Below is an excerpt from an evening worship service led by Dan Harper at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, in Kensington, California. As usual, the text below is a reading text. The actual worship service contained ad libs, interjections, and other improvisation. The dialogue below is copyright (c) 2003 Daniel Harper.
Reading
The reading tonight is from the bylaws of the Unitarian Universalist Association — this immediately follows the so-called “principles and purposes,” but is rarely quoted:
Section C-2.4. Freedom of Belief. Nothing herein shall be deemed to infringe upon the individual freedom of belief which is inherent in the Universalist and Unitarian heritages or to conflict with any statement of purpose, covenant, or bond of union used by any congregation unless such is used as a creedal test.
Dialogue
Voice One
I don’t believe in God. It’s an outmoded concept, a pretty good fairy tale in its day, a good explanation for things that human beings couldn’t otherwise explain. God helped us human beings to feel powerful, back when we had very little control over our common destiny.
But these days — I mean, seriously, it’s hard to understand how any thinking, rational person could believe in God in this day and age. Thank goodness I’m a member of a Unitarian Universalist church, so I’m not forced to believe in that God stuff.
Voice Two
Years ago, I didn’t bother about God one way or the other. After the birth of our first child, I slipped into a profound depression. Medications didn’t help. Didn’t want to live, when you really come down to it.
Somehow, in the midst of that profound depression, I had this feeling of deep love. I mean, I had this unexplicable and very real experience of God’s love. It was like turning a switch inside me: Life did matter. I began to read the Bible, and I found in it a message of love and hope and liberation for all peoples. Thank God, I’m a member of a Unitarian Universalist church, so I could let my beliefs evolve.
Voice One
You mean you believe in that God stuff? You actually read the Bible? What are you, a — a Christian? Don’t tell me you’ve gone out and joined some fundamentalist church!
Voice Two
What’s wrong with believing in God? You know, you can believe in God and still be a Unitarian Universalist! Don’t you remember? There is no creed in Unitarian Universalist congregations, no one can tell us whether or not to believe in God. It sounds to me like you’re the fundamentalist — a fundamentalist atheist!
Voice One
Who are you calling a fundamentalist? I’m no fundamentalist, I’m just holding the line against creeping superstition. I feel like you God people are taking away my religion. I don’t want to have to hear about God in worship services. Yet there he is, God manages to creep his nasty little way into my worship service.
Voice Two
First of all, who says God is a he? Second of all, in my opinion it’s you atheists who are taking away my worship services. We never hear Bible readings in worship services any more, because you guys complained so much. And we hardly ever hear about God because God has to be called some namby-pamby name like “spirit of life” or “force of the universe” or something. Atheism has become some kind of credal test for Unitarian Universalists.
Voice One
Oh, yeah?
Voice Two
Yeah!
Voice Three
Hey, wait a minute, you two! What is all this? What’s going on here, anyway?
Voice One
I was complaining about the lack of respect atheists get in Unitarian Universalist churches these days.
Voice Two
I was complaining about the lack of respect Christians get in Unitarian Universalist churches these days.
Voice Three
Good grief! I’ll bet that you aren’t all that different in your beliefs. For example [turning Voice One], when you say you don’t believe in God, what do you mean when you say the word “God”?
Voice One
Well — ummm — you know, that notion people have of God. Some guy with a long white beard, sitting up in the sky somewhere. Like you see in those paintings done by Michelangelo. This all-powerful dude who runs humankind.
Voice Three
[to Voice Two] Is that how you think of God?
Voice Two
Please! I’m a little more spohisticated than that.
Voice Three
And how would you define an atheist?
Voice Two
Wellll — an atheist — really it’s someone who wants to get rid of all the poetry and metaphor and symbolism of religion. They just want to turn worship services into a series of college lecture classes on comparative religion.
Voice Three
[turning to Voice One] Is that how you think of atheism?
Voice One
No, no! My atheism is very poetic — I read the stories of Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre, and I love the poetry of Margaret Atwood. Atheism can be very poetic.
Voice Two
You like Margaret Atwood? I love her poems! But that’s the same reason I read the Bible — it’s like this huge anthology of poetry, and poetic prose, dealing with the high and low points of human experience.
Voice One
I have to admit — I do like the book of Ecclesiastes. “Vanity, vanity, said the prophet, all is vanity.” Very poetic, very existentialist, if you ask me. So — you see God as a kind of metaphor?
Voice Two
I guess I’d say God has more force of reality than that — but — yes you’re right, in the sense that God is a poetic understanding of the world. And I’m with you when you say you don’t believe God is some white guy with a beard wearing a bathrobe up in the sky! We may not agree, exactly, but I guess we have some common ground….
Voice Three
Do the two of you have to agree completely? After all, we Unitarian Universalists are a non-creedal religion, so we explicitly agree that we don’t have to agree on everything. Aren’t we all about having tolerance for each other’s point of view?
Voice One
Mmm — if you put it that way — I have to say you’re right.
Voice Two
Mmm — now that you say it like that — yes, I suppose you are right.
Voice One
As long as we don’t have to hear the word “God” in worship services.
Voice Two
Now wait just a cotton-pickin’ minute here, buster!
Voice Three
[throws up hands in dismay] Here we go again! You know, when the two of you get into these arguments, I feel like I’m caught in the middle. Not only that, the whole God argument doesn’t interest me much one way or the other — it just seems so old school. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just the two of you having these violent arguments.
Voice One
[in a hurt voice] They’re not violent arguments, they’re healthy discussions.
Voice Three
They sound pretty violent to me.
Voice Two
[in a hurt voice] “Old school”? What do you mean, “old school”?
Voice Three
You know — quaint, even cute, but out-dated. Something from another generation.
Voice One
Outdated! But don’t you see? We have to have this kind of argument to keep from sinking into having a creed.
Voice Two
It’s true. I hate to admit it, but every time I start getting a little complacent about my belief in God, those atheists come at me and I have to rethink everything. Keeps me on my toes.
Voice One
And I hate to admit it, but every time I start feeling that atheism is so obvious, the whole world should believe exactly the way I believe, the theists challenge me and I have to rethink everything. Keeps me on my toes.
Voice Two
It’s like the old joke — the Unitarian Universalist dies and winds up on the road to heaven, when she sees a sign post at a fork in the road. One sign points to the left, and says “This way to Heaven.” The second sign points to the right, and says “Discussion group about Heaven.” Needless to say she goes to the right. That’s what I’d do!
Voice One
If you believed in heaven. As for me, I’m convinced that heaven is actually an eternal discussion group.
Voice Three
I’m not sure I’ll ever understand the two of you — [impulsively] but I’m glad we’re all in the same church together.