Wow: I type faster than I thought. I’ve not got Menzies Rayner’s 1839 thoughts on baptism online, and fixed a link that makes it possible to read L. F. W. Andrews antebellum thoughts again. See all public theological docuements at Universalistchurch.net here; there’s a special section for baptism resources. Go here if you want to… Continue reading First part of baptism project completed
Category: Theology
Who are we? An invitation to consider tradition
If you read old Universalist polemic (or old Unitarian polemic for that matter) you would be convinced that, on the face of it, we were arch biblicists. But I have a hard time reading our tradition(s) that way. I think the Universalists (in particular) were fond disputants, and the Bible was the acceptable vehicle of… Continue reading Who are we? An invitation to consider tradition
“The Passion” meets “The Lord of the Rings” this Saturday
Holy Saturday is one of my favorite moments in the church calendar, ranking with the Ascension and Epiphany, as an acquired taste as Stilton or deviled kidneys. On that day, Christ enters death and ministers to “those who dwell in darkness.” There is no overt biblical mandate for this observance, but it fits well into… Continue reading “The Passion” meets “The Lord of the Rings” this Saturday
Up, up, and away
Chutney at MyIrony.com [blog defunct] was making some light-hearted (?) comments about Unitarian Universalists being left behind in the Rapture. Forget that: I’m packing a bag. At least there’s precedent: Jesus rose once that we might live, and he rose again that his spirit might come. By it, we are one and free. (God, I… Continue reading Up, up, and away
What questions do we need to ask of the Principles and Purposes?
A response to something Philocrites wrote: Unitarian Universalists by-and-large treat creeds like they were a form of mind-control. Not a little hint of paranoia and defensiveness either. Yes: you can use a creed to exclude and by it exalt one’s exclusivity, but it isn’t its strength. (After all, you can also use a car to… Continue reading What questions do we need to ask of the Principles and Purposes?
The book I’m waiting for . . .
Why do the Calvinist presses put out all the good books about Universalism, either pro or con? And why – with matters of universal salvation and the divine economy (the Trinity) all the rage in Christian circles – are the Unitarian (and) Universalist Christians so painfully out of the loop? This book is due to… Continue reading The book I’m waiting for . . .
Three Prophets of Universalism?
A colleague just called and asked about three Universalist sermons that would match the three Unitarian sermons in the long-published, oft-used book, Three Prophets of Religious Liberalism. That’s hard to say. Universalists were less prone to use monumental sermons like the Unitarians, and tended to rely more on newspaper articles, biographies, debates, and devotional guides.… Continue reading Three Prophets of Universalism?
Trinity I: Roll call
Another adapted bit of writing to UUMA-CHAT, this time on the historic presence of Trinitarians within Universalism: As early as 1830, you can read embarrassment that there are or might be Trinitarians in the Universalist ministerial college, presumably by those who don’t want any. Thomas Whittemore, as an appendix to his Modern History of Universalism… Continue reading Trinity I: Roll call