Speak of the devil (no pun intended)! I'm a Unitarian Universalist.
I like to think of UUism as something like Jefferson's Bible. Thomas Jefferson (a Deist, who we therefore claim to be UU) cut out his favorite Bible passages to create his own Bible. In the same way, UUs look for the good in every religion and disregard the bad.
Realizing that religion, while inspired by God, was ultimately created by Man, it's easy to account for most discrepancies. Saint Matthew's dire warnings of hell for nonbelievers, a concept I abhor, can easily be explained by a desire to recruit more followers for example.
In a way, I think religions inform each other- we gain a broader perspective on what we do believe by understanding what we don't.
And in the end, I don't think a patchwork faith is bad, even if you're the only one in the world who believes exactly as you do. Statistically, any belief system has an equal probability of being true, no matter how many people believe in it. We just as likely should be worshipping ants as our ancestors or cows or a 2000-year-old carpenter. Whatever belief brings you comfort, I've decided, is the best one.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2005-06-05 08:03 pm (UTC)I like to think of UUism as something like Jefferson's Bible. Thomas Jefferson (a Deist, who we therefore claim to be UU) cut out his favorite Bible passages to create his own Bible. In the same way, UUs look for the good in every religion and disregard the bad.
Realizing that religion, while inspired by God, was ultimately created by Man, it's easy to account for most discrepancies. Saint Matthew's dire warnings of hell for nonbelievers, a concept I abhor, can easily be explained by a desire to recruit more followers for example.
In a way, I think religions inform each other- we gain a broader perspective on what we do believe by understanding what we don't.
And in the end, I don't think a patchwork faith is bad, even if you're the only one in the world who believes exactly as you do. Statistically, any belief system has an equal probability of being true, no matter how many people believe in it. We just as likely should be worshipping ants as our ancestors or cows or a 2000-year-old carpenter. Whatever belief brings you comfort, I've decided, is the best one.