Unitarian-Universalist Encyclopedia - Recently Updated Pages

S-Index

GeneDouglas — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 12:21:07 CST

Rejoinder to Biblical Unitarians

GeneDouglas — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 10:06:36 CST

According to Biblical Unitarians (link on "U-Index" page):

"The modern day Unitarian Universalist Church does not hold to the Bible as the Word of God, and attempts to embrace all belief systems as valid. It is ironic that, by having multiple sources for their beliefs, their philosophy basically contradicts their original name. "

(Reader's comment: That's not true. UU's believe that all religious views are worthy of respect. That is, we believe that we should respect a person's right to have his belief, to begin with. Most UU's believe that most other religions contain wisdom that is worthy of considering. Many UU's believe that ultimate truth can not be absolutely ascertained, so my belief has a possibility of being in error, as does yours or his. In the end, a belief is just a view, which may or may not contain some degree of truth. Obviously, two contradicting statements can not both be valid.)

It is the case that the modern church contradicts its original name, in that originally, the issue was the number of Gods (one.) They were considered anti-trinitarian, opposing the idea of three Gods, even if they were three-in-one. Today that is considered moot by many, and an individual can assign whatever importance to it s/he wishes.

The writer seems to be talking about the Unification Church, or the "Moonies." In the observation of this writer, their writings do seem to suggest that all religions are equally true. UU's by contrast, simply consider all religions deserving of equal respect and freedom.

Also, the modern UU church does not hold as a dogma that the Bible is or is not anything. That is different from saying, "The UU church holds that the Bible is not the word of God." Each UU determines for himself what s/he believes the Bible to be, and there is no church doctrine on the subject, as the UU church avoids creating doctrine or holding its members to any single concept. A dogma is a belief required as a condition for membership, and UU's have no such thing.

"It seems that today's Unitarians have fallen prey to the “Postmodern” idea that there is no such thing as truth, and that whatever each person chooses to believe is truth for him. History and experience have proven that idea to be intellectually, practically, and emotionally bankrupt."

Whether or not there is "no such thing as truth," there is a view that there is no way to ultimately and absolutely know what the truth is.

As to what the Bible is, it is universally agreed among denominations that it is a collection of a lot of separate books written by different authors. It is also universally agreed that the original copies are not in existence, and that all subsequent copies were made by hand, by human copyists, having their human possibilities of errors, their theological agendas, and problems in translation from one language to another. Some denominations may deny that theological agendas have caused any changes, but variation in texts of the same work are widespread.

It is also widely agreed that the choices of what books to include and not to include were made by men, who are only human, as they say. Different Bibles contain or exclude different books, varying by denomination, or varying through the centuries. Whether those human councils were affected by their individual views and abilities, or whether they were divinely guided in their choices is not stated within those documents, but rather is asserted in the statements of the church authorities themselves.

If in the book of Timothy the claim is made that scripture is inspired, one must ask, what gave Timothy, a preacher, the authority to make that original statement with certain knowledge? You or I could write a book or a letter saying "this letter is divinely inspired," and that would not make it so. I could tell you that "Origin of Species" was divinely inspired, but my saying so would not make it true.

I would first have to establish that I have a direct connection with God, and am authorized to speak in His place before my claim would have any weight. Nowhere is it alleged that Timothy was a prophet, or even an apostle. Timothy stated that "all" scriptures are inspired of God, but "all" means "all." When men pick and choose what is included and what is not, they are saying that "some" scriptures are inspired of God, and they, being humans, will say which.

Errors and other changes have been demonstrated many times over. The statement "Not a jot nor a tiddle shall be changed" just doesn't hold up to inspection. That the men choosing which books to include in the canon were divinely inspired in their judgment is a matter of faith (and that doesn't mean faith in the scriptures, which say no such thing, but faith in church doctrine.) Over the centuries, books have been inserted, then removed, then inserted again in the authorized canon. If men change their minds, then logically some of their decisions have been errors.

As to how each book was originally written, and how each separate writer got his thoughts and knowledge is a matter of speculation and faith, and can not be factually determined, in the view of many UU's. It appears to most UU's that those who say that it can, do so from faith, not exclusively from scholarship.

Faith, incidentally, is defined as belief in things unseen. That might also include belief in things unproven or unknown.

The above is the view of this writer, and is shared by many. Not all, or even any, UU's are bound to agree.

U-Index

GeneDouglas — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:52:26 CST

Ubiquity -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia
Ultramontanism -- (Lutheranism) Christian Cyclopedia

Uncertainty -- Wikipedia
Uncertainty, Philosophy & Religion -- arbitrarymarks.com
See also: Certainty, Doubt, Belief, Faith, Knowledge, Truth, Relativism, Epistemology, Reality

UUA -- Unitarian Universalist Association
UU Church of the Larger Fellowship (online community)
UU World -- Philosopedia (Magazine)
UU Rejoinder to "Biblical Unitarians"

Unification Church (Moonies) -- Encyclopedia.com

Unitarian -- 1851 Encyclopedia Americana
Unitarian -- 1851 Encyclopedia Americana (Searchable)
Unitarianism -- Encyclopedia Britannica (1911)

Unitarianism -- Christianity Knowledge Base Wiki
Unitarianism -- Encarta
Unitarianism -- Nationmaster
Unitarianism (theology) -- Nationmaster
Unitarian Christianity -- Wikipedia (See also: Nazarene, Jehovah's Witnesses)
Unitarianism, Biblical -- Nationmaster
Unitarianism -- Theopedia
Unitarianism -- Wikipedia

Unitarians -- According to Catholic Encyclopedia (1910)
Unitarianism -- Citizendium
Unitarians -- According to Wikipedia
Unitarians -- according to the Jewish Encyclopedia (1906)
Unitarians in Britain
Unitarians in Transylvania

Unitarian Universalists -- According to Biblical Unitarians
Unitarian-Universalism -- Encyclopedia.com
Unitarian-universalism -- Reference.com

Unitarian-Universalists -- Beliefnet
Unitarian-Universalism -- PaganWiki
Unitarian-Universalism -- Wikipedia
Unitarian-Universalist Association
Unitarian - Universalist Association -- Wikipedia (See also: Principles and Purposes)
See "Puritans," also, for connection with UCC, Congregationalists, eventual Unitarians.

Unitarian-Universalism Links Page
Unitarians, Universalists, UU's, list of -- Wikipedia

Unitarian history -- according to Biblical Unitarians
Unitarian History -- Wikipedia
Unitarian History, John II Sigismund Zapolia

Unitarian Links -- Fact Monster
Unitarian Principles (19th century) (504-page download)
Unitarianism Defined (19th Century) (272-page download)
Unitarianism, Biblical -- Nationmaster

Universality -- Wikipedia See also: Absolute, Relativism

Unitarian-Universalism -- According to the UUA
Unitarian Universalist Association -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia
Unitarian - Universalist Association -- Wikipedia
UU's -- according to Infoplease Encyclopedia
UU's -- also according to Infoplease Encyclopedia (more)
Unitarian-Universalists -- Nationmaster
Unitarians in the U.K.
Unitarianism -- Encyclopedia Britannica (Hold "Cntrl" while clicking, if link doesn't work, due to popup blocker.)

Unitarianism -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia
Unitarianism -- Theopedia
Unitarianism -- Wikipedia

UU Discussion Group
UU- 100 Questions Non-Members Ask About Unitarian-Universalism
100 Answers to Questions Non-Members Have About UU's
See Comment below. See link to left, under U-Index. See also: Elevator speeches.
See also: International Conference of Unitarians and Universalists.

United Church of Christ (Congregationalists) according to InfoPlease Encyclopedia

United Nations Convention Against Torture -- Wikipedia
See also: Geneva Convention, Torture, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Rights, Waterboarding
United States, Religious History of -- (Lutheran) Christian Cycopedia
Unity -- similar-sounding name, but something else
Unification -- another name with a similar sound, but different.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- Wikipedia See also:
Rights, Torture, Geneva Convention, United Nations Convention Against Torture, Waterboarding, Comments below.

Universalism -- According to Catholic Encyclopedia
Universalism -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia
Universalism, Trinitarian -- Wikipedia
Universal Salvation -- A Catholic View
Universalists -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Universalism -- Christianity Knowledge Base Wiki

Universalism -- Wikipedia
Universalism, Moral -- Wikipedia (See also: Moral, Ethics, Universals)
Universalist Church -- Nationmaster
Universalist -- Theopedia
Universalist Church of America -- Wikipedia
Universalists, Primitive Baptist -- Nationmaster
Universalist Group, Quaker -- Wikipedia
Universalists -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia

Universals -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Universals -- Fact Monster
Universals -- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Universals (Thomism) -- Theopedia
Universals -- Wikipedia
Universals, Problem of -- Wikipedia

Universe -- Bible Wiki
Universe, Origin of -- 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
Origin of the Universe -- Nationmaster
Universe -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Universe, Origin of -- How Stuff Works

Universe -- Jewish Encyclopedia
Universe -- Skeptics Annotated Bible
Universe, Jehovah's Witnesses & Mormons -- Skeptics Annotated Bible
Universe -- Theopedia
Universe, Origin of -- Wikipedia
Universe, Origin Myth -- Nationmaster
Universe, Origin Myths -- Nationmaster
Universe, Origin of, Myths of Scince -- unesco.org

Unpardonable Sin -- Intl Stand Bib Encycl
Unquenchable Fire -- Intl Stand Bib Encycl See also: Abaddon, Abyss, Afterlife, Gehenna, Hell, Hades, Purgatory, Perdition, Sheol
Usury -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia

Utilitarianism -- Encyclopedia Britannica
Utilitarianism -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Utilitarianism -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia
Utilitarianism -- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Utilitarianism -- Wikipedia

Utopia -- Catholic Encyclopedia (See also: Communism, Socialism.)
Check navigation box on upper left for more topics under "U".

I Index

GeneDouglas — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:40:06 CST

P-index

GeneDouglas — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:15:04 CST

Paleoliberalism -- Wikipedia See also: Neo Liberalism, Post Liberalism

Palestine, Zionist Timeline -- Wickipedia
Palestine (Arab-Israeli Conflict) -- Wikipedia
Palestinian People -- Wikipedia
Palestinian Territories -- Wickipedia
See also: Palestine, Myths & Modern Politics, in Navigation at left.
See also: Sykes-Picot Agreement, Lawrence, T.E., Faisal, Arab Revolt
See also: Canaan, Amorites, Hebrews, Hittites, Judah, Mesopotamia, Phoenecia
See also: Timeline of Jewish History, Timeline of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Papacy -- Catholic Encyclopedia See also: Pope, Vicar of Christ
Papacy, History of -- Citizendium
Papacy -- How Stuff Works
Papacy -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia
Papacy, History of -- Nationmaster
Papacy, History of -- Wickipedia
Papal States -- Wickipedia See also: Vatican, Inquisition

Paradise -- Encyclopedia Britannica
Paradise -- Jewish Encyclopedia
Paradise -- Wikipedia See also: Eden, Heaven

Parchments -- Intl Standard Bible Encycl

Perdition -- Nationmaster See also: Gehenna, Hell, Sheol
Perjury -- Jewish Encyclopedia
Perjury in Jewish Religion -- Wickipedia See also: Falsity, Oath, Vow

Personalistic Psychology -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia

Pessimism -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Pessimism -- Wickipedia See also: Optimism

Phallacism -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia

Philanthropism -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia

Philistines -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Philistines -- Encyclopedia Brittanica
Philistines -- Intl Standard Bible Encycl
Philistines -- Jewish Encyclopedia
Philistines -- Nationmaster
Philistines -- Wickipedia See also: Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Israelites

Philosophy -- Citizendium

Philosophy, Aristotle -- Catholic Encyclopedia

Philosophy, Ionian School -- Catholic Encyclopedia

Philosophy of Religion -- Stanford Encyc. of Philosophy
Philosophy of Religion -- Theopedia
Philosophy of Religion -- Theological Studies.Org
Philosophy of Religion -- Wikipedia See also: Psychology of religion

Phoenicia -- Encyclopedia Britannica
Phoenicia -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Phoenicia (Phenicia) -- Jewish Encyclopedia
Phoenicia -- Nationmaster
Phoenicia -- Wikipedia See also: Canaan, Palestine, Semite

Plymouth Colony -- Citizendium
Plymouth Colony Timeline -- Citizendium
Plymouth Colony -- Nationmaster
Poland, History of Jews in -- Wikipedia See also: France, England, Spain, Jews

See also: Charity, Poverty, Malthus, Overpopulation, Altruism, Niezsche, Objectivism, Beggars

Pope -- Catholic Encyclopedia See also: Papacy, Vicar of Christ
Pope Clement VII -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Pope Clement VII -- Nationmaster See also: Medici
Pope Leo X -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Pope Leo X -- Nationmaster See also: Medici
Pope Pius IV -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Pope Pius IV -- Nationmaster See also: Medici

Pope Pius VII -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Pope Pius VII -- Wikipedia
Pope Pius XVI and Jews in WWII
Pope and the Council, The -- Encycl. Britannica Wiki
Popes -- Jewish Encyclopedia See also: Napoleon, Inquisition Archives

Positivism -- Encyclopedia Britannica
Positivism -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia See also: Agnosticism, Rationalism, Materialism, Phenomenalism.
Post Liberalism -- Theopedia

Post-Liberal Theology -- Theopedia See also: Paleoliberalism, Neoliberalism

Potter, Beatrix (Unitarian) -- Wikipedia

Poverty -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Poverty and Pauperism -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Poverty -- Jewish Encyclopedia
Poverty -- Wikipedia See also: Poor, Malthus, Ricardo, Spencer, Beggars, Charity, Political Economy

Pragmatism -- Encyclopedia Britannica
Pragmatism -- Citizendium
Pragmatism -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Pragmatism -- Wikipedia See also: Prosperity Theology, Social Gospel

Predestination (Calvinism) -- Nationmaster
Predestination (Calvinism) -- Wikipedia
Predestination in Islam -- Nationmaster
Predestination, Types of Religious -- Wickipedia See also: Fatalism, Determinism, Election, Free Will
Predistination Paradox -- Nationmaster See also: Omniscience

Prehistory -- Wickipedia

Prehistoric Live in the Bible -- Chr. Knowl. Base Wiki

Presbyter, John (Revelation) -- Jewish Encyclopedia
Presbyter -- Wickipedia
Presbyterian -- Theopedia
Presbyterian (Unitarian Roots) --Wikipedia
Presbyterianism -- Catholic Encyclopedia See also: Calvinism, Total Depravity, Fall of Man, Luther

Presuppositional Apologitics -- Wickipedia See also: Dominionism, Christian Reconstructionism.

Priestly, Joseph (Unitarian) -- Wikipedia

Primary Sources -- Wikipedia

Probablism -- Catholic Encyclopedia See also: Ethics, Moral
Profane Literature -- Catholic Encyclopedia See also: Apocrypha, Apocalyptic

Progressive Christianity -- Wikipedia

Proof -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Proof of God -- Christianity Knowledge Base Wiki See also: God
Proof Procedure -- Wikipedia
Proof Theory -- Wikipedia See also: Certitude, God, Logic, Knowledge, Validity

Property -- Catholic Encyclopedia

Protestant -- Theopedia
Protestantism -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Protestantism -- Citizendium
Protestant -- Encyclopedia Britannica (Hold "Cntrl" if link doesn't work.)
Protestant -- According to Wikipedia

Protestant Episcopal Church -- Catholic Encydlopedia
Protestant Reformation -- Theopedia
Protestant Reformation Timeline -- Wikipedia
Protestantism, History of -- Wickipedia See also: Reformation, Renaissance, Luther, Henry VIII,

Church of England, Anglican

Providence -- Catholic encyclopedia
Providence -- Jewish Encyclopedia
Providence, Divine -- Stanford Encycl. of Philosophy
Providence (divine) -- Wickipedia See also: Predestination, Fatalism, Decrees of God

Psalter (Septuagint) Version of Bible -- Orthodox Wiki See also: Latin Vulgate, Bishop's Bible, Great Bible, Geneva Bible, King James Bible

Psychology -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia
Psychology of Religion -- Wikipedia See also: Anthropology of Religion, Sociology of Religion, Philosophy of Religion
Psychotherapy -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia

Purgatory -- Fact Monster
Purgatory -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia
Purgatory -- Orthodox Wiki
Purgatory -- Theopedia
Purgatory -- WikiOrthodox
Purgatory -- Wikipedia See also: Abaddon, Abyss, Gehenna, Hell, Hades, Afterlife, Limbo, Resurrection, Sheol

Puritains -- according to Wikipedia
Puritain Unitarian Roots (Also see United Church of Christ, Congregational)
Puritan Revolution -- Fact Monster
Puritans -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia
Puritains -- Wikipedia

Check "navigation" on the upper left, and P-Index for more topics.

C Index

GeneDouglas — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:54:34 CST

W-Index

GeneDouglas — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:30:25 CST

Wiki -- Errancy Wiki
Waldenses -- Encyclopedia Britannica
Waldenses -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Waldenses -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia
Waldensians -- Wikipedia See also: Catholic Bible, Codex Vaticanus, Textus Recepticus, Latin Vulgate,
Council of Trent

War -- Citizendium
War -- Catholic Encyclopedia
War(s) -- Jewish Encyclopedia
War and Christians
War -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia
War -- Philosopedia
War -- Theopedia
War -- Wikipedia

War and Prophecy -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia

War, Just -- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
War, Just -- Jimmy Carter
War, Just -- Mt Holy Oke.edu
War, Just -- N.Y. Sun
War, Just -- Philosophy of Religion.info
War, Just -- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Just War -- Eastern Orthodox Church
War, Just -- Wikipedia

War, Philosophy of -- American Chronicle
War, Philosophy of -- Internet Encyclopedia of Phiosophy
War, Philosophy of -- Nationmaster
War, Philosophy of -- Gen David Petraeus
War, Philosophy of -- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosop
War, Philosophy of -- Wikipedia
War, Supreme Crime -- Wickipedia See also: Geneva Conventions, Links to UU Topics

Washing, Hindu (Gangotri) -- Encyclopedia Britannica
Washing -- Jewish Encyclopedia (See also: Baptism)
Washing (ablution) -- Encyclopedia Britannica
Washing, Ablution -- Jewish Encyclopedia

Washing (Ablution) in Christianity -- Nationmaster
Washing (Ablution) in Judaism -- Nationmaster
Washing (Ablution) -- Wikipedia
Washing (Ritual Purification) -- Wikipedia
Washing, Ritual, in Judaism -- Wikipedia

Water, Liturgical Use of -- Catholic Encyclopedia

Waterboarding -- Nationmaster
Waterboarding -- Wikipedia
Waterboarding (Enhanced Interrogation Techniques) -- Nationmaster
Waterboarding is Torture -- Washington Post
See also: Torture, Rights, United Nations Convention Against Torture. See Discussion below.

Wealth-Wealthy -- Intl Stand. Bible Encyclop.
Webster, Daniel (Unitarian)
Welcoming Congregations (GLBT) See also: Adelphopoeisis, Two-Spirit, Homosexuality,
Same-Sex Marriage
Wesley, John -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia

Western Christianity 500-1500 -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia
Western Rite Criticism -- Orthodox Wiki
Western Mystery Tradition -- PaganWiki

Whitehead, Alfred North -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia

Wicca -- How Stuff Works
Wicca -- Wickipedia
Wicca, Principles of -- PaganWiki

WikiCath
WikiCatholic
Wiki - Catholic Wiki Project
Wiki --Chaos-Religion Wiki
WikiChristian

Wiki -- Christianity Knowledge Base

Wiki -- History
Wiki -- ChicagoHumanist
Wiki -- HumanistEurope
Wiki -- Judaism Wiki

Wiki -- WikiLiberal
Wiki -- MuslimWiki
Old Orthodox Wiki
Wiki - Orthodox Source
Wiki -- Philosopedia

Wiki -- Rational Wiki
Wiki -- Religions Wiki
WikiPagan
Wiki -- Religion Wiki
Wiki -- Utopia Wiki

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WikiPedia The Wiki Encyclopedia
See also: Encyclopedias, Jewish Encyc., Catholic Encyc., Citizendium, Encyc. Britannica, OrthodoxWiki, Theopedia
Wikis, Christian -- Theopedia
Wiki-Scanner Tells you when vested interests have edited Wikipedia to their own benefit. Maybe some day we'll need something like this.

Will -- Encyclopedia Britannica
Will -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Will -- Wikipedia

Free Will -- Nationmaster
Will, Free and Fatalism -- Encycl. Britannica Wiki
Will, Free -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Free Will -- Jewish Encyclopedia

Will, Free -- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Will, Free, Theism -- Stanf Encyc of Philos
Will, Free -- Theopedia

Will, Free, Theism -- Theopedia
Will, Free -- Wickipedia
Will, Free, Argument from (for God) -- Wikipedia
Will, Free (Compatibilism and Incompatabilism) Wikipedia

Will, Free (Elbow Room)-- Wikipedia
Will, Free in Theology -- Wikipedia
Will, Free Theorem -- Wikipedia
Will, Free and Time -- Wikipedia
Will (Freewill) Argument -- Nationmaster See also -- Free Will, All-Knowing, Omni-, Predestination, Determinism, Randomness, Providence, Elect, (See Comments below.)

Witchcraft -- Encyclopedia Britannica
Witchcraft -- Encyclopedia Britannica Wiki (expanded)
Witchcraft -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Witchcraft -- Encyclopedia.com
Witchcraft -- Jewish Encyclopedia

Witchcraft -- Encyclopedia Mythica
Witchcraft (Dawn) -- Encyclopedia Mythica
Witchcraft (intro) -- Encyclopedia Mythica
Witchcraft -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia
Witchcraft -- Nationmaster

Witchcraft (under early Christianity) -- Encyclop. Mythica
Witchcraft -- PaganWiki
Witchcraft -- Wikipedia
Witchcraft, How Witchcraft Works -- How Stuff Works

Witchcraft, List of Terms -- Wickipedia
Witch Doctor -- PaganWiki See also: Magic, Superstition, Halloween
Witchcraft Trials -- Nationmaster
Witchcraft, African -- Nationmaster

Women Catholic Priests Historical -- USA Today
Woman Catholic Priests Forbidden -- USA Today See also: Mary Magdalene, Comment below
Woman in Christian Society -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia
Womanist Theology -- Wikipedia
Women's History Sourcebook -- Fordham.edu

World, History of -- Wikipedia See also, Earth -- History of, Timelines
World War I -- Christian Knowledge Base Wiki

Worship -- Encyclopedia Britannica
Worship, Christian -- Catholic Encyclopedia
Worship -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia

Wright, Frank Lloyd (Unitarian) -- Wikipedia

Wright, Rev. Jeremiah, Fox Interview
Wright, Rev. Jeremiah, Talking Points -- Trinity United Church of Christ
Wright, Rev. Jeremiah --Wikipedia
Wright, Jeremiah, Speech to NAACP -- CNN
Wright, Jeremiah, Speech to National Press Club -- Chicago Tribune
Wright, Jeremiah, on Bill Moyers Journal -- PBS.org See also: Black Liberation Theology, Tuskeegee Experiment, Comments below
Wycliffe, John -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia

N-index

GeneDouglas — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:25:16 CST

If an ad on this page says "Don't pay for white teeth," the fine print on their website says if you accept the sample, you have agreed to pay $87 a month for a subscription to the stuff.
Names of God -- Intl Standard Bible Encycl
Names of God -- Jewish Encyclopedia See also: Holy Spirit

See also: Concordate of 1801, Joseph Fesch

Nativity Scene Suspect -- USA Today

Natural Selection -- Citizendium
Natural Selection -- Wickipedia See also: Evolution, Creationism, Darwinism, Intelligent Design, Intelligent Falling, Russell's Teapot, Flying Spaghetti Monster

Naturalistic Humanism -- Philosopedia See also:

Religious Humanism, Secular Humanism, Scientific Humanism

Naturism -- Catholic Encyclopedia

See also: Ancestor Worship

See also: Attributes of God

Neoapocrypha -- Citizendium

Neo-Creationism -- Christian Knowledge Base See also: Creationism
Neo-evangelicalism -- Theopedia See also: Evangelical
Neoliberalism -- Wikipedia See also: Paleoliberalism, Post Liberalism

Neo-Orthodoxy -- Theopedia

Neopaganism -- Indopedia
Neopaganism -- PaganWiki See also: Paganism
Neo-Scholasticism -- Catholic Encyclopedia

Neo-Weslyanism -- Theopedia

Neurotheology -- Nationmaster
Neurotheology -- Theopedia
Neurotheology -- Wikipedia See also: Evolutionary Origins of Religion

New England Theology -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia

Nicea, First Council of -- Bookrags.com
Nicene Council, definition -- Fact Monster
What Happened at Nicea -- Do You Know.com (One viewer claims to have caught a virus on this website.)
Nicea, Councils of -- (Lutheran) Christian Cyclopedia
Nicean Council -- Tertullian.org
Nicea, First Council, according to Catholic Encyclopedia

Nicea, First Council -- Encyclopedia Britannica (Hold down "Cntrl" while clicking if you have cookies disabled.)
Nicea, First Council of -- Christianity Knowledge Base Wiki
Nicea, First Council of -- Fact Monster
Nicea, First Council -- Google
First Council of Nicea -- Nationmaster

Nicea, First Council -- OrthodoxWiki
Nicea, First Council -- Theopedia
Nicea, First Council -- Wikipedia See also: Trinity

Nicene Creed -- Citizendium
Nicene Creed -- Fact Monster
Nicene Creed -- according to Wikipedia See also: Athanasian Creed, Arius, Chalcedon -- Council of, Socinius, Filioque

Nietzsche, FW -- Encyclopedia Britannica
Nietzsche, Friedrich -- Theopedia
Nietzsche, Frederick -- Theological Studies.Org See also: Hegel, Kant, Spinoza, Truth, Relativism, Nazarenes, Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists -- See Trinity

Nightengale, Florence (Unitarian) -- Wikipedia

Nominism -- Jewish Encyclopedia (See also: Antinominism.)

Nontrinitarian -- Christianity Knowledge Base Wiki
Nontrinitarianism -- Christian Knowledge Base Wiki
Nontrinitarianism -- Nationmaster
Nontrinitarianism -- Wikipedia
Non-Trinitarians -- Wikipedia See also: Anti-Trinitarians, Unitarians

UU Humor

GeneDouglas — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:18:35 CST

Q: Why are UU's such lousy singers?
A: Because they can't read the notes for reading ahead to see if they approve of the words.

(Oddly, non-UU's often don't get that one, and may even make an opposite interpretation to what was intended. Rather than saying that UU's have a rigid idea of what is true and right, the point is that each has his own separate idea of what is true and right, and might not approve of words being put in his mouth, even from his own church.)

Q: What do you get when you cross a UU with a Jehovah's witness?
A: Somebody who goes door to door telling people to believe whatever they want to.

Q: What's the difference between a Universalist and a Unitarian?
A: A Universalist believes that God would be too good to burn anybody in Hell forever, and a Unitarian believes he is too good for God to burn him in Hell forever.

Q: What sound does a centipede with a wooden leg make?
A: 99, thump. 99, thump. 99, thump. UU's are the thump.

Q: What do you get if you cross a UU with a Jehovah's Witness? Somebody who goes from door to door, telling people to believe whatever they want.

Crossing a UU with a Lutheran produces someone who nails 99 theses on a church door, each starting with the word "probably." Or a UU crossed with a Methodist, produces somebody who wants to drive on the left side of the road, but settles for the middle. Crossing a UU and a Muslim, produces somebody who attends college, but works in a 7-11 store.

Crossing a UU with Pat Roberson produces someone who rolls in the aisle, and praises whatever. A UU crossed with a Mormon, rides a bicycle in a black suit, but keeps taking a different direction from his partner. Or a UU crossed with an Episcopalian, acts like a Catholic, but sympathizes with Cromwell.

Q: What do you get if you cross a UU with a Baptist? Someone who has doubts, but is adamant about it. A UU crossed with a Catholic results in someone who doesn't practice birth control, but feels guilty about it. A UU and a Christian Scientist produces someone who gets a medical degree, but wouldn't see a doctor himself. A UU and a Jew produces somebody who believes in approximately one God.

T-Index

GeneDouglas — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:58:20 CST

H Index

GeneDouglas — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:58:14 CST

G-Index

GeneDouglas — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:04:10 CDT

E Index

GeneDouglas — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 18:39:31 CDT

Elevator Speeches

GeneDouglas — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:11:08 CDT

Regarding advertising on this page -- if it refers to "white teeth" please read the fine print on the website. It may say that if you accept the free sample, you have agreed to pay $82 a month for a subscription for more of the stuff.

UU's sometimes speak of "elevator speeches," or in other words, "What would you say if you were on an elevator for one minute, and somebody asks you 'What is a Unitarian-Universalist?"

If one reads a list of elevator speeches, the first thing he notices that they are all different. That brings up the old saw, "It depends on which one of us you ask."

Yet, though different, one will also notice they are not contradictory. Therefore, there must be some thread of commonality between them. Though we do have a list of "principles and purposes," those are not doctrine, but merely suggestions.

Still, if one adhered to absolutely none of these principles, others would look askance, and wonder what he is doing there. Though we insist we have no doctrine, we sometimes ask about the hypothetical Ku Klux Klansman who would want to be a UU. He remains hypothetical, because no KKK'er would want to be a UU. Still, if he were there, what would happen?

Firstly, he would not be told that he could not join, nor enter the building. However, he would also receive scarce agreement with his opinions. I do recall one visitor who kept saying, "Blacks all want this, and blacks want that." He heard a great deal of disagreement and zero agreement with his opinions, though politely expressed. And he never returned.

We can fairly well say there is a high level of agreement with the Principles and Purposes. Agreement is always an individual matter. There is no such thing as "excommunication," and no formal practice of "shunning." One is voluntarily there because something there appeals to him, or if nothing appeals to him, he isn't there.

People sometimes ask, "How can you be a church, if you don't believe in anything?" This is simply because they have missed the point. The case is, we don't require everybody to believe the same thing, especially not in detail, but we all believe in something.

People also ask, "How can you be a church, if you can believe anything you want?" The fact is, that's what people do anyway. At this moment, you can choose to be a Catholic or Protestant, Jew, Mormon or Jehovah's witness if you wish. The only difference is that people are not required by the UU church to believe the same things as all other members, in order to be a member.

One point probably most of us agree upon, is the idea that ultimate truth can not be absolutely known, nor proven with certainty. Consequently, nobody can claim to have a monopoly on truth. Therefore, it is absurd to say, with absolute confidence, "I know and you don't," where truth about the nature of reality is concerned.

As absurd as this may seem (at least to UU's) this writer comes from a background where that was common. I recall having a sort of debate with my fundamentalist grandmother and an aunt, which I lost by default. I pointed out of one window of my grandmother's house, to the Methodist Church.

"Over there," I said, "They have read the Bible just as much as you have. They have people who have made a lifelong profession of studying the Bible. They have no problem with honesty, and they aren't trying to trick anybody. Many are highly intelligent. And yet, they have come to different conclusions than you have."

I pointed out of another window to the Presbyterian church, and said the same thing. A few blocks away was the Lutheran church. I mentioned it, and said approximately the same thing. "And they all come to a different conclusion. How can you possibly say that you know, and they don't?"

"Because," said my grandmother, "they are wrong." And that was all there was to say about it.

In addition to toleration of other ideas, which is the logical consequence of that UU thinking, UU's also advocate toleration of behaviors resulting from those ideas, so long as they are not harmful. Those two concepts are closely linked, as toleration of the behavior resulting from viewpoints is the reasonable conclusion of the former principle.

Of course, we are all aware of the Inquisition, in which it was assumed that heresy was harmful to one's soul, expressing it was harmful to the souls of others, and it was therefore necessary to rescue the heretic from error, by all means necessary. But I will assume the reader has got beyond that, rather than my arguing the case.

A lot of people who belong to intolerant religions, are also intolerant of the actions of others. They want to pass laws outlawing things they oppose on religious principle, and advocate laws requiring the government to promote their own religious ideas.

They may want to outlaw birth control, consumption of any amount of any kind of alcohol, buying a lottery ticket, working on Sunday, expressing certain religious ideas, allowing persons to be married by a civil authority, or to live together without marriage, or allowing homosexuals to live as they wish. And they may want to require Bible readings in school and require teaching their view of creation in public school.

Most UU's are generally opposite to that. They each have opinions on the wisdom or its lacking in each such choice, in their own lives or the lives of their children, but that falls far short of making their opinions into law, for all the world to obey. Where others want to put their religious views into law, UU's will generally oppose that.

When a person is absolute in his view of truth, he tends to see right and wrong in that light. A UU generally accepts a view of "Live and let live," and realizes that "What's good for the goose is good for the gander," or "A sword cuts both ways."

I had a discussion with a friend, who felt that school prayer, Bible readings in school, monuments with the ten commandments on public land, nativity scenes on a courthouse lawn, a cross on a city letterhead and other combinations of religion and government are all right.

I proposed the possibility that a large group of Moonies or Hare Krishna might move in to her very small community, and have enough votes to take over the school board. Then they might decree that all of the school children would hear readings from their scriptures every morning, and offer a prayer to Krishna afterward.

She said she would be opposed to that, "because they would be wrong." Yet she would still not be opposed to Christian readings, "because they are right." The idea that a principle works both ways, or applies the same to all did not faze her.

The idea that there might be somebody expressing a mirror image of her thinking, from the other side of the fence, meant nothing, because they would be wrong, and a Christian having such ideas would be right. What astonished me was that this was not an unintelligent person, but was a person committed to that thinking all the same.

Unfortunately, there have been people in our history who have put that reasoning into action. Where Catholics were in the majority, or where fundamentalist Protestants were in the majority, or where Jews were in the majority in an area, they manipulated the law to serve their own beliefs.

Of course in those places, a person not of the same persuasion could clearly see the injustice. But that same person who moves to an area where his own faith is in the majority may not see a problem with doing the same thing there.

UU's generally advocate for rights of minorities, with the idea that a large group has no right to gang up on a smaller one, and usurp their rights to be different from the majority. That means that I may believe differently from Jews, Muslims, Catholics or fundamentalists, but I have no right to impose my religion on them, nor deny them the right to practice their own. I may or may not be a black or a conscientious objector or a homosexual, but I have no right to treat them badly just because they are a minority in most places.

That includes the idea that I have no right to tax them to support my own religion. That also means that in communities where they are in a majority, they have no right to do the same to me. (This was not always the case. Before the Civil War, the Unitarian church was the state church of Massachusets.)

If I want to make an exception for myself, and can do so, there will be somebody elsewhere, or perhaps in a different year in my own community, who will want to make a different exception for his own view, and who could argue that if I could do it, then when he has the power, he has the same right to do it, too. If I believe a practice is wrong, I can't say it is right part of the time, when if favors myself. So as a matter of principle, I must respect the rights of others to be different from me, even when I may have the clout to do otherwise.

If somebody else does want to use the power of the government to promote his own religion, I must oppose him, in defense of my own. The only basis on which I can reasonably oppose him is on principle, under which rules that apply to him also apply to me, and vise versa.

Now, all that is too long to be an elevator speech. But if you can boil the essence of that thinking down to a one-minute talk, that would be my elevator speech.

--Gene Douglas

Below are a couple of elevator speeches I lifted from Wickipedia, and actually can be said before the elevator stops.

In Unitarian Universalist congregations, we gather in community to support our individual spiritual journeys. We trust that openness to one another's experiences will enhance our understanding of our own links with the divine, with our history, and with one another. — Rev. Jonalu Johnstone, Oklahoma City, OK[6]
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Most Unitarian Universalists share a belief that nobody has a monopoly on all truth, or ultimate proof of the truth of everything in any one belief. Therefore, one's own truth is unprovable, as is that of others. Consequently, we should respect the beliefs of others, as well as their right to hold those beliefs. Conversely, we expect that others should respect our right to our own beliefs.

Several UU's then, would likely hold as many different beliefs. Other beliefs they may hold in common are a respect for others, for nature, and for common decency, leading in particular to caring for the poor, the weak and the downtrodden. As a result, issues of justice, including social justice are held in common among most. — Gene Douglas, Harrah, OK[7]

Oh -- by the way. If you want to research these ideas further, look in the index pages for words like "truth," "certainty," "reality," "relativism," and "knowledge." If you wish, go to some sources mentioned on this website and add some more. The more you see, the more uncertain it all becomes. Some UU's have joked that the UU symbol ought to be a question mark.

For more information, go to "100 Questions" under "U-Index."