Some Basics About #Humanism

Last updated on: August 13, 2015 at 5:43 am By David Breeden

Definition: Humanism is an evidence-based value system dedicated to freedom of thought and the promotion of the well-being of the planet and living things. Humanism in Seven Points People matter more than ideas. People have many ways of knowing, many ways of discovering and expressing what it means to be human. All ways matter. Art is universal. Science, mathematics, and scholarship are universal human expressions testable and provable in all human cultures. These are universal human projects. Knowledge must be... Read more

The Deciduous Universe

Last updated on: August 12, 2015 at 2:18 pm By jakemorrill

This week’s gathering of the International Astronomical Union featured research that says that our universe is slowly dying–fewer stars are being created, existing ones are fading, and the growth of dark energy in the last few billion years has seemed to hasten the process. Don’t panic–many billions of years yet to come for many stars, including our own sun. But it raises theological questions. What does it mean to live in a cosmos where the best science we have says... Read more

On the Right to Take Up Space

Last updated on: August 6, 2015 at 6:09 am By David Breeden

(homily for a prayer vigil for those murdered at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Charleston, South Carolina) I. Power is about controlling space. Fundamentally, power is about controlling space. Governments do it with borders. Governments do it with armies and navies and air forces. Governments do it with police. Power is about controlling space. In cities, take a look at the space: The bigger the space—the bigger the apartment or condo—the more expensive it is. Power is about controlling space:... Read more

Ta-Nehisi Coates: Essential Summer Reading (and why freedom of the press was invented)

Last updated on: July 30, 2015 at 6:12 am By David Breeden

Though the idea had been around for millennia, the 1662 book Natural and Political Observations Made upon the Bills of Mortality by John Graunt generally gets credit for awakening European governments (and insurance companies) to the usefulness of aggregating data. We don’t think much about it nowadays when we hear how many Americans will die of Type II Diabetes or shark attack, but the patterns revealed by what we now call big data have become so much the basis of... Read more

Punishment

Last updated on: July 29, 2015 at 1:53 pm By Lynn Ungar

Sandra Bland died in police custody, and now there is video available for all to see of her encounter with the trooper who, after pulling her over, asks her to put out her cigarette. She declines, and the cop gets more and more aggressive as she (legally) fails to comply with his requests. Now, you might look at this video and see a very foolhardy young woman. The fact that she ended up dead might seem to indicate that her... Read more

BLACK LIVES MATTER

Last updated on: July 28, 2015 at 8:19 am By Rev. Deanna Vandiver

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 2015 General Assembly recognizes that the fight for civil rights and equality is as real today as it was decades ago and urges member congregations to take initiative in collaboration with local and national organizations fighting for racial justice against the harsh racist practices to which many black people are exposed. No matter who you are, black lives matter, and a system of fair, transformative, and restorative justice that is accountable to communities is... Read more

Informed Eclecticism: Why Unitarian Universalism Needs Wing Nuts

Last updated on: July 23, 2015 at 5:42 am By David Breeden

The Very Hungry Syncretism Orthodox Unitarian Universalism is syncretic, in theologian-lingo. In philosophy and the arts it’s called eclecticism, and I prefer that term because it’s a bit closer to common English usage. UUs are often eclectic in religious orientation—mindfulness, yoga, perhaps a nod toward reincarnation, some awareness of Jungian psychology, a bit of Process Theology when it comes to the god symbol, Humanism when it comes to science and progressive politics, with some appreciation for gospel music thrown in.... Read more

Guest Blogger Maria Greene asks, Why is Humanism So Scary for the UUA?

Last updated on: July 16, 2015 at 6:44 am By David Breeden

In the late 1960s—like so many other liberal movements—Humanism lost its way. Understandably, many Universalist and Unitarian congregations held onto Humanism long after the philosophy had grown moribund. The cultural currents shifted toward an eclectic mix of Christian liturgy, Buddhist practice, yoga and “spiritual but not religious.” Humanism did not adapt. Many of us held onto its tenants; younger people even joined the cause. But the discourse of Humanism did not change much for about thirty years. This has resulted... Read more

It’s a Both/And kind of world

Last updated on: July 14, 2015 at 2:22 pm By Rev. Deanna Vandiver

There is a lot of either/or thinking in the common narrative today…and I think the world is a little more complex than that. We celebrate the liberty of gay and lesbian Americans to marry – AND we continue to struggle for the rights of black, trans*, immigrants, and formerly incarcerated people to have truly just access to this country’s governmental institutions. (We also continue to work to undo the ideology of patriarchy that has successfully used marriage as a tool of gender... Read more

Unitarian Humanism, That Peculiar Animal

Last updated on: July 9, 2015 at 6:11 am By David Breeden

Integrity. The word comes from the Latin, integer, “intact.” Related words include integer, a “whole number,” and integrate, “to put together.” When a boat has “watertight integrity” it doesn’t leak . . . much. Integrity is a feeling of psychological wholeness we get when our moral ideals matche our actions. It is the wholeness of inside and outside, as our metaphors for the body and mind would have it. To state the obvious, this ain’t easy. The February 1922 edition... Read more