As the world prepares for the twenty-first century it is confronted with a host of problems and challenges. Inter-religious and ethnic conflicts proliferate, and there are increasing threats to the envi-ronment. Drug abuse, corruption, crime and terrorism are on the rise, against a background of deepening moral decline and scourge of new diseases, such as AIDS. Yet this is an age of unprecedented development in science and technology, development which gives modern men and women awesome power to shape their lives and destiny. There is a paradox here: human beings are daily increasing their knowledge of the world and yet seem less and less able to solve the fundamental problems of life.

Religion claims to have the solution to this human dilemma, but in today's science-dominated world many people are cynical about religion, pointing to the many failures and hypocrisies in its prac-tice over the centuries. Understandably, they question belief sys-tems that claim to solve human problems and save people from evil but have not succeeded in ending human conflict and suffering.

Despite inadequacies in the practice of religion to date, however, human beings cannot expect to meet the challenges of life without understanding their Creator and His purpose for the universe. The world of result cannot be understood without knowledge of the world of cause. One should ask, then, where is God to be found amidst the crisis and confusion of the twentieth-century world? What is He thinking and doing today and what are His solutions for the problems facing humanity? What can men and women do to work with Him? The Unification Principle addresses these and other critical questions, providing a modern-day understanding of God and His desire for humankind.

The Principle is the essential teaching of Sun Myung Moon, a Korean man of God who from early youth passionately searched for lasting solutions to the fundamental problems of life and de-voted himself completely to the service of God and humanity. He has been scorned by most of the worid but has persevered in his mission, patiently explaining the need for a new understanding of God and radical solutions for age-old as well as contemporary problems.

This summary of the Principle has been prepared with two mod-ern-day concerns in mind. First, the need for inter-religious under-standing and harmony, and, second, the need for an understanding of God and the creation that is fully compatible with science. Without quoting directly from the sacred books, it sets out an un-derstanding of God and human beings that sheds light on existing scriptures and offers a spiritual framework for life.
The value of the Principle is demonstrated in the fruitful lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world who are guided by its insights. Furthermore, the Principle provides the inspira-tional foundations for dozens of projects to benefit humankind, from inter-religious, cultural and scientific initiatives to relief pro-grams, educational institutions and quality publications.

I invite you to study it carefully and prayerfully to see why so many people from all walks of life and every corner of the earth have made the Unification Principle the basis for their lives of faith and, through its application, have created happy and healthy fami-lies within a global community of enlightened believers. I myself have followed the path of the Principle for almost four decades and can assure you that the study of it will benefit your life greatly.