REVIVAL IN THE UNITARIAN CHURCH?
As unlikely, indeed impossible, as that seems, it just might be happening. Unitarians, who range in creeds from just about anything to just about anything else, seem to be experiencing a stirring of the Spirit, or Great Spirit, or, well, something (link requires free registration). But ironically, such a revival would probably wipe out the tiny beliefless sect:The president of the liberal Unitarian Universalist Assn. has touched off a controversy by suggesting that the denomination needs to reclaim a vocabulary of reverence by not being afraid to talk about God.
In a series of sermons and articles in the last five months, the Rev. William Sinkford has called for a reexamination of beliefs, because current principles "contain no hint of the holy."
"I'm not suggesting that Unitarian Universalism return to traditional Christian language," he said in January during a Fort Worth talk. "But I do feel that we need some language that would allow us to capture the possibility of reverence, to name the holy, to talk about human agency in theological terms."
The possibility of reverence, but no traditional Christian language. It's still too sectarian a non-call to non-faith for some:
The Rev. Sydney Wilde, pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Reston, Va., said she is not opposed to the discussion but wants to see more of it grow out of the pews, with enough room for diversity.
"It's the definition of 'God' that concerns me," said the self-described mystical humanist. "I have no difficulty with the use of that word, but I want a broad enough definition that includes all of us."
And that's the problem, really. Humans trying to define God. It's easy if you try, I guess, as long as you don't actually consult Him or exclude any possibility--even the ones that are mutually contradictory. And if your definition doesn't cater to the broadest possible concerns of Diversity! then you just ain't a good Unitarian, baby. Which means you're going to end up incorporating all manner of nonsense so you don't exclude anyone. It just doesn't work, and can't hang together. Rev. Sinkford will not be sunk, though. He's on a
Last month, in an article in the church's UU World magazine, Sinkford responded, writing: "Many of you, I know, are bothered by the use of the word 'God.' " He said, however, that " 'religious language' doesn't have to mean 'God talk.' "
Sinkford, who was elected in 2001, said he is responding to a growing desire within the 220,000-member church for a spirituality deeper than the group's traditional anything-goes philosophy.
"The new persons who are joining our congregations — most of them are coming in wanting to engage religion through religious language," he said in an interview. "They're not afraid of talking about God and what that means."
Imagine that--wanting to engage religion through religious language. What will they think of next--engaging an Englishman through the English language? Sinkford and others are worried that unless their "church" learns to be an actual religion with, you know, beliefs and stuff, it will go the way of the Shakers. But their own universalist beliefs will abort that effort--religious beliefs are by their very nature exclusive. They require that believers identify themselves and hold to a set of norms or standards that non-believers don't accept or understand. Universalism says all beliefs are equal, and no one standard is the right one. It's the Church of Do What You Want To, and that philosophy is incoherent. It doesn't actually demand anything of believers (not even belief), and doesn't point the way to anything better. It's basically a social club with pseudoreligious trappings and a bit of post-modern philosophy sprinkled on top. Unitarians seem to be sensing all that, but if they act on it their church will disappear as they figure out that other churches actually teach coherent ideas. If the Unitarians don't act, their church will probably disappear anyway. Who wants to attend a church that doesn't actually believe in anything? What's the point? So the Unitarian revival may in fact spell the end of the Unitarian Universalist church.