The Unity Cult which is a part of the New Thought Movement

[JustaServant]

Curiously enough. the Unity movement served as the basis for much of the Word of Faith, Name it and Claim it theology of modern televangelism.

 

[anp1215]

IMO, Unity is kind of New Agey. Here is a list of their basic beliefs.

                                         Basic Unity Beliefs

The following are the five basic principles that are the foundation of our Unity beliefs.

1. God is absolute good, everywhere present.
2. Human beings have a spark of divinity within them, the Christ spirit within. Their very essence is of God, and therefore they are also inherently good.
3. Human beings create their experiences by the activity of their thinking. Everything in the manifest realm has its beginnings in thought.
4. Prayer is creative thinking that heightens the connection with God-Mind and therefore brings forth wisdom, healing, prosperity, and everything good.
5. Knowing and understanding the laws of life, also called Truth are not enough. A person must also live the Truth that he or she knows.

Yes, I agreed that they are New Age-y. I have read their beliefs as well. They mix Christianity in with the New Age. Not all that uncommon these days.

 

[Steph121]

I was involved for a number of years, and still do some of the prayers. So, I can be Catholic and still find their prayers most helpful. Afterall, Catholics believe in the power of prayer too. The emphasis is on spiritual growth.

There is a Unity Center across the street from my church and so I’ve attended a couple of services out of curiosity. It was a pleasant experience; the people were incredibly nice and I enjoyed learning more about a different religion first hand. It made me appreciate Catholicism even more.

Occassionally, I do still listen to podcasts by a Unity Church in Hawaii. I find them thoughtful and inspirational.

 

[Holly3278]

The reason why I called them a cult is because they claim to be Christian and a church but yet they are nothing of the sort. They do believe in Jesus and the Bible but their beliefs are so far away from orthodox Christianity that you could hardly call them a Christian religion. In fact, I’d say Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are closer to being Christian (even though they technically are not Christian either) than the Unity church is. In my opinion, the Unity church is nothing more than a small New Age religion that for some reason claims to be a Christian religion when it most certainly is not Christian.

 

[Holly3278]

I’ve looked into Unity as I have numerous faiths over the course of my lifetime. I tend though to actually go to official websites of faiths or websites of my local churches or faith communities. Or to even correspond with their clergy. I’ve not done so with my local Unity Church’s pastor. But I was under the impression they believe Christ was the Son of God and that each of us are sons and daughters of God. Is that sort of what you mean?

I’m not sure how much emphasis they place on an afterlife in heaven or hell. They do appear to me though to emphasize living the example of Christ in the here and now.

Hey there CMatt. I used to be just like you. I would look at numerous faiths and yes, I would look at their official websites and even correspond with the clergy whether by e-mail, over the phone, or in person. I would usually even personally visit their church or meeting place or whatever. Regretfully so, I even did some of this wandering around after I converted to Catholicism. Now I have finally settled down and am no longer a wanderer. I am firm as a Catholic and have no intention of going anywhere else as I am firmly convinced that the Catholic Church is the only religion with all of the Truth that God has revealed to us.

That said, what, if anything, did you find attractive about Unity?

 

[CMatt25]

Hey there CMatt. I used to be just like you. I would look at numerous faiths and yes, I would look at their official websites and even correspond with the clergy whether by e-mail, over the phone, or in person. I would usually even personally visit their church or meeting place or whatever. Regretfully so, I even did some of this wandering around after I converted to Catholicism. Now I have finally settled down and am no longer a wanderer. I am firm as a Catholic and have no intention of going anywhere else as I am firmly convinced that the Catholic Church is the only religion with all of the Truth that God has revealed to us.

That said, what, if anything, did you find attractive about Unity?

Hi Holly, you actually then took further steps than I have at least to date. Outside of something like attending a UMC wedding, I’ve actually never set foot yet into any non Catholic church or community for actual Sunday worship. It has crossed my mind though.

In any case what I like about Unity is what appears to be their emphasis on living the spirit of Christ. And they don’t seem all that judgmental to me. But at the same time I’m probably personally a bit too traditional so what just I personally might have some difficulty with would be the non Trinitarian aspect and less emphasis on the afterlife. But if it works for someone in their walk to bring them closer to God and living the spirit of Jesus, then that’s fine by me.

God blessings to you for a healthy, happy new year.

 

[Holly3278]

Hi Holly, you actually then took further steps than I have at least to date. Outside of something like attending a UMC wedding, I’ve actually never set foot yet into any non Catholic church or community for actual Sunday worship. It has crossed my mind though.

In any case what I like about Unity is what appears to be their emphasis on living the spirit of Christ. And they don’t seem all that judgmental to me. But at the same time I’m probably personally a bit too traditional so what just I personally might have some difficulty with would be the non Trinitarian aspect and less emphasis on the afterlife. But if it works for someone in their walk to bring them closer to God and living the spirit of Jesus, then that’s fine by me.

God blessings to you for a healthy, happy new year.

Thanks for answering my questions CMatt and for responding to my post.

That said, what do you mean by their emphasis on “living the spirit of Christ”? And yeah, they probably aren’t that judgmental but I don’t know too many judgmental Catholics either. I mean, sure, I know some Catholics, and I am one of them, that aren’t afraid to speak out about what they believe and aren’t afraid to speak the Truth about other religions and things that are considered sinful and stuff but there is nothing at all wrong with that. I believe we should speak out and tell the Truth about other religions and things that are sinful.

That said, I am not sure but I think I read from one of their books or something that they believe that somehow eventually humans and the earth or something will all evolve into humans and a earth that is perfect.

I also recall reading some stuff on their website about healing yourself by expelling negative energies or something through certain points of your body and out of you. I think it was similar to chakras or something like that. I think they may also have some sort of belief in reiki which is condemned by Catholic teachings and so is chakras too I think.

But yeah, from what I understand, they incorporate a lot of beliefs from Eastern religions and such too. To be honest with you, they have a lot of beliefs that seem strange to me. They also have a lot of outright false and dangerous beliefs. I honestly think belief in reiki or chakras is a dangerous belief. To me, I think things like this and practicing such things could easily open oneself up to demonic spirits and demonic involvement.

Anyway, if I were you, I’d steer clean of the Unity church. They are not a true church and many of their beliefs are absolutely false. Jesus Christ revealed the Truth to us and the fullness of that Truth is found in the Catholic Church and only in the Catholic Church and not some new age cult like Unity.

 

[havana1]

The reason why I called them a cult is because they claim to be Christian and a church but yet they are nothing of the sort. They do believe in Jesus and the Bible but their beliefs are so far away from orthodox Christianity that you could hardly call them a Christian religion. In fact, I’d say Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are closer to being Christian (even though they technically are not Christian either) than the Unity church is. In my opinion, the Unity church is nothing more than a small New Age religion that for some reason claims to be a Christian religion when it most certainly is not Christian.

Unity’s definitely not a cult. Nobody forced to attend against their will. No supreme leader. No drinking of spiked kool aid. OTOH, James Arthur Ray’s “spiritual warrior” retreats and sweat lodges in Sedona where people died, the word “cult” showed up all over the court transcripts…

 

[CMatt25]

Thanks for answering my questions CMatt and for responding to my post.

That said, what do you mean by their emphasis on “living the spirit of Christ”? And yeah, they probably aren’t that judgmental but I don’t know too many judgmental Catholics either. I mean, sure, I know some Catholics, and I am one of them, that aren’t afraid to speak out about what they believe and aren’t afraid to speak the Truth about other religions and things that are considered sinful and stuff but there is nothing at all wrong with that. I believe we should speak out and tell the Truth about other religions and things that are sinful.

Anyway, if I were you, I’d steer clean of the Unity church. They are not a true church and many of their beliefs are absolutely false. Jesus Christ revealed the Truth to us and the fullness of that Truth is found in the Catholic Church and only in the Catholic Church and not some new age cult like Unity.

Holly, you’re welcome but no problem.

What I meant was their belief that every person can strive to be more Christ like in their everyday lives. Thru love, service here on earth for instance. Catholics of course can and do so as well.

An example though of one of my biggest problems with Catholic judgement is the “could not be saved” judgement we find in CCC 846. “Could not” is a tense of “can not”. If the Catholic Church means “might not”, then I just think that is what She should have said in order to be clearer that they are not judging that someone can not be saved.

Of course you can speak out on what you believe. But that’s the key point. On what you or someone believes. Believing has as a component some degree of faith.

Don’t worry too much though about me personally getting into the Unity Church. If you want to worry about me, if I ever did look to attend another, I’d be more inclined to check out something a bit more mainline. But that’s just me. Someone else though might find their spiritual path in the Unity Church as far as I know. Peace.