On the other hand, through the nineteenth century, and lasting in Texas to the Depression, Universalists couldn’t say no to an extended doctrinal debate — Presbyterians and Methodists were favorite opponents — often lasting several days.

Perhaps this style of worship is a part of our shared heritage.

The sermon title was “Believe and Be Damned” — the central point of sermon was that uncritical belief in anything leads to danger. The lay leader in our small South Dakota congregation was the daughter of a Congregationalist minister and she had re-written lyrics for the revival camp meeting songs of her childhood.

Given my UU background and experience with a non-Christian revival worship service, I would say that this was not a “totally inauthentic coopting of Christian language” for two reasons.

(1) Unitarian Universalism arose out of Protestant Christianity and has historical roots within it. Since this history is a shared heritage for Christian and non-Christian UUs, it’s not an inauthentic cultural misappropriation issue.

(2) With Christianity’s past historical association with colonialism and imperialism, I don’t think that borrowing of Christian forms by a group that has roots within the tradition doesn’t carry the “cultural imperialism baggage” that it does when one borrows from Islam, Buddhism, etc.

I’ll have to dig up a copy of the re-written lyrics for “Standing on the Promises,” “I Saw the Light,” and other songs that we used for the worship for posting on my blog.

Just my $0.02 worth here …

That’s a heck of a criteria… some of the most noble dissent is for a lost cause.

What makes a dissent manufactured is, one, when it is knowingly feckless and, two, when it becomes a hobby. (I mean “manufactured dissent” in the sense of “faux dissent.”) It may be important to the protesters, but why does their hobby deserve everyone’s attention? Why should fellow liberals be negatively judged for ignoring protests that are obviously going to fail? Why do I owe them any more respect than I owe this?

My hobbies are important to me. I think my blogging, to pick one hobby, sometimes has a prophetic edge to it, and I do it because I hope it might lead to change. (It’s been changing-making for me personally.) But you don’t have to think blogging is as important as I do to be a responsible person.