Rebirth

The problem: a defiled lineage

In Unification theology, the root of humanity's separation from God is not primarily a moral failure but a lineage problem. When Adam and Eve fell, they did not simply sin — they formed a bond with the Archangel that transmitted his nature into the human bloodline. Every human being born since has inherited this fallen lineage, carrying within them a nature oriented away from God.

This is why ordinary moral effort, religious devotion, or self-improvement cannot accomplish full restoration. The problem runs deeper than behavior — it is in the blood. As the Exposition of the Divine Principle teaches:

"Our defiled lineage should be completely sanctified through a process called rebirth, and we should inherit the love of God."

What rebirth requires

To be reborn means to exit the fallen lineage and enter a God-centered one. In Unification teaching, this requires three things:

First, a return to the womb. Not literally — but symbolically and spiritually. To be reborn, a person must symbolically re-enter the position of a child not yet born into the fallen world, so that they can emerge again through a new lineage. Rev. Moon explained that through the Principle, an indemnity condition of lesser value can substitute for this process — the condition is real and spiritually effective, though it does not require physical re-entry into a womb.

Second, a mediator. Fallen human beings cannot restore themselves to God's lineage through their own effort. They need someone who stands outside the fallen lineage — someone whose own lineage has not been corrupted by the Fall. This is the role of the True Parents:

"Human beings cannot go to God without the True Parents, since the original sin can be removed only through the True Parents. Only through them can fallen human beings come forward to God as His original children, with God-like value."

Third, the Blessing. The Holy Marriage Blessing is the concrete means through which rebirth is accomplished. Through the Blessing ceremony — and specifically through the Holy Wine Ceremony — the lineage inherited from the Fall is symbolically converted, and the couple enters into the lineage of the True Parents. Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon expressed this in her 2013 benediction:

"Through the Holy Wedding of True Parents, they were permitted the grace of being born into a new lineage, and You have lighted a beacon of hope for the fallen humanity through the great Blessing Ceremonies."

Not by human effort alone

A critical point in this teaching is that rebirth cannot be self-generated. This distinguishes Unification teaching from approaches to salvation that rely primarily on individual spiritual effort, moral transformation, or religious practice:

"It is wrong to think that we can do this on our own. Separation from the original sin is possible when we realize the value of the Blessing given by True Parents."

This does not mean human effort is irrelevant — jeongseong, living for others, and the cultivation of a God-centered heart are all essential. But these are not the mechanism of rebirth itself. They are the response to it, the expression of a life lived from within the new lineage.

Rebirth and the change of lineage

The concept of rebirth in Unification theology is inseparable from the concept of lineage conversion — the transfer from a Satan-centered bloodline to a God-centered one. Rev. Moon described the cross-cultural Marriage Blessing as the most powerful expression of this:

"The best way to restore people to the position of the children of God through conversion of lineage is through the cross-cultural Marriage Blessing. It is the greatest of moral acts, creating the Heavenly lineage on a whole new level, transcending the barriers of race, culture, nationality, and religion. It is an act that severs all links of enmity."

When a person is reborn through the Blessing, they do not simply improve their relationship with God — they change their fundamental identity as a child of God, moving from the fallen lineage of Satan to the restored lineage of the True Parents.

The ongoing responsibility

Rebirth through the Blessing is a beginning, not a completion. The person who has been reborn through the True Parents' Blessing inherits a new potential — but realizing that potential requires a lifetime of living in accordance with the new lineage. As Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon urged blessed families:

"Once you are blessed you should not stop there."

The life after rebirth is one of attendance to God and True Parents, the raising of blessed children, and the expansion of the heavenly lineage through witnessing and service — carrying forward the restoration that the Blessing began.