The question we are asking this morning is, “What does it mean to be a Unitarian?”
Most of us here today are members or friends of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, Virginia because this congregation is an important part of our lives. But if we are asked, “What exactly is a Unitarian Universalist (and how do you spell it?)”, what do we say? How do we describe this religious community? And how do we articulate our personal faith?
This morning we will be exploring the meaning of our Unitarian faith, and next Sunday we will talk about “What does it mean to be a Universalist?” The Unitarian and Universalist movements merged in 1961 to become the Unitarian Universalist Association, but each faith has its own proud tradition.
I warn you that I will be dishing out some history this morning, since our history is the foundation of our faith. But please keep in mind the people behind the history: their struggles, their yearnings, their sacrifices. And keep in mind as well that you are a part of that history. You are the keepers of the dream.
What does it mean to be a Unitarian?
As most of you know, the chalice is the symbol of our faith. The chalice has long been an inspiring symbol for religious liberals since the early 15th century when the Czeck Catholic priest, Jan Hus, insisted that the chalice of communion should not be administered by a priest but should be passed from person to person. That democratic gesture resulted in Hus being burned at the stake.
During World War II, the chalice became the symbol of the Unitarian Service Committee as it desperately tried to save Jews from the holocaust. After the war, the chalice became a symbol of the American Unitarian Association.
The chalice can mean many things. The flame can signify transcendence and the triumph of truth over superstition and fear. It can also be an invitation to share in the warmth of fellowship.
To me, the chalice also represents a history and tradition that gives rise to the flame of our own faith. It stands for the many men and women who sacrificed so much so that we can be here today.
In Chaim Potok's wonderful novel, My Name Is Asher Lev, a world famous, 72 year-old artist is talking to a highly-gifted, 13 year-old Jewish boy whom he has undertaken to teach all he knows about painting. He speaks to him about the great gift that is sleeping in him.
"'Do you understand what this is, Asher Lev?' he asks. Do you begin to understand what you are going to be doing to yourself? ... This is a tradition; it is a religion, Asher Lev. You are entering a religion called painting. It has its fanatics and its rebels. And I will force you to master it. Do you hear me? No one will listen to what you have to say unless they are convinced that you have mastered it. Only one who has mastered a tradition has a right to attempt to add to it or rebel against it.”"What the artist tells Asher Lev is just as true for religion as it is for painting, or any discipline for that matter. We must master a tradition before we can add to it, change it or reject it. That is why it’s so important that we understand our own religious roots.
It’s difficult to perceive where our liberal religious tradition begins and ends because the thread of beliefs goes much farther back into the past than the church. Those threads were traced back by Earl Morse Wilbur, a Unitarian minister and historian, who wrote a fascinating two volume book called The History of Unitarianism around the turn of the century.
Earl Morse Wilbur points out that the liberal religious movement which came to be called Unitarianism has been characterized by three basic beliefs:
"First, complete freedom in religion rather than bondage to creeds or confessions;
“Second, the unrestricted use of reason in religion, rather than reliance upon external authority or past tradition;
"Third, generous tolerance of differing religious views and usages rather than insistence upon uniformity in doctrine, worship or polity.""Freedom, reason and tolerance, Wilbur continues, “It is these conditions above all others that this movement has from the beginning increasingly sought to promote."I would add that these three principles have been bought at an incredibly high price. Our history is one of many courageous individuals who were condemned, imprisoned, and even executed for their beliefs. And it is those individuals who fuel the flame of our faith today.
Looking at Unitarianism as the struggle for freedom, reason and tolerance means that we can go back to Socrates and claim him as one of the first true religious liberals. Many of us would say that Jesus was an early Unitarian, though admittedly something of a late bloomer.
Unfortunately, over the tomb of Jesus was built the fortress of the Christian Church. As Marx once said that he was not a Marxist, I feel certain that Jesus would say today that he was not a Christian as Christianity is commonly defined and practiced.
The Christian Church grew as the Roman Empire fell apart. At another time in history the Christian Church would have been just another futile attempt of a religious cult to gain power. But this seed fell on fertile ground.
Romans had witnessed the greatest empire in all history disintegrating before their eyes. They could see that their culture and their lives had no center, and they yearned for a purpose which would raise them above the ruins.
By the fourth century a small minority of dedicated Christians had won over the apathetic majority of Romans to their cause. Christianity became the state religion, and suddenly the Christians went from being the oppressed to being the oppressors. No other religion was tolerated. But even that wasn't enough.
A great controversy still raged over the true nature of the man called Jesus and even the nature of Christianity itself. Some Christians argued that Jesus was not a man at all, that he was God who had manifested himself in the form of a man. Others declared that the essential nature of Christ was similar to God but not the same. And still others, known as Arians, after the liberal priest, Arius, believed that the essential nature of Christ was different from God, that Christ was superior to humans but that he was not God.
The controversy over the nature of Christ became so heated that Emperor Constantine decided to hold a council of all the Christian leaders of the Roman Empire to answer the question once and for all. The council was called in Nicea in 325 A.D.
The debate was so vigorous that the council was extended for six weeks. Violence often erupted as the priests grappled not only with theology but each other. The final vote showed the Arians in a minority, but it was another minority that finally prevailed due to the hefty vote of the emperor himself.
The doctrine hammered out at Nicea was called the Nicene Creed, and as all of you know, it affirms that Christ was divine and that God was composed of a co-equal trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
The Nicene Creed had one important catch to it that was to eventually bring about the necessity of a liberal religious movement. All those who opposed the creed were condemned as heretics and enemies of the Christian Church.
Arianism soon became an outlawed movement. For centuries after the Nicene Creed was established, the important religious question was not, how does one act, what is your character, but what do you believe, what is your creed?
It was a long time of leavening for the liberal religious movement. Small uprisings of various movements erupted from time to time throughout Europe only to be brutally crushed. The humanists of Italy were exiled or imprisoned while the anti-Trinitarian Anabaptists were slaughtered by the hundreds and thousands. And of course the Jews and Muslims suffered hideous repression for their common belief that “God is one.”
Finally, after centuries of oppression and corruption by the Roman Church the Reformation began. It began with a young priest by the name of Martin Luther who dared to nail 95 statements of protest against the Roman church to the doors at Wittenberg.
The Protestant Reformation was a massive upheaval, and yet the Protestants wanted freedom in religion only for their own particular denomination, not for other churches. They still relied on faith and authority rather than reason. And there was little tolerance of differing religious views.
But the Reformation did give religious liberals an opportunity to finally come out of the closet. They saw the changes of Luther and Calvin as steps in the right direction but much too small of steps. They believed it was an opportune time to throw off all doctrines and creeds and to let the fresh breezes of freedom, tolerance, and reason blow through the church.
The man who was primarily responsible for this new religious rebellion was Michael Servetus, a young, idealistic Spaniard who, after a thorough study of the Bible, was amazed to find that there was no basis for Trinitarian beliefs. Just a few years after Luther posted his 95 theses, Servetus published a book called On The Errors of the Trinity.
Servetus not only made the best seller list, but he also made the Most Wanted list. For the next twenty years both the Catholics and the Protestants hunted Servetus, burning his books and arresting anyone who possessed them.
Finally, the Spanish Inquisition caught up with him and sentenced Servetus to be burned at the stake for heresy. Somehow he managed to escape and make his way to Geneva only to be captured again, this time by the Calvinists.
His trial in Geneva received much publicity throughout Europe with many religious liberals watching with concern. Once again Michael Servetus was convicted of heresy and sentenced to burn at the stake. This time he did not escape.
Like a phoenix rising, the spirit of the liberal religious movement rose out of Servetus' ashes. He soon became a martyr to the liberal cause. Religious liberals throughout Europe were incensed that a respected scientist and a theologian could be executed for having a different point of view. There was also outrage that a Protestant Inquisition was replacing the Catholic one.
Servetus' death provided the spark, and now it was time for others to fan it into flame. Of all the countries in Europe where would you expect a church like our’s to be born. Italy? France? England? Germany? Spain?
Just as Jesus was supposedly born in the hicktown of Bethlehem, the Unitarians built their first churches in the European outback of Transylvania and Poland. Religious liberals were being chased all over Europe, and so their only hope was to find refuge in the wilderness where the long arm of the Catholic and Protestant inquisitions could not reach.
The liberal religious movements in Poland and Transylvania began almost simultaneously, just a few years after the execution of Michael Servetus. Transylvania and Poland had the most invigorating religious atmosphere in all of Europe in the mid-l6th century, since they were the only countries that had the freedom for all churches to coexist and thus to carry on a rational dialogue with one another. Debates flourished between the religious leaders of these countries, with people having the radical freedom to choose their own church and their own beliefs.
Within a generation however, a succession of oppressive kings and conquering nations nibbled away at the power of the Unitarian Church in both Transylvania and Poland until just a generation later Unitarianism was banished in both countries and many followers were imprisoned or exiled.
By the way, somehow the Unitarian church has managed to survive for over 450 years in Hungary and Transylvania, and our church even has a partner church in Segesvar, Transylvania that we support with our generosity and prayers. And next summer some of us are hoping to make a trip there.
The Unitarian movement remained underground in most of Europe until the 17th century when the church again sprang to life, this time in England. The English philosopher, John Locke, paved the way for Unitarianism with his writings promoting religious toleration and a rational Christianity. Two of the greatest Englishmen of the 17th century, John Milton and Sir Isaac Newton, held anti-Trinitarian views and a revulsion for religious tyranny. Benjamin Franklin attended the first official Unitarian service in London in 1774, and he frequently returned to the chapel when he was in London negotiating with the crown.
Across the Atlantic, Unitarianism was taking root at a much faster pace in the new colonies of America. By 1825, 125 of the oldest churches in New England claimed to be Unitarian in theology; and in that same year, the American Unitarian Association was founded.
Unitarianism has made a much greater impact on our national consciousness than most people realize. Five American Presidents, and numerous thinkers, reformers, and scientists, have identified themselves as Unitarians. Many of the intellectual currents of the 19th century were initiated in Unitarian circles. William Ellery Channing's sermon in Baltimore on "Unitarian Christianity" expressed what most religious liberals of the day believed. Ralph Waldo Emerson, in the next generation, brought Transcendentalism into the forefront of American thought, and it was not long before Transcendentalism became the dominant philosophy among Unitarians.
The five greatest poets of early American history were all Unitarians: Bryant, Whittier, Longfellow, Lowell, and Holmes. Many of America's founding fathers – and mothers -- were Unitarian, including Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. In fact, the same forces that brought Unitarianism into being also brought our democracy into existence.
I have tried to give you a brief outline of Unitarian history this morning. My hope is that this sermon is a teaser for you to follow up with more in-depth reading. And I hope too that you now have a better understanding of what it means to be a Unitarian.
Some of the struggles Unitarianism had to fight are not as relevant today. Unitarianism received its name because its followers believed in the unity of God instead of a divine trinity. You have probably heard the quip that Unitarians today believe in, at most, one god.
To be Unitarian in the present means that we need to expand that affirmation by proclaiming the unity and oneness of all life. It’s true that we have theist, agnostics, atheist, mystics, and any number of other god believers or disbelievers in our midst. But we hold in common our heartfelt assertion that we are a part of the interdependent web of all existence, inseparable, undividable, like a river flowing to the sea or a flame burning brightly in the darkness.
As Unitarians we also proclaim these principles:
"First, complete freedom in religion rather than bondage to creeds or confessions;
“Second, the unrestricted use of reason in religion, rather than reliance upon external authority or past tradition;
"Third, generous tolerance of differing religious views and usages rather than insistence upon uniformity in doctrine, worship or polity."The sacrifice that others have made to preserve these principles is the oil that feeds the flame of our faith. It is up to us to keep that flame burning brightly.
What does it mean to be a Unitarian? That great minister of All Souls Unitarian Church, A. Powell Davies, sums it up better than anyone else with these words:
"Let no one say that it is difficult to know what Unitarianism is, or that it contains no areas of agreement. It is the most affirmative of all religions, the boldest in its claims, and the widest in its outreach and inclusiveness. Instead of a creed, it agrees to follow the living truth, and it sets its people free to do so. Instead of ritual pieties, it asks devotion to the deeds that the world be more righteous and its people more just.
"It separates itself from no company of believers, whether Christian or otherwise, except as they deny its claim for freedom. It asks no wide dominion for its institutions; only a liberty of access for its faith. It trusts that, in the years before us, Unitarian freedom will be claimed in all denominations, all communions; and meanwhile, it must humbly do its best to lead the way."I say Amen!
Resources:
The Epic of Unitarianism by David B. Parke, Skinner House Books
A History of Unitarianism by Earl Morse Wilbur, Beacon Press
The Unitarians and the Universalists by David Robinson, Greenwood Press
Reading: VOICES OF UNITARIANS THROUGH THE AGES
“In place of one God you have a three-headed [monster], in place of faith you have a fatal dream, and good deeds you call worthless pictures.” Michael Servetus, Spanish martyr
“Christ is not of a divine nature, but is a true man.” – Faustus Socinus, leader of the Polish Unitarians
“Conscience will not be quieted by anything less than truth and justice. We must accept God’s truth in this lifetime. Salvation must be accomplished here on earth. God is indivisible. God is one.” Francis David, leader of the Transylvanian Unitarians
“...Reason ... had never authority enough to prevail on the multitude, and to persuade the societies of men, that there was but one God, that along was to be owned and worshipped.” – John Locke, English philosopher
"Absurdity supported by power will never be able to stand its ground against the efforts of reason.” – Joseph Priestley, leader of the English Unitarians
"I trust there is not a young man now living in the United States who will not die a Unitarian." – Thomas Jefferson, American revolutionary
“I call that mind free which sets no bounds to its love, which, wherever they are seen, delights in virtue and sympathizes with suffering.” William Ellery Channing, Father of American Unitarianism
“I have written my sermons with a pistol in my desk ..., with a drawn sword within reach of my right hand. This I have done in Boston; in the middle of the nineteenth century; have been obliged to do it to defend the innocent [black] members of my own church.” – Theodore Parker, abolitionist minister
“A new manifestation is at hand, a new hour is come. When Man and Woman may regard one another as brother and sister, able both to appreciate and to prophesy to one another.” – Margaret Fuller, American Transcendentalist
“Let us learn the revelation of all nature and thought; that the Highest dwells within us, that the sources of nature are in our own minds.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Transcendentalist
“Organize! Agitate! Educate!” –Susan B. Anthony, American feminist
“May we realize that whatever we can do, great or small, the efforts of all of us are needed ... in this world.” –Norbert Capek, Czech minister killed by Nazi’s
“Some beliefs are like walled gardens. They encourage exclusiveness, and the feeling of being especially privileged. Other beliefs are expansive and lead the way into wider and deeper sympathies.” – Sophia Fahs, American religious educator
“Unitarianism is the most affirmative of all religions, the boldest in its claims, and the widest in its outreach and inclusiveness.” – A. Powell Davies, minister of All Souls Church in Washington D.C.
