Thursday, February 16, 2006

Pondering a UU Theology

I look out, over the thin ice before me....

Having said already that I don't think we're a movement about orthodoxy, what's a common UU theology going to look like?

My guess is that there will be a core of work that deals with the implications of those values that we assert we have in common--the UU 7 Principles--and those that I've already pontificated about previously. Once that work's done, and we've described the implications, theologically-speaking, our various communities, the UU Christians, BUUdhists, etc., can wrestle with the specific concerns presented by the intersection of that theological work and their faith tradition.

Anyone else up for starting to gnaw on this bone? If so, I could post seven distinct posts--one for each principle--where we can discuss and contemplate them, and an extra one to handle anything extra that comes up.

5 comments:

ScottMGS said...

Just start in. I don't know that separating the seven principles out will work well because of the interrelations between them. Maybe bring up topics of concern and see how each relates to the seven principles (and whatever else).

You might check out some of Rev. Arvid Straube's Living with Integrity sermon series here. This series is looking at a lot of these topics through the filter of the ten commandments, Buddha's Five Precepts, and the Analects of Confucius, etc.

ScottMGS said...

I suppose I should have capitalized "The Ten Commandments" but that might confuse it with the movie. (Yeah, that's the ticket. That's what I meant.)

ScottMGS said...

Chapter 2 of the UUA's Commission on Appraisal's report, Engaging Our Theological Diversity speaks to this.

Anonymous said...

What does "misanthropophagous" mean? You hate man-eaters?

There are UU bloggers who don't agree with the 7Ps. Also, who think we treat them like a creed. I've been in discussions with them. They get pretty cranky about it.
I like them(the 7Ps) being a covenant rather than a creed.

ogre said...

Kim, "misanthropophagous" is my own coinage. "Anthropophagous" is a high-falutin', academic way of saying man-eating, or cannibalistic. "Misanthropy" is man(human)-hating. So it's something like devourer of people-haters. Hate? I try not to hate. Eat? Well, a good barbeque sauce helps...

Yes, I know there are UUs who think that the principles are a creed. I tend to think that they're professional malcontents. But I agree, they're better a covenant of how we agree that we look at other people and the world and how we ought to treat each other and the world.

The latest post--all the way up there at the moment--talking about a revision of the principles might interest you. The initial affirmation that they're not a creed might assuage the hyper-allergenic.