What s God got to do with it? In this address I have drawn on a thesis submitted at Duke University in 2009 by Robert Brown. Based on this thesis I ask a question that you may not normally hear asked in a church. For most believers in traditional religions, God exists and we accept this by faith alone. That is why asking what has God got to do with it, will come as a shock for most people who say they are religious. This is true of all three Abrahamic religions namely Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. If we question the existence of God, does that take us beyond the boundaries of religion? There is an old joke that says that the leaders of all the world religions gathered to try to see how they could enhance love and compassion and mutual respect throughout the world. It was agreed that each leader would make a short opening statement and a Christian leader insisted on speaking first. He said, we have many differences among us, but let us all begin from our shared knowledge that there is a God. There were many who nodded in agreement and they were waiting for the next line when a Buddhist representative spoke on behalf of the many Buddhist groups present. He said, perhaps we should talk about that. So what is meant by the word religion. It depends of course how one defines the word religion, but surely the definition must accommodate Buddhism, Taoism, and Jainism which are all recognised as religions, but do not necessarily acknowledge the concept of God. Most of us have grown up with some culturally determined concept of God. As a result, we rarely ask the question. What is more, when something makes us question the notion of God, if our experience does not match our notion of an all loving and all powerful God, we can respond by throwing the baby out with the bath water. To accommodate all religions we need a definition of the term that is more inclusive than some Abrahmic faiths will allow. I have drawn on James and Mandaville (2010) to come up with the following definition which we heard as a reading and is printed in your order of service. I put the reading there so that we can look at it and clarify what is meant. religion can be defined as a relatively-bounded system of beliefs, symbols and practices that addresses the nature of existence, and in which communion with others and Otherness is lived as if it both takes in and spiritually transcends sociallygrounded ways of knowing time, space, being and consciousness.
A bounded set of beliefs means quite simply that we have made some assumptions and then articulated our beliefs based on these assumptions. As we heard in our second reading often these assumptions are learnt as a child and rarely questioned. Religions usually make some statement about the nature of existence, such as in the Abrahamic religions that claimed that God created the world in 7 days. Religions also all make some statement about how we relate to Otherness (be that God or our inner consciousness) and to each other. Finally, religions offer ways of knowing time, space, being and consciousness. This means that through our spiritual and religious experience we can identify a sense of being connected with forces beyond our comprehension, that influence the way we perceive ourselves and the world around us. Because this is an inner experience, it is not amenable to standard scientific analysis. Scientists who seek to understand the human experience of consciousness can identify brain activity that identifies for example when a person is meditating, but this does not explain the experience of meditation. Unitarian Challenges to religious assumptions: Unitarians have always sought to be rational and hence have sought evidence for beliefs. Initially they did that by reading the bible and questioning the evidence for the existence of the trinity. Hence our historical denominational name, Unitarian. However, Unitarians have also embraced the emerging understanding of the laws of th nature that have been uncovered by Science since the 17 Century. We can claim some significant scientists who have added to our understanding of the world, including some who were Unitarian in belief before the name Unitarian was known in the UK. Notable among these people was Isaac Newton. Many Unitarians accept that science theory now assumes that matter has always existed in some form, and in particular the existence of what is known as dark energy and dark matter. The word dark is used because these things can only be observed when they transform into matter and light. At a generic level it may seem that science and religion are merging. Whether you call it God or dark matter and dark energy, if you can only observe it when it is manifested in another form, then you have to accept that it exists on the indirect evidence before you. However, for the purposes of this presentation the point remains that we do not need God to explain the emergence of matter and energy. Where does that leave religion, and God? Most Unitarians are Universalists in the sense that we acknowledge that the concept of God is understood within a cultural context. Therefore, Unitarians offer mutual
respect to those who hold different views and Unitarians do not claim any specific ``authoritative'' creed or dogma. Each Unitarian forms their own personal view of God. Many Unitarians are agnostic or atheistic and do not need to define God at all. We are comfortable with the concept that God is beyond our comprehension but that spiritual experience can be encountered through worship and meditation. The purpose of religion is therefore not so much to worship a dualistic Creator God (although some do), but rather to provide a social space and set of norms and values which individuals accept in order to participate in shared spiritual and ethical growth in a community social setting. The term ``spiritual'' does not imply the existence of the supernatural. You may, in accordance with your personal beliefs, see your spiritual awareness as derived from your sense of God. However, for me, being spiritual describes my inner contemplative experience of human nature. This consciousness of the awe of existence has, I believe, been the source of at least some religious impulses throughout human existence. I acknowledge that for some rulers religion has been a way to power and control, but while fear and compulsion may explain the commitment of some followers of religion, for many people in many cultures, it is the sense of awe that is my motivation. Unitarians seek wisdom from all great religious writings, but we reject the claim that the Bible reveals God s word. Rather we see all great works of religion as attempts by people to understand what has inspired them. Hence, we draw upon the example of the life and teachings of Jesus, as a source of moral inspiration. We proclaim: Original Goodness, not original Sin inherited from Adam and Eve; Our capacity to use our spiritual awareness to help us make decisions in life, rather than thinking God has determined our lot in life and after we die (sometimes known as Predestination). Hence we reject the notion of Damnation; We also reject mythology, when evidence indicates this is the case. Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the USA and a Unitarian, at least in beliefs, demonstrated the rejection of myth by crossing out all the claims of miracles in the Bible. The result is called the Jefferson Bible. Unitarians have emphasized using reason and common sense to assess the claims of all religious and spiritual writings from all the world faiths, rejecting as mythology things that seem implausible while still accepting as insight or wisdom those parts that seem ethically or spiritually praiseworthy. Initially Unitarianism was based primarily on de-mythicized Christian scriptures, but relying as it does on the
judgement of each individual it has come to embrace the parts of Buddhism, Christianity, Paganism, various Spiritualisms, Sufism, Bahá'i and more, viewing all of these as myths that nevertheless can help us gain insight into our spiritual selves and seek personal salvation. Salvation, of course, is not necessarily defined or viewed in the same way that it is in Christianity or Islam; it is more akin to Enlightenment as conceived in Buddhism or Hinduism. A significant number of Unitarians including me primarily identify with Buddhism as the source of their core personal belief. Unitarian can be non-theistic but this view is in complete agreement with the definition of religion I presented in this address. However, it is for each of you to decide the extent that you accept a non-theist view of religion. We each assesses the validity of our belief for ourselves, and decide for ourselves if we choose to believe in God, and whether or not belief in God is common across all religions, as was questioned in the joke. The personal choice of whether or not to believe in the probable existence of God is up to each individual based on your own experience and assessment of your own existence. Thus we rely upon our own witness, not that of the prophets or saints. I personally think that Unitarianism is a rational religion. It focuses on ethical and spiritual humanism, and the practical need to foster a rational ethical society. It does not rely on primitive supernaturalist or theistic mandates. It leaves the choice to believe or not believe in God up to each individual without making any dogmatic statement about it either way, permitting atheist, agnostic, and deist alike to participate in non-supernatural spiritual growth and religious fellowship. Unitarianism provides a social platform for marrying and burying, and for the moral instruction of children, without any brainwashing. Not everybody ``needs'' to participate in such an organization, but even if reason tells one that there is no God and death is just death, when it happens to a loved one it is a tragedy and it is easier to bear when the burden is shared by a supporting fellowship and community. Unitarianism in Hull has provided us with this building, the resources for ministry, and the opportunity for doing good works together. The purpose of our religious community is therefore, as I said before, to provide a social space and set of norms and values which we as individuals accept in order to share in our spiritual and ethical growth in this community. There is however a challenge that Unitarians often duck, and we do so at the risk of losing our spiritual path. We do not often share with each other our experience of faith and in so doing we run the risk of wandering off into a personal bog filled with misunderstanding and self-justification. To avoid this mistake, we need to be
prepared to share openly and respectfully our faith journeys, we can support each other in maintaining and renewing our beliefs. I think this is best done in workshops where we share resources and ideas. I find when I do so, I always learn something more about my own self-awareness, and I always learn from what others offer. When we sit here to listen to an address we may gain some insights, but we best learn and grow when we share together our spiritual journeys, and offer each other constructive questions. In summer when the days are long, or on summer Sunday afternoons after our worship, I propose that we hold a series of workshops where we share the origins of our beliefs, and our present ideas of being spiritual. If you are interested, please talk with me later. Sources: Robert G. Brown 2009 A Theorem Concerning God. Duke University See Open Publication License; https://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/philosophy/god_theorem/god_theorem/node24.html James, Paul; Mandaville, Peter (2010). Globalization and Culture, Vol. 2: Globalizing Religions. London: Sage Publications. p. xii-xiii.