Is there only good?
What is bad?
Is there an opposite to good?
What is evil and the devil and disease and suffering and death?
It has been a subject of much debate between traditional religious thinking and new thought.
See below the five principles of Unity Church, a new thought movement begun in the late 1800’s by Charles and Myrtle Filmore.
A Course in Miracles indicates that the world of Meaninglessness in which we live is made-up, an illusion, which we created from a place of fear and guilt, resentment and karma.
This is a radical idea for those of us who grew up in the traditional Christian Church.
However, consider the possibility that what is true is unchanging.
Consider that God is Love and Love is Eternal.
Consider that Love can only create Love.
Consider that God can only create Good.
Perhaps by our very nature, we are Love and we are Good.
Therefore what is bad, evil, fear and hatred, is an error in our thoughts and in our perception.
Consider that we are and we experience what we think.
Consider that when we think there is disease and suffering and evil and duality, there will be.
And if this is true we can change all this by changing our minds and our beliefs and perceptions.
This means my only function is changing my mind.
My only function is forgiving all thought of anything but God and Good and Love and Peace.
Perhaps when I am willing to trust, I will know only Peace.
And when I know only peace I will extend only peace.
When I am ready, willing and able to remember the Love in me and know only Holiness, I see yours.
When I am open to releasing all thought that there is something to be changed and fixed, I will trust.
When I can instantly forgive all experiences that are whole and holy, I will be healed and whole.
When I free myself from the need to believe and belong in the world I see, I will remember and awaken.
Just consider…….
Feel free to share with me….
I am open and willing to listen,
Loving you with trust and freedom,
Betty Lue
New Thought teaches 5 Basic Unity Principles
1. God Is—There is only one Presence and one Power as the universe and as my life, God the Good, Omnipotence.
2. I AM — Our essence is God; therefore, we are inherently good.
3. Thoughts Create — We are creators as God, creating reality through thoughts held in mind.
4. Align With God — Through prayer and meditation, we align our heart and mind with God. Denials and affirmations are tools we use.
5. Live It — Through thoughts, words and actions, we live the Truth we know.
God is Love. • I am Love. • Thought creates Love.
Align with Love. • Live in Love.
I Am Love In The World
Adult Version:
1. There is only one Presence and one Power active as the universe and as my life, God the Good.
2. Our essence is God; therefore, we are inherently good. This God essence, called the Christ, was fully expressed in Jesus.
3. We are creators as God, creating reality through thoughts held in mind.
4. Through prayer and meditation, we align our heart-mind with God. Denials and affirmations are tools we use.
5. Through thoughts, words and actions, we live the Truth we know.
Children’s Version:
1. God is all good and active in everything, everywhere.
2. I am naturally good because God’s Divinity is in me and in everyone.
3. I create my experiences by what I choose to think and what I feel and believe.
4. Through affirmative prayer and meditation, I connect with God and bring out the good in my life.
5. I do and give my best by living the Truth I know. I make a difference!
The five basic ideas that make up the New Thought belief system are:
1. God is the source and creator of all. There is no other enduring power. God is good and present everywhere.
God is all good and active in everything, everywhere.
There is only one Presence and one Power active as the universe and as my life, God the Good.
God, Divine Mind, is the Source and Creator of all. There is no other enduring power. The nature of God is absolute good; therefore, all manifestations partake of good. What is called "evil" is a limited or incomplete expression of God or good. Evil's origin is ignorance.
2. We are spiritual beings, created in God’s image. The spirit of God lives within each person; therefore, all people are inherently good.
I am naturally good because God's Divinity is in me and in everyone.
Our essence is of God; therefore, we are inherently good. This God essence, called the Christ, was fully expressed in Jesus.
We are spiritual beings, ideas in the Mind of God, created in God's image and likeness. The ideal expression for every human being is the pattern every person is seeking to bring forth. Each individual manifests the Christ in his or her own unique fashion. The perfect expression of the Christ is, therefore, different for each person.
3. We create our life experiences through our way of thinking.
I create my experiences by what I choose to think and what I feel and believe.
We are co-creators with God, creating reality through thoughts held in mind.
Jesus was a special person in history who expressed perfection and thereby became the Christ, or Jesus Christ. He was a Teacher who demonstrated the importance of thoughts, words, and deeds in shaping the life and world of the individual.
4. There is power in affirmative prayer, which we believe increases our connection to God.
Through affirmative prayer and meditation, I connect with God and bring out the good in my life.
Through prayer and meditation, we align our heart-mind with God. Denials and affirmations are tools we use.
Jesus' teaching was based on prayer, which to Him was conscious communion with God. Preparation for prayer involves the use of the spoken word, the creative power of God, which is made practical through denials and affirmations. Unity teaches that repeated use of statements of Truth (denials and affirmations) establishes right patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting. This is one way individuals use the creative power of God to take dominion over mind, body, and affairs.
5. Knowledge of these spiritual principles is not enough. We must live them.
I do and give my best by living the Truth I know. I make a difference!
Through thoughts, words and actions, we live the Truth we know.
5 Unity Principles and the Bible
1. God is good
God is absolute good and everywhere present.
There is only One Power and One Presence active in the universe and in my life, God, the Good, Omnipotent.
God is the source and creator of all. There is no other enduring power. God is good and present everywhere.
Biblical reference:
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Ephesians 4: 4-6
4 There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
2. People are good
Since humans are made in the image of God, they have a spark of divinity within them and therefore are inherently good also.
Our essence is of God; therefore, we are inherently good. This God essence was fully expressed in Jesus, the Christ.
We are spiritual beings, created in God’s image. The spirit of God lives within each person; therefore, all people are inherently good.
Biblical reference:
John 10:30
30 The Father and I are one.
John 10:34
34 Jesus answered them: “Is it not written in your law, ‘I have said you are gods’?”
John 14:20
20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
Genesis 1:27
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
3. Thoughts create experiences
Human beings create their experiences by the activity of their thinking. Everything in the manifest realm has its beginning in thoughts.
We are co-creators with God, creating reality through thoughts held in mind.
We create our life experiences through our way of thinking.
Biblical reference:
Galatians 6:7
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
Proverbs 23:7
7 For as he thinketh within himself, so is he.
Matthew 7:7
7 Ask and it will be given to you; search and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you.
4. Prayer is connection
Prayer is creative thinking that heightens the connection with God and therefore brings forth wisdom, healing, prosperity and everything good.
Through affirmative prayer and meditation, I connect with God and bring out the good in my life.
There is power in affirmative prayer, which we believe increases our connection to God.
Biblical reference:
Matthew 6:6
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Thessalonians 5:17
17 pray continually.
Mark 11:24
24 So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours.
John 15:7-8
7 If you abide in m, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit.
5. Action is needed
Knowing and understanding the laws of life—also called truth—is not enough. A person must live the truth that he or she knows.
Through thoughts, words and actions, we live in the truth we know.
Knowledge of these spiritual principles is not enough. We must live them.
Biblical reference:
James 2:14-18
Faith and Deeds
14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
John 13:17
17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
5 BASIC PRINCIPLES
The Five Basic Principles of the Unity Movement
1. God is good.
God is the principle of absolute goodness, everywhere equally present.
2. People are good.
We are made in the image/likeness of God. We have the spark of divinity within us therefore we are also inherently good.
3. Thoughts create experiences.
We create our experiences by the activity of our thinking. Everything in the manifest realm has its beginning in thought.
4. Prayer is the connection.
Affirmative Prayer is the activity that heightens our connection with God, revealing truth, wisdom, and clarity, and bringing about healing, prosperity and good to all who pray believing.
5. Action is needed.
Knowing the truth is not enough. Once we know the truth, we must live the truth we know - "Be a light unto humanity".
Fillmores' great-granddaughter Connie Fillmore Bazzy,
The Five Principles
- God is Absolute Good, everywhere present.
- Human beings have a spark of divinity within them, the Christ spirit within. Their very essence is of God, and therefore they are also inherently good.
- Human beings create their experiences by the activity of their thinking. Everything in the manifest realm has its beginning in thought.
- Prayer is creative thinking that heightens the connection with God-Mind and therefore brings forth wisdom, healing, prosperity and everything good.
Knowing and understanding the laws of life, also called Truth, are not enough. A person must also live the truth that he or she knows.