Skip to main content

GA: Day three

Went to bed at a more reasonable hour. About midnight. I got up in time for the 7.30 Communion service in the college chapel. It was pretty good.

Business meetings

All the motions past. Myah. Can't be bothered to write anything else.

Hymnbook working group

Singing hymns. Yay! I really hope that they produce one that can replace our current two books as I think both of them leave a lot to be desired.

District connections
Wigs!

Anniversary service

I must say I didn't get much at all out of this. Partly it was hot in the theatre hall (it would have been cooler in the cathedral) but it wasn't just that. I don't know I just really couldn't get anything out of it.




I've realised that many Unitarians seem to have no sense of God. I'm not talking about humanists. I'm talking about us using the word 'God' yet having no sense that there's any reality behind it. Perhaps I'm not explaining myself well. I hear people mentioning the word God, yet there's something insincere about it, there's no sense that people's lives are orientated by a personal relationship with the divine. I'd almost prefer it if people didn't mention God, like in some UU settings, rather than talking about God, yet somehow not meaning it.

I think this is related to prayer. A reading about prayer is not the same as prayer. Saying: prayer is this and this and this, is not a prayer. Prayer is speaking to the divine. I haven't had much sleep. If I'm not making myself clear, or am sounding offensive, please forgive me.

Also, is it too much to think we should have grace before meals at GA?

I'm sure I had more things to say. Ah well.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Yes, you do make yourself clear.


Whether what comes over is what you intend, who knows? But it could be construed as offensive.


"I've realised that many Unitarians seem to have no sense of God."

"I hear people mentioning the word God, yet there's something insincere about it, there's no sense that people's lives are orientated by a personal relationship with the divine. "

These generalising phrases: "many Unitarians", "people"

These observations are based on what evidence?

If it is their behaviour during a couple of services at GA then this is not fair. It is a surreally false environment, if ever there was one.

And who are you to judge anyway?
7:15 pm
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What does it mean to be non-creedal?

Steve Caldwell says "The problem here isn't humanism vs. theism for theist Unitarian Universalists -- it's the non-creedal nature of Unitarian Universalism" This is a good point. We need to think much more deeply about what it means to be a non-creedal religion. The first thing I want to say is that there is more than one possible understanding of non-creedalism. The Disciples of Christ are a non-creedal church, they say here : " Freedom of belief. Disciples are called together around one essential of faith: belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Persons are free to follow their consciences guided by the Bible, the Holy Spirit study and prayer, and are expected to extend that freedom to others." Quakers are also non-creedal and say here : Quakers have no set creed or dogma - that means we do not have any declared statements which you have to believe to be a Quaker. There are, however, some commonly held views which unite us. One accepted view is that th...
3 comments
Read more

LOST and theology: who are the good guys?

***Spoiler alert*** I'm continuing some theological/philosophical reflections while re-watching the series LOST. One of the recurring themes in LOST is the idea of the "good guys" and the "bad guys." We start the series assuming the survivors (who are the main characters) are the "good guys" and the mysterious "Others" are definitely bad guys. But at the end of series 2 one of the main characters asks the Others, "Who are  you people?" and they answer, in an extremely disturbing way, "We're the good guys." The series develops with a number of different factions appearing, "the people from the freighter" "the DHARMA initiative" as well as divisions among the original survivors. The question remains among all these complicated happenings "who really are the good guys?" I think one of the most significant lines in the series is an episode when Hurley is having a conversation with ...
3 comments
Read more

Is humanism theologically tolerant?

OK, well this might be controversial, but I feel the need to say it. Is humanist tolerant? Please note I'm not asking about humanism within society. Clearly humanism certainly believes in tolerance within society and I'm forever glad they are often the only people in the media calling for a separation of church and state. No, what I'm talking about is descriptions of Unitarianism like this and adverts like this , discussed at Peacebang here , which say that humanism is one option, Christianity is another, God is one option among many. The trouble is, humanism, by definition is theologically opposed to theism. This is very different from the relationship between Christianity and Buddhism. These two traditions may be vastly different, but Buddhism, by definition , is not opposed to Christianity, and Christianity, by definition , is not opposed to Buddhism. But humanism is consciously defined in opposition to Christianity and theism. So to say that humanism and theism can bot...
14 comments
Read more