Sanctimonious-ness, UU-style

So I'm going through UUpdates looking at the titles of different posts, and since I try to read the ones written by UU seminarians I was intrigued by the title "A UU Seminarian in Bibleland 2."

I knew things were not going to go well for me when I read the first paragraph:
So, another issue with being a UU Seminarian in Bibleland is that I'm listening to the rhetoric, and reading the Bible, but being a UU, I introduce reasoning into the mix, unfettered by the need to have everything neatly equal Jesus is Lord and the Bible is Inerrant.

Ah yes, UU sanctimony at its best. "I introduce reasoning into the mix," this seminarian says; as if the other members of that class are just blind followers and don't use reason. UUs don't hold the market on reason. I know many reasonable people who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible.

I know what many of you dear readers are thinking---Real Anonymous, this seminarian didn't mean it the way you're reading it. You're right, this seminarian probably didn't mean it the way I read it. But it was said. We UUs aren't the only ones who reason. And just because others reason out something else, doesn't mean we should assume that our reasoning is the best.

Sanctimony doesn't serve us well. While most of us don't believe that Jesus is Lord or that the Bible is inerrant, there is much to learn from those in the other side. I hope this seminarian is really taking advantage of the blessing they have in being a UU in Bibleland.

The Answer To The Purposes and Principles Brouhaha

I've given it some thought and finally came up with the perfect answer to the whole debate on Article 2 of the UUA By-laws.

Keep the Purposes. Drop the Principles.

Simple.

Credentials Credentials All Over The Place pt. 2

Steve Caldwell wrote a comment to my original post that I've been mulling since I read it.

In my opinion, the real reason for having professional associations and credentialing for the musicians and other professionals in our congregations is the code of ethics that comes from professional associations.

It's not important if one has an alphabet soup of academic letters after one's name.

But avoiding unethical behavior like a musician violating copyright laws or any church professional using power and authority to take advantage of a congregant sexually is important for our congregations.

As I said in my original post, I understand the need/want for credentialing both ministers and religious educators. But Steve's comment really points out my concern.

When one is talking about the arts (music, writing, acting, etc.), what are the codes of ethics? Pardon my ignorance, but I've never heard of a musician's code of ethics. By their very nature the arts are incestuous (creatively incestuous, not the other incestuous); and music especially so. So the issues that would come up in other professions' codes of ethics do not apply.

And even when you start talking about issues of copyright and so forth, those are really matters of law and not ethics because issues of fair use and what is in the public domain is very different when one is talking about the arts. And they become even more complicated when one is talking about the arts in a church setting.

But my real concern is the message that credentialing musicians might send. As the music program of a church is going to be mostly populated by those who are NOT professional musicians, won't credentialing musicians turn off those really gifted musicians who aren't professional?

Again as I said in my original post, I understand wanting quality music programs. What I don't understand is how credentialing musicians brings that any closer.

Credentials Credentials All Over The Place

Hello dear readers.
I've been meaning to write about this for a while, and now I have a few minutes to do it.

I get it! UUs like credentialing people. Really, I get it!

And for some things I can understand the want for it.....I understand the need for credentialing/fellowshipping ministers. I understand the want for credentials for religious educators (although I have some reservations about what that process is and how they go about it).

What I don't......repeat DON'T......understand is the need for credentialing musicians. Can somebody please explain this to me?

Let me be perfectly clear, I understand the want for really good, quality music programs in church. In fact I think most UU churches are behind the curve on that front. What I do not understand is what the credentialing of musicians brings to us as a movement other than just another bureaucratic thing.

As music is one of the best avenues to get people involved in a church, I'm more than a little concerned at the signal that this sends. But hey, I've been known to be wrong. Maybe this doesn't send out the signal that I think it sends.

Opinions?

Now That The Election Is Over...The Single Best Decision

I have decided to reprint a post that I wrote earlier this year. It still says what I think about this election season. This is from Feb. 21.


As you all may remember, I have said that I have done the only political post I plan on writing. I'm sticking to that. Just barely. I've been reading some articles the last few days talking about about the different campaigns; how organized or disorganized they are, strengths and weaknesses, etc. I've found them quite interesting, but I've also noticed one thing that hasn't been mentioned.
So dear readers, here's my take on why one campaign is still in this race and not watching it from the sidelines.The single smartest decision made so far in the 2008 campaign: Barack Obama's campaign is run from Chicago and not Washington.

Daylight Savings Time Ends

Yee haw!!!!!!!!!!!

The most ridiculous time of the year is coming to an end. We get our hour back.

Life is good.

Are Minorities Really To Blame?

Ok dear readers, I have a question.

Are minorities really to blame for the financial mess?

Now I know that some of this is because of sub-prime, but can a whole financial system break down because minorities were given bad loans? C'mon now, I have a hard time believing that.

I am asking this because I don't like the spin that's being placed on this as being something that's caused by the "other". In fact, I'm sickened by it.

Dow Down 778, Do You Have Any Money Left?

What a day dear readers, what a day.

Mondays are my light days, so I can work from home if I so choose. I did. And decided to go back and forth between CNBC and MSNBC to see what was going on as far as the bailout was concerned. Well....the answer came a little after 2:00 EDT. 228 nay, 205 yea.

Where do we go from here ladies and gentlemen? Here are some questions:

-Does the market really need $700 billion dollars?
-What protections should there be for the public and taxpayers?
-Is there any situation in which judicial review is a bad thing?
-What should happen in bankruptcy court in regards to mortgages?

Like I said, a few questions for consideration.

Those who know me in my non-anonymous life know that governance issues play a large role in my life. I also spend a bit of time trying to help those who make decisions understand how those decisions might play in the public eye. And my professional persona is cringing at how this is going to play tomorrow morning. It's not going to be pretty dear readers, not pretty at all. I'll probably write something about that later in the week.

Anyway, I hope you all are not panicking. Panicking is not good for anybody.

Hopefully Charlie Rose will talk about this tonight. My guess is he will.

The Long Goodbye, Paul Newman 1925-2008

Well it just came over the wire that Paul Newman has died at age 83.

Since my favorite line in all of movie-dom comes from "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof", I am sad at the news. But Newman lived a good life and even though he was taken away by cancer, he lived his life the way he wanted.

So dear readers, take a little time out to watch a movie that stars Paul Newman and celebrate a life well lived.

Is It Really A Bailout?

Hello dear readers.

I haven't written since the AIG mess, mainly because I've been watching CNBC most of the time when I'm not either working or in my class.

I can't answer the question as to is this really a bailout, but I'm upset at how this is being framed; as if everybody whose home has been foreclosed on was greedy and stupid and should have never gotten a home in the first place. If I remember this right, when the housing crisis started, the issue was not really the people who were working two jobs to keep their home, but "flippers" who thought they could make some quick money in the housing market and took out very risky loans to begin with. Am I remembering this right?

Well.....back to financial news....CNBC or Bloomberg.

It's 10:45.....Do You Know Where Your Money Is?

Well, the market goes down 446 points. What to make of that?

I must say I'm surprised that there isn't more postings on the financial situation, but I'm not really all that surprised. Bread-and-butter and money issues have never been big issues to talk about in many UU circles.

Anyway......should the government have bailed-out AIG?

Things Are Heating Up

Hello dear readers.

Seems like things are heating up in the UU-blogosphere over cultural misappropriation. I'll have a post about that soon.

Right now, though, I'm watching CNBC and all the talk about the financial markets. Very interesting stuff if I do say so myself.

What should/is going to happen to AIG?
Was the government wrong in not helping Lehman?
What the hell is Bank of America thinking buying Merrill Lynch?
Is this the beginning/middle/end of the financial crisis?

oh well, back to CNBC. And maybe Charlie Rose will talk about this tonight.

An Interesting Sounding Book

So I got to read the Times Book Review this week and came across a review of a book that I had heard about and have been intrigued by since I saw the title in the indie-booksellers newsletter.



The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff.



If you like historical fiction or mysteries, this sounds like it might be the book to pick up sometime. I plan to when I get to read for pleasure again.




I'll be back to writing about UUA stuff when life slows down next month.

The New Study Action Issue

Hello dear friends.

It never ceases to amaze me how UUs continue to find ways to make themselves irrelevant to more and more groups of people.

Let's talk about the new study-action issue that was passed at GA this year. Now before I go on my rant about it, let me be clear, I do think that how food is produced is an issue for concern.

That being said dear friends, if we're going to talk about ethical eating/food production, we need to remember that for a sizable portion of this country, food is being priced out of their reach. Especially fresh fruits and vegetables. And all these wonderful upper-class hippy ideas of co-ops and going local is just not possible for a number of people in this country.

Where is the discussion of this issue in the new CSAI? Did I miss it? Is there any talk of working with consumer groups that are working on this issue? Because this is not just about small farmers and farm workers, but about a whole system. And this is not just about poverty and hunger either. (it's not just the poor who are being priced out) This is also about geography and economic development, race and class, and so many other things.

Just a few thoughts. I'll probably have some more later.

Never Eat A Lemon Before Going On TV

Hello dear friends.

With Mmse. Peacebang taking a break on Beauty Tips.....I thought I would bring this up.

I just finished watching a segment on The NewsHour about the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac soon-to-be mess which was very interesting.

However, somebody needs to get their hands on Karen Shaw Petrou and give her a makeover like yesterday. And once they're done with that, tell her to relax her face when she is going to be on TV; it looked like she had just eaten a lemon before they started the segment.

Back to life in the real world............

There Should Be Some Advantage To Being A Fair Share Congregation

Hello dear readers.

I seem to be getting all sorts of good gossip these days, but this one is the most important to me.

It seems that the President of my district (Central Midwest for those of you who didn't remember) is a part of a congregation that is not in full Fair Share status with either the UUA or the district. Or at least that's what the gossip is.

This does not seem fair to me. There really should be some advantage to being a Fair Share congregation.

Is this a common occurrence in other districts? How can the President of a district faithfully stand there and talk about congregations contributing to the district at Fair Share levels and yet not be part of a congregation that is doing just that?

I'm developing a headache trying to make sense of this. So I shall stop here.

When 'I Told You So' Are The Only Words That Come To Mind

hello dear readers.....

the grapevine tells me that this year's Central Midwest District annual meeting lost money. hmmm......seems as if I was talking about some of the problems a few months ago.

but since my mother told me that if I didn't have anything nice to say to not say anything, I think I will keep my mouth shut.

until next time...............................

The Pope Speaks

and says this gem..........The clergy sex abuse scandal was sometimes "very badly handled".

Well......no Sh*t Sherlock!

and we went through a Papal Conclave to get him???????????

read more at: http://www.yahoo.com/s/859266

What Bible To Buy

I see that somebody on one of the other blogs has asked for recommendations as to what Bible translation to buy.

It doesn't surprise me that most of the recommendations are some version of the NRSV. I have 2 different NRSV study editions myself. I wonder though, if we liberal folk limit ourselves because we tend to only go for the NRSV.

So I'm going to make some other recommendations; Bibles that will work in UU settings, but aren't the NRSV.

1. The Jerusalem (or New Jerusalem) Bible.
As somebody who loves the poetry of the King James Bible but likes the historical-critical method, this version works for me.

2. The New International Bible or The Amplified Bible.
If you want to know what our conservative brothers and sisters are reading, pick one of these two.

3. The English Standard Bible.
There's nothing that really screams "You need to read me" from this Bible translation, but I still like it.

4. The New American Bible.
This is the official Catholic Bible, and is really good if you want a basic understanding in what Catholics consider their canon and what we Protestants have as ours.

I hope that others who have recommendations will post them.

Enjoy your Bible reading.

On This Day

Since today marks 40 years since the death of Martin Luther King Jr. I thought I would republish an old post that is about him. I'm cutting out some parts, but I think the questions are still valid.

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According to your sermon, you believe that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have been for marriage equality. I couldn't disagree with you more. From everything that I've read and heard about him, Dr. King was a typical black preacher of his time. He would have had a hard time with the women's movement (just look at how he interacted with the women in his life). And if you look at his complex relationship with Bayard Rustin, you can see that Dr. King had more ambivalent feelings about homosexuality than most black preachers. (I know part of the complexity with Rustin was due to Rustin's association with communism, but that's another subject)

So I guess my question is this: is your belief that Dr. King would have been for marriage equality a matter of faith(using Paul's definition of it as being the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen)? Or is there something out there about Dr. King that I haven't seen?

My concern is that we liberal religious folk are trying to co-opt people that we admire and use them for causes that we are involved in even though those we admire may not or wouldn't have been.