I’ve joined the UU-Books mailing list that the Unitarian Universalist Association sponsors, as a way of enriching my office experience. Some of the participants on that list are working through the book Building Your Own Theology. I plan to post my contributions here with minimal editing.
I’m excited about being able to join in the BYOT experience, even though I’m not a UU. I expect my participation will be useful in my life and hope it will not be disruptive to you all. I suggest that we use a “BYOT” tag in our subject lines so that anyone not participating can more easily apply a filter or rule if they want to routinely discard our messages.
Name: Kenneth Sutton
Religious value I cherish: immediate (un-mediated) experience of the divine
Religious value I have rejected: “the use of the democratic process within our congregations”
Faith in which I was raised: cultural (i.e., not religious) Christian
Religious value with which I struggle: how to be faithful in my life to my experience of God
What I hope to get out of BYOT: A more systematic understanding of my own theology; a deeper acquaintance with UU religious thought.
Kenneth, I just stumbled across your blog and its Quaker-related posts, in the midst of some rare web surfing. When I came across this post, I needed to jot down the questions you raise, in the context of Quakerism:
A Quaker value I cherish is...
A Quaker value I have rejected is...
A Quaker value I am wrestling with is...
These questions all relate to the FGC Gathering workshop I am slated to offer this summer (#36 in 2005), on Quaker identity. It’s nice to feel affirmed by seeing what you and a few other Quaker bloggers are writing about these days.
Just wanted to pop by and say hello.
Blessings,
Liz