For the Love of Truth
a sermon by Rev. Alan Taylor
delivered Nov. 19, 2000 at the
Woodinville Unitarian Universalist Church
Humanism is a celebration and a promise; it celebrates the integrity of human reason, responsibility and compassion, and it promises a satisfying lifestyle that can be counted on. No more deprecation of the human condition; rather, an opportunity to remain true to ourselves by having both feet in this world and responding to the challenges of existence with excitement and pragmatic service to others. Humanism is religion come of age; at long last we humans can live dignified lives, finite creatures though we may be. At long last, men, women and children can find ultimate fulfillment through bringing out the best in humanity for the sake of humanity."
Sermon:
I want to share with you this afternoon a struggle of mine. It has to do with astrology. I don’t know how many of you subscribe to the belief that there is a basis in reality for astrological predictions, but I have always considered astrology nothing more than a parlor game. Reading horoscopes can be fun, just as speculating with flourish on how the motion of the planets in the heavens above could influence what happens in our personal lives. But to honestly believe that the stars, or at least the planets, can tell us how history will unfold or how our lives will turn out is simply incomprehensible to my way of looking at the world.
I personally believe that trying to predict the future using tarot cards, astrology, or fortune tellers is about as likely as communing with your dead ancestors. While some of us would argue that these events are plausible, perhaps even likely, others of us would dismiss such possibilities without another second’s reflection. My struggle isn’t whether I should believe in astrology—for I know where I stand. My struggle is how to be in religious community with people for whom astrology is extremely important.
How do you create community with people who believe differently than you do? That is the theme for this evening’s service. As Unitarian Universalists, we pride ourselves on promoting freedom of religious expression, affirming the worth and dignity of every individual, and advocating respect and tolerance for minority opinions. And at the same time, our liberal faith tradition has always looked to reason, reflection on personal experience, and critical inquiry to determine the validity of one’s beliefs. So how are we to exist as a pluralistic religious community when other people’s beliefs fly in the face of our own critical faculties?
This dilemma gets posed to us Unitarian Universalists all the time. If you have a relationship with God, how do you worship with agnostics? If you are an atheist, what does it mean to be in religious community with people who want to move closer to God? If your religious life centers around ideas and rational discourse, how do you honor pagans who celebrate with chants, drums, and dance or wiccans who believe in spells?
Do you have difficulties with other people’s beliefs? If so, what reactions come up in you? Let me share with you my experience. Now, I’ve got to be frank with you. This is not an easy thing for me to acknowledge, but you’re probably not aware how I used to scorn and scoff at proponents of astrology. To know that a former President of the United States consulted an astrologer makes me very nervous. Fortunately, I don’t get all bent out of shape when I reflect on how the Hindu religious tradition has been making use of astrological predictions to determine whether two people can get married and when would be the most auspicious date. In my eyes, astrology is simply a part of the mythological worldview.
It is human nature to regard one’s own opinions superior and to look at other people with different beliefs as either misinformed or plainly idiotic. I have done my share of sneering. And when my heart fills with disdain and scorn, I am unable to honor the people to whom I am feeling superior. I am unable to be present. Once I learned to honor every person for where they are on their journey, I could finally enter into authentic religious community.
That said, I do have strong convictions about what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist. When I talked with the Coming of Age youth, I asked them both collectively and individually what it means to be UU. I often heard “UU-ism is where you can believe anything you want.” My response surprised them, “No, you cannot believe anything you want.” To be a Unitarian Universalist, you need to examine your beliefs; you need to engage in the responsible search for truth. Remember our third principle: we affirm the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We don’t affirm the free search to believe anything that happens to be convenient. We don’t affirm beliefs which members don’t honestly find ground for in reality. For UUs, the crux comes with this word “responsible.” The responsible search for truth focuses not on whatever may tickle our fancy, but on what brings us into right relationship with ourselves, with other people, and with the world.
One of my core religious values as a Unitarian Universalist is critical inquiry. Critical inquiry is not a skill we are born with. People must learn it. Only a good educational environment will teach a child how to look at a situation and notice the ethical nuances of what is going on. To be able to think analytically, to inquire critically, takes practice. No skill is needed to simply inquire. The difference between simply inquiring and inquiring critically can be summed up by the difference between the National Inquirer and The New York Times.
Our faith tradition upholds Socrates as a great spiritual master. His was known to say: “An unexamined life is not worth living.” In the same way, an unexamined faith is not worth having. I take issue with religious traditions that ask people to subscribe to a creedal statement but won’t allow questioning the truth of the creed. Such traditions that urge people to parrot the same beliefs are the same traditions that tend to spoon-feed their beliefs to the adherents.
James Luther Adams, a great UU theologian of the last century, says the first truly religious act is to call into question the religion of one’s childhood. It is only then that you can begin to clarify your own beliefs.
When people ask me what Unitarians Universalists believe, I sometimes respond with a wisecrack, “We believe in life before death.” While this isn’t exactly true, it implies we are not focused on an afterlife but on this life, on how we can make life better for all people, that we are about bringing forth the best of humanity for the sake of humanity. And more importantly, those who are intrigued by my little jest will often pursue a conversation.
I have heard some people criticize Unitarian Universalism saying that there is no there there. In other words, some people come to a congregation and leave wondering, where’s the beef? Our faith tradition has a long distinguished history, but in the current historical moment, many of our congregations are so inclusive of everybody and everything that the result is a watered down spirituality and a smorgasbord of religious ideas where there is no opportunity to go deep.
The question for us today is “How do we affirm religious freedom, reason, and tolerance of a wide variety of faith perspectives while maintaining a clear religious identity that provides a depth of meaning and purpose for our lives?”
We need to know where we came from. Particularly on the Unitarian side, the unfolding of our faith tradition is a story that needs telling and retelling. Our European 14th and 15th century forbears thought critically for themselves, and many of them, because they disagreed with the religion of the state, were killed. Their devotion to a free and responsible search for truth paved the way for our faith. Here in America, the focus was on the individual conscience and the importance of using reason to not be too quickly carried off by one’s emotions. The apprehension of truth came in two ways, one was through reason and reflection on one’s own experience, the second was through spirited discourse with others. It was taken for granted that no one could find the truth by themselves, that a truth seeker needed the engagement with both books and other minds to broaden one’s own understanding. For the love of truth, our Unitarian forbears studied, reflected, and gathered together to discuss, argue, challenge, and hone their own perspectives.
Within Unitarian congregations, the free and responsible search for truth took an extraordinary shift during the twentieth century. More and more people no longer found traditional religious language and concepts compelling. In the wake of the tragedy and horrors of the two world wars, many religious liberals lost all faith in God and instead put their faith in the human capacity to bring forth good in our lives and the world. Humanists embrace a worldview informed by science and reason. It seeks to affirm the creativity in all people and create a society that gives everyone the opportunity to live a good life. While humanism doesn’t deny the possibility of realities as yet undiscovered, it does insist that the way to determine the existence and value of any and all reality is by means of intelligent, responsible inquiry.
Humanism strives to bring forth the best in humanity for the sake of humanity. If you haven’t guessed, I lean strongly toward the humanist worldview. Another humanist leaning minister expressed puzzlement on how to respond to someone who talks about seeing auras or another who claims to see spirits when he takes walks in the woods. As long as they share our conviction that religion should bring forth the best in humanity for the sake of humanity and as long as they are willing to share why they believe the way they do, they bring diversity to our midst. If you are disturbed by what someone else claims to believe, talk to them for your own sake. You need not agree, but you will likely learn you have more common ground than expected.
When I first started thinking about this sermon, I considered calling it “Dealing with Crackpots.” And I realized that my own struggle is coming to terms with the crackpot within myself.
When I was a chaplain at San Francisco Hospital, there were four other seminary students who also served as chaplains. Twice each week, we met together, and so a considerable bond developed. I became especially close with Jennifer, a Quaker. Jennifer had an uncanny way of being present with patients. When we role-played, she could go right to the heart of the matter. I learned a lot about being present from Jennifer.
One evening after a long day, Jennifer asked me if I would accompany her to a psychic. I told her that I was happy to and that I didn’t think much of psychics. I sat in one room while Jennifer talked with the psychic for over 20 minutes in another. When Jennifer returned, she said, “Let’s go, Alan.” Out on the street, Jennifer told me the experience was creepy and that the psychic went on about black candles burning somewhere and that she should buy the white candles the psychic was selling. She also said, “She was telling me that I should be concerned about a man for whom I have romantic interest. It was a little disappointing since I’m a lesbian!”
On another day, a request came to the chaplains office to visit a man dying from an enlarged gland. Jennifer and I went together. The man appeared unconscious. It was hard to look at him with the growth inside his neck. I didn’t know what to say or do. Jennifer began talking to him, telling him, whether he heard or not, that we were there with him. Jennifer said a prayer and brought herself fully to the difficult situation. From the stories she shared about seeing other patients, I realized how gifted she is at pastoral care.
If I was dismissive of Jennifer because of her pull toward psychics, her belief in native American philosophies, or her beliefs in things foreign to my experience, I would never have learned so much from her about being present with other people. I don’t know where Jennifer is today. Her plans four years ago were to head to Chicago and work with a nun in a ministry for homeless women.
When I follow my love for truth with a radical openness, I find myself having a special affinity for crackpots. For deep inside, a crackpot lies within me.
Unitarian Universalism is a faith tradition where everyone is invited to sit at the welcome table. It’s hard to sit at the welcome table if contempt or fear or scorn fills one’s heart. It’s hard to sit at any table, whether it be the dining room table in your own home or the table you dine at this Thursday for Thanksgiving Dinner. Even though we may not agree with the people at the table, we had better be accepting of them as people. At the welcome table, conversation sometimes may be hard and even hurt someone’s feelings, but for the love of truth, and bringing everyone closer to their own, we must open the space for dialog.
I have a confession to make. This morning, since I knew I’d be talking about astrology, I took a peek at my horoscope. It started “Focus on responsibility,” and ended “Serious consideration will be made to suggestions.” So I suggest you reflect on the
the responsibilities of being a part of this church community:
to notice if you harbor scorn that prevents you from being present with others
to honor and accept people where they are on their own journeys
to enter into dialog with those whom you don’t necessarily agree
to listen for where you have common ground with others
and to share honestly of your mind and heart.
Have a happy Thanksgiving!
Blessed be. Amen.