History of New Thought and Unity

I was born into a Catholic family and was raised Catholic until I was fourteen when my parents converted to Christian fundamentalist. At around the age of nineteen, I realized that my mind could not embrace the belief systems I grew up with, and that I was Interfaith. As the years continued, I identified with Spiritual and Inter-Spiritual. Through this assignment, I see more clearly why it so very difficult for me to talk with my parents. Though we share roots, Jesus, God as Good, Spirit…how we see God (Spirit) in relationship with life is extremely different.

Unity and traditional spirituality both hold a belief in Spirit. Traditional Christianity sees God in three forms, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Unity Christians, see God in One form, pure Spirit. However, both believe in the power of Spirit (Holy Spirit) to work through humans to heal and to perform exceptional feats.  

Both look to Jesus as an exceptional being, who has much to teach us and both look to the bible as sacred text. Traditional Christianity in fundamentalist form, interprets its messages literally and through their lens of Jesus as God in human form sent to relieve human kind of their sinful nature. Unity’s interpretation of the bible is through the lens of Jesus as a physical and spiritual human who reached the pinnacle of the spiritual journey, liberation and mastery of the mind, and complete unity with Spirit (the Infinite Mind). He came into Christ Consciousness. Unity interprets the teachings of Jesus, as our spiritual mentor and his teachings as guidance for our own spiritual journeys towards Christ Consciousness.

Unity and traditional spirituality both hold a belief in Spirit. Though traditional Christianity sees God in three forms, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and Unity Christians, see God in One form, pure Spirit, both believe in the power of Spirit (Holy Spirit) to heal and to perform exceptional feats.

Traditional and Unity Christians both believe in a God who is Good. Traditional Christianity sees God as Good, and believes that that which is not God, is a separate force, evil. It sees God as judgmental and punitive. Unity Christians see God as pure Good, without judgment, always in the form of Spirit, the ultimate and always force for good, always there for humans to connect to and live in partnership with. Challenges and struggles come from being separated from God (Spirit) via one’s thoughts and lack of consciousness. Unity Christians do not believe in evil as a separate force, opposite to God. They see evil as separation from Spirit, being unconscious of Spirit, thinking in a way that prevents oneness with Spirit.

Unity’s perspective avoids duality, the separating of people or anything in life into good and bad. Instead, we are all in this life together, to journey to Oneness within, and to Oneness of All. To see even the gravest affronts, not as evil, but as coming from minds that are separated from their inner divinity, makes sense… I have lived the duality of traditional Christianity, it separates people into “saved” and “unsaved”, “good” and “bad”.  Unity’s Oneness, understanding that no one is outside of God’s good grace, ever, that God is just a breath away (within us), seems like a way of thinking just right for challenges humanity faces today.