Difference between revisions of "Unitarianism"

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(Unitarian Universalists and Christianity)
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==Unitarian Universalists and Christianity==
 
==Unitarian Universalists and Christianity==
In full, the question "Are Unitarian Universalists Christian?" has been answered:
+
A Unitarian minister has answered the question "Are Unitarian Universalists Christian?" in these words:
 
:Yes and no.
 
:Yes and no.
 
:Yes, some Unitarian Universalists are Christian. Personal encounter with the spirit of Jesus as the Christ richly informs their religious lives.
 
:Yes, some Unitarian Universalists are Christian. Personal encounter with the spirit of Jesus as the Christ richly informs their religious lives.

Revision as of 16:53, April 1, 2007

Unitarianism is the belief in the oneness of God, as opposed to trinitarianism, believe in the doctrine of the Christian Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It thus contradicts the Nicene Creed; as a Unitarian minister has written, "Unitarians and Universalists have always been heretics."[1] The word does not simply mean monotheism and is not applied to Jews, but to people who consider themselves to be Christians in some sense of the word.

Unitarianism is also an informal name for the beliefs of a religious denomination, originally the American Unitarian Association, known since its 1961 merger with the Universalists as the Unitarian Universalist Association.[2]

The American Universalist Association was founded in 1825, based on principles espoused in the sermons of William Ellery Channing, notably an 1819 sermon entitled "Unitarian Christianity."[3]

A Unitarian Universalist minister answers the question "Are Unitarian Universalists Christian?" with a forthright "Yes and no."[4] She notes that "At a Unitarian Universalist worship service or meeting, you are likely to find members whose positions on faith may be derived from a variety of religious beliefs: Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, naturist, atheist, or agnostic. Members might tell you that they are religious humanists, liberal Christians, or world religionists."


Unitarian Universalists and Christianity

A Unitarian minister has answered the question "Are Unitarian Universalists Christian?" in these words:

Yes and no.
Yes, some Unitarian Universalists are Christian. Personal encounter with the spirit of Jesus as the Christ richly informs their religious lives.
No, Unitarian Universalists are not Christian, if by Christian you mean those who think that acceptance of any creedal belief whatsoever is necessary for salvation. Unitarian Universalist Christians are considered heretics by those orthodox Christians who claim none but Christians are "saved." (Fortunately, not all the orthodox make that claim.)
Yes, Unitarian Universalists are Christian in the sense that both Unitarian and Universalist history are part of Christian history. Our core principles and practices were first articulated and established by liberal Christians.
Some Unitarian Universalists are not Christian. For though they may acknowledge the Christian history of our faith, Christian stories and symbols are no longer primary for them. They draw their personal faith from many sources: nature, intuition, other cultures, science, civil liberation movements, and so on.

Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein are both considered by many to be Unitarians.[Citation Needed]

Notes and references

  1. Unitarian Universalist Origins: Our Historic Faith, Mark W. Harris, minister of the First Parish Unitarian Universalist in Watertown, Massachusetts
  2. Members of the denomination are often referred to simply as the Unitarians, although members of the organization, not wishing to overlook Universalism, prefer to call themselves "U-Us."
  3. Unitarian Christianity, text of Channing's sermon
  4. Our Unitarian Universalist Faith: Frequently Asked Questions, Alice Blair Wesley