Translate

Search the site

Showing posts with label Universalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Universalism. Show all posts

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Check out Quest For Meaning

"The CLF is the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF), a Unitarian Universalist congregation without walls. Our 3,500 members, with their children, live all over the world. What brings us together is the desire to connect, seek, share and grow. You are welcome here whether you are a CLF member or not. Take your time, get to know us.

We believe that life is a gift, and that the sacred is to be found in all aspects of life.

We believe that children are born holy and do not need someone else to save their souls. We each are responsible to save our own souls, and because our souls are intertwined with one another, this involves caring for the common good.

We are people who believe that faith is not about doctrine or creed, and that the Spirit of Life cannot be adequately described by any name—though we use every name and no name.

We are atheists and Christians, Buddhists and Jews, agnostics and Hindus, who know that no metaphor or story of the holy is big enough to truly hold what is holy. We are people who value diversity: of opinion, of culture, of language, of life experience, of spiritual practice.

We are people of every race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, nationality, political stripe, economic status.

We draw meaning from science, from art, from poetry, from sacred texts, from the world around us, from one another, and from our own experiences in life. We are people who value action: acts for justice, acts for equality, acts of kindness, acts of self-care, acts of stewardship of the planet.

We are people who believe that the measure of a life well lived is the love that is carried in the hearts of those who knew us.Whatever route has brought you here, and whatever the path you walk with us, we are glad that you are here!"

Check out Quest For Meaning

Monday, July 21, 2014

Religious Tolerance (dot) org

"The importance of faith/belief statements:

We feel that every denomination, para-church organization, religious group, and religious web site should consider creating a statement of belief or faith and displaying it prominently. This is particularly important among Christian groups who may use the term "Christian" to refer to only the Roman Catholic Church, or only to Evangelical Protestantism, or to the full range of Christian denominations and beliefs, or to some other subset of the religion. Quite often, when we visit a Christian web site for the first time, we have to search around among its articles to find out exactly what Christian belief system they follow and promote on their web site.

That said, the following is our attempt at a statement of belief. Please be sure to read the footnotes at the bottom of the essay because they include some important qualifications and exceptions.

OCRT Statement of Belief:

We are a multi-faith group. As of late-2012, we consist of one Atheist, Agnostic, Christian, Wiccan and Zen Buddhist. Thus, the OCRT staff lack agreement on almost all theological matters, such as belief in a supreme being, the nature of God, interpretation of the Bible and other holy texts, whether life after death exists, what form the afterlife may take, etc.

We believe in:
 Personal worth: The inherent worth of every person. People are worthy of respect, support, and caring simply because they are human. Unfortunately, our group has not reached a consensus on when human life, in the form of an ovum and spermatozoon, becomes a human person with civil rights including the right to live. On this matter, our group's lack of agreement on when personhood begins mirrors that of society at large.

 Lack of discrimination: Working towards a culture that is relatively free of discrimination on the basis of gender, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, physical disability, language, age, body shape, etc.
  
Dignity: The dignity of the human person. We oppose the use of torture and cruel or unusual punishment including the death penalty.

Democracy: The importance of democratic processes within religious, political, and other structures in which the will of the people is implemented, subject to the limits imposed by the constitution.

Religion-state matters: The separation of religion and the state. (This is generally referred to as "separation of church and state." But we prefer the more inclusive term). The government should avoid promoting one faith group within a religion over another, or promote one religion over another, promote religion over secular beliefs, or promote secular beliefs over religion. 1

Personal freedom: The freedoms of religious beliefs, speech, association, and expression at the individual, congregational and denominational level. 1

Freedom of speech: The freedom to compare the beliefs of faith groups with each other, and with the findings of science. It also includes the freedom to criticize faith and other groups when they harm others.

Relative truth: The principle that many moral, ethical, and religious beliefs vary greatly from one culture, religion, and time to another, and are thus relative. We do acknowledge that they are often considered absolute by various religions and secular belief systems. 2

 Impact of religion: The generally positive influence that most religions have had on their followers and on society. 3

A problem with the use of prayer: It is our belief that prayer is an unreliable method to assess the will of God. We were initially divided on this matter, but a pilot study appears to indicate that prayer for this purpose is unreliable.

 Evil in religion: In the importance of individual believers detecting evil influences and policies that currently exist within their chosen faith group, and strongly advocating for their correction. If significant improvement or elimination of sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, etc. is impossible, we feel that they should consider withholding financial support and/or leaving the group. 4
  
Education: The principle that people are not truly educated unless they have studied the world's major religions and ethical systems. They need to learn of both the good and evil impacts that each has had on society throughout history. They need to be taught skills at analysis and "baloney detection." 5

Check out Religious Tolerance (dot) org

Friday, February 21, 2014

What Unitarian Universalists believe

"

  • Belief in Deity

Very diverse beliefs--Unitarian/Universalists welcome all deity beliefs as well as nontheistic beliefs. Some congregations are formed for those who share a common belief, e.g. Christianity.

Incarnations
Very diverse beliefs, including belief in no incarnations, or that all are the embodiment of God. Some believe Christ is God's Son, or not Son but "Wayshower."

Origin of Universe and Life
Diverse beliefs, but most believe in the Bible as symbolic and that natural processes account for origins.

After Death
Diverse beliefs, but most believe that heaven and hell are not places but are symbolic. Some believe heaven and hell are states of consciousness either in life or continuing after death; some believe in reincarnation; some believe that afterlife is nonexistent or not known or not important, as actions in life are all that matter.

Why Evil?
Most do not believe that humanity inherited original sin from Adam and Eve or that Satan actually exists. Most believe that God is good and made people inherently good but also with free will and an imperfect nature that leads some to immoral behavior. Diverse beliefs. Some believe wrong is committed when people distance themselves from God. Some believe in “karma,” that what goes around comes around. Some believe wrongdoing is a matter of human nature, psychology, sociology, etc.

Salvation
Some believe in salvation through faith in God and Jesus Christ, along with doing good works and doing no harm to others. Many believe all will be saved, as God is good and forgiving. Some believe in reincarnation and the necessity to eliminate personal greed or to learn all of life’s lessons before achieving enlightenment or salvation. For some, the concepts of salvation or enlightenment are irrelevant or disbelieved.

Undeserving Suffering
Diverse beliefs. Most Unitarians do not believe that Satan causes suffering. Some believe suffering is part of God’s plan, will, or design, even if we don’t immediately understand it. Some don’t believe in any spiritual reasons for suffering, and most take a humanistic approach to helping those in need.

Contemporary Issues
The Unitarian Universalist Association’s stance is to protect the personal right to choose abortion. Other contemporary views include working for equality for homosexuals, gender equality, a secular approach to divorce and remarriage, working to end poverty, promoting peace and nonviolence, and environmental protection. "

Credit

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Bahá'í Faith and the unity of religion

"The Unity of Religion is a core teaching in the Bahá'í Faith that states that there is a fundamental unity of many of the world's religions.The principle states that the teachings of the major religions are part of a single plan directed from the same God.It is one of the core teachings of the Bahá'í Faith, alongside the unity of God, and the unity of humanity.

The Bahá'í teachings state that there is but one religion which is progressively revealed by God, through prophets/messengers, to mankind as humanity matures and its capacity to understand also grows. The outward differences in the religions, the Bahá'í writings state, are due to the exigencies of the time and place the religion was revealed

The Bahá'í writings state that the essential nature of the messengers is twofold: they are at once human and divine. They are divine in that they all come from the same God and expound His teachings, and thus they can be seen in the same light, but at the same times they are separate individuals known by a different name, who fulfills a definite mission, and is entrusted with a particular revelation.

Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, claimed to be the most recent, but not the last, in a series of divine educators which include Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, and others.

See more..
@Wikipedia

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Unitarian Universalist

"Our Unitarian Universalist Principles and Sources


Unitarian Universalist congregations together affirm and promote seven Principles. We also share a “living tradition” of wisdom and spirituality, drawn from many sources. The seven Principles and six Sources of the Unitarian Universalist Association grew out of the grassroots of our communities, were affirmed democratically, and are part of who we are.

Our Principles


Unitarian Universalists hold the Principles as strong values and moral teachings. As Rev. Barbara Wells ten Hove explains, “The Principles are not dogma or doctrine, but rather a guide for those of us who choose to join and participate in Unitarian Universalist religious communities.”

1st Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
2nd Principle: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
3rd Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
4th Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
5th Principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
6th Principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part."

Read more....

More info:
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations