AboutJon Bond Expertise Will answer all questions regarding Unitarian Universalist (UU)church; including ancient history (Universalists go back to at least 250 A.D.) and medieval history (Unitarians look to 1553 A.D. as their beginning) up to merger of the two movements in 1961 and continuing up to present. Am familiar with Christian church organizations and relationship of UUs to traditional churches.
Experience Currently member of Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder, Colorado. Past vice-president of Board of Trustees and currently on Membership Committee. Have taught UU history for over 20 years. Have attended Unitarian Universalist General Assemblies (annual meetings held in June) for past 15 years.
Organizations Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder, Colorado
Expert: Jon Bond Date: 1/20/2005 Subject: The nature of Sin
Question Hello:
I am currently working on a personal project about the nature of Sin. I am the artist and co-author of a religious, contemporary graphic novel focusing heavily on Sin. I want to include more than just the Christian viewpoint, though that will be the main focus, so am contacting experts of various different religions in order to gain a better understanding of the world view of Sin. I was hoping you could give me a rundown of Sin and your understanding of it, anything you have to offer me is helpful and much appreciated, I am open to absolutely any information concerning the subject, and I thank you in advance.
Alyssa Mogil
Answer Hello Alyssa Mogil ¡V
I'll try to discuss the subject of sin, as it might pertain to UU practices. Remember, I'm one of over 250,000 people and, if you ask another UU (Unitarian Universalist), you may get a different (but, hopefully, not conflicting) answer. I'd like to divide my answer into two parts: first, a background of our association, then secondly, I'll give you a rundown of Sin and my understanding of it from a UU perspective.
First, a background (including when the two groups originated):
The concept of Unitarianism generally looks to a Catholic priest, Michael Servetus, as a spiritual originator. Servetus was born in Spain in 1511 and died in 1553, after attacking the doctrines of the Trinity. Unitarianism is a doctrinal system characterized chiefly by a belief in the unipersonality of God and the normal humanity of Jesus, as contrasted with the Trinity and the eternal deity (divinity) of Jesus. Most Unitarians I've spoken with reject the divinity of Jesus, but do recognize him (Jesus) as a great moral teacher
Universalism is the theological doctrine that all souls will ultimately be saved and that there are no torments of hell. Universalism has been asserted at various times in different contexts throughout the history of the "Christian church"--e.g., Origen in the 3rd century. The Universalists also denied the miraculous element in Scripture, and rejected such important Bible doctrines as the total depravity of man and the Trinity.
The Unitarian Universalist Association was created in May of 1961 as a merger of Unitarians and Universalists.
Second, I'll give you a rundown of Sin and my understanding of it from a UU perspective.
Less than 10% of UUs follow the path of Christianity. More about that later in this part of my discussion. There are no creeds, only statements of purpose, in the UU church. We pride ourselves in welcoming atheists and humanists. So, I believe the very short answer to your question is: we don't necessarily categorize actions as right or wrong where wrong might be classified as being in sin; rather, we might say some actions are different from other actions. That is not to say that many of our fellow UUs wouldn't say "that is right" or "that is wrong." An indicator of this is our wide spectrum of beliefs. Recently (in the last five years), the UU organization took a survey to find out what we believe is important in our religious lives.
Almost 10,000 Unitarian Universalists took the time to fill out and return the survey, giving us all an invaluable snapshot of who we are. Our association has been enriched by the knowledge gained from the answers many UUs provided.
This survey began a process designed to reach out to all UU individuals and congregations called "Fulfilling the Promise." This Concept was set in motion by the Unitarian Universalist Association's Board of Trustees. Its goal was to help us move toward agreement about why we come together as congregations and as an association and what we hope to accomplish.
The survey questions came from individual UUs, as did the suggested responses. More than 500 people helped create this survey. We hope you will find your own experience reflected in the questions and answers, even if the exact language you would use is not perfectly captured here.
What follows are the total tabulations for the first 8118 surveys. At least one question deals with theological perspective. Question number 30 results follow:
Please check the one of the following which best describes your theological perspective:
The balance of the questions (age, sex, length of church membership, etc.), gave us a picture of who are demographically and as church persons. They provide a picture of what we say our values in religious community are.
Unitarian Universalists see people not as almost helpless victims of "original sin," but as people possessing withing themselves possibilities for growth in wisdom, character and happiness. UUs respect the divinity in our souls. If, with a faith rooted in unshakable ideals of truth, goodness and service, you ar striving before the altar of your own consciience for the betterment of character and for the advancement of all humankind, the UU church believes that you are a truly religious person. Unitarian Universalism assists your religious development in this repsect by drawing spiritual vitality from the deepest wisdom of many of the religious, intellectual and cultural movements of the world. The here and now and the effects our actions will have on future generations sincerely concern us. We acknowledge that our relationships with one another, with other peoples, races and nations, should be governed by justice, equity and compassion.
Alyssa, the other point I would like to bring us is that you are probably referring to a Christian view of the Seven Deadly Sins. I believe the seven are:
ƒÞ Greed
ƒÞ Lust
ƒÞ Envy
ƒÞ Gluttony
ƒÞ Anger
ƒÞ Pride
ƒÞ Sloth
You're in luck, Alyssa, because the UUA has recently published a magazine article which deals with the very subject of Sin. In his entertaining essay "The Pages of Sin," Dan Cryer reviews a recently published series of books on the seven deadly sins. Cryer acknowledges that the topic is one that typically sends UUs running. "From our enlightened perspective, we tend to regard sin as at best an overrated concept, at worst a guilt-producing toxin that poisons the well of human relationships."
But, you can order a copy of this magazine to include in your "religious, contemporary graphic novel focusing heavily on Sin." Merely write to: Ms. Kathy Todd, Production Manager, UU World, 25 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02108-2803. Check out the essay by Cryer beginning on page 56 running through page 59.
Alyssa, you have asked for my views on what is considered a serious subject. Remember that my answers are my own; the UUs would never dictate what to believe to member churches. Good luck in your search! You're on the right track!
Thank you for taking the time to question what UUs might believe regarding your personal project about the nature of Sin. For more information, please feel free to check out our web site http://uua.org/ A good book to check on is ¡§The Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide¡¨ ¡V ISBN 0-933840-45-4
