Unitarian Revivalism

The old joke asks what you get when you cross a Unitarian-Universalist with a Jehovah's Witness. The answer, of course, is someone who goes door to door for no apparent reason. The joke is now a reality. Unitarian-Universalists have discovered personal evangelism.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the nation's most liberal hyper-Protestant denomination is using advertising media and word-of-mouth to spread the gospel of a creedless faith in which new members may worship God, gods, a Goddess, or no god at all. One may be a Buddhist Unitarian, a Hindu Unitarian, an atheist Unitarian, a polyamorous Unitarian, even a Wiccan or neo-pagan Unitarian.

The Times reports that the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) seeks to borrow "outreach techniques of evangelicals" in order to reach those seeking to "escape" evangelical Christianity and orthodox Catholicism. This includes an upcoming Unitarian revival meeting "in the tradition of the old-time tent meetings." No, I am not making this up.

So far the results are mixed, the newspaper observes:

"I like that it embraces all religions," said newcomer Teresa Geldmacher, 50, who said she was raised Roman Catholic but hadn't been to church in years. "I was brought up Christian, but couldn't accept the teaching that Jesus died on the cross for our sins."

The service, she said, "was much more along the lines of what I consider true spiritual teachings, which look to accept rather than to reject."

James Law, 66, who recently moved to Southern California from the Mississippi Delta area where "there are no Unitarians for miles," said he wasn't sure just how to react: "I've never been to a service without somebody pounding the pulpit and telling us how to change our lives."

I am a product of Deep South Baptist revivalism, a tradition that brought me to Christ and that I appreciate more the older I get. I have to admit that, if a Unitarian revival meeting comes anywhere near Kentucky, I'm going to go, just so I can see the Unitarian evangelist's altar call: "Every head bowed, every eye closed no one looking around. If you were to die tonight...well, you'd be dead. Wouldn't you like to use eco-friendly bio-degradable paper products in the meantime?"

Comments

[Ethan Cordray]

Maybe this is a good way to judge whether all that Evangelical church growth has just been the result of technique, or whether it also has required the work of the Spirit.

[TheLeague]

The ages of the participants interviewed says a lot about this kind of New Age religion. I once had a friend who belonged to a Unitarian church. She invited me to a morning service. We were one of a few women under the age of 50, and even fewer young men. It was sort of sad. I sat there wondering what these people were worshipping since it didn't appear to much of anything. I suspect that most of those attendees were raised in respectable, 50s-era, upper middle class, white, mainline Protestant families (or the families of successful Catholic wannabes). Old habits die hard. They all went to church on Sundays, and so they still need to go to church on Sundays.

[Bobby Winters]

>>>What is their "sacred text"? <<<

The menu at Starbucks.

[Judy Warner]

Here are more Unitarian jokes. Pretty good.

[Bobby Winters]

>>>
"Gods Rest Ye, Unitarians" (UU Version)

Gods rest ye, Unitarians, let nothing you dismay; Remember there's no evidence there was a Christmas Day; When Christ was born is just not known, no matter what they say, O, Tidings of reason and fact, reason and fact, Glad tidings of reason and fact.

Our current Christmas Customs come from Persia and from Greece, >From solstice celebrations of the ancient Middle East. This whole darn Christmas spiel is just another pagan feast, O, Tidings of reason and fact, reason and fact, Glad tidings of reason and fact.

There was no star of Bethlehem, there was no angels' song; There could not have been wise men for the trip would take too long. The stories in the Bible are historically wrong, O, Tidings of reason and fact, reason and fact, Glad tidings of reason and fact!
<<<

This one is particularly lovely as it captures a spirit of "missing the point completely" with utter perfection.

[Debbie Wimmers]

I have heard about Thomas Jefferson being a unitarian and still recognized Jesus as the only point of salvation. Now, unitarians think anything get you to heaven.

[James A. Altena]

An additional UU joke not on the linked site:

A UU moved to a small Southern town. The local KKK chapter heard of it and was not amused. So one night all of its members gathered before the fellow's house and burnt a big question mark on his lawn....

[Jerry]

I like the quote from the woman who couldn't accept that Jesus died for us, but wanted a church to "..accept rather than reject." Eh?

[The Emerson Avenger]

Well The Emerson Avenger "burned" a great big question mark into the snow covered lot behind the Unitarian Church of Montreal in protest against U*U injustices, abuses and hypocrisy.

Seriously. . . ;-)

http://emersonavenger.blogspot.com/2005/12/press-release-couurageouus-pre-dauun.html

[The Emerson Avenger]

I recently was inspired to do my own rather militant version of I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Unitarian'. . . ;-)