Reignite

This is an anecdote I heard recently. It wasn't from a Unitarian, but from a progressive Christian: "I was talking to my neighbour who's an atheist. And she said to me, 'I'm not religious, but you know what? If I was going to go to a church, I would go to your church.'" This is the kind of thing that is said by Unitarians, and other religious progressives as a satisfying kind of story that enables us to say to ourselves, "see, we are on the right path, lot's of rational people really agree with us!" I've probably said something like that myself in the past. The problem is that pesky "if". That "if" has become louder and louder in my mind. Because if we really hear that "if" we would hear what the sentence really says, " If I was going to go to a church, I would go to your church... but I'm not. I never will and it's not something that interests me in the slightest. I vaguely approve of wh...

I keep coming back to the idea that there might be two or more mutually incompatible visions of Unitarianism in Britain. I'm very aware, for example, that there are several different strands of Quakerism in the United States - Liberal Friends, Pastoral Friends, Conservative Friends, and Evangelical Friends. They share the same roots but are today quite radically different from one another in worship, organisation, and theology. I'm wondering if something like that exists, under the surface, in British Unitarianism. If there are, perhaps, two Unitarianisms. Unitarianism A defines Unitarianism as an individualistic, liberal movement that is defined by values but tries to remain neutral in matters of belief. Unitarianism B defines Unitarianism as a basically heretical form of Christianity that has taken on Anabaptist radicalism, Enlightenment liberalism, and Emersonian individualism, but is still basically Christian. It is interesting to note that the General Assembly...

"Dialogues of faith - an Adamsian approach to Unitarian evangelism" a lecture by Stephen Lingwood From the Unitarian Theology Conference 2017 in Leeds

"Deffro, mae'n ddydd" "Awake, it is day" (motto on the coat of arms of Cardiff) 2018 marks a new start in my life as I have moved to a new city, a new country, and a new ministry.  As of 1st January 2018 I am now working as Pioneer Minister in Cardiff. This is the sort of ministry I have always had an interest in and I am unbelievably excited by this new opportunity. But as some people may not completely understand this role I thought it would be a good idea to explain it here.  There is a small Unitarian community without a building in Cardiff, and they have appointed me as their minister. However because the community is small we have agreed that we will view only a minority of my time as dedicated to ministering to that community. The majority of my time is for engaging with the unchurched populations of Cardiff (that's the "pioneer" bit). My job is not trying to attract people to "come to us" but to "go to them"...

We're currently remembering the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, when Martin Luther allegedly hammered his "95 Theses" to the church door in Wittenburg, on 31st October 1517. This has got me thinking about hammering my own theses to a church door (figuratively). From time to time it is worth trying to articulate what my tradition stands for like this. So here are my Seven Theses of Unitarian Christianity: Preamble: Our understanding of ultimate truth and meaning is partial, every word we utter when we talk about religion is ultimately wrong, because words cannot capture Reality. We will not make statements that will stand for all time because every generation needs to seek truth afresh and build on the work of the previous generation. Nevertheless, we must speak our truth as we understand it right now, in humility and hope. 1. God is love and God is loving.  Though we do not claim to understand what we mean when we use a word like "God" ...