One God, More or Less By Rev. Steven Protzman May 15, 2016 May, 2016 First Reading: "Do You Believe in God?" by Rev. Jane Rzepka 1 Second Reading: "I Don't Have a Personal Relationship with God" by Patrick Murfin 2 Sermon Theology, simply defined, is the study of religious belief systems, a system for making meaning of life, and an understanding of the nature of what we hold to be Ultimate. In this service and sermon purchased by Ron Crawford at the 2015 Annual Treats and Talents Auction, we will welcome new members and explore three belief systems: atheism, agnosticism and Deism and learn about how these ideas shape modern Unitarian Universalism and can inform our personal belief systems. During one of my last classes in seminary, an integrative seminar, the teacher, a Christian, was talking to us one day about our struggles, our questions, things we shouldn't work through with the congregation. She said to us: "You can't stand there in the pulpit and say: 'Folks, I don't think I believe in God anymore'." I raised my hand and said: "Ummm, you can in my church." As Unitarian Universalists, we are not bound by a creed or doctrine but we are each free to make ultimate meaning of life in our own way, drawing on the world's vast religions, philosophies and belief systems. Pope John Paul II once called Unitarian Universalism "the faith that finally took all the heresies and made them into one religion". In the first reading, Rev. Jane Rzepka says that: "Unitarian Universalists are unified in that we are our own theologians, and the choice is ours, not once and for all, but throughout our lives. Perhaps the concept of God does not interest you much, but you know what you do and do not believe. Each of us believes something about the nature of life and the cosmos some call whatever that is God, some describe it in other ways." 3 Among our many diverse beliefs are Atheism, Agnosticism and Deism. In order to understand each of these systems of meaning, it's helpful to begin by defining theism so we have a ground zero, a place of reference. Theism, from the Greek word theos, meaning god, is the belief in a personal god, a supreme being. My colleague Katy Korb says that: "When you speak of a creator, a first cause, a heavenly father (or mother, for that matter) or the Force, it is theism. This is the god, however imagined, that people mean when they say that they do or they don't believe in god. It is in some sense, therefore, personal, although very few thoughtful people today even consider the old Sunday-School idea of a bearded old man in white robes up in the sky who made them and can still be swayed to attend to their needs if sufficiently motivated." If theism is the belief in a god of some kind, then atheism is the belief that there is no god of any kind, that the universe and life are not the products of intelligent design, but the combination of physics and random events, and that we are the result of evolution. Katy Korb goes on to 1
say that: "Atheism means that the ideals that we hold, the religions that we espouse, the values that we believe in, are simply useful survival characteristics. Morality has evolved simply to enhance the successful continuance of the human race, like the migratory instincts of birds. There can be no transcendence and therefore no meaning except to be, to continue to be, and to enhance the ability of our race to survive in the most friendly possible environment." 4 Although today we think that atheism is a recent development of human thought, questioning or even outright denying the existence of a god or gods dates back at least 2,500 years. In the book "Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World", Tim Whitmarsh, the Levintis Professor of Greek Culture at the University of Cambridge, says that those who denied the gods were plentiful. The arguments made by Greek atheists in the fifth century BCE ring as current as those of Richard Dawkins and Co. in the 21st century: religion as a source of primitive fear, comical anthropomorphism, unparalleled cruelty perpetrated in the name of the gods. From Athens to Delphi to Olympus, exceptions to the commonplace portrait of the devout Greek abound: Not everyone sacrificed to the gods, invoked their blessings in the home, prayed for their might on the battlefield, or explained the cosmos in terms of Zeus whims. 5 With the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire under the emperor Constantine in the fourth century CE, atheism would go underground for a thousand years as the theological battlefield shifted to polytheism (belief in many gods) versus monotheism (belief in one god), leaving no room for those who challenged the existence of god. With the Enlightenment in the 18th century, atheism arose once again as historical religion began to be rejected. Superstition and anything remotely supernatural was replaced with natural science and logic, rational progress and secular values. It was also during the Enlightenment that Deism, which comes from the Latin word "deus" meaning "god", arose among intellectuals, especially in Britain, France, Germany and the United States. Deists were typically raised as Christians but rejected ideas such as the Trinity, miracles, the divinity of Jesus, and the Bible as perfect truth, using reason and the natural world as sufficient proof of a single creator of the Universe. Rev. Suzelle Lynch defines Deism as the belief "that god is the "first cause" who created a universe controlled by immutable laws but says that after the universe was set in motion, God simply stepped away, and no longer intervenes, an infinite watchmaker whose creation would continue to tick as it was ordained to tick from the beginning. Humans were to use their reason to understand God and develop morality." 6 Deism was the religious philosophy of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and many others involved in the American and French Revolutions. Jefferson, a champion of religious freedom, was devoted to the teachings of Jesus. He didn't agree with how they were interpreted by the gospel writers, whom he considered untrustworthy, so he created his own bible. He produced the 84-page volume in 1820, bound it in red leather and titled it The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth. Educated as a classical scholar, he compared six copies of the New Testament, in Greek, Latin, French and King James English. He cut out passages with some sort of very sharp blade and, using blank paper, glued down lines from each of the Gospels in four columns, Greek and Latin on one side of the pages, and French and English on the other." 7 It is perhaps Jefferson who 2
inspired the joke that a UU bible study requires a bible and a pair of scissors. The early American Unitarians, rejecting the divinity of Jesus, the miracle stories, and the inerrancy of the bible, were strongly influenced by Deism. The Universalists, who rejected the notion of hell, were also strongly influenced by Deism. One of the early founders of American Universalism, Hosea Ballou, was so influenced by the Deistic writings of Ethan Allen and Thomas Paine that other Universalist ministers said the only thing he kept of Christianity was the name. 8 What's curious about both Deism and Atheism is that they both require faith. The Deist says, Yes, God exists. The atheist says flatly, There is no God." The agnostic does not engage, as the Buddha expressed it, in "metaphysical speculation", but says, It s impossible to know or prove for certain whether or not there is a God." Thomas Henry Huxley, famous as "Darwin s bulldog", the defender of Charles Darwin s theory of evolution, coined the term agnostic at a party in London in 1869. Huxley said: "When I reached intellectual maturity and began to ask myself whether I was an atheist, a theist, or a pantheist; a materialist or an idealist; a Christian or a freethinker, I found that the more I learned and reflected, the less ready was the answer; until, at last, I came to the conclusion that I had no part with any of these denominations. They were quite sure they had attained a certain "gnosis" or knowledge and had, more or less successfully, solved the problem of existence; while I was quite sure I had not, and had a pretty strong conviction that the problem was insoluble." 9 There are various kinds of agnostics. There are so-called "weak agnostics" who might say, "I don t know whether or not there is a God, but it may be possible to convince me some day." And there are also "strong" agnostics who would agree with the bumper sticker that says: "Militant Agnostic: I don t know and you don t either!" 10 A search on the web for the best church for agnostics, which I thought would be Unitarian Universalism hands down, led to the Universal Church Triumphant of the Apathetic Agnostic. 11 Their tag line- "We don't know and we don't care", which suggests that doubt alone is not sufficient to define an agnostic. Other than the strange absolutism of Christian fundamentalism in this country, to doubt and to question is considered a normal part of the faith journey in virtually every religion. It may be disinterest in the question of the existence of God defines an agnostic rather than doubt. Atheism, Deism and Agnosticism are all rich topics, each of which could inspire an entire sermon series in themselves, but let's not miss the real point of belief systems. In 1896, a controversial but very popular American lecturer named Robert Ingersoll wrote an essay titled "Why I Am An Agnostic" in which he says: "Is there a God? I do not know. Let us be true to ourselves true to the facts we know, and let us, above all things, preserve the veracity of our souls. If there be gods we cannot help them, but we can assist our fellow-men. We cannot love the inconceivable, but we can love wife and child and friend. When asked what is beyond the horizon of the known, we must say that we do not know. We can tell the truth, and we can enjoy the blessed freedom that the brave have won. We can fill our lives with generous deeds, with loving words, with art and song, and all the ecstasies of love. We can flood our years with sunshine with the divine climate of kindness, and we can drain to the last drop the golden cup of joy." 12 In the 3
first reading, Jane Rzepka said that: "But wherever you are, whatever you believe, know that each of us has the same assignment: to name the source of our blessings, the foundation of all that is good, the ground of our being. So when the mysteries are close at hand you know you have a grounded religion ready for the telling." A grounded religion that helps you, as UU religious educator Judith Frediani says, make meaning of life and live a life of meaning. My colleague the Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell, offers five questions as a test for what we believe: Does this belief separate me from others or does it open me to others? Does this belief support me when things in my life fall apart? Does this belief help me develop and give my gifts? Does this belief encourage me to become a person of integrity and good character? Does this belief stir love in my heart? 13 There's another question I'd ask. Does this belief inspire wonder and awe, a reverence for life? In the second reading, Patrick Murfin writes: I do not have a Personal Relationship with God. But in quiet momentsin the familiar whistle of a red-winged blackbird on a cattail, or in spider webs glinting with dew in the grass of a clear sunrise, or the passing attention of an old cat He/She/It/Whatever does not speak or do or answer but admits me to fleeting union with the Greater. 14 These six questions are about spiritual maturity, becoming a person who is authentic, generous, filled with gratitude, creative, and compassionate. Someone who has an intimate acquaintance with what we each consider to be the Greater in our lives, whether that's God or the Goddess, or the Universe, or Nature, or the Spirit of Life, however we name it and understand it. Someone whose life and actions are an unmistakable testimony to their relationship with the Greater. A few minutes ago, during our covenanting ceremony, I challenged our new members. I charged you to grow in your faith, to practice our fourth principle, a free and responsible search for truth and meaning, by seeking and discovering the Ultimacy that is your source of strength and hope; the home of your soul. I also charged you to respond with your whole self to your relationship with Ultimate meaning by sharing your special gifts with us and with the world. This is the real work we are here to do as a spiritual community- people who are spiritually diverse yet united as one in our noble call to touch hearts, change lives and transform our world. Is there a God? I do not know, but I do know that whatever we may believe it will only matter if we truly seek to fill our lives with generous deeds, with loving words, with art and song, and all the ecstasies of love. As Robert Ingersoll said: "Let us flood our years with sunshine with the divine climate of kindness, and drain to the last drop the golden cup of joy." 4
References 1 Rzepka, Rev. Jane, "Do You Believe in God?", Quest for Meaning, http://www.questformeaning.org/quest-blog/believe-god 2 Murfin, Patrick, "I Don't Have a Personal Relationship with God", Meditation from How We Are Called, Mary Benard and Kirstie Anderson, Editors, Boston: Skinner House Books, 2003, pg. 30. 3 Rzepka, Jane, Ibid. 4 Korb, Rev. Katy, "Theist, Deist, Non-Theist, Atheist", sermon, http://www.spkorb.org/tdndatheist.html 5 Davenport, Arlice, "Denying the gods in Ancient Greece", The Wichita Eagle, 2/2/2016, http://www.kansas.com/entertainment/books/article52741235.html#storylink=cpy 6 Lynch, Rev. Suzelle, "Theism, Deism, Pantheism, Non-theism What Does God Mean?", sermon 2009, http://www.uucw.org/component/content/article/582 7 Edwards, Owen, "How Jefferson Created His Own Bible", article, January 2012, Smithsonian Magazine, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-thomasjefferson-created-his-own-bible-5659505/#oesfdx3x6ks8s0ii.99 8 Pyle, Rev. David, "Can a Deist Find a Home in Unitarian Universalism?, article 7/14/2009, http://celestiallands.org/wayside/?p=151 9 Fritts, Rev. Roger, "Agnosticism", sermon, May 26, 2013, UU Church of Sarasota, Florida 10 Fritts, Roger, Ibid. 11 http://www.apatheticagnostic.com 12 Fritts, Roger, Ibid. 13 Lynch, Suzelle, Ibid. 14 Murfin, Patrick, Ibid. 5