Jan 26, 2020 What Uus Believe—Or Don't by Fred Harland

Jan 26, 2020 What UUs Believe—Or Don’t By Fred Harland

Webmaster note: This service had several important elements. These are included as well as the talk by Fred Harland. These were all selected by Fred.

Responsive Reading --It Matters What We Believe by Sophia Lyon Fahs

Some beliefs are like walled gardens. They encourage exclusiveness, and the feeling of being especially privileged. Other beliefs are expansive and lead the way into wider and deeper sympathies.

Some beliefs are like shadows, clouding children's days and fears of unknown calamities. Other beliefs are like sunshine, blessing children with the warmth of happiness.

Some beliefs are divisive, separating saved from unsaved, friends from enemies. Other beliefs are bonds in a world community, where sincere differences beautify the pattern.

Some beliefs are like blinders, shutting off the power to choose one's own direction. Other beliefs are like gateways opening wide vistas for exploration.

Some beliefs weaken a person's selfhood. They blight the growth of resourcefulness. Other beliefs nurture self-confidence and enrich the feeling of personal worth.

Some beliefs are rigid, like the body of death, impotent in a changing world. Other beliefs are pliable, like the young sapling, ever growing with the upward thrust of life.

Reading: by Gary Kowalski, “It’s not what you believe, but how”

Babies don’t believe anything. Babies aren’t born Buddhists or Baptists or believers of any sort. But soon after we arrive in the world, we start to gather ideas.

We pick up beliefs and ideas about people and animals and families. We collect ideas Jan 26, 2020 - What UUs Believe—Or Don’t

about stars and comets and how it all got started. We accumulate beliefs about good and bad, right and wrong, what’s healthy and unhealthy, and what is important in life.

All these beliefs, which we get from our parents and playmates, from the TV and from Sunday School, go into our belief bag.

Now, most religions define themselves by what they believe, or by what’s inside the bag.

Christians, for instance, believe in Jesus.

Muslims believe in Allah and in the prophet Mohammed.

Buddhists believe in the Four Noble Truths.

But Unitarian Universalists don’t have just one set of beliefs. What makes us different is the way that we Unitarian Universalists carry our beliefs—because there are different ways of holding your belief bag.

For example, some people hold their bag like this: They clutch it close and make sure the top is tightly sealed, because they don’t want their beliefs exposed to any new ideas that could threaten what’s inside. They’ve got their world wrapped up in a nice, tidy package. And because their bag is all closed up, we call these people close-minded.

On the other hand, some people are just the opposite: they don’t pay much attention at all to what goes into their bag. One idea is a good as another, and if other folks believe it, or if they read it on the internet, or heard it on talk radio, then it must be true. Because they carry their bag in such a sloppy manner, we call these people sloppy thinkers.

And then there are people who carry their bags like this: like a club they use to hit other people. What’s inside their bag may sound very nice and sweet, for instance “I believe in peace and kindness and the Golden Rule.” But they use their bag like a weapon. “You don’t believe in peace? Why you nasty person, shame on you!”

But none of those is the Unitarian Universalist way. Instead, we carry our bags like this: we carry them with the top open, so that new ideas and experiences can get inside, and old beliefs can be tossed aside if needed.

We carry our bags in front of us, so that we can see and examine what goes in, to be

Jan 26, 2020 - What UUs Believe—Or Don’t

sure it makes sense and fits with other things we know. And also so that we can see what our neighbors think, and share our thoughts with others. Above all, we never use our beliefs to beat up or bully other people.

That's what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist. The next time somebody asks you what do the people in your church believe, you can tell them: for Unitarian Universalists, it is less important what you believe than how you hold your beliefs. It’s how you acquire them, how you share them, and above all what you do with them that counts.

What UUs Believe—Or Don’t, by Fred Harland

I’d like to say something about how this service came about. When Roy, as Sunday Service Coordinator for January, asked if I’d do a service I said Yes. Feeling that what I’d try to do might be a useful follow-up to a presentation I made last March. That talk, on the Changing Face of Lakeside, suggested that with so many new folks here it’s important that We take steps to know each other, We explore what binds us together as a UU family.

I know we’ve already done a number of things to explore this—Circle Suppers are an important one. And today I’ll give my take on whether beliefs can also bind us together. And, I hope, in our discussion following the service, to discuss with you whether you share these beliefs and your thoughts on what can, indeed, bind us together as a UU fellowship.

a. At the outset of my talk, I’d like to reflect, on what’s happened so far in this service. So far we’ve focused, less on what we believe, than on what we think about belief. b. The Opening words said—that our task is to unveil the bonds that bind us—and that there is a connectedness—and that once felt it inspires us to act for justice c. The Responsive Reading said—that beliefs are very important, they matter. d. In the reading from Gary Kowalksi—we heard that UUs are different, and are bound together, not only in what they believe but in how they hold those beliefs

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e. Our first hymn We’ll Build A World suggested that we are bound together by the belief that we can make a difference. e.g., perhaps, on climate change? f. Our second hymn Die Gedanken Sind Frei suggested that we are bound together by the belief that we are free to think what we will- and how does that square with Fake News. and the reality that people are so influencable.

1. And now, in my presentation, I’ll go beyond what UUs think about belief to deal directly with what UUs actually believe. And what binds us. And I’ll do that by focusing on what to me are important UU symbols and by contrasting them with symbols from another religion, Hinduism. 2. We’re accustomed to using symbols to explain, to point to, something very big. For example, the Cross in Christianity; the swastika in Naziism, and Yin and Yang for balance in Taoism. 3. I had a opportunity to reflect on this six years ago when Mardele and I visited Cambodia, in south East Asia to see the famed Angkor Wat. To see what Angkor Wat symbolized in Hindu religion, and why it was important to the 12th Century Khmer people of Cambodia. And to wonder what symbols we, as UUs, have that could parallel the importance of Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat, an eighth wonder of the world, built by Khmer kings in the 12th Century, is unrivaled. It’s said that “its mightiness and magnificence bespeak a pomp and a luxury surpassing that of a Pharaoh, an impressiveness greater than that of the Pyramids, an artistic distinctiveness as fine as that of the Taj Mahal. An architectural masterpiece, its perfection in composition, balance, proportions and sculpture make it one of the finest monuments in the world.”

So Angkor Wat, is enormously important to the people of Cambodia. As a monument to the past greatness of the Khmer people, as a source of inspiration and hope in a highly uncertain future, and economically as the country's primary tourist attraction.

Yet I puzzled over what to make of it. Because Angkor Wat is essentially an empty shell, all that’s left of a reality of centuries ago. Raising the question-- what was that reality?

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The answer, I think, is that Temples, like Angkor Wat, at the center of the civilization, were powerful, both economically and a source of unifying, of keeping people together, of binding them, or at least, of preventing revolt.

And thus Angkor Wat, as the glue to help hold things together, would be expected to provide Hindu mythology’s best stories, best answers to the big questions of life. Religious questions like —one: what’s the center, the meaning of it all?; two: how ultimately did everything- good things, bad things- come about?; and three: how ought we to live? Big questions and Angkor Wat had the answers; with stories embedded in its very structure and in its many stone carvings.

So let me mention the symbols/stories/myths I saw at Angkor Wat concerning these three issues: the center of life, creation, of how things came to be what they are, and of how we ought to live.

First, the center of life. —In Hindu mythology Mount Meru, a golden mountain at the centre of the universe, is the most sacred object because it supports the heavens and the gods such as Lord Shiva, Vishnu and Krishna. And Angkor Wat itself, in its majestic structure, represents Mount Meru. And my question for later consideration this morning, is this. If Hindu’s sacred mountain centers them, what for us UUs, centers us and what might best represent that?

Second, Angkor Wat’s story of where everything comes from, how it all happened. Most religions seem to have stories of creation. In this story the god Vishnu, in his reincarnation as a tortoise, sits on the bottom of the Ocean of Milk, surrounded by various aquatic animals, real and mythical. His back serves as the base for the mountain Mandara. A huge cord, in the shape of a serpent, acts as a stirring instrument to turn the mountain and thus churn the ocean. The serpent is wrapped around the mountain, stretched out, and held up, on the left side by 92 demons and, on the right side, by 88 gods. The demons and god take turns pulling and twisting the serpent, thus turning the mountain and churning the ocean of milk. As the ocean is churned, it generates/recovers the good things, the treasures of life—immortality, prosperity, loveliness (loveliness, of course, in the shape of maidens, thousands of whom adorn the walls of Angkor Wat). So that’s

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Angkor Wat’s story of creation, of how things came to be what they are. Through a churning lasting 1000 years, the chaos of the ocean gives rise to all of life’s blessings. And my question for later, will be this. If the Churning of the Ocean of Milk is Hinduism’s creation story, what is our UU creation story?

And now, Angkor Wat’s third story, of how one ought to live. And for Hindus the sacred hero, the model of how we ought to live, is Arjuna. He’s the central figure in the carvings of the western wall of Angkor Wat, in the scene from the Battle of Kurukshetra from the Hindu epic, the Bhagavad-Gita. But Arjuna, the commander on one side, has a dilemma—opposing him in the battle are members of his family, his cousins—-so Arjuna does not want to fight…but then, as Krishna (the charioteer in the story) reminds him, Arjuna is a member of the warrior caste and fighting is his station in life, his duty. And that, says Hinduism, is how we ought to live. We ought to fulfill our station in life, we ought to do our duty. And my question for later consideration this morning, is this. If the story of the Battle of Kurukshetra tells Hindu’s how to live, what story do we have as UUs for how we ought to live.

I’m reminded of the words on a T-shirt Mardele once gave me. “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything”. Not sure if that was one of my flakier times when she thought I needed more focus. But we know what Angkor Wat in its three stories stood for— • one, it identifies their sacred place, the center of their universe, • two, it affirms the Hindu creation story-the churning of the ocean of milk-that good things-prosperity- can come out of chaos through the action of supernatural creatures—gods and demons— • and three, that one ought to live according to one’s station in life, to do what is expected. • And these three stories served as glue for precarious times to help hold Khmer society together. To bind the Khmer people.

2. But if that is what Angkor Wat stood for, how about us? Where do we stand? These Hindu myths, perhaps, don’t do that much for most of us. Not surprising of course. It’s normal for one’s own myths to be seen as sacred scripture. That’s looking from inside. But to outsiders, somebody else’s sacred scriptures can be mere stories, even fables, with little hold. But don’t we, as Unitarian Universalists, also have our myths, our truths, our shared

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stories? Don’t we too, in the words of the t-shirt I just mentioned, stand for something? Specifically, and one, don’t we have a central myth that for us replaces the need for a Mt. Meru? And two, don’t we have a creation story, a story of how things came about, that rivals the Churning of the Ocean of Milk? And three, don’t we have a story of how we ought we to live. That, for us, makes more sense than the story of Arjuna at the Battle of Kurukshetra, the story of the need to go along? And if we do indeed have such stories, if we, like the builders of Angkor Wat, were to build our own temple, how would we represent these stories? I think we do have our stories, or at least I’d like to propose some.

One, for me, our central story is not of a sacred place, not even Transylvania, but of an idea. And that idea is represented by our chalice. I know that the chalice can be seen in different ways, but for me, it’s always been about the search for truth and meaning. About figuring out what’s really important in life, how things came about and how to live. Figuring them out without pretending that the world is different than it is. Without a need for magical solutions. And being able to question reasons and answers that don’t hold up.

The chalice represents for me the kind of questioning, heretical spirit if you like, that has always been somewhat uncomfortable within any one faith tradition. It’s the spirit of a Socrates who, before being sentenced to death, was accused of corrupting the youth and advocating atheism. The spirit of Czech priest Jan Hus in the 15th Century and Spanish theologian Michael Servetus in the 16th Century, both burned at the stake when they questioned established tradition and practice. The spirit of Emerson who, when he denied the existence of an external God, was denounced by the Unitarians of his day. And of William Ellery Channing, often derided for his conviction of the importance of reason in religion and his stance that religion is essentially about the work of transforming society and not a matter of private piety.

For me the chalice represents the spirit of all those throughout history who challenged claims of absolute truth or obedience. And that spirit reminds us how hard fought it’s been and how vital it is protect each individual’s right to the free and responsible search for truth and meaning..

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It’s the spirit of those who asserted that answers to the big issues of life should be good ones—that come out of reasoning about the stuff of life, not out of some ethereal, jack-in-the-box supernatural world or event.

But, and here for a long time was the problem with this approach, we didn’t have a good story of how things came about, for example like the Hebrews with their story of a 7 day creation and a Garden of Eden, or like the Hindu Angkor Wat story of the churning of the Ocean of Milk which brought about the good things of life. That is, how can you possibly explain why things are the way they are if you don’t believe in gods It seemed so obvious to many people. Just as a watch needs a maker of watches, a watchmaker, doesn’t the world need a maker of worlds, a God.

There were a couple ways that people, those who didn’t buy the existence of an active God ruling our lives or the earth, tried to get around this problem. One, the Deistic solution. The solution of many of the American founding fathers, for example, who postulated that although there once was a god, he wound up the world, and then went away. So that now we’re on our own. The other solution, that of Emerson and the Transcendentalists, was that there was no external God, that divinity was within and in nature. But neither of these stories could really compete with Genesis.

But then Darwin came along. Bringing with him our second important insight, our second story, of how we came to be here. And the image for that insight is the Tree of Life.

And now, at last, we have a really good creation story. That explains how we got here. That doesn’t rely on fictional beings. Based on solid facts and good reasoning. That shows, in detail, how life evolves—from simple things, from cells, to more complex ones, like dolphins and elephants, like us.

So why is this story of evolution, of the tree of life so very, very important?

Here’s three reasons:

Jan 26, 2020 - What UUs Believe—Or Don’t

In the first place, we needed a plausible story. Because the people throughout history who claimed to have absolute truth, who demanded that others obey their authority, they had stories, creation stories of how things came about. Their stories were used to support their claims of absolute truth, to justify control, to justify oppression. Stories such as the Garden of Eden, like the Churning of the Ocean of Milk. And now, in evolution, in the tree of life, we too had a story.

The second reason this story of evolution is so important is that it shows that life is all related. Life has evolved and we came out of the stuff of this Earth. As did all the plants, animals, and bacteria. We’re of the same stuff as everything else in this world. Yes, the chimpanzees are our first cousins. And this, not some fictional out-of-the-world heaven, is our home. And it’s enough—there’s no need to feel lonely.

The third reason this story of evolution is so important is that we now know, and this is the amazing brilliance of Darwin, how the purposeless, mechanical process that we call evolution could engender all the wonders of our universe. It’s absolutely fantastic, mind-boggling. Just think of it. We’ve gone from simple cells with no meaning, to multi-cells, to organisms, to cooperative societies to family groups to bands to tribes to agricultural communities to city states to nations. We’ve gone from a world of apparent meaninglessness to our world of poetry, of ethics, of dreams. You don’t need a god, a more intelligent thing, to make something of meaning. All you need is lots of time. And we’ve had lots of time. Billions of years.

So that, I suggest, is our second story, the story represented by the tree of life, the story of how we and all the creatures on this planet came to be here, that we’re all related, that we’re made of the same stuff. And furthermore this wonderful story shows how, without a cosmic designer, we came to have a world of meaning and purpose. That, I suggest, for UUs is our story of creation.

What’s our third story? The story of how we ought to live? For me, it’s very closely related, almost the same story, as that of the Tree of Life. It’s of Planet Earth. Perhaps best seen in the “Blue Marble” photo. Do you remember that famous picture taken back on December 7, 1972, by the crew of Apollo 17? As they sped toward the moon on NASA’s last manned

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lunar mission?

For many people, Blue Marble is a symbol of both a fragile earth and of a united world. And makes it difficult to look at our lives and our planet in the same way.

Here’s what Apollo astronauts told space writer Frank White: “When you go around the Earth in an hour and a half, you begin to recognize that your identity is with the whole thing. And that makes a change. You look down there and you can’t imagine how many borders and boundaries you cross, again and again and again, and you don’t even see them. And from where you see it, the thing is a whole, the Earth is a whole, and it’s so beautiful. You wish you could take a person in each hand, one from each side in the various conflicts, and say, ‘Look, Look at it from this perspective. Look at that. At what’s important.’ To see the Earth as we now see it, small and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, it’s to see ourselves as riders on the Earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the unending night…who see now they are truly brothers.” That’s what the astronauts said.

And does not this image—of fragility and of being in it all together- provide a fundamental insight into how we ought to live? How we ought to treat each other, plants and animals as well as people, how we should respond to critical issues of the environment, like rising seas and raging fires and climate change.

So that’s where I stand. We, as UUs, have three enormously important stories, • a central story, embedded in our flaming chalice, of the use of reason in pursuit of the truth; • a creation story, exemplified by the tree of life, that tells us how we got here, how a world of meaning could come from a meaningless mechanical process, and that we are all related; • and a story of how to live, exemplified in the Blue Marble’s demonstration that we’re here together, all of us riders on a fragile earth. And that we all need and depend on each other.

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3. And it’s important to be reminded of these symbols-Reasons to be grateful when people have reminded us of these symbols. Which is what this fellowship does. 4. But a couple months ago I had a dilemma. My 8 year old grandson, for a class assignment interviewed me. He asked me three questions 1. Tell me about your beliefs and values 2. Do you follow a certain religion. If so, how does this religion play in your everyday life. Do you have any rituals, traditions or customs you value? 3. How do you convey your beliefs and values. And I struggled. I mentioned our Principles, I said we should be nice to each other and listen to what others had to say. But I flubbed. I didn’t know how, in ordinary language, to say what I’ve tried to convey in today’s service. I didn’t have an elevator speech for an 8 year old. But in the days following that flubbed interview, in still wanting to have an elevator speech that would be suitable for an 8 year old, I recalled a possible response. It’s by Robert Fulghum, a UU minister, and is entitled, “All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten”….let’s listen as Fred Koesling reads this response as our closing words.

Closing Words by Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Uncommon Thoughts On Common Things

The author of these words, Robert Fulghum was a UU minister.

1. Share everything. 2. Play fair. 3. Don't hit people. 4. Put things back where you found them. 5. CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS. 6. Don't take things that aren't yours. 7. Say you're SORRY when you HURT somebody. 8. Wash your hands before you eat. 9. Flush. 10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. 11. Live a balanced life - learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work everyday some. 12. Take a nap every afternoon. 13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. 14. Be aware of wonder. Remember little seeds. The roots go down and the

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plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. 15. Goldfish and hamster and white mice and even little seeds - they all die. So do we. 16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.”