Category Archives: idiom

01/6/10

Joyous Epiphany!

In the ancient church, the 6th of January was observed in celebration of not only the birth of Jesus and the adoration of the Magi and shepherds, but also other events such as his baptism by John and the wedding at Cana.

Taking a narrative view of ritual, AUR collects all of the birth-related events together in the Advent/Christmas season, reserving the stories of Jesus’ adulthood for the more solemn Lenten season.*

For this reason, Reform Unitarian Epiphany — closing out the Christmas season — commemorates the Adoration of the Magi and Shepherds, celebrating the universality of the Christian message, from high priests to herders, and from Jesus’ fellow religionists to representatives of a completely different faith tradition.

The local Jewish shepherds create a spiritually and morally significant contrast to the foreign Magi, high priests of Zoroastrianism: both the breadth of cultural idiom and the heights of socioeconomic class are bridged in their Adoration.  As the shepherds were guided by an angel who spoke to them, while the Magi were guided by a star they studied, these two visitations also represent personal and impersonal idiomatic approaches to truth.

May you have a Joyous Epiphany!

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* The Temple-related events of Jesus’ childhood, including his presentation and later disputation, are collectively celebrated on Candlemas, the first Thursday in February.

06/4/09

Post-Cynical Religion Part Two – Smashing the Iconoclasm

Part one of this sermon (posted last Thursday) reflected on the rational cynicism that is evident in the ministry of Jesus, and necessary for genuine Faith, Hope, and Christian Love.

While many churches — all along the political spectrum from conservative to liberal — offer a naïve comfort that turns a blind eye to the cynical realities of the world, AUR refuses to offer “salvation on the cheap” through the false faith of sin-dumping confessional conformism or the false hope of sin-denying celebratory relativism.

Reform Unitarianism recognizes that true Christianity (and, indeed, true religion regardless of its sectarian idiom) is post-cynical, and its comforting truths lie on the other side of a blood-sweating struggle against instincts of self-preservation and sociability, and the “unchallengeable” sacred cows of culture. Continue reading →

04/20/09

AUR FAQ Page Posted

Some time ago, a FAQ was promised to address the basic AUR issues better than the Introduction page.  The following questions are now up on the AUR FAQ page, clickable in the sidebar.

1. What does it mean to be Unitarian?
1.1 What significance is Jesus Christ to (Reform) Unitarians?

2. Do Unitarians reject the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as Trinitarians claim?
2.1 Why is the Reform Unitarian view more correct than the Trinitarian view?
2.2 How did the early Church view the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
2.3 Why do so many modern Christians believe that Trinitarianism is central to Christianity?

3. Don’t Unitarians not really have any specific beliefs any more?
3.1 What does it matter if the word “Unitarianism” is used for groups that no longer believe in Unitarianism?

4. What does it mean to be a Reform Unitarian?
4.1 What is Reform Unitarianism restoring and improving?
4.2 Is Reform Unitarianism only concerned with restoring and improving Christianity?

5. What is American about American Unitarian Reform?
5.1 Does American Unitarian Reform violate the Separation of Church and State?

6. What is the Reform Unitarian attitude toward Scripture?

11/25/08

Reform Unitarian Symbols – The Two Trees

aursymtwotreesNot wanting to imply that the power of Salvation was in the hands of those who condemned and executed Jesus, Reform Unitarianism shies away from using the cross as a symbol.

In fact, the earliest Christians used a variety of symbols, from fish and loaves to peacocks; the cross was not common until well into the 4th Century, when Tertullian conflationism reached its apostatic peak in the First Nicene Council of Constantinople and tyrannical Edict of Thessalonica.

Using symbols other than the cross is a long-established Christian tradition. In that tradition, Reform Unitarianism seeks symbols with deep Christian meaning as alternatives to the cross.

The Two Trees are but one example of a repeating pattern of imagery in Christianity of complementary opposites that when combined signify holiness, particularly its arrival or return: lion and lamb, alpha and omega, serpent and dove. The twin cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant, from between which came the Voice of God, were said to symbolize God’s beneficent and punitive aspects.

When Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise for having eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, God set a Cherub with a flaming sword “turning in all directions” at the entrance to block them from returning. Some churches hold that Jesus, who brought humanity the fruit of the Tree of Life, removed this sword. Reform Unitarianism, holding that the Salvation offered by Jesus is no easy task, views this sword as a potent symbol of the spiritual difficulties facing the devoted Christian.

Herman Melville once stated that “one who desires to be impartially just in the expression of his views, moves as among sword-points presented on every side.” This is true in religion as it is in politics. Navigating the sacred road to Paradise between decisive Faith and open-minded Hope, between creedal sectarianism and vacuous creedlessness, between too much emphasis on the shrewdness of serpents and too much emphasis on the innocence of doves, one must be ready to face the sword.

The symbol of the Two Trees reminds us to be cautious and yet courageous.