Post Reply
Switch to Forum Live View Christian Unitarian Universalist
5 years ago  ::  Jun 20, 2008 - 7:50PM #1
DevoutSeeker
Posts: 5
Hi. Could any Unitarian Universalist Christian's who are on this board please answer a few questions for me, 1 Who do you believe Jesus to be( God, Son of God, Teacher etc, etc), 2.Could you tell me a bit about your personal UU Christianity, 3. How do you understand Holy Communion?, Thanks.
Quick Reply
Cancel
2 years ago  ::  Sep 14, 2011 - 12:58PM #2
ExPluribusUnum
Posts: 61

I don't consider myself a UU Christian (even though some folks think I am), but since this has sat here for 3 years without a response, I will answer anyway.

#1 I believe that Jesus was a man. For his time, he was considered to be very close to God, as Palestinian peoples then conceived of God, and is purported to have said and done many things which people still find meaningful today. I am willing, even as a non-Christian, to be inspired by teachings attributed to him, but not above words and deeds of other prophetic human beings of the past and present. If it weren't for that last bit, I might be willing to reconsider my self-given labels.

#2 I was raised a Christian, briefly (maybe 20 months) considered myself an  atheist, then became a Unitarian Universalist. In the time period when I called myself atheist, I was very anti-Christian and anti-religion. Even after becoming UU, I was wary of any semblance of Christianity and even some of the vestiges of Christian worship still present in UU congregations.  However, after all these years, I have a much more pleasant and accepting view of Christian communities, and am not likely to be put off by them as many UUs today still are. In fact, I sometimes enjoy being a guest in Christian communities and miss certain things about them that I find lacking in many UU congregations.

#3 I find religious rites in general to be of deep import to those for whom they have meaning, and therefore I afford them much respect. My understanding of what you refer to as "Holy Communion" has changed significantly over the years, and now I generally see it as symbolic of the unity and connection of a particular group of people coming together for sustenance - in this case, both spiritual and nutritive. Because I take my ritual seriously, I refuse communion in any community that I am not a part of, especially those communities for whom the ritual has a different meaning than the one I ascribe to it (which would include just about any Christian denomination). If I were to partake, I would find the act disrepectful both to the community offering communion and to myself, so whenever I am present I respectfully observe but do not participate in the ritual.  In fact, I have probably only taken "communion" a handful of times in the almost 15 years since I became a UU, and all of those times have been in small services at my current church.

Quick Reply
Cancel
 
    Viewing this thread :: 0 registered and 1 guest
    No registered users viewing
    Advertisement

    Beliefnet On Facebook