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<\/a><\/div>\nSermon \u2013 Dangerous Religion <\/b> Introduction \u2013 Lukewarm Religion <\/b><\/p>\n I grew up in a small, conservative Baptist church, where they preached the Bible was the literal and inerrant Word of God. When I got old enough to start thinking about that, I realized I had some issues with what they were preaching \u2013 issues that eventually led to me become a Unitarian Universalist. I imagine many of you had similar experiences. <\/p>\n Some things seemed like good religion: \u201cLove your God with all your heart and with all your soul and Love your neighbor as yourself.\u201d \u201cDo unto others as you would have them do to you.\u201d<\/p>\n Some things seemed like bad religion, but at least I could understand why they\u2019d say it, such as the prohibition on eating pork.<\/p>\n But sometimes they preached things I just couldn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n In the Book of Revelation, in the early chapters, before we get into the prophecies that some in our time have turned into apocalyptic pornography, the writer says God sent messages to seven churches of the early Christian world. To one of these churches, God said \u201cI know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n When I first heard that many years ago, I couldn\u2019t understand it \u2013 why would they say that? It\u2019s meaning was clear, but it struck me as unreasonably harsh. Not everyone is cut out to be a religious zealot \u2013 why isn\u2019t \u201cgood enough\u201d good enough? <\/p>\n Many years later, I understand. Religion that\u2019s lukewarm, unobtrusive and safe doesn\u2019t change lives and it doesn\u2019t change the world. It doesn\u2019t challenge us to examine our beliefs and make sure they\u2019re worthy of our values. It doesn\u2019t challenge us to examine our actions and make sure they\u2019re in alignment with those values. It doesn\u2019t challenge us to get off the couch, get out of the pew, step out of the circle \u2013 to get out of our comfort zones and learn or experience or do something new. It doesn\u2019t save our souls or anyone else\u2019s.<\/p>\n Safe religion doesn\u2019t make a difference. <\/p>\n If we want to change the world we have to practice dangerous religion.<\/p>\n Meaning vs. Opium<\/b><\/p>\n If most people know nothing else about Karl Marx, they know he said \u201creligion is the opium of the people.\u201d Marx also said \u201cReligion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions.\u201d Marx was ranting against an established religion that reinforced an unjust social and economic order, religion that promised heaven but only if you put up with hell on earth. <\/p>\n \u201cHere, have some more opium and go back to work. It\u2019ll all be better when you\u2019re dead.\u201d<\/p>\n Karl Marx was right to call for the end of that kind of religion, though clearly he didn\u2019t know some of his Unitarian contemporaries, abolitionists and reformers like Theodore Parker, Susan B. Anthony, and Jane Addams. Like them, our religion inspires us to work to end oppression. It also brings us comfort and meaning in difficult situations. But how exactly does that work for us? Unlike folks at some other churches, we can\u2019t say \u201cit\u2019s all part of God\u2019s plan.\u201d <\/p>\n When you\u2019re on your deathbed, what will give you meaning and comfort? That you had a good education? That your beliefs were rational and enlightened? That you appreciated fine music and art and food? Those are all good things, but high class opium is still opium. <\/p>\n What are you doing to make the world a better place here and now? What are you doing to live in harmony with the Earth and all its creatures? What are you doing to experience the Holy, the Sacred, God, Goddess, for yourself, first-hand?<\/p>\n Are you practicing dangerous religion or are you taking spiritual opium?<\/p>\n Caveats<\/b><\/p>\n OK, you say, I\u2019ll agree that our religion needs to have some real substance to it, but how can you go advocating \u201cdangerous religion\u201d when so many bad things have been done by religious fanatics? <\/p>\n After the Buddha had been enlightened, he was travelling through India teaching. People could tell there was something different, something special about him. And so one day some people came up to him and asked \u201care you a god?\u201d And the Buddha replied \u201cno.\u201d \u201cAre you the reincarnation of a god?\u201d \u201cNo.\u201d \u201cAre you a wizard or a magician?\u201d \u201cNo.\u201d \u201cAre you a man?\u201d \u201cNo.\u201d \u201cWell, then what are you?\u201d And the Buddha answered \u201cI am awake.\u201d<\/p>\n We practice dangerous religion, but we practice it wide awake. <\/p>\n Architect and Unitarian Frank Lloyd Wright said \u201cI believe in God, only I spell it Nature.\u201d Some of my strongest and most meaningful religious experiences have come through the wonder and awe of the natural world. But we know water can quench our thirst or it can drown us. Fire can cook our food or it can burn our houses. We may revere Nature as our home or we may worship Nature as Goddess, but when a hurricane is coming we have sense enough to get out of the way. We can admire the mythical wisdom of serpents without handling poisonous snakes based on the literal interpretation of a text of suspect authenticity. Our UU faith is grounded in reason.<\/p>\n From that bedrock of reason comes humility \u2013 the understanding that no matter how strongly you believe a concept or a cause or that you\u2019re called to do something, you might be wrong. And if you understand that you might be wrong, you\u2019re not likely to try to force others to follow you against their will, or against their better judgment.<\/p>\n Modern Heathens, who are reviving the beliefs and practices of our Norse and Germanic ancestors, speak of \u201cunverified personal gnosis.\u201d If a goddess comes to you in a dream that message is understood to be for you and you alone. If the message turns out to be helpful, if it is consistent with established beliefs and culture, and if others begin to receive the same message, the group may eventually accept it as received wisdom. But no Heathen expects others to automatically accept their revelations as absolute Truth.<\/p>\n Now there are some folks who are desperately seeking religious certainty, and sadly there is no shortage of religious leaders willing to offer ironclad assurances\u2026 in exchange for your free will. But nothing in life is certain: not weather or crops, not health or wealth, not even the ground beneath our feet. Why should religion be any different? <\/p>\n Having faith doesn\u2019t mean you have no doubts. Having faith means doing what your heart tells you is right in spite of your doubts.<\/p>\n We practice dangerous religion, but we practice it wide awake. <\/p>\n What makes religion dangerous \u2013 the dramatic stuff<\/b><\/p>\n So what\u2019s dangerous about deep, committed, effective religion? We know people who march to a different drummer are frequently targets for those who are afraid of change. Stand up for marriage equality or environmental justice or economic fairness and those with vested interests in the status quo are likely to oppose you. Push hard enough and some may push back violently. Unitarian Universalists will never forget Rev. James Reeb, who was killed in Selma Alabama while working for civil rights. <\/p>\n This coming Friday, March 11, is the 46th anniversary of Rev. Reeb\u2019s death. We are fortunate that few if any of us in this era will face opposition to that extent. There is still real religious bigotry in this country, but most claims of religious persecution \u2013 particularly when made by those of the majority religion \u2013 show a complete lack of understanding of what some people have to endure to practice their faith. We like to complain about being UUs in Texas and I hear others talking about how hard it is to be a Baptist in Hollywood, but try being a Catholic in China or a Muslim in Israel or a Baha\u2019i in Iran. <\/p>\n I don\u2019t mean to dismiss religious prejudice and discrimination as unimportant. We live in a country that was founded on religious freedom, and we understand that no one is truly free until all are free. We need to continue fighting religious discrimination in the workplace, and we need to continue opposing attempts to favor one religion over all others in the public square. <\/p>\n But the only opposition most of us are likely to encounter is nothing more than garden variety rudeness. There\u2019s a story of an old rabbi who was getting ready to go to an interfaith meeting. A young rabbi was trying to talk him out of it. \u201cI\u2019m worried about you going to that meeting. You\u2019ll be the only Jew there, and most of those ministers think our religion is no good.\u201d The old rabbi just smiled. \u201cWhat can they do? They will try to convert me. They will fail. Then we\u2019ll sit down, have lunch, and go about doing God\u2019s work.\u201d<\/p>\n The professional campaign operatives who have polarized our political environment have succeeded in convincing the public that if a candidate is seen with a controversial figure, we should assume the candidate embraces everything about him. Think back to the last Presidential election, when Barack Obama was forced to distance himself from Jeremiah Wright. Surely we religious liberals have more sense than to buy into some twisted sense of doctrinal purity. Where we can support our own social action, through organizations like the UU Service Committee, we should do so. But we\u2019re a small movement, and we can\u2019t support every cause and every issue as thoroughly as we\u2019d like. Where we can work with Presbyterians on immigration reform or with Catholics to abolish the death penalty, we should do so. In addition to doing good work, this allows folks to get to know someone from a different religious tradition. You won\u2019t convert them and they won\u2019t convert you, but you\u2019ll both start to put a human face on a group of people you\u2019ve considered \u201cthe other.\u201d<\/p>\n As people dedicated to religious freedom, we should continue working for a time when everyone will be judged by his or her actions and not by which god or gods they do or don\u2019t pray to. But we should also give thanks every day that we live in a place and time where we can practice dangerous religion without physical danger to ourselves.<\/p>\n What makes religion dangerous \u2013 the likely stuff<\/b><\/p>\n One of the most famous shrines of the ancient world was the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. It was the location of the Pythia, a priestess who would sit on a high three-legged stool, gaze into a bowl of oil and water and make predictions based on what she saw. Kings, generals, and common men alike consulted the Oracle of Delphi, seeking her visions of the future and messages from the gods. Her proclamations were mysterious and enigmatic, but filled with truth.<\/p>\n Croesus, the king of Lydia, asked if he should attack Persia. The Oracle\u2019s reply was that if he did, a great empire would fall. Croesus attacked boldly, but it was his own empire that fell. <\/p>\n I\u2019ve always wondered if the priestesses didn\u2019t laugh quietly to themselves at the sight of so many important people making long pilgrimages and bringing expensive offerings for an audience with the Oracle, when some of the greatest wisdom the world has ever known was carved above the doors for all to see. In Greek it was \u201cgn\u014dthi seauton\u201d \u2013 in English, we say \u201cknow thyself.\u201d If you truly know yourself you have no need of oracles.<\/p>\n The real danger and the real challenge in dangerous religion isn\u2019t \u201cout there\u201d somewhere. It\u2019s in here. <\/p>\n
by John Beckett
First Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church<\/a>
March 6, 2011<\/p>\n