No nationalism, no religious belief can justify this blind violence, which randomly eliminates precious lives and shatters families. It matters not that the assassins claim to act on behalf of a nation or invoke the name of God.
Terror plunges its roots in hatred and the denial of another’s humanity. While all the means are given to us to make of our planet a shared home, while in a few days the world will gather in Paris to try making our world more livable for everyone, let us react to terror by reaffirming the absolute value of each human life and the profound, indivisible unity of human beings, beyond cultures and religions. If the suffering inflicted by the terrorists can serve as a means to destroy prejudice and deepen our vision of others, they will only have sown the seeds of their own destruction.
The Universal Peace Federation encourages a deeper dialogue between politicians and religious leaders, encourages the media, teachers and the entire civil society to lead a deliberation on the essential values of a democracy that allow the integration of everyone’s values, without discrimination. With the aid of the Ambassadors for Peace, we renew our determination to support these efforts in our nation and in the world.
Paris, November 14, 2015
Bruce Biggin
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr said and I quote, “Darkness can never drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate can never drive out hate. Only Love can drive out hate.” My heart and prayers are with the French people for their suffering and loss. I pray for healing and renewal.May God be with those affected by this atrocity and with the nation of of France.
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Edy Iversen
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Dear Family Members throughout the world.
Thank you for your unprecedented support, prayers and love for our members here in France. By the grace of God, as far as we know they were all protected even though some of them were at the Stade de France for the soccer match or lived as close as 50 meters to the bombings, but miraculously were not home at the time. Our national leader has called for prayer for all the victims of the bombings, and unity of our activities in France. We will contact as many religious leaders and political leaders as we can for our upcoming Universal Peace Federation meeting on Dec.12 and ask for your continued prayers as well for the success of this meeting.
We must educate the leaders of this world, so they can in turn educate the members of their political organizations, churches, Mosques and Temples with True Parent’s vision of Peace. Though war and military strength may be one immediate and sometimes necessary answer, it will not be the ultimate solution to heal a world full of resentment and hatred. Enclosed is an excellent speech Dr. Micheal Jenkins (see below) gave at the World Summit in 2014 that encapsulates our True Parents thinking. It is well worth watching. Truly at times like this, we can really feel we are “One Family Under God” and if one is hurt we are all hurt. In spite of this horror, this is an opportune time for all members to speak out about our work all over the world and be heard.
Un Grand Merci from Paris for your continued prayers and support.
Edy Iversen
FFWPU FRANCE
Speech from Dr. Jenkins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ438UV455Q
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Robert Yee
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The axiom of Unification thought is the universal filter , the standard by which – FF/FS (TOP/4PF) – all philosophies are compared and contrasted. The close second to UT would be the vision of the Preamble to the US Constitution. Unity, Justice, Tranquility … to secure the Blessing for ourselves and Posterity (TOP/4PF). UT is messianic in the completed testament sense, whereas the Preamble is not a religion. A new governing party -perhaps a new coalition (NGO) third party, would have to understand how to walk this fine line. This fine line cannot be tread with the baggage of denominationalism and prejudice, either Semitic, Catholic, UC, or Protestant.
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Monty Johnson
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Yes, let’s just sit down and talk with each other? If it only could be done, but the real concern is global climate change! And nationalism where did that come from? Let’s get real about the threat of violent Islamism.
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David Eaton
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Roger Scruton (one of my favorite contemporary philosophers) acknowledges that America’s contributions of a “viable democracy and masterful technology” though important and praiseworthy, are not central its achievements because they “do not conquer the heart.” As such they do not provide the moral or ethical pillars on which “human life and its meaning can stand up to the sarcastic nihilism of the West’s internal critics” or other pernicious social and/or ideological agendas born of “the rising flood of the world’s resentment.”
Christian values, according to Scruton, provided the moral and ethical conviction that is indispensable in order for the grand vision of constitutional democracy to flourish. It is this faith conviction and “the shared meanings conveyed to us by our culture—meanings conveyed equally to the one who believes and the one who doubts,” that makes culture so important for us. In this regard our Christian culture becomes “the repository…of moral knowledge.” But can there be a transmission of these “shared meanings” across such acutely diverse religious spheres in a harmonious fashion? More importantly, do they find common currency among such disparate faith traditions? Though Scruton seems optimistic, others are not convinced that this can, nor should, happen. Moderate Muslims may hold the key in any attempt to bring their faith into a more harmonious relationship with faiths and cultures not of their own.
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