Just to go full circle, here are some questions for non-Christian UUs.
Do you find the Christian story worse than other sacred stories? Is it no worse than others but just not the one that works for you? Do you buy that the Christian story can change and transform people? If so, why doesn’t it change you? Do other sacred stories change you? Or, if none do, do you wish one did?
(Questions for Christian UUs are here.)
UPDATE: Somehow I accidentally turned off comments, but they’re back on now. Please comment away!
I used to be very uncomfortable with the Christian story, perhaps because it was out of that story that I had felt so oppressed. But, the older I get, the more I find that I am not just accepting of the narrative, but seeking it – and other sacred scripts – as part of my own.
I definitely see the transformative power they hold, but I also see the extraordinary power these narratives have to damage and destroy in the hands of unscrupulous people – and sometimes well-meaning but unwitting dupes. With great power comes great responsibility, and these stories command both.
Chutney,
I am a Unitarian Universalist who does not identify as Christian.
As a Divinity School student, I very much enjoyed studying Christian history and literature. Christian history provides a window into a set of theological questions that have arisen over hundreds of years. It is fascinating to me to read about how many Christian groups have grappled with these questions. I think it’s also important to note that American Christian history includes the history of Unitarianism and Universalism.
I have benefited spiritually from considering the ideas, personalities and events described in the Bible (both New and Old Testament). I often reflect on Biblical passages in my sermons and writing, whether it is because I agree with that passage, or because I think a passage illustrates an important tension that it is still relevant today, or because I disagree an idea presented in that passage and believe I can learn from that disagreement. Like Christian history, the Bible provides an opportunity to consider fundamental theological questions.
So, to answer your question, I don’t believe that being a non-Christian Unitarian Universalist requires dismissing the Christian “story,†or the “story†of any other faith. Unitarian Universalists can benefit from engaging with the histories and scriptures of different faith traditions, whether or not we choose to identify as adherents of those traditions.
As a life long UU I feel like I should answer these questions… more for me then for you. They are things I often ponder but haven’t shared.
Do you find the Christian story worse than other sacred stories? No, I find most “sacred” stories infantile. The Christian story isn’t any worse than any of the others. They are like children’s stories to me.
Is it no worse than others but just not the one that works for you? Actually, none of them work for me.
Do you buy that the Christian story can change and transform people? I think if people are ready for change anything can be the catalyst for that change. If that particular story works for them I suppose that they have found the perfect fit… although I would hope as UU’s they would continue searching.
If so, why doesn’t it change you? It is just a story. A myth. There isn’t any power there for me and really I can’t get over how it is abused by the human race to justify things like hate and war.
Do other sacred stories change you? Or, if none do, do you wish one did? Sometimes. I think it would be easier if I had a book that held answers for me, but I am often content to rattle around in the universe continuing my search for meaning. It makes life full of possibilities.
Thanks so much for the questions… it was fun to think that through.
As a non-C UU, I found that until I chipped away a lot of the barnacles and cultural accretions, I couldn’t appreciate the Christian story.
It’s still not the story that speaks to me. But I can and do appreciate it, and find that learning to speak the language (as it were) has been useful.
Of course I buy that it can change some folks–I can see in print and person where it has. But it doesn’t for me. Why not? Why would I (why would anyone) expect that it would for everyone? Almost nothing appeals to everyone. It offers things I don’t feel in need of, and/or that I find I get better elsewhere.
Thinking about it, Christianity (stripped of all the stuff…) only really made sense to me after I could “translate it” into my own terms. Then, I could appreciate it. But I don’t–can’t–buy the traditional story, and so it’s only in its more unorthodox formulation that it makes sense to me, and speaks to me.
And yet I find myself having a marvelous time citing Scripture to make larger points.
I’m wondering which version of the Christian story you guys are rejecting. This sort of gets to the post at Philocrites a bit ago that called out how the version of Christianity we say we reject is a good 300 years old.
So: What about the version of the story that Jesus is the divine exemplar of God’s love? Or the version of the story where Jesus is God’s way of identifying with human suffering and oppression?
Do you reject these stories too? Have you considered them?
Decided that my last comment needed its own post. Go look at the new set of questions. But feel free to leave comments here for this post. Let’s keep it going.
I think this is an interesting question, because there have always been many Christian stories, going back to the very beginning of the faith. Christianity was always a diverse religion that meant a lot of different things to different people. The imposition of orthodoxy by the Rome-based church in the fourth century AD (thanks to the Nicean and other creeds) tried to put an end to this diversity, and in many ways it succeeded, but I think we are seeing greater development of progressive ideas within Christianity now that speak to this.
Hi!
I frequently say I have a “physiology of faith:” a Buddhist brain, a Christian heart and a Humanist stomach. By this I mean my basic theological orientation is a liberal Zen Buddhism. But my dreams are populated by Moses and Miriam, Jesus and the Marys, my fundamental metaphorical references are derived from the Bible that was so central in my upbringing. And then, very much, all this is washed through my strongly rationalist and humanistic disposition.
Does that make me a Christian UU? Or, a nonChristian UU?
Sounds like just “UU.”
Do you find the Christian story worse than other sacred stories?
Not really. They all are equally likely to be true (and by the same token, equally likely to be untrue).
Is it no worse than others but just not the one that works for you?
No, none of them work for me, because sacred stories don’t have the value for me that the have for others. I want the truth (or as close as I can get), even if that might be dispel the sacredness for others.
Do you buy that the Christian story can change and transform people?
Sure, but that doesn’t make it true, nor does that mean that secular options couldn’t work equally well.
If so, why doesn’t it change you?
Because I don’t trust it to be an accurate reflection of reality.
Do other sacred stories change you?
No.
Or, if none do, do you wish one did?
Tried that, liked it while I was there, but it was time to move on.