Unity
School of Christianity
By Rev. Keith
Gibson
History and Development
“
I am a child of God and therefore I do not inherit
sickness.” (1) These words, spoken by Dr. E.B.
Weeks, a former follower of Mary Baker Eddy and representative
of the Illinois Metaphysical College were the original
inspiration for the movement that would become known
as Unity School of Christianity founded by Myrtle and
Charles Fillmore.
Myrtle (Mary Caroline
Page) was born August 6, 1845 in Pagetown, Ohio.
Her parents
were strict Methodists
but she could never accept some of the essential doctrines
of the faith such as original sin and eternal punishment.
She was afflicted with tuberculosis at a young age
which was assumed to have been inherited from her father’s
side of the family. Despite her ailments she finished
school and received her teaching license in 1867. She
began teaching in the Clinton, Missouri public school
system, a position she was to hold until after her
marriage to Charles. In order to recover from some
physical difficulties, Myrtle took a sabbatical and
spent a year in Denison, Texas in 1877-1878 where she
met Charles.
Charles was born in August 22 in 1854. In 1864 Charles
was involved in a skating accident that caused his
right hip to become dislocated. Disease of the hip
developed which left him with a withered right leg
several inches shorter than the left. This forced him
to use crutches or a cane. As an adult the right leg
was 3.5 inches shorter than the left and required a
leg brace.
As a young man
he became acquainted with the works of Transcendentalists,
James Russell Lowell and Ralph
Waldo Emerson through the tutelage of Caroline Taylor.
He moved to Denison, Texas in 1874 and worked as a
clerk for the freight office of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas
railroad. (2)
Charles and Myrtle
met through a group of young people who gathered
regularly to read and discuss literature,
philosophy and poetry. Charles left for Leadville,
Colorado not long after they met. He took a course
in metallurgy and became a metals assayer. (3)
The couple corresponded
while they were apart. By this time, Myrtle had already
left much of her Methodist
upbringing and was developing a unique belief system.
She wrote Charles on one occasion, “Well, if
I were called upon to write out my creed it would be
a rather strange mixture. I am decidedly eclectic in
my theology.” (4)
Charles came to Clinton in 1881 and the two were married
on March 29th of that year.
The family first settled in Leadville, Colorado before
moving to Pueblo a year later. Charles began working
in real estate. The first two sons, Lowell and Rickert
were born at this time. In 1844 they moved to Omaha
and then to Kansas City one year later in 1885. Charles
continued his work in real estate for the first 5 years
in Kansas City.
Myrtle, by her own report, was plagued with frequent
illnesses during the early years of their marriage.
It was in 1886 that a series of lectures were presented
in Kansas City by Dr. Eugene B. Weeks. Dr. Weeks had
at one time been a student of Christian Science under
Mary Baker Eddy. However when one of her chief pupils
Emma Hopkins broke away to found her own movement,
The Illinois Metaphysical College, in Chicago, Dr.
Weeks went with her. It was as a member of her College
that he visited Kansas City.
Myrtle was immediately receptive to the teachings
of Weeks, especially that of divine healing. Charles
was more reticent. Myrtle began to use the teachings
to heal herself of tuberculosis. In two years she was
no longer an invalid. Charles was won over by the healing
of his wife. Charles then began to engage in his own
search through meditation, affirmations and denials
and eventually saw his leg strengthened to the point
that he only walked with a slight limp.
The work of Unity
was officially begun with the publication of “Modern Thought” magazine in 1889. Over
time, Charles gave up his real estate business and
devoted himself to study and writing. In their quest
for knowledge, the Fillmore’s read and were influenced
by a virtual “who’s who” of New Thought
and Metaphysical teachers, among them Emanuel Swedenborg,
Franz Mesmer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Warren Felt Evans,
Emma Curtis Hopkins, Mary Baker Eddy and Theosophist
founder, Madame Blavatsky. They continued their eclectic
ways and incorporated items from each of these teachers
into their own metaphysical system. The name Unity
was eventually chosen because of the movement’s
synthesis of other teachers.
Today, Unity is
headquartered on a 1,400 acre campus located just
outside of Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
(5) The ministry is no longer headed by a member of
the Fillmore family since the resignation of Connie
Fillmore
Bazzy. With the passing of Myrtle and Charles, the
movement began a transition experienced by most new
religions from charismatic leaders who develop the
new doctrines to those more organizationally gifted.
The school is now led by a Board of Directors. The
current president and CEO is Tom Zender. More than
1.2 million people subscribe to the publication, “Daily
Word”. Over 170,000 are actually members of Unity
centers and churches, which can be found world wide.
The ministry claims
to be, “a worldwide movement
of prayer, publishing, and education that helps people
of all faiths apply positive spiritual principles in
their daily lives. We support all people in their individual
quest to know God and find healing in their lives.
Our philosophy offers a practical approach to Christianity
and teaches that as children of God, we are heir to
all that we need.” (6)
Scriptures
Unity
claims the Bible for its basic textbook. However,
it must be
noted
that Unity uses a metaphysical approach
to the Bible. This means that most of the words and
concepts in the Bible must be interpreted according
to their deeper, metaphysical meaning, as determined
by the Fillmores. So, for example, according to the
Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, the term “Jews” means
the following: “Jews in their highest aspect
symbolize divine ideas, or spiritual consciousness.
Each individual has his formless and formed mind, and
they seem, in the present race consciousness to be
hostile one to the other. In Scripture these are referred
to as Jew and Gentile.” (7) It is through this
unique approach to scripture that Unity can claim to
follow
the Bible while at the same time affirming beliefs
contrary to the text of scripture.
The works of Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, their son
Lowell Fillmore and Emilie Cady also feature prominently
as well. Lastly, spiritual insight can also be gained
through the sacred writings of most religions especially
those which are Eastern in their origin.
Jesus
Unity claims that their emphasis on Jesus is what
separates them from other New Thought groups. While
it is true that Unity does place a significant amount
of emphasis on the person of Jesus, their understanding
of Jesus is strikingly different from that of historic
Christianity.
In answer to the
question, “Does Unity believe
in the deity of Jesus Christ?”, the official
statement of faith replies, “Yes, Unity teaches
that the spirit of God lived in Jesus, just as it lives
in every person. Every person has the potential to
express the perfection of Christ, as Jesus did, by
being more Christ-like in everyday life.” (8)
First, it should be noted that the statement above
indicates that Jesus is no more divine than every other
person. This is in fact the official Unity position.
In order to fully understand the statement given above,
however, it is necessary to define some terms.
Jesus. In the
more formal usage in Unity publications, the name “Jesus” refers only to the mortal
man born in Nazareth. Emilie Cady, in her writings,
frequently refers to him as, “the Nazarene”.
This mortal man, conceived in purely normal means,
was divine in his essence but no more so than every
man is divine in his essence.
Christ. The Christ
is the divine part of every man. The Christ consciousness
or Christ spirit resides in
every person. Each person is essentially good and is
united with God. This Christ is the “higher Self” which
is the eternal part of man and which must be realized
and appropriated in this life.
Jesus Christ. This term refers to the man Jesus as
he fully actualized his divine or Christ consciousness.
Jesus was able to perform the miracles he did because
he was fully aware of his own divinity. This knowledge
did not come automatically. Jesus grew in his own understanding
of his divinity. He may have been re-incarnated countless
times before he was able to become fully in touch with
his deity. For some in Unity, the prophecies concerning
the coming of the Messiah amount to a type of job description.
Jesus came and essentially volunteered to assume the
position.
Because Jesus
is the only person to become fully Christ conscious,
Jesus is
our great “way-shower”.
The uniqueness of Jesus rests only in the level of
Christ consciousness that he achieved not in his essential
nature. The potential exists for every person to achieve
the same level of Christ consciousness that Jesus achieved
and to perform the same works that he performed. In
Unity thought, Jesus is the great example, not the
great exception. In his essence, he is no different
from you or me. For example, the series “Foundations
of Unity”, states the following, “It is
Unity’s view that divinity is not separate from,
nor the exclusive prerogative of, God or Jesus Christ,
but is involved in man and is progressively revealed
to him as he fulfills his divine destiny, Jesus Christ,
who we believe is the greatest exponent of this teaching,
did not make as the keynote of his message “Look
what I can do as a Son of God”, but rather, “Here
is what you can do as a Son of God.” In this
way Jesus fulfilled His role as Way-Shower” (9)
(emphasis added). Similarly, from the same source,
we read, “So
each human being may say of his spiritual nature, “I
am the Word of God spoken forth in perfection.” (10)
Recent Unity authors continue to reiterate this teaching.
Richard and Mary Alice Jafolla write, “[Jesus]
insisted the Father and we are one. To Jesus, the focal
point of God and that oneness is indeed within us.
In fact, it is the I AM of us, the Christ of us.” (11)
Supreme Being or Beings
One
of the difficulties confronting the researcher wishing
to acquaint himself
with the teachings of Unity
is that many of their statements are seemingly contradictory.
Nowhere is that more apparent than in Unity’s
doctrine of God. Consider the following examples.
“God is
not a being or person having life, intelligence,
love, power.
God is that invisible, intangible, but very real, something we call life.
God is perfect love and infinite power. God is the total of these, the
total of all good, whether manifested or unexpressed.” (12)
“God is
not a person. If we attempt to personify God, we
set Him
apart from us. God is not a person having qualities or attributes;
He is All-good. God is Spirit, Being, the everywhere-present Mind
teeming with living ideas, qualities, or attributes, such as life love,
power, wisdom, substance, joy, strength, plenty, and every other
good thing.” (13) (emphasis in the original)
Unity
writers have consistently rejected the personhood of God while at the
same time referring to God in personal terms. Emilie
Cady was very candid
about the unpleasantness that many persons feel when confronted with
Unity’s
teaching that God is not a person. She wrote, “Many have thought
of God as a personal being. The statement that God is Principle chills
them,
and in
terror, they cry out, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not
know where they have laid him” (Jn. 20:13). Broader and more learned
minds are always cramped by the thought of God as a person, for personality
limits
to place and time.” (14) Yet even, Cady, while rejecting God as
a person, finds herself incapable of escaping personal references and
attributes.
She writes of the Father-Mother God and of the divine will and the love
of God
among others. So how does one make sense of Unity’s concept of
God?
Unity is pantheistic.
God is in all of his creation, every rock, tree,
bug
and person all have the divine
spark. God is intimately, permanently connected with
creation and yet is transcendent beyond it. In statements
nearly identical to those of Hindu gurus Emilie Cady
writes, “God, then, is the substance (from sub,
under, and stare, to stand), or the real thing standing
under every visible form of life, love, intelligence,
or power. Each rock, tree, animal, every visible thing,
is a manifestation of the one Spirit—God—differing
only in degree or manifestation; and each of the numberless
modes of manifestation or individualities, however
insignificant contains the whole. One drop of water
taken from the ocean is just as perfect ocean water
as the whole great body.” (15)
God relates personally
but is not a person. This seemingly contradictory
idea might at first be difficult to understand.
However, in fairness to Unity, when they state that
God is not personal, what they are really rejecting
is the idea that God is a great man with a glorified
form located somewhere out there. If one were to picture
most medieval Christian art showing God in the form
of a man with long white hair and beard, one would
have an idea of what Unity is rejecting. In Unity’s
understanding, the concept of personhood confines a
being to a specific location and point in time. Since
Unity teaches that God is limitless, God is not personal
in their understanding. God is Universal Mind or Divine
Principle.
Unity, at times, claims to be Trinitarian in belief.
However the terms, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are
interpreted metaphysically as Mind, Idea and Expression.
Unity denies the orthodox concept of the Trinity as
one God eternally existing in three persons, all co-equal
and co-eternal.
God is the only
real force in the universe and God is all-good. It
should be
noted that Unity stresses
the goodness of God as they define it, not as it is
necessarily defined biblically. There is little reference
in Unity’s teaching to God being holy or just.
There is virtually no discussion of God’s punishment
of sin in a divine sense or of His wrath. Unity flatly
denies that God would ever cause and use human weakness
or infirmity for His own glory contrary to clear Biblical
teachings on this subject such as Exodus 4:11 and 2
Cor. 12:7-10. Further, Unity rejects some forms of
traditional morality on this same basis. For instance,
since God is all and is all-good and since man is a
manifestation of this good, homosexuality and heterosexuality
are morally equivalent. Both types of people are manifestations
of the divine. Neither is right or wrong.
Because God is
the only force in the universe and is all-good, evil
does
not exist. Emile Cady writes, “Now
the truth is that all which is not good (God) is no
thing. It is the lie, and has only to be characterized
as such in order to disappear.” (16)
She further writes that we must learn to see things
as God sees
them, “all
good”. (17) Likewise, the devil and demons are
not real.
Human Predicament or Problem
For Unity, the basic human problem might simply be
stated as ignorance. Man at his nature is divine. However,
man suffers from the perception of separation from
God. To the degree that man believes himself to be
separated from God and subject to evil and sickness,
he suffers. Once again, it will be helpful if we define
terms.
The Fall. For
Unity, Genesis 2-3 are taken allegorically. The fall
of man occurs
every time one lowers his thinking
from the divine standard of truth. To the degree that
man accepts the idea that he is separate from God,
that evil and the devil are real or that suffering
could be a part of God’s will, he is fallen.
However, Unity does not discuss in detail how man came
to this position of ignorance in the beginning. For
if man is a manifestation of the divine, how did he
come to be in a position where he is unaware of this
and is subject to ignorance? At least one Unity theologian
has attempted to wrestle with this question. Vice President
Phillip Pierson states that he believes this occurred
during the early evolution of man, when man first developed
self-awareness. At the point that man became self-aware,
he began to make judgments concerning his differences
with other men. To the degree that he perceived differences,
he developed separation. This led ultimately to a sense
of separation from God. Man began to perceive himself
as being separated from God and from other people.
Man continued to digress until he developed beliefs
in evil and sickness as well. (18)
Sin. The Metaphysical Bible Dictionary defines sin
in the following manner;
“Sin is
a departure from the law of our being. The command
of God to man is, “Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it;
and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
over the
birds of the heavens, and over every living thing
that moveth upon the earth.” The creatures
of land and sea represent states of mind and they
all are contained
in the consciousness of every man. Any failure
on our part to exercise this dominion is a falling
short or
a “sin.”” (19)
In
similar fashion, the “Foundations of Unity” series
states the following;
Sin is primarily
man’s belief that he is separate
from God; that he is limited and unlike his divine
Parent. Sin is ignoring the divine law of life;
it is a failure to recognize one’s own
innate divinity and failure to apply (demonstrate)
spiritual principles
(divine ideas) in his own life and affairs….Sin
is a failure to acknowledge the Christ, I AM, within
ourselves and others. We sin daily in our lack
of trust in the Father; in our failure to live
as becomes children
of God.” (20) (emphasis in the original)
This faulty belief
system then leads to wrong behaviors, sickness and
suffering.
Cady writes, “Then today
if we are manifesting sickness, it is because we have
believed the lie about ourselves and have reaped the
results of the lie—that is, apparent lack of
health—in our consciousness.” (21)
Sin also occurs
when we judge others. The Jafolla’s
write, “…each human being, regardless of
appearance, is a child of God and has the Spirit of
God within. Disapproval or condemnation of someone
is, when you distill it to its essence, disapproval
or condemnation of God.” (22)
Salvation
Unity
does not believe that faith in the atoning work of
Christ
saves from
sin. Emilie Cady wrote, “Simply
believing that Jesus died on the cross to appease God’s
wrath never did, nor can save anyone from present sin,
sickness or want, and was not what Jesus taught”.
(23) In like manner, the Foundations
of Unity series states, “Jesus
did not make the atonement for us—He showed us
how to reestablish the ideal in which we were created.
Real atonement comes through sustained alliance between
man and his indwelling Christ nature (Lord).” (24)
Charles Fillmore
taught that Jesus did not actually die on the cross.
He
wrote, “Jesus did not die
on the cross to save men from their sins, but He lived.
This is an important distinction, and clears up points
that have always been stumbling blocks to those who
wanted a reasonable theology…” (25) Essentially,
Charles’ belief was that Jesus only appeared
to die on the cross but instead regenerated his body
and took it with him into the next dimension. Likewise
Myrtle taught that Jesus did not go through the process
of dying but merely disappeared and took his body with
him into the next dimension. Current Unity teachers
are more likely to believe the historical record that
Jesus did, in fact, die on the cross but also that
he then regenerated his body and took it with him into
the next dimension.
Since man’s
basic problem is one of faulty thinking and understanding,
the answer comes from a correction
to his thinking to bring his thoughts into harmony
with the divine. “Metaphysically, the “atonement” is
the blending and harmonious functioning of man’s
thinking and feeling with the Christ mind. Men in an
unenlightened state of knowing have felt themselves
separated from goodness by looking upon God as “a
holy Being” separate from them; feeling their
iniquity in not being able to measure up to His standard
of holiness. However, Jesus of Nazareth taught and
demonstrated at-one-ment. “I and the Father are
one,” He said, (John 10:30).” (26) This
correction of thinking can only be accomplished by
the individual
and primarily occurs through affirmations and denials
along with meditation.
Denials. Emilie Cady taught that, in order to realize
our oneness with God at all times, we must learn to
deny in ourselves and others everything that would
appear contrary to this reality. She taught that there
were four basic denials that should be repeated silently
several times a day.
First: There is no evil.
Second: There is no absence of life, substance, or
intelligence anywhere.
Third: Pain, sickness, poverty, old age, and death
cannot master me, for they are not real.
Fourth: There is nothing in all the universe for me
to fear, for greater is He that is within me than he
that is in the world.
It might be of interest to note, given denial number
three, that Emilie Cady died in 1941.
Affirmations then are declarations of truth or what
really is rather than what merely appears to be. As
with the denials, Emilie Cady taught that there were
four essential affirmations that should be stated regularly
every day.
First: God is life, love, intelligence, substance,
omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence.
Second: I am a child or manifestation of God, and
every moment His life, love, wisdom, power flow into
and through me. I am one with God and am governed by
His law.
Third: I am Spirit, perfect, holy, harmonious. Nothing
can hurt me or make me sick or afraid, for Spirit is
God, and God cannot be sick or hurt or afraid. I manifest
my real Self through this body now.
Fourth: God
works in me to will and to do whatever He wishes
me to do, and He cannot fail. (28)
Charles and Myrtle
Fillmore also relied heavily on the use of affirmations
and
denials. Myrtle focused
on the “I Am” statements of Jesus and would
affirm those for herself. Charles had seven affirmations
that appear to be his favorites. They are, “I
am Life Omnipresent. I am Love Omnipresent. I am Power
Omnipresent. I am Substance Omnipresent. I am Order
and Harmony Omnipresent. I am Strength Omnipresent.
I am Intelligence Omnipresent.” (29)
Prayer also forms a major component for Unity. However,
this prayer more often takes the form of affirmations
or of contemplation than may normally be thought of
in more traditional Christian circles.
Last things and Life After Death
Unity
sees itself as teaching a practical form of Christianity.
The
focus of Unity
is on the here and
now not on that which is to come. For this reason,
Unity’s teachings regarding the afterlife are
not well defined and, in some cases, contradictory.
Heaven and Hell
are states of mind and being that people experience
now. They
are not places to which
people will go in the future. The Jafolla’s write, “Heaven
is a state of mind. When you live in the awareness
of God as a presence and a power in your life, when
no matter what happens in the outer world the “real” of
you is unchanging, peace-filled and expectant of good,
heaven will indeed be in the midst of you…” (30)
Unity rejects outright the concept of eternal punishment.
Unity
also teaches that the time of judgment is here and
now. Once again, the Jafolla’s comments are
helpful. “Judgment day takes place each time
you set a cause into motion. If you are responsible
for some wrong action of any kind, you are “punished” by
the deed itself. Your own thoughts and deeds are
continually setting up their results, their judgments,
and are “taking
action” for or against you. No one escapes
the day of judgment, because it is taking place every
moment
of our lives.” (31) Regarding life
after death, many followers of Unity will simply
state that they
don’t know what will
happen though they are certain that it will be something
good for every person because God is all-good. Death,
in Unity, is spoken of as the “transition”.
In Unity funerals, ministers will speak of the departed
as having transitioned to another dimension.
There are, however,
divergent opinions on this topic and, interestingly
enough,
they come from the original
founders of Unity, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. Both
Charles and Myrtle taught that ultimately, physical
death was to be overcome. They believed that it was
possible using their techniques to so regenerate the
body that it would never die. Charles wrote the most
extensively on this subject in a series of articles
that was to become the book, “The Twelve Powers
of Man”. He wrote, “The Subconscious realm
in man has twelve great centers of action, with twelve
presiding egos or identities. When Jesus had attained
a certain soul development, He called His twelve apostles
to Him. This means that when man is developing out
of mere personal consciousness into spiritual consciousness,
he begins to train deeper and larger powers; he sends
his thoughts down into the inner centers of his organism,
and through his word quickens them to life.” (32)
According to Charles, each of the twelve apostles corresponded
to a particular attribute and a particular “ganglion
center” of the body. For instance, Peter is the
faith principle and is located in the center of the
brain. Thaddaeus corresponds to renunciation and elimination
and is located in the abdominal region. The crown of
the head is the I Am center and corresponds to the
mountain where Jesus frequently went to pray. By activating
all of these powers properly a person could completely
regenerate their body and would never have to experience
physical death. Charles was so confident of the truth
of this teaching that he made some astonishing claims
concerning Unity in general and himself in particular.
He wrote, “Because I have emphasized the eternal-life-in-the-body
teaching of Jesus, the question is often asked by Unity
readers. Some of them seem to think that I am either
a fanatic or a joker if I take myself seriously in
the hope that I shall with Jesus attain eternal life
in the body. But the fact is that I am very serious
about the matter and am striving earnestly to follow
Jesus in the regeneration, which I am satisfied, will
result in a transformation of my body.” (33)
Later, Charles spoke of his results in this manner, “…now
I have what may be termed an electrical body that is
gradually replacing the physical.” (34)
Concerning Unity in general Charles stated, “This
Society will produce individual members who, through
soul concentration,
will have so spiritualized the atoms of their bodies
as to be able to make themselves visible or invisible
at will, and will have the power to live upon this
earth plane any length of time they may desire.” (35)
A divergent account
of Charles success with his own body is provided
by,
then Ph.D. candidate Ralph Teener,
who was not a Unity student but was preparing his dissertation
on the movement. In 1938 he wrote, “Today, Mr.
Fillmore is a quite interesting, humorous, white-haired
man, some 84 years young. His right leg is much shorter
than his left. He wears a higher heel on his right
shoe and walks with a decided hitch. When in discussion,
his mind is likely to wander from the point at issue.
To a superficial observer, his teeth show dental work,
certainly not of the “spiritual substance” kind…” (36)
Charles died at the admittedly old age of 93 from the
effects
of kidney failure.
For both Charles
and Myrtle, physical death was a failure to fully
attain to one’s
divine status. However, death was not the end. They
believed that
each person was reincarnated again and again until
they were able to attain to the ideal revealed by Jesus
Christ. In fact they believed that Jesus had required
multiple reincarnations to arrive at his perfected
state. This was actually an area of mild disagreement
between the Fillmores and Cady who denied reincarnation
and taught that the body was to be laid aside when
it was no longer useful to the individual.
Modern teachers
within Unity do not make the same types of claims
as those of Charles though they will
still insist that his teachings are correct and are
possible to achieve. (37) They leave open the subject
of reincarnation to the judgment of each student,
though
many within Unity lean that direction.
Unity also does
not look forward to any return of Christ or “Second
Coming”. The “Foundations
Series” states, “The second coming of Christ
is not a point in time but a point in the growth of
an individual’s consciousness.” (38)
This occurs through prayer. Once again, from the “Foundations
Series” we read, “When in meditation and
prayer, one feels Christ occurring in his consciousness
as new feelings and awarenesses of love, peace, courage,
life, joy, and the like, the second coming has occurred
for that person.” (39) In like
manner, Charles Fillmore wrote, “The first coming
is the receiving of Truth into the conscious mind,
and the Second Coming
is the awakening and the regeneration of the subconscious
mind through the superconscious or Christ Mind.” (40)
Integration and Conversion
Unity School of Christianity is a transdenominational
movement that sees itself as compatible with any spiritual
tradition. Therefore the Unity complex is open to and
used by leaders and students from a variety of movements,
though they tend to be from the New Thought and New
Age spectrums. Therefore there is no true conversion
to Unity School of Christianity.
Within the Association
of Unity Churches, a collaborative affiliate of the
Unity School though completely separate
legally, the process may vary slightly from congregation
to congregation depending on the church’s individual
charter. However, it would be common for a person to
attend classes and state their agreement to the core
principles of Unity before being admitted into membership.
Many people have
their first contact with Unity through one of the
many
publications or through one of the
numerous Unity-sponsored community events. The appeal
for many, may be found in Unity’s emphasis on
non-judgmental spirituality and environmental concern.
Witnessing Tips
Presenting
the gospel to members of Unity will require care
due
to the movement’s
unique interpretation of scripture and re-definition
of biblical words and
concepts. Here are some suggestions that may prove
helpful.
a. Don’t assume you know what any particular
member of Unity actually believes. Unity is the ultimate
religious smorgasbord. Each individual is allowed to
pick and choose through most of Unity’s doctrines.
Additionally, many within the movement have attempted
to synthesize Unity’s teachings with historic
Christianity. This can produce a confusing mixture
of belief systems. Lastly, there are many who attend
Unity churches and events and consider themselves students
who are not official members. These individuals may
have a wide range of beliefs, some from Unity and some
from other sources. Ask questions. Make sure that you
know the beliefs of the individual with whom you are
seeking to share or you may find yourself running down
a dead end street.
b. Clarify terms. As with many new religions, Unity
uses orthodox vocabulary but reinterprets these terms
in a very unorthodox manner. For instance, most orthodox
Christians use the terms Jesus, Christ and Jesus Christ
in synonymous fashion. But as we have seen, these terms
may mean completely different things to a member of
Unity. When you speak of Christ, they may be hearing
you speaking of the Christ consciousness or Divine
Self within each one of us.
c. Emphasize the uniqueness of Jesus. Jesus made unique
claims. He claimed to be God. He did not make the same
claims for every other person. Jesus did not teach
that each person was divine. He did works that no one
else in the history of mankind was able to do. He literally
died on the cross and He literally rose from the dead.
He did not say that He was doing these things to become
our way-shower but rather to give His life as our ransom.
Christ has no equal.
d. Emphasize the reality of evil and sin. To paraphrase
G.K. Chesterton, the doctrine of sin is the only religious
dogma we can actually see with our own eyes everyday.
Evil is real. Sin is real. No parent has to teach a
child to disobey. Why is that if we are naturally good
and divine? Unity has a very difficult time reconciling
their theology with the evils that occur to people
such as child molestation and rape. How can one say
to them that evil does not exist? Within the heart
of each person is the knowledge that some things are
evil.
e. Emphasize the
biblical teaching that God is not only loving, He
is also
just and holy. When earthly
laws are broken, we expect that there will be a penalty.
When a judge lets the murderer go free the judge is
condemned. Unity does not have an adequate answer to
the issue of sin that upholds both God’s love
and His justice.
f. Question their
approach to the Bible. Why is it that Unity teachers
read
the Bible in a way that would
not be permissible with any other document? For instance,
normally in understanding an author’s meaning,
one reads the document according to normal rules of
grammar and normal definitions of words. Why is it
acceptable for Unity to approach the Bible so differently?
Are we allowed to read the works of the Fillmores or
other teachers within Unity in the same manner as they
read the Bible? Who determined that these metaphysical
definitions are correct? How do we know that they are
right? How do we know that Thaddeaus represents elimination
and renunciation? Why would God author a book that
is so difficult to read and understand? What if the
Bible actually means what it says?
g. Many student of Unity are very post-modern in their
view of truth. Many of them believe that you have your
truth and I have mine. The standard arguments against
post-modernism can be helpful here.
h. Deal with the
unattainable ideal. Despite their emphasis on healing,
Unity students
get sick. Several
of the leaders of the movement wear glasses. The staff
has health insurance and receives sick days. And they
all keep dying. Royal Fillmore, one of the children
of Charles and Myrtle, died at age 34 even though he
was an ardent believer in his parent’s teachings.
Despite more than one hundred years of Unity, no one
has been able to imitate the work of Christ. At some
point, one must begin to ask if the system works at
all.
Rev.
Keith Gibson
NOTES
1. Freeman, James
Dillet, “The Story of Unity” Fourth
Edition, page 45. Unity Books, Unity Village, Missouri,
2000
2. Ibid. page 29
3.
Vahle, Neal, “The
Unity Movement”,
page 34, Templeton Foundation Press, Radnor, PA
2002
4. Op Cit. Dillet. Page33
5. Official Unity website. http://www.unityonline.org/discover_unityvillage.htm
6. Ibid. Homepage.
7. Metaphysical Bible Dictionary page 351. Published
in 1931 by Unity School of Christianity, Unity
Village, MO. This dictionary claims to be based
on the
inspired teachings of Charles and Myrtle Fillmore.
8. Unity School of Christianity official website. Frequently asked questions.
www.unityonline.org/discover_faq.htm. Accessed 9/6/05
9. Foundations of Unity. Series Two, Volume 1. page 104-105 Various contributors.
Unity School of Christianity, Unity Village, MO. No publication date is given.
10. Ibid. page 103
11. Jafolla, Richard and Mary Alice, “The Quest”, page 207. 2005
Unity House Publishing, Unity Village, MO
12. Cady, Emilie, “Lessons in Truth” as included in “The
Complete Works of Emilie Cady” page 29-30. 1995. Unity Books, Unity
Village, MO.
13.
Op. Cit. Foundations
of Unity Series Two, Volume 1 page 38.
14. Op Cit. Cady page 33
15. Ibid page 31
16. Ibid page 203
17. Ibid page 209
18. Interview with Phillip M. Pierson, Vice President of Unity Institute conducted
9/1/05.
19. Op Cit. Metaphysical Bible Dictionary page 620
20. Op Cit Foundations of Unity Series page 114
21. Op Cit. Cady page 203
22. Op Cit Jafolla page 291
23. Op Cit Vahle page 93
24. Op Cit Foundations of Unity page 124.
25. Op Cit Vahle page 69
26. Op Cit Foundations page 124
27. Op Cit Cady page 51
28. Ibid. page 59
29. Op Cit Vahle page 55
30. Op Cit Jafolla page 99
31. Ibid 102-103
32. Fillmore, Charles, The Twelve Powers of Man” fourth printing, page
15, Unity House Publishing, Unity Village, MO 2005
33. Op Cit Vahle page 60
34. Ibid 61
35. Ibid 58
36. Ibid 61
37. Op Cit. Pierson interview
38. Op Cit. Foundations page 139
39. Ibid 139
40. Op Cit Fillmore, Twelve Powers of Man, page 15
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