Unity School Of Christianity
Unity School of Christianity - A Practice of Various Religions
Founded by Charles Fillmore in 1889, Unity School of Christianity mainly propagated itself through literature distribution. The followers are encouraged to remain in and practice their respective religions. They consider their mission a way of subtly disseminating their ideas. The main purpose of Unity School of Christianity is to enable people to become the heir to their true divine nature. "We see the good in all religions and we want everyone to feel free to find the Truth for himself wherever may be led to find it" (Modern Thought, 1889, p. 42).
Unity School of Christianity - The Basic Theology
The salvation beliefs of Unity School of Christianity are described in the Unity publication, Salvation. It says, "As a matter of fact, salvation is one of the finest words in our language, for it means simply that by the virtue of God's presence within our own being we have the power to overcome wrong thinking and thereby to deliver ourselves from the unhappy results of such thinking." It goes on to say, "To be saved to be born anew, is to come into Truth with the whole person and build a new way of life. This is the way of salvation that Jesus taught." According to Unity School of Christianity, there is no sin to be forgiven. All a person needs to do is believe in their true divine nature and their belief alone will make it true. Unity denies the existence of a heaven or hell.
Unity teaches that as man discovers his divine nature, he raises his inner being until he is fully God-realized. Once he has reached this state, he is in perfect oneness with God and does not need further redemption. He is now divine.
Who is Jesus? According to Unity School of Christianity, Jesus was only a man who attained a higher mental state. J. Sig Paulson, an author in Unity magazine, writes, "Each individual has within himself the Christ potential, the Christ presence, the Christ reality." Unity teaches that it is the potential of every man and woman to become a "Christ."
Who is God? Fillmore writes, "We must relieve our minds of a personal God ruling over us….God is not person but Principle" (Dynamics for Living, p. 30).
Unity School of Christianity - Reincarnation
Unity School of Christianity also believes and teaches reincarnation. Charles Fillmore said that reincarnation was a simple way for God to offer man a second chance at perfection. Article 22 of the Unity Statement of Faith states, "we believe that the dissolution of spirit, soul and body, caused by death, is annulled by rebirth of the same spirit and soul in another body here on earth. We believe the repeated incarnations of man to be a merciful provision of our loving Father to the end that all may have the opportunity to attain immortality through regeneration, as did Jesus." Unity believes that when a body dies, the soul passes into the bodies of lower animals or other human beings, in a rotating cycle. This continues until purification is accomplished. Then the soul passes to Nirvana (Buddhism) or Brahma (Hinduism).
Unity School of Christianity - The Basic Christian Response
The teachings of Unity School of Christianity are in direct contradiction with the Bible. The Bible distinctly says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). All people are in need of a Savior.
The Bible also contradicts Unity's standard for salvation. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father, except through me." It is through Jesus Christ alone that people receive salvation, not through their own effort (Ephesians 2:8-9).
The Bible presents Jesus as the sinless, Son of God-fully God and fully man (John 5:18, Philippians 2:6-7). In the Bible, God is presented as more than Principle-he is a personable Creator.
Regarding reincarnation, the Bible tells us that we die once and then face judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The Bible never mentions people having a second chance at life, or coming back as different people or animals. Reincarnation has been a popular belief for thousands of years, but it has never been accepted by those who believe in the Bible.
A list of contradictions could go on and on. It is clear that Unity School of Christianity is not based on the Bible.
What is your response?
