pantheism of Unity shows through every statement their leaders have made. Further comment on the atonement as conceived by Unity is scarcely necessary. Charles Fillmore, founder and leader, wrote volumes on the subject. From his article entitled "Atonement” in Unity of April 1954, Vol. 120, No. 4 we quote some excerpts which will answer any doubt that anyone may have as to Unity’s repudiation of the atoning sacrifice of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; my comments appear in brackets : "The subject of atonement is outstanding in Christian theology. Popular teaching in the church is that Jesus was the only begotten Son of God and that His death on the Cross moved God to forgive the sins of the world. 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ This has been described as the most impor tant verse in the New Testament. Interpreters of the teach ings of Jesus disagree; there is some confusion on this point o f just how the death of Jesus atoned for the sins o f all men. Church authorities accept as a matter of course the belief that God is a personal being and can be dealt with as an earthly ruler. They believe that when His people transgress His laws, they must make sacrifice to appease the anger of their Monarch. [This is o f course not the Christian conception; one sacrifice for all was made by Christ to reconcile us to God.] . . . The New Testament presents no detailed theory o f atonement. [This is not true.] In the early church the relation of Jesus’ suffering for the reconcil iation o f man received little attention.” [This is another lie, for the preaching of the cross and Christ’s resurrection was the only theme o f the early church.] "That Jesus paid a ransom for man was a - common thought. But to whom it was paid and how it resulted in the salvation of man were questions answered crudely or not at all. [Fillmore by-passed the entire New Testament and much of the Old to come to this conclusion.] Some, includ ing Irenaeus, Origen, and Augustine, conceived that the ransom was given to Satan. [This is not true.] Man, by sin, fell into the power of Satan. God who is just to everyone made a bargain with Satan by which Satan consented to receive Jesus as the ransom for man. But Hades could not keep the Holy One of God, and so Satan lost both Jesus and humanity. This mythological tale o f trickery had a strong appeal and was used with increasing dramatic effect in popular explanations of Christianity. [But not by anyone who believed God’s Word.] ^ ^ p ^ h e s e theories of the sin-offering o f Jesus are con ceived with the personal-God idea. They carry out the pagan concept of a big god who becomes very i angry with his disobedient children and can be mollified only with a human sacrifice. [What happened to John 3:16?] A correct understanding by man of God as the supreme creative Mind creating under laws that must be observed by both Creator and creation, reveals how broken law may be mended by one who is willing to make certain sacrifices” ( Teach Us to Pray by Chas. and Cora Fillmore).
[Now here comes the Unity-man-made salvation — so much better, they think, than the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross for poor lost sinners. All the cults use terms like this to catch the unwary; what do they care for 'the precious blood’ ? They trample this blood beneath their feet, and every day 'crucify to themselves the Son o f God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.’ ] "Through His suffering there Jesus lowered His consciousness to the con sciousness of the race, thereby administering to the whole race a blood transfusion, imparting to both the soul and body o f men the properties o f Being that will restore man to his divine estate. [In other words, making them gods too.] With their blood transfusions the medical men of today are copying this grand transfusion of life. We are on the way to fulfillment and the Jesus Christ way! "Jesus Christ broadcast the electrons of His blood into the race thought atmosphere, and they may be apprehended by all who believe in Him. These electrons become centers of energy and life in those who appropriate them, and thus men gradually transform and regenerate their blood and their body. This is the real spiritual meaning o f being saved by Christ.” [This is Unity salvation: it is for the body.] "The blood is the life. [But only the physical, not the spiritual life.] Jesus really came to bring to the whole human family a larger consciousness o f life. He said, 'I am come that ye may have life, and may have it more abun dantly.’ ” [This passage, John 10:10, appears in connection with Christ’s announcement that He, as the Good Shepherd, would lay down His life for the sheep; only after sin is atoned for and forgiven can one have an 'abundant life.’ ] ' ■ ife is a universal energy that moves even the cor puscles of the blood. Therefore life is more powerful .than the blood. Consequently we believe that it was ® “ through the 'shedding,’ the getting rid of, [This is the wrong translation in this case of shed which has two meanings, to pour out, which is the one here; and to drop o f or get rid o f ] the idea of flesh and blood that Jesus accomplished His great works. [This is another lie; the human nature with which Jesus was born was holy, called 'that holy thing’ and of course as God, He was sinless too.] He tapped the reservoir o f divine life and raised His con sciousness of life to that of the Father. Through Him we all have access to this perpetual life stream. We must really eat of His substance, as He taught us; that is, we must appropriate it as spiritually ours. We must drink o f His blood; let His life stream flow through our mind and body, healing, cleansing, and purifying us in every way. This is the grand at-one-ment of man’s life with the life of God through Jesus Christ” (pp. 64, 65). Unity’s view of the atonement is very confusing and can really only be understood when one makes a study o f the kind of salvation for which its followers are making prepar ation. It is quite clear that their paradise is attained only when the true spiritual body replaces the physical body and man becomes like Jesus Christ, and this is to be accom plished here on earth. NEXT MONTH: Unity and Healing.
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