Questions of authority arise when we undertake projects of deconstruction. How do we remain open to questions, content to rest in those questions, and still be firm in who we are and what we think and feel?
One of the most interesting conversations I’ve had was with the Unitarian Universalist high school youth group I used to advise. The teens were talking about how to describe our religion and its values. Some people expressed that we were totally open and accepting of everything, everyone and every kind of belief. And then I challenged that a little. Are we really open to everything under the sun? Like, do we accept people who litter? Yeah. Sure. Do we accept people who don’t believe in marriage equality? Yeah, but that’s not a super commonly expressed view. And collectively we try to welcome a journey towards belief in equality. Do we accept people who deny the Nazi Holocaust? Not really. Hopefully we can hold space for them to be human, yet most folks in most UU congregations would find the expression of these beliefs repugnant.
These might not be stellar examples, yet I hope they can be of some use. The central question in all this is: How open should we aspire to be?
1 comment:
We should all aspire to be like LHL!!!
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