What do you guys know about "Unity"? We have a new member

[Critters2]

who used to be "Unity". Yesterday, in a committee meeting, she asked if we could stop using the terms "salvation", "redemption", and "covenant". Claimed the church would grow faster if we stopped using these terms. I assured her that I am not going to stop using these words in my sermons and in our worship services. I fought long and hard not to just say

:wtf:


What does Unity teach, if it isn't salvation, redemption, or covenant?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. My grandmother used to subscribe to their magazines

and give me gift subscriptions to their children's magazine, which was called "Wee Wisdom." (I'm not making this up.) She dabbled in Christian Science, Norman Vincent Peale, etc., so Unity was right along those lines.

They're kind of a positive thinking group. Their prayers are more affirmations than anything else.

For example, their "Prayer of Faith" (which my grandmother used to say with me when I stayed with her) ends like this:"...all things I can do and be/Through Christ the truth that is in me./God is my health; I can't be sick./God is my strength, unfailing quick/God is my all; I know no fear/Since God and love and truth are here."

I don't remember the rest of it (I'm surprised that I can remember that much), but all the "prayers" printed in their literature were like that.

Here's more information from their own website:

http://www.unity.org/aboutunity/index.html

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. Unity is kind of like Christian Unitarianism. I'm surprised your person didn't like "covenant".

And official Unity stuff includes use of words like sin and salvation.

Unity is definitely a covenant-favoring kind of faith - there's a lot about community, social justice, activism, and so on in that expression.

Unity and UCC share a lot of commonality, though I'd say that the UCC does, in general, have a more defined christology. Which sounds really funny to say, but yes, there is a group with a less-defined christology than the UCC. :7

One difference is that Unity emphasizes the inherent goodness in people and that sinning is a failure to live up to our potential as God's creation; unlike so many other Christian expressions that begin with humanity's natural sinfulness and that goodness is a failure to live up to our inherent will to sin.

I'm friends with a Unity minister, and have attended her services occasionally and hung out with her people - theologically, I think they're doing fine, though maybe a little flighty; in terms of worship services, they come across as more "let's borrow a bunch of touchy-feely rituals from other religions and just kind of hang out with fabric and positive vibes for an hour while we think about candles and the sky and get in touch with our Christ-consciousness".

That's a bit tongue-in-cheek, but that's often how it feels when I'm there. They do sing some traditional Christian hymns, and have some traditional Christian liturgical components, but with the added new agery ritual stuff and sometimes psychological-feel-good speak and (occasionally silly, in my opinion) rituals (but that's more me - I'm not big on the "take a piece of fabric and dance around in response to this reading from Hezekiah" or "Mold this clay to represent the negative thoughts that keep you from feeling good about yourself, and then we'll smash them, and send those thoughts away!").

I do think, though, that they are definitely in the Christian camp (even if they tend to prefer to dance around sprinkling feel-good dust while the baptists sit in the fire and the UCCers enjoy a glass of wine close enough to the fire to keep the chill off, but not so close they get hot).

So I'm surprised that your person didn't like the use of the words you used. Though maybe that's why she left Unity.

[Critters2]

3. She also thinks we should "send peace" out into the world.

I explained that we can't "send peace" because peace doesn't come from us. This is why we pray that God will send peace. So, I guess that's some of that "Christ-consciousness" stuff.

[kwassa]

4. I've been to a local Unity church a few times ...

when I lived out west I spent five years attending a Church of Religious Science, which, like Unity, is a New Thought church. They seem to vary in flavor a great deal depending on local taste. They are also related to Christian Science, though I think they have pretty much dropped the idea that one can heal oneself only with thought, a founding concept way back when.

here is a good summary of the history of the New Thought movement:

http://www.religionfacts.com/a-z-religion-index/new_thought.htm

[mrgorth]

5. I've

attended Unity quite a bit. Sending out peace is absolutely something we would try to do. :)

[Critters2]

6. I have no problem with wanting peace in the world.

I just know enough about human nature to know WE are not the ones who send peace into the world. I'm open to praying for peace as much and as often as humanly possible, though.

[mrgorth]

7. Well

You're certainly allowed to have a different opinion. There are a lot of good resources on Unity out there but not all congregations are the same. I would say that there is a certain amount of "What the Bleep" and Eckhart Tolle philosophy involved. Some kind be a bit "new agey" but not into worshipping crystals or anything. There is a lot of hugging. Unity's own sites or the wikipedia entry would be informative for you. There is definitely respect for other beliefs but not necessarily wholesale adoption. Let me know if you have more questions or need me to send links. Peace. :)

[wryter2000]

8. I've never heard of Unity.

New members shouldn't be dictating what your church should be doing. I hope that isn't too uncharitable of me. :)