I can also say that true things are rarely easy to comprehend, not if they have real meaning.
Mmm. I do agree that many important things are difficult to fully understand or put into practice, especially since every single absolute principle I have ever thought of becomes untenable when taken to extremes. But the thing is, I am a very religious person. I just have a different approach from you.
I believe that there are no spiritual powers and no spiritual realm. I believe there is no life after death; this world and this life are the only ones we ever get, so we have to do our best here and now. I believe we are part of this earth and this universe; when we die, our bodies return to the world from which they came, and maybe one day, billions of years from now, fragments of the earth will become part of a new star; we are all connected to each other in the mystery of existence. I believe that good is whatever helps another person, that sin is whatever harms another person, and that we should ask other people whether they've been hurt or helped instead of assuming we can judge for them. I believe that community is sacred, that learning is sacred, that there are infinite paths to wisdom and love, and that everything that leads to greater community and understanding is holy.
Those beliefs can, of course, be abused, just as Christian beliefs can be abused and turned to hatred instead of the love Jesus preached. No religion is perfect. But I believe in a free and responsible search for truth and meaning, and I believe that questions are sacred while answers are dangerous and not to be lightly accepted.
Unitarian Universalism is a religion based on values rather than beliefs; we do not ever use any form of creedal test, and therefore every UU tends to have slightly different beliefs and practices. In terms of my beliefs, I am a secular humanist agnostic with vague leanings toward Buddhist philosophy and earth-centric pantheism (i.e., a belief that the whole world is sacred). I say I am agnostic rather than atheist because atheism seems, to me, to focus on the lack of a deity, whereas I think the existence or non-existence of deities is utterly irrelevant. The point is to have reverence and respect for the universe and to live in such a way as to help people rather than harm them. I would consider those two goals the heart of my religion even if a god appeared to me in flame and trumpets, because any god who didn't put those two goals at the heart of his or her instructions would not be worthy of worship.
(From what I understand, those are some of the main goals Christ told his followers to pursue. Which is why I can read stories that portray Aslan as Jesus, even through the cognitive dissonance, because unless they're specifically dealing with the Apocalypse, I usually agree with the values on which they're based. *grin*)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
on theology, ethics, and authorial intent, part 5
Date: 2009-05-10 05:31 am (UTC)Mmm. I do agree that many important things are difficult to fully understand or put into practice, especially since every single absolute principle I have ever thought of becomes untenable when taken to extremes. But the thing is, I am a very religious person. I just have a different approach from you.
I believe that there are no spiritual powers and no spiritual realm. I believe there is no life after death; this world and this life are the only ones we ever get, so we have to do our best here and now. I believe we are part of this earth and this universe; when we die, our bodies return to the world from which they came, and maybe one day, billions of years from now, fragments of the earth will become part of a new star; we are all connected to each other in the mystery of existence. I believe that good is whatever helps another person, that sin is whatever harms another person, and that we should ask other people whether they've been hurt or helped instead of assuming we can judge for them. I believe that community is sacred, that learning is sacred, that there are infinite paths to wisdom and love, and that everything that leads to greater community and understanding is holy.
Those beliefs can, of course, be abused, just as Christian beliefs can be abused and turned to hatred instead of the love Jesus preached. No religion is perfect. But I believe in a free and responsible search for truth and meaning, and I believe that questions are sacred while answers are dangerous and not to be lightly accepted.
Unitarian Universalism is a religion based on values rather than beliefs; we do not ever use any form of creedal test, and therefore every UU tends to have slightly different beliefs and practices. In terms of my beliefs, I am a secular humanist agnostic with vague leanings toward Buddhist philosophy and earth-centric pantheism (i.e., a belief that the whole world is sacred). I say I am agnostic rather than atheist because atheism seems, to me, to focus on the lack of a deity, whereas I think the existence or non-existence of deities is utterly irrelevant. The point is to have reverence and respect for the universe and to live in such a way as to help people rather than harm them. I would consider those two goals the heart of my religion even if a god appeared to me in flame and trumpets, because any god who didn't put those two goals at the heart of his or her instructions would not be worthy of worship.
(From what I understand, those are some of the main goals Christ told his followers to pursue. Which is why I can read stories that portray Aslan as Jesus, even through the cognitive dissonance, because unless they're specifically dealing with the Apocalypse, I usually agree with the values on which they're based. *grin*)