The Obamas, personal religious experiences, and more

The Obamas

Joel Monka can't figure out why President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize:

His only peace accomplishment has been to get a hotheaded college professor to sit down with a hotheaded cop to share a beer. That must have been some beer. ("CUUMBAYA," October 9)

David Pyle believes Obama won because his election signaled the end of the Bush presidency: "Simply put, President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for one primary characteristic of his... he is not President George W. Bush." ("Celestial Lands," October 9)

Thomas R. Beall also criticizes Bush's "peacemaking" policies:

In other words, "Democracy, development, free markets, and free trade are what the peoples of the Earth need and we are going to give it to them whether they like it or not!" ("Living the Prophetic Imperative," October 9)

The Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell uses Michelle Obama's mixed-race ancestry to discuss change and progress:

Things do change. This is the truth I want to always keep before me when I despair of my country and the lack of progress we seem to make on so many crucial issues. Things change. They don't change quickly or easily. Things don't change automatically, or just because time passes. Things change because it is right that they should change, and good people throughout time provide the leadership for those changes. ("Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell," October 8)

Religion

David Pyle talks about how his childhood Pentecostal experiences influence his adult conception of God as the Holy Spirit:

That moment has stayed with me... the feeling that there was a binding force between us, that moved us, and through which we moved. The Pentecostal church we attended had a name for this (besides "The Force"). We called it the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost, and experiencing it was the center of our worship and of our faith. ("Celestial Lands," October 4)

Jacqueline Wolven ponders over the nature of comfort:

I also think that some people just have a need to have answers... and god and the comfort of having a god who is in control at some level provides those answers. I wonder if on some level there isn't so much a god gene, but rather a need for comfort gene. Or a need for answers gene. ("MoxieLife," October 9)

"Boston Unitarian" believes Jesus transcended his soul's imprisonment by accepting his lot in life:

Jesus accepted the conditions of his lot, externally one of the humblest, and exalted himself and it, and made his life divine by perfect obedience to those conditions. He did not aspire to the place of command to which his people gladly would have exalted him, but abode in his native humility and walked with his peasant companions, and found the topics of his duty among the halt and blind and publicans and sinners, and preached his gospel to the poor. ("Boston Unitarian," October 8)

Erik Resly reflects on the Seventh Principle:

When Unitarian Universalists weave a web of intimate relationality, they do so against both a Manichaen dualism of cosmic cleavage and a Neo-Platonic division of the human subject. To enter into a world of interconnection is to move beyond indifference, tolerance, even community, into a metaphysical morass of radical mutuality. ("Embodied Fragments," October 7)

The Rev. Kit Ketcham finds forgiveness difficult to give sometimes:

As I gaze back over my life, there's no way to avoid seeing the bumps in my experience that represent people who made me angry at one time or another and the ones who still make me angry, even though I have not been in contact with them for years. I still resent the behavior of a number of people who hurt or let me down over the past 67 years. Some of them are dead or almost dead. I don't know the whereabouts of some of them. ("Ms. Kitty's Saloon and Road Show," October 6)

Around the blogosphere:

Shannon writes about how a Farm Aid concert inspired her to shop at the farmer's market again:

It seems like I need to remind myself often that whatever it is that I do for good is good, that no matter how lacking my actions might be in any area- doing just that one good thing is helpful. It's helpful, and it counts. ("Unmitigated Bliss," October 8)

The Rev. Dan Harper discusses the different eastern New England accents he's experienced:

Middle class accents differed from working class accents, and had less regional differentiation within the broader Eastern New England region, but there were still broad distinctions in the Boston area between North Shore, urban, and South Shore accents. I did not come into contact with many upper class accents, but they were clearly distinct from working class and middle class accents. ("Yet Another Unitarian Universalist," October 7)

Forrest Church remembered, postmodern and liberal religion, and more

Forrest Church

Marc Johnson, a prominent Idaho civil servant, says Church carried on the legacy of his father:

It is a rare thing in public life these days to read the words or hear the voice of a truly eloquent thinker and writer. The late Idaho Senator - Frank Church - was that rare breed and so was his Unitarian minister son. ("The Johnson Post," September 28)

Dr. Joanne Cacciatore posted excerpts from Church's interview with NPR in October 2008:

I was inspired to tears as I listened. Religiosity and doctrine aside, his words resonated. His attitude challenged others to rethink life, love, and death - perhaps even the nature of God. ("Becoming," September 29)

Hollis Huston praises Church's ability to reconcile with death:

He was fortunate but made the most of his good fortune. He seemed to be saying, and not just for a moment, I can die now. He showed us a way to live, knowing that he had to die. O grave, where is thy victory? ("The Next Circle," September 29)

"JohnFranc" uses Church's views on death to discuss his own:

I agree with Rev. Church that there is love after death - we live on in the love we leave behind. We live on in our physical and spiritual descendants. We live on in the deeds we do - the good and the not-so-good. And we live on in that our bodies will be returned to the Earth and our elements recycled into future living things. These things are clearly true. And if it turns out they're all that's true, I'm OK with that. ("Under the Ancient Oaks," October 1)

"D" admires Church's writings:

He seemed to know a lot about U.S. history and could convey it passionately and clearly. I took to his writing. His book God and Other Famous Liberals aimed to recapture notions of God, the flag, and family values for the left and liberalism. Church argued convincingly that "God" can be a liberating and non-sectarian notion, while liberation itself can be patriotic.("Stars Eat Toys," September 26)

Liberal and postmodern religion

David Pyle defines Unitarian Universalism as a postmodern religion:

So, Religious Postmodernism is a belief system that accepts that truth about religious questions is ultimately unknowable; that the experiences, feelings, and attitudes we hold profoundly change our perspectives; that the rituals, symbols, and communities we use and participate in have only the meanings we give them; and that accepts a dynamic, changing understanding of the universe. ("Celestial Lands," September 26)

Wade G. disagrees with the use of the term "postmodern" to define his faith:

I must say I am not crazy about the use of the term "postmodern" as it seems to mean so many different things to so many people and is often used to promote a sort-of "anything goes" attitude in which all beliefs and ideas are in some sense "equal." ("The Evolution of the Mystery," September 27)

"DairyStateDad" wonders if liberal religion doesn't challenge people enough:

On this one I'm really torn, finding the claim at once to carry a grain of truth and yet be ultimately facile. I don't yet have a clear-cut answer to my conflicted response. Indeed, anytime I try to answer it in my head, what comes out is either tiresome, "tough-minded" UU bashing or else simpering, smug UU defensiveness. ("DairyStateDad," September 29)

Around the blogosphere

"Ginger Root" discusses how a friend's dislocated shoulder taught her a lesson about life and relationships:

I start to apply this to the rest of my life as well. Maybe I don't need a dramatic ending to my conflict with another person, or to my inner struggles. Maybe I just need to soften. Sure it's a more exciting story when the resolution involves a dramatic event, but I no longer look for drama as the first solution to the tensions in my life. ("Carrots and Ginger," September 28)

Elizabeth blogs about what she would blog about if she had the time:

How different the skill sets are for running a successful campaign where people feel engaged in politics and running a successful government where people feel engaged in politics. This also reminds me of how ministers (like presidents) need several very different skill sets: 1) preaching well week in and week out; 2) keeping a church healthy - people getting along, a sense of community, social justice work, spiritual growth, people growth, etc.; and 3) pastoral care. ("Elizabeth's Little Blog," October 1)

Jacqueline Wolven wonders where all the pumpkins have gone:

There is a serious pumpkin shortage. Perhaps it is some conspiracy to stop American's from consuming vast amounts of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. Or Aliens came down and brought them all back to their leader as an amusing food that you can cut up and play with AND eat... what's more fun than that? ("MoxieLife," October 1)

Thomas R. Beall discusses how Star Trek enforces UU beliefs:

Unlike the subsequent spin-offs, the original Star Trek, at its best, was about mankind bringing the Beloved Community to the stars. Although the characters were members of a Navy-like organization called Starfleet (and got themselves into a number of fights with alien species), they always identified themselves not as military men but as explorers and peacemakers. ("Living the Prophetic Imperative," October 2)