Destruction and chaos are simpler, faster, than coordination and creation. It takes moments to tear something apart compared to what it takes to build it. One person can do a tremendous amount of damage. But, for every person intent on doing that kind of harm, there are hundreds preparing to mitigate it; to control the […]
There are a lot of Unitarian Universalists who seem to think that no good comes from telling people about liberal religion. Their actions indicate that they don’t want people to know about their church and its saving message. I’ve read, many times, “if someone is a good fit for Unitarian Universalism, they’ll just find their […]
“Religious liberalism affirms the moral obligation to direct one’s effort toward the establishment of a just and loving community.” ~ James Luther Adams While many UUs believe that there might be, even must be, life after death, the heaven we all commit to is here on Earth. The name we’ve been calling that heaven for […]
In the United States, our military is commanded by civilian leadership, with the elected President as the Commander and Chief of all our armed forces. All of our military operations are under the collective (if indirect) control of the citizenry; all service members carry out orders with our implied consent. We are, collectively, responsible for […]
We are angry. With good reason, we are upset and hurt and angry. Anger can be an appropriate response to violence, to injustice, and to those peddling fear and bad information. Some people will tell you that anger is a negative emotion, but I don’t believe that. Anger is not bad. It is how we […]
We must not forget that, even while we aspire to accept and encourage every person who enters a UU space, whether online or in person, we are a covenantal religion; covenant means that responsibility and respect must go both ways. While we affirm the worth and dignity of every person, we do not need to […]
I wanted to build on the topic I brought up last week: Who is a Unitarian Universalist. Here is an important distinction between a covenantal religion and a creedal one: Is Donald Trump a Christian? Well, if he can say the Creed and mean it, then yes. That’s the test, and all Christians have to […]
As a religious professional and an aspiring religious educator (how far I am from that goal varies wildly depending on who is asked), I talk a lot about what Unitarian Universalism means to me and what it is at it’s best. And I get a LOT of disagreement. I get a lot of people who […]
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I get a lot of… feedback when I point out that, despite a centuries-long legacy that got us to this point, Unitarian Universalism is less than 60 years old. The religion we teach today would be unrecognizable to John Adams, Clara Barton, and most of the other historical Unitarians and Universalists of whom we are […]