Characteristics and principles of Unity
Unity espouses ‘practical Christianity’ in which its followers study ways to apply the teachings of
Jesus to their daily lives. Through these teachings, Unity followers believe that
God is a universal presence and divinity exists in all people. The teachings are based on five basic principles:
- God is the source and creator of all. There is no other enduring power (omnipotence; omniscience). God is good (omnibenevolence) and present everywhere (omnipresence). (Also see Panentheism).
- We are spiritual beings, created in God’s image. The spirit of God lives within each person; therefore, all people are inherently good.
- We create our life experiences through our way of thinking.
- There is power in affirmative prayer, which we believe increases our connection to God.
- Knowledge of these spiritual principles is not enough. We must live them.
The
Christian Bible is the central text of Unity, which interprets the Bible
metaphysically. Unity students believe that the teachings of the Bible are allegorical lessons from which spirituality is attained. ... Unity is unique as a Christian church because of its approach to prayer.
Meditation plays a significant role in Unity thought. Followers of Unity rely on both prayer and meditation as vehicles for communicating with God and becoming spiritually centered....
Fillmore saw a fundamental flaw in the worship of the man
Jesus as
God. He divided Jesus into four aspects:
- "Jesus", the man who lived 2,000 years ago and was a great healer and teacher
- "Christ", the divine idea of God manifested individually in all people
- "Jesus the Christ" or "Jesus Christ", the fully-embraced oneness with God that Jesus demonstrated
- "Christ Jesus", the current state of the physical man that was Jesus after the Ascension.