Help:Writers Manual


The Chicago Manual of Style is the basic style guide the New World Encyclopedia uses. It also uses United States English. There are several areas left optional in the Chicago Manual of Style. In addition, assistance can be obtained from Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style, however in some cases the New World Encyclopedia will differ from Wikipedia. The following specific style conventions will be used by the New World Encyclopedia:



• Add serial comma, except where not included in quoted text (e.g., green, red, and yellow)

• Comma and period inside double quotation marks (e.g., “Encyclopedia Project,”)

• Comma and period outside single quotation marks (e.g., ‘Encyclopedia Project',)

• Semi-colon, colon, and question mark outside all quotation marks (e.g., “Encyclopedia Project”;)

• Comma follows date and year in text (e.g., February 10, 2008,)

• No comma for month and year only (e.g., February 2008)

• Comma follows city and state in text (e.g., New York , New York ,)

• Bracket author-added parenthetical text inside a direct quote (e.g., [Hemingway])

• En dash (Alt+150) between one-word & two-word modifier in compound adjective (e.g., Christmas–New Year's)

• Em dash (Alt+151), no spaces, to set of phrases or afterthoughts (e.g., soldiers from the countries involved—Germany , France , and England—fought to the death) (Note: NWE software automatically displays two dashes as an em dash.)

• Add space between three-letter initials (e.g., C. N. B. Wheeler)

• No hyphen between modifier & color (e.g., golden brown)

• Lowercase “to” as part of infinitive in titles, otherwise initial cap (e.g.,”How to Live on $36,000 a Year”)

• One space between sentences, or after a colon.


• Use sentence case in subheadings (not title case).

• Initial cap in independent clause after colon (e.g., passionate about: She wanted to take time)

• Lower case for pronouns referring to God.

• When referring to "Lord" in the bible Lord (YWYH), when referring to God. LORD (all caps) is only to be used in a direct citation of a Bible verse that uses that style, eg., KJV.

Numbers and dates

• Spell out fractions in text (e.g., three-quarters)

• No apostrophe after decade (e.g., 1920s)

• a.m. or p.m. lower case with periods (e.g., 3:45 p.m.)

• Spell out centuries; open as noun, hyphenated as adjective (e.g., the twentieth century, the twentieth-century artist)

• Spell out “percent,” use numeral (e.g., 60 percent)

• Spell out streets numbered First through Ninety-ninth (e.g., West Fifty-ninth Street )

• Spell out even hundreds, thousands (e.g., forty thousand)

• But, use numerals for groups of like numbers (e.g., 75,000 to 80,000 copies)

• Spell out numbers one to ten

• Use numeral for numbers 11 and higher

• Use numeral with million, billion or trillion (e.g., 3 million readers)

• Common era terminology, use small caps with periods (e.g., 872 B.C.E.) Note: The "fix" button will automatically put this into caps and the software will automatically display them as small caps.

• When the common era abbreviation ends a sentence, only one period should be used.

• Trademark, follow original (e.g., 20th Century Fox (tm))

• Numbers of four or more digits, except four-digit page numbers and four-digit years, require commas (e.g., 3,795 pages, 148,397 words, page 1021, 1296 B.C.E., 10,000 B.C.E.)

• All digits are used for ranges of years (e.g., 1856-1857 [not 1856-57])

• Dates should be presented in the following format:

February 20, 2008

February 2008

February 1357 C.E.

February 1357 B.C.E.

Roman and italics

• Romanize song titles (e.g., “A Cheer for Princeton ”)

• Italicize newspaper or magazine name, except for preceding “the” or following “magazine” (e.g., the Saturday Evening Post, Metropolitan magazine, the New York Times )

• Romanize the possessive of italicized term (e.g., Post 's)

• Italicize titles of plays (e.g., Assorted Spirits )

• Romanize foreign terms listed in Webster's Dictionary (e.g., elan vital)

• Italicize names of ships (e.g., Celtic )

• Italicize names of paintings (e.g., Cocktail )

• Italicize parentheses when entire word or phrase is italicized (e.g.: (Tender) )


• General Ryan (spell out rank/title with last name only)

• Gen. J. A. Ryan (abbreviate rank/title with full name optional) (space between initials)

• aka (no periods)

• U.S. or U.N. (use periods)

Ancient persons

• The first occurrence of an ancient personal name should be accompanied by the dates of that person's life.

Ancient places

• The first occurrence of a place with different Ancient and Modern names should list one in parentheses (e.g.: Mari (modern Tell Hariri), Laish (biblical Dan)).

Weights and Measures

• When measurements are written in English Units, they should be followed by their metric equivalent in parentheses. Conversely, if Metric Units are used, they English equivalent should follow in parentheses. Some examples are provided on the page Template:Convert/doc.

• When referring to metric tons, use "metric tons" and instead of "tonnes."

Order of end matter

Please use the following order for the end matter of every article. If sections are missing in your article (no external links, for example), simply omit them.

  1. Further reading or Bibliography
  2. See also
  3. Notes
  4. References
  5. External links
  6. Credits

References and Bibliography

Please see the page, Help:Documentation.

Footnotes, Bibliography, and External links are all parts of an article that provide documentation for a citation or point the reader toward more in-depth information. The New World Encyclopedia prefers humanities style documentation, but accepts the author-date style. The style should be consistent throughout an article.

Please see the page, Help:Documentation for details on how to use each style and examples of each style in the various types of source material.


  1. The New World Encyclopedia uses United States English.
  2. The New World Encyclopedia uses Pinyin Chinese transliteration.

Conventional Aspects

The following guidelines are to help writers and editors understand criteria common to all entries.


The encyclopedia is aimed at late high school, early college reading proficiency, and general educational levels. We assume no specialized knowledge of any field. Articles should be fully comprehensible to non-specialists.

Writing style

Articles should be lively and interesting. The style of a good essayist or journalist may be preferable to the dry and excessively technical accounts frequently characterizing conventional encyclopedias. However, as encyclopedias should be concise, style changes should not significantly increase length. Entries should satisfy the reader's curiosity, and facts should be readily at hand.

Alphabetical order

Topics are arranged in alphabetical order. Alphabetical order allows easy access to topics unprejudiced by other possible organizational schemes. Possible weaknesses to the linear quality of alphabetical arrangements can be compensated for in an on-line or CD format by making links within the article to related and interconnected topics, and by using software redirects.

Short entries

Excessively short entries should be avoided because they do not demonstrate the distinctive knowledge that we are seeking. Any topic worth treating in its own article is worth treating well. Articles generally should range from 1,500 to 5,000 words in length (though there will be exceptions). Topics less than 750 words might better be a subtopic in a larger article.

Classes of things

Comprehensive articles treat classes of things that do not merit individual entries. Comprehensive articles place smaller topics in an integrated context while at the same time providing a place to index them for easy retrieval.

• For instance, it is more appropriate to have a single article on “Card Games” than a myriad of separate entries on Bridge, Whist, Gin Rummy, Old Maid, etc.

• It may be more appropriate to have a large article on “ Nigeria, Peoples” rather than 100 entries on 100 tribes.

• It may be more appropriate to have a large article on “Cactus” than many small articles naming each individual species or genus.

• Short biographical entries on minor historical figures such as King Edward VII or Neville Chamberlain might better be discussed in a larger article on English History or English Kings.


If one discovers that a subtopic of a large article has a disproportionate importance in its own right it should be changed to have its own entry.

• For example, in addition to the article “Card Games” there might be an entry on Contract Bridge and another entry on Poker, even as the other minor card games are treated only in the larger overview.

• In addition to “ Nigeria, Peoples” there might be an individual entry on the Yoruba people that has a distinct and vibrant cultural and religious identity even as most of the other people of Nigeria may not. Certain African tribes like the Fulani, Akan, Ashanti, and Zulu, that have a multinational presence and clear identity, could have their own articles.

• A large article “Musical Instruments” might be supplemented by individual articles on “Violin,” “Organ,” “Piano,” and “Drum” each of which has its distinctive repertoire, construction , and cultural use, even as other musical instruments may not require separate mention.

• However, the subtopic should not be created unless the major topic exists.

Portal articles

In some cases a shorter article defining a broad topic will provide a portal into longer and more complete articles.

For example, an article on “Inheritance” will define the general concept of inheritance and the different ways it is used, it provides summaries and links to “Legal Inheritance,” “Genetic Inheritance,” “Mathematical Inheritance,” etc.


There is tension between the academic approach that names and classifies by the perspective of the field, and the layman's approach that uses common names and classifies according to common practice. We should try to accommodate the layman's approach wherever possible. The longer technical name may be described in parentheses the first time it is used.

Dating articles

Using language that refers to a close proximity of time in which the article was written dates an article. In one year such articles become obsolete or look anachronistic because the event is no longer recent or the “future” event has already transpired.

Articles should be written in a way that does not date an article. Using words or phrases like, “recently,” “currently,” or “at the present time” ties the article closely to the date it was written. This should be avoided.

Likewise, predictions of the future like “soon we will have,” or “scientists are developing,” or references to a book “forthcoming” should be avoided.

Writers need to think in terms of someone reading their article 10 years from now and having it seem current.

Neither dictionary nor gazetteer

This is not a dictionary. The focus will be on middle-sized, comprehensive articles rather than small dictionary-sized (100-300 word) entries. However, entries in the first paragraph above the table of contents in an article should be concise descriptions of the topic expanded below.


We expect average articles to stay between 1,500 (or less) to 5,000 (tops) range. They should be divided into subdivisions which make it easy to choose different aspects of the article to read and visually breakup text space.

Living people

Approved categories for living people (phase 2)

  1. Presidents and Prime Ministers of countries
  2. Nobel Prize Winners
  3. UN Secretaries General
  4. Pulitzer Prize Winners
  5. Lenin Prize Winners
  6. Fulbright Prize Winners
  7. Olympic Gold Medalists
  8. 100 wealthiest people in the world
  9. Recipients of the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom
  10. Time Magazine's Man/Woman of the Year
  11. Major Religious leaders heading over a million people (e.g. Pope, Dalai lama)
  12. Living leaders of new religions if they are in Britannica
  13. Living music stars who are in their respective Halls of Fame (country, rock, and jazz)
  14. Living sports stars who are in Britannica
  15. US Secretaries of State
  16. Living thinkers/theorists if they are in Britannica.

When writing about living people do not use present tense, or words like "currently" or "recently," as such articles can quickly become outdated.

Multimedia issues


The writer of the entry should be encouraged to use lists, charts, maps, diagrams, and photos. Lists can be used to present a large amount of detailed information. Graphics files should be kept to under 2 MB in size.

Sound and video

As we are anticipating the possibility of producing a multimedia computer version, the writer can also use sound and video clips with appropriate entries. They must be media in the public domain or be available though a free license.

Images and how to use them

To import images simply click on the “Upload file” link in the toolbox on the left side of the Encyclopedia Project Article wiki. Once you are transferred to that page, click on “Browse” and locate the file on your computer you would like to upload, then type in a destination filename as well as a summary and finally click “Upload file.”

Three acceptable types of images

  1. Images in the Public Domain
  2. Images available under a free license
  3. Images donated by writers and made available under a free license

The first two types of images can be copied from Wikipedia by first copying the article and clicking “import” Import free or public domain images any undocumented images or references to them.

The third type of image is one you donate yourself.

After you upload your image, go to edit pane of the image page and put an optional caption followed by who is donating it (you can sign with the signature button) followed by the GFDL template (GFDL in braces). For example:

American Rural Church,
photo by Jeff Anderson

When you add an image, make sure there is a source and rights link in the following format: [link, space, source and rights] for example:

[ source and rights]

This will be automatically done on imported images, but you must manually apply this for others.

Note on image names

Name all new images with an underscore (not a space) between words or some browsers (like Firefox) will not recognize them.

How to use images in your article


An image link allows you to make an image appear on a wiki page.

Example: [[Image:Frost.jpg|thumb|100px|right]] shows a postage stamp with Robert Frost's face on it (at right).

Since the original file is very large (536x834 pixels), we can reduce it with the word "thumb":

[[Image:Frost.jpg|thumb]] shows Robert Frost's face at a reduced size.

Image captions

Please include a caption with your image. End your image link with the caption, separated by a pipe character: [[Image:Frost.jpg|thumb|'''Robert Frost''', New England poet]] The image with caption would look like this (right):

Robert Frost, New England poet

Note that if your image contains the subject of the article, the subject (Robert Frost, in this case) is in bold-face text. This is one more way for the reader to remember what page they're viewing.

Alignment issues

If an article has too many images, it can often distort the text and make new sections begin awkwardly. It is recommended that images are placed at the beginning of a short section of text and sized between 200 and 250 pixels. To size your image, simply note the size, separated from other fields with a pipe:

[[Image:Frost.jpg|thumb|100px|right|'''Robert Frost''', New England poet]]

If an image continues beyond the text in a section and makes the section below start in the horizontal center of the page, it is useful to use this tag:

<br clear="all">

This tag will continue the section until the image fits inside. For example:

Robert Frost, New England poet

Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet, arguably the greatest and indisputably the most famous American poet of the twentieth century. Frost came of age in the early twentieth century, and as a result lived during a time when modernism was the dominant movement in American literature. Frost's enduring legacy goes beyond his strictly literary contribution. He seemed to give voice to American, and particularly New England virtues.

How to work with word wrap

Paragraphs are automatically word wrapped, flush left. There is no indent of the first line.


To start a new paragraph, hit RETURN twice to insert a blank line between the two paragraphs.


To format special instructions (like computer source code) without word wrap, start a line of text with a SPACE character. Everything after the initial “space” will go into a box surrounded with dots.


If you type: _Here is a box full of text.


where the underscore indicates a space, you will get this:

Here is a box full of text.

You can eliminate the “box” by deleting the initial SPACE character from the line of text.

Flags and crests

The designs of these items belong to their respective countries, but generally countries are happy to have their flag displayed. It is usually not a problem unless you appear to be:

  1. desecrating their flag, or
  2. profiting excessively from it, or
  3. using it to appear to endorse some personal purpose. The EP does none of these, so we should not fear displaying flags or crests.

However, the artist who drew the flag or crest may claim a copyright to their drawing. Hence, the question we should ask about any flag or crest image is whether any artist has any copyright on the particular image we are using.

Corel guidelines for the use of clip-art and photo images

Corel Corporation sells clip art of a number of flags and crests that look similar to those in Wikipedia. We need to investigate this issue further. You are allowed to use these images online up to a pixel size of 512x768 if you credit them, e.g., © Corel Corporation 1997.

Corel and other companies sell clip art and photo images (collectively referred to as the images) for the Internet. As a user of this product you are free to use, modify and publish the images as you wish subject to the restrictions below.

You May Not

  1. create scandalous, obscene or immoral works using the images;
  2. redistribute or sell the images as stock photography or clip art;
  3. use any of the images related to identifiable individuals or entities in a manner that suggests their association with or endorsement of any product or service;
  4. use or distribute the images online or in multimedia applications unless all of the following are met:
    • the images are at a base resolution no higher than 512 X 768
    • a credit is included in the proposed use;
    • the images do not represent a significant portion of the content of the proposed use;
    • the proposed use is not a product that is similar to or competes with any of the features of any commercial product; and
    • a notice is included in the proposed use specifying that the images may not be saved or downloaded and are only to be used for viewing purposes.

Government crests, seals and other insignia

The national and municipal insignia contained in this product are protected by various laws against misuse. Generally speaking, all logos, insignias, patches, seals, flags and coats of arms are for official use only. It is your responsibility to obey all national and international laws regulating display of the insignias, seals, flags and coats of arms contained herein.

How to work with a wiki

Editing a wiki Article

To edit you wiki article, go to the edit tab on the top of the page. All editing should be done from this edit pane. Blocks of text can also be pasted from a word processor into the edit pane.

How to use boldface

To make words bold in the wiki, simply place the words you would like bold inside of three single quotation marks.

For example, if you want the word trees to be bold, in the edit part of the wiki simply type: '''trees'''

You can also highlight the words you want bolded and click the “B” button on the toolbar on the wiki edit page.

How to use italics

To italicize words in the wiki, place two single quotation marks around the words you want to italicize.

For example, if you want the words New York Times to be italicized, in the edit part of the wiki type: ''New York Times''

You can also highlight the words you want italicized and click the “I” button on the toolbar on the wiki edit page.

How to create headers and subheaders

A header is made by starting a line with two equal signs (==) and following the title with two equal signs (==)

For example if you want George Washington to be a header, type: ==George Washington==

A subheader is created by using three equal signs (===) so if you want President to be a subheader, type: ===President===

You can go down to three levels, meaning you are starting and ending your header with four equal signs (====).

How to indent lines

Indenting is done by putting a colon (:) at the beginning of each line. There can be multiple levels of indenting by using more than one colon.

So if you type:

: far left

:: one level of indent

::: two levels of indents


It will look like this:

far left
one level of indent
two levels of indents


Wikipedia uses several styles of quotation, several of which achieve similar results. The preferred method for New World Encyclopedia is to use <blockquote></blockquote> around the portions being quoted that are long enough to set off. This provides text indented both right and left.

  • Do not italicize quotes. It is difficult to read large blocks of italicized text.
  • Do not use quotation marks when quotes are indented.

How to use bullets

To use bullets in your article, use the asterisk sign (*).


For example if you want a list of items like red, blue, white, to have bullets, in the edit part of the wiki type:

* red

* blue

* white

It will appear as:

  • red
  • blue
  • white

How to use numbering

To number lists in the wiki, use the pound sign (#).


For example if you'd like to number a list of items like yellow, green, purple, type this in the edit part of the wiki:

# yellow

# green

# purple

It will appear like this:

  1. yellow
  2. green
  3. purple

Advanced bullets and numbering

You can also combine bullets and numbering and use multiple levels of either.

If you want to number the word colors and then use bullets for the words blue, red, white, you must combine the pound sign and asterisk as follows:

# colors

#* blue

#* red

#* white


This will appear like this:

  1. colors
    • blue
    • red
    • white

If you want to use two level of numbers, you must use two pound signs, so if you want to number days and then under that number Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, type:

# Days

## Monday

## Tuesday

## Wednesday

This will appear like this:

  1. Days
    1. Monday
    2. Tuesday
    3. Wednesday


If you would like to number a list and then under a number indent some text you would use both the pound sign and a colon. So if you want a list to look like this:

  1. Baseball
    There are nine innings in a baseball game.
  2. Basketball
    There are four quarters in a basketball game.

You would have to type:

# Baseball

#: There are nine innings in a baseball game.

# Basketball

#: There are four quarters in a basketball game.

How to use tables of contents

The wiki software automatically places a table of contents box in articles that have at least five section headings. You can customize the location of this box by placing the following code on a line by itself, on any page:


That's TWO underscore characters, followed by “TOC” and TWO more underscores.

This allows you to select where in your article the table of contents appears. It is best to have it close to the top of the page, right under the concise description of the article.

Templates and Infoboxes

Templates are a very useful feature for formatting information, especially when the same information is used in more than one article. They are contained within double braces and use codes for various purposes. Templates, like articles, are produced according to the GFDL license and should be credited like articles. An explanation is found on Wikipedia here.

The choice of using Wikipedia templates or infoboxes is left to editors. They help bring consistency so a set of articles in the same category or on the same theme.

Remember that templates are often used used by more than one editor and changing them may affect many articles. Also templates are frequently updated in Wikipedia, and newer version may get imported into NWE. Therefore, if you modify or personalize a template in NWE, please save it with a different name. Otherwise many articles other NWE writers use the template for could get messed up and the original Wikipedia template would need to be restored to get them to work, and then yours won't work.) Also, if you left the name the same and an updated template was imported from Wikipedia, your customization would be lost.

Infoboxes are a form of template. Some of them serve as outlines of an area or portals with links to all the major topics in a given area. Those that serve as portals should be featured prominently and as near the top of an article as feasible.


Disambiguation is used in Wikipedia when a number of articles have the same or similar names. Since Wikipedia has millions of articles, there is a much greater need for disambiguation of articles than in New World Encyclopedia. Unless a disambiguation page has been written for New World Encyclopedia this link should be deleted. Otherwise, the public version of the article will display a useless line that points nowhere.


Many geographical articles refer to the longitude and latitude or GPS coordinates of the place. They point to an external link. In Wikipedia, these are frequently placed on the first line of an article, but this is not appropriate for New World Encyclopedia. As a rule these coordinates should be placed in the main infobox where a line for coordinates exists. If there is no such infobox for a particular article, the coordinates should be worked into the text of the article if they are desired.

Crediting Wikipedia

Crediting single articles

Every time we import an article from Wikipedia we must credit Wikipedia, and be sure to cite the exact version we imported. This is very simple. Do this while you are importing the article.

  • Go to the article you are importing (in Wikipedia) and click on the “history” tab of that article.
  • Click on the revision you are importing.
For example. In the “history” you might see a line like this:
(cur) (last) 09:51, 21 September 2005 Rmrfstar m (rv test edit to last revert by myself)
What you want to click on is 09:51, 21 September 2005. That will open a specific “version” of the article.
  • In the address line of that webpage in your browser is a URL ending with an 8 or 9 digit number, also known as a revision number. Highlight and copy that number.
  • Return to your own imported article on article wiki.
  • At the very bottom of your article type this:
{{credits|paste the revision number here}}

The exact version you imported is memorialized, and you have fulfilled the conditions of the GNU Free Documentation License.

If you forgot to copy the version when you imported the article, simply match up the times in the history of your own article in article wiki, and the time of the right version in wikipedia. Then go through the same process of copying the revision number, and putting {{credits|version number}} at the bottom of your article.

Crediting multiple articles

If you create an article using more than one Wikipedia article, you must type the article name (with spaces underlined) followed by the | character (vertical bar or pipe) then the revision number for each article. E.g.,

{{credits|name 1|number 1|name 2|number 2|name 3|number 3}}

Crediting templates

Crediting templates that are imported from Wikipedia will follow a similar process, except pasting the credit directly would damage the appearance of the template. Therefore credits are to be placed between <noinclude> and </noinclude> tags:

<noinclude>{{credits|revision number}}</noinclude>

where revision number is the 8 or 9 digit code indicating the version of the template, obtained the same way as the revision number for articles.

Many Wikipedia templates already have a <noinclude>...</noinclude> section. In such a case you do not need to add more noinclude tags. Insert the credit somewhere between existing <noinclude> and </noinclude>.

Old credit templates

Existing articles may appear to use different credit templates, such as {{Credit}}, {{Credit1}}, {{Credit2}}, etc. All those old templates are actually redirects to the current {{Credits}} template, which is compatible with all the old ones. All new articles should use the new template.

Crediting Original Articles

Original Template

If an article is not imported from Wikipedia, but written as an original contribution, use the {{Original}} template for the credit with the author's name after the pipe as follows: {{Original|Author}}.


On original articles be sure to reference all sources, including any Wikipedia citiation arrording to the Help:Documentation guidelines.

People's names and redirects

How to reference names of historical people

The New World Encyclopedia default convention displays Last name, First name. Many articles in Wikipedia are First name, Last name. Please import articles using the same name as in Wikipedia. This is necessary for proper working of many templates and for references back to the article in Wikipedia.

How to use the {{epname}} template

The {{epname}} template should be used to properly display the name of the article in the New World Encyclopedia format. For common reversals from the Firstname Lastname format in many Wikipedia articles to the Lastname, Firstname convention of the New World Encyclopedia, simply apply the {{epname}} template and “Immanuel Kant” will become “Kant, Immanuel.” This template will automatically take the lastname, make it the firstname, put a comma after it and add the rest of the title.

You may notice that during your editing and previewing the article {{epname}} will change to {{epname|Kant, Immanuel}} automatically. This only happens if you do a "Show Preview" or "Show Changes" while editing the article after adding {{epname}}. You should really not be editing an article without ever using "Show Preview", but if you do, please make sure {{epname}} is actually {{epname|Your Desired Title}} before you save the article.

For more complicated names that might require other adjustment, you can use a pipe character in the template followed by the name as it should be displayed. For example, Spanish names often use the Father's lastname followed by the mother's lastname. So you could make an article title Guido Pinchiera Vega display Pincheira Vega, Guido by typing {{epname|Pinchiera Vega, Guido}}.

How to use redirects

In many cases, such as names of people, create redirect pages to guide people to your article. For example, people search for “Kant” rather than “Immanuel Kant.” Therefore, you could create a redirect page named “Kant” that will send you to the page “Immanuel Kant.” To do this, create a page and in the edit pane type the following: #redirect[[Immanuel Kant]].

Several redirect pages may be appropriate for some articles, such as when there are alternative spellings for names, etc.

Using hyperlinks

  1. The common sense rule for using hyperlinks is to insert them when the topic is one the reader would likely move to from the article he or she is reading.
  2. The link must be spelled correctly (or a pipe used) so that it will link to an existing article or a planned future article properly.
  3. A link to any particular article need not be repeated for every instance it appears in a text. Rather, it should be used the first time the term appears in each major section of an article.
  4. Writers should be conscientious when writing new material and pasting it to the wiki. Hyperlinks should be added.
  5. Writers can review the list of all title through the "Special Pages" link in the toolbox on the left menu. This will give a good idea of what topics should be hyperlinked

Creating hyperlinks

New World Encyclopedia uses hyperlinks to connect the reader from what he or she is reading to another related article.

Hyperlinks are created by using double brackets around the term. For example [[Immanuel Kant]] yields Immanuel Kant .

• If the title exists, the link shows up in blue.

• If the title does not exist, the link shows up in red.

Hyperlinks can be created for a different term by using the pipe character as follows:

[[President of the United States|President]] will display President on the page but hyperlink to an article “President of the United States .”

Red links

Hyperlinks for possible articles that are not yet started but which might be written in the future show as red links in the article production wiki. They do not show in the publicly displayed wiki. Please insert hyperlinks for all reasonable topics in the encyclopedia, not just those for articles already started.

When there are more than 50 instances of a red link for a topic, it becomes a wanted topic and is added to the list of proposed articles, or article queue.

How to use external links in your article

The following table illustrates how to use external links in your article.

What the reader sees

How you format the codes for the link

What you see is what you get

Dec. 16th ice storm

Put the caption (or label) inside the square brackets

Dec. 16th ice storm

How to use comma delimited data to create tables

Wikipedia has a CSV to Wiki converter located at:

This will allow you to copy a .CSV table and turn it into wikiMedia or HTML.

How to create footnotes and a notes section

Footnotes are another option for citing sources within an article. To create a footnote, simply place a ref tag around the footnote. For example:

<ref>Gordon L. Anderson, ''Philosophy of the United States: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness'' (St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 2004).</ref>

At the end of an article, before the references section, a notes section must be created by typing:


And then placing this tag after:



The United States of America....[1]


  1. Gordon L. Anderson, Philosophy of the United States: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 2004). ISBN 1557788448

How to create multiple footnotes for the same source

An additional feature for footnotes is one that saves the time of having to repeatedly type out the same footnote over and over. If you have an article that footnotes the same source more than once, you can create a ref name tag. To do this:

<ref name=gray>Kenneth Gray et al., ''Corporate Scandals: The Many Faces of Greed'' (St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 2005).</ref>

Then, whenever you want to refer to this same source in another footnote, just type: <ref name=gray/>


Corporations in the United States of America...[1]

These corporations acted illegally...[1]


  1. 1.0 1.1 Kenneth Gray et al., Corporate Scandals: The Many Faces of Greed (St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 2005).ISBN 1557788383

How to categorize an article

Every article should be categorized. This is easy to do. For a current list of categories, see Help:Category List.

At the end of your article, type:

[[category:Ancient Egypt]] (or whatever categories you think best apply to your article).

The Help:Category List provides an outline, with the first-level entries being primarily subcategories and not articles themselves. We can add more categories as you think are appropriate, but they should fall under appropriate parent categories.

Note that a category can have more than one parent category. For example, the category "Historians" is both a subcategory of "History" and a subcategory of "Biography." You would put "Arnold Toynbee" in the category "Historians" and he would thus be accessed through the Historians subcategory that shows up on both the History and Biography subcategory menus.

Please remove any categories that were included on the original import of your article from Wikipedia, and replace them with categories used in the New World Encyclopedia.

How to create subcategories

You turn a category into a subcategory by adding a category tag.

Let's say you want to make Canada a subcategory of North America.

First make sure North America is a category of something like Geography and demographics (use [[category:Geography and demographics]] for that).

Then apply the [[category:North America]] tag to the Canada category in the edit page of Category: Canada .

Using the spell checker

The New World Encyclopedia article production wiki has a built-in Spell Checker in the edit pane. It is a button with a check mark under "ABC." This opens a new window with the selection you are editing and runs it through the Spell Check. You can abandon the Spell Check by closing the window.

  1. The Spell Checker cannot understand all of the special wiki codes, especially those built into numerous templates, therefore be careful to avoid changing template codes that will cause templates to malfunction. If you make a mistake, you can revert to the previous version of the article and start editing that section over.
  2. It is best to run the Spell Checker on small sections, both for speed and to avoid complications.
  3. Another way to Spell Check is to use an external Spell Checker like in MSWord. Cut and paste the text from the EP article edit pane to your word processor, make corrections and cut and paste the same segment back.
  4. You may also consider using the Firefox browser, which spell-checks any text area as you type.

Using other editing tools

  1. The "fix" button is programmed to catch and fix common style issues, like periods outside double quotes, and A.D. to C.E. It also removes hyperlinks from dates, and removes more than one instance of a hyperlink to the same term in a paragraph.
  2. You can highlight text and hit the "B" or "I" buttons to insert codes to to bold or italicize the highlighted segment.
  3. The "no wiki" button inserts a code that goes around text that uses wiki codes that need to be displayed.
  4. The insert panel below the editing pane contains lots of characters and codes that quickly insert items that might take several keystrokes.

Addressing values in articles

This encyclopedia is one in which both facts and values are fully honored. Pre-1911 Encyclopedias integrated facts and values from an Enlightenment point of view, while post-1911 Encyclopedias tend to focus on facts alone, creating a scientistic point of view that was narrower in outlook than earlier encyclopedias, and an inherent materialistic and objectivist ideology.

Here facts are integrated with global, universal, or “cosmic” values. This encyclopedia intends to be broader and more inclusive than previous encyclopedias, operating under the belief that some universal principles define the basis of existence. Human beings did not create themselves or evolve randomly. They are subject to both spiritual and physical principles and purposes, just as a bridge exists for a purpose and is subject to physical laws regarding the strength of materials. These principles are open to examination, discussion, and ever sharper articulation. However omitting them because of difficulty in defining them objectively is to ignore aspects of the topic being discussed, or even the reason why it is worth producing an entry on the topic or why it is worth reading.

What are these values?

  1. They should reflect the concept that the universe and human life exist in relation to the ideas of “God's heart,” or “True Love.” These are religious terms that can be widely debated, but imply some basic universal values:
  2. These terms imply human beings did not create the universe and are subject to principles that govern it.
  3. These terms imply that the highest value is love: love of the entire creation from the viewpoint of one who created and cherishes it.
  4. These terms imply the desire for all to be happy, share prosperity with justice, and live together in peace and harmony. Hence the subtitle of this encyclopedia: happiness, well-being, and peace.
  5. This "heart" informs both principles of creation, and principles and the providence of restoration (or how to get from a less than perfect world to a more perfect world).
  6. In the language of unificationism, they should support everyone's opportunity to accomplish the "three blessings." This would include freedom, self-realization and divine embodiment, family, education, security, economic opportunity, justice, peace, environmental care, and collective spiritual life.
  7. They must not be in conflict with the parameters of natural law as understood by science. For example, you cannot drive a truck across any bridge that is not designed to hold at least the weight of the truck. In the economic realm, you cannot spend more money than you have, plus what a lender trusts is within your repayment capacities. In the political realm, you cannot lead beyond the extent of your capacity to lead. Many conventional doctrines violate natural law. They should be exposed when possible, and never expressed as truth.

Help the reader, as would a teacher

Readers of these articles will want to know the value of what they are reading.

The readers of this encyclopedia include high school and college students who will be in the process of learning. They will benefit from knowing how others have valued the topic and how the authors, who are in the position of teachers, think the topic relates to happiness, well-being, justice, world peace and other universal human values.

In the twentieth century a simplistic notion prevailed that encyclopedias merely present facts. It was assumed the reader was "free" to interpret and use these facts as he or she wished. Not only did the mere presentation of facts cloak a materialistic ideology, but it assumed the reader was capable of constructively using these facts. This second assumption is faulty in that if the reader was indeed fully capable of understanding the value of the facts in the article, he would likely have no need to read the article in the first place.

The method to accomplish this in NWE articles

1. Purpose: Explain the purpose for a topic in terms of the purpose as it was understood by those who created it. For example: in the article on the United States, the purpose is explained in terms of how the founders saw its purpose, not how later Marxist, Democrat or Republican historians view it. Once this is rendered fairly, the article writer can include an assessment of these purposes, especially in terms of its impact on “everyone's opportunity to accomplish the three blessings.” The “three blessings,” “be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion,” refer to (1) personal growth and fulfillment based on a living relationship with God, (2) Multiplying oneself (and connection) through one's family and community, and (3) developing a proper relationship of stewardship over the environment (creation).

2. Materialistic vs. Teleological Explanations. Example one: The turtle left the sea and laid its eggs (fact-orientation). The turtle left the sea in order to lay its eggs (value or intention orientation). Example two: Question: Why is the car running? Material explanation: The ignition switch was turned causing the starter to turn over, pistons to go up and down, gas to be injected and a spark to ignite the gas causing a sustained running of the engine. Intentional explanation: I started it to go and get some groceries. EP should seek to integrate materialistic and teleological explanations into a higher unity of knowledge.

3. Challenges: Explain the challenges to the topic in terms of problems resulting from limitations of the purpose or beliefs articulated by its creators. These challenges might be challenges a unificationist author might more readily recognize, and might be considered by some as “prophetic.” However, if one understands the goal of achieving the “three blessings,” it might be easier to identify something being off course and what corrections are required. For example: If we know that toxic waste or a condominium development appeared on the sand where the turtle previously laid its eggs, we would be able to say something about the challenge the turtle faced to fulfill its intended purpose.

4. Character traits: Explain why certain habits or beliefs of an individual led to success or failure (that can be viewed in terms of accomplishing the three blessings).

5. Truth Claims: Claims must have corroborating evidence that is accepted by a majority of rational people. For example, a statement that two-parent families are superior must be supported by evidence like: The probability of a child becoming a successful and responsible citizen is greatly increased in two-parent families. It should not a dogmatic claim like “God intended all people to marry for eternity.”

6. Empathy and Respect for Others' Values and Opinions: This does not mean they need to be believed by the author, however they should be accurately articulated so that a person of that belief would accept the description. Limitations should rather be pointed out in the manner above (2 or 3). For example: An author can say that a Marxist believes in economic redistribution (a zero-sum game), while believing that economic production (a positive-sum game) can produce superior prosperity for all.

7. Avoid jargon and superlatives: This encyclopedia is intended for use by all people with a reasonable ability to read. It should avoid all use of jargon or meaningless superlatives like “deep,” or “profound,” in order to convey the most accurate description of the topic, to the broadest audience, with the lowest number of words. If jargon is to be used, it must be accompanied by an explanation in plain language.

8. Revelation from God, Spirits, Angels: Revelation revealed by a prophet, spiritual medium, or religion cannot be corroborated, so it cannot be treated as a statement of fact. This does not mean that the content of the revelation is false, or that it cannot be mentioned in the encyclopedia, only that it cannot be verified. When these items are discussed, they need to be treated as revealed by a specific person or organization at a specific time. Examples:

  • You cannot write: "God said it is wrong to steal."
  • You can write: "One of the Ten Commandments revealed to Moses is 'Thou shalt not steal.'"
  • You cannot write: "Lucifer has repented for his sin."
  • You can write: "___(name of medium)__ said she spoke to Lucifer and he told her he was sorry for his sin."

9. Religious Proclamations: This is basically covered above in points 5-8 above. This encyclopedia discusses values and religious ideas as they exist. In cases where the evidence leads to a rational conclusion in support of a social value or a religious value, it should do so through the persuasive presentation of the evidence, and not through an ungrounded proclamation of a value as truth.

What about Unification Thought?

Articles are to be written in ways that convey universal values as described above. In addition there is a "Unification Aspects" page which is intended to contain discussion of the the topic can be specifically interpreted by Unification Thought. On this page, quotations from Reverend Moon, Divine Principle, or other unificationist writings are appropriate.

There are two levels

1. The Implicit: This is included in the above method that views discussion that leads to the attainment of the three blessings as “good,” and that which thwarts their attainment as “evil.” An implicit value could be the idea that slavery does not view all people as equally loved, is unjust, and therefore "evil."

Such values can be present in articles that do not relate to Unification Topics.

2. The Explicit: These are discussions of what unificationists specifically say about something. Such statements can be used:

  1. On the Unification Aspects discussion page of an article.
  2. On articles that specifically on unificationism, for example the article on "Unification Thought," “The Unification View of Providential History” or “The Unification View of the Fall.” There can also be views on the Catholic View of history, etc. and they can be treated similarly.
  3. Inside those articles in which a unification view has made significant enough historical impact on society to merit inclusion as other social or intellectual movements.
  4. Inasmuch as the Divine Principle and Unification Thought are based on Revelation, derivative statements should be treated as other doctrines unless they are supported by wider evidence (and many of the statements in Divine Principle are, or could be, and should be when possible).

Historical lessons

It is recommended that articles have a “Legacy” section and other appropriate places where the study of the impact of a topic or a person on, or for, the future can be discussed.

For example, most historical figures are in an encyclopedia because they made an impact on the world that benefited future generations. Some started schools of thought. Others made discoveries that were not understood for many years, but then made a significant impact later.

Contrarily, caution can be given if a historical figure abandons a wife, rebels against the establishment, or does something else that causes suffering, grief or harm to befall others (even if they weren't conscious of the fact that they were causing harm to others), this should be mentioned so readers could avoid repeating the mistakes of history.

Relating the link between behavior and outcomes, serve as unspoken “lessons” for the reader. These lessons are more complex than “don't let the snake bite you, because it is poisonous and other people have died,” or “don't run in the street because you might get hit by a car,” but they serve the same function. Such “lessons” guide behavior.

We must be careful to preserve the radical openness of the future protected by Unification values, and not promote non-scholarly statements that some particular evil was predestined.

  1. For example, war is never necessary, inevitable, or predestined by God or God's Will. Wars result from human failure and fallen nature, and are always avoidable, if even by the slightest chance. This “all-possible” view of historical horizons is seen in the Divine Principle view that “Jesus did not come to die.” Jesus' death was an unspeakable tragedy resulting from human failure. People crucified him. The Divine Principle explains that Jesus' perfect heart and action opened the way for human salvation to be grounded in this tragedy.
  2. Another example could be the U.S. civil war, which caused great bloodshed. Our view for this project cannot simply be “Because the unity of the United States was a providential goal, the bloodshed of the Civil War was a price that had to be paid.” Our view is that the negatives are avoidable, and result from human failures (again even if the chances to avoid the negatives are very slim). Such bloodshed of the U.S. Civil war did not have to happen if fallen nature could have been overcome sooner, or if voluntary sacrifices for the sake of the other could have been made to reconcile differences. If historical forces were in motion that made war inevitable by the time Lincoln took the presidency, they should be discussed. If Lincoln or the Congress made mistakes, that too should be noted.

Writers (and editors) should not dismiss the sacrifice even of a single person, or the outbreak of any violence or war as necessary. No parent would want to sacrifice their children. Since God loves all people, God is grieved at the loss of any person. Further, God grieves over the failure of any person to accomplish the three blessings.

Good behavior and bad behavior should be discussed in terms of lessons that can be learned so that every human being can know how to fulfill, and have an opportunity to fulfill, the three blessings. Writers should analyze the failures that led to war and suffering and indicate possible options that would have led to a more peaceful and prosperous world.

Such analysis cannot be random speculation or a dogmatic explanation. The encyclopedia must teach genuine lessons from real facts, observations, and understanding of human nature. And, it must do so in plain language.

Unificationism reveals a finely nuanced inquiry into providentially significant behavior at all human levels. In Unification Aspects, such behavior could include reflecting one of “four fallen natures” or fallen “Cain-type” behavior, or arrogant “Abel-type” behavior, as well as many other “Eden-based” restoration dynamics.

Core values

The core values of the New World Encyclopedia are derived from Unification thought, which are understood to include universal values inherent in all great cultural traditions. Universal values taught by the great religions include:

1. God (by whatever name or unnamed) is intimately and immanently engaged in the world and in human affairs.

2. The creation (the natural world) and its purposes can be known. The purpose of the creation is human being centered and "love" centered. Human beings are understood to be the direct presence of divine love for nature.

3. The core positive value in human life, true love, is grounded in all embracing, divine love for all existence. This is the basis of and what makes possible harmonious relationships, peace, and human well-being.

4. Human history reflects the loss of ideal, divine-human oneness, and the need and pursuit of its recovery.

Subsidiary values include:

1. All true religions and faiths are legitimate paths to God (by whatever name) and the realization of our original purpose

2. The human family is one and should not suffer conflict or boundaries caused by race, nation, religion, class, gender, or any other cause for separation.

Additionally, since the New World Encyclopedia is a project envisioned, initiated, implemented, and supported by Reverend Moon, the core editorial staff is familiar with the key elements of his teaching and self-understanding.

A summary of this teaching is in a section below.

Introductory matter standards

NWE seeks perfect balance. NWE should express ideals and values in a way that reaches the hearts of readers. Simultaneously the encyclopedia should retain sterling levels of scholarly rigor. God, the absolute must be everywhere present, but at no point misrepresented in such a way that principles of creation and restoration and our standards of scientific and historical scholarship are violated.

This balance and testimony harmonizing creation and restoration principles with superior scholarship must qualify every article we produce and submit.

On a “meta” level the whole encyclopedia should accomplish this. Merely reading the encyclopedia should imbue the reader effortlessly with its truth, beauty and goodness, and develop in the reader a sense of drama and awe in even the simplest, or unadorned observation.

This perfect balance should not be “buried treasure,” difficult for the reader to intuit or suss out. It should appear in plain sight.

The way to have the encyclopedia produce this effect, in whole, and through every part, is especially achieved in the opening words of each article. We place great emphasis on the quality and clarity of every opening paragraph. Opening paragraphs should show excellent literary quality. They should be concise, clear, and correct. Further, the opening paragraphs also function as a “microcosm” and a “road-map” of the ensuing article.

Finally the introduction should “show unification.” It should reveal how the article harmonizes the inherent purpose and the external manifestation of the subject matter. The opening of each article gives the reader immediate access to a salient summary of external facts, while simultaneously revealing how (and why) these (external “facts”) manifest values inherent in the principles of creation, or restoration.

In doing so simply, concisely, and completely we hope to unite the reader's rational and emotive faculties. We want to do as much as possible to touch the spiritual senses of the reader—to create a sense of awe and wonder in the truth, beauty, and goodness of each article. Creating this type of experience draws the reader closer to the divine, and to their own responsibility grounded in the subject matter. This can not be accomplished by tacking on doctrinal statements from Unification Thought as an afterthought. That would betray our true intention and reveal a dogmatist rather than a literary giant painting an image of the wondrous and profound creation.

Unification point of view (UPOV)

Positive and negative aspects

Unificationists contributing to this project should recognize their role in history, and not shy away from a golden opportunity to be part of a unique opportunity as intellectuals. It would be terrible to squander this privilege, or ever slump into a careless attitude toward this work.

The UPOV we write in “the UA box” and reflect in the article introduction, can well have both positive and negative aspects. We can expect to find aspects in our topics that are “pleasing” or “promising” from a Unification point of view, and aspects that are “displeasing,” “disappointing,” “abhorrent,” etc., from a Unification point of view.

As we seek to make the unique contribution of this encyclopedia in the history of intellectual and scholarly enterprise clear for our readers in introduction to each article entry, please recognize that this does not entail ONLY identifying the “positive” aspects of the topic. There should be many occasions in which we will express a “rejection” or “critical” but scholarly voice toward an aspect of our topic. This may turn out to be much harder to do, but we must have the fortitude to make mention of such aspects in the intro and in “the talk box.”

As we talk about uniting the emotional and rational aspects when it comes to discussions of historical figures who are a mixture of good and evil, the important goal is to touch the reader's soul with the emotional sense of the tragedy of such a life, knowing at once the individual's own life of fulfillment was not attained. For example, in the case of Cleopatra, her own moral development may have been low, yet her original mind was calling her to do something for a higher purpose in using sexuality for political purposes. This is how restoration develops (e.g. Tamar, Esther) and why it has been such a painful course of history.

Whether it be truth, beauty, and goodness (positive) or falsehood, ugliness, and evil (negative), we want to convey discussion about historical figures that touches the reader's original mind so he or she can sense the tragic nature of life in the "fallen" world. We should respect the motivation and success in accomplishing a greater good that advances the providence of restoration, without championing a fallen act that might have been the better choice of two evils. We understand, that like in war or a hostage situation in the fallen world, moral judgments must be made that sometimes have no good ending for all parties concerned. The end goal of this Encyclopedia is to create a world of peace in which these types of ambiguous decisions become less and less frequent.

Unification articles

The New World Encyclopedia is premised on the view that the Unification Movement is making contributions to world knowledge and world history. These contributions should be recorded appropriately and in proportion to their contribution to the larger world.

General guidelines should be as follows:

1. Article on a Unification subjects should be comparable to its counterpart elsewhere. For example, Unification Church could get an entry comparable to a large denomination or a small world religion.

2. An article on a Unification topic like “Unification Theory of Education” should get an entry alongside other theories of education linked from a portal article on theories of education.

3. An article on the Unification effort to reform the United Nations should be linked to a portal article on reform of the United Nations that includes other strategies like the Stanley Foundation, the World Council of Churches, or the World Federalists.

4. New World Encyclopedia is designed for the general reader, not as a place to work out intricate theories of unification thought. This should be accomplished in appropriate venues like Unification Thought conferences or the Journal of Unification Studies.

5. Unificationist writers must make an effort to distill the essentials of Unificationism into concise statements comparable to the way other topics are distilled into concise statements in an encyclopedia.

Recommendation from Dr. Andrew Wilson

Dr. Wilson, who did research and development on an encyclopedia in the early 1990s, came upon these elements that he feels provide a good framework and guidelines for NWE editors and writers.

Here is Dr. Wilson's recommendation:

1. The purpose and value of governance (e.g. the judgment of a nation, a politician, a corporation, a social system, a religion, etc.) is human flourishing. This requires understanding the human being in terms of the (Unification teaching about the) Three Blessings. It includes economic development, social development (literacy, education, quality of life), moral development (conscience, freedom to act according to conscience, moral awareness), psychological development (self esteem, mental health, happiness in relationships) and spiritual development (faith, growing in relationship with God, spiritual maturity).

2. The pair system and the principle that harmonious reciprocal relationships are requisite for "goodness." Everything exists in partnership. Response to suffering requires conflict resolution and taking down barriers, healing and repairing broken relationships, and building peace.

3. The principle of dual purposes. Everything has a purpose for the greater good, as well as an individual purpose. We are interconnected beings: our fulfillment as individuals is linked to the positive welfare of the greater social unit of which we are a part and have our social being. Also the reverse is true. This leads to a deep critique of self-centeredness (at all levels), and a call for the practice of living for the sake of others.

4. The primacy of the internal in the natural order of existence. Peace in the society requires peace in the self, and in the family.

5. Providence guides historical unfolding.

These five points can be of great help in gaining a Unification perspective for NWE articles.

Dr. Andrew Wilson's scope notes

Dr. Wilson created a large list of “scope notes” related to values and items he thought should be incorporated into articles on various topics. These can be accessed here

Dr. Andrew Wilson's list of topics

Dr. Wilson created a list of 22,000 article titles. These can be found here. When selecting article titles use Dr. Wilson's list and/or titles found at Britannica Online.

Appendix A: Summary of Reverend Moon's religious teachings

God is invisible and without form. God cannot be seen even when we enter into the spiritual world.

In order to relate fully to God's own "true love-object partner" (namely human beings) God needs a manifest form.

God sought to fully manifest through the original man and original woman. Humans symbolize the earthly and spiritual worlds coming together in harmony.

The original ancestors had the commission to mature, enter into an eternal relationship of true love through holy matrimony with the blessing of God, after which not only their children but their descendants for generations to come would live forevermore as God's self-embodiment, both male and female, inheriting God’s nature and attributes generation after generation.

Once the original human ancestors became the visible forms of God, God would have dwelt in their hearts and reigned from within them over the corporeal, physical world and the incorporeal, spiritual world. In other words, God would have governed all worlds from within human love, first through the original human ancestors and as population naturally expanded, through all people. Together, we would create God's kingdom of peace and harmony at all levels. All six billion people living in the world today would express the visible form and manifestation of God.

This plan foundered in what religious language calls "the Human Fall." The "Fall" brought us to a condition of ignorance, making us insensible to God, and to our own essential, true nature. Generally we cannot hear, see, or feel God's presence, and cannot access in an unfettered way our own original (divine) nature.

God did not prevent or interfere with "the Fall" out of refusal to violate the conditions that make love possible, most especially human free will. God voluntarily, of His own free will binds Himself in order to protect the perfection of His own rules and principles, guaranty that love will arise, and guaranty the establishment of human divinity, true achievement, and dignity.

History is a period that manifests acutely God’s self-restraint. All-knowing and all-powerful though God is, God chooses to bind himself to a precise and exacting course, applying ubiquitously principles of "restoration." These principles are the only way to re-establish conditions for succeeding with the purpose of creation. The providence of restoration orchestrated by God is NOT random. It cannot deviate an iota if it is to guaranty the full flowering of love and perfect freedom.

To succeed in God's original (and only) purpose God does only one thing in history. God seeks to create from within the human race a couple to fulfill the original purpose of creation, the responsibility originally given Adam and Eve. This couple matures to carry "God's lineage," that through them can expand to all six billion people living in the world today.

Jesus came with this "Adamic" mission. Jesus carried out his responsibilities perfectly, but did not receive the necessary protection and support from among those prepared to receive him, including from among his disciples. This left Jesus exposed to the forces of evil that destroyed his physical body at a young age thus successfully preventing Jesus from realizing his primary mission, namely to raise up to perfection a bride for himself, and with her become the couple in whom God himself inheres and through whom God's "lineage" is transmitted. Jesus perfectly manifest the living God incarnate, but only on the male side. No “lineage” comes from “half a couple.” Jesus’s perfection, complete incarnation, and absolute victory over the cross and death saves individuals, but leaves the all important purpose of lineage (from which the Kingdom of God derives) uninitiated.

Reverend Moon claims that his couple successfully manifests God according to the original purpose of creation.

Such claims only can be verified or discredited with certainty through prayer. This matter of faith regarding Reverend Moon's couple is unrelated to writing this encyclopedia. Nevertheless, it is important to know both the cosmological context and Reverend Moon's self understanding whenever choosing to collaborate with Reverend Moon on any of his important and visionary projects.