Radical Christianity

Recently, on the Unity minister’s Facebook discussion page, a question was posed asking for feedback on whether Unity should embrace its Christian roots or distance itself from Christianity. As you might imagine, discussion ensued.

Some believe that we should distance ourselves from Christianity because of the hypocrisy and policies of exclusion, as well as other negative associations that many have with Christianity.

Others believe that we should continue to honor our Christian roots and provide an alternative perspective of what it means to be Christian, some citing Paul Smith’s book Integral Christianity as a model that we might embrace and promote. I have not yet read the book, but I have read articles by Rev. Smith. I am intrigued by the concept.

I have yet to respond to the poll. I see the case for distancing ourselves from Christianity so we may have the potential to reach more people with the Unity message. However, Christianity is so much a part of my DNA and the DNA of the movement that I cannot completely fathom disassociating from those roots.

While I am confident that Christianity is my chosen spiritual path, I am still exploring what that means for me. Further, I am continuing to explore my beliefs about Jesus, historically, metaphysically and theologically. My exploration may continue for the rest of my life. I am fine with that.

As I pondered, I was reminded of Deepak Chopra’s book, The Third Jesus, The Christ We Cannot Ignore. The Introduction to the book begins, “Jesus Christ left behind a riddle that two thousand years of worship haven’t solved. The riddle can be stated in one sentence: “Why are Jesus’s teachings impossible to live by?"

Dr. Chopra posits that for centuries Christians have tried to live according to what Jesus taught and they have failed, leaving us to question whether the Christian church misunderstood or possibly purposefully misconstrued his teachings to serve its own agenda.

Dr. Chopra asserts that what Jesus was actually teaching was more radical and mystical than most of us have explored or have been willing to comprehend. He states that Jesus “wanted to inspire a world reborn in God.” Further that Jesus, who had attained God Consciousness, was teaching his followers how to do the same, and thereby change the world and their experience of it.

So many of us have failed to live by the teachings of Jesus because we have, for centuries, attempted to live by a mode of behavioral, moral standards that have been prescribed by the traditional Christian church and have been superimposed upon humanity, most of whom are largely unaware that they can achieve the same level of spiritual consciousness that Jesus achieved; something that the traditional Christian church does not teach.

We have been expected to live up to the standard prescribed by Jesus, who lived in the conscious awareness of his Divinity; however, we have been expected to live by those standards from a consciousness grounded in a religion based on the idea of separation and punitive discipline. It is no wonder that so many of us have not been able to achieve the kingdom of God consciousness that Jesus promised, and thereby live from that consciousness.

Unlike the traditional Christian church, Unity teaches us that indeed Christ Consciousness is the potential for each of us, and that each of us is possessed of the same potential to attain the God consciousness that Jesus realized. It is the message that Unity has been teaching for over a hundred years.

In fact, the word ‘unity’ has multiple meanings, not the least of which is “a state of being one; oneness.” When Charles Fillmore, cofounder of Unity, adopted the name ‘Unity’ for what would become, not a denomination of the Christian church, but a Truth movement, he surely must have intended to capture the more radical and mystical intent of Jesus’s teachings.

As Mr. Fillmore once stated, “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 humankind to use and prove the eternal Truth taught by the Master.”

Now I know how I will respond to the question. I encourage the Unity movement to honor its Christian roots by continuing to discern the Truth therein and prove it. Further, I encourage us to boldly proclaim a Radical Christianity. I certainly do not mean to imply that we should adopt what has become Christian fundamentalism. I assert that we should return to the roots of the Jesus movement, to what Mr. Fillmore referred to as “first generation Christianity” and strive to live lives grounded in the tenets of the religion of Jesus, which he stated very clearly – Love God, Love Others, Love Self.

I propose that we reclaim Mr. Fillmore’s stated purpose, and truly prove that the so-called riddle that Dr. Chopra says Jesus left behind is no riddle at all. Let us be the ones to prove that it is, indeed, possible to live by Jesus’s teachings. Let us be the ones to be reborn in God. Let us be the ones who establish God’s kingdom on the earth. Let us be the ones to instate the reign of peace. Let us be the saviors of world. And, let it begin with me.