The Challenge of Unitarian Universalist Theology
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Some among us are asking, “Is there a center to Unitarian Universalism?” Or is it like the old story of blind persons describing an elephant, with a twist:
One of us touches the side and says, “It’s a wall.” Another feels the leg and says, “It’s a tree.” Another grabs the tail and proclaims, “It’s a rope.” But after all our surveying, is the one thing UUs can say for certain only that There is no elephant?
Do we have a theological center? And why are we asking about this? When did pluralism become a problem?
In Translation
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We are people of the word. Or, better said, people of words, many words. Words are one of the most important ways that we “know” things.
But words, to quote Henry Adams, are “slippery things,” and words mean different things to different people. Take the word “freedom.” To the privileged early Unitarians, freedom meant freedom of thought. To the African American community, however, it meant freedom from slavery and freedom from oppression. The two groups had a hard time talking.
Saved
I am paid to evangelize, to grow current congregations and plant new congregations. I’ve been lurking on internet sites of fundamentalist evangelists, because, quite frankly, they have systems for planting new congregations. I mean, they’ve got systems! They have trainings and boot camps and coaches and conferences just for planting. I have a hot case of holy envy.
So I thought about attending such a conference as an add-on activity in a city where I was already working on behalf of our Association. Well, attending it didn’t work out, but on the plane back home guess who my seatmates were? That’s right, two fundamentalist, evangelical men who had been to the church planting conference.
I strained my ears to hear what they were saying. The older man seemed to be in charge, and the younger one deferred to him. The elder quoted scripture and talked a lot about saving people. Their whole mission is converting people to Christianity so they may be saved and get into heaven.
I wanted to jump in, interrupt with all of the questions I had for them.
From Your Minister – September 2014
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One of the ways that we create spiritual or theological common ground is so simple it’s almost embarrassing: We agree to do so. We make a commitment to each other to create a space that is held in common. In religious language, these commitments are called covenants. In the Bible, covenants are between people and God.
Covenants, if they are to truly hold us, need to be large enough to contain the whole selves of the people who make them (including both what is holy and what is unholy). The place we are most likely to see covenants being created is at weddings. Two people commit to one another before their loved ones and what they name as holy. I have seen people make some pretty unlikely promises over the years—promises that are romantic and beautiful, but in my mind fairly unsustainable.
We Covenant
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Covenants are intentional.
Covenants are audacious.
Covenants are a promise
that can change our lives
together in this faith. Read more →
REsources for Living
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As someone who grew up Unitarian Universalist, I have to admit that there are some disadvantages to being a UU kid. There are advantages, of course, like being able to celebrate holidays from a variety of different religions, but there are definitely drawbacks. Mostly these problems come when someone asks you, on the playground maybe, what church you go to. It’s hard enough just getting people through the ten syllables of Unitarian Universalist. But if you manage that task then the inevitable follow-up question is: “What do you believe?”
I happen to think that’s kind of an unfair question, especially to put on, say, a fourth-grader. If you say you’re Methodist or Baptist or Jewish nobody asks you what you believe. They have a category in their head to put you into, and they just leave it at that. Now, their assumptions about what you believe might be totally wrong, and I’m sure there is not one nine-year-old in 100 who could tell you the difference between what a Presbyterian and an Episcopalian believes, but the point is that no one feels they need to ask.
But if you’re UU there’s not only the long, awkward name to get through, there’s also the uncomfortable fact that people don’t know what mental box to put you in, so they ask about what you believe. Which leads you to the equally uncomfortable fact that your religion doesn’t tell you what to believe, which really messes with people’s idea of religion in general. And beyond even that, if you’re going to actually answer the question then you need to have figured out for yourself what it is that you believe, and how to say it, which is hard enough for a grown-up, and a real uphill climb for a child.
Turn the Principles Upside Down
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One night before going to bed a farmer was standing a few steps in front of his house, meditating over the many troubles that had beset his livestock. “I cannot imagine why the cattle do not get better,” said he out loud to himself. “I will tell you,” said a squeaky little voice close by him. The farmer turned in the direction of the sound and saw a tiny little man, looking very angrily at him. “It is,” continued the wee man, “because your family keeps on annoying mine so much.” “How is that?” asked the farmer, surprised and puzzled. “You are always throwing the slops from your house down the chimney of my house,” said the little man.
How It Happens
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After presenting my first workshop at the 2011 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association, I decided to reward myself by purchasing a gold chalice necklace, which I’ve been wanting for a while. I went to the exhibit hall to one of the jewelry vendors, where the artist kindly walked me through the dazzling display of options. I found a small, delicate gold pendant on a beautiful chain, and when she fastened it around my neck and I looked in the mirror, I fell in love.
I decided to buy it, even though it was three times what I’d originally been planning to spend. As she prepared to take my credit card, I added the cost of the pendant and the chain and asked for confirmation of the total. She, clearly impressed with my mental arithmetic abilities, responded, “That’s right. I don’t want to stereotype, but you’re some kind of Asian, right? So, math is, like, in your DNA?”
I was rendered temporarily speechless.
