Every man and woman is a Star

From July 21st until July 28th I was at Midwest Leadership School, a leadership training opportunity sponsored by three districts of the Unitarian Universalist Association one of which I belong. Much of the school was beneficial, but the Theology - UU History section had much to be desired. What precipitated this reaction? An "Us vs. Them" mindset that seemed to dominate the instructor's lectures. The person conducting the Theology training was a UU minister, and I would by lying if I said I was impressed. Initially I liked what was being said, but on the second day of Theology (it was covered five of the seven days of training) it started to degenerate into why Unitarian Universalists are better than others.

It started with anti-Catholicism and attacks on Pope Benedict XVI. Not simply attacks on Benedict's theology but personal attacks referring to Benedict as "The Rat," a play on his former name of Joseph Ratzinger. I went to the minister in question that evening and said that I didn't think it was good form to insult Pope Benedict in the fashion that he did, using as an example transexuality: If you have a man named John, for example, who identifies as a woman and goes through the surgery to become a woman and is now Julie is it good form, if you do not like Julie, to refer to her now as John? I proposed that it was not acceptable to do so and that the ontological transformation from John to Julie was enough to justify referring to this person as Julie, and if you do not like Julie indicate that "I do not like Julie" instead of "I don't like John." I indicated it was an ad hominem attack to refer to Pope Benedict XVI as "The Rat," and that it was also "bad form." He said, "I hear what you are saying but I don't agree." He used the term "The Rat" the next day, and even went into an anti-Catholic diatribe.

By Wednesday there was a reference to "irrational" belief as part of a litany of qualifications that lead to "childish" spirituality and psychological development. It was indicated that this childish spirituality is akin to fundamentalism. As examples for irrational belief he used such ideas as the resurrection, virgin birth, and others. If he would have said "literalist" I could have accepted this, but he used the term "irrational" and said, "There are seminaries all over the country that teach irrational beliefs..." It seemed to me like a clear attack on Christianity, since he referenced Christianity several times and often in a polemic sense, but I found it also an attack on any religious tradition that embraces paradox, which is often akin to the irrational. There was some turmoil in the class, and he agreed to meet later in the day to discuss some of the issues of concern. He then went into some personal data about himself to give us all an idea of "where he is coming from," which was to me simply an appeal "to emotion," and irrelevant to the discussion.

I went to the meeting that was established to discuss these issues, but instead of a dialogue all I received was justification. It quickly became clear to me that "fundamentalism" is alive and well even in the liberal tradition. Inconsistent message (the handouts referenced such things as "When my brother suffers I suffer"), black and white thinking, extremism, and what I believe is "Us vs. Them" thinking.

My solution to dealing with what I felt was uber-rational Unitarian Universalism fundamentalism was to boycott the Theology lectures for Thursday and Friday, which I found out later could have gotten me expelled from the training. Fortunately, I wasn't asked to leave. During the time that the rest of the students were in the Theology lecture I read some books that I had purchased there -- which were very good.

Today I paid a visit to Methodist Theological School in Ohio, the graduate school I hope to attend next year. I sat in on a beginning homiletics class and there was one particular sermon that speaks to my experience at Midwest Leadership School. The sermon was about "evangelism by example" (my words). The speaker spoke about being an example of the Christian faith, and he did a very good job. I thought to myself, "If only the UU minister had talked less about the "other side" and more about how to be a good example of Unitarian Universalism we could all start to build a better world where diversity is cherished and where insulting rhetoric kept to a minimum."

Religious Fundamentalism is a problem in our world. But so many times it is easier to mirror this fundamentalist behavior with a slightly different emphasis. Liberalism taken too far can be just as oppressive as conservative fundamentalism. It is so easy to write "I must love my neighbor," but far more difficult to practice the love. Does it do any movement any good to talk about diversity, respect, and justice and then point fingers of scorn?

The monastic vocation is a vocation of silent evangelism, the subtle preaching by one's actions and not words alone. This could easily be a positive model for Unitarian Universalists who attempt to be an oasis in a sea of turmoil. Often Unitarian Universalists fall short of this vocation by their own polemic attitude towards an "other." We could learn a thing for two from the Thelemites: "Love is the Law, Love under Will," & "Every man and woman is a Star."