Dr. Mose Durst, a.k.a. "Oppa"
K. Gordon Neufeld
Unification Church. Does this rumor have any truth? If this happens
to be old news, then my ignorance is simply due to having only joined
this newsgroup recently. If this is a false rumor, then fine, let me
know.
I remember Dr. Durst from my first days in the so-called "Creative
Community Project" in San Francisco, 1976. Durst was great for giving a
lively lecture that had little real content. He was well-liked by the
members, in contrast to his evil, scheming wife, Onni Soo Lim, who had
somehow gotten him into her cultic clutches and hastily married him,
presumably for the Immigration advantages this would allow her. In
those days the members of the Oakland Family called her "Omma" as in
"Momma" and Dr. Durst was called "Oppa" as in "Poppa". They were like a
second set of substitute parents, and during the brief time that I was a
member in Oakland (late 1976), they were revered almost as highly as the
so-called "True Parents", and certainly seemed more real to the members.
The Oakland Family was, in fact, a cult-within-a-cult, and its greater
success in harvesting victims through its witnessing campaigns was
primarily due to Onni's faithful imitation of Moon's personality cult,
along with some innovations designed to appeal to Westerners. Onni
created a personality cult around herself that easily rivalled that of
Moon. To combat this, without giving the appearance of directly
suppressing her, Moon decided in 1979 to elevate the Dursts to
leadership of all of California, and again in 1980 he made them
leaders of the entire America church. Furthermore, Moon switched the
emphasis away from Onni and onto Dr. Durst. This had the effect (no
doubt intentional) of killing off the Onni personality cult. Moon
didn't care that the Oakland Family was more successful with its
existing methods; he just wanted to ensure there were no rivals for his
egotism.
I certainly would be happy to hear that Durst had managed to escape from
this madness.
Sincerely, K. Gordon Neufeld
--
_____________________________________________
"Zeal was not enough. Orthodoxy was unconsciousness."
- George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
K. Gordon Neufeld
K. Gordon Neufeld <gordon_...@my-deja.com> wrote:
"I have heard a rumor that Dr. Durst is no longer an active member of
the Unification Church. Does this rumor have any truth?"
_____________________________________________________________________
Since no-one responded to this question, may I conclude that nobody in
this news group knows (or is willing to speak about) Mose Durst's
current situation?
glenn...@my-deja.com
K. Gordon Neufeld <gordon_...@my-deja.com>
wrote:
> I have heard a rumor that Dr. Durst is no longer an active member of the
> _____________________________________________
> "Zeal was not enough. Orthodoxy was unconsciousness."
> - George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
>
> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
>
and enjoyed reliving the Creative Community
Project thru this post. My, the world seemed so
different then, didn't it? It was exactly as you
described, a cult-within-a-cult. I joined in the
summer of '75 and had already shipped out to MFT
by the time you arrived. I think Oakland's REAL
contribution to UC was fodder for the fund-raising
wars. I don't know if "Dr." Durst is still around,
but I wouldn't be surprised if he had de facto
quit. (I must confess, when I first heard the DP,
I thought Mose Durst was the messiah.) As for
Onni, she was "enabled" (in today's pop psychology
parlance) by the Morrison clan -- Jennifer,
Matthew and of course Christina! And who could
forget the lectures in the Chicken Palace by Noah
Ross? (I don't know whether he's still a believer,
but I know he's with CapGemini in NYC). I'm much
more intrigued by the situation with the Ormes. I
only got to know Doris a bit after I moved to DC
in the mid-80s, when she and Dennis were still
gung-ho. In my wildest dreams I never imagined
them throwing in the towel, but I never imagined a
lot of things that have come to pass.
The past is uncertain and the future is unknown.
There is only now. --
Glenn
K. Gordon Neufeld
glenn...@my-deja.com wrote:
"I must confess, when I first heard the DP, I thought Mose Durst was the
messiah."
Glenn, that's not surprising considering how long the Oakland Family
used to take to deliver the culminating message of Divine Principle. In
my case, it took them four weeks, because I put up a lot of intellectual
resistance. One of my guests at Boonville, who didn't stay on, thought
for a while that Noah Ross was the Messiah. Others may have thought
that Onni was. Even after I was sent down from Boonville to Ashby
Street "halfway house" in early October, 1976, I was still largely
unaware of the world-wide Unification movement and had to sign a
separate document stating I wanted to become a member of the
Unification Church. I resisted that one for a week, too, before I
relented, even though I had already agreed to join the "Creative
Community Project."
The Oakland Family drove people into the ground with their demands for
great efforts, but they seemed to have some magic way of making it much
more euphoric while they did so. Everyone was sincerely more happy to
work together than in other high-pressure missions in the Unification
Church. That was unfortunate really, since it would have been better in
the end if the Oakland Family had failed as dismally as the rest of the
church. I have not been back to the Bay Area since 1976, so I wonder
what the "Moonists" are doing there these days. Anybody?
Sincerely, Gordon
thikazabrik
<gordon_...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>In article <7q9g12$nui$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
> K. Gordon Neufeld <gordon_...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>
>"I have heard a rumor that Dr. Durst is no longer an active member of
>the Unification Church. Does this rumor have any truth?"
>_____________________________________________________________________
>
>Since no-one responded to this question, may I conclude that nobody in
>this news group knows (or is willing to speak about) Mose Durst's
>current situation?
>
>--
As far as I know, Dr. Durst is currently involved in teaching at a
Principle-based school in the bay area. Noah Ross is currently living in
NY state and is also involved in local UC activities as his conscience
directs. I have not seen or corresponded with either in many years but
these are things I have heard thru the grapevine.
connie....@gmail.com
> I have heard a rumor that Dr. Durst is no longer an active member of the
> _____________________________________________
> "Zeal was not enough. Orthodoxy was unconsciousness."
> - George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
>
>
> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
amazingmirror4
In the Summer 2018 , I meet Dr Durst in the San Leonardo Church , and deep in my Heart ,i receive his words very well ,but the conversation was short ,many Know him or of him ,I am just a nobody in the human wisdom of the existing "UC" as is as in a old Zeitgeist ,love to see him again ,to see about what you report here "out of it " but body there
greeting Marius J.Henry