Unitarian Universalism

[WilliamStone1776]

I'm would like to know more about their philosophy and theology.

[°Leprechaun]

Q: What do you get when you cross a UU with a Jehovah’s Witness?
A: Someone who knocks on your door for no apparent reason.

As funny as it may sound that's basically it. Although most UUs are Democrats, in my
opinion. The point is as far as religion goes there is no creed, so many UUs are
many different religions. If you are an atheist you might like it, since most religions
don't welcome atheists. Basically a UU is someone who values just being a good person.

http://www.firstunitariantoronto.org/what-is-unitarianism/uu-humour

[Tintrlvr]

It is helpful to understand the history. The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) was formed by a merger of two separate religious traditions, the American Unitarian Association (AUA) and the Universalist Church of America (UCA). Each had its own background in separate Protestant beliefs.

Unitarians are, by definition, deniers of the Trinity: They believe that God alone is divine, that Jesus, while divinely inspired, was not divine, and that the Holy Spirit doesn't exist at all. Unitarianism exists outside of the UUA today; the original Unitarian church, the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, operating primarily in Romania, remains the largest in the world, and the Iglesia ni Cristo in the Philippines is also quite large. Unitarianism also typically denies original sin and believes that humans are inherently good, and that reason and rational thinking are how one becomes closest to God. In its earlier years, Unitarianism was closely associated with Deism. As you can see, even as a Christian tradition, Unitarianism looked very unlike typical Christianity.

Universalists come to a similar conclusion from a different approach. Universalism is the belief that all, regardless of their deeds or their inherent goodness (or evilness) will be saved by God in the end. Universalism holds that God is simply too good to punish evildoers, and the infinite nature of God's mercy means that all will ultimately be forgiven. This was not, however, a license to do evil, but rather a call to live God's model of goodness and forgiveness on earth, and Universalists were typically among the most strident social reformers. You can see what they might have had in common with the Unitarians, who emphasized rationality and reason and the inherent goodness of man. Unlike Unitarianism, Universalism never had much institutional presence outside of North America, although there are some small Christian groups elsewhere that would identify as Universalist today.

By the 20th century, many of the social fights on which the Unitarians and the Universalists had been allied (abolition of slavery, women's suffrage) had brought the two groups close together. Just as significantly, neither religion was ever especially dogmatic about what one had to believe about God, though to the Universalists he had to be infinitely merciful and to the Unitarians he had to be singular and the fount of rationality. As a result, both groups tended to accept syncretism with other religions and found commonality with similar types of beliefs in some sects of Buddhism, Sufi practices in Islam, some of the more liberal revivalist pagan groups and elsewhere. By the time of the merger in the 1960s, it was not uncommon for Unitarians or Universalists to identify as not-quite-Christians.

After the merger, the identity as Christians continued to decline. Today, about 20-25% of members of the UUA identify as Christians. A significant portion would identify their religious affiliation as Buddhist, and others would identify as Muslim, pagan, or even atheist or agnostic. The important aspect of the UUA has become the emphasis on humanity, and humanism, rationality and promotion of "the good". UUA followers believe that all religions strive to promote the good in some sense, and that they can glean positive messages from many religious texts. Beyond a general emphasis on humanism and rationality and the importance of seeking good messages in all religions, though, there is little actually binding the UUA together from a theological perspective these days.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The previous post is generally accurate, tho I will point out that Unitarians classically didn't deny the existence of the Trinity, but denied that all three personae were coequal and coeternal.

I happen to be a UU. In particular, I am a Christian Daoist Universalist. Incidentally, on the political spectrum of UUs, I'm a raging conservative.

[°Leprechaun]

Christian Taoism is an interesting combination, although Taoism is certainly "nontheistic".
As I understand it the Tao is more of a "thing" than a person. Perhaps you could
call the Tao, the "ground of all being". Similar to what the Won Buddhists call the Il Wong
Son.
On a superficial level, Christianity and Taoism are about as different as you could get,
in my opinion, but as far as the three essentials of all decent philosophies, namely,
wisdom, shunning evil, and being good, they are compatible as are all decent philosphies
and religions. This is one way to look at UUism, as well. The three are the essentials
of being a Buddhist according to Buddhist canon, but it could it be argued that believing
in the three key realities doesn't necessarily make one a Buddhist. Buddhism seems very
compatible to UU in the sense that both are non dogmatic and both encourage one to reject all authority and think for oneself. I see myself as sort of a UU Buddhist minus UUism and Buddhism because as Taoism teaches words are superficial.

[°Leprechaun]

Although UU history is interesting, UUism is quite different from what it was. Some UUs are understandably interested in UU history, but I think most are not and are more just interested in getting together and talking about politics and other things. True, there are groups for those UUs who identify with a particular path such as Paganism, Christianity and Buddhism.
There is also a UU group for humanists most of whom probablly identify as atheists.
Many people outside of UUism would see these four paths as mutually exclusive, at least those
more dogmatic types, but UUs do not, because UUs believe in shared values rather than shared beliefs, and as I said it is a totally "non-creedal"  religion, although very UUs are happy about Donald Trump.

[°Leprechaun]

Oh and if anyone is interested:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/channing.txt

[Greatest I am]

Q: What do you get when you cross a UU with a Jehovah’s Witness?
A: Someone who knocks on your door for no apparent reason.

As funny as it may sound that's basically it. Although most UUs are Democrats, in my
opinion. The point is as far as religion goes there is no creed, so many UUs are
many different religions. If you are an atheist you might like it, since most religions
don't welcome atheists. Basically a UU is someone who values just being a good person.

True. Many creeds, like Buddhism, Karaite Jews and Gnostic Christians are universalists and recognize that man should be put above God and not God above man.

Even some Christian and atheist churches are beginning to see the light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRtJPSmI9pY

Regards
DL

[Greatest I am]

I'm would like to know more about their philosophy and theology.

The U U  are a cut above the religions that lie about God creating a hell for his rejects but tend to hold to supernatural beliefs with a God above instead of a God within themselves.

If you seek enlightenment more than just the tribalism and fellowship of religion the I would suggest Gnostic Christianity.

I am not saying that fellowship is bad. We are all tribal and social to some extent, but most of those churches do not seek enlightenment.

Here is a sample of Gnostic Christian thinking.

Gnostic Christian Jesus said, "If those who attract you say, 'See, the Kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you.
If they say to you, 'It is under the earth,' then the fish of the sea will precede you.
Rather, the Kingdom of God is inside of you, and it is outside of you.
[Those who] become acquainted with [themselves] will find it; [and when you] become acquainted with yourselves, [you will understand that] it is you who are the sons of the living Father.
But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty."

Here is the meat and potatoes that you are to eat.

Matthew 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alRNbesfXXw&feature=player_embedded

Gnostic Christianity is not a passive religion where you do nothing but siy in a pew and listen to some sermon, which are mostly B S.

It, like many more Eastern ideologies needs for you to meditate and seek Gnosis.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9QI3nlinYQ

Good luck on seeking God. Remember the Buddhist adage that if you find him, you are to kill him.

In Gnostic Christianity, we do not kill him but we do make him redundant by doing as Jesus taught and taking the judgement seat at God's right hand.

Regards
DL

[°Leprechaun]

The essence of true spirituality is to seek truth, avoid evil and after doing those two things,
doing genuine good. Of course shunning evil and seeking truth is a good in itself.
Mindfulness is the path. Don't all true religions and spiritual paths teach this?

[Greatest I am]

The essence of true spirituality is to seek truth, avoid evil and after doing those two things,
doing genuine good. Of course shunning evil and seeking truth is a good in itself.
Mindfulness is the path. Don't all true religions and spiritual paths teach this?

Basically, although most who think they are in a true religion are really in idol worshiping religions.

Gnostic Christianity, Buddhism and Karaite Jews I do not include in idol worshiping cults. Christianity and Islam are.

The problem with avoiding evil is that we cannot always do so, and in fact, it could be argued that we should not. My last needs a longish explanation so if you have not just discarded my notion out of hand, read on.

-----------

     Can you help but do evil? I do not see how. Do you?
And if you cannot, why would God punish you?

Christians are always trying to absolve God of moral culpability in the fall by putting forward their free will argument and placing all the blame on mankind.
That usually sounds like ----God gave us free will and it was our free willed choices that caused our fall. Hence God is not blameworthy. Such statements simply avoid God's culpability as the author and creator of human nature.

Free will is only the ability to choose. It is not an explanation why anyone would want to choose "A" or "B" (bad or good action). An explanation for why Eve would even have the nature of "being vulnerable to being easily swayed by a serpent" and "desiring to eat a forbidden fruit" must lie in the nature God gave Eve in the first place. Hence God is culpable for deliberately making humans with a nature-inclined-to-fall, and "free will" means nothing as a response to this problem.

If all do evil/sin by nature then, the evil/sin nature is dominant. If not, we would have at least some who would not do evil/sin. Can we then help but do evil? I do not see how. Do you?

Having said the above for the God that I do not believe in, I am a Gnostic Christian naturalist, let me tell you that evil and sin is all human generated and in this sense, I agree with Christians, but for completely different reasons. Evil is mankind’s responsibility and not some imaginary God’s. Free will is something that can only be taken. Free will cannot be given not even by a God unless it has been forcibly withheld.

Much has been written to explain evil and sin but I see as a natural part of evolution.

Consider.
First, let us eliminate what some see as evil. Natural disasters. These are unthinking occurrences and are neither good nor evil. There is no intent to do evil even as victims are created. Without intent to do evil, no act should be called evil.
In secular courts, this is called mens rea. Latin for an evil mind or intent and without it, the court will not find someone guilty even if they know that they are the perpetrator of the act.

Evil then is only human to human when they know they are doing evil and intend harm.

As evolving creatures, all we ever do, and ever can do, is compete or cooperate.
Cooperation we would see as good as there are no victims created. Competition would be seen as evil as it creates a victim. We all are either cooperating, doing good, or competing, doing evil, at all times.

Without us doing some of both, we would likely go extinct.

This, to me, explains why there is evil in the world quite well.

Be you a believer in nature, evolution or God, you should see that what Christians see as something to blame, evil, we should see that what we have, competition, deserves a huge thanks for being available to us. Wherever it came from, God or nature, without evolution we would go extinct. We must do good and evil.

There is no conflict between nature and God on this issue. This is how things are and should be. We all must do what some will think is evil as we compete and create losers to this competition.

This link speak to theistic evolution.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pope-would-you-accept-evolution-and-big-bang-180953166/?no-ist

If theistic evolution is true, then the myth of Eden should be read as a myth and there is not really any original sin.

Doing evil then is actually forced on us by evolution and the need to survive. Our default position is to cooperate or to do good. I offer this clip as proof of this. You will note that we default to good as it is better for survival.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBW5vdhr_PA

Can you help but do evil? I do not see how. Do you?
And if you cannot, why would God punish you?

Regards
DL 

[°Leprechaun]

People do evil out of ignorance. Sin is different, that's doing evil when you know better.

We're all ignorant, but the wise seek wisdom. One way to seek wisdom is through knowledge.
That is the first step, to learn, but that knowledge is useless if you don't do according to
what you have learned, to apply that knowledge, which is, of course much harder, but it can be
done with baby steps.

A good example is speech. Sometimes I say things the wrong way, even if I have a good intention. It isn't easy to speak the truth diplomatically and is something we all need to practice.
However, speaking the truth no matter how gentle you are with it can cause another to be upset, because hearing the truth is also not an easy thing, if one doesn't want to hear it.

[Greatest I am]

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Sure, but even one who knows better will still cause the evil of competition if he wants to compete for resources and not die. That was the point of what I posted.

Now you know better but will still do evil the next time you compete.

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I agree and that is why I recommend seeking Gnosis.

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True, that is the situation with most theists and they have to go into self-deception which is what I find deplorable and dishonest and why I seek a solution to theist's deception so they might stop sinning.

Regards
DL

[°Leprechaun]

You are right that sometimes it seems impossible (and maybe is impossible) to refrain from doing evil.

I am sure that it is a well known truth that people do evil and believe false ideas due to the tyranny of the majority. How many people want to stand alone against a tidal wave of evil?
As children it is easy for us to capitulate to peer pressure, but as adults we may also find it
hard not to capitulate to evil because we don't want to be alone or have a bad reputation.

The call to patriotism, supporting the US as the greatest nation in the world, and most of all the call to war are things many are so support so readily because that is what the majority want. "America love it or leave it", or "You liberals always blame America first".
are the cry of the conservative majority.

[Greatest I am]

You are right that sometimes it seems impossible (and maybe is impossible) to refrain from doing evil.

I am sure that it is a well known truth that people do evil and believe false ideas due to the tyranny of the majority. How many people want to stand alone against a tidal wave of evil?
As children it is easy for us to capitulate to peer pressure, but as adults we may also find it
hard not to capitulate to evil because we don't want to be alone or have a bad reputation.

The call to patriotism, supporting the US as the greatest nation in the world, and most of all the call to war are things many are so support so readily because that is what the majority want. "America love it or leave it", or "You liberals always blame America first".
are the cry of the conservative majority.

Peer pressure and tribalism are what create sheeple and stifle innovation and change.

Religions, as most of the intelligentsia knows, are the epitome of social pressure to confirm to it's views to the point of the extreme of Islam that murders it's apostates in Sharia run or Muslim majority countries. We also all know of the many Christian sects that waged war against each other over interpretations of their plagiarized doctrines.

Tribalism and religions today continue to be a pox on our house.

Religions are just tools of social manipulation and control just as governments are but if governments acted like religions, they would have been ousted from power by revolution long ago.

Secular governments are letting us down by giving respect, and our tax dollars, to religions that do not deserve our respect.

There aught to be a law against such flagrant disregard for our citizens and the con men who are fleecing our sheeple.

Regards
DL