CULTS OF OUR DAY: PART W O
UNITY
is that man is not a sinner and of a personal God and Saviour
The very heart of Unity teaching that therefore he is not in need
T. Talbot
By Louis
deplores the other. We must relieve our mind o f these ideas •of a personal God ruling over us in an arbitrary manner” (p. 23). Our Bible is full of references that prove that our God does exhibit all the attributes of personality. In Psalm 7:11 we read: ". . . God is angry with the wicked every day.” We could fill this article with verses that show Him feeling every emotion that He Himself has put into the heart and mind of man, and yet without sin. As He is perfect, His very anger, His judgment, and o f course, His love, are flawless. Dr. Fleener, who made a very thorough study of Unity, stated that at the source o f all o f Unity’s teachings about God is that He is inexorable Principle. What a horrible conception — how cold, how dead, how unfeeling, how unlovable. Thank God, that is not the God o f the Scriptures. That Principle is nothing at all, just a myth invented by godless minds. In Lessons in Truth by Cady, one o f the textbooks of Unity, we read: "He is principle, impersonal; as expressed in each individual, He becomes personal to that one” (p. 11). On page 10 of the same volume it is stated: "Child like, untrained minds say God is a personal being . . . Broader and more learned minds are always cramped by the thought of God as a person, for personality limits to place and time.” Jesus said of the Father: " . . . I will pray the Father for you: For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God” (John 16:26, 27). And when He was nearing the cross: "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee” (John 17:1). And then followed His high priestly prayer. There is a holy intimacy expressed here between the Father and Son that proves the personality of the Godhead. The Lord Jesus did not lift His eyes or CONT INUED
*W" -w - aving endeavored to show to some extent what J Unity School of Christianity has done with the I Word of God, we now look into the writings of their founders and leaders to discover how they have dealt with the God of the Word. First of all, we note its similarity o f terms with'that of Christian Science, and we have explained how that came to be since Unity developed from Christian Science. Incorpor ating much o f Christian Science and New Thought in its creed, it finally made a complete break with those organiza tions and founded its own work in Kansas City (the work has since been moved in toto to Lee’s Summit, M o.). Woodbury* states: "In essence, Unity presents God as Spirit, Principle and the Fount of all things good. Man reflects and inherits these qualities, it is held, and through positive affirmations o f belief can manifest his oneness with his Creator. Then when this oneness is attained, good health, prosperity, and happiness are sure to follow.” It is clear that Unity does not believe any more than Mrs. Eddy did that God is a Person, with the intelligence, will, emotion and ability to think and act which denote person ality. Charles Fillmore stated it bluntly: "God is not loving . . . God does not love anybody or anything. God is the love in everybody and everything. God is love,” ( Jesus Christ Heals, p. 13). This is a direct denial of John 3:16 and thousands of Christ’s own words in regard to the personal love o f a personal God for actual individuals. But he goes on: "From the teaching that the Deity is a person we have come to believe that God is changeable; that He gets angry with His people and condemns them; that some are chosen and favored above others; that in His sight good and evil are verities and that He defends the one and * From American magazine, March 1947, “Merchandisers of Faith,” Clarence Woodbury.
17
N O V E M B E R , 1 9 5 5
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker