Knowing Right From Wrong

In a courtroom, lawyers sometimes explore whether the defendant knows right from wrong. Is the defendant old enough, mature enough, mentally capable to judge right from wrong? Our Covenant Group has discussed this, too. If we are old enough, mature enough, mentally capable, how do we decide what is right? Let me start today with some foundation and I'll build from there.

I read or heard (and if I find out where, I'll share), that humans may make this important decision using one of three approaches. You may be:

• Rule based. You have a set of rules (example, The Ten Commandments) and the rules are all important. You follow the rules to the letter.
• Rule based with provisos. You have a set of rules, or standards clearly stated, but you apply those rules based on the circumstances. You weigh the standard against the situation, possible outcomes and internal judgments.
• Value based. You hold a value as your standard (examples, Love Your Neighbor, or Justice). All decisions are based on what the value is and how you interpret right behavior considering that value.

You actually may use a mixture of these approaches. I use the second and third approaches, I think. I'm always considering the situation, the people involved, the possible outcomes before I determine what might be the right course of action. The values I hold give me a larger framework to make decisions that will come more from the gut or heart than from my thinking brain.

This author also said (and now I'm thinking this had to be a sermon, but maybe not. Now I'm so deep in, the reference librarian in me has kicked in and I'll have to find out. But we digress...)

This author also said that humans use five factors to decide what will be the right course of action.

1. Harm. Who will be harmed? Will any harm come from my action--to people, to the environment, etc.?
2. Fairness. Will my action have a sense of fair play to it? Will my action bring an outcome that equally apportions benefits (or harm) to the situation?
3. In-Group. Does my decision support my membership in a group with which I identify (family, religion, club)? Do I decide based on the morals and traditions of that group?
4. Hierarchy. Is there an authority or power figure to whom I turn when deciding the rightness of a decision?
5. Purity. Is your decision based on a sense of divine involvement, a holiness of purpose, or divine inspiration?

The observation was made that Unitarian Universalists tend use factors 1 and 2 for judging right from wrong; members of more conservative religions will more likely weigh the last three more heavily in their decisions. But any of the five may be invoked to judge what is "right", and again, we may use a mixture of any of the five to help.

This "factor-scenario" makes a whole lot of sense in considering why we humans have such a tough time agreeing on the right course of action. If I believe God is on my side and you're trying to be fair, there may be light-years between us in motivation and in our abilities to compromise. And as Shelby Foote observed during Ken Burns' series The Civil War, the American War Between the States occurred because we Americans could not come to a compromise.

I know I don't have the answer to the thorny human problem of conflict. But the three approaches and the five factors (very Buddhist) at least shed light on the deep issues that might be working within and among people, countries and governments to throw the Life System off balance.

How do you decide right from wrong? That person in your life with whom you're always at odds. How do they decide, do you think? Does knowing where they're coming from help? Can you work with that knowledge to get some productive communication going? Or are some points of departure in deciding right from wrong too separated to ever find common ground?

Keep the Faith, Baby!

Keep the Faith. Being faithful. Having faith in someone, in something. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1) Faith is being sure.

During my upbringing, I didn't think about faith. It was just there. I had Faith, according to my teachers, because I believed in God and in Eternal Salvation. I was set. I had Faith as in: "The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will." (American Heritage Dictionary, 3rd Ed., 1996) Faith in that sense didn't have anything to do with what was happening on Earth. And nothing on Earth was as certain as God and Salvation, so it was better that I didn't have faith in anything or anyone in my life.

The American Heritage Dictionary also defines faith as a "confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, an idea or thing." and as "Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence." A synonym of faith is Trust. "Firm reliance on the integrity, ability or character of a person or thing." So you have a confident belief in someone's trustworthiness and then you rely on him. Faith and Trust go hand in hand.

In a sermon I heard last year, the minister encouraged us to define our own faith through questions. When the chips are down and life is throwing lemons, what do you rely on to pull you through? To what or to whom do you turn to support you through the tough times? Answering instinctively, from the gut, uncovers some interesting answers.

I have faith in my own abilities to see me through. My intellect, my judgment, my knowledge. At the same time, I am convinced that, although I might have cultivated these abilities, I received them, and any talents I possess, as gifts from God the Creator.

I also have faith in the Interdependent Web, the Life System, the Exquisite Timing, in God within whom we live and move and have our being. I have a confident belief that this Web aligns itself with Good, moves toward the positive, desires the Kingdom of God here, in our existence. I have faith that when I have a problem, other people and circumstances will align to help me toward an ultimately good outcome--not necessarily at the immediate time or for me personally, but for the Life System, the Web as a whole.

Part of any Leap of Faith is to be aware of how that alignment may be happening around me--dynamically--and deliberately step into the flow.

Recognizing and moving in the correct flow, following my Bliss, seeking courage and goodness, living in love and compassion, listening to my spiritual teachers and scripture. I have faith in this life Path. I trust that if I follow this Path, I will, with God, create positive ripples around me and in the world.

When the chips are down and life is throwing lemons, what do you rely on to pull you through? To what or to whom do you turn to support you through the tough times?

Quick! What's your answer?

Exquisite Timing

I've heard this phrase used a lot in the world, referring to a deliberate or chance occurrence dropping into life at just the right moment to make a difference, to avoid calamity. The appearance of a book on store shelves was planned with exquisite timing to take advantage of current events. Or a ball player's addition to a team came with exquisite timing to secure his team's place in the finals. There's even a race horse named Exquisite Timing. Don't know if the horse lived up to its name, but I'm sure the owners hoped that it would.

Fred Campbell, in his book Religious Integrity for Everyone: Functional Theology for Secular Society, describes Exquisite Timing as that experience we all have when events and lives and nature all converge in one point in time to create some extraordinary, inexplicable outcome. Theist that I am, I call these "God Moments".

When I was caring for my mother some years back, I was told that she had normal pressure hydrocephalus, a build-up of spinal fluid in her brain that was causing Alzheimer's-like symptoms. The possible cure would be the placement of a brain shunt to drain the fluid from her brain into her stomach cavity. She was safe in the hospital for now, but I was to decide on the procedure over a few days, days in which I was scheduled for a business trip in another city. I boarded the plane and pulled out my journal articles describing the shunt procedure. A pleasant-looking man took his seat beside me, glanced at what I was reading and asked, "Who needs a shunt?" I learned in short order that he was a neurosurgeon on his way to a conference. He had performed many of these procedures and was more than willing to explain and answer questions during our flight. God Moment. Exquisite Timing.

A young girl from a small Midwest town goes to New York City for the first time in her life to celebrate the New Year. In the crowd, she and her friends meet a young soldier soon to be shipped out and share a meal with him and his buddies. He will become the love of her life. (Yes, happened during World War II). God Moment. Exquisite Timing.

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent! God Moment. Exquisite Timing.

I know you've experienced this. The Life System that God created, the intricate ripples that we all cause as we move through Life's Web, the interconnections of all living things--there's enough possibilities there to keep the God Moments coming.

Keep your soul poised for Exquisite Timing. When a God Moment happens, revel in it. See how awesome God can be.

Blessings on your day!

Define "Christian", Please

As I've shared my emerging knowledge of myself as a UU Christian, and my growing belief that "redemption through Jesus' death" is not primary in my personal theology, friends and relatives have posed the question, "Then how can you call yourself a Christian?"

Pause... Exactly the question I've asked myself. Because deep in my gut, I see myself as a Christian, but I don't fit the definition. But then, I've heard quite a few definitions. There are usually three requirements in most definitions, but sometimes not. (This is sounding more Unitarian Universalist all the time!)

Definition 1: A Christian believes that:

• God exists.
• The Bible is the Word of God.
• Jesus was equally human and divine; Jesus was God.
• Humanity's sins were redeemed through the sacrifice of the cross.

I've heard and read this definition in various forms all my life. This is what I call a "mainstream" definition, but even within that framework there is a spectrum of religious diversity that rivals rainbow colors. What concept of God? Literal or non-literal biblical interpretation. What's the emphasis on--humanity or divinity? Who was redeemed? What are the requirements? Is there a Trinity involved?

Definition 2: Marcus Borg, The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith, HarperCollins, 2003. pg. 37-8. Borg contends that there are three affirmations central to Christian faith. A Christian...

• Affirms the reality of God.
• Affirms the utter centrality of Jesus.
• Affirms the centrality of the Bible.

Lots of wiggle room here, too. This list doesn't define what to believe about each of the affirmations. Borg is showing us that we, as Christians, have this core in common. Common ground on which to begin conversations and from which to build a vision of what life on this Earth should look like.

Definition 3: "Christian", The American Heritiage Dictionary. 3rd Ed. 1996.

n. 1. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. 2. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.

Well, this is interesting. Notice that #1 says "...follows THE religion...", not A religion or ONE of the religions or one of the denominations. THE religion. Christianity. And a Christian can profess belief OR follow the religion--nothing in this second part about beliefs--"...based on the life and teachings of Jesus." [Emphasis mine. not about Jesus. Hm-m-m.]

Then there's #2. "One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus." This is the one that matches the tag lines of the UUCF: "Simply Following Jesus" and "Following Jesus in Freedom". In the UUCF, I've met several people who state firmly that they do not believe in the reality of God or a god. That kind of threw me. I mean, Jesus believed in God. No question of that. So how can you follow him and not believe in God? Hm-m-m.

Then I attended Revival and considered what I know of my own Christian fellowship. Here are people who don't accept the reality of God, but are striving to live with the teachings of Jesus engraved on their hearts. With love and compassion. Works for me. The last dictionary definition is the most inclusive and lies within the framework of the Unitarian Universalist Seven Principles. What does your belief lead you to do? What does your faith look like?

"But as for me (Joshua 24:15)...", I'm a Definition 2 kind of girl. I feel the presence of God a lot in my life, so God is real. Jesus is my central teacher, and I'm always tuned to new ways of understanding how his teachings can guide me. I was raised with the Bible, so it's central. I can't often quote chapter and verse, but I have a few passages under my belt and a strong sense of the parables and reminders of God's encompassing love.

Are you a Christian?

I've added a few books to the LTS Amazon bookstore (link on the left), including Marcus Borg's Heart of Christianity. Take a look. Share with us what books or DVD's have influenced your journey as a Christian.

Blessings on your day!

The Cross

A phrase that I learned at the 2009 Revival was "cross cringe". That's the reaction that we UU Christians sometimes elicit if we wear a cross or state that we are Christians in the company of our UU brothers and sisters. It's that little wrinkle of the nose, a start of surprise, a widening of the eyes, perhaps a soft "Oh." The cross cringe may be as overt as a suggestion that maybe we would be more comfortable at the local Lutheran church. I have seen the cringe from others outside the UU faith. In our society, the word "Christian" is most often associated with a literal reading of the Bible and a legalistic, judgmental religion. In that context, hearing the word "Christian" can move someone to shout "Hallelujah!"; others to respond with "the cringe".

In light of that, I was delighted that Rev. Tamara Lebak of All Souls Unitarian chose for her Sunday sermon the topic, "The Signs of the Cross". She said that it was in honor of the UUCF Revival visitors as well as her own deep fascination with this ancient symbol. Her own collection of crosses fills several packing boxes. And she grinned when she said that it was not often that the All Souls congregation heard the hymn "The Old Rugged Cross" which was sung so beautifully by the choir that morning.

She spoke of Greek crosses, with equal arms, that in 9500 BCE symbolized the horizon and the rising and setting of the sun. Four thousand years before the Third Reich, the swastika cross was used to denote the four directions (North, East, South, and West) and the world-wheel (the eternally changing world, around a fixed, unchanging center or god). The cross can symbolize the meeting of opposites, the merging of human and divine, immenence and transcendence. The Latin cross, the one associated with today's cross cringe, was carved into Bronze Age stones, was used as a ward against evil. It is a rich symbol, and even more powerful, Rev. Lebak said, because it rejects duality. It has so many meanings from so many different times, cultures and traditions, that it helps us to reflect on the Truth. Truth that can only be discerned by drawing all those diverse meanings together. Only then might we sense something of the grandeur and variety of life.

Read Rev. Lebak's sermon; there's also a podcast version out on the All Souls website. It will open your eyes to that "old rugged cross" and make you appreciate all over again that simple symbol. It's got me wearing my cross again, ready to face the "cross cringe".

How about you?

Today's post is the last relating my experiences at the UUCF 2009 Revival in Tulsa, OK. Next time I'll be walking down from the mountaintop and into everyday Christian life. Looking forward to meeting you there!