GOD AND UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS
Individual Unitarian Universalists may have widely ranging concepts of God. Some understand God as the creative force in the universe; others see God as the Ultimate Mystery that encompasses all life, while others experience Gods as the love and compassion within us and surrounding us. For many, God is the word that describes what no other single word can. Others identify as atheists, having no belief in or relationship with God.
In Unitarian Universalism, there is not a right or wrong way to understand God. As the writer Nancy Mairs says in her book Ordinary Time, “It never occurred to me that one might go to church not because one believed in God, but precisely because one didn’t, that in ‘going through the motions’ one might not be performing empty gestures but preparing a space into which belief could flood if it were going to.”
Within the Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation are those with these varying understandings of God in their lives. Each person is encouraged to develop an understanding of and relationship to God in a way that nurtures one’s connection to the mystery of life and to all creation.
Read more about Unitarian Universalist views of God here.
JESUS AND UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS
Each person who comes to the Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation brings a personal understanding of Jesus, depending upon one’s family and faith traditions. The diversity of these understandings reflects the diversity in the congregation.
Unitarian Universalism is a tradition rooted in Christianity, and the Christian teachings have a place in our congregations, where Jesus’ teachings of love and compassion, as well as the teachings of the prophets of Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other world traditions, are honored At OUUC we celebrate the traditions of Christmas and Easter, lifting up the profound messages of the birth of hope and renewal that those holidays offer.
Many Unitarian Universalists see Jesus as a moral exemplar who personified acceptance, compassion, and inclusion, although they do not recognize him as a god. Others hold up Jesus as a prophet and reformer who spoke out against the political and religious leaders of his time for not responding to injustice and challenged them to care for the poor, the disenfranchised, the most vulnerable in their society.
All beliefs about Jesus and his teachings are welcome and are often the source of rich and meaningful discussions about the meaning of faith in one’s life.
Read more about Unitarian Universalist views of Jesus here.
