The Unity School of Christianity is a pseudo-Christian sect founded in 1889 by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. It is the largest of the mind science cults. Unity publications include Unity, Daily Word, and Wee Wisdom, a children's magazine.

The origins of Unity, as is the case with Christian Science and New Thought, can be traced to the metaphysical writings of Phineas Parkhurst Quimby. While Unity denies a Quimby connection, there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate Quimby's influence. Prior to founding Unity, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore were both involved in Christian Science. Charles maintained an ongoing interest in the occult, spiritism, and eastern religions, which also influenced Unity's teachings.

Unity claims to be "the practical application in everyday life of the principles of Truth taught and exemplified by Jesus Christ, as interpreted in the light of modern-day experience by Unity School of Christianity and the Association of Unity Churches" (Twenty Questions About Unity, p. 1). As we shall see, Unity uses Christian terminology, but denies and reinterprets every essential doctrine of historic Christianity. What follows is a comparison of Unity School of Christianity teachings with that of historic Christianity.

CONCERNING GOD

UNITY:Unity teaches pantheism. "God is the name we give to that unchangeable, inexorable principle at the source of all existence ... God is not a being, but Being itself" (Metaphysics 1, p.7).

BIBLE: God is a being. "God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you'" (Exodus 3:14).

CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST

UNITY: Unity denies the deity of Jesus Christ. "Jesus was a person in history who expressed perfection and thereby became the Christ, of Jesus Christ" (Twenty Questions About Unity, p. 2).

"Christ is not a person. It is not Jesus. Christ is a degree of stature that Jesus attained, but a degree of potential stature that dwells in every man" (Metaphysics 2, p. 2).

BIBLE: The word 'Christ' is a title. It applies only to Jesus. "The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus" (John 1:41-42).

Jesus is God. "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" (John 8:58)

CONCERNING THE HOLY SPIRIT

UNITY: he Holy Spirit is not a person. T "Third in the Trinity is Expression - the creative activity of God, also referred to as "The Comforter," "The Holy Spirit,"... It is through this creative activity of God that we experience our divine potential" (Metaphysics 1, p. 24).

BIBLE: The Holy Spirit is a person. He possesses the essential elements of being -- mind, will, and emotion. "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him nor knows Him" (John 14:16-17).

CONCERNING THE ATONEMENT

UNITY: Unity rejects Christ's sacrifice on the cross. "Atonement is the spiritual experience in which we as individuals participate in conscious oneness with God. Though Jesus Christ did not accomplish this for us, by His life and teaching He showed us exactly the steps we must take to enter into this state of consciousness as He did" (Metaphysics 2, p. 3).

BIBLE: Jesus Christ redeemed us on the cross. "He poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors, For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for transgressors" (Isaiah 53:12).

CONCERNING SALVATION

UNITY: Salvation is by works. "Salvation is a process that takes place within our own consciousness, not through the person named Jesus. We as individuals must cooperate with God in our own spiritual transformation just as Jesus did" (Metaphysics 2, p. 4).

BIBLE: Salvation is by grace, through faith in the finished work of Christ. It cannot be earned. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

REINCARNATION

UNITY: Unity accepts reincarnation. "Reincarnation is the process by which we have opportunity for successive experiences of embodiment on the earth. We are given all the lifetimes we need in order to develop our spiritual awareness and to demonstrate our divine nature" (Metaphysics 1, p. 83).

BIBLE: After death comes the judgment. We do not receive additional chances. "But at that time your people -- everyone whose name is found written in the book -- will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:1-2).

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people (Hebrews 9:27-28).

HEAVEN AND HELL

UNITY: Heaven and Hell do not exist. "Neither Heaven nor Hell are geographic locations: Rather they are states of consciousness" (Metaphysics 1, p. 45).

BIBLE: Hell is a real place. "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment ..." (2 Peter 2:4).

Heaven is a real place. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Matthew 24:35).

FAITH

UNITY: Faith is a creative force; words are the container of that force. "All words are formative but not all words are creative....Words themselves are not the power but carry the power of the thoughts they represent" (Metaphysics 1, p. 30).

As you affirm God as your supply and support, your words will in due season become substance to you. (Metaphysics 2, p. 78)

BIBLE: The word 'faith' means to trust. It is not a creative force. "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand" (Romans 5:1-2).