A Rose By Any Other Name...

What does it mean for us to say that Unity is a positive practical progressive approach to Christianity?

Does “positive” mean that we are not “negative,” or that we are only focused on the so-called good aspects of life? A friend recently said that she believes Unity is captivated by “infatuation with the positive” and that we look at life through rose-colored glasses, refusing to acknowledge the “negative” side of life. Her comments spurred me to ponder her perspective.

Why do we claim to be a positive approach to Christianity?

Shakespeare said, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” In living our Unity principles, we endeavor to see God, the Good, in everything. We often repeat a phrase which originated with New Thought teacher, Emma Curtis Hopkins: “Call it good.” In calling something good we are not making a value judgment. We are setting our intention to look for the gift in everything, even those things, people and events that we might judge from our human perspective as not good or as negative. In “calling it good’ we are choosing, to the best our ability at the time, to see through the eyes of the Christ and to bless all things.

For many people that sounds like a load of dung. They may say, “So, when I get cancer I’m supposed to call it good?” Perhaps it is more in alignment with our teaching to say that we claim the good. Claim the potential for good in every situation. We can make the choice in every moment to think about things from a critical, condemning perspective and call them wrong or bad. When we do so, we are the ones who suffer. When we look for the good, or the positive, we feel the energy of an affirmative mental state in our emotions, and we experience the effects in our bodies and the body of our affairs.

“Positive Christianity,” what does it mean? It means that we affirm our Divine nature and deny the Reality of all else. We choose to see ourselves and all others through the lens of original blessing, rather than original sin, which is in contrast to most traditional Christian movements. Unity teaches that each and every one of us is born as the expression of God, the All Good, and further that we can grow in our remembrance and realization of it.

We do not teach, as many traditional Christian churches do, that we are unworthy sinners who need Jesus to save us from our evil ways. We do not teach that we are punished for our sins, or transgressions. We teach that we experience the effects of our thoughts, words and actions. If our choices are based in fear, we will experience an outcome that reflects some level of fear. ‘Sins,’ in our Unity understanding, are thoughts based on the misperception that we are separate from God. Our actions based on this belief are expressions of fear and in the extreme may be considered “evil.”  However, we teach that there is no power other than God, thus no Satan or other power for evil.

What do we mean by “practical Christianity?”

We consider our teaching “practical Christianity” because we endeavor to put into practice the teachings of Jesus Christ. We do it by, as Jesus said, loving God, loving ourselves and loving our neighbor (Matthew 22: 37-39). We do it by loving our enemies, blessing those who persecute us, and praying for those who mistreat us (Matthew 5:44). We do it by turning the other cheek (Luke 6:29). We “turn the other cheek” by looking beyond and above the situations and using our power of Faith to witness the activity of God in all and through all, even if that is challenging and beyond our current level of willingness or ability. We it so by continuing to turn everything over to the Christ, the highest and best of our being, the true light that enlightens everyone (John 1:9).

We in Unity are students of Truth, just as the master teach Jesus was. Jesus was constantly pointing us toward the Christ of our being. He was showing us the way to know our Truth. We believe that Jesus never intended to be worshiped or made into an image to be idolized. He is an example of one who connected consciously with the Truth, the Father; one who thought, spoke and acted from that consciousness. Jesus was constantly telling us that we can do the same thing.

We believe that Jesus realized his unity in God and with all creation, and told us that we can do that as well. He also said that we would do greater things than he did (John 14:12). We will do so when we realize our Christ nature and live from it as he did. That is what is meant by practical Christianity; employing our Christ nature in our daily lives to demonstrate the nature of God in manifestation.

What does it mean for us to say that Unity is progressive Christianity?

The word ‘progressive’ can stimulate controversy. Many, when hearing the word ‘progressive’ think of a liberal political agenda. However, social and political liberals do not own the word. When used in the context of describing the Unity movement, ‘progressive’ refers to the fact that our understanding continues to change and evolve. We hold that we are open to new revelations of Truth beyond what the early Christian church determined to be the canonized doctrine. In Unity, we are open to looking at biblical and other Scripture through different lenses and embracing alternate perspectives.

We recognize that much of the Bible was written for a specific audience at a particular time and place for various reasons and intentions. We are willing to look at the historical framework of the Scripture and allow it to reveal to us the truth behind the words.

The Unity movement has always been willing to move forward, to continue to progress, to be progressive in its perspective on Scripture and embrace new discoveries in science and expanded spiritual understanding. Hopefully, we will continue to be progressive as we remain open and receptive to the ever renewing spirit of Truth.

In Unity, we are “positive” in that we look for the activity of God in all situations. We are “practical” in that we strive to practice in everyday life the principles we teach. We are “progressive” in that we are willing to evolve in our understanding as Spirit and science continue to reveal new information.

Join us on Sunday at 10:00 as we explore further what it means for us in Unity to make the claim that we are Christian, in a world that would often disagree.