A Church Beyond Belief

I have recently found myself in the interesting position of thinking more and more about how to describe our church.  This all started with a woman in another church I serve sending me about one good new sign or marketing idea each week. 

But, perhaps even more, attending lots of rally’s at the ICE facility in Burlington, and going to protests, I have witnessed myself being grabbed by the beauty of about one out of every 20 of the Pro-Democracy/anti-fascist signs I see.

Just like people who make signs, want to be unique, and make a statement, so do churches with how they market themselves.  And, if everyone is asking the same questions we are. “What should we do to be more present in the community/” “How do we more effective in promoting our values?”  And “How can we be more visible given our privileged location?” 

One thought that has risen up from this query is a banner and theme we once had for a pledge campaign back in California.  The catchy phrase being “A Church Beyond Belief.”  

It’s a great phrase.  But, is it too far?  And then that got me thinking…and really took this little piece in another direction entirely.

It is true that writ large, across our movement most people who become UU’s have walked away from some earlier form of organized religion. And because we have done so, it is easy for us to be dismissive or skeptical of more traditional forms of religion.  And faith itself.  That skeptical disposition is really our most distinct quality. 

I believe the collective “we” that make up First Parish and fill up, or half fill up the 1000 churches across the US are generally right-on in identifying the hypocrisies of organized religion. 

From believing that God really has a “chosen people,” to believing that 99 virgins await you at the end of a terrorist act, organized religion can breed at its least helpful a silly commitment to things long ago said, or worse send humanity off in the wrong direction. 

However, even if traditional religious organizations and beliefs deserve the scrutiny, even maybe the scorn they sometimes get from us, after the fun of deconstructing and poo-pooing some traditional belief is over, humility, kindness, and compassion is still required.  In fact it is our ability to stop our side-eye glances that will set us apart.  This is not a passive indictment of anyone in the church.  I can’t think of anyone- except maybe myself sometimes- who is snarky about what others claim to believe but is a good reminder to all of us.

I guess this message is really for myself a reminder that whatever it is that can be said to be flawed about any traditional take on faith is never the whole picture.  Those of us who feel educated, liberal, open-minded, secular oriented people should remember simply that science is also only part of the complete picture too. Really that’s it.  Everything, or nearly everything is a theory.

“We” may not be as tied to hard to believe things as those who have chosen to walk a more traditional path are, but just because our faithful brethren in other traditions may be overconfident about what is true and real, does not mean we have a complete grasp on reality either.  As even science can attest, sometimes those things that we can so smugly believe, turn out to be wrong. And that means that you, yes “You” like me, are walking around with an incomplete view of the way things are.  How could you not be? You are human.  The truth is unclear. 

What if that was a banner.  A mantra.  How bold would it be to simply put a banner out that said “We don’t know the answers to the hardest and deepest questions.  And we know you don’t either.”  Sure it’s a little long.  But it would get attention. 

If you have anyone in your world that loves questions as much as most of us do, you might bring them to one of both the two services I will lead this month.  The first is a positive, but I like to think, fresh view of the world religions, and the second is an open time for people to ask.

-        Steve