Unity is a worldwide Christian organization
with an extremely positive approach to life, seeking to accept the good
in people and in all life. God is seen as having many attributes, but
the most important is LOVE. Unity stresses that God is not a physical
man in the sky, for that limits our understanding. God is Spirit,
everywhere present, the one and only Spirit behind, in, and through all
things, visible and invisible.
Unity denies the
existence of any power or presence opposed to God. It sees that there
are evil appearances and suffering in the world, but attributes these to
man's ignorance and erroneous use of God's law of life.
Unity explains
that the mind is our connecting link with God, or Divine Mind, and shows
how the action of our mind affects our body and circumstances. Much
emphasis is placed on the effective power that thoughts, feelings, words
and acts have upon our life.
Prayer is not seen
as a technique for changing God, but for expanding and transforming our
minds, and thus changing us.
Unity seeks to
relate religion to daily needs, affirming that for every need there is
God's perfect answer. Its main textbook is The bible and it relates its
lessons to your life and everyday experiences.
Unity does break
from tradition in that it has no creedal requirements, dogma, rituals,
or ecclesiastical garb. Unity chooses to believe that there is good in
every religion. Different religions are like spokes on a wheel with the
hub being God. They may be set apart by variances of beliefs and
approaches, but they are all seeking the one God as the hub of all life.
Consequently, Unity does not deny anyone the right to have his/her own
beliefs.
Unity sees worship
as serving God by uplifting and glorifying God's spirit in man, in
positive, joyous ways. It seeks not to emphasize one's sins of the past,
but instead gives attention to the good that exists in every person and
what can be done with the now to transform one's self and life.
Unity does not
impose any financial burdens or pressure on its adherents. It believes
the desire for giving should be initiated from within the giver.
Consequently, all support is by free will offerings.
Unity is
interdenominational and welcomes in dignity and love, people of all
races, colors, religions, social backgrounds, and economic levels.
Because of
similarity in names, Unity has on occasion been confused with other
organizations. However, there is no connection between Unity and
Unitarianism or the Unification Church.
In summation, Unity
emphasizes the divine potential within every child of God and teaches
that through a practical understanding and application of what Jesus
taught every person can realize and express his/her divine potential for
a happier, fuller and more successful life.
NATURE OF GOD
God is not a person
that is somewhere. God is Spirit that is everywhere present and only
good. God expresses as the life, love, intelligence and power which
permeates all creation.
NATURE OF MAN/WOMAN
These are three
aspects to the nature of man/woman. We are spirit (our Divine Christ
identity), soul (the sum of our thoughts and feelings), and body (the
physical expression of our souls).
JESUS CHRIST
In Unity, Jesus is
recognized as our Way shower. He understood His own divine nature, which
is the Christ, and He provides for us the true example of how each human
being is capable of becoming more Christlike.
MEDITATION AND
PRAYER
Meditation is the
process of listening to the "still small voice" of God within us. Prayer
is the process of aligning our daily thoughts and attitudes with the
positive revelations that come in our quiet times of meditation.
THE BIBLE
The Bible was
written over an extremely long period of time, by different authors who
were expressing various degrees of spiritual understanding. Although the
writings were, no doubt, divinely inspired, they were not written with
the intention that they would become sacred scriptures; the authors were
influenced by the cultural circumstances and needs of the times. Clearly
this collection of writings reveals the unfolding nature of man's
understanding of God. Embodied in the Bible are universal principles
which can provide inspiration and guidance of the inner Spirit of Truth,
which Jesus said "will teach you all things." (John: 14:26) In Unity, we
do not interpret the Bible literally; instead we study the deeper
meanings and messages that can be found in these historical writings,
and we look for ways that these meanings can be applied to our daily
lives.
HEAVEN
Jesus taught that
the Kingdom of Heaven is within us (Luke 17:21). Heaven is an experience
which is immediately available to us whenever we align our souls
(thoughts and feelings) with the awareness of our divine inner nature
and our oneness with God.
HELL
Hell, like heaven,
is an experience that is always "available" to us. When we allow
circumstances or appearances to interrupt our awareness of our oneness
with God, then our lives begin to reflect a sense of separation. Hell is
the experience of "not-at-one" with God.
SIN AND EVIL
Sin can be best
understood as error thinking. Any thought that does not reflect our
oneness with God or the divine nature of man/woman is an error thought.
Error thinking can lead to conditions of lack or limitation in our
lives, such as sickness or poverty. These "evils" (limiting conditions)
can be erased from our lives through correct thinking.
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The Spiritual Enrichment Center serves the Dothan, Alabama and Wiregrass New Thought spiritual community, with the teachings of Unity and Religious Science. In September, 2005 we moved into our newly remodeled building at 942 South Oates St., Dothan, AL 36301, 334-794-2840 (Click address for map.)
