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100 Answers to Questions Non-Members have about UU's
| There is a tract called "100 Questions Non-Members Have about UU's." This writer believes there are errors in the answers, and this is intended as a correction to those errors. The error is in lapsing into saying that "UU's believe," in expressing the writer's beliefs. The following wording allows for variation among members. (The original essay seemed to refer instead to secular humanism.) 1. Do you believe in the existence of spiritual beings? Many UU's do not believe in spiritual beings that are disembodied. Most agree that there is a spiritual dimension to life that is connected to the physical, mental, emotional and psychological aspects of life. 2. Do you believe in miracles? Many UU's do not believe in miracles in any supernatural way, since our ideas of God often do not (necessarily) include a diety who has the ability or perhaps the willingness to alter the workings of the natural world. Most UU's feel that the gift of life itself is a sufficient miracle, and that we should live as fully, joyfully and responsibly as we can. 3. Do you believe in Jesus? The original Unitarians (starting around 200 a.d.) believed that Jesus was a lesser being than God, and that there is only one God, that Jesus was created by God, and therefore not equal to or identical with God. Hence the name: Unitarians, as opposed to Trinitarians. (At the time, they were called "Arians.") In recent centuries, beliefs have shifted. Many of us do not believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, performed miracles or was resurrected from death, and that these claims were begun at least a century after the crucifixion. We do respect and admire his teachings, the force of his example and his system of values. Most UU's regard Jesus as one of several important moral and ethical teachers who have shown humans how to live a life of love, service, and compassion. A few may question whether Jesus was an actual historical figure, but most believe his teachings are of significant moral value. Some individuals regard him as a diety. 4. How do you regard the Bible? We regard the Bible as one of many important religious texts, but most do not consider it unique or exclusive. Most do not interpret it literally. Most of us think some parts of it offer more truth and relevance than other parts, and that some of it was made up centuries a.d., as evidenced by the thousands of differences in ancient manuscripts of "mostly identical" writings. Although UU's generally respect the Bible and regard some of its content as great literature, it is not a central document in our worship. We also recognize that the Bible has taken different forms through the centuries, some versions being legally protected as the only true statement, with others declared to be heresy, and those protected versions changing from one century to another. 5. Do you believe in life after death? Very few UU's believe in a continuing, individualized existence after physical death. Some may believe in reincarnation or some form of spiritualism, but they are probably in a minority among UU's. Even fewer believe in the physical existence of places called heaven or hell where one goes after dying. Many of us assume that these ideas were made up by primitive, pre-literate people, who had no science, though they could see natural events all around themselves, and needed some way to understand them. It is assumed that modern people know far more about the natural world than they did, and there is no reason to assume that they had a higher wisdom than exists today. Many of us believe immortality manifests itself in the lives of those we affect during our lifetime and in the legacy we leave behind when we die. 5. Do you believe in the concept of evolution? Most of us do. Very few believe in a brief, miraculous creation, or the Garden of Eden story as being more literal than a metaphor. 6. What are the bonds that unify UU's? While there are no written or verbal doctrines designed for that purpose, we have both stated and unstated bonds that unify us. The stated bonds are the Principles and Purposes of the UUA, which for the most part we support individually and collectively (allowing for individual differences of thought. In other words the P&P's are a suggestion, not a dogma.) Among the unstated bonds are our mutual respect for each other and our appreciation of the many religious, philosophical and spiritual paths which our members pursue. We are bound together in our mutual concern for one another's well being, and our willingness to aid each other in time of need. 7. What do UU's and Humanists Have in Common? Often, our services are humanisticaly-oriented. Some of us are Pagan, meaning they see cause for veneration of nature, and some are similar to deists. Generally Pagans celebrate their views at a time and place separate from the general congregation or its Sunday worship service. Deists believe that God created the universe, but does not intervene in its daily events. Basically, humanism means that we humans are responsible for our destiny for better or worse, and that we cannot rely on an outside power or deity to determine our individual or collective fate. Humanism is also an affirmation of the power of the human mind and the human spirit. There are both secular and religious humanists. Secular humanists do not believe in any kind of deity; many find little if any, value in religious language, stories, myths or symbols of any religious tradition. The religious humanist, while holding to the above definition of humanism, does not completely disavow the idea of God. Sometimes defining God as a power deep within themselves, they also find certain messages or themes in religious stories that provide them with understanding and guidelines for human living. There are both secular and religious humanists within our church family, and we make room for both. 8. What is your attitude toward other religious faiths such as Judaism, Hinduism and Buddism? We generally believe there is wisdom in most, if not all, of the world's religions. Most of us feel each is valuable for what it can tell us about ourselves and our world, and how its members find religious meaning and direction. 8. Does that mean that UU's believe in every religion? Though some who do not understand will say that, nothing could be farther from the truth. However, religions of the world, having been in the hands of humans for centuries, have acquired thinking that is worth considering from time to time. They also have various basic attitudes that are worth considering, if just to realize that there is more than one way to view a thing, including existence itself. At a minimum, most UU's believe in respecting one's right to have a different religion, even if a particular UU individual may see no wisdom or value in a particular religion. 9. What about the others of 100 questions? You can follow the example above, replacing statements like "we do" with "many of us do," or "that is the case" with "that is often the case." If you use such qualifiers, you will have a closer idea of what we try to say to the public. 10. Extra note: It has been claimed that saying we have no dogma is our dogma. Wouldn't that be true? We have no test required for membership, including that one. If an individual wants to say we have a dogma, he is still accepted. By that standard, there is no dogma, and no required belief. A link to the whole tract can be found on the U-Index page. Make the corrections stated in #9 above, and you will find it interesting. For more information, go to "Elevator Speeches" under "E-Index |
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GeneDouglas |
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