HISTORY
OF UNITY
Unity is a worldwide Christian organization more than a
century old. Because of similarity in names, Unity has on
occasion been confused with other organizations. However,
there is no connection between Unity and Unitarianism or
the Unification Church.
Unity is an extremely positive approach to life, seeking
to accept the good in people and all of life. God is seen
as having many attributes, but most important that God is
LOVE. Unity stresses that God is not a physical man in the
sky, for this limits Him. God is Spirit, everywhere present,
the one and only Spirit behind, in and through all things,
visible and invisible.
Unity denies the existence of any power or presence opposed
to God. It sees that there are evil appearances and suffering
in the world, but ascribes these to man's ignorance and
erroneous use of God's laws of life.
Unity proclaims the divinity of Jesus, but goes further
and assures that you, too, are a child of God and therefore
divine in nature. Jesus expressed His divine potential and
sought to show us how to express ours as well. Salvation
is then the expanding understanding of one's innate divinity
and perfectibility through living the life demonstrated
by Jesus.
Unity explains the mind as your connecting link with God
or Divine Mind and shows how the action of your mind affects
your body and circumstances. Much emphasis is placed on
the effective power that every thought, feeling, word and
act has upon your life.
Prayer is not seen as a technique for changing God, but
for expanding and transforming your mind, and thus changing
you.
Unity seeks to relate religion to daily needs, affirming
that for every need there is God's perfect answer. Its main
textbook is the Bible and it relates its lessons to your
life and everyday experiences.
Unity does break from tradition some in that it has no creedal
requirements, dogma, ritual or ecclesiastical garb. Unity
chooses to believe that there is good in every religion.
Different religions are like spokes on a wheel with the
hub being God. They may be set apart by a variance of beliefs
and approaches, but they are all seeking the one God as
the hub of all life. Consequently, Unity does not deny anyone
the right to have his or her own beliefs.
Unity sees worship as serving God by uplifting and glorifying
God's spirit in man, in positive, glorious ways. It seeks
not to emphasize one's sins of the past, but instead gives
attention to the good that exists in every person and what
can be done with the "now" to transform one's
self and his life.
Its main concern is not so much with a "future life,"
but with teaching people how to live fully in the present,
seeing the good in all things. Unity also believes in eternal
life and views the present moment as part of eternal life.
Unity does not impose any financial burdens or pressure
on its adherents. It believes the desire for giving should
be initiated from within the giver to reap the joys of sharing.
Consequently, all support is by freewill offerings.
Unity is non-denominational and welcomes in dignity and
love people of all races, colors, religions, social background
and economic levels.
In summation, Unity emphasizes the divine potential within
every child of God and teaches that through a practical
understanding and application of what Jesus taught, every
person can realize and express his or her divine potential
for a happier, fuller and more successful life.
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