Who tells UUs what to believe?
A Stepping Stone Year by Margaret Gooding, and We Believe by the UUA
Goal:
To understand our faith as one which encourages the use of reason and that is comfortable with changing, if our understanding changes.
Materials:
• A Bible
• “Bumper sticker” supplies (strips of paper, markers etc.)
• Story: “The Boy Who Collected Beetles”
• Exerpts from The Scopes Monkey Trial
• List of “Used-to-thinks”
Background:
The “search for truth,” one of our UU principles, often leads UUs to new and different beliefs. The emphasis on the use of reason and the willingness to change one’s beliefs based on new information are hallmarks of our liberal faith tradition.
Darwin’s theory of evolution provides a dramatic example of new information that changed the way people thought about how the world began. Although the majority of people today accept the theory of evolution, there are still voices advocating the teaching of creationism in public schools. This lesson may stimulate discussion of other “used to thinks” in your family.
Activities:
• Read the first couple chapters of Genesis in the Bible, in which the seven days are described.
• Read “The Boy Who Collected Beetles.”
• Introduce the Scopes Trial. Then, take turns reading aloud the excerpts from the Scopes Trial.
• Play Used-to-Thinks.
• Make a bumper sticker to express a belief of yours.
Discussion:
The use of reason is one of the most important beliefs in our faith. We understand that the story from the Bible is an ancient legend, over a thousand years old. Times were different then. We can accept that it’s a beautiful myth and it is poetry. But we are comfortable replacing it with a different understanding of creation, as scientific evidence suggests the theory of evolution.
Unitarian Universalists believe that change happens and is a natural consequence of searching for the truth. We know that our own experience causes us to change, and that sometimes we make mistakes and must change. If we had slogans about our beliefs they might be: “Change Happens,” or “Mystery is Beautiful.” If you were to make your own bumper sticker, what would it say?
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