2/17/2010 10:45:04 AM

anyway faith is a fucking disease

peace

2/17/2010 10:45:33 AM

so this is a cult then?

2/17/2010 12:12:35 PM

All religions are cults.

2/17/2010 12:12:51 PM

Quote :

"I wouldn't think to tell people that going to their Catholic/Baptist/Muslim/whatever service is an utter waste of time if I haven't tried it out myself."

Well I've never been to Detroit, but I know enough about it that I would advise people against vacationing there.

2/17/2010 12:24:53 PM

Quote :

" i'm interested on the one hand but on the other hand it just seems like church to me without the labels. which i know isn't what it proclaims to be. that is why in theory it sounds good but i just don't know if in practice it would be the same. "

That is one thing that kind of annoys me as well and it totally depends on the individual congregation. I've found that ones in NC tend to be Christian-lite in a lot of ways, which is not what I'm particularly interested in. But then you have ones up in New England that are more what I imagine UU kind of wants itself to be. I mean, I guess that's the nature of UU, the people that make up the congregation decide what it will focus on, but I don't really get the "let's call it a lily when it's a rose" sort of mentality that goes on in some of the congregations down here.

2/17/2010 6:38:11 PM

Quote :

"i think its more social support than a profession of beliefs. "

This is how most people treat normal churches anyway.

It just seems weird though when you remove the facade of worshipping a deity.

2/17/2010 6:46:32 PM

Quote :

"Uhm...are you serious? You know that they don't believe in heaven or anything, right? My friend is Unitarian and I went to her dad's funeral, most depressing thing ever."

sounds like a perfect type of funeral to crash

2/17/2010 7:50:25 PM

haha the one UU funeral I went to was depressing as hell too. I think I prefer Irish wakes

2/17/2010 7:57:45 PM

The last two funerals I've been too have been absolutely miserable, and neither were UU.

We sang pretty traditional hymns at the UU church that I grew up attending, but my Mom has been complaining for years that they're gradually messing up the hymn book with each new edition and I have to agree.

I went to the fellowship in Raleigh several times and found that it wasn't the best fit for me. It was quite a bit different from our church back home, and I just prefer my church experience to be a bit more of a lively party with good music and some rowdiness at appropriate times. I always enjoy going to United in Praise concerts with my friends, so maybe I'll convert and become a Pentecostal.

2/18/2010 12:11:00 AM

Aren't they the ones with the snakes and speaking in tongues and shit?

2/18/2010 8:51:56 AM

NO ONE FUCKING KNOWS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DIE.


ANYONE WHO THINKS THEY DO IS A FUCKING IDIOT.


ANYONE WHO WASTES THEIR TIME TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT IS AN IDIOT.


ANYONE WHO TRIES TO CONVERT OTHERS IS A FUCKING IDIOT.


CHRISTIANS ARE IDIOTS


MUSLIMS ARE IDIOTS


LET'S FIGHT OVER WHO HAS THE BEST IMAGINARY FRIEND AND WHOSE IDIOCY IS LESS TERRIFYING.

2/18/2010 9:19:29 AM

Quote :

"Aren't they the ones with the snakes and speaking in tongues and shit?"

Pretty sure they are lol.

2/18/2010 6:33:55 PM

LOL


no, Pentecostals don't handle snakes nor do they speak in tongues.



well maybe some do


but most of 'em are just normal folk dancing and clapping because they're into Jesus.


and that's cool, hey, whatever floats their boat.

2/18/2010 6:39:12 PM

I'VE SEEN BORAT, OK??

2/18/2010 6:55:59 PM

^^ i thought a lot of them spoke in tongues

Quote :

"It just seems weird though when you remove the facade of worshipping a deity. "

see that seems MORE normal to me. hard for me to articulate but that seems way more normal to me than like the fakeness of regular church

but i mean the UU churches i've explored here, like i said before, just seem like regular churches (i mean the fact that they are even called churches is disheartening). or christian light. which is totally not what i'm going for.

i don't know. are there deist churches....errr "churches"....i just don't know.

i think what i'm looking for is more of something you find in like academia...like a discussion or a "club" of like minded people but not like....worship. its hard to explain.

i don't know if i believe in any higher being but deism is something i'm interested in exploring. and i already mentioned i think that if i fit anywhere on religious spectrum it is toward the deist end...maybe even all the way at the humanist end.

because in reading about UU a lot of UU people categorize themselves further (i think someone mentioned this...) and some categorize themselves as deist or humanist and i just feel like that if that is true then why even have UU churches. or why would self proclaimed deists or humanists attend?

2/18/2010 7:34:29 PM

http://nymag.com/news/features/46214/

2/18/2010 7:48:58 PM

Quote :

"why would self proclaimed deists or humanists attend?"

Because they want to meet with like minded people? I don't really know to be honest.

2/18/2010 8:09:15 PM

Have the Unitarians finally given up all pretenses of being Christian yet?

2/18/2010 8:30:34 PM

We covered that on page one

2/18/2010 11:50:33 PM

pentecostals believe in tounges and the gift of interpretation and prophecy

they're practically the same as southern baptists

[Edited on February 19, 2010 at 12:05 AM. Reason : ]

2/19/2010 12:04:50 AM

Quote :

"normal folk dancing and clapping because they're into Jesus."

I'm into dancing and clapping, so I guess I could hang out with folks who are into Jesus.

Quote :

" i think what i'm looking for is more of something you find in like academia...like a discussion or a "club" of like minded people but not like....worship."

I was in a scifi book club like that. Seriously, though, some UU groups are like this, especially if you go to events on days other than Sundays.

2/19/2010 12:34:21 AM

We went to the UU church on Wade a few times. Got nothing out of it personally. Seemed more like a group of social activists than a religious gathering. The people are nice but there was no substance to the talk.

2/19/2010 2:54:10 PM

Quote :

"LOL no, Pentecostals don't handle snakes nor do they speak in tongues."

Speaking in tongues is/was a very large part of the pentecostal movement and pentecostal churches. Some new churches have gotten away from it lately due to criticism and negative attention on that aspect of the church but to say they don't speak in tongues or that the foundation of that denomination didn't place emphasis on it is completely erroneous imo. In fact, just this year when my wife was looking for a teaching job, she had an interview at a large pentecostal school here in SC (they seemed pretty normal on their website and through the email correspondence leading up to the interview) and the *2nd* interview question was "Have you ever spoken in tongues or do you believe that you have the power to speak in tongues through prayer?." Her answer was no and the interview was over on-the-spot.

2/19/2010 3:54:05 PM

Quote :

" Seemed more like a group of social activists than a religious gathering. The people are nice but there was no substance to the talk. "

How do you define substance?

Quote :

"Her answer was no and the interview was over on-the-spot."

She's better off, and i wouldn't ever advocate someone to fight in this case.

But is is not technically illegal in SC to discriminate on the basis of religion?

[Edited on February 19, 2010 at 9:23 PM. Reason : ]

2/19/2010 9:21:54 PM

^ I'm pretty sure religious schools get a pass on the EEO.

2/19/2010 9:28:01 PM

^ yep, that's the case: http://counsel.cua.edu/Religion/publications/legal%20issues.cfm

I figured it must be, but now I know

2/19/2010 9:46:35 PM

Quote :

"pentecostals believe in tounges and the gift of interpretation and prophecy they're practically the same as southern baptists"

[NO]

at least not on the "same as southern baptists" part

2/19/2010 11:04:34 PM

^ can you elaborate?

2/19/2010 11:05:41 PM

Quote :

"pentecostals believe in tounges and the gift of interpretation and prophecy"

yes

Quote :

"they're practically the same as southern baptists"

no

2/19/2010 11:34:55 PM

Quote :

"^ can you elaborate?"

pentacostals believe that while you are saved by faith you have to preserve that salvation through your deeds, its why they send their kids to jesus camps so they can learn how to go to the park and convert people. southern baptists are more similar to other denominations and believe that it is through faith alone that you are saved. southern baptists don't believe that one will speak in tounges or necessarily have any kind of visible reaction to being filled with the holy spirit. there are, however, many "baptist" churches that are more pentacostal than anything else. baptist churches have a lot of individual freedom which means that there can be a good amount of difference from one church to another. pentacostals essentially believe that the things that god did for the apostles are still happening now, and that these gifts (i.e. speaking in tounges, etc...) are how you authenticate their message. pentacostals put their emphasis on the holy spirit which runs contrary to most other protestand demoninations which follow the instructions in John 16 which say that says that God sends the holy spirit not to make men holy spirit conscious, but god conscious.

2/20/2010 9:34:25 AM

Quote :

"She's better off, and i wouldn't ever advocate someone to fight in this case."

Oh definitely. It was just pretty crazy that it was the 2nd question and it was over. It seemed like they should have mentioned that in the prior correspondence if it was so important..

2/20/2010 9:40:29 AM

UU is like non-religious religion. As such, I respect it (Slightly).

2/21/2010 12:36:32 AM

My father grew up southern baptist and my mom grew up catholic so when they got married they found the UU community in Charlotte and made a lot of friends that way. So I grew up UU.

I do agree when people say it's more of a social gathering than a strictly religious one but that can be said for many religious gatherings.

Growing up a lot of my close friends I went to church with also went to all the same schools in Charlotte (Irwin-Piedmont-Northwest) and it was nice growing up in a community where everyone knew each other and had close ties both in school and social events.

The congregation in Charlotte is a pretty good size, no where near the size of some in Boston but we've got practicing Buddhists, Christians, pagans, etc. I'm surprised no ones posted the UU principles yet:

Quote :

"There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote: * The inherent worth and dignity of every person; * Justice, equity and compassion in human relations; * Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations; * A free and responsible search for truth and meaning; * The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large; * The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; * Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. Unitarian Universalism (UU) draws from many sources: * Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life; * Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love; * Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life; * Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves; * Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit. * Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature. These principles and sources of faith are the backbone of our religious community."

Yes they seem kind of happy go lucky but if you read into the history of Unitarian Universalism it gets pretty complex in regard to the joining of the Unitarians and Universalists.

I stopped going a few years ago but prior to that I attended the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly from about 1994 to 2004 in a different city each year around the country (once in Quebec). From gay rights marches in Texas to social issues in Salt Lake City with the Mormons it was always a crazy convention and they always got some pretty awesome speakers and workshops. I believe the last convention in Boston hit close to 10,000 people. Pretty insignificant compared to say a southern Baptist convention but impressive nonetheless.

If anyone's been to Boston a big percentage of all the old churches are UU there, and Harvard has a big Unitarian history in the 1800's and even today as it has close ties to the UUA and it's divinity school. Beacon hill in Boston is pretty awesome. I've had many a con there staying at the UU B&B.

Also I grew up going to The Mountain Con for weekend retreats:
http://www.mountaincenters.org/

Pretty cool place.

Anyway I don't really go that often anymore (probably because I hate telling the same college-job search story to every family friend I see there over and over again) but I have fond memories of growing up there, from taking sex ed and putting condoms on cucumbers to dropping robot furbys off the tower at the Mountain.

I imagine I'll start going again once I settle down in a place and find a job. In my opinion all my friends who grew up UU had such a great grasp on social change, religious diversity, and acceptance that so many of my more conservative Christian friends were lacking in. Before college (when we attended religious education and not the sermon) every week we'd typically have a different guest or someone from another religion come in and speak to us about who they are and how they contribute to their community and church.

I think everyone should have a choice in their religion and unfortunately so many people are pushed into one religion growing up and taught to look down upon other religions. One of the best parts of growing up UU was we experienced every religion our teachers could get a hand in. We went to Southern Baptist churches, synagogues, temples, we even had a session on paganism and witchcraft. After growing up UU I just see myself having a better understanding of what religion I would choose to live with (be it UU or not). It's the choice that makes Unitarian Universalism unique, not necessarily what specific beliefs they have about other religions.

People can say it's a cult, fake religion, scared Christians, or pot smoking hippies, but growing up UU really gave me a great perspective on the world and even though I'm not regularly attending it now i don't regret going there as a kid. Some congregations are better and more interesting than others, and yes some can be kind of lame and it takes time to find an interesting one but overall I would say it's a fast growing movement and they've got a lot of great ideas and members. I identify as UU and i'm not scared to explain to people what it means to me.

2/21/2010 2:45:18 AM

athiests w tax break for they clubhouses

2/21/2010 5:29:18 PM

UU doesn't mean atheism at all.

2/21/2010 6:13:03 PM