UU beliefs about God

[Green Gaia]

I found this survey a congregation had done and thought it was interesting. I'd like to see what the UUs of RF believe about God.

The 14 beliefs in god were drawn from the UU curriculum, “Compass Points: a full year program for adolescents exploring their selves, their beliefs, their UU faith, & their relationships with others,” by Gaia Brown and Michelle Richards.

 

[lilithu]

I found this survey a congregation had done and thought it was interesting. I'd like to see what the UUs of RF believe about God.

The 14 beliefs in god were drawn from the UU curriculum, “Compass Points: a full year program for adolescents exploring their selves, their beliefs, their UU faith, & their relationships with others,” by Gaia Brown and Michelle Richards.

Well, I chose three as requested, but it was reeally hard! It was especially hard not to choose "divine spark" but I have been having trouble with that one ever since the Virginia Tech shootings. (I still believe in it; I just think it's more nuanced than how we usually view it.)

Basically, I agreed with all of the statements except part of two:
There's no such thing as God, and even the word is useless
God created the universe and then left it to run itself

And the only one I would bother to argue about is the "even the word is useless" part.

 

[Green Gaia]

It is hard, I still haven't voted because I can't decide. I have to think about it some more.

 

[lilithu]

It is hard, I still haven't voted because I can't decide. I have to think about it some more.

That's fine. As long as you stick to only three!

Thanks for posting this btw. The survey results were interesting. I seem to be unusual even by UU standards.

 

[Green Gaia]

OK, I pick:

I find God in nature
God is my conscience calling me to make the world a better place
God is like a loving mother who sustains us and all life

I would still consider myself agnostic though. I think that contributing to my difficulty in me personally affirming some of those statements although I think they are perfectly valid points for others to hold.

 

[Green Gaia]

Does having all these (and likely more) differing views of God make it difficult to talk about God among UUs? Or does it make it easier because we all have differing views?

 

[uu_sage]

My beliefs about God are reflected in the following, and I wish our choices were not limited to three and this poll asked selected among the following that best applies.
Spark of divinity within us
I find God in nature, and beyond nature.
God is present in the relationships among people
God is my conscience calling me to make world a better place
Creation is ongoing and we are co-creators with God
God is like a loving mother who sustains us and all life
My beliefs about Jesus make me feel closer to God

Our individual beliefs and perceptions of God should not prevent us from speaking about the holy. To me God is one, and is known by many names or no name at all.

 

[lilithu]

Does having all these (and likely more) differing views of God make it difficult to talk about God among UUs? Or does it make it easier because we all have differing views?

Honestly, I think it depends on the UU.

I certainly have met UUs who are so resistant to God-talk that any mention of it shuts down the conversation, and that obviously makes it more difficult to talk about it. But for the rest of us, what the diversity of thought means is that we must hold all these sometimes disparate ideas in tension, including the idea that there is no God, never being too attached to them and remaining open to the fact others have different views. I think that's a good thing. Talking amongst ourselves is good practice for talking in the world, in a (usually) safer environment.

 

[Jistyr]

Wow that is an amazing poll. It literally has every basic concept about God that came to my mind, and its so hard to choose one, but I got a choice of three! Once again, an amazing poll.

Edit:

And the only one I would bother to argue about is the "even the word is useless" part.

This is the basic belief of ignosticism and makes sense somewhat. This is just kind of saying that whether or not there is a God changes nothing and affects nothing. Their slogan is that asking whether god exists is like asking what color is Sunday.

 

[Mercy Not Sacrifice]

I've been spending some time around a UU church for a little while, so I figure I should vote in this poll. I picked:

"There are probably as many ideas about God as there are people"
"We can use science and reason to understand our Universe"
"There's no way we can know whether or not there is a God"

What does that mean?

 

[lilithu]

Edit:
This is the basic belief of ignosticism and makes sense somewhat. This is just kind of saying that whether or not there is a God changes nothing and affects nothing.

That may or may not be, depending on your concept of God. But regardless, whether or not you believe in God changes and affects you and how you interact with the world. Therefore, the word is not useless.

btw, are you a UU? Just curious.

 

[des]

I think my votes are contradictory: there is no way to know whether or not there is a God; we are co-creators (I don't know, I have always liked this idea); and God in nature.
There were some that I easily disagreed with and others I think are just as true, but I had to pick three.

--des

 

[Storm]

Well, I chose three as requested,

It is hard, I still haven't voted because I can't decide. I have to think about it some more.

Whoops, were we supposed to limit ourselves to three choices? 'Cause I ticked, like, 10.

 

[cesara]

I chose:

There are probably as many ideas about God as there are people
There's a spark of divinity in each of us
I find God in nature

I noticed that there really weren't any panentheistic choices in the poll, so I did my best. The choice with the universe and God being the same was close, but as a panentheist, I believe that God is the universe, and MORE.

Very interesting poll!

 

[EverChanging]

I wouldn't necessarily use the word "God," but I can put up with it since the term is so ambiguous.

I chose:

There are probably as many ideas about God as there are people.

God is present in the relationships among people. (I really like this one: for those who do have or entertain god-concepts, our interactions with other people and learning about their beliefs definitely influence our own god beliefs/concepts. Ultimately, to me all gods are evolving products of all of the people who continue to speculate about them and define them.)

We can use science and reason to understand our universe. (Not sure what that has to do with God, but I agree with it.)

There are several more I find attractive, but to me it is all an exercise in poetry/metaphor. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

[J Bryson]

I wouldn't necessarily use the word "God," but I can put up with it since the term is so ambiguous.

I chose:

There are probably as many ideas about God as there are people.

God is present in the relationships among people. (I really like this one: for those who do have or entertain god-concepts, our interactions with other people and learning about their beliefs definitely influence our own god beliefs/concepts. Ultimately, to me all gods are evolving products of all of the people who continue to speculate about them and define them.)

We can use science and reason to understand our universe. (Not sure what that has to do with God, but I agree with it.)

There are several more I find attractive, but to me it is all an exercise in poetry/metaphor. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I like all of these. The second one that you mentioned brings to mind the Victor Hugo quote "To love another person is to see the face of God".