Hello all,
I have been posting on the yahoo forum about starting a Unitarian educational institution in PA.
I will once again pose my primary questions in case there are folks here that want to chime in.
1. We were curious to get individual impressions on what literature should be mandatory for a Unitarian education. If nothing else, its a fun exercise.
2. If anyone is interested in taking part in its development (In any capacity) please contact me. We need all the help we can get.
Kenn
http://www.americanunitarianchurch.org
Great idea...best of luck. I would direct you to the selections listed under the AUC Bookstore for each flavor of Unitarianism...History, Christian, Deist etc.
I like your website!
Thanks. I worked hard to get the web-site looking good. Its still light on content and a bit over simplified. I will continue to add sermons and other content a bit at a time. Next edit will include a brief historical introduction to better explain exactly whee AU comes from.
Kenn
Hello all,
I have been posting on the yahoo forum about starting a Unitarian educational institution in PA.
I will once again pose my primary questions in case there are folks here that want to chime in.
1. We were curious to get individual impressions on what literature should be mandatory for a Unitarian education. If nothing else, its a fun exercise.
2. If anyone is interested in taking part in its development (In any capacity) please contact me. We need all the help we can get.
Kenn
http://www.americanunitarianchurch.org
I think this is a wonderful idea. I have had this same ambition for some time, just not sure how to get started on such an endeavor. The title Unitarian can carry many different connotations and as such would be hard to recomend what types of literature should be mandatory reading.
My view of a Unitarian educational facitlity I can try and explain. It of course must teach a Unitarian view of God. Without this it would not be a Unitarian school. I believe it must be Christ centered and teach us about living a Christian life. With the influence of Unitarian Universalists the many unitarians have become overy liberal and have become open and afirming in ideals. I believe we need to look not only to the relational aspects of the Bible but to the morality issues the Bible teaches as well. We must however balance this in love and understanding. We should be loving and embrace our brothers and sisters who struggle, but we need not be confirming as if sin is acceptable. Other issues I see important in education I will list now. mortality of the soul, conditional immortality for believers, soul sleep, the wages of sin is death not eternal torment, strict monotheism, The existance of God, the self revelation of God, the personality of God, a study of antitheistic views to understand various other faiths, the divisions of systematic theology, the importance of systematic theology, an understanding of trinitarian thought and how to counter such teachings, the attributes of God, the moral attributes of God, Gods relation to the universe, the worship of God, Anthropology, Hamartilogy, Christology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, and eschatology.
There would of course be many lessons that would fall into one of these different catagories. You will probably sigh in relief I will not give a listing here at this time. I believe also, today, we need to add a strong focus on missions work and church planting. This should be our primary concern. Teach people the true Biblical unitarian faith, and teach people to use what they learn in a practical manner. Students need to learn and gain experience in missions and church planting to help this faith grow.
God Bless, Grey Yates
Hello Grey,
Within the AUC there are Unitarians whose faith is not limited to or defined by the "true Biblical...faith." Most of us, as our principles state, look to many sources for inspiration and while some focus on Christ in living their faith, not all of us do.
Indeed I agree many do not look to the Bible for instruction in the Unitarian churches of today. This is a sad reality. The purpose I read at the AUC site is to restore the original beliefs within the UNitarian community. But instead I see a new age message that is tainted with beliefs added over the years by the UU congregations, progressive Christianity, and overly liberal modern concerns of what we try to deem as justice. This is not the Unitarian faith. The Unitarian faith is Christian in it's origin. It is the original Biblical faith as taught by Jesus and his followers. It was alive and strong for many centuries. It was all but lost in the 19th century when a new breed of so called Unitarians emerged on the scene. Then it pretty much lost altogether when the Unitarians merged with the Universalists in the mid 20th century. Today not many even know what a Unitarian is, not even those who proudly wear the title.
God Bless, Grey Yates
With all due respect, Mr. Yates, you would be hard pressed to find a more educated group of Unitarian historians and theologians than those folks who have made the AUC their home. Unitarianism, in our context, is not simply non-trinitarianism. Its theology is not static, nor is it something that can be made up in any way one likes. Please take some time to read the articles here, and you will have a better understanding of what and who we are. There is nothing "new age" about us; faith, freedom and reason are our hallmarks. Love to man and love to God, twin commandments that are inseparable as our guidance in the religious life.
No need to apologize, tolerance is respecting another person even if you disagree with him or her. You are free to express your opinions, and should not be afraid to do so here. Sorry for any misunderstanding.
I am glad your faith has changed your life for the better.
As a Unitarian I do not conceive of GOD as Jesus...but I do understand that one could consider Jesus as an intercessionary agent or exemplar if that is what speaks to your heart.