Are there New Age practices within Unity?

Bendee · #1 (**permalink**) 29th October 2006, 01:28 AM

Are there New Age practices within Unity?

Even though there is a difference between "New Thought" and "New Age," am I correct is noting many similarities in Unity thought and principals to New Age thought and practices?

I have often heard of Unity described as the "New Age" church. There is certainly the thought out there that Unity is for those who are interested in new age ideas. So, where are we similar and where might we differ?

Charles Fillmore, one of the co-founders of Unity, was very interested in looking at new ideas and exploring their validity through "scientifically" applying the ideas to his life to see if they made a difference. There was a time, for example, that Charles and Myrtle explored psychic phenomena. However, they came to the conclusion that for them, it was a distraction from the spiritual path rather than leading them deeper into an awareness of the presence of God within their lives. Typically, you will not find mediumship, therefore, within a Unity church. However, some of our rituals do take on a "new age" feel. The burning bowl ceremony, for example, is done for the new year in which we release that which no longer serves us. Last year, we also included the white stone ceremony at Unity in Edinboro in which we became aware of the quality that we wished to embody over the next year. Because these ceremonies are not found in a typical christian church, some might argue that they are "new age."

As in the new age movement, Unity accepts that there are many paths to God and acknowledges that there are infinite ways to become aware of the divine. Unity also acknowledges that God is within all that is. Some would say that this is pantheistic. However, we do not worship a tree, for example, as God. We simply acknowledge that the spirit of God is present within the tree. This is a panentheistic rather than a pantheistic approach to life.

Meditation is often found in the New Age movement. Clearly, meditation is a practice that is encouraged within Unity as a way to become aware of the presence of God within your life. And yet, meditation has existed throughout ancient times and was clearly utilized by Jesus to listen to the voice of God. Although many Christian churches have moved away from meditation, it does seem to be making a come back.

Unity is about discovering the Spirit of Christ within yourself. There is no need to look to outside channels and intermediaries to know God. You need only look within. It is my hope that any practice within Unity in Edinboro that may seem to be "new age" actually take you deeper within yourself, and not into dependence upon an outside soure.

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