UU Christian Congregation

[lilithu]

I suppose one could still affirm the covenant even as an atheist because "God" means so many different things to people, especially Unitarian Universalists, and the website of the church itself says that the UU Christians also have a wide range of perspectives.

You just reminded me: I was participating in an interfaith dialogue for a while. Two Christians, three Jews, two Baha'is, one Muslim, one New-Ager (for lack of a better descriptor) and me, the UU. One of the Christians had a concept of God very similar to mine (panentheistic). The other described herself as a Christian atheist. They both identified themselves as Presbyterians, which is a very mainstream, non-radical denomination. Granted, people who participate in interfaith dialogues tend to be on the liberal side, but I still thought that was interesting.

Even then, however, many atheists (and even those who aren't atheists) do not want to use the "g word" because it means so many different things.

I think "God" means so many things because "God" is just a concept, a word to denote our highest aspirations. As Tillich said, that which we value most. For some people, God is might, because they worship power. For others, God is love because they center around compassion. For some, God is anthropomorphic because that's how they relate. For others, God is more of an intellectual concept (like the god of Deism, or Spinoza's god) because that's how they relate. For still others, "God" is gods, in a multitude of things, because that is how they relate.

Don't get me wrong; I believe in God, but not as a thing that can be defined. I believe that something inspires our inner strivings. I believe that the universe has meaning. But beyond that, I cannot say. Personally, I don't know how anyone can but that's just me.

I tend to think, however, that since they are a Unitarian Universalist congregation and since a congregation in the UUA is never to use a covenant as a creedal test, that they would be open to atheists, pagans, and others as well.

I would think so too. As long as the atheists, pagans, and others were respectful of the fact that this congregation has chosen a Christian identity. Doesn't mean that everyone in the congregation has to be Christian, but that the congregation as a whole would express itself that way.

 

[White Rabbit]

I am curious if it is this simple. Some of the responses I've seen so far on this remind me of a sermon once given at my own UU church.
The question of Evil came up and the question was passed around to see the communities take on it.

It was fascinating because the concept of God seemed to swim back and forth between several definitions (sometimes within the same person). The question then is if God is such a nebulous concept does it really mean anything at all.

It seems that God really did mean something tangible in the Christian scriptures and Jesus seemed to play a pivotal role. This does make some sense in the context of this churches stance.

Would this church however really consider every concept of God? What of the Unitarian that considers God simply an equivocation of good, the wrong word so to say. What of the Unitarian that considers Jesus an irrelevancy, a simple accident of history and legend.

Perhaps.

Still I for one am grateful for such a church. One of the drawbacks to many UU congregations becoming more secular is that our Christian Brethren sometimes feel alienated.

We also had a sermon done by a lay couple on the subject of biblical criticism. The story in parts ridicules the concept of miracles in the life of Jesus; it brought forth notions of the absurd within scripture. We received complaints about the sermon regarding its lack of respect, yet at no point did it actually venture into criticising Christians or even Jesus, just the scripture and legends.

Similarly another lay person gave a very traditional Christian sermon only to have two people walk out in disgust. I for one would walk out if I even got a whiff of vicarious redemption being talked about (this is not true, I'm too polite, but I would still feel uncomfortable).

A somewhat more insidious aspect has been the tendency for many people to self censor their opinions for sake of not offending those with more traditional faith (even to an extent that is wholly unnecessary). This I think may lead to overly conservative assessments as to what would be considered appropriate even at the expense of good content.

I think UU opinion is very diverse and at times more diverse than can easily be accommodated under single congregations. The same goes for the Biblical Unitarians or the American Unitarian Conference. There are always limitations, I'm just glad there is somewhere reasonable for these people to go.

Just a Thought.

uu_sage ,

what's so objectionable about your beliefs? Why won't some UU churches welcome you?

EverChanging,

This is probably the right way to go about it, it's hard to truly judge a church based on soundbites. Get information straight from the horses mouth as to where the boundaries lie. Just be aware they probably lie somewhere.


Oh and just to plug our blog shamelessly
we're found at: unitariansa.wordpress.com


My views are my own as if that needed saying. I'm probably the militant skeptic in the group



^_^
W R

 

[uu_sage]

WhiteRabbit- some UU churches take issue with me and my beliefs as a I am
a UU Christian. Many of the people in the congregations I'm talking about
are victims of more conservative traditions like evangelicalism or fundamentalism
and they know nothing of a liberal Chrirstian voice. I should not have to leave my
denomination in order to worship God and follow Jesus in freedom. Without Christian
Universalists or Christian Unitarians like myself there would be no modern day Unitarian Universalism. I am a member of the UU Christian Fellowship (UUCF), and the Christian Universalist Association (CUA). In order to have Christian discipleship I have dual standing with a congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC). The UU congregation I'm a part of was born in the 50s during the fellowship movement where there is a strong humanist stance. Many times I have considered leaving the congregation not because of the people but because of that congregation's refusal to honor the Christian UUs in their midst. How I yearn to be part of a Christian UU church or one that is Christian friendly.

 

[J Bryson]

I understand how people can feel hurt by less accepting Christian upbringings, but it seems self-defeating to take this out on members of our congregations who still find their spiritual home in Christcentric teachings.