Discussions on UUism, Hate Crime legislation, and more

Discussions on UUism

UUA Trustee Linda Laskowski has been posting a series of reflections about the October meeting of the Board of Trustees over the course of the last week, including posts on a possible youth leadership training program, reconsidering policies, and the UUSC's humanitarian projects.

Peter Bowden discusses Peter Morales's recent announcement to do a comprehensive review of UU ministry:

I'm glad we're going to take a hard honest look at our ministry. Does UU congregational participation correlate with spiritual growth? What ARE the stages of Unitarian Universalist development? Do we know what these are? What are our ministry objectives? What ongoing struggles within our association of congregations are connected to a failure to understand the way we develop and mature as people of faith? ("The UU Growth Blog," October 27)

Kim Hampton responds to criticism of her criticism of Unitarian Universalism:

Next, if you will notice I never single out any particular UU congregation for criticism. That's not my job nor my point. (and I believe my mother taught me better than to do that) When I talk about something, I'm talking about what I see as wider trends-not something that any one church does. It is not my intention to call out any particular church, because in my life right now all I'm going to see is the periphery. The periphery gives me a pretty good view of the wider world, not how it is applied in any particular church. ("east of midnight," October 25)

Daniel Harper posts a link to a San Francisco radio talk show that had a discussion about Unitarian Universalism:

On Sundays, KGO has a weekly radio show called "God Talk," hosted by Brent Walters, who actually has a post-grad degree in religious studies. Yesterday, Walters did a three-hour show on Unitarian Universalism... ("Yet Another Unitarian Universalist," October 26)

Devin Murphy explains what he sees as the three stages of development in people raised as UUs:

For a child being raised in UU community the First Stage of spiritual development is the stage of scientific scepticism and inquisitivity. And one in this stage does not accept things on faith but only accepts them if convinced logically. ("Ramblingsofmymind," October 28)

Hate Crime legislation

The Rev. Ricky Hoyt has mixed feelings about the new hate crime legislation:

The motivation doesn't make the act more violent. The victim doesn't suffer any additional physical hurt. If the attacker is screaming "nigger" or "queer" during the act it may cause some additional mental suffering, but it is not, in fact, illegal, to yell "nigger" or "queer" (unless it's perceived as an actual threat to do violence). So the only act that hate crimes legislation actually punishes is not an act at all, but a thought: the mental state of the attacker, the contents of their mind. ("One More Step," October 29)

The Rev. Gary Kowalski believes Christian pastors should support the new law, rather than condemn it:

The rationale for hate crimes legislation, of course, is to protect whole classes of people. When a synagogue is defaced by a swastika, or a church is burnt down, it harms not only the individuals who belonged to that particular congregation. It terrorizes an entire category of citizens and chills their ability to gather and worship according to their own conscience. ("Revolutionary Spirits," October 29)

Biblical literalism

"Chalicechick" believes that a biblical story's meaning and value shouldn't be judged on whether the story is true:

To me, the idea that a religious story's meaning and value should be evaluated separately from its literal truth makes perfect sense and I'm not sure why anything else would be the case. After all, Jesus himself acknowledged that not all of his stories were literally true. If inventing a story to get a spiritual point across was good enough for Jesus, one would think it would be good enough for the Reverend Wilson. ("The Chaliceblog," October 29)

"DairyStateDad" responds, posting a reflection on mainline Christians' relationship to biblical literalists:

I do wish sometimes that mainline Christians would be more willing to directly confront and critique the more negative and even destructive interpretations of Christian doctrine held by some of their evangelical bretheren and sisteren. I know many Christians who despair at the way fundamentalists and conservative evangelicals have appropriated the term "Christianity" to the exclusion of more progressive Christians... In the end, though, I can understand why they don't. As DairyStateMom puts it, it may feel a little too much like airing dirty laundry in public -- about matters that for them just aren't that important. ("DairyStateDad," October 29)

Around the blogosphere:

James Ford shares thoughts on New Humanism, and links to a brand new online magazine entirely devoted to the topic:

Greg Epstein's approach is an attempt to shift humanism away from the rhetoric of that hard atheism and toward all those other aspects of a fully engaged life in this world--and in particular those concerns that are part of the religious or spiritual quest. This New Humanism is about meaning and depth in life without reference to a creator/sustainer/destroyer divinity. ("Monkey Mind," October 30)

The Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell discusses religion and economics:

Do I, a minister, know enough to speak about economics? Am I a citizen? We cannot leave this crucial area to the "experts," who have overlooked the poor among us, saying "that's just the price we have to pay for prosperity"; who have called the bleeding of the earth an "externality"; who have been enamored of formulas in books and have not been concerned that children are hungry. No, we can't leave economics to the experts, because economics is all about how we divvy up resources and therefore it is fundamentally a moral issue. ("Rev Dr. Marilyn Sewell," October 28)

"Lizard Eater" debates the idea that having a daughter with cancer makes her a better minister:

It's been a difficult thing for me to work my way through, as I had to get past my maternal emotions -- I don't want to benefit, or the world to benefit, in any way from my baby daughter getting cancer! -- and my confusion as I tried to reason it all out:
a) There was something deficient in you before that only childhood cancer could fix
b) A person who has experienced childhood cancer is inherently a better ministerial prospect than someone who hasn't. ("The Journey," October 25)

John mourns the death of his step-father, but also celebrates his life:

I would like to think that some of my better traits I learned from him. He was a stoic quiet man who could find off-color humor in any situation, but had a genuine kindness to him and towards his fellow man. He was strong in the face of adversity; I never knew him to panic or worry much; if he did, he hid it from sight and wouldn't let anyone else know it. He was slow to anger, but stood his ground when needed; wasn't a fighter, but wasn't afraid to fight. ("The Pageless Book," October 27)

As she and her family succumb to seasonal illnesses, Shannon contemplates the quilts that they find refuge in:

I myself come from a pretty creative family, but not one of us is much of a quilter. However, I was lucky enough to marry into a family rich in heirloom quilts that have kept us warm together all these winters. I love the quilts more as each year passes. ("Unmitigated Bliss," October 28)

"Politywonk" compares New York City to Afghanistan to explain why military action isn't the whole answer:

Afghanistan isn't any different from America. Except that a lot more Afghans -- especially women and children -- are dying of things we now treat in the emergency rooms. I won't say "the elderly" because they only expect to live to 50. That means they are dying not OF old age, but IN middle age. ("PolityWonk," October 30)