Nothing means what it seems to mean to the Unity "interpreter.” The wonderful occurrences in connection with the Virgin Birth o f the Son o f God have been distorted into a caricature o f metaphysical imaginings. Charles Fillmore wrote a book entitled Mysteries o f Genesis in which he taught his kind o f "Bible interpreta tion.” The book is a grotesque parody on the first book o f the Bible. » is estimate o f Genesis is stated on Page 13: "The whole Genesis record is an allegory explaining just what takes place in the mind o f each indi vidual in his unfoldment from the idea to the manifest. God, the great universal mind, brought forth an idea, a man, perfect like Himself, and that perfect man is essentially in every individual, working himself into mani festation in compliance with law.” He elsewhere calls Genesis, "interesting, if not accurate,” and states that Biblical words have an "inner” and an "outer” meaning. He o f course gives the "inner.” For instance in his allegorical method, "day” in Genesis becomes "a state o f mind in which intelligence dominates” ; "firma ment” is "faith.” He goes on "Jehovah (I am) in the Hebrew is written Yahweh. Yah is the masculine and weh is the feminine. The word is made up o f masculine and feminine elements and represents the joining together o f wisdom and love as ' a procreating nucleus” ( Mysteries o f Genesis, Fillmore, p. 32 ). This goes beyond allegory. It is a complete falsification o f the word, Yahweh, the archaic word for the name o f God, from the imperfect o f the verb hajah, to he or become. So literally it can be translated "H e who in the absolute sense exists and who manifests his existence and his char acter” (Ex. 3:13, 15 ). This translation is as close as our English can come; the gender has no connection with it. Fillmore had no higher education but he could have checked this with a Hebrew concordance in the interest o f accuracy. In his Twelve Powers o f Man, Fillmore, reaches the heights o f absurdity (p. 16 ). The 12 disciples become parts o f the body: Peter is faith or center o f the brain; Andrew, the loins or strength; James, the son o f Zebedee, pit o f the stomach or discrimination or judgment; John, back o f the heart, love; Philip, root o f tongue, power; Bartholomew, between the eyes, imagination; Thomas, front brain, under standing; Matthew, center front brain, will; James, son o f Alphaeus, navel, order; Simon, the Canaanaean, back head, medulla, zeal; Thaddeus, abdominal region, renunciation or elimination; Judas, generative functions, life conserver. * ou do not find many outright denials that the Bible is the W ord o f God in Unity. You find something far more subtle and deadly. The "metaphysical interpretation” can make any verse mean whatever the teacher desires without reference to semantics whatsoever. What utter arrogance to take the
plain words o f Scripture and thus "interpret” them! "What is it to be 'born o f water’ and 'born o f . . . the Spirit?’ "T o be 'born o f water’ is to be cleansed o f moral impurity, sin and materiality, through denial. To be 'born o f the Spirit’ is to come into the consciousness o f the divine law o f Being, lifting up the whole man into a new life o f harmony and order by affirmative prayer” ( Weekly Unity, Feb. 13, 1955). One feels when reading these passages that the person who wrote them must have had a box full o f words printed on slips o f paper; that he closed his eyes, and reached into the box, and whatever words he pulled out, he strung them together, without any attempt to make sense. In spite o f their utter inconsistency, however, Satan uses them to confuse the minds o f those who get entangled in such systems. W e read in 2 Thes., second chapter, that in the last days men shall "believe a lie” because they "received not the love o f the truth.” Anything can happen to the souls who tamper with this deadly poison. It sounds too foolish to be believed by rational men but when Christ is rejected, people become "vain in their imaginations” and their hearts are "darkened.” Here is another example o f Unity teaching: "W hy is God 'no respecter o f persons?’ Because God is impersonal Spirit, the Spirit o f perfection, and with this supreme excellence the petty attitude o f personality has nothing to do. Absolute impartiality and utter impersonality are attributes o f the Deity. In this Spirit all become one and indivisible” ( Weekly Unity, Dec. 13, 1953). I n order to really understand the answer to this ques tion, one needs only to turn to the passage in Acts 10:34, 35 and read it: "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, O f a tmth I perceive that God is no respecter o f persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” Its self- evident meaning is clear to anyone o f average intelligence. Unity distorts the Word o f God, destroys its meaning and leads its followers into such an intellectual and spiritual maze that only the power o f God can ever extricate them. W e read in the Psalms "Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil” (Ps. 5 6 :5 ). There is a terrible denunciation o f such false prophets in 2 Pet. 2:1-3: "But there were false prophets also among the peo ple, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destmction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason o f whom the way o f truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise o f you: whose judgment now o f a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” NEXT MONTH Unity and God
O C TO B ER , 1955
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