Why You Should Not Be A Unitarian Universalist by Rev. Dr. Tony Larsen

[PassingFair]

http://downlode.org/Etext/why_not_unitarian.html


Wow! This makes me want to join this "church"!
Are ALL Unitarian Universalist Reverends this outstanding?



snip>
"I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ, his only son our lord who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell, the third day he rose again from the dead, he ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.

"I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen."

Now, did you catch anything in there about love or peace or kindness? You can argue that those things are implied in the Apostles Creed - but they're certainly not given any explicit emphasis. That's a creed made up on doctrines, with the ethics only vaguely implied. If the Unitarian Universalists have a creed, it's an ethical creed, with the doctrines only vaguely implied, if at all. Read the principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association sometime and you'll see what I mean. You'll find words like: "justice, equity, and compassion in human relations", "acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth", "affirming and promoting the inherent worth and dignity of every person", and "the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all." You won't find "conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary," and you won't find "the only begotten of the father, that is, of the substance of the father... begotten, not made, being of one substance with the father." Doctrinal precepts like that, well, we don't care much one way or the other which of them you believe - as long as whatever you believe helps you live a humane life.

For example, if believing in God helps you be a better person - or at least doesn't make you a worse person - then fine, believe in it. We encourage your belief. If being an atheist helps you take more responsibility for creating a better world - or at least doesn't prevent you - then fine, don't believe in God. We encourage your atheism. The only beliefs we don't want you to have in this church are the ones that lead you to hurt people. And, other than the obvious ones I already mentioned, I can't tell you what the bad beliefs are, because sometimes the same beliefs do different things for different people. Yeah, they do. For example, a lot of folks believe that there's a heaven and a hell after you die. For some people, that is positive, because they wouldn't be good otherwise. I would rather have you trying to be good because you realize that's a better way to live - rather than because you're afraid of punishment or hoping for reward. But if you're not going to be good without believing in heaven or hell, then it's a positive belief in your case. I'm reminded of the story of one woman who came to her minister. "Revrend," she sobbed, "something has to be done about my husband. He doesn't come home at night; he doesn't help the children. Instead he's gallivanting all over town, gambling, drinking, running after women." "You have my deepest sympathy," commiserated the minister. "Your husband is a miserable sinner." "A sinner he is, revrend," the woman said, "but miserable, no he ain't. He's having the time of his life." <unsnip

[Thats my opinion]

1. UUC's are solid liberal members of the religious world

Here is one example of a growing theme around the religious world. This minister's essay is typical of what this group consistently stands for.

[ZombieHorde]

4. I hope your right. nt

[PassingFair]

5. They are NOT members, however, of the National Council of Churches....

snip>You may be interested to know, by the way, that the Universalist side of our tradition used to belong to the National Council of Churches. They were eventually kicked out for not believing enough. In fact, the Orthodox Church said, "If you let the Universalists in, we won't join." So they let the Orthodox in and ushered the Universalists out. You see, every denomination that now belongs to the National Council of Churches has to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour. That's the one criterion. So, we don't fit in. That one little thing. It doesn't sound like a whole lot to ask, does it? And maybe that's why we wouldn't want to belong even if they wanted us. Maybe we'd want more of a criterion for belief than that - like love, humanity, civil rights, peace, and equality. Belief in Christ is definitely not necessary for joining this church, and even if it were, it wouldn't be sufficient for joining this church. We want more than that from you. <unsnip


...and this Reverend thinks that may not be a bad thing.

[elleng]

2. Good one. My best friend is a UU.

[Qutzupalotl]

3. I went to one for awhile.

It was surprisingly political (though not expressly partisan). I felt right at home, although at the time I was ignorant of a lot of world politics. They tend to be refreshingly non-judgmental. One member had a button that said "Born-Again Secular Humanist." Back when that meant something. :)

[damntexdem]

6. I'm a UU but no longer 'belong.'

I withhold my membership (so tithe) because of the UU decision to keep its General Assembly in Arizona rather than observe the boycott.

[E_Pluribus_Unitarian]

9. You haven't heard the rest of the story...

This is going to be a completely different General Assembly...not business as usual. It'll be geared to immigration reform, and what better place to do it than Phoenix?

[cleanhippie]

15. Have you seen how active the UU is in AZ? They lead the marches, they get arrested, regularly.

If not for the UU in AZ, many of the problems there would not be well known.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

7. cool people.

i started hanging out at U-U churches in 1978.

www.uua.org

NO Creedal test! Just principles! Cool.
The Unitarians believed in one god.
The Universalists believed in universal salvation. They were social activists, anti-slavery in the 1800s.

They joined in 1961 and eventually dropped the theology.

They have two seminaries, one in Chicago and one in Berkeley.

[E_Pluribus_Unitarian]

8. Plenty of room, folks!

I've long believed that this world needs to grow this kind of "community of free spirits" where a shared (humbly seeking, vigorously questing...and honestly doubting) attitude and unity of commitment to respectful, ethical action are more important than theological opinions. We already have made some difference...re. changes in attitudes toward same-sex marriage, for example...but just imagine what a larger "faith of the free" could accomplish. Again, welcome all!

[madrchsod]

10. good place if you seek fellowship with the like minded and open discussion

[Lydia Leftcoast]

11. UUs have been like this as long as I can remember

Congregations tend to evove an identity based on what the members are interested in, but they have no formal creeds.

[skepticscott]

12. Nothing wrong with what they espouse

but why does UU choose or need the label of a "church"?

[TZ]

13. When I was young, my mother felt it important

that we get some different religious exposure...We went to UU services and sunday school. What I remember about the services mainly was standing around in circles singing songs by Marlo Thomas and others...:)

[cleanhippie]

14. Yes, they are!

I attend a UU church and I and most of the congregation are atheists/humanists.