Do You Have the Right Christ?
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UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISM - IS EVERYONE GOING TO HEAVEN?
I attended a Univeralist church one time while I lived in Los Angeles. I never sought out church while I lived in L.A. but I was invited to this Universalist church to hear a speaker and that speaker was none other than my acting coach! I loved my acting class and all of the freedom we had in discovering life and developing our path on the journey of life so I relished the idea of hearing my coach speak outside of our class and attended that Sunday morning.
It might be a good time to tell you that my acting class was steeped in New Age spirituality! And yet this church, called The Onion, was thrilled to have my acting coach come and talk to them about the journey of life and how healing is available for people through finding one's personal truths. The Onion believed the way that my acting coach did, that as we peel layer after layer off of ourselves we get to the truth of who we are. They both taught that masks were the problem, us trying to be something we are not, and that we would find true fulfillment in life the more we peeled the false layers away. It was noted that it is painful to peel a layer off because these layers were often intermingled with family issues or other burdens we had taken on but that it was necessary in order to really enjoy life.
I remember being somewhat confused why my acting teacher would agree to teach at a church because he had already made it clear that his class had nothing to do with Christianity and especially not Jesus Christ, but I didn't think about it much past that one visit to The Onion. Now in looking back I can see clearly that The Onion was an alternative church that really could've even dropped the church title and just had New Age meetings in a regular meeting hall. Let's take a look at Universalism and the Universalist/Unitarian church denomination:
It might be a good time to tell you that my acting class was steeped in New Age spirituality! And yet this church, called The Onion, was thrilled to have my acting coach come and talk to them about the journey of life and how healing is available for people through finding one's personal truths. The Onion believed the way that my acting coach did, that as we peel layer after layer off of ourselves we get to the truth of who we are. They both taught that masks were the problem, us trying to be something we are not, and that we would find true fulfillment in life the more we peeled the false layers away. It was noted that it is painful to peel a layer off because these layers were often intermingled with family issues or other burdens we had taken on but that it was necessary in order to really enjoy life.
I remember being somewhat confused why my acting teacher would agree to teach at a church because he had already made it clear that his class had nothing to do with Christianity and especially not Jesus Christ, but I didn't think about it much past that one visit to The Onion. Now in looking back I can see clearly that The Onion was an alternative church that really could've even dropped the church title and just had New Age meetings in a regular meeting hall. Let's take a look at Universalism and the Universalist/Unitarian church denomination:
Let's look at the following information that has been copied over from a website:
http://www.religionfacts.com/a-z-religion-index/unitarian_universalism.htm"Unitarian" and "Universalist" are the names of the two liberal Protestant denominations that combined to form the UUA in 1961. The doctrine of unitarianism (i.e. rejection of the
Trinity) has also appeared occasionally in history, but it has been
formally considered heresy since the Council of Nicea in 325. Unitarian
churches were formed in the 16th century in Romania and Poland, and in
1553 Michael Servetus was famously burned at the stake for his unitarian views
by John Calvin. In the United States, a Unitarian movement arose among
Congregational churches in New England in the late 1700s, causing a
major dispute with in the denomination. The American Unitarian Association (AUA) was founded as a separate denomination in 1825.
The Unitarian Universalist Association website says the following about
sacred texts:
In most of our congregations, our children learn Bible stories as a part of their church school curricula. It is not unusual to find adult study groups in the churches, or in workshops at summer camps and conferences, focusing on the Bible. Allusions to biblical symbols and events are frequent in our sermons. In most of our congregations, the Bible is read as any other sacred text might be-from time to time, but not routinely.
We have especially cherished the prophetic books of the Bible. Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and other prophets dared to speak critical words of love to the powerful, calling for justice for the oppressed...
We do not, however, hold the Bible-or any other account of human experience-to be either an infallible guide or the exclusive source of truth. Much biblical material is mythical or legendary. Not that it should be discarded for that reason! Rather, it should be treasured for what it is. We believe that we should read the Bible as we read other books (or the newspaper)-with imagination and a critical eye.
We also respect the sacred literature of other religions. Contemporary works of science, art, and social commentary are valued as well. We hold, in the words of an old liberal formulation, that "revelation is not sealed." Unitarian Universalists aspire to truth as wide as the world-we look to find truth anywhere, universally.
Whatever our theological persuasion, Unitarian Universalists generally agree that the fruits of religious belief matter more than beliefs about religion-even about God. So we usually speak more of the fruits: gratitude for blessings, worthy aspirations, the renewal of hope, and service on behalf of justice.
Unitarian Universalists may therefore identify with Christianity, Buddhism, humanism, atheism, or any tradition that is meaningful to them. Unitarian Universalists commonly draw their beliefs from more than one religious or philosophical tradition. So thereby Universalism is more a kin to the New Age Movement than Biblical Christianity. Please review the page on the New Age to learn more.So, with all of this information about Unitarian Universalism we can see that this is not the same Gospel of Christianity that is taught in the Bible. And remember, the Apostle John said about the Gospel in 2 John 1:10: If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed.