So, I'm considering Unitarianism.

Agammamon said:
(and ordained minister of the Universal Life Church).
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Funny you should mention ULC. My fiancee actually is an ordained minister of the ULC. And she's actually married two pairs of our couple friends.

She bet the first couple that there was no way that would be legal in Missouri. If it was, she'd get ordained and do the ceremony herself. It was and she did.
 
I've been meaning to comment on our Upchurch adopting a religion but have been sidetracked by things like The Thread That Will Not Die. So let me say...

Good for you Upchurch!

I don't care if people who have demonstrated that they're skeptics (and have way cool avatars) convert or adopt anything from Thereveda Buddhism to Shiia Islam... as long as they continue their skepticism. I had a professor once who was a hard core logician and was taken aback when he mentioned his weekly Bible study. But I realized that his beliefs didn't lessen his hard core logicism nor what an awesome dude he was.

I have discovered the same from folks who are abstact Deists (like Hal) to people who are strict Eastern Orthodox (like my buddy Randall) so that skepticism =/= atheism and it's refreshing as an atheist to find someone who can reconcile some semblance of belief with his/her skepticism.

Good for you! :)
 
UnrepentantSinner said:
Good for you Upchurch!
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We, thank you very much but...
it's refreshing as an atheist to find someone who can reconcile some semblance of belief with his/her skepticism.
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...technically, I'm still an atheist. This is more of a philosophical and sense of community pursuit rather than a discovering of personal religious belief, so to speak.
 
Well, if they forced a gun to my head and made me join a church, that'd be the one!




It sounds good. I like that point of view, that it's a classroom in a way, in which people seek the Divine.

I'll have to check it out at some point.
 
Silicon said:
Well, if they forced a gun to my head and made me join a church, that'd be the one!

{snip}

I'll have to check it out at some point.
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Hey, look at me! I'm convertin' people. And with Silicon, I've made one more convert on these boards than billifan ever has!
 
Upchurch said:
Hey, look at me! I'm convertin' people. And with Silicon, I've made one more convert on these boards than billifan ever has!
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:big:
 
I finally visited the local Unitarian Fellowship and LOVED it!!

The pianist opened the service by playing Chopin. It was beautiful. I am a big classical music fan.

We sang hymns....but they were not Christian hymns. They were very unique.

The message that was presented was "How homophobia hurts us all". It was very good. There are a couple of lesbian couples in the group, and one person who is transgendered. It was sad to hear what they've had to endure....especially from the christian community.

My hubby seemed to enjoy it...especially the talkback at the end of the service.

I am feeling better all the time by leaving my fundamental Christian beliefs behind. I think my hubby is still struggling a lot more than I am.

Anyhow, we will go back to the UU fellowship next Sunday. I look forward to it!!! :)
 
Ruby said:
I am feeling better all the time by leaving my fundamental Christian beliefs behind. I think my hubby is still struggling a lot more than I am.
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you should make him read and participate on this board like you do. might help him reason things through...
Anyhow, we will go back to the UU fellowship next Sunday. I look forward to it!!! :)
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We've been swamped with wedding planning, but we're trying to go this Sunday too.
 
Upchurch said:
you should make him read and participate on this board like you do. might help him reason things through...
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I wish he could post on here, but he is far too busy with work. He was raised as a Christian. His whole family are devout Christians. I think that's why it's so hard on him.
 
Ruby said:
I wish he could post on here, but he is far too busy with work. He was raised as a Christian. His whole family are devout Christians. I think that's why it's so hard on him.
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That's the great thing about Unitarianism. You can be a Unitarian and still be a Christian! Or a Wiccan, or a Buddhist... or pretty much anything except an atheist.
 
Tricky said:

That's the great thing about Unitarianism. You can be a Unitarian and still be a Christian! Or a Wiccan, or a Buddhist... or pretty much anything except an atheist.
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There are some atheists in the local UUF, in Oberlin...
 
Joshua Korosi said:

There are some atheists in the local UUF, in Oberlin...
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I'm sure. And I am a dues-paying member of the local Pagan organization, but it doesn't mean I am a Pagan. Sure, anyone is welcome in the Unitarian church, but it does, after all, espouse a version of God, even if it says "all Gods are one". A person who truly believes there is no god cannot really be a Unitarian, in spite of how much they respect them (as I do).
 
There's a big shakeup going on on UU circles now. The fellow who's just become president, Rev. Sinkford (first African-American) has caused much consternation because of his explicit position on God - that he exists - and there are a lot of people who are not too happy about it.

Atheism and Unitarianism are in fact quite compatible.

http://www.uua.org/aboutuua/principles.html

I don't have explicit references, but the Boston Globe had a pretty detailed story a month or so ago.
 
Kullervo said:
There's a big shakeup going on on UU circles now. The fellow who's just become president, Rev. Sinkford (first African-American) has caused much consternation because of his explicit position on God - that he exists - and there are a lot of people who are not too happy about it.
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How strange. Do you have an link that gives more details about this?
 
Kullervo said:
There's a big shakeup going on on UU circles now. The fellow who's just become president, Rev. Sinkford (first African-American) has caused much consternation because of his explicit position on God - that he exists - and there are a lot of people who are not too happy about it.

Atheism and Unitarianism are in fact quite compatible.

http://www.uua.org/aboutuua/principles.html

I don't have explicit references, but the Boston Globe had a pretty detailed story a month or so ago.
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If that's the case, then I retract my statement. It does seem odd to me though. What does "Unitarian" mean, anyway?
 
Tricky said:
What does "Unitarian" mean, anyway?
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unitarian

1 a often capitalized : one who believes that the deity exists only in one person b capitalized : a member of a denomination that stresses individual freedom of belief, the free use of reason in religion, a united world community, and liberal social action
2 : an advocate of unity or a unitary system


I would guess that the 1 b definition is the one we're referring to in Unitarian Universalist.
 
There's a New York Times link on their "in the news" section, but you need a subscription. I'll see if I can dredge up the Globe story somehow.

Unitarianism - well, "one god" originally, like in Judaism and Islam - it's not really Christianity in that it generally denies the divinity of Jesus. But generalizations about "what Unitarians believe" are unreliable.

Here's a link to the Globe article: http://www.religionnewsblog.com/archives/00003619.html

I like this line especially
Although individual congregations have been grappling with what kind of role, if any, there is for traditional religious language on Sunday morning, the debate began in earnest in January, when the Fort Worth Star-Telegram erroneously reported that Sinkford wanted to add the word ''God'' to the denomination's statement of principles.
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When I was studying to be confirmed as a Lutheran, we studied other Christian religions, and the story was "we're the Unitarians, come here and believe whatever you want to".
 
Yahweh said:
Unrelated, but there are 4 churches within walking distance of my house, and about 25 others within a 30 minute driving radius from my house. Why the need for so many churches?
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Because you people are so evil, you need a strong, holy prescence of god in the area to save your souls.
 
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