uuworld.org : the unfulfilled dream
Note the linked article is necessary background.
As long as UU does not define a belief statement it will remain a social club that meets on Sunday.
UU's seem to fear any statement containing God as offensive to us atheists, but Forrest Church's Cathedral even had windows for atheists. In that Cathedral atheists could worship meaningfully with their theist friends. The humanist God of Jesus (Matt 22:37-40) who loves all Herm neighbors is perfectly acceptable to most atheists. They won't believe, but as a unifying principle with their theist friends God can work as an avatar if not a deity.
As a side benefit you will probably attract a lot of Christians who are fed up with Paul's trinity and have refocused their theology on the Synoptics and Matt 22:37-40 in particular.
Getting Iraq right
2 days ago
2 comments:
"Forest Church's Cathedral even had windows for Atheists...atheists could worship meaningfully with their theist friends." "....as a unifying principle with their theist friends, God can work as an avatar (if not a deity.)" "The humanist God of Jesus who loves all herm neighbors is perfectly acceptable to most atheists." HUH??
[The THC content of the batch of green bud (that inspired the given analysis) must have been overwhelmingly potent.]
Worship: reverence or devotion for a deity; religious homage or veneration I believe that a self-respecting Atheist might choke on an attempt to worship a deity. And the avatar I employ is the winged pink baby elephant; visually, it is immediately recognizable; I know of no such avatars that cause one to visualize God. The persona of Jesus beyond loving one's neighbors is not one revered by atheists as an example of a loving deity.
The only UU church I attended had an Atheist as one of the Assistant Pastors, and they appeared to be proud of that fact [that they were such a tolerant group they could integrate "No Religion" into the practice of their "Religion."]
The idea that UUs are members of a glorified "Social Club" (rather than a religious community) is not all that harsh an assessment; When an inherently diverse group tries to become appealing to all other diverse groups, "shades of gray" are the only suitable colors and "bland" is the only taste left to them to use that won't directly offend someone.
Note the post is in response to a post on UU World. Also note the lead.
However, I am not a fundamentalist atheist that rejects worship and Jesus as Christian crap. I enjoy a good worship service and so do many atheists I know who actually go to church. I spent most of my atheist life in good and theistic UU churches not only for the music although great music was a requirement, but for the worship and the religious arguments.
As for Jesus, once you remove all the God crap, see the Jefferson Bible, it turns out that he would have fit right in at Woodstock. If you read into the synoptics an oral history of an adoring groupie probably female you get an entirely different picture of Jesus. I like him.
Post a Comment