unity_christian

Unity follows the teachings of Jesus as interpreted by Unity School and varies from traditional Christian doctrine primarily in its understanding of Jesus and the purpose of his life and teachings.

Traditional Christian image of Jesus¹:

It emphasizes

·his identity: that he was the Son of God,
·the ‘light of the world’, the ‘bread of life’,
·the promised messiah who will come again, and so forth, and
·that he knew this about himself.
·the saving significance of his death and sees it as the purpose of his life;
·he died for our sins.
·the miraculous, especially the virgin birth and physical bodily resurrection.
·Jesus is the only way of salvation and that Christianity is therefore the only true religion.”

Unity Image of Jesus:

·Jesus was a man
·He became god-like (aware of his oneness with God)
·It was revelation, not divine birth that brought him to this state
·He made the great discovery of the indwelling spirit within him and came to express it fully and perfectly
·Jesus is not the great exception (God made flesh) but the great example of man who became fully self realized (God like)
·The example from Jesus teachings and demonstrations offer a path we can follow to experience our own transformation; i.e. the Truth can set us free.
·Our relationship with God is the only thing that matters
·Realizing our inner divine selves is the way to eliminate suffering - i.e. the way of salvation

¹Marcus Borg - The Heart of Christianity