On this day in the middle of the 18th century, the “Father of American Unitarianism” Reverend Jonathan Mayhew delivered a sermon on social justice that would later be called “the spark that ignited the American Revolution.”
The sermon itself had a rather cumbersome title, A Discourse Concerning Unlimited Submission and Non-Resistance to the Higher Powers, but its message was simple: rulers have the right to reign only so long as their reign is just.
Earlier this year, a guest posting at the Unitarian Universalist Growth Blog discussed the perennial problem of high membership turnover in the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), eliciting comments that highlight the tension between UU and its Christian origins, Christian origins that American Unitarian Reform (AUR) has chosen to embrace rather than hold at a safe arms’ length.
As a matter of etiquette among general friends and allies, Reformed Unitarians tend not to contrast ourselves with UU as often we do Trinitarians. But, to understand the issues facing “Unitarianism” in America, it is appropriate occasionally to revisit the philosophical history of American Unitarianism, and explain the differences between our two divergent paths.
Or, more accurately, between the path of AUR and other Christian Unitarians, and the lack of an explicit path in the UUA.
Saturday will be the Day of the Spark, the 12th Day of Action and end of the Winter Interval Season.
The subject of this Ultimate Thursday’s posting will be “The Spark” itself: a story of inspiration for those who seek justice and truth in matters where politics and religion are already inextricably intertwined.
AUR is proud to present our new blog banner, combing symbols throughout our history that demonstrate dedication to true Christian monotheism.
The Two Trees symbol, drawn from the allegory of humanity’s dawn in the Garden of Eden, stresses Reform Unitarianism’s emphasis on complementary virtues, which are seen in the Two Trees of Eden, the serpent and dove of Jesus’ ministry, the twin cherubim atop the Ark of the Covenant, Faith and Hope, and the Lion-Lamb/Alpha-Omega imagery associated with Christ. It is only by reconciling what seem to be contrary virtues that one can find the One God behind all things.
On the far right is an ancient Macedonian image of Jesus praying to God in the Garden of Gethsemane, not only a key passage demonstrating the subordinate relationship between God the Father and the Son of God, but also the climax of the moral and spiritual ministry of Jesus, the moment of “Thy Will Be Done.”
On the far left is an Arian church in Ravenna (now controlled by Trinitarians and called San Apollinare Nuovo) built during the reign of Theodoric, representing the continuation of original Christianity into the early Middle Ages before the complete suppression of Unitarian theology and the beginning of the Dark Ages.
Finally, at the bottom is a portrait of Jonathan Mayhew, the Father of American Unitarianism, who coined the battle cry “No taxation without representation” and wrote a sermon against the Divine Right of Kings entitled A Discourse Concerning Unlimited Submission and Non-Resistance to the Higher Powers, which president John Adams later called the “spark that ignited the American Revolution.”
This is the first in a series of light-hearted signs for hypothetical American Unitarian Reform churches, created using an online image generator. We hope to show a range of attitudes and ideas all possible within the scope of AUR.
Today’s notional church is named in honor of Reverend Jonathan Mayhew of Boston, who popularized the “no taxation without representation” talking point in the mid-1700s.
