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By John T. Crestwell, Jr.
June 17, 2005
“Foolish, foolish, foolish is
the music that thinks it is good enough by itself. Or the government
that lives as if it is better than the long run. Or the ice cream
that believes it is pure and constant.”
The words from Davies member Hiram Larew state well that life is
dualistic. As I said in my last message, there is no true
understanding in life if we do not see that the complimentary pair
of opposites, the virtue and vice, communicate to us that we are
human and alive. We should embrace this fact as a way of dealing
realistically with our perceptions and realities…
The words also imply that it is arrogance to think we at present are
the “be all—end all” of existence. It is true, you can be honored in
one generation and forgotten in the next. All of life is
fleeting—and so foolish, foolish, foolish we mere mortals for
believing that we are great; for acting as if we will live forever,
and as if we’ve figured anything out! The Upanishad writings were
right, “To know is to not know, and to not know is to know!”
I’ve titled the sermon this morning “The Permanents in Religion”. If
you are listening, I’ve already contradicted my last statement. How
can anything be permanent if all is fleeting? How foolish am I for
choosing this topic!
I think all of life is fleeting, but there are permanents in life
and in religion that can help us see the importance of our faith and
the importance of community; and to be a voice crying out in the
wilderness for people to have the space and freedom to “NOT KNOW” if
that makes sense…
Theodore Parker in 1841 during the ordination of Rev. Charles
Shackford in Boston wrote what is now a famous Unitarian sermon,
titled “The Transient and Permanent in Christianity”. Parker was
trying to prove that the basic essentials of Christianity had not
changed—the teachings of salvation and forgiveness and love that
help people become better human beings— what he called the “eternal
truth of God” this permanent had lasted hundreds of years…
But there were transients, things that were ever-changing. He said
these were and are “…the thought, folly, the uncertain wisdom, the
theological notions, the impiety of humans.” He said these, “form a
great part of what is commonly taught as religion.” He continued:
“The creeds, confessions, and collections of doctrines, deduced by
reasoning upon the facts observed, may be baseless and false, either
because the observation was too narrow in extent, or otherwise
defective in point of accuracy, or because the reasoning was
illogical, and therefore the deduction spurious.”
He would go on to explain that nature and the solar system, are what
they are, yet human definitions and interpretations change, the
perceptions or view of what people think of them are transient, but
in reality nature is still nature and the cosmos the cosmos, the
solar system, still the solar system. So nature and the solar system
are permanents in this example, but become transient from
preconceived notions or just bad information. He mentioned how
Galileo was shunned and silenced for his beliefs about the sun being
the center of our solar system. The Catholics and others believed
the earth was the center. This shaped perceptions in that time. It
was a lie. This is an example of what Parker means when he said the
solar system was the solar system but because of poor reasoning and
research, people were left with, plain and simply—bad information.
So you see, for Parker, God was God, and Christianity was
Christianity. This is beautiful stuff and the Transcendentalists
were hitting on something. Eastern philosophy and their studies of
nature were impacting their ideologies and they were beginning to
see God outside the box. Of course, these thoughts have benefited
modern Unitarian Universalism greatly!
But, I think Theodore Parker’s views don’t fully work today. They
are transient thoughts. Particularly because he believed
Christianity was permanent as a faith. He was a Christian. Perhaps
the idea of forgiveness and love between humans is a bit more
permanent, but a specific religion, BY NAME, I would say is not.
This is where Parker’s transient theology errs. If you remember,
the religion Zoroastrianism was THE RELIGION of its time. It was
and is considered the first world religion. There were over
2-million followers in its hay day—that was a lot of people Before
the Common Era and into the early First Century! Today, they have
scarcely 150,000 converts. What was here yesterday is gone today.
What was important to one generation is trivial in the next. I
believe that if Parker lived today, he would have evolved his belief
sociologically and psychologically—understanding human needs more
instead of a particular BRAND of religion. Brands come and go. He
said in his sermon that “…if men observe and reflect upon religion,
which will be done as long as man is a religious and reflective
being, there must also be a philosophy of religion, a theology and
theological doctrines.” Parker seemed to have had some understanding
that humans do need religion as a system that binds the mind and
body together. Religion, as Rev. Preston and Rev. Don defined for us
many Sundays ago, is “a system of beliefs”. The root for religion is
“Religio”—to bind together. Religion then is when we bind together a
system of beliefs about God or the gods, the cosmos, nature, and
existence—all of life; and religion binds humans together who share
similar views. We feed the body food to energize it so we can get
through the day, and we feed the mind philosophy and theology and we
gather in community to feed our souls, which helps make sense of all
of the senselessness.
And so, we are foolish if we think that our particular brand of
faith is so special that it is better than any other. It’s better
for us, but BETTER is relative. Now, we Unitarian Universalists have
chosen a soda that has a different kind of carbonation, but it’s
still soda! The point is, all religions ARE TRANSIENT—their
theologies and philosophies—transient… And even Parker’s
theology—transient. What are we left with? Is their anything to hold
on to? Perhaps…
With all of this rational agnostic relativist talk, I believe there
are still permanents in religion? (I think). What am I talking
about? If you are listening to me, interpersonal relationships, the
human touch is a permanent in religion…
You know, I think I need to belong to something bigger than me, that
makes me feel a part of something; that is an extension my family. I
need to feel like I have a place in the Universe. This, you will
find, is one reason people find religion or are religious…
I think I need a place to be respected. Where people regard my
existence as worthwhile and recognize or honor my efforts; where I
and they see my life as meaningful. Yes, I need to be a part of
something that gives me respect!
I think I need a place to be appreciated. Not only do I want respect
but words of appreciation for my volunteer efforts; that my presence
is enjoyed; I need to give and feel loved and be appreciated. Yes,
I need to find a place to be recognized and appreciated…
I think I need a place where I am liked or I can be liked. I want
to have and make friends. People I can hang out with, go to the
women’s circle (well you know what I mean); or to a parlor chat, or
movies and munchies, religious education, church picnics. I want to
talk with my friends. We might even gossip a little bit. (I said a
little bit. Amen). Yes, I want to be liked.
I think I need a place to be enthusiastic and expressive. I need to
get these thoughts out of my head. I need someone to hear me out.
I’m tired of talking to myself. I need someone to tell my stories
too. I need to release the creative energies within me. Yes, I think
I need a place to be enthusiastic and expressive about what I think
and feel…
Yes, I think I need a place to find romance. If I’m single, guess
what? I’m looking! If I’m married, I need a place that will hold me
accountable to my relationship. Yes, I think I might want to find
romance. By the way, this is one good reason to grow our church!
More prospects… Amen. (somebody said, “…or more suspects—hello!) I
think I need a place to find more romance.
I think I need a place to feel safe. I have many fears. I would
like my fears relieved. Or at least have a place where I can openly
deal with them. The world is so big and life can be scary. I need a
church that makes me comfortable; that helps me deal with my
insecurities; a place that’s like a good parent, chastising me at
times to help me get my focus back, but always there with open arms.
I need to know I am secure to share my beliefs, and that it’s safe
enough for me to test my ideas… If I am human, I think I need a
place to feel safe.
I wish I could take credit for the seven things I named, but this is
from a gentleman, Tony Jeary—what he calls “The Seven Subtle
Unconscious Desires” of people: To belong, to be respected, to be
appreciated, to be liked, to be enthusiastic, to find romance, and
to be safe.
As odd as it may sound, these are the permanents in religion. These
are the permanents in life. This is why people go to church. Beyond
the brand, beyond the theology, people go to church to be with other
human beings. In this light, religions are all the same. Now, I
am very strong about my belief in this religion, Unitarian
Universalism, it is the one for me; but I realize that as special as
this faith is to me, it is quite the same as the others
sociologically… It’s a different flavor of soda pop but it’s still
soda!
The lesson here for us is that if we KNOW there are these
sociological permanents we share with all people; not just as it
relates to being religious but being human, then we can see clearly
that all humanity no matter the race, sexual preference or gender
have basic desires. We want many of the same things. But this should
not be seen as a competition over who can hoard the most resources.
No. This should indicate a shared mutuality. It should cause us to
empathize with those who “have-not”; that we are in fact our
brother’s and sister’s keeper, and I want to treat folk like I wish
to be treated, because I too need affection and attention and love;
and when I see others who do not have it, it bothers me because I
know how much they need it!
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