EverChanging
Well-Known Member
I thought this might make an interesting discussion for Unitarian Universalists.
I recently changed the status of my religion on these forums from Atheist/Humanist to HUUmanist Neopagan Eclectic Atheist, and I did this for certain reasons. While I am a Humanist in the modern sense of the term, it is a philosophy, and not an entire worldview, nor does it encompass my spirituality. For three years (probably longer, but especially over the last three years) I have learned much and have experimented with different spiritual practices and have found myself with a very unique worldview and spirituality. In an attempt to convey that more effectively, I changed my religious status to reflect my Humanism along with the fact that I observe neo-pagan Sabbats, occasionally use spells for the psychological effect, pray, meditate, and engage in other rituals. I've also had mystical/spiritual experiences since childhood and my teen years.
Still, the terms I've thrown together to convey this are not perfect, and I don't plan on adding more terms -- there is no way a few terms could express my spirituality. The word "atheist" isn't perfect, either. I am an athest in regard to supernatural gods, yet I've had subjective experiences of what I could refer to as the "divine." I merely don't subscribe to the view that it is external or in any way supernatural, but exists in the same sense as beauty, or a scent.
Another interesting thing about my spirituality is the Christian influences on it -- I use some Christian prayers and rituals, and much of my worship at my altar and the decorations on my altar is infused with Christianity, especially mystical Christianity. Some other neo-pagans have told me I qualify as a "Christopagan." The lines between Christianity and paganism are blurred as far as I am concerned because there has been so much intermingling of the two, even in the Bible itself.
And that brings me to the definition of Christianity. Many Unitarian Universalists do not consider themselves Christians because they cannot faithfully recite the Nicene Creed or the Apostles Creed. They cannot affirm the trinity, or the miracles of Jesus, or the literal resurrection, but neither could most Unitarian and Universalist Christians in the past or even today.
So what is it that makes someone a Christian? Is it the doctrines they profess? Or their rituals? Must Christ be the center of their spirituality? And what about myself? The Christ plays a role in my spirituality, but the Christ (which I do not assign a gender) is interchangable with the divine to me and beyond any particular person, even Jesus. In some of my prayers, Mary is the female Christ -- while Catholicism rejects that position, in many ways it has made Mary Christ's equivalent: co-redeemer, mediatrix, Queen of Heaven and Earth, the mother of Christians (there is an ancient Christian tradition, rarely mentioned today, of "Mother Christ," which I find very beautiful.) So while the historical Jesus is not the center of my spirituality, he does play a role in my personal mythological view of the world. Would that make me Christian? And if it does, wouldn't that make Muslims Christians, too?
I think the problem here is that religions have become so intertwined that it can be hard to distinguish where one begins and another ends. I'll give an example. It is not only the Roman Catholic Church that claims to be truly Catholic, but others as well: for instance, the Orthodox, and the Anglicans. They all have different qualifications for Catholicism. But Protestants claim to be catholic in a different sense. Anglicans, while claiming to be Catholic, have been influenced deeply by Protestantism, but the Roman Catholic Church, since Vatican Two, has implemented most of the reforms that sparked the Protestant Reformation. Does that make them partly Protestant, too, in a sense? And other Christian denominations partly Catholic (especially since the mainstream ones profess the same creeds?)
Similar problems can be confronted when trying to define Christianity itself, especially concerning Mormonism, Christopaganism, and other heretical forms of Christianity, such as Unitarianism and Universalism.
So what are your thoughts? What makes a person a Christian? If you are a UU Christian, what is it about you that makes you a Christian as opposed to some other religion?
I recently changed the status of my religion on these forums from Atheist/Humanist to HUUmanist Neopagan Eclectic Atheist, and I did this for certain reasons. While I am a Humanist in the modern sense of the term, it is a philosophy, and not an entire worldview, nor does it encompass my spirituality. For three years (probably longer, but especially over the last three years) I have learned much and have experimented with different spiritual practices and have found myself with a very unique worldview and spirituality. In an attempt to convey that more effectively, I changed my religious status to reflect my Humanism along with the fact that I observe neo-pagan Sabbats, occasionally use spells for the psychological effect, pray, meditate, and engage in other rituals. I've also had mystical/spiritual experiences since childhood and my teen years.
Still, the terms I've thrown together to convey this are not perfect, and I don't plan on adding more terms -- there is no way a few terms could express my spirituality. The word "atheist" isn't perfect, either. I am an athest in regard to supernatural gods, yet I've had subjective experiences of what I could refer to as the "divine." I merely don't subscribe to the view that it is external or in any way supernatural, but exists in the same sense as beauty, or a scent.
Another interesting thing about my spirituality is the Christian influences on it -- I use some Christian prayers and rituals, and much of my worship at my altar and the decorations on my altar is infused with Christianity, especially mystical Christianity. Some other neo-pagans have told me I qualify as a "Christopagan." The lines between Christianity and paganism are blurred as far as I am concerned because there has been so much intermingling of the two, even in the Bible itself.
And that brings me to the definition of Christianity. Many Unitarian Universalists do not consider themselves Christians because they cannot faithfully recite the Nicene Creed or the Apostles Creed. They cannot affirm the trinity, or the miracles of Jesus, or the literal resurrection, but neither could most Unitarian and Universalist Christians in the past or even today.
So what is it that makes someone a Christian? Is it the doctrines they profess? Or their rituals? Must Christ be the center of their spirituality? And what about myself? The Christ plays a role in my spirituality, but the Christ (which I do not assign a gender) is interchangable with the divine to me and beyond any particular person, even Jesus. In some of my prayers, Mary is the female Christ -- while Catholicism rejects that position, in many ways it has made Mary Christ's equivalent: co-redeemer, mediatrix, Queen of Heaven and Earth, the mother of Christians (there is an ancient Christian tradition, rarely mentioned today, of "Mother Christ," which I find very beautiful.) So while the historical Jesus is not the center of my spirituality, he does play a role in my personal mythological view of the world. Would that make me Christian? And if it does, wouldn't that make Muslims Christians, too?
I think the problem here is that religions have become so intertwined that it can be hard to distinguish where one begins and another ends. I'll give an example. It is not only the Roman Catholic Church that claims to be truly Catholic, but others as well: for instance, the Orthodox, and the Anglicans. They all have different qualifications for Catholicism. But Protestants claim to be catholic in a different sense. Anglicans, while claiming to be Catholic, have been influenced deeply by Protestantism, but the Roman Catholic Church, since Vatican Two, has implemented most of the reforms that sparked the Protestant Reformation. Does that make them partly Protestant, too, in a sense? And other Christian denominations partly Catholic (especially since the mainstream ones profess the same creeds?)
Similar problems can be confronted when trying to define Christianity itself, especially concerning Mormonism, Christopaganism, and other heretical forms of Christianity, such as Unitarianism and Universalism.
So what are your thoughts? What makes a person a Christian? If you are a UU Christian, what is it about you that makes you a Christian as opposed to some other religion?
