I am a Unitarian.......Ask me Anything....

I am a Unitarian Universalist. Ask me whatever you want about my religion, but don't be surprised if I give completely different answers than other followers of UU.

 

What is a Unitarian?

Also, what is a Universalist?

 

How do I start a thread?

 

Which seems like the most UU caveat ever

So, I used to attend UU services, and I'm just curious if you noticed any kind of difference between people who "converted" to the UU and people who were raised UU. On thing I observed were that the adults in the congregation took the ambiguity and individualism of Unitarianism in stride, while he middle schoolers and high schoolers being raised in UU RE programs were often frustrated by what they saw as a lack of identity. There was lots of "Okay, you've spent almost every Sunday telling us about what this person or that person believes, but what do we believe." I remember several "What is a Unitarian" elevator pitch competitions.

 

Good to see another UU on the forums. Funny enough I’ve never been to a UU church though (never really enjoyed organized religion). In my mid-twentys I left Christianity because it didn’t line up with my beliefs. Did some research on my personal beliefs and found that they most closely lined up with UU.

As for a question, I've always believed that Jesus was a great teacher and did good works, but that his claim that he was the son of God was not true, but it lined up with his religious experiences. So, true to him. Does that line up with UU dogma?

 

Were you ever part of the DB forums? Your name strikes me as familiar.

 

Unitarian is the rejection of the Christian Trinity. My understanding is it means there is just one god.

Universalist is the belief in universal salvation. There is no hell; just an afterlife for all. Not sure about the dogma for what that afterlife is supposed to be like.

 

Yeah, the original Christian Unitarians rejected the Trinity -- only the Father was God, not the Son (Jesus) or the Holy Spirit. And the original Christian Universalists believed in universal salvation, that everyone would be reunited with God after death, but they were spit on whether everyone would *immediately* go to Heaven or whether some might spend a finite time in Hell first as some kind of purification.

The modern UU doesn't mandate either of these teachings, however. You can be an atheist who doesn't believe in any God or afterlife and still be a member. The closest thing they have to a "dogma" involves things like the interconnectedness of all things and the inherent worth and dignity of all mankind.

 

Thanks for that knowledge! Seems like we have a lot in common with secular humanism.

 

Unitarian-Universalism is a religion formed by the merger of two seperate churches, the Unitarian Church of America, and the Universalist Church of America. These two churches merged to form the Unitarian-Universalist Association.

UU is a liberal religion. It does not have a set dogma, and holds to the ideal that there is not one single universal truth. You can be a follower of UU, and still practice another religion.

Many of the original followers of both Unitarianism and Universalism were Christians. Thomas Jefferson was a Unitarian Deist.

The main identifying ideals of Unitarianism is the disbelief in multiple gods. Unitarian Christians, for example, do not believe in the trinity. They often believe Jesus was a human, not a god, and was chosen as a prophet by god.

Universalism's main ideal is the idea that a truly all-loving creator would not punish their creations for eternity, and that all souls will eventually be reconciled with god. Sometimes this takes the form of the belief that hell is only a temporary punishment, and some followers of UU, including myself, believe in reincarnation.

 

UU as a religion follows 7 central tenets...

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;[51]
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;[52]
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;[53]
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;[54]
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;[55]
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;[56]
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

 

Click your heals 3 times, while saying, "there is no place like home"

 

Do orthodox/mainstream Christians often wag their finger at you and lecture you on not having the proper idea of God while warning you of your doom?

 

Sounds like vegetarian but religious

 

Thanks for the help

 

Sounds all good but I wouldn't call it a religion - might get confused with the god squad.

 

What is the purpose of human existence, according to UU?

How does one attain the true goal of life?

What is spiritual growth and what practices are used to achieve it?

You mention a free search for truth and meaning. Does UU not know the truth or meaning?

 

UU believes that there isn't one universal truth, but that all people must be free to find their own, but each person must also be responsible in their own search, and not harm others, or unfairly hinders others in their searches.

 

Who's in charge, and is he/she democratically elected? Is there a priest class?

What's the business model? Same as the theists, with collections based on marketing?

Are there checks in place to prevent RCC style abuse?

 

That makes you nihilists in my book. I hate to be so harsh as I've known some fine upstanding Unitarians in my time, but it is what it is.

 

Interesting...... would this fit well with your beliefs?

https://www.near-death.com/experiences/notable/christian-andreason.html#a04h

 

You might rather like the checks and balances explained after the 1:48:00 mark in this audio book......... and perhaps not..... I liked it a lot. Read the book several times... I listen to the audio often when I am too tired to read.....

 

There are offically ordained UU ministers. You can apply for it with the UUA. However, the UUA is very strict. They only accept people who have alot of experience, almost never ordain someone who does not have a degree in either theology or a Master's of Divinity.

Only those who have been ordained by the UUA may serve as ministers, but the congregation elected the minister themselves, and anyone who is ordained may be elected.

This is actually where the UUA has issues. Many congregations have experienced laypersons who can't become ordained because they have no formal education, and the UUA views formal education and a college degree as paramount to being a minister. So many congregations may go years without a ministers if their minister dies or leaves the congregation, if they don't have someone who the UUA considers qualified for ordination. Some of the congregations have outright left the UUA, and become independent churches, and simply choose their own ministers without them being officially ordained.

 

I do not personally believe in heaven or hell. I believe that live is an endless cycle of birth and death. I believe in a semi-deistic god, one that does not directly touch the universe. I believe that god created souls, parts of himself, and that these souls are within all living things.....people, animals, plants....even the smallest bacteria.

Sentience comes from combining a soul with a body and mind which has evolved to a certain point.

When a living thing dies, if do not have sentience, they are reborn as the same as they were before. When a sentient being dies, they are judged by god. If they lived a good life, they are allowed to be reborn into a new sentient form, if not, they are reborn as a lesser life form. Once that does not have sentience, and they are not allowed to be reborn as a sentient being again until god allows them to be.

I also believe that god speaks to us through out souls. I came to this conclusion while studying the concept of the human conscience. Humans are not inherently good beings, and yet from a young age, we have a choice which tells us right from wrong. My belief is that conscience is god speaking to us, trying to steer us in the right direction.

I think he also using our souls to give us inspiration. I believe that god plants seeds of inspiration in our minds, and that many of the greatest concepts and inventions were based on inspiration coming from god.

I believe that our souls have the memories of all of our past lives within them, which is why some people are able to recall events from their past lives.

 

Thanks for the info. Given the way you described the organisation I'm surprised a degree in theology is required. Maybe a science degree would be a better basis....I'd be available in that case.