In the early 70s my husband and I attended a Unity School of Christianity at the Unity Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. They seemed to be saying that the scriptures were to be interpreted metaphysically. Would you agree with that? If so, just what does that mean? I am a former Catholic nun and my husband a former Catholic priest. I find your writings clearly express what I can believe about the Jesus of history. For seven years now I have been an active member of the ELCA Church.

Dear Shirley,

There is a wonderful Unity Church in Little Rock and on two occasions I have had the privilege of lecturing there and have always enjoyed that contact. On both occasions they had a female vocalist that I especially enjoyed.

Unity does tend to read the scriptures metaphysically. That is a slippery word, but as they see it, it means first, that they do not read the scriptures literally and second, they see the scriptures pointing beyond its words to a realm of transcendent meaning that is not always apparent to the casual reader. I have always enjoyed the Unity Movement. They wallow neither in the bankrupt tradition of original sin nor in the story of Jesus as God’s divine rescue of this fallen creature that was achieved in the crucifixion, which theology I think of primarily as a guilt-producing violation of Christianity’s deepest meaning. They emphasize human potential and human growth and seek to empower people to become all that they can be. That is quite consistent, I believe, with the Christian message especially as the more mystical gospel of John understands it.

Whether Unity would meet the yearnings of a former nun and priest for a rich liturgical life, I cannot say, but I do find them to be pastorally sensitive and willing to accept everyone as he or she is and to nurture everyone’s faith into new dimensions. I hope you will give them a look.

John Shelby Spong

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