January 2016

What Does It Mean To Be

A People of God?

THE CREATION OF ADAM, BY MICHELANGELO (C. 1511)

What Does It Mean To Be

A People of God?
We come together each time to honor and understand our lives.
We bring our pasts and share them; our dreams and express them.
We use words, silence, and gestures.
Words cant define our lives,
But they help us to reach out to each other,
That we may be renewed, connected, unburdened.
Apprehend with wonder our lives...
For from wonder into wonder, existence opens. by Judy Mannheim
One of Adlai Stevenson's favorite stories depicts a seven-year-old girl busy with her crayons. The Sunday
school teacher asked whose picture she was drawing. "God," the little girl replied. "But, my dear, nobody
knows how God looks," the teacher admonished. "They will when I'm finished," the child answered.
Well, neither young or old Unitarian Universalists can claim to produce a finished portrait of the eternal
mystery, but such a realization is not going to stop us from trying anyway.
Unitarian Universalism pitches a wide theological tent. It encourages diverse beliefs about the existence
of a higher power. Unitarian Universalist conceptions of God range across a wide spectrum. Some reject
God altogether and hold a strictly atheistic view of the universe. Others may use the term God to convey
very different ideas, such as the creative power of evolution in the universe, or the power that makes
transformation possible in our lives, or the ongoing power of love, or simply the ultimate mystery within
which we all must live. Others stress the feminine aspects of the divine by invoking Goddess imagery in
place of traditional metaphors for God such as Father, or Lord.
Whether we like it or not, God is an inescapable word - some would even say that God is inescapable.
As Protestant theologian Paul Tillich writes: The arguments for the existence of God neither are
arguments nor are they proof of the existence of God. They are expressions of God which is implied in
human finitude. This question is their truth; every answer they give is untrue.
I tend to use the word "God" sparingly because it is subject to such varied interpretations. As poetry, it is
unmatched. It has the power to inspire, to sustain, to comfort. As truth, love, and justice, it is challenging.
It calls us to live beyond ourselves. As piety, it is dangerous - there is nothing more dangerous than
fanatics doing what they believe is God's will. For me, God is a natural, not a supernatural process, a
Cosmic Creativity that works within, around, and through me. God and I do not really converse, but I feel
part of a presence that is with me always.
I'm still discovering. Perhaps you are, too. Let us continue the search - together. Rev. Abhi

Our Spiritual Exercises

Option A:
Pluralism in Our World
One of the most important questions of our time: in a world of passionate religiosity and intense
interaction, how will people from different faith backgrounds engage one another? Religious
pluralism is a form of proactive cooperation that affirms the identity of the constituent
communities while emphasizing that the well-being of each and all depends on the health of the
whole. It is the belief that the common good is best served when each community has a chance
to make its unique contribution.
Pluralism is not a default position, an autopilot mode. Pluralism is an intentional commitment
that is imprinted through action. It requires deliberate engagement with difference, outspoken
loyalty to others, and proactive protection in the breach. You have to choose to step off the faith
line onto the side of pluralism, and then you have to make your voice heard.
(from Acts of Faith, by Eboo Patel, pages xiv, xv, and xix)
Take some time to reflect on:
Can you think of a time when you witnessed people with differing beliefs about God or
religion working well together? What do you think helped to make that happen?
On the other hand, can you think of a time when you witnessed people with differing beliefs
about God or religion in conflict or tension?
See if you can find examples of this in the current news. One possible source is the Common
Ground News Service at http://www.commongroundnews.org

Option B:
Your Image or Idea of God/s/dess/es
Find an image or poem or particularly special quote that exemplifies your belief about who or
what God or the divine is. If you are comfortable, bring this to the group meeting to share with
the group.

Option C:
Talk to a friend
Talk to a friend whose beliefs are opposite yours. (Ex: If you believe in a God(s), talk to an
atheist or agnostic.) Ask that person what their view on God is and how they draw strength from

their beliefs. As they describe their thoughts, close your eyes, imagine you are in their shoes and
try to feel what they feel about God, and just deep listen. This exercise is about hearing someone
elses beliefs and reserving judgment about their beliefs.

Option D:
A Practice: The Names of God
Try out one or more of the suggestions from Rev. Debra Garfinkel on page 7 of this Simple Gifts
issue: http://themebasedministry.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Dec_2010_God_internet.pdf

Your Question
As always, dont treat these questions like homework or a list that needs to be covered in its
entirety. Instead, simply pick the one question that hooks you most and let it lead you where you
need to go. The goal of these questions is not to help you analyze what God means, but to more
deeply explore your journey with regards to your beliefs about the divine. So, which question is
calling to you?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

10.
11.
12.

13.
14.

How do your beliefs about God influence your choices and how you life your life?
Do you see our world as godless or god-filled how do you see the presence of God in our world?
Have you ever had an experience that challenged or changed your beliefs about God?
How welcome do you feel in our congregation with your theological beliefs?
How have your beliefs about God changed over the course of your life? What did you believe when
you were growing up, and where did that belief come from? How has it changed for you?
How comfortable are you talking about God or about your beliefs of God? Is it different depending
on where you are and with whom you are talking?
What does it take to create more tolerance and acceptance of pluralism, here in our church, in your
community or place of work?
What doubts or questions about God have you wrestled with?
Richard Dawkins created a scale which can be used to quantify personal beliefs, where 1 represents a
person who is 100% a theist, 4 represents a person who is a pure agnostic (believes there is an equal
probability of a god existing and not existing), and 7 represents a person who considers themselves
100% atheist. What is your personal truth about the existence of a god or gods? Where would you
place yourself on Dawkins scale?
Both theism and atheism require belief and faith, since there is no proof either way confirming or
denying the existence of a god or gods. What specifics have confirmed your beliefs?
Buckminster Fuller says God is the articulation, not the art. Whats the connection between God
and creativity; between God and love?
A joke: Pope John Paul II gets to heaven, and St. Peter suggests he wait for a while before passing
through the pearly gates. But why? I have waited so long to gaze upon the face of my Lord! pleads
the pope. St. Peter pulls him aside and says, See, God is black, and Shes a little ticked at you at the
moment. Assuming that imagining God as a human being doesnt limit one to the dusty, dry old
man with a long white beard, if you were to put a face to God, what would God look like? What are
the gifts that come from anthropomorphizing God? What are the dangers?
To what should we pay attention?
Whats your question? Your question may not be listed above. As always, if the above questions don't
include what life is asking from you, spend the month listening to your days to hear it.

Recommended Resources
As always, this is not required reading. We will not analyze or dissect these pieces in our group. They
are simply meant to get your thinking started, and maybe open you to new ways of thinking about what it
means to be a people of God.

Wise Words
by Dorothy Day
How much did I hear of religion as a child?
Very little, and yet my heart leaped when I heard
the name of God. I do believe every soul has a
tendency toward God.
by Mary Micka
It isnt that I believe God is dead, but God is
so silent, has been for so long, and is so hidden,
I take it as a sign I must watch in other places or
simply tend my small fires until the end.
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
God, I can push the grass apart / And lay my
finger on Thy heart!
adapted from May Sarton & Carolyn
McDade
We wander through exile, through times
without belief,
but sometimes we come home, to the spirit in
our souls.
Let us keep our channels open and never view
life as strange,
But, at each second, be aware how God is
moving always
through us and through each flower.
Let us be in each others presence with gentle
hearts
and gentle hands,
For the living can be healed by love
And the healing can make us whole.
by Jalal ad-Din Rumi
If ten lamps are present in one place, each
differs from another,
Yet you distinguish whose radiance is whose
when you focus on the light.

In the field of spirit there is no division; no

individuals exist.
by Marianne Williamson
We were born to make manifest the glory of God
that is within us.
Its not just in some of us; its in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we
unconsciously give other people permission to
do the same.
by Buckminster Fuller
For God, it seems, is a verb, not a noun, proper
or improper;
God is the articulation, not the art
God is loving, not the abstraction of love
Yes, God is a verb,
the most active,
connoting the vast harmonic reordering of the
universe
from the unleashed chaos of energy.
by Forrest Church
Since truth in religion is like truth in poetry, by
its very nature the language of religion is poetic
language: God, soul, angels, spiritsalvation
and sin. Because such words are imprecise,
many people shy away from them. Today,
however, I need such words. Rather than
abandon it, I do my best to rescue the old
language from captivity by literalists, who strip
it of all poetry, diminishing its symbolic nuance
and vitality. Though easily reduced to an idol,
God is still the biggest word I know. It points
toward a power beyond our own yet
mysteriously present within us. I am no longer
ashamed to mine the poetry of my forebears in
search of touchstones for my faith. - Forrest
Church, Bringing God Home, p. 23

by Karen Armstrong
Karen Armstrong, writer and commentator on
religious issues, begins her book, A History of
God, with some curious thoughts that contrast
with our introductory reading from Exodus.
Says Armstrong: As a child, I had a number of
strong religious beliefs but little faith in God.
She didnt connect with God and in an all-out
effort to do so, Armstrong entered the convent
and for seven years lived as a nun. Yet she
wasnt satisfied and notes that nothing had
actually happened to me from a source beyond
myself. I never glimpsed the God described by
the prophets and mystics, and she adds:
Despite my years as a nun, I do not believe that
my experience of God is unusual. My ideas
about God were formed in childhood and did not
keep abreast of my growing knowledge in other
disciplines. I had revised simplistic childhood
views of Father Christmas; I had come to a more
mature understanding of the complexities of the
human predicament than had been possible in
kindergarten. Yet my early, confused ideas
about God had not been modified or developed.
People without my peculiarly religious
background may also find that their notion of
God was formed in infancy. Since those days,
we have put away childish things and have
discarded the God of our first years.

A Physics by Heather McHugh

When you get down to it, Earth
has our own great ranges
of feelingRocky, Smokey, Blue
and a heart that can melt stones.
The still pools fill with sky,
as if aloof, and we have eyes
for all of this and more, for Earths
reminding moon. We too are ruled
by such attractions- spun and swaddled,
rocked and lent a light. We run
our clocks on wheels, our trains
on time. But all the while we want
to love each other endlesslynot only for

a hundred years, not only six feet up and down.

We want the suns and moons of silver
in ourselves, not only counted coins in a cup.
The whole
idea of love was not fall. And neither was
the whole idea of God. We put him well
above ourselves, because we meant,
in time, to measure up.
Many musicians create musical testimonials.
Below are two such songs: John Lennons
Imagine (considered a Humanist anthem) and
India Aries God is Real.
John Lennon - Imagine
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace
You, you may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world
You, you may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
India Arie - God Is Real
Sweetest honey to the brightest flower the
largest plant
Into the smallest atom, snowflakes in the bird
kingdom,
Smaller than the eye can see,

Bigger than the mind can conceive. (oh)

Heard a man on the radio today,
Must confess I disagreed with what he had to
say.
How can he not believe that God is real,
I don't understand how he could feel that way.
When
There's earth air water and fire.
So many different flowers, sunshine and rain
shower,
So many different crystals and hills and
volcanoes.
[Chorus]
That's how I know that God is real
(all of this is not by chance)
That's how I know that God is real
(all of this is not by chance)
That's how I know that God is real
(I know this is not by chance)
That's how I know that God is real
That's how I know that God is real.
In Saint Lucia, I jumped in the water.
For the first time I understood its power.
As I swam, I was cleansed.
If I had any doubts, this experience
cleared them.
Now I know for sure that God is real.
I know that it's the truth by the way it feels (uhhuh)
Cause I saw starfish and sponges,
Fish and black trumpets,
So many different colors I stayed
Out there for hours and I only saw a fraction of a
fraction,
Of the deep of the deep,
Of the great blue wide.
It Brought a tear to my eye.
[Chorus]
We're made of the same stuff as the moon and
stars.
The ocean's salt water just like my tears are.
You feel me the sun rises and sets everyday
without fail
That's how I know that God is real

(all of this is not by chance),

That's how I know that God is real
(all of this is not by chance),
That's how I know that God is real
(all of this is not by chance),
That's how I know that God is real
Earth, air, water, and fire
Earth, air, water, and fire
Earth, air, water, and fire
That's how i know that God is real
What If God Was One Of Us - Joan Osbourne
If God had a name, what would it be
And would you call it to his face
If you were faced with him in all his glory
What would you ask if you had just one question
And yeah yeah God is great yeah yeah God is
good
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home
If God had a face what would it look like
And would you want to see
If seeing meant that you would have to believe
In things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints
and all the prophets
And yeah yeah god is great yeah yeah god is
good
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home
He's trying to make his way home
Back up to heaven all alone
Nobody calling on the phone
Except for the pope maybe in Rome
And yeah yeah God is great yeah yeah God is
good
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
What if god was one of us

Just a slob like one of us

Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home
Just trying to make his way home
Like a holy rolling stone
Back up to heaven all alone
Just trying to make his way home
Nobody calling on the phone
Except for the pope maybe in Rome

Videos & Podcasts

I am Theist, You are Humanist song https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=1rgQmZK_ASo

Articles & Online

Proof that Google is God, from the Church of
Google http://www.thechurchofgoogle.org/Scripture/Pro
of_Google_Is_God.html (tongue in cheek, but
an exploration of characteristics of God)
Explanation of Humanism http://www.americanhumanist.org/Humanism/W
hat_is_Humanism
Simple Gifts newsletter from All Souls Tulsa on
the theme of God:
http://themebasedministry.org/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2012/04/Dec_2010_God_intern
et.pdf

Movies & Television

Gandhi, starring Ben Kingsley, Roshan Seth, et
al.
Oh God! Starring John Denver, George Burns,
Teri Garr, and Donald Pleasence
The God Who Wasn't There. Starring Richard
Carrier, Richard Dawkins, Alan Dundes, et al.
Letting Go of God. Starring Julia Sweeney

Conversations with God. Starring Henry

Czerny, Vilma Silva, T. Bruce Page, et al
Dear God. Starring Greg Kinnear
Bruce Almighty. Starring Jim Carrey, Morgan
Freeman, et al.
The Lego Movie

Books
Karen Armstrong, The Case for God and
History of God
Forrest Church, God & Other Religious Liberals
Michael Collins, The Language of God: A
Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
Neale Donald Walsh, Tomorrow's God: Our
Greatest Spiritual Challenge
Diana Eck, Encountering God: A Spiritual
Journey from Bozeman to Benaras
Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion
Christopher Hitchens, God is not Great: How
Religion Poisons Everything
Stephen Prothero, God is Not One: The Eight
Rival Religions that Run The World -- and Why
Their Differences Matter
Paul Froese & Christopher Bader, Americas
Four Gods: what we say about God and what
that says about us
Robert Wright, Evolution of God
Jacob Needleman, What is God?
Andrew Newberg, Eugene G. dAquili, and
Vince Rause, Why God Wont Go Away: brain
science and the biology of belief

Picture Books
Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, Gods Paintbrush
Reeve Lindberg, On Morning Wings
Douglas Wood, Old Turtle
Lisa T. Bergren, Where Does God Live?
Etan Boritzer, What Is God?
Lawrence & Karen Kushner, Because Nothing
Looks Like God

This Soul Matters packet was prepared by Rev. Michelle Collins.