American Unitarian Conference Forum

A member in a private chat asked some important questions for us to consider. I would like to share those questions and my answers with you.


I will try to answer some if not all of your questions, with my opinion.

Question:  The Jewish prophets never fit into their society; in fact, as you well know, they told their people the opposite of what they wanted to hear.  The prophets and Jesus brought them God's Word and His Commands for proper living, which the Chosen People always rejected.  In re-reading the Old Testament (does anyone on the list read the Old Testament?)

Answer:  I for one on this list read the Old Testament. It shows the evolution of the Jewish faith as it changed over time as more knowledge became available and circumstances changed.  The prophets and teachers of many faiths never fit into their society.  They were agents of change.  When the current system is not working and has reached a point of stagnation, change is needed.  People become comfortable with the status quo and resist any change that takes them out of their comfort zone.  Often it is necessary to tell people the opposite of what they want to hear.  Change is not easy and does not happen over night.  One of the problems faced today is people express dissatisfaction with a system and say it must be changed but offer no viable alternative to the way things are done.  This has left people without direction and guidance. People now reject the old but have nothing to replace it with, and they reject all ideas presented because they do not see a way of implementing a change that will be more useful than what they have already rejected.

Question:  He decries the acquisitiveness and materialism of the modern society, but how does that society differ from the picture we get from Jesus and the Jewish prophets?

Answer:  Change is like death and taxes, you can be sure there will be change. The Jewish prophets did not look at questioning as a bad thing or at materialism as a negative.  The were always looking for new answers to old and new questions.  They sought out people who could explain the meanings of teachings that they did not fully understand.  They sought out ways to make life better and fuller. They looked for the proper balance between what was considered spiritual and what was considered material. They did their best to improve the living conditions of their people.  When stagnation set in, they called for change.  When laws were used to suppress the people, they called for change.  When people lost hope, they sought out ways to give them hope again. Change happened because they offered a new and better way for the people to live.

Question:  Do we follow the example of Jesus and the Jewish prophets?

Answer:  Yes.  We also follow the example of the prophets and teachers of other religions.  The Jewish prophets sought to improve on what they had by taking the best of the instructions they had available to them.  They borrowed from the other faith groups that they encountered and merged the best of all the teachings together.  Jesus also threw aside the teachings and rules that he thought were wrong and not in keeping with the needs of the people at the time. Each prophet, Jesus included built upon the foundation of all the previous teachings and merged with that new teachings or new ways of implementing the teachings and rules.

Question:  Most UUA ministries I know pay lip-service to Jesus and the Jewish Prophets in a sentimental and naive manner, just stressing reciprocity without encountering the actual consequences of Jesus' message or ministry. Does such a tepid response actually pervert Jesus' message?  

Answer: Yes,  Jesus gave a message to live by, not a message of stagnation and fixed rules to be blindly followed.  Jesus' message was also perverted when his death became more important than following what he taught.

Question:  Are our souls too empty and our stomachs too full?  Yes, we feed the body, but do we feed the soul?

Answer:  We need to feed both the body and the soul.  We must find the proper balance.

Question: "When there is a chicken in every pot and two cars in every garage we will still have the unanswered, core questions of human suffering, and there will be no one left in Unitarian pulpits to address them."  Has Rev. Barr's prediction come true?

Answer:  Yes.  But we are slowly beginning to address the core questions. (At least in the AUC.  I will not venture to answer for the UUA.)

Question: It is quite easy for them to sit back with "full stomachs" and lobby for "this right" and "that right" without ever personally engaging people or problems involved.  Is a "committed Unitarian" a contradiction in terms?  

Answer:  No.  One cannot be a true Unitarian without being committed.

Question:  Do we actually have a message as far as leading a "good life well-lived?"  If so, what is it?

Answer:  Love and serve the One God. Love and serve your fellow man.

Question: Is Unitarianism an "arm-chair quarterback" religion?

Answer: No. Many would like it to be, but, Unitarianism is about living in accord with your faith.  Without works a person has no faith.  Or, you could say you will know a person's faith by observing how that person conducts his or her daily business and affairs.

Question:  Can one be a good Unitarian if he or she never acts upon his or her beliefs?

Answer:  No!!!

Question:  Many Unitarians "put their money where their mouth is," but do any actually engage the world with their beliefs on a personal, daily basis?

Answer:  A true Unitarian must do their best to live their beliefs on a personal, daily basis.

Question:  Can there be Unitarian Evangelism?

Answer:  Yes.  Simply tell people what you believe and then demonstrate what you believe by the way you live.

Question: Well, the question is how do we live and behave while living in this world and carrying out God's plan for us and humanity.

Answer:  Do our best to love and serve the One God and do our best to love and serve our fellow man.

Question:  If Jesus and His Message are the answer to the suffering of the soul how do we respond to it as Unitarians?

Answer:  Follow his teachings and his message, not the foolish teachings about him that contradict what he taught.

All these answers represent my personal opinions. If you or any of the list members have different opinions, please share them with us.

With love,

Rev Dorris

Thank you, that was very inspirational.

Hi Rev Dorris,

I enjoyed your comments, but would like to say that I do not view the present day scene of spiritual confusion as cause for dispair or even concern, but as cause for serene optimism.

Several years ago I learned in a business setting the four stages of learning. The first is what might be called "Unconscious Incompetence". In it, we not only "don't know", but don't even recognize our ignorance. The second is what might be termed "Conscious Incompetence" This is the stage in which we are filled with the dreadful knowledge that there is a better way and our own ignorance of it. The third stage is that of "Conscious Competence", in which we are learning or have recently learned a New Way, but are able to exercize it only with difficulty and constant focus. The final blessed state is what might be called "Unconscious Competence", in which we exercize our new skill with grace and certainty, not even thinking about it as we practice it. Think driving a car after 20 years of doing so.

In the world today, in thinking about the state of religion, it is clear, at least to me, that many, perhaps most on Earth today are living in a state of Unconscious Incompetence. Very, very few are living in a state of Unconscious Competence, but the world is moving in that direction. The confusion that so many of us are living in I see as profoundly hopeful. It is absolutely the only route beyond the state of Mythological Religion that is pervasive in so much of the world today that exists.

Well, imho.

Fred

Turbulence leads to change which leads to stability which leads to turbulence which leads to change....evolution.

I think I reside between:

"Conscious Incompetence" filled with the dreadful knowledge that there is a better way and our own ignorance of it & "Conscious Competence", in which we are learning or have recently learned a New Way, but are able to exercise it only with difficulty and constant focus.