Faith of a Unitarian Universalist (ritual, God, verse, cross)

[Green Gaia]

What does faith mean to you as a Unitarian Universalist?

[Davidium]

OH, what a question.... and one I dont have time for right now to do in full....

I have faith in the future of humankind. I have faith in the inherent worth and dignity of every person, though sometimes it is challenged.

I have faith in my fellow UU's.

I have faith in the love of my significant other.

I have faith that the universe was created for a purpose.

I will go into more later, for now I am deeply involved in the Red Cross effort... but I had to answer this one quickly, as UU Faith is a topic near and dear to my heart.

YoUUrs in UU Faith,

David Pyle
Galveston Island, TX

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by Maize

What does faith mean to you as a Unitarian Universalist?

Faith to me has less to do with belief and more to do with trust (and hope).

I think I've mentioned this before: when I talk about "faith in God" I am not talking about believing that God exists. If it just ends there then who cares? I believe that Mt Rushmore exists but I have never thought to utter the words "I have faith in Mt Rushmore." That would be meaningless. But I do say that I have faith in God. I have faith in this world. I have faith in humanity. I have faith in my friends. Faith is about relationship, about interaction.

To say that I have faith is to say that I trust, and I hope. I may not always understand what's going on, in fact I rarely do, but I trust that when things are bad, they will get better (with my own active involvement of course, not just a passive wait). I trust that there is meaning. I trust that there is love and justice and beauty and kindness. And sometimes, when things seem so bad that I can barely muster trust, I simply hope.

For me, a lack of certainty is not a lack of faith. In fact, certainty and faith are mutually exclusive. If I am absolutely certain then there is no risk involved, no need for trust. Faith is climbing up the staircase, one stair at a time, when you're not entirely sure where it leads or if it leads anywhere at all, but trusting and hoping that it will be better than where you are.

[Green Gaia]

I suppose it's time I answered my own question. Compared to the other answers, mine is very simple: As a UU my faith is in goodness of humanity. That the good will triumph over bad, that those who need help will get it, that is it up to the human race to bring about peace. My faith in these things comes from knowing we all have the potential to do good, and that if we all strive for that goodness, I have faith we will change the world.

[robtex]

Wow good stuff!! All of it. Same echos here. Faith in my fellow beings. In my family, my community, my friends neigbors and my co-workers. Irregardless of spritual differences, religious differences, sexual identities, occupations, hobbies interests, policics. UU faith to me is living for others as well as for myself and feeling confident that they will do the same.