One time I saw the college humor video "the church for people spiritual but not religious" and some commented "this is the UU this is barely an exaggeration."
And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. -Jeremiah 29:13 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. -John 3:16 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out. -Acts 3:19 If you’re in North America, please go check out any of the churches available to you: PCA, OPC, Rpcna/Rpc, Urcna, or a canrc church (These are conservative and actual Presbyterian churches) If you can’t find one of the conservative presby churches then, maybe a Lcms Lutheran church. If you are Scottish, I recommend the Free Church of Scotland and the APC. (Different from the Church of Scotland) If you’re English I recommend the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England & Wales and the Free Church of England (Different from the Church of England) Also online you can look up church finders for each of the groups, it will show you locations.
One Unitarian minister said that if a Unitarian came to a fork in the road and one said To Heaven and the other said To A Discussion About Heaven, a Unitarian would pick the discussion every time.
And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. -Jeremiah 29:13 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. -John 3:16 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out. -Acts 3:19 If you’re in North America, please go check out any of the churches available to you: PCA, OPC, Rpcna/Rpc, Urcna, or a canrc church (These are conservative and actual Presbyterian churches) If you can’t find one of the conservative presby churches then, maybe a Lcms Lutheran church. If you are Scottish, I recommend the Free Church of Scotland and the APC. (Different from the Church of Scotland) If you’re English I recommend the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England & Wales and the Free Church of England (Different from the Church of England) Also online you can look up church finders for each of the groups, it will show you locations.
@@floptaxie68 I hope you're joking. God would be against atheism, paganism, and anything that the universal unitarians pledge to believe. If anything, american evangelists believe in God more than they do.
first UU sermon i attended involved a bee expert educating us on the social behaviors of bee hives and making frequent comparisons to how we are as humans, brought honey combs and we passed it around and marveled at the geometric patterns second UU sermon involved a woman who makes crochet coral reef and educated us on the complex shapes they form and how to replicate it, third UU sermon involved reading like 5 different christian religious stories (david and goliath being one of them etc), and it opened up with going around the room and sharing (if you felt like sharing) your history and emotions toward the bible, and everyone was super honest. one man was a youth minister for 20 years and just kept seeing cracks in the system and felt conflicted about his belief, and UU is a place for him to practice that belief comfortably. i shared how i was indifferent/agnostic until a profound psychedelic experience literally made me believe in god, and began my study in religion, and i was met with zero judgement. all services ended with going around the room, and sharing (if you felt like it) one good thing, and one sorrow. one lady said how she is proud of herself for finally publishing a book to be sold in stores, which was a lifelong goal of hers. and her sorrow was that her kidney stone is taking much longer to pass than expected. i shared how i found a new job and was finally becoming semi-financially stable, and that a close friend of mine just broke up with their girlfriend and have been taking it really hard and blaming himself. the room reacted with warmth whenever you spoke. i should go back to that, its been like 6 months :/
@@toughbiblepassages9082 oh, no. we judged the bible one day. going around the room being open about everybody's opinion on christianity. we were going over the bible and spent the first half hour going around the room being completely. one of the biggest gripes we collectively shared was regarding messages like the one you just sent me here. about feeling judged or bullied by a group and not heard or accepted. so, yeah be inclusive
Heretics? You mean people who simply don't follow Christianity? Religious doctrines are based on faith rather than provable fact. There are absolutely no proven deities so imposing any religious doctrine on anyone is just absurd.
Sounds really cringe and like a group of people that don’t take their own values or beliefs seriously. Elevation of “just be nice bro” over a serious evaluation of what the good actually is, how we can know it, and what truly helping someone looks like.
When coming out of my non-Christian beliefs, I went to a UU congregation. I still believed in God, but didn't know what that meant. Once I found that their roots were Christian, then it started me on my journey to Christ. I never became a member and then went to the UCC , then UCC in an ecumenical church with 4 denominations, the Episcopal Church. Now after years of study and looking, I became in Orthodox Christian. I'm done. No more needing to search. I'm home.
I mean given the absolute mess Frank the hippie Pope is putting us Catholics in, I’m pondering jumping ship myself, but I’m too big of a fan of Aquinas and John Henry Newman to throw the baby out with the baptismal pool.
There is a Unitarian Universalist church near where I used to live. I never could understand what they stood for and never seemed to have a spiritual foundation that I could see. There was not any "glue" to hold them all together. I like your method of explaining things and find you easy to understand. Thank You for bringing insight to all of the different belief systems. I always look forward to your presentations.
Omg, when I was working in Colorado, one of my colleagues started attending the UU chirch in town, and she told me about how they were told to draw inner strength "from the energy of the mountains"... 🤦♀️
I agree the sun might find them interesting they really lack any real underlying foundation. They really stand for nothing and I really just a big mishmash of what not that’s really incoherent
About 30 years ago I attended a UU "worship service" out of curiosity. It consisted of a greeting, a woman reading some free verse poem about nature (no mention of God), a thank you and then a coffee hour.
@rmed2012 God’s nature is goodness. In fact, Exodus 34:6-7 gives a very short view of His nature. “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”” Exodus 34:6-7 ESV God created the Heaven and earth. He is not the Heaven and the earth. Do not confuse the creation for the creator. You don’t go to an art exhibit and praise the painting. You give credit to the artist. The artist is not the painting. The artist can paint a painting of himself, but is not fully the painting.
I grew up as a Congregationalist, and attended a UU church later. They have a similar atmosphere, but there's less talk of God and the Bible at the UU church.
@@zephaniahgreenwell8151 if a omniscient, omnipotent deity exists, and says "meet to worship me, OR ELSE", then I think it would be wise to meet to worship it. Of course, there would need to be evidence beyond fourth hand stories from impoverished and superstitious iron age fishermen...
As a UU member I would like to add one thing another member told me: - The good thing about a UU Church is there is no dogma. - The bad thing about a UU Church is there is no dogma. Apparently there are some people that need dogma to act as a moral compass.
There are sub-groups that have foundational beliefs and traditions within the association. i.e. UU Christians for example is a sub-organization within.
The assumption that UU's "can be anything" is actually a common misconception. We actually have 7 core principles and an overarching covenent that must be adhered to. Anyone is welcome to attend UU services but membership in the church requires dedication to upholding these principles and this covenant.
Yet not one about God, or Jesus, nor anything religious for that matter. Looks like it's just a leftist push. Not sure how they consider themselves a "church."
1st Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person; 2nd Principle: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations; 3rd Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations; 4th Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning; 5th Principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large; 6th Principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; 7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
I grew up UU, but was born Jewish & consider myself a Jew-U or Jew-nitarian. I also taught UU sunday school for a number of years in Cincinnati. There are a lot of nuances that this video did not mention, whilst we don't believe the bible is the word of god, we use the stories to teach the larger lessons of life. We also have 7 principles we live by, 1st Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person; 2nd Principle: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations; 3rd Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations; 4th Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning; 5th Principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large; 6th Principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; 7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. UU-ism is about so much more than a mono-thiest christian off-shoot. UUs are taught to question, to search for the answers to our questions in a personal way, instead of asking what the bible says. I'm proud of my UU background, just as I am of my Jewish heritage.
Unitarianism is symptomatic of modern materialism and self-worship . It is contradictory to Christianity and the whole doctrine of self sacrifice to a omniscient divinity.
@@paulwheeler3723 the guy in my situation had been a Pastor in a Congregationalist church. He had started to preach UU and the denomination expected him to redo some of his training as part of the reconciliation process. In the end he ended up leaving the denomination and started a UU church.
@@paulwheeler3723 Many non-Catholic Christian churches use "Seminary" synonymously with "Bible college" or "theological institute", in other words, "an institution of higher learning that specializes in teaching our specific theology or interpretation of the Bible". Often, you don't actually need to be a member of the church affiliated with such a seminary to become a student, take its classes, or earn its degrees and certificates. Those UUs could've been sent there or applied on their own for any number of reasons.
I agree though my congregation, Cliff Vally UU in Atlanta GA, seemed to identify as Secular Humanist in orientation. A large portion of the congregation were former Jews. I loved that place and it was a wonderful place to be an active inquisitive child, or adult. The coffee time after the service was very lively!
Back in the day I visited several Unitarian churches. But every time I went there was a guest speaker. The most impressive was when the composer and singer of Little Boxes all made out of ticky tacky spoke nearby in San Jose. She spoke about the homes which could be seen from I-280 on the way to San Francisco. At the time I was a member of MCC and we met in their sanctuary on Sunday afternoon when they weren't using it. I recall seeing a bunch of various religious symbols in the area of the altar or podium. We were probably much more conservative than they were.
Honestly, this sounds like a church that I could belong to (I'm technically Catholic, but in practice, I'm semi-agnostic). There really needs to be more religions that welcome all beliefs and cultures without arrogantly promoting their own.
UU churches are just the flip side of the most Conservative church you can find. If you don't think abortion is OK or that Trangenderism is fine, they will freeze you out. If someone is far left, then a UU church will fit. If you're Moderate or Conservative it's not the place for you. It's really about politics rather than about God. Depends on what someone is looking for.
I always had problems with the idea of the Trinity, so UU appealed to me for a bit when I was younger. But then I dug deeper into what they believe, and then I realized that I actually had specific beliefs, and noped out of that. Now I just consider myself somewhat generically Deist.
As someone who considers himself a Deist, as did a large number of the Founding Fathers, the Unitarian/Universalists are the only place I have found a home.
I disagree that Unitarian-Universalists "frequently deny basic Protestant Christian beliefs," with the exception of trinitarianism (we do stem from a unitarian Christian denomination, after all). Unitarian-Universalism is a non-creedal church. That doesn't mean its members don't believe anything; it means that no one is required to affirm a common creed. We may not affirm some basic Protestant Christian beliefs, but neither do we deny them. Some members might adamantly disbelieve them while others may believe them. Unitarian-Universalists believe in individuals having the freedom and responsibility to seek religious truth, rather than having it told to them by a hierarchical authority. We welcome, or at least tolerate, different beliefs and we support each other in our search, but it doesn't mean we agree. We discuss and argue theological points a lot. We do have certain purposes and principles in common. Again, no one is required to subscribe to them; they aren't dogma, but a guide. One commonly held, though not explicitly stated, belief is that no one on earth holds a monopoly on truth; that truth is continually revealed. So anyone who shows up at a UU church claiming to know the one and only truth is liable to meet with argument. The first of our principles is belief in the dignity and worth of every human being, and that shapes and informs our positions on social justice. Individual congregations often develop covenant statements. Here is a sample from one UU church; you'll find similar covenants in many UU churches: "Love is the doctrine of this church, The quest of truth is its sacrament, And service is its prayer. To come together in peace, To seek knowledge in freedom, To serve human need, To the end that all souls shall grow into harmony with the Divine- Thus do we covenant with each other and with God."
Thank you. I appreciate the statement. I am from UCC. Which has a lot of criticism from people who adhere to Bible literalism. But at heart “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. God is to be loved above everything - above all angels, or men, or any created thing.” The reason for both statements for me, is it creates a reliable value system for me. Loving God simply means loving a Being greater than myself, because I think it wise to be humble, and receptive to greater truth. “For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Also there is a serious danger of megalomania with out this relationship to greater being. Many atheists don’t believe in God because they think that God is a material thing, and that only material things exist. Our own psyche may or may not be produced by material like Brain cells, but material is always apprehended by the mind. Strangely some can’t make the leap from a material perspective to an idealist perspective. But IMO an idealist humble religious perspective is what brings balance and healthy human relationships and healthy relationship to oneself. The fact that UU respects others is Good that shows a proper values IMO. But I do think have a quality understanding of God is also important. The issue is not about Dogma, It’s that I have met people whose idea of God can only be described as demonic. I have met Christians who worship a demonic God and I have met New Age types who worship a demonic God. A vanity God or Goddess. They aren’t interested in deeper questions but only their vanity. Any religion who advocates war or murder is a demonic religion. Any religion that advocates abusing another human being is demonic. Some have made that accusation of all of Christianity. I would say not the Christ who said those two statements and I think the majority of the statements of the Gospel if not all are accurate and come from the heart doctrine. Peace
@@matthewkopp2391, thank you for your thoughtful response. I always find it more helpful when someone says, in essence, "This is what I believe and this is why I believe it," rather than, "This is the one truth and anyone who doesn't believe is wrong and damned." You have obviously given your beliefs careful consideration. I will think on what you've said. The main issue that I have with atheists is with not believing in God because there's no proof God exists. But because there is likewise no proof that God doesn't exist, to categorically disbelieve on that basis is no more logical than to believe. Both are beliefs. That is to say, neither is knowable in the conventional, intellectual sense of knowing, based on empirical evidence, but rather both are deeply held convictions. Since the two beliefs are mutually exclusive, one is right and one is wrong. But I don't see that either can claim logical superiority. Which is to say that it seems to me that having a quality understanding of God can only ever be experiential.
UUs are more concerned with what you do with your beliefs than in debating what the “right” beliefs are. Living a good, ethical life is the goal; that’s really what Jesus taught.
@@HenryKissinger-l7qHell isn't real. Jesus said Ghenna, it was a physical pit of fire in Israel where they burned their criminals. Jesus said something like, better to cast off the arm that causes you to sin than to be tossed in the fires of Ghenna. He was talking to the ancient Hebrews about a consequence to thieving. He wasn't talking to the rest of us.
@@AmandaMerkelIf Jesus was just talking about an Israeli punishment for stealing rather than an actual eternal hell, why did He say this? Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28 NIV If your interpretation was right, then the punishment would only kill the body by burning them on Earth... but He said worry about the One who can destroy the SOUL in Hell. So He differentiated between an Earthly suffering and a suffering afterwards. Your interpretation doesn't add up. Wake up to the lies that the enemy is feeding you to keep you from knowing the truth!
@Riston Alaimo On your advice, I just watched a video by @thelivingword about Genesis 1:1. It was interesting. The thing that I get stuck on about objective evidence for the existence of God, is His intention in being mysterious. It just seems unlikely that God would leave little clues for people to pick up on but still make faith such a big part of His grand design.
@@PatrickStaight consider for a moment that empiricism is an infinitesimal derivative of what reality actually is. I do believe god can never be proven to exist, but it doesn't necessarily follow that god is therefore not real
@@christianwalton7080 That's the interpretation you choose to believe. It isn't the only way to view it. The way of Jesus is what matters. How he behaved. Love, generosity, non judgment. That's what is important. No some easy belief in magic that you can delude yourself into parroting. Easy believing isn't really faith at all. It's still under 5 sunday school level religion
I had the internal dialogue of, “What would these people say to Paul? How could they say they have the same Faith he has?” Then I realized it’s not about having the correct beliefs or orthopraxy, it’s about what validates their own sense of self and pre-conceived beliefs. “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” 1 Corinthians 1:25 KJV
"it’s about what validates their own sense of self and pre-conceived beliefs." I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that describes most religious fundamentalist in the US.
@@Oddn7751 quite true. In this comment section, though, there aren't too many English professors trying to push their Marxist ideology on young skills full of mush.
I remember traveling in upstate New York many years ago and seeing a UU church right next to an Episcopal and immediately thought it was a waste of resources as there wasn't much difference. Fun fact: Four US presidents identified as Unitarians (non-Trinitarian Christians), the two Adams, Filmore and Taft.
If you don't support the idea that there is, ultimately, a right answer to spiritual questions, how can you say you're 'pro-reason?' I mean, even if you're a spiritualist like me and see the fullness of God as incomprehensible, to deny objective truth is to embrace absurdity and deny the existence of right and wrong...which can be discerned through reason. How can they make the world 'better' if they can't sort out good from evil objectively? What then would be the difference between meaningless change and progress?
In Baseball or Cricket, there's objective truth, a rulebook that both sides have agreed to abide by and umpires to enforce the rules. In life there's no objective truth, no set of rules that govern us except for man-made and changeable laws in the locality where we live. That doesn't mean that there's no right or wrong or as I prefer to describe it, helpful and harmful. I try and do things that are helpful to the people around me and avoid as much as I can anything that is harmful. That might not be perfect, imagine I let a car out of a side road (it's helpful to that driver and I'm not in any rush) only for them to get into a massive accident at the next intersection. But it's not a bad way to live your life.
@@DM_Andy Eh, I would disagree. I could point you in the direction of some excellent philosophers who support a position that life does indeed have purpose and meaning. After all, why is harm objectively bad and help good if life has no intrinsic and inalienable value? But I don't want to linkspam you or engage in a breakdown of the arguments here, so I'll just namedrop. Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aurelius, Aquinas, Aristotle on a good day, almost all of the Enlightenment era scholars (Locke et. al.). Even Mendeleev was a deist. Seriously, you seem like a thoughtful person, so please take a deep-dive into teleology and natural rights if you haven't already. Humanity can do better than the false dichotomy of traditionalism and metaphysical naturalism. Explore the ontological options.
@@zephaniahgreenwell8151 It's a hard and rare thing, steering between the Scylla of faith & tradition and the Charybdis of relativism. I've yet to meet many in the UU who haven't accepted postmodern ideology. Thank you for reassuring me that there are.
@@AF-tv6uf I will also say that being a Christian, or at any rate a Roman Catholic, does not mean that you must leave your brain at the door. Although based on witness testimony - as most things in history before the invention of photography are - I find the resurrection to be compelling as a historical proposition (never mind any of the theological implications). And I find other explanations wanting. But I did the legwork to figure that one out; I didn't want to just believe it because a slick fella in a suit told me it was. Some others have also done the hard research and come to the same conclusion. And there are other points of rationality in Catholicism and Anglicanism which have been compelling for many intelligent people. Of course, this is true of all religions to some degree. But as The UU person above me says, I can only speak for myself. And I find it compelling that the basis of the Christian faith is an historical fact with a philosophical point. To my understanding, all other religions are either the timeless, nameless stories of the centuries. Or they are the opinions of one man. Christianity has elements of both, with an historical claim as the Keystone of them all.
@@thursoberwick1948 Context. Jesus found a man who had dropsy, was about to heal him, and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if he would heal, that is work on the Sabbath so they could accuse Him. Jesus was angry and said, if you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn't you reach in and rescue it? A man is more valuable than a sheep. The point here is, rules were made for our benefit, not the other way around. If I love God and love people, I do well.
I found this funny. I laughed when I read it (in a good way). I'm a UU. I sometimes wish I had a reason to knock on random people's doors. I love talking to people and I love learning what others believe so I can add nuance and sometimes change my own beliefs.
@@PatrickStaight Any church with Bible as a middle name teaches rightly. If the church does not have standards and is no different from the rest of the world, it's just a club.
People should keep in mind that the UU is congregational in polity, so you can’t necessarily judge all UU churches with your experiences of a single congregation.
Happy in the moment. It's a false religion. Follow it and you end up in Hell in the end. Do the homework! Follow Jesus. He said "I AM the truth, the way and the light". HIM, and him alone. UU does not follow him. Hello!!!
They sound like contemporary British Quakers almost exactly. Which is why I left. I was asked not to use the expression God since many did not like it.
That's sad. I know there are nicer congregations out there that wouldn't be offended by words like God. Afterall, it's your beliefs and what grounds you and helps you feel centered & find meaning. Smarter UUs that hold to the 7 Principles would have/ should have EMBRACED & CELEBRATED whatever words you use to give your life meaning & purpose 👐 💜
Interestingly, this pseudo-church denomination, UU, has held fairly steady in membership over the last few decades, while most other denominations are imploding. On the other hand, their membership is only about 150K.
It’s a waste of one’s time. If you hold genuine religious convictions, practice the religion they come from. If you are not religious, don’t go to a church. If you just wanna meet people, form a social club instead of making up a vague, self-contradictory “religion.”
The other Mainline Protestant denominations are degenerating, but UU has been this way for at least 100+ years. Each day the gap between them narrows, so if a person finds prayer awkward and embarrassing, why stay in the Episcopal Church or Evangelical Lutheran when you can just move to a UU and get more or less the same thing?
@@americandirt7834 Not just Episcopal and Evangelical churches. E.g. The Southern Baptists lost almost a half million members last year alone. And, of those still members, there has been a big drop in how much they attend, in the last couple of decades.
@@jamesreed5678 True, but the reaction to denominations as a whole is fairly recent. Mainline churches have been plummeting since the 1960s. SBC has only started its declines in the last 10 years or so. Non-denominational churches are mostly growing.
I fully admit it's super-confusing when I tell people I'm not a Unitarian and I'm not a Universalist, but I am a UnitarianUniversalist. Barely makes sense to me. I will say our music is always awesome.
It sounds like a great place for questions or constructive discussions about faith without fear of saying something 'wrong', offensive, or being rejected from a specific denominations Church. Even if one thinks in of itself its wishy-washy, I imagine it could be an incomparable reasource from athiesm/agnosticism into something more defined, as people here have said was there experience into Orthodoxy/Anglicanism/Catholicism etc. Otherwise I think as humans we crave regular community and that still applies to ex-Christian Athiests who had a nice time there but just dont beleive in that
All of the comments just disrespecting this religious belief is making me so upset. How can you expect to know everything after a 2 minute video! I have found so much happiness in this community and the ignorance in this comment section is very disheartening.
I am traveling preacher, studying different religions since 1988 . I live in Syktyvkar. I wish to found the first Universalist Unitarian Church in Syktyvkar. I would like to know what is required for this?
you may not know this( I didn't either). In 1893, THE WORLD PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS, UNITED under some SWAMI. Then in 1948( I was 6 yrs old) THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES UNITED. This was the same time ISRAEL, became a NATION. So baby Christians, sit in these DENOMINATIONS( money comes in DENOMINATIONS also). Such DECEIT, in the world!! God bless you.
Sooner a benevolent 'social club' dedicated to inclusivity and good deeds than a pack of rabid, foaming-at-the-mouth, conspiratorial. persecutory maniacs - which is what most other churches have become. Especially in the US....
Mainline churches were always social clubs. This is nothing new. As far back as the beginning of the Catholic church, Sunday services were nothing more than social events for everybody who wanted to "fit in".
@@theeternalsbeliever1779 The social aspect isn't all bad. I think it's when it becomes exclusively that, and folk form cliques - that's when it's a problem.
You say that as if it's a bad thing. It's what many Millennials and Gen Zers adopt. After all, Baby Boomers told us to focus on our own selves to the maximum degree.
Every time I went to a UU church they were preaching liberal politics from their pulpit. This occurred no matter which state I was in. I never liked Christian preachers preaching conservative politics from the pulpit, and I got tired fast of having liberal politics preached at me from the pulpit. There are roughly 4,200 religions in the world and a UU church is one of the only places in America that people might have the opportunity to get exposure to non-Abrahamic faiths, especially in the rust belt of the U.S. So, it’s disappointing that when you go into these places you don’t get a comparative religion class of sorts, but instead are told where you should stand on the political issues of the day. Therefore, I just stopped going to UU churches.
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law". This principle emphasizes personal freedom and the pursuit of one's true path, while being guided by love and finding one's authentic purpose. The foundation of Satanism, sounds like unitarian.
Yes, it's very democratic (small d). We belong to a National association but each church member votes. We have no higher authority outside the congregation.
lol, exactly my experience as someone raised Catholic visiting protestant churches, and probably the same as an raised orthodox would feel in a catholic temple, and a jewish person in an orthodox temple.
@@Chayantathose are real traditions with accountability. Universalists have more in common with secular charity clubs than with a religious institution.
The funny thing is evangelism = universalism. You're supposed to preach to "every creature", "every nation" and to start at this nation (which I can't mention without getting ghosted) ➡Luke 24:47
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)
If you have the opportunity, Mr Harvest, to provide another, more current, 2-minute explanation of the UUs after the relatively recent political coup at the UUA, I'm certain that there are many viewers who would welcome your astute assessment & insightful evaluation of the new regime. Thanks, in advance!!
I'm a Quaker, specifically a liberal, unprogrammed Quaker. I checked out the UU folks just to see if it resonated with me. Or spoke to my condition rather. I was instantly turned off by their traditional form of service. I had only been a Quaker for a few months but apparently the unprogrsmmer bit set in deep.
Love Quakers too. They've done so much good in the world via the Friends Service Committee etc. And seem a little more about economic justice and not just based on identities. For that reason I'm torn. I wish there was a Quaker UU group so one could do both....
I don't get this religion. It's not just a matter of disagreeing - obviously I disagree with most religions - I just don't see what it has to offer. I guess at least it's not a doomsday cult!
@fluffysheap You are correct! It is the opposite of a cult. It has everything a good church has, community, family support, singing, potluck meals, fellowship, friendship, classes, good messages, community involvement, helping the poor, giving to the needy, great conversations over coffee, Sunday school trips, and more. All the good part of religion without any of the bad part of religion such as fear of hell, guilt, belief in superstition, belief in supernatural, belief in dead people coming to life, belief in angles, belief in demons, original sin, God is jealous murderer. Actually UU is less a religion and more a very good humanitarian organization.
UU is a value based religion as opposed to a deity based one. i.e. some might argue that "all men are created equal" and "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" stem from UU or deist philosophy. You're welcome.
Neither are. LDS believe in an entirely different Jesus, God, after life, and path to follow Christ than Christians. As someone who was a part of that group they are extremely different to Christians but are trying to include themselves in the club
I was a member for about ten years. It was philosophical when I first joined but I left when the new female pastor cried during a sermon about Matthew Shepherd. I don't go to church at all now but if I did it wouldn't have a weepy female pastor.
I'm still confused. So what actually unifies Unitarian Universalists? Because from the video it sounds like anyone can believe whatever they want and be a special snow flake.
The point of the church is being hip kind of new age, litterally and figuratively gay social club. What unifies them is the fact that there are no consequences for anything.
We're non-creedal, and instead are a covenantal faith. We all covenant to uphold the seven principles and agree that the six sources are sources of wisdom and truth.
Universalists believe God is too good to send man to hell. Unitarians believe man is too good for God to send him to hell. In 1961, they looked at each other and said, There's really no difference between us!
@@bigscarysteve I’m sorry, where are you getting that view of unitarians from? Unitarians are just Christians who don’t believe in the Trinity, there’s no doctrine that people are too good for hell
This is a bit of a tangent, but as the video pointed out, most Unitarian Universalists are not unitarians or universalists. I have often thought we should change the name of our religion, though I have no idea what to chang it to. It would be nice to stop being confused with the Universal Life church or the Unity church.
This would be sad, in my view, for its disregard of history and all the past trailblazers that did their great work under those/ that banner(s). And many still hold to Universal Salvation (even if not a literal interpretation) but just a recognition that all are truly innocent (as Hosea Ballou taught)
@TwinFalls88 It would be reasonable to try to have that new name reference something of the shared history of both denominations. Not that I can think of what that would be.
@@BunniRabbi I like the compromise of keeping the history but modifying it into what many already call it "UUism". UU-ism seems like a good shortened word
@@BunniRabbi Or, what about just cutting of the "unitarian" and only keeping the Universalist name. Since universalism doesn't necessarily have to mean universal salvation. Universal also relates to universal Humanist values. Universalist also means multicultural and pluralistic.
Please do a video series on the various faith movements, denominations, and sects that trace their origin story to Joseph Smith’s 1830 “Church of Christ.” Thank you for the work that you do. God bless.
This denomination makes it easy to identify people who only identify as Christian for shallow, self-serving reasons, usually political (i.e. “I’m pro-abortion and I’m a Christian, we exist!”)
It's possible to get so wishy washy that you have to create dogma to enforce your wishy washy ways or else people might start finding structured belief systems attractive again.
One time I saw the college humor video "the church for people spiritual but not religious" and some commented "this is the UU this is barely an exaggeration."
I'm religious but not spiritual.
yeah, see Kris, they're not batsh!t krazy.
And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. -Jeremiah 29:13
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. -John 3:16
Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.
-Acts 3:19
If you’re in North America, please go check out any of the churches available to you: PCA, OPC, Rpcna/Rpc, Urcna, or a canrc church
(These are conservative and actual Presbyterian churches)
If you can’t find one of the conservative presby churches then, maybe a Lcms Lutheran church.
If you are Scottish, I recommend the Free Church of Scotland and the APC.
(Different from the Church of Scotland)
If you’re English I recommend the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England & Wales and the Free Church of England
(Different from the Church of England)
Also online you can look up church finders for each of the groups, it will show you locations.
@@SteveSmith-hh2ni🦙
@@PatrickStaight🦙
One Unitarian minister said that if a Unitarian came to a fork in the road and one said To Heaven and the other said To A Discussion About Heaven, a Unitarian would pick the discussion every time.
Exactly, that is the way I feel also.
Intellect, how horrid.
And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. -Jeremiah 29:13
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. -John 3:16
Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.
-Acts 3:19
If you’re in North America, please go check out any of the churches available to you: PCA, OPC, Rpcna/Rpc, Urcna, or a canrc church
(These are conservative and actual Presbyterian churches)
If you can’t find one of the conservative presby churches then, maybe a Lcms Lutheran church.
If you are Scottish, I recommend the Free Church of Scotland and the APC.
(Different from the Church of Scotland)
If you’re English I recommend the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England & Wales and the Free Church of England
(Different from the Church of England)
Also online you can look up church finders for each of the groups, it will show you locations.
@Jimmy-zy5lk🦙
@@leahcotton5315🐪
"Hey UU, What beliefs do you hold?"
UU: Yesn't
The UU follows the seven principles of UUism.
I think it's all about u
A UU Joke: We believe in one God, more or less.
The "more" are the Pagans , the "less" are the Atheists.
@@PatrickStaight UU seems very cool! more close to the teachings of Jesus than dogma, fanaticism and all weird thing American Evengelicals do.
@@floptaxie68 I hope you're joking. God would be against atheism, paganism, and anything that the universal unitarians pledge to believe. If anything, american evangelists believe in God more than they do.
first UU sermon i attended involved a bee expert educating us on the social behaviors of bee hives and making frequent comparisons to how we are as humans, brought honey combs and we passed it around and marveled at the geometric patterns
second UU sermon involved a woman who makes crochet coral reef and educated us on the complex shapes they form and how to replicate it,
third UU sermon involved reading like 5 different christian religious stories (david and goliath being one of them etc), and it opened up with going around the room and sharing (if you felt like sharing) your history and emotions toward the bible, and everyone was super honest. one man was a youth minister for 20 years and just kept seeing cracks in the system and felt conflicted about his belief, and UU is a place for him to practice that belief comfortably. i shared how i was indifferent/agnostic until a profound psychedelic experience literally made me believe in god, and began my study in religion, and i was met with zero judgement.
all services ended with going around the room, and sharing (if you felt like it) one good thing, and one sorrow. one lady said how she is proud of herself for finally publishing a book to be sold in stores, which was a lifelong goal of hers. and her sorrow was that her kidney stone is taking much longer to pass than expected. i shared how i found a new job and was finally becoming semi-financially stable, and that a close friend of mine just broke up with their girlfriend and have been taking it really hard and blaming himself. the room reacted with warmth whenever you spoke.
i should go back to that, its been like 6 months :/
If it makes no judgment, it makes no difference.
@@toughbiblepassages9082 oh, no. we judged the bible one day. going around the room being open about everybody's opinion on christianity. we were going over the bible and spent the first half hour going around the room being completely.
one of the biggest gripes we collectively shared was regarding messages like the one you just sent me here. about feeling judged or bullied by a group and not heard or accepted. so, yeah
be inclusive
@@bennie.379 be inclusive towards all. Even the wolves and the tigers. At least your death maybe swift😂
@Yu Naru can't tell if this comment is mocking or not, but either way i agree ☯️
@@bennie.379 mocking of course. Imagine God has sent a shepherd to protect you from wolves but you opened the fence yourself.
"There's heretics, there's damned heretics, and then there's Unitarian Universalists." - Thomas Aquinas
At least they dont claim to be Christian
Heretics? You mean people who simply don't follow Christianity? Religious doctrines are based on faith rather than provable fact. There are absolutely no proven deities so imposing any religious doctrine on anyone is just absurd.
"Don't believe quotes you see on the internet, you idiots!"
~Abraham Lincoln
Who is the heretic? The Catholic? Unitarian Universalists? Protestantism? LDS? So many denominations yet they all fight each other
@@kissfan7 "Abraham Lincoln's a lil bitch and don't know shieet" - Jefferson Davis
"Half of 'em is atheists and the other half is witches." -Betty Butterfield
I can confirm this. However, I would note that Wicca has fallen out of fashion a bit, now it's a more general "Paganism".
Pagan here 😏
Atheist here😏
KAFIR HERE
Sounds really cringe and like a group of people that don’t take their own values or beliefs seriously.
Elevation of “just be nice bro” over a serious evaluation of what the good actually is, how we can know it, and what truly helping someone looks like.
I went to a UU service and it felt like going to a healthy family gathering. I got 10 hugs and walked away beaming.
@Jimmy-zy5lk You have to be looking for hell to be on that road.
@@Fairylander123If you have no direction, how do you know where you are going?
@@Fairylander123 Not everyone even believes in hell. Only Christians, and I know this is difficult, but not everyone is a Christian...
Now you're part of their cult.
@@Tee-roni I actually never went back as I have deeper connection with my Sangha and Zendo
When coming out of my non-Christian beliefs, I went to a UU congregation. I still believed in God, but didn't know what that meant. Once I found that their roots were Christian, then it started me on my journey to Christ. I never became a member and then went to the UCC , then UCC in an ecumenical church with 4 denominations, the Episcopal Church. Now after years of study and looking, I became in Orthodox Christian. I'm done. No more needing to search. I'm home.
Good for you
I mean given the absolute mess Frank the hippie Pope is putting us Catholics in, I’m pondering jumping ship myself, but I’m too big of a fan of Aquinas and John Henry Newman to throw the baby out with the baptismal pool.
While I disagree with the whole icon thing, it's a big step towards truth away from UU
@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr Theres nothing wrong with icons themselves, just how people use them
@@allthenewsordeath5772 the Pope is FAR from hippie
There is a Unitarian Universalist church near where I used to live. I never could understand what they stood for and never seemed to have a spiritual foundation that I could see. There was not any "glue" to hold them all together. I like your method of explaining things and find you easy to understand. Thank You for bringing insight to all of the different belief systems. I always look forward to your presentations.
Omg, when I was working in Colorado, one of my colleagues started attending the UU chirch in town, and she told me about how they were told to draw inner strength "from the energy of the mountains"... 🤦♀️
its just meaningless feel-good nonsense based on nothing
@@RansomedSoulPsalm49-15 Based on Davos and co.
I agree the sun might find them interesting they really lack any real underlying foundation. They really stand for nothing and I really just a big mishmash of what not that’s really incoherent
The UUs follow the seven principles.
About 30 years ago I attended a UU "worship service" out of curiosity. It consisted of a greeting, a woman reading some free verse poem about nature (no mention of God), a thank you and then a coffee hour.
sounds perfect to me
That's what got me to keep coming back.
Nature is God. Where can I find a congregation like this?
@rmed2012 God’s nature is goodness. In fact, Exodus 34:6-7 gives a very short view of His nature. “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.””
Exodus 34:6-7 ESV
God created the Heaven and earth. He is not the Heaven and the earth. Do not confuse the creation for the creator. You don’t go to an art exhibit and praise the painting. You give credit to the artist. The artist is not the painting. The artist can paint a painting of himself, but is not fully the painting.
I grew up as a Congregationalist, and attended a UU church later. They have a similar atmosphere, but there's less talk of God and the Bible at the UU church.
"We don't believe in God, but we want to go to church, so we'll found a non-religion religion."
🤣
it's strange. it's like they want the benefits of spiritual belief without actually wanting to believe in anything. odd.
@@alexandria2243 not odd at all, since humans are social and superstitious (which combine to become "religious").
At least they want to meet up and are not doing it out of obligation to a deity.
@@zephaniahgreenwell8151 if a omniscient, omnipotent deity exists, and says "meet to worship me, OR ELSE", then I think it would be wise to meet to worship it.
Of course, there would need to be evidence beyond fourth hand stories from impoverished and superstitious iron age fishermen...
As a UU member I would like to add one thing another member told me:
- The good thing about a UU Church is there is no dogma.
- The bad thing about a UU Church is there is no dogma.
Apparently there are some people that need dogma to act as a moral compass.
There are sub-groups that have foundational beliefs and traditions within the association. i.e. UU Christians for example is a sub-organization within.
The assumption that UU's "can be anything" is actually a common misconception. We actually have 7 core principles and an overarching covenent that must be adhered to. Anyone is welcome to attend UU services but membership in the church requires dedication to upholding these principles and this covenant.
Yet not one about God, or Jesus, nor anything religious for that matter. Looks like it's just a leftist push. Not sure how they consider themselves a "church."
So you're saying there is in fact "one right answer when it comes to belief," at least when it comes to these questions.
and let me guess...one of them requires services and/or donations to the church right?
@@dakotastein9499 You guess incorrectly.
1st Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
2nd Principle: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
3rd Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
4th Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
5th Principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
6th Principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
I grew up UU, but was born Jewish & consider myself a Jew-U or Jew-nitarian. I also taught UU sunday school for a number of years in Cincinnati. There are a lot of nuances that this video did not mention, whilst we don't believe the bible is the word of god, we use the stories to teach the larger lessons of life. We also have 7 principles we live by,
1st Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
2nd Principle: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
3rd Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
4th Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
5th Principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
6th Principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
UU-ism is about so much more than a mono-thiest christian off-shoot. UUs are taught to question, to search for the answers to our questions in a personal way, instead of asking what the bible says. I'm proud of my UU background, just as I am of my Jewish heritage.
Unitarianism is symptomatic of modern materialism and self-worship . It is contradictory to Christianity and the whole doctrine of self sacrifice to a omniscient divinity.
Find Jesus :) the true Jesus messiah of the jews
@@BigMac4459 agreed I had gay sex with Jesus last night and I’m a Jew
I went to seminary with several UUs. Conversation was always better with them in group.
Can you further explain what you mean?
Interesting; I went to Seminary with one and found a lot of the conversations dishonest.
Why were they allowed in seminary?
@@paulwheeler3723 the guy in my situation had been a Pastor in a Congregationalist church. He had started to preach UU and the denomination expected him to redo some of his training as part of the reconciliation process. In the end he ended up leaving the denomination and started a UU church.
@@paulwheeler3723 Many non-Catholic Christian churches use "Seminary" synonymously with "Bible college" or "theological institute", in other words, "an institution of higher learning that specializes in teaching our specific theology or interpretation of the Bible". Often, you don't actually need to be a member of the church affiliated with such a seminary to become a student, take its classes, or earn its degrees and certificates. Those UUs could've been sent there or applied on their own for any number of reasons.
I grew up UU and can confirm, this pretty much sums it up
I agree though my congregation, Cliff Vally UU in Atlanta GA, seemed to identify as Secular Humanist in orientation. A large portion of the congregation were former Jews. I loved that place and it was a wonderful place to be an active inquisitive child, or adult. The coffee time after the service was very lively!
Back in the day I visited several Unitarian churches. But every time I went there was a guest speaker. The most impressive was when the composer and singer of Little Boxes all made out of ticky tacky spoke nearby in San Jose. She spoke about the homes which could be seen from I-280 on the way to San Francisco. At the time I was a member of MCC and we met in their sanctuary on Sunday afternoon when they weren't using it. I recall seeing a bunch of various religious symbols in the area of the altar or podium. We were probably much more conservative than they were.
Love Melvina Reynolds
Honestly, this sounds like a church that I could belong to (I'm technically Catholic, but in practice, I'm semi-agnostic).
There really needs to be more religions that welcome all beliefs and cultures without arrogantly promoting their own.
Check out all of the area congregations around you. Welcome!
UU churches are just the flip side of the most Conservative church you can find. If you don't think abortion is OK or that Trangenderism is fine, they will freeze you out. If someone is far left, then a UU church will fit. If you're Moderate or Conservative it's not the place for you. It's really about politics rather than about God. Depends on what someone is looking for.
@Lincoln William Statler
Thank you so much! I have looked up some local UU churches, but sadly there are none in my immediate area.
Religions that welcome all beliefs is similar to a species that includes all living beings. It becomes worthless as a religion😂
So you essentially want a religion that believes in nothing at all? Bro just call yourself an atheist.
I always had problems with the idea of the Trinity, so UU appealed to me for a bit when I was younger. But then I dug deeper into what they believe, and then I realized that I actually had specific beliefs, and noped out of that. Now I just consider myself somewhat generically Deist.
@fieldspring5329 Some of those, yes.
Why did you have a problem with the Trinity? If you don't mind me asking
@flowinglikethewater Impressive, managing to be needlessly condescending to a stranger over nothing yet also self depreciating.
As someone who considers himself a Deist, as did a large number of the Founding Fathers, the Unitarian/Universalists are the only place I have found a home.
I disagree that Unitarian-Universalists "frequently deny basic Protestant Christian beliefs," with the exception of trinitarianism (we do stem from a unitarian Christian denomination, after all). Unitarian-Universalism is a non-creedal church. That doesn't mean its members don't believe anything; it means that no one is required to affirm a common creed. We may not affirm some basic Protestant Christian beliefs, but neither do we deny them. Some members might adamantly disbelieve them while others may believe them.
Unitarian-Universalists believe in individuals having the freedom and responsibility to seek religious truth, rather than having it told to them by a hierarchical authority. We welcome, or at least tolerate, different beliefs and we support each other in our search, but it doesn't mean we agree. We discuss and argue theological points a lot.
We do have certain purposes and principles in common. Again, no one is required to subscribe to them; they aren't dogma, but a guide.
One commonly held, though not explicitly stated, belief is that no one on earth holds a monopoly on truth; that truth is continually revealed. So anyone who shows up at a UU church claiming to know the one and only truth is liable to meet with argument.
The first of our principles is belief in the dignity and worth of every human being, and that shapes and informs our positions on social justice.
Individual congregations often develop covenant statements. Here is a sample from one UU church; you'll find similar covenants in many UU churches:
"Love is the doctrine of this church,
The quest of truth is its sacrament,
And service is its prayer.
To come together in peace,
To seek knowledge in freedom,
To serve human need,
To the end that all souls shall grow into harmony with the Divine-
Thus do we covenant with each other and with God."
Thank you. I appreciate the statement.
I am from UCC. Which has a lot of criticism from people who adhere to Bible literalism.
But at heart “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. God is to be loved above everything - above all angels, or men, or any created thing.”
The reason for both statements for me, is it creates a reliable value system for me. Loving God simply means loving a Being greater than myself, because I think it wise to be humble, and receptive to greater truth.
“For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
Also there is a serious danger of megalomania with out this relationship to greater being.
Many atheists don’t believe in God because they think that God is a material thing, and that only material things exist.
Our own psyche may or may not be produced by material like Brain cells, but material is always apprehended by the mind. Strangely some can’t make the leap from a material perspective to an idealist perspective. But IMO an idealist humble religious perspective is what brings balance and healthy human relationships and healthy relationship to oneself.
The fact that UU respects others is Good that shows a proper values IMO.
But I do think have a quality understanding of God is also important.
The issue is not about Dogma, It’s that I have met people whose idea of God can only be described as demonic. I have met Christians who worship a demonic God and I have met New Age types who worship a demonic God. A vanity God or Goddess. They aren’t interested in deeper questions but only their vanity.
Any religion who advocates war or murder is a demonic religion. Any religion that advocates abusing another human being is demonic.
Some have made that accusation of all of Christianity. I would say not the Christ who said those two statements and I think the majority of the statements of the Gospel if not all are accurate and come from the heart doctrine.
Peace
@@matthewkopp2391, thank you for your thoughtful response. I always find it more helpful when someone says, in essence, "This is what I believe and this is why I believe it," rather than, "This is the one truth and anyone who doesn't believe is wrong and damned." You have obviously given your beliefs careful consideration. I will think on what you've said.
The main issue that I have with atheists is with not believing in God because there's no proof God exists. But because there is likewise no proof that God doesn't exist, to categorically disbelieve on that basis is no more logical than to believe. Both are beliefs. That is to say, neither is knowable in the conventional, intellectual sense of knowing, based on empirical evidence, but rather both are deeply held convictions.
Since the two beliefs are mutually exclusive, one is right and one is wrong. But I don't see that either can claim logical superiority. Which is to say that it seems to me that having a quality understanding of God can only ever be experiential.
UUs are more concerned with what you do with your beliefs than in debating what the “right” beliefs are. Living a good, ethical life is the goal; that’s really what Jesus taught.
💕
You completely missed the point if you think that Jesus's message was just "be nice".
@@trainerredtrap511 He said "love one another" right? That seems to be his most important message to me.
Honestly unitarians seem pretty cool
They’ll warm up in hell
@@HenryKissinger-l7qHell isn't real. Jesus said Ghenna, it was a physical pit of fire in Israel where they burned their criminals. Jesus said something like, better to cast off the arm that causes you to sin than to be tossed in the fires of Ghenna. He was talking to the ancient Hebrews about a consequence to thieving. He wasn't talking to the rest of us.
@@AmandaMerkelmost of the hell you know comes from Dante Inferno
@@AmandaMerkelIf Jesus was just talking about an Israeli punishment for stealing rather than an actual eternal hell, why did He say this?
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28 NIV
If your interpretation was right, then the punishment would only kill the body by burning them on Earth... but He said worry about the One who can destroy the SOUL in Hell. So He differentiated between an Earthly suffering and a suffering afterwards. Your interpretation doesn't add up. Wake up to the lies that the enemy is feeding you to keep you from knowing the truth!
@@AmandaMerkeldoesnt make it less real, whatever it may look like
There’s one of these down the street from me, and I was curious as to what they were on about. Thanks for clearing this up for me!
Feel free to visit some time. UU's often have great music: th-cam.com/video/D9Ld2euRnpg/w-d-xo.html
Same reason i am watching watching this. I was wondering if i should try it out .
@Riston Alaimo You seem to be upset about something. Would you like to talk about it?
@Riston Alaimo On your advice, I just watched a video by @thelivingword about Genesis 1:1. It was interesting. The thing that I get stuck on about objective evidence for the existence of God, is His intention in being mysterious. It just seems unlikely that God would leave little clues for people to pick up on but still make faith such a big part of His grand design.
@@PatrickStaight consider for a moment that empiricism is an infinitesimal derivative of what reality actually is. I do believe god can never be proven to exist, but it doesn't necessarily follow that god is therefore not real
We're not allowed to brag, but our music is also the best of any denomination.
Fight me.
but you're nota denomination, you're a different religion
@@SIGSEGV1337
Po-tay-toe
Po-tah-toe
ok, as a catholic, i will happily join discussion on many things, but you are not beating our musical traditions.
@@ryanweible9090 Meet me in the parking lot, brah!!!!!!
Well, at least they're generally honest apostates
You need to pull that log from your eye and move out of that glass house with those rocks
@@oliviamaynard9372 there's not a lot nor glass house to call out false teaching.
@@christianwalton7080 You say it's false. You aren't God nor can you claim perfect knowledge. You elevate yourself.
@@oliviamaynard9372 the Bible clearly teaches that Christ is the only way to salvation.
You blaspheme God by calling Him a liar when He says that.
@@christianwalton7080 That's the interpretation you choose to believe. It isn't the only way to view it.
The way of Jesus is what matters. How he behaved. Love, generosity, non judgment. That's what is important.
No some easy belief in magic that you can delude yourself into parroting.
Easy believing isn't really faith at all. It's still under 5 sunday school level religion
I had the internal dialogue of, “What would these people say to Paul? How could they say they have the same Faith he has?” Then I realized it’s not about having the correct beliefs or orthopraxy, it’s about what validates their own sense of self and pre-conceived beliefs.
“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
1 Corinthians 1:25 KJV
"it’s about what validates their own sense of self and pre-conceived beliefs."
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that describes most religious fundamentalist in the US.
@@RonJohn63 Yup
@@RonJohn63 I'd extend that to most people in general
@@Oddn7751 quite true. In this comment section, though, there aren't too many English professors trying to push their Marxist ideology on young skills full of mush.
UUs do not have the same faith as Paul.
I remember traveling in upstate New York many years ago and seeing a UU church right next to an Episcopal and immediately thought it was a waste of resources as there wasn't much difference. Fun fact: Four US presidents identified as Unitarians (non-Trinitarian Christians), the two Adams, Filmore and Taft.
If you don't support the idea that there is, ultimately, a right answer to spiritual questions, how can you say you're 'pro-reason?' I mean, even if you're a spiritualist like me and see the fullness of God as incomprehensible, to deny objective truth is to embrace absurdity and deny the existence of right and wrong...which can be discerned through reason. How can they make the world 'better' if they can't sort out good from evil objectively? What then would be the difference between meaningless change and progress?
In Baseball or Cricket, there's objective truth, a rulebook that both sides have agreed to abide by and umpires to enforce the rules. In life there's no objective truth, no set of rules that govern us except for man-made and changeable laws in the locality where we live. That doesn't mean that there's no right or wrong or as I prefer to describe it, helpful and harmful. I try and do things that are helpful to the people around me and avoid as much as I can anything that is harmful. That might not be perfect, imagine I let a car out of a side road (it's helpful to that driver and I'm not in any rush) only for them to get into a massive accident at the next intersection. But it's not a bad way to live your life.
@@DM_Andy Eh, I would disagree. I could point you in the direction of some excellent philosophers who support a position that life does indeed have purpose and meaning. After all, why is harm objectively bad and help good if life has no intrinsic and inalienable value? But I don't want to linkspam you or engage in a breakdown of the arguments here, so I'll just namedrop. Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aurelius, Aquinas, Aristotle on a good day, almost all of the Enlightenment era scholars (Locke et. al.). Even Mendeleev was a deist. Seriously, you seem like a thoughtful person, so please take a deep-dive into teleology and natural rights if you haven't already. Humanity can do better than the false dichotomy of traditionalism and metaphysical naturalism. Explore the ontological options.
Most spiritual UUs believe there is a right answer but aren't so arrogant to claim they're the only ones who've figured it out.
@@zephaniahgreenwell8151 It's a hard and rare thing, steering between the Scylla of faith & tradition and the Charybdis of relativism. I've yet to meet many in the UU who haven't accepted postmodern ideology. Thank you for reassuring me that there are.
@@AF-tv6uf I will also say that being a Christian, or at any rate a Roman Catholic, does not mean that you must leave your brain at the door.
Although based on witness testimony - as most things in history before the invention of photography are - I find the resurrection to be compelling as a historical proposition (never mind any of the theological implications). And I find other explanations wanting.
But I did the legwork to figure that one out; I didn't want to just believe it because a slick fella in a suit told me it was.
Some others have also done the hard research and come to the same conclusion. And there are other points of rationality in Catholicism and Anglicanism which have been compelling for many intelligent people.
Of course, this is true of all religions to some degree. But as The UU person above me says, I can only speak for myself. And I find it compelling that the basis of the Christian faith is an historical fact with a philosophical point. To my understanding, all other religions are either the timeless, nameless stories of the centuries. Or they are the opinions of one man. Christianity has elements of both, with an historical claim as the Keystone of them all.
What do you get when you mix a Unitarian and a Jehovah's Witness? Someone who rings doorbells but doesn't know why.
Someone who lets everyone give blood, but won't accept any themselves?
@@thursoberwick1948 Context. Jesus found a man who had dropsy, was about to heal him, and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if he would heal, that is work on the Sabbath so they could accuse Him. Jesus was angry and said, if you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn't you reach in and rescue it? A man is more valuable than a sheep. The point here is, rules were made for our benefit, not the other way around. If I love God and love people, I do well.
@@thursoberwick1948 Or do they accept blood, but won't give any?
I found this funny. I laughed when I read it (in a good way). I'm a UU.
I sometimes wish I had a reason to knock on random people's doors.
I love talking to people and I love learning what others believe so I can add nuance and sometimes change my own beliefs.
@@PatrickStaight Any church with Bible as a middle name teaches rightly. If the church does not have standards and is no different from the rest of the world, it's just a club.
People should keep in mind that the UU is congregational in polity, so you can’t necessarily judge all UU churches with your experiences of a single congregation.
Community without condemnation?
Christians without cruelty?!
I need to find a church like this.
I recently joined a UU church and I'm very happy.
I’m about to join one too. A place where no one judges wow I can’t believe such place exists
@@entertainmentblock616what do you mean people judging you?
You’re going to be a lot less happy when you discover hell
Happy in the moment. It's a false religion. Follow it and you end up in Hell in the end. Do the homework! Follow Jesus. He said "I AM the truth, the way and the light". HIM, and him alone. UU does not follow him. Hello!!!
@@HenryKissinger-l7q Most of the things you know about hell come from Dante Inferno, the Bible is very vague about hell and heaven.
They sound like contemporary British Quakers almost exactly. Which is why I left. I was asked not to use the expression God since many did not like it.
You can use that in a UU congregation if you like.
That's sad. I know there are nicer congregations out there that wouldn't be offended by words like God. Afterall, it's your beliefs and what grounds you and helps you feel centered & find meaning. Smarter UUs that hold to the 7 Principles would have/ should have EMBRACED & CELEBRATED whatever words you use to give your life meaning & purpose 👐 💜
Interestingly, this pseudo-church denomination, UU, has held fairly steady in membership over the last few decades, while most other denominations are imploding. On the other hand, their membership is only about 150K.
They are obsessed with BLM and are, not surprisingly, overwhelmingly White. And dominated by females.
It’s a waste of one’s time. If you hold genuine religious convictions, practice the religion they come from. If you are not religious, don’t go to a church. If you just wanna meet people, form a social club instead of making up a vague, self-contradictory “religion.”
The other Mainline Protestant denominations are degenerating, but UU has been this way for at least 100+ years.
Each day the gap between them narrows, so if a person finds prayer awkward and embarrassing, why stay in the Episcopal Church or Evangelical Lutheran when you can just move to a UU and get more or less the same thing?
@@americandirt7834 Not just Episcopal and Evangelical churches. E.g. The Southern Baptists lost almost a half million members last year alone. And, of those still members, there has been a big drop in how much they attend, in the last couple of decades.
@@jamesreed5678 True, but the reaction to denominations as a whole is fairly recent. Mainline churches have been plummeting since the 1960s. SBC has only started its declines in the last 10 years or so. Non-denominational churches are mostly growing.
Best summary I have found about UU . Thank youuuuu
I fully admit it's super-confusing when I tell people I'm not a Unitarian and I'm not a Universalist, but I am a UnitarianUniversalist. Barely makes sense to me.
I will say our music is always awesome.
It sounds like a great place for questions or constructive discussions about faith without fear of saying something 'wrong', offensive, or being rejected from a specific denominations Church. Even if one thinks in of itself its wishy-washy, I imagine it could be an incomparable reasource from athiesm/agnosticism into something more defined, as people here have said was there experience into Orthodoxy/Anglicanism/Catholicism etc.
Otherwise I think as humans we crave regular community and that still applies to ex-Christian Athiests who had a nice time there but just dont beleive in that
All of the comments just disrespecting this religious belief is making me so upset. How can you expect to know everything after a 2 minute video! I have found so much happiness in this community and the ignorance in this comment section is very disheartening.
I’ve spoken at a local UU more than once & they’re talking about what subject I’ll cover the next time I return.
It seems very nice to me
That's because Christians watch this channel. To a Christian this is very very bad.
@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr because so many Christians are not accepting of other religions…
@@christo-chaney Christians aren't accepting of Satan? That's literally the definition of Christian.
I am traveling preacher, studying different religions since 1988 .
I live in Syktyvkar.
I wish to found the first Universalist Unitarian Church in Syktyvkar.
I would like to know what is required for this?
They are a social club. Sadly, what many mainline individual churches have become.
you may not know this( I didn't either). In 1893, THE WORLD PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS, UNITED under some SWAMI. Then in 1948( I was 6 yrs old) THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES UNITED. This was the same time ISRAEL, became a NATION. So baby Christians, sit in these DENOMINATIONS( money comes in DENOMINATIONS also). Such DECEIT, in the world!! God bless you.
Sooner a benevolent 'social club' dedicated to inclusivity and good deeds than a pack of rabid, foaming-at-the-mouth, conspiratorial. persecutory maniacs - which is what most other churches have become. Especially in the US....
Nothing wrong with social club as long as it's based around something and this isn't.
Mainline churches were always social clubs. This is nothing new. As far back as the beginning of the Catholic church, Sunday services were nothing more than social events for everybody who wanted to "fit in".
@@theeternalsbeliever1779 The social aspect isn't all bad. I think it's when it becomes exclusively that, and folk form cliques - that's when it's a problem.
In... In what sense is this considered a church?
They are tax Exempt and many of them have large beautiful buildings with pew style seats.
Buffet style beliefs, pick what you want.
And we have potlucks!
Warren Buffett style
@@shambong2371 Job was rich, but money wasn't his God.
You say that as if it's a bad thing. It's what many Millennials and Gen Zers adopt. After all, Baby Boomers told us to focus on our own selves to the maximum degree.
As a Christian I am now a proud UU Christian I hope to start attending UU meetings
not even going to lie i don't see any issues here
Not surprising. You need a brain to be able to see them.
@@johnobrien5440Not sharing the same biases that you have isn't the same as not having a brain.
Every time I went to a UU church they were preaching liberal politics from their pulpit. This occurred no matter which state I was in. I never liked Christian preachers preaching conservative politics from the pulpit, and I got tired fast of having liberal politics preached at me from the pulpit. There are roughly 4,200 religions in the world and a UU church is one of the only places in America that people might have the opportunity to get exposure to non-Abrahamic faiths, especially in the rust belt of the U.S. So, it’s disappointing that when you go into these places you don’t get a comparative religion class of sorts, but instead are told where you should stand on the political issues of the day. Therefore, I just stopped going to UU churches.
You mean they preached human rights and decency. Conservatives once again whining about crap like a big snowflake. Get a grip, Nancy.
One difference being, a UU preaching politics from the pulpit won't tell you you're going to Hell if you don't do what they say.
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law". This principle emphasizes personal freedom and the pursuit of one's true path, while being guided by love and finding one's authentic purpose. The foundation of Satanism, sounds like unitarian.
UU co-opted a dying church and wears it as a skin suit.
Jealous of the fine embroidery?
It seems Unitarianism in America has it roots among the descendants of Boston Puritans, so do they still practice a form of Congregational Polity?
Yes, it's very democratic (small d). We belong to a National association but each church member votes. We have no higher authority outside the congregation.
I was raised Southern Baptist. I've been to a dozen UU meetings. Reminded me of children playing church.
lol, exactly my experience as someone raised Catholic visiting protestant churches, and probably the same as an raised orthodox would feel in a catholic temple, and a jewish person in an orthodox temple.
This is accurate. They’re all children. On the spectrum.
@@Chayantathose are real traditions with accountability. Universalists have more in common with secular charity clubs than with a religious institution.
@@kevinclass2010 baptism being a tradition? girl where exactly do you draw the line? lol
I don’t blame you for thinking that. Southern baptists are the crazy ones
I have visited several UU congregations and I was told you could believe anything except for Bible Based Evangelical Christianity.
The funny thing is evangelism = universalism. You're supposed to preach to "every creature", "every nation" and to start at this nation (which I can't mention without getting ghosted)
➡Luke 24:47
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)
UU is intolerant of Bible-believing Christians, white males, and personal freedom to make non-leftist choices.
Sounds just about accurate, based on what I’ve seen from them.
@@Anon1gh3 Evangelism DOES NOT EQUAL Universalism!
Imagine an entire church full of people on the Spectrum, and you’ll know what it’s like to attend a UU church.
they sound alright.
If you have the opportunity, Mr Harvest, to provide another, more current, 2-minute explanation of the UUs after the relatively recent political coup at the UUA, I'm certain that there are many viewers who would welcome your astute assessment & insightful evaluation of the new regime. Thanks, in advance!!
They should be called the W's...
I'm a Quaker, specifically a liberal, unprogrammed Quaker. I checked out the UU folks just to see if it resonated with me. Or spoke to my condition rather.
I was instantly turned off by their traditional form of service.
I had only been a Quaker for a few months but apparently the unprogrsmmer bit set in deep.
Love Quakers too. They've done so much good in the world via the Friends Service Committee etc.
And seem a little more about economic justice and not just based on identities. For that reason I'm torn. I wish there was a Quaker UU group so one could do both....
Thanks for sharing 🙏🏾
I don't get this religion. It's not just a matter of disagreeing - obviously I disagree with most religions - I just don't see what it has to offer.
I guess at least it's not a doomsday cult!
Oh, it will be where environmental matters are concerned.
@fluffysheap
You are correct! It is the opposite of a cult. It has everything a good church has, community, family support, singing, potluck meals, fellowship, friendship, classes, good messages, community involvement, helping the poor, giving to the needy, great conversations over coffee, Sunday school trips, and more. All the good part of religion without any of the bad part of religion such as fear of hell, guilt, belief in superstition, belief in supernatural, belief in dead people coming to life, belief in angles, belief in demons, original sin, God is jealous murderer. Actually UU is less a religion and more a very good humanitarian organization.
UU is a value based religion as opposed to a deity based one. i.e. some might argue that "all men are created equal" and "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" stem from UU or deist philosophy. You're welcome.
"Hey bro, how quick do you want to go to Hell?"
UUs:
Based
Modernist Cultists
The Unitarian Universalist Church is an activist/atheist church, nothing more.
Just found out there’s a Unitarian chapel in my city so ima reach out to them and see what happens 👍
Humans need community.
So....agnostics with extra steps?
Welcome to the liberal religion of Unitarian Universalism!
How are LDS not considered Christian but UU is (genuine questions)
They arent
Lds is really it's own religion. They don't even read the bible. They have their own book.
Neither are. LDS believe in an entirely different Jesus, God, after life, and path to follow Christ than Christians. As someone who was a part of that group they are extremely different to Christians but are trying to include themselves in the club
While there are UU Christians we don't acknowledge Unitarian Universalism Christian. We're not a Christian denomination.
The UU started christian. Mormonism started with the intent of changing Christianity
How could the church have formed in 1961 when the 5th Dimension’s Age of Aquarius didn’t come out till 1969?
This will be the church we use to unite reality.
What are the links at the end for those of us on mobile?
if Rod Serling was a member they can't be all bad
He was Jewish but abandoned his faith.
The subtitles are really helpful! Thanks!
Very well explained so I guess their hippies I guess
Totally not surprised it takes less than two minutes to explain what the UU believe.
Okay. Now I know why the Simpsons makes fun of Unitarians.
Groening is a UU
Sounds like they really have no beliefs.
You might be the next Einstein🙏🏼
I like it
I pray that you return to faith.
@@cxarhomell5867 if I had a penny for everytime I’ve been told in the internet “I’ll pray for you”😂 Find something productive to do
"They dont regard themselves as a Christian denomination"
Well, good. At least we're on the same page in that.
I was a member for about ten years. It was philosophical when I first joined but I left when the new female pastor cried during a sermon about Matthew Shepherd. I don't go to church at all now but if I did it wouldn't have a weepy female pastor.
They should just call themselves a club and get it over with.
I'm still confused. So what actually unifies Unitarian Universalists? Because from the video it sounds like anyone can believe whatever they want and be a special snow flake.
The point of the church is being hip kind of new age, litterally and figuratively gay social club. What unifies them is the fact that there are no consequences for anything.
The seven principles and six sources.
We're non-creedal, and instead are a covenantal faith. We all covenant to uphold the seven principles and agree that the six sources are sources of wisdom and truth.
@@arielfelts9111 The Koran and the new testament are extreme contradictions.
@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr and? I'm genuinely confused why that is relevant to my comment.
1961. Imagine my shock.
😂😅 indeed!
Universalists believe God is too good to send man to hell. Unitarians believe man is too good for God to send him to hell. In 1961, they looked at each other and said, There's really no difference between us!
@@bigscarysteve
I’m sorry, where are you getting that view of unitarians from? Unitarians are just Christians who don’t believe in the Trinity, there’s no doctrine that people are too good for hell
This is a bit of a tangent, but as the video pointed out, most Unitarian Universalists are not unitarians or universalists. I have often thought we should change the name of our religion, though I have no idea what to chang it to. It would be nice to stop being confused with the Universal Life church or the Unity church.
This would be sad, in my view, for its disregard of history and all the past trailblazers that did their great work under those/ that banner(s).
And many still hold to Universal Salvation (even if not a literal interpretation) but just a recognition that all are truly innocent (as Hosea Ballou taught)
@TwinFalls88 It would be reasonable to try to have that new name reference something of the shared history of both denominations. Not that I can think of what that would be.
@@BunniRabbi I like the compromise of keeping the history but modifying it into what many already call it "UUism".
UU-ism seems like a good shortened word
@TwinFalls88 Eh, not really to my taste, but I may be in the minority on this one.
@@BunniRabbi Or, what about just cutting of the "unitarian" and only keeping the Universalist name. Since universalism doesn't necessarily have to mean universal salvation. Universal also relates to universal Humanist values. Universalist also means multicultural and pluralistic.
🔵✔...so basically,... if the Democratic Party, was a Religion....
UU is a fantastic community for recovering Christians.
Thanks for all your work!
so it’s really just a club that anyone can join
I go to UU church and love it.
Why call yourself a " church" and not a "social club"?
Tax benefits...
They often call themselves "fellowships", at least around where I live.
most congregations call themselves "societies". A UU congregation without a minister (lay led) is called a "fellowship".
It's a liberal political action committee with 501c3 tax exempt status.
Please do a video series on the various faith movements, denominations, and sects that trace their origin story to Joseph Smith’s 1830 “Church of Christ.” Thank you for the work that you do. God bless.
Why? You can just watch Sandra Tanner videos, they're 10x better
Community of Christ (formerly RLDS) would be an interesting one too
lol but why?
JESUS CHRIST LOVES YOU / JESUS CRISTO TE AMA
You're a nut. Smart well-rounded people don't talk this way. You give yourself away as soon as you open your mouth.
If there’s no one right answer then there’s no point. No matter what you say, do, or believe, your wrong.
Ah, now I understand the Simpson’s clowning on all of you.
What do they stand for? That’s the question, and the answer is good.
I am sure that they serve a very needed purpose, but I can't actually see it.
This denomination makes it easy to identify people who only identify as Christian for shallow, self-serving reasons, usually political (i.e. “I’m pro-abortion and I’m a Christian, we exist!”)
So these are the people who say "spiritual not religious"
UUs baffle me. If you don’t have any religious or spiritual beliefs and just a bunch of vague wishy-washy BS, why have an organization at all?
It's possible to get so wishy washy that you have to create dogma to enforce your wishy washy ways or else people might start finding structured belief systems attractive again.
Tax-exempt status.
Look up the seven principles of UU.
@@thotslayer9914 how is it too vague? What do you want it to be specific about?
He didn’t even mention the 7 principles :(
This seems like the most logical religion so far
I love UU-izem. The video does a pretty good job of explaining it.
I would add a bit about General Assembly and the 7 principles.
I've been a UU for 20 years. Only place for a Gay Atheist Pagan! Welcome
Backslidden. I pray for you guys.