unitarian universalism
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unitarian universalism
as many of u know, im a very indeccisive person as far as church denominations go. ive tried a bunch of churches, but the one church i went to that i like the most, that holds alot of my beliefs is Unitarian Universalist. is this a bad thing?
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SquareEnixGamR - Posts: 39
- Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 1:55 pm
- Location: in the middle of nowhere-Maine
Here is my limited and extremely biased recounting of my experience with the Unitarian Universalist church in my area.
The UU church in my town is large and friendly. It is an active congregation that also happens to play a large role in the local artistic community. However, this is because they demand nothing of anyone. One is free to worship God any way they see him. However, most choose to ascribe to a detached, ambiguous deity-like entity whose only consistent feature that I can discern from my discussions with them is that whatever I think about him is wrong. This ambiguity extends to personal morality where they manage to both free themselves of any obligations while still maintaining that they are ethically superior. I have even met members of this church that vigorously reject the divinity and saving power of Jesus Christ.
I hope that my experience with this church has been a fluke. It is also important to note that no church, denomination, or lack of denomination is safe from the temptation of hypocrisy. However in this case I fear that such errors may be more rooted in the doctrine of this particular church than the errors of men. I urge you to find out exactly what this church believes. If you examine its doctrines and find them to be fitting with your understanding of the word of God then you should certainly go there. However, if you find, as I did here, that they are more concerned with acceptance by the world, then you should have no business with them.
The UU church in my town is large and friendly. It is an active congregation that also happens to play a large role in the local artistic community. However, this is because they demand nothing of anyone. One is free to worship God any way they see him. However, most choose to ascribe to a detached, ambiguous deity-like entity whose only consistent feature that I can discern from my discussions with them is that whatever I think about him is wrong. This ambiguity extends to personal morality where they manage to both free themselves of any obligations while still maintaining that they are ethically superior. I have even met members of this church that vigorously reject the divinity and saving power of Jesus Christ.
I hope that my experience with this church has been a fluke. It is also important to note that no church, denomination, or lack of denomination is safe from the temptation of hypocrisy. However in this case I fear that such errors may be more rooted in the doctrine of this particular church than the errors of men. I urge you to find out exactly what this church believes. If you examine its doctrines and find them to be fitting with your understanding of the word of God then you should certainly go there. However, if you find, as I did here, that they are more concerned with acceptance by the world, then you should have no business with them.
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Cap'n Nick - Posts: 1008
- Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2004 10:00 am
- Location: Kojima, Japan
Cap'n Crack wrote:divinity and saving power of Jesus Christ.
In the end, that is THE most important part of any denomination. That being said...lets not let this become a bashing party on UU's. Keep this thread debate free...and it can enjoy many long days before joining its father and mother threads in E-valhala.
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Stephen - Posts: 7744
- Joined: Mon May 26, 2003 5:00 am
I would strongly warn against joining a Unitarian Universalism church. I have limited experience with them, but what I experienced definately echoes what Cap'n Crack said: I got a very broad "all ways lead to heaven" meaning not just all denominations, but all religions--Hindu, Islam, etc. It may not be very comforting to think that some people won't go to heaven, but that doesn't make it false...and I think that's what bothered me about this church most. They did not have any sense of urgency to share the gospel and hope we have found in Jesus, because they did not recognize that Jesus was the way to heaven. As Shatterheart said, that is the absolute most important part of any church. So I would honestly urge you to keep praying about different churches in your area; sometimes a church that pushes you beyond your comfort zone will bring out the most spiritual growth in you.
On a lighter note, e-valhala made me crack up.
On a lighter note, e-valhala made me crack up.
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Ashley - Posts: 7364
- Joined: Mon May 26, 2003 10:00 am
- Location: Fort Worth, Texas
e-valhala is awesomness. that should be quoted.
off the Universalist Unitarianist main website
We believe that personal experience, conscience and reason should be the final authorities in religion, and that in the end religious authority lies not in a book or person or institution, but in ourselves. We are a "non-creedal" religion: we do not ask anyone to subscribe to a creed.
Many of us honor Jesus, and many of us honor other master teachers of past or present generations, like Moses or the Buddha. As a result, mixed-tradition families may find common ground in the UU fellowship without compromising other loyalties.
Whatever our theological persuasion, Unitarian Universalists generally agree that the fruits of religious belief matter more than beliefs about religion-even about God. So we usually speak more of the fruits: gratitude for blessings, worthy aspirations, the renewal of hope, and service on behalf of justice.
Without trying to respect that denomination, I'd also encourage you to stay away. It may sound good on the surface but it's by no means a Christian denomination. It may include Christians, but yeah....it reminds me too much of a 'believe what you want' kind of thing. That can be scary..
off the Universalist Unitarianist main website
We believe that personal experience, conscience and reason should be the final authorities in religion, and that in the end religious authority lies not in a book or person or institution, but in ourselves. We are a "non-creedal" religion: we do not ask anyone to subscribe to a creed.
Many of us honor Jesus, and many of us honor other master teachers of past or present generations, like Moses or the Buddha. As a result, mixed-tradition families may find common ground in the UU fellowship without compromising other loyalties.
Whatever our theological persuasion, Unitarian Universalists generally agree that the fruits of religious belief matter more than beliefs about religion-even about God. So we usually speak more of the fruits: gratitude for blessings, worthy aspirations, the renewal of hope, and service on behalf of justice.
Without trying to respect that denomination, I'd also encourage you to stay away. It may sound good on the surface but it's by no means a Christian denomination. It may include Christians, but yeah....it reminds me too much of a 'believe what you want' kind of thing. That can be scary..
Cast in the name of God, ye not guilty.
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At the heart of mature [color=DarkOrchid]femininity is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive and nuture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to a woman's differing relationships.
At the heart of mature masculinity is a sense of benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for and protect women in ways appropriate to a man's differing relationships.[/color]
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Disclaimer: The comments of Lara, both on forum and chat, are random, unusual, and often sarcastic. Read with a pillar of salt. Thanks.
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At the heart of mature [color=DarkOrchid]femininity is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive and nuture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to a woman's differing relationships.
At the heart of mature masculinity is a sense of benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for and protect women in ways appropriate to a man's differing relationships.[/color]
~~~~
Disclaimer: The comments of Lara, both on forum and chat, are random, unusual, and often sarcastic. Read with a pillar of salt. Thanks.
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FadedOne - Posts: 881
- Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:13 pm
- Location: Ohio/Virginia
wow...never knew that about it. and i definitly dont want to separate myself from God by any means. the main reason for me wanting to go to a more hmm accepting church is because my mother was raised in a very strict home where religion was forced on her and she had no choice. and now she wont go to church with me unless its a very comfortable environment....
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SquareEnixGamR - Posts: 39
- Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 1:55 pm
- Location: in the middle of nowhere-Maine
SquareEnixGamR wrote:wow...never knew that about it. and i definitly dont want to separate myself from God by any means. the main reason for me wanting to go to a more hmm accepting church is because my mother was raised in a very strict home where religion was forced on her and she had no choice. and now she wont go to church with me unless its a very comfortable environment....
That's always unfortunate. I've seen it many places and not with any particular denomination either. I'm not sure how I would fare as a parent. I'd want the kids to understand the importance of religion but not make it look like a straight jacket they want to dump as soon as they can leave home.
I'll pray that you find where God is calling you and your mom can find peace.
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Arnobius - Posts: 2870
- Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2004 11:41 pm
What denomination you choose is nowhere near as important as what you believe. Now it is important to have a good denomination, one that you agree with. But ultimately the main point is to believe what is right, what is the truth. If you do not believe the truth then you believe a lie and are being very foolish. Truth is ultimately found in the word of God. Do you believe that the bible is the word of God? Do you believe that Jesus is “the Turth, the way, and the life?â€
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holysoldier5000 - Posts: 771
- Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2005 5:31 am
- Location: Off the page of the map... here there be monsters!
In my opinion, it is a foul and abominable collection of heresy, that began as foul heresy (denying the trinity) and has hopelessly buckled to greater heresy. Joining up with them would be like joining up with the gnostics or docetics in terms of orthodoxy. If you hold to the Nicene creed (which I had formerly shown you), stay far away.SquareEnixGamR wrote:as many of u know, im a very indeccisive person as far as church denominations go. ive tried a bunch of churches, but the one church i went to that i like the most, that holds alot of my beliefs is Unitarian Universalist. is this a bad thing?
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GhostontheNet - Posts: 1963
- Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2004 12:00 pm
- Location: Aurora, CO
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