While we were in Vermont and Massachusetts last week, I saw a large number of Unitarian Universalist congregations, mostly meeting in buildings that were at one time Congregationalist churches. I did some work on the Puritans a few years back, so I began thinking about the history of these churches—and I started to get a bad feeling. Here’s the super-zipped history, so you can see why.
Although historically tied to the Presbyterian church, this new movement eventually separated themselves from that denomination. As they pursued their independent study of the Bible, they became convinced that the only true path to reform was to return to the practices of the first century church, including adult conversion and the pattern of congregational autonomy.
This new movement flourished, but with time, because there was no higher authority than the local congregation, the movement splintered into Arminianism (legalism), Deism (social gospel), transcendentalism (spirit-filled), and Unitarianism (liberal)—parentheses are my translation into 21st century labels.
I thought this could have been a description of Restoration Movement history to this point in time. If you feel that way too, then read on to see where the future might lie!
Within two hundred years of its beginnings in America, many of the most influential Congregationalist ministers were Unitarians (a belief in the singleness of God and a rejection of a trinitarian understanding, including a rejection of the exclusive claims of Jesus because He is the Son of God).
During this same historical period, the doctrine of universal salvation was at its zenith in America. Universalism teaches that a loving God would not create humans, then send them to hell or eternal punishment. It is no surprise that after rejecting the divinity of Jesus and opening the doctrinal door to acceptance of everything under God, Unitarians quite easily moved into universal salvation as well. It would be the natural step following their move to a more syncretic understanding of God.
Today, these beautiful old church buildings in New England are no longer Christian churches; rather, they are filled with the great grandchildren of those early Restorationists. Unitarian Universalists profess the following in their own words (http://www.uua.org/visitors/6798.shtml ):
There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote:
- The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
- Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
- Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
- A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
- The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
- The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
- Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
Unitarian Universalism (UU) draws from many sources:
- Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
- Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
- Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
- Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
- Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.
- Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.
I want to think that my church could never slide down this path, but I do recognize some of these footprints in the road we are traveling. I do believe that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (G. Santayana).
And if this is not what I want for my grandchildren, what must I do today?
Mark's Blog 
Mark,
This is a very interesting post and it does make me wonder if movements who detach themselves purposely from the greater Christian tradition, through extreme congregation autonomy, and through primitivism in approach to scripture are more prone to end up far from the core Christian faith.
In Churches of Christ we didn’t go down the road, though we are weak theologically/historically in a number of areas. However, the Disciples of Christ, from our very movement, have ventured down a similar path as the group you describe here.
I believe in our restoration principles, but we are well served to not ignore the two thousand years of history in between now and the biblical writings. Staying grounded in the great Christian tradition handed down to us through the centuries averts such a disaster as seen in the unitarian/universalists.
I must be missing something. The seven principles all sounded like worthwhile objectives. Was there one in particular you find odious? Surely promoting the worth and dignity of all people is not a bad idea. Gaining wisdom from whatever source is a good idea, is it not?
Howard, I agree with some of the general truths expressed in the seven principles, but I wholeheartedly reject the notion that there is any truth separate and apart from God Himself. In fact, I would argue that the virtues which they seek are only known because God revealed them to us through His history and through Jesus. The notion of universal truths/values apart from God is an argument of something from nothing, in my view.
I know there is a nod to God in the second group, but only in an acknowledgement of the truth of the second Greatest Commandment about loving our neighbors, which is, therefore, only a borrowed half-truth. They have rejected the first Greatest Commandment which is to love the Lord your God with all your whole being.
One of the things I wanted to say in the blog was that Christian churches today can drift into a completely godless form of spirituality/morality, and that is what I do not wish to see happen for my grandchildren because I do not believe that Godless represents reality. I believe God is real and true!
Oh, your point is that it is what is not said in the seven principles, rather than what is said. I just re-read the seven principles and still wonder if there is anything there to which you or I would object. This is not a new question for you, as I assume you agree with me on that. I see now that your argument is that there should be additional principles, or principles other than these. The first great commandment would be one such example.
This is a very interesting and challenging warning, indeed. There is so much good affirmed in the U/U principles, and even in some of where they draw influence… but separated from the distinctive and exclusive salvation that is in Jesus Christ, it seems to boil down to a version of the Colossian heresy.
I’d like to explore these concepts further at Fumbling… I don’t know if I’ll ever get around to it, but I will certainly point people in this direction if I do 🙂
There are truly too many or much repetitions today!
Do you mean you are getting too many notices about the blog or are you saying something about the content? Sorry, I don’t quite understand.