PeaceBang
The manic mind of the minister -- Auntie Mame Meets Cotton Mather. Blogging about Unitarian Universalism, UU Christian spiritual practice, occasional cultural and political ravings, and the inner life of ministry. PeaceBang is the alter ego of a small town pastor serving an historic New England Unitarian Universalist congregation.
It’s God’s World, I Just Work Here
August 26, 2006 on 11:58 pm | In Spiritual Practice, TV/Movies/Theatre/Book Reviews, Theological Reflection (Biblical) |I just spent a week in Provincetown, reading, resting, and catching food poisoning. The weather was absolutely perfect. I prayed the Anglican rosary every night and read the Morning and Evening Prayers from the 1895 Universalist Prayer Book every day. I bored my condo companion silly (especially in the final days when I was unable to leave the house due to sickness). I ate a huge lobster that Paul murdered on my behalf. We saw an absolutely terrible Kander & Ebb review at the Provincetown Playhouse. I took photos of flowers. I was/am utterly content.
Much to my surprise, all my thinking about God this summer, and ruminating on faith, has led me to the conclusion that I do deeply believe in God. I have an old Chinese fortune in my wallet from a cookie I must have eaten years ago. It says, “You will become more passionate about your convictions.”
I have indeed become more passionate about my conviction that this is God’s world, and I just work here.
I no longer believe that God is just part of human nature.
I no longer believe that God is just something in Nature.
I believe in the God beyond understanding. My soul is satisfied with the God of Biblical tradition, as I understand more fully the human limitations in trying to interpret and enter into a mature relationship with this God. I have been studying the Ten Commandments this week. Can you believe I never have before?
Believe me, I know how stupid I sound when I say, “Whoa, man, those Commandments are, like, amazing!”
(I was, however, tremendously disappointed by Christopher Hedges’ book about the Commandments, Losing Moses on The Freeway
http://www.amazon.com/Losing-Moses-on-the/sim/0743255135/1.
I found his treatment of the Decalogue undisciplined and irritating. On one hand, he likes to dramatically critique white liberal privilege and distance himself from the talking heads at Harvard, and from his church-going past.
Yet he uses his Harvard education and his church-going past as the very foundation of his self-righteous moral pontificating.
Beyond that, his essays seem to be cathartic pieces that Hedges only barely bothers to connect to the Ten Commandments.)
I think it most luxurious to have been able to spend hours just sitting and thinking about the Ten Commandments. This is why ministers need vacations. This is not the kind of thing you can do between the other thousands tasks of ministry.
There is only one potentially serious problem arising from all this ruminating:
I still don’t know what Unitarian Universalists are worshiping if they are not worshiping God or, in the words of the hymn, “hallowing the world God hath made.”
If they are gathering to worship in the name of the Holy, in the acknowledgment that this world contains a spark of the sacred, I got no beef with that. If folks don’t want to use the word “God,” well, okay. Considering that “God” is the nickname most people on the planet give to that “that transcending mystery and wonder which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces and create and uphold life,”* it’s kind of eccentric for us to keep avoiding it. But still, okay. Spirit of Life and Love, okay with me.
If, however, UUs are actually worshiping human potentiality, I have to admit that I just don’t get it.
I am not offended by worshiping human potential, I just can’t do it myself.
This summer has clarified the main question for me: are we worshiping human potential, however veiled, or are we worshiping a world that is imbued with the sacred.
If I know my people, their next question will be: “How do you define the sacred?”
You know what? I don’t. I don’t mean to be dismissive, or cycnical, or pious when I say that. I just don’t. I have spent at least some portion of every day for the past nine weeks thinking deeply about God, and I can’t define it. So I won’t try. I am more amazed than ever, in fact, that any of us even try to live religious lives together around this Thing that none of us can define. I have recently discovered that I am almost as much in awe of that fact as I am in awe of God.
I discovered this summer that I am definitely in the right business. There is no righter business for me to be in. In fact, there is no other business at all. My little tiny life, even if it ended today, would be remembered as a religious life. I have recently discovered that I don’t care about any other accomplishment. That’s a big thing to know. That’s a big piece of blessed assurance pie to have at my table. “You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
You can have your anxiety disorder and bouts of depression. Or rather, you can have mine. That and loneliness and all the rest of the existential struggle. I got me some blessed assurance this summer. I hope it sticks. My God, I hope it sticks.
If this summer has made one thing clear to me, it is that I have something very intimate in common with the militant atheist:
For as perfectly dumb and irrational and nonsensical as it seems to the devoute atheist to worship an invisible, unproveable God — whose very name and potential existence seem only to provoke bloodshed, hatred and enmity, it seems every bit as dumb and irrational and nonsensical to me to worship human potential — a species whose past and present provide me no persuasive evidence whatsoever that I should place my faith in it.
* - from the UU first Source.
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As a Presbyterian pastor, I read your blog and sometimes feel a certain envy that you UUs have the freedom to range around the sacred. But, I have to say it never honestly occurred to me that anyone “religious” would worship–consciously, decidedly–human potential. That seems like a step away from the freedom I associate with Unitarian Universalims toward the same slavery to sin and death that our fellow Calvin was so fond of remembering. I’m happy for you that you have drawn this line, and that you had such a nice summer.
Comment by Brett — August 27, 2006 #
Lovely post, with which I resonate much.
However,
I don’t really think that anyone seriously worships “human potential.” The human potential, which is real enough, does not call for worship, but exercise. If I need to carry the groceries in from the car, I don’t spend a lot of time celebrating the fact that I can, I just do it.
Human potential only gets paired as the dialectical opposite of worship by those who think that worship is not doing anything and waiting for God to fix all problems. They draw the dichotomy as between passivity vs. potential. And who would not choose potential over sitting around waiting for God to fix the world?
The focus on human potential in liberal religion is a form of Christian atheism — one that is pragmatic — “we don’t need all this doctrine and problematic religious language in order to live ethical and purposeful lives, lives which look identifical to the lives of pure Christians.” It basically sees the Christian tradition as diverting people from the Christian life.
Who knows if this true? But whether it is true or not, it is a point of view that has no need for worship, except as an institutional custom, a pretext for getting together with people.
People are going to be where they are at. Liberal Religion, and Unitarian Universalism, will always have a certain number of folks who don’t see the need for the content of the religious tradition, and who argue that they can go right to the ethical life as a result.
Many of us have tried it and found that it doesn’t really work that way. The question to me is “how does the practice of trying to lead an ethical life lead one to realize the necessity of religious tradition?”
Comment by LT — August 27, 2006 #
Brett, I’m not sure that’s exactly what’s going on, but it may be in some congregations or for some individuals. What I am trying to understand is what outright atheists are doing when they attend worship, and how outright atheistic ministers are applying “worship” in a non-theistic way. The answer I’ve been hearing all my life is that worship is where we encounter those things that are worthy, but given the structures and historical purposes of liturgy, I’d say that it’s more ultimate than that. Which begs the question, are Unitarian Universalists trying to so radically redefine religion without really realizing it? In other words, among ourselves, we seem to “get” what we’re doing even if very few people can articulate it. Outside the confines of our own congregations, I think very few people “get” what we’re doing. Are we obligated in any way to explain ourselves to the rest of the world which holds a generally agreed-upon working definition of religion (i.e., that it involves worship of God)?
This is why I posited earlier that UUs in this era are practicing a sort of “vague Buddhism.” I suggest this because Buddhists are the only other major world religion that is accepted as such that doesn’t have God (or gods) at its center.
LT, my dear, I get where you’re coming from. But as you can see from my comments to Brett, I’m not confused so much by the person who sits around waiting for God to accomplish great works in their lives as I am by the atheist who goes to church on Sunday morning. What is he or she doing, really? Especially if it’s the presiding minister?
Comment by PeaceBang — August 27, 2006 #
Speaking to that last point, surely we could make a list in about five minutes of reasons this past century gives us not to place faith in any higher power, be it human or deity. Whatever higher power exists has encouraged/allowed some awful things to happen. In some ways, a belief in Satan might be quite comforting here, as scary as it would be, it would be nice to know that all the awfulness wasn’t built into us, but was being encouraged from outside.
Another way to look at it is that human potential is an icon through which we can worship the holy. I don’t know if better evidence of the holy exists. I hold my friends’ new baby and a feeling that I have to protect this child no matter what overtakes me. When I’m working on my novel, it’s really hard, but I feel moved that I’m creating something. We humans have a constant drive to fix and improve things, a drive far beyond that of any animal. `
Humans do sometimes create awfulness, leading some to put animals on a pedestal as they have never wanted to change anything about the world. But we also create solutions. Even the most strident back-to-nature people don’t want to give up vaccination and what we’ve learned about heath and nutrition and go back to humans only living to be thirty or so. Our drive to improve things strikes me as inspired by that which is greater than ourselves. As I don’t believe in a creator God, human potential in turn becomes the best evidence we have of God.
Personally, I see worshipping human potential itself as more like worshipping the stained glass windows than worshipping a golden calf. (Or it’s like Early Christians believing their iconography could perfrom miracles.) It’s a little shortsighted, but it still has you looking in religious directions and doing good things.
CC
Comment by Chalicechick — August 27, 2006 #
Thanks so much for your response, Peacebang. I absolutely agree with you that those of us outside of the UU sphere are not clear what happens in your worship services. It’s been so informative tor read your posts–I’ve been especially interested in the dialogues about the “vague Buddhism.”
LT would not seem to have much time for the liturgy that so many of us find at the very heart of our faith. For me, following ecclesiastical time, standing up and sitting down, singing the hymns, reading the lectionary, watching the colors change on the altar all have so much more importance than my meager belief.
Some people forget that worship is an aesthetic experience. On the left, they want worship to be an extension of their social and ethical activism. On the right, they want worship to be a repetitive affirmation of a few select ethical and fundamental propositions.
But both the atheist and I (a “believer”) can live the beauty of the liturgy. Perhaps it is easier for the atheist to do in a UU context where there is less pressure to make creedal confessions?
Thanks again for your thoughtful engagement with this stuff.
Comment by Brett — August 27, 2006 #
If I may, Brett, one of the problems with defining UUism or even our worship life to those outside of UUism is that we put a lot of weight onto the Individual, also the congregation.
Out congregationalist structure means that at many UU churches you would find a very simular liturgy to what you explained. In my church you will find one service with a fairly familiar liturgy and one with an open structure.
I have less of a problem understanding what it is we worship than some I suppose, and even less of an issue describing it as “what we find of worth”… because that allows us what I consider to be our strongest gift, which is that each must define what is of worth, or sacred, or truth on their own.
An Athiest has no less a desire and draw to find the sacred in their own lives, and lives of their fellows as a Thiest does in their God, or Panthiest the world around them (though they may not choose the word sacred to describe it). Acknowledge that and it is not so difficult to understand what worship means to them.
Comment by Jamie Goodwin — August 27, 2006 #
So glad you’re home, PB. I have missed you this week! And sorry about the food poisoning.
It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m semi-brain dead, so I don’t think I have anything meaningful to add to this conversation, but to those of you who appear not to be brain dead, thank you. At least I can come back here and take another look on, oh… Wednesday or so.
Comment by Berrysmom — August 27, 2006 #
Nontheists need community, too, PB! And if we just think about the terms broadly enough, nontheists like me are on our own “faith” journeys, anyway. We go to church to nourish that.
I like much of what Chalicechick, Brett, and Jamie wrote, too. In essence, many of us “do” church to find the transcendent–even if we don’t think we’re connecting with God. We’re trying to connect with whatever larger (societal, cultural, theoretical, etc.) forces motivate us. A beautiful liturgy, a few well-directed words, etc., can sure help accomplish that.
Don’t forget to feed the non-theists! After all, they helped sustain UUism for much of the last century.
Comment by Jay — August 27, 2006 #
Jay, your comment was most helpful in that you used the word “feed.” I think I understand how “feeding” and “worshiping” could be used almost synonymously.
I’m not questioning the belonging of non-theists. I am actually, literally asking what non-theists are DOING in worship, as in, what is their interior process? Not, “hey, what you are doing here?”(insinuating that they shouldn’t be here) but what are you actually DOING as a worshiper? What is going on inside you? That’s what I meant to say. Sorry it wasn’t clear.
Chalice Chick, who doesn’t believe in a creator God, says that she thinks that some folks may be worshiping human potential (do I get you, CC?). That’s what I really wanted to know. I wanted to know if that, in fact, is what’s going on for some UUs.
I have never doubted that people of all theological stripes need community. It is my #1 reason for being a constant evangelist for UUism, and my reason for shamelessly promoting church to my non-theist friends and acquaintances.
Comment by PeaceBang — August 27, 2006 #
I think we’re back to language again. In this case, it’s the word “worship”….
Comment by SC Universalist — August 27, 2006 #
Right. Which to most of the world, means paying reverence to some transcendent reality, doesn’t it?
So I still wonder what those who have no sense of transcendent reality are doing in that time. My guess, as I’m suggesting here, is that many of them/us assign a transcendent quality to human potential, or perhaps to human Love, and that they pay reverence to that.
Lizard Eater has some good reflections on it. I will post the links.
Comment by PeaceBang — August 27, 2006 #
A lot of these posts on this subject really have made me think about why I am in church on Sundays. I am questioning whether “worship” is the appropriate word for what I do when I’m there on Sundays. I don’t think I’ve ever worshipped in a church with several hundred other people, if worship is defined as recognizing some higher power or having reverence for all those things that are greater than my individual spirit and understanding.
And it is likely no coincedence that I haven’t attended church service in nearly two months now.
One can be righteous, inspired by a belief in God, and one can be righteous, inspired by a belief in the holiness of people.
Comment by LaReinaCobre — August 27, 2006 #
And sometimes both.
Glad this is generating good reflection, Hafhida. I hope you find your way back to church soon.
I often think that worship is a thing best done and not reflected overly much on. Only in that what brings us together is often largely intuitive.
In my church’s original covenant, it speaks of welcoming those “whose hearts God hath inclined to join with us for the good of their Souls.” Which may be another way of saying, “It’s a mystery that draws us together, but we know that it’s good for our souls.”
Comment by PeaceBang — August 27, 2006 #
I think I’d describe what I’m doing in church as listening or paying attention. I started out attending a clearly humanist Unitarian church, and loved the emotional and psychological quality of attending the services because it drew me into a much more retrospective or receptive place than my college classes. (I was in college then.) And I remember the morning when I thought, midway through the minister’s spoken “meditation,” “Hey! This is prayer!”
What I found was that the quality of listening the service was encouraging was opening a door to the transcendent, and that I could pay attention through that open door if I was willing to.
I actually have the same experience in Christian worship settings. Whether I’m in a worshipful UU service or in an Episcopal service with my wife, I would describe the common activity as paying attention. Maybe soul-attention or “deep attention.”
Comment by Philocrites — August 28, 2006 #
The word “worship” always struck me as a strange word in UU churches, left over from a time in the past when most UUs actually believed that there was a transcendant infinite personal reality to worship. It’s kind of like talking about “dialing” the phone, even when phones don’t have dials anymore. The term has no literal meaning anymore; it is just a word.
Comment by Mystical Seeker — August 28, 2006 #
Philocrites and mysticseeker,
Definitely helpful thoughts … thanks for sharing!
Comment by LaReinaCobre — August 28, 2006 #
O.K. I’m coming in late here with a comment, so I’ll just give you a link to my own blog where I share a little about this topic.
Comment by Wally Nut — August 30, 2006 #