What is Unity?
Unity was founded in 1889 by Myrtle and Charles Fillmore and became part of the New Thought movement which started earlier in the 19th century. They were influenced by the philosophical writings of Phineas Quimby, Mary Baker Eddy, Emma Curtis Hopkins, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and others who saw our natural world as intertwined with the inherent goodness and divine potential of all people.
Unity takes a positive, practical, progressive approach to Christianity based on the teachings of Jesus and other spiritual leaders. It teaches a positive approach to life and seeks to find and accept the good in all people and all events. Although it began as a healing ministry and healing continues to be one of its main areas of focus, Unity teaches that all people can improve the quality of their lives through the power of their thoughts, their words and their actions.
Unity embraces a wide variety of teachers and thought leaders with no particular emphasis on any one creed, set dogma, or required ritual. It maintains that there is good in every approach to God and in every religion that fulfills someone's needs. It holds that one should focus not on past or future sins, but on the potential good in all of us.
Unity encourages the pursuit of spiritual knowledge, abundant prosperity and happiness. It also encourages a spiritual approach to healing that works in tandem with both non-traditional and traditional medical treatments.
Today is the day to discover your spiritual power.
Today is the day to discover the greatness of God within you.
Today is the day to discover Unity of Chattanooga.
We embrace the power of prayer, being grateful in advance for the things we want in our lives and living joyfully. We also honor and study the universal truths in all religions, including Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and others. We honor and respect each individual’s right to choose their own spiritual path and see God as Divine Energy, a Universal Spirit, the loving source of all that is. We regard this divine power, by whatever name you may wish to call it, as the one and only power in the universe and believe that it is involved in and engaged with every aspect of our daily lives and existence.
WHAT UNITY SAYS ABOUT...
God
God is Spirit, the loving source of all that is. God is the one power, all good, everywhere present, all wisdom. God is divine energy, continually creating, expressing and sustaining all creation. In God, we live and move and have our being. In Unity, some other ways we speak of God are Life, Light, Love, Substance, Principle, Law and Universal Mind.
Jesus
We believe that Jesus expressed his divine potential and sought to show humankind how to express and live our divine potential 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 within all of us. Jesus is the great example of the Christ in expression. And we can be too!
The Nature of Humankind
We are each individual, eternal expressions of God. Our essential nature is divine and therefore inherently good. Our purpose is to express our divine potential as realized and demonstrated by Jesus and other master teachers. The more we awaken to our divine nature, the more fully God expresses in and through our lives.
The Bible
Unity co-founders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore studied the Bible as history and allegory and interpreted it as a metaphysical representation of humankind's evolutionary journey toward spiritual awakening. In addition, Unity recognizes that the Bible is a complex collection of writings compiled over many centuries. We honor the writings as reflecting the understanding and inspiration of the writers at the time they were written. With this understanding, the Bible remains a valuable spiritual source for many of our messages.
The Fillmores regarded Jesus as one great example, rather than the great exception; they interpreted the Bible metaphysically not literally; and taught that God is present within all of us.
The Unity world headquarters are located at Unity Village, Missouri. It serves as a tranquil atmosphere for quiet meditation and a place for all people, regardless of faith or nationality, to worship. The prayer, publishing, education and retreat ministries allow us to provide people around the world with positive, spiritual messages of hope, healing, prosperity and peace.
Our Teachings
Unity teaches that each person is a unique expression of God created with sacred worth. Living from that awareness transforms our lives and the world.
Unity emphasizes the creative power of thought in our life experience. We refer to this as the Law of Mind Action. When we take personal responsibility to choose life-affirming thoughts, words and actions, we experience a more fulfilling and abundant life.
Unity emphasizes the importance of applying spiritual principles in our daily lives. The 5 Basic Principles of Unity are:
- God is absolute good and everywhere present.
- 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.
Unity teachings continue to evolve as we identify, embrace and apply spiritual insights and the spiritual implications of new discoveries. We embrace the spiritual teachings of many, modern day New Thought leaders, including Michael Singer, Don Miguel Ruiz, May McCarthy, Michael Beckwith, Louise Hay, Deepak Chopra, and Florence Scovel Shinn.
Unity emphasizes the divine potential within all of us and teaches that through a practical understanding and application of spiritual lessons, every person can realize and express his or her divine potential for a happier, fuller and more successful life.
Prayer and Meditation
Affirmative prayer is the highest form of creative thought. It includes the release of counterproductive, negative thoughts, as well as holding in mind statements of positive spiritual truth. Through meditation, we experience a connection to our Divine Source. Prayer and meditation heighten our awareness and thereby transform our lives.
Statement for Peace
Unity stands for peace in the presence of conflict; for love in the presence of hatred; for forgiveness in the presence of injury. Unity honors the many names for God, the many paths to God, the many ways to worship God; for there is only one power and presence of God and that God loves each one of us equally. It is therefore the position of Unity Worldwide Ministries and Unity to urge all nations, their leaders, and their people to turn to God, by whatever the name, for guidance during these challenging times and pursue peace, not war, for this is what honors the God of all our faith traditions. Unity stands for peace in our lifetimes.
In Summation
Unity of Chattanooga is an inclusive, loving and vibrant spiritual community. We are affiliated with Unity Worldwide and we are a member of Unity Worldwide Ministries. Unity is non-denominational and welcomes in dignity and love people of all races, colors, religions, social background and economic levels.
