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     What is Unity?
                                                      

Unity is a positive, practical, progressive, open and affirming approach to Christianity based on the teachings and beliefs of Jesus and the power of prayer. Unity honors the universal truths in all religions and respects each individual’s right to choose a spiritual path.

Unity teaches that 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, Principle, Substance and Universal Mind.

Unity affirms that each person is a unique, divine, individual expression of God.  Each person has an innate capacity to know God through direct experience.  The “Christ” is that part of God that is in every person, the spark of divinity within all people, just as there was in Jesus.

Unity emphasizes the creative power of thought in our life experience and emphasizes the importance of applying spiritual principles in our daily lives.  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. When we live from the awareness of our divinity, we can transform our lives and the world.  When we take personal responsibility to choose life affirming thoughts, words and actions, we experience a more fulfilling and abundant life.

Unity recognizes the Bible as 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.  We use the Bible as a valuable spiritual resource and seek to interpret it as a mystical, metaphysical representation of humankind's evolutionary journey toward spiritual growth and discovery.

Unity believes that the continually daily practice of prayer and meditation allows us to experience God’s presence more fully.  It also heightens our spiritual awareness and understanding, and thereby transforms our lives.  We believe that affirmative prayer is the highest form of creative thought because it includes the release of counterproductive, negative thoughts, as well as supports us in remembering statements of spiritual truth.

Unity encourages all people to explore and apply Unity teachings based on their own spiritual understanding.



     “CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY” [Colossians 1:27]

Unity Defined by Co-Founder Charles Fillmore
   “Unity is a link in the great educational movement inaugurated by Jesus Christ; our objective is to discern the truth in Christianity and prove it. The truth that we teach is not new; neither do we claim special revelations or discovery of new religious principles. Our purpose is to help and teach mankind to use and prove the eternal Truth taught by the Master.”


What Do We Believe?

Jesus 
 We believe that Jesus fully expressed his divine potential and sought to show humankind how to express ours 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 in humankind. Jesus is the great example of the Christ in expression.

God 
 God is Spirit, the loving source of all that is. God is the one power, all good, everywhere present.  God is divine energy, continually creating, expressing and sustaining all creation and all wisdom. 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.

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. The Bible continues to be a valuable spiritual resource for us.

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.
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 spiritual truth. Through meditation, we experience the presence of God. Prayer and meditation heighten our awareness and thereby transform our lives.

Our Teachings 

  • Heaven is not a place, but a state of consciousness; we create our own heaven and hell here and now. 
  • We all have an innate capacity to know God through direct experience.
  • The “Christ” is that part of God that is in every person. There is divinity within all people, just as there was in Jesus.
  • Prayer works.
  • We are here to set a positive example and be a role model for others.
  • We are here to make the world a better place.
Basic Unity Principles  -  [Adapted]

1.  God is all good and active in everything, everywhere.

2.  I am naturally good because God's Divinity is in me and in everyone.

3.  I create my experience by what I choose to think and what I feel and believe.

4. Through affirmative prayer and meditation, I connect with God and bring out the good in my life.

5.  I do and give my best by living the Truth I know. I make a difference!


Metaphysical Interpretation of the Bible.
One of the basic books containing Unity co-founder Charles Fillmore's inspired thinking and teaching is The Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, and is regarded as a vital part of Unity's spiritual heritage.  Charles Fillmore was an innovative thinker, a pioneer in metaphysical thought at a time when most religious thought in America was orthodox.  Copies of the dictionary are available for sale at Unity's Portals bookstore; or you can search entries online at http://www.truthunity.net/blog/metaphysical-bible-dictionary-now-hyperlinked . 

If you wonder how a specific Bible verse might be interpreted metaphysically, use the "Interpret This" tool to help provide greater insight into the hidden meanings of the Bible.  (This tool is provided by Unity Worldwide.)
   (new link 2022)
interpret this

For more information about the history of Unity and its founders, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore,
please visit Unity World Headquarters website ...
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