Unity
is for people who might call themselves spiritual but not religious.
It is for those who sense the depths of their own being and celebrate the
awareness of a power greater than themselves. The teachings in Unity bring together
ancient wisdom with new interpretations of what it means to be alive and human.
Unity inspires different ways to think about the force of love and intelligence
that many people call God.[1]
Founded in 1889 by Charles
and Myrtle Fillmore, Unity School of Christianity (now more commonly known as
Unity) finds its roots in New Thought.[2]
It is claimed that Unity
began through Myrtle Fillmore developing tuberculosis. In her desire to be
healed she attended a lecture about metaphysical healing. Sometime after this, as
she had applied what she had been taught, she professed to have been healed
Somewhat sceptical, her
husband Charles began to consider metaphysics for himself along with the study
of many religions and philosophies. It was during this time that Charles claims
to have heard a voice saying ‘Unity’. This led to the founding of The Unity
School of Christianity.
Though similar in many ways
to other nineteenth century New Thought offshoots like Christian Science, Unity
goes further. It does not just reinterpret the Bible, and the words and person
of Jesus in an allegorical and metaphysical way, Unity gathers together a
smorgasbord of ideas to develop and teach something completely foreign to
historic Christianity.
Charles Fillmore unashamedly
admitted that he had ‘borrowed the best from all religions.’ What he developed
is a hodgepodge of New Thought, Christian Science, Hinduism, Theosophy,
Rosicrucianism and Spiritualism with some Christian terminology thrown in, so the
name Unity aptly describes Fillmore’s new theology.
As we have seen in previous
articles, there are many groups that use the word Christian/Christianity in
their names, but even a cursory look at their teachings proves they are far
from the faith that was ‘once and for all delivered unto the saints.’[3]
This is true of Unity.
It is now time to turn our attention to the
question Jesus asked his disciples: ‘Who do you say that I am?’ what does Unity
teach regarding the Saviour?
JESUS IS GOOD BUT HE’S NOT GOD
We believe that Jesus expressed his divine potential and sought to show humankind how to express ours as well. We see Jesus as a master teacher of universal truths and as our Way Shower. In Unity, we use the term Christ to mean the divinity in humankind. Jesus is the great example of the Christ in expression.[4]
As we can see from this
quote, Unity believes Jesus to be a ‘master teacher of universal truths’, and an
example to those who would follow him. The name Jesus Christ is interpreted to
mean Jesus the divine.
Unity denies the deity of
Jesus, whilst affirming his divinity. By divinity they mean that Jesus was
divine, but it teaches that every human is divine.
‘Unity
teaches that the spirit of God dwelt in Jesus, just as it indwells every
person; and that every person has the potential to express the perfection of
Christ, as Jesus did, by being more Christ-like in everyday life.’[5]
Jesus, like each of us, was inherently
good, and lived a perfect life because the Spirit of God lived in him. Understanding
this, Jesus lived and appropriated the metaphysical knowledge he had. That is
why he could heal others.
Unity separates Jesus from
the Christ, claiming that each of us possesses the ‘Christ’ consciousness. In
Jesus, we find our perfect example, he is a model of perfect man working in
harmony with divine mind. Therefore, who he was we can be, and what he did we
can do.
Just as Jesus lived
his divine potential showing others how to express their divinity, which Unity
calls Christ; so, we can imitate him and realise our own divine
potential.
PEOPLE ARE GOOD
Unity teaches that
people are also divine and inherently good. This is a far cry from the Biblical
doctrine of original sin. It should be noted here that Unity never refers to
Jesus as Saviour or Messiah. Believing people to be divine and good, Unity has
a flawed view of the purpose of the incarnation of Jesus. Did he come only to
be our example, a way shower?
Though Unity
claims the Bible as its textbook, it teaches that it is no more than a history
book and a moral guide. ‘The Bible’, they say, ‘reveals the spirit of Truth and the word
of God. Holy Spirit, working individually through those who study Scripture and
listen within, is the final authority in spiritual awakening.’[6]
Unity tends to allegorise Scripture, as
can be seen clearly in its understanding of the person and work of Jesus. Unity does not
mention his atonement or sacrificial death on the
cross for humanity's sin in its statement of beliefs, rather it claims:
The blood of
Jesus Christ represents the spiritual energy of God-life that purifies or
redeems the body through a cleansing and renewal of the consciousness by the
spoken word. Regarding the "spilled blood," or the "ransom of
many," the emphasis in Unity is not so much on the death of Jesus as on
His life. He did not relieve us of the necessity of working out our own
salvation, but His example and teachings show us the way.[7]
Sin is our
separation from God in consciousness, caused by our belief in the
"devil" or a power other than God, the good. This belief leads to our
unwise use of our God-given powers and abilities. Salvation is now--not
something that occurs after death. It happens whenever we turn our thoughts
(repent) from fear, anxiety, worry, and doubt, to thoughts of love, harmony,
joy, and peace. The "fall" takes place in consciousness whenever we
fall into negative habits of thinking.[8]
WHAT DOES THE
BIBLE SAY?
The Bible describes
Jesus as the sinless, Son of God. He is fully God and fully man (John 5:18,
Philippians 2:6-7). Nowhere does it teach that Jesus was just a man who
expressed his divine potential. Neither is He just an example to follow, rather He is a
Saviour to be accepted and trusted in.
We need a Saviour
because we are not inherently good. The Bible says:
"For all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
(Romans 3:23).
“None is
righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”
(Roman 3:10-11)
Sin is
therefore not just wrong thinking, and neither is Salvation just right
thinking. We cannot be saved through our own efforts:
‘For by grace
you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own
doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of
works, so that no one may boast.’ (Ephesians 2:8-9)
‘… he
saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness,
but according to his own mercy… ‘
(Titus 3:5)
If, as Unity
teaches, Jesus came only to show us that we are divine and to be an example of
how we are to live as he did, why did Jesus say that his reason for coming was to
go to the cross?
“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say?
‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have
come to this hour. (John 12:27)
Unity teaches that people can have their own truth and follow their own paths, but Jesus said:
The Jesus of
Unity is not the Jesus of the Bible and therefore He cannot save. They need the
Jesus who was fully God and fully man, the eternal Son of God, the one who died
for their sin and three days late rose physically from the dead. Without this
Jesus, they remain dead in their trespasses and sin.
Acts 4:12 says, "And there is
salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been
given among men by which we must be saved."
[1] www.unity.org /about-us/what-unity
[2] New Thought is a system of doctrine
and practice originating in the 19th century and stressing the power of thought to control physical and mental events.
[3]
Jude 3
[4]
www.ntunity.org/new-unity
[5] https://www.unityofcalgary.org/20-questions-about-unity
[6] ibid
[7] ibid
[8]
ibid
Comments