Belittle All Paths?

In each issue of Unity Magazine®, Rev. Dr. Thomas Shepherd answers thought-provoking questions submitted by readers of the magazine. This excerpt appears in the July/August 2010 issue of Unity Magazine.

Dear Dr. Tom: I am a semiretired college professor who teaches religious studies and [am] a longtime friend of Unity. However, I have been quite dismayed by the belittling of the clergy and misrepresentation of the beliefs of other religions, which can be found in Unity and other New Thought organizations.
—T.P., Mesa, Ariz.

Dear T.P.: I edited your letter to omit references to specific teachers and publications, because I think you've raised a systemic issue that could easily get sidetracked into critical appraisals of individual instances. As an ordained Unity minister, I get what you are saying—there is no place for “belittling” of the clergy or doctrines of other faiths.

Belittling indicates an immature mind; the adolescent urge to ridicule comes from the mistaken idea that demeaning another person is a way to improved self-esteem. I am very uncomfortable when I hear Unity people referring to themselves as “recovering Catholics” or “ex-Baptists.” I positively cringe when I hear our people lumping all traditional churches under the category of “fundamental” without a clue about how specific that term is and how uncomfortable most mainline Protestants are with anything approaching fundamentalism.

However, as a fellow professor of religious studies, I am completely comfortable with doing critical analysis on the subject matter of my discipline. It is not Roman Catholicism per se that I would critique in written work or classes, but the idea of a celibate male clergy or the doctrine of original sin are fair game for evaluative discussion. It is not any particular conservative Protestant church that should be critiqued, but the doctrine of an inerrant scripture needs to be approached with scholarly skepticism.

I would expect Catholic, Protestant, Jewish or Muslim professors to do likewise if they were teaching about Unity's belief in God as One Presence/One Power or the indwelling divinity of every sentient being. In fact, I hope all teachers of religious studies can move from proclamation to examination, showing the courage to explore their own embedded theologies as well as deconstructing the ideas of other groups. We suffer equally from the urge to disparage the faith of others and the lack of confidence needed to examine our own. Let's affirm the value of all religions while asking all ideas to pay their way.

Thomas Shepherd, D.Min., teaches systematic and metaphysical theology, church history and theological ethics at Unity Institute.

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through my eyes

It is unfortunate that some clergy disparage the beliefs and practices of some religions. I interpret remarks such as these as a lack of understanding, and fear of the unknown. And people can resort to employing tragic strategies to try to understand AND to be understood. Unity is on a journey this year of the 12 Powers and ironically the Power we are focused on this month is UNDERSTANDING. The disciple associated with this is Thomas, most famous for "doubting." He represents our human understanding, where we ask questions repeatedly and question what we don't know or can comprehend. There is nothing wrong with this, it is part of our spiritual journey. The beauty is that when Thomas challenges Jesus about the resurrection Jesus simply replies with a loving, "OK, if you need to put your hand in my side, go ahead." There is no condemnation, no words of discouragement, but rather spiritual understanding. Meeting Thomas where he is at, being present and listening with his heart. The first step to deepening understanding is questioning, as you describe so well Tom, and as disheartening as it may be to hear unkind words and uneducated generalizations, I take each of those events as a calling - to open me to a greater and deeper spiritual understanding of me, in this human form and as a divine expression. With questioning comes the knowledge that informs our actions, actions that create an environmentally sustainable, socially just and spiritually fulfilled human presence. Sometimes my questioning makes for times of discomfort, so be it. Birthing a new reality isn't always neat and tidy, and it can produce meaningful and necessary conversations, such as this one. It doesn't mean I agree with perpetrating falsehoods, it just means I have to look deeper into a person's soul to understand what he/she is searching for that would compel them to say things that are hurtful and sometimes violent. While I don't agree with misrepresenting religions either, and see it as something that creates a wider chasm between human hearts, I am reminded of Gandhi's words, "If you go to the heart of your own religion, you will go to the heart of every religion." This is the heart of my religion from Charles Fillmore, "No two individuals in all the universe are exactly alike, because there is always diversity in the ideas appropriated by each individual from Divine Mind." What that means is that every individual's ability to join Divine Mind with his/her own consciousness is what makes us each the "only begotten son" (to use Christian lingo), and as such, it means the same is true for all. A tough pill to swallow sometimes! In Unity we say that we honor all paths, but are we truly open? When someone different from myself has come into my presence, am I willing to be changed by this person, to open myself to a new awareness of the world. This person has come to acknowledge that there is another way to think and be, other things to value. To this other person I say "Thank you," for showing me a way to live beyond my own little piece of the world. I don't have to adopt it, just understand it. There is truth out there different and beyond my own. This is being open. As a wise, brilliant man once told me, "Describe before you prescribe!" rev. kelly

7/12/2010 10:30:51 PM

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