I just joined a UU church, coming from a family background of RC. I definitely* agree * that truth is relative, particularly spiritual “truth”, and that there
is no “true way” , or “right” or “wrong” way, when it comes to religion or spirituality. What’s “true” for me is not true for you, and vice versa, and neither of us can
prove the other wrong conclusively and beyond a reasonable doubt. What works for one, does not work for the other. But all spiritual people are trying to get to the same spiritual “place” ; a place of inner peace and contentment basically. It doesn’t ultimately matter what road or path you take, in my opinion, just so that it works for you.
It’s a fact that there is definitely no set dogma, in UU’ism , and that the politics, if you will, of the church are liberal, Left wing, progressive. I found UU fit(s) me to a T however precisely
because of the lack of dogma. Precisely because they do not , most of them at least , view Jesus as having been anything more than a “good man”, but definitely not in any way shape or form “divine”. It was the strict dogmatism of the Catholic church (to name just one thing) that deeply turned me off to it once again when I “revisited” it , after nearly a decade gone from it, over these past few months.
If I ever decide to go into a (slightly) more “dogmatic” faith again, I think I would begin the Hebrew “catechism” for conversion at a nearby liberal Reform Jewish synagogue that I know of and have visited before. I believe that my own “deist” view of God,
sans any “sons, mothers, holy spirits, et al”, most closely resembles theirs. And ironically, if I became a Jew, I would then be truly doing “what Jesus would do” everytime I went to the synagogue to worship!
As the Unitarians say, UU’s believe in , at
most, one God. Although I do not in any way “condemn” RC’s, or other Christians , for their beliefs (so long as they do not force those views on anyone else), or think of them as being in any way " wrong" (see first paragraph) , I do believe personally that Christianity, despite its posturing as one, is
not in fact a true “Abrahamic monotheism”. Most if not all Christians / RC’s pray literally
to the figure or “icon” of “JesusChrist”, a hugely mythologized “version” of a long - deceased Jewish charismatic holy man of some sort. That’s viewed, by the
true Abrahamic monotheists of near Eastern tradition, the Jews and the Muslims , as excessive veneration of a
dead man.
Shirk, as the Muslims call it, a grave offense; the Islamic equivalent of a “mortal sin”. And by both Muslims and Jews it’s viewed as blasphemous , plain and simple. It would have been utterly blasphemous to the real historical Jesus , upon whom all of the “Christ” mythology is based.
The only *true * monotheists are “deists”, like many Unitarians for example (hence the word “Unity” in the name) , Muslims , and Jews. I think all three of the latter mentioned could agree on this one key passage of the Qu’ran, called Sura Ikhlas, or “Oneness”: “Qul huwa Allahu Ahad, Allahu Samad, lam yalid walaam yulad, walaam yakin lahoo qufuwan Ahad.” Or, as the Jews say daily, on a very similar note, " … Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad."
Whereas Trinitarians , be they RC’s or non-RC Christians (of
whichever of the thousands of sects and cults Christendom has schismed itself into) , are following , in truth, something which much more closely resembles the ancient pagan “Mystery” religions which were so popular amongst Gentiles ( right around the time of the historical Jesus) in the Mediterranean and near East. But, once again, to each his / her own religion and spirituality. To each his / her own.
Peace…
