UU Salad Bar (Jesus, rituals, Creator, Moses, Deists)

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by Trey of Diamonds

We have a Muslim in our congregation as well but I think he's a Sufi. We also had the local Turkish Mosque in to speak one Sunday and it was a great service.

Was he in the "Voices of a Liberal Faith" vid? For whatever reason, I thought that guy was in TX. If not, then there is at least three UU Muslims that we know of.

[Trey of Diamonds]

Originally Posted by lilithu

Was he in the "Voices of a Liberal Faith" vid? For whatever reason, I thought that guy was in TX. If not, then there is at least three UU Muslims that we know of.

Nope, this is a different guy. I'm surprised we don't see more Universal Sufis coming to UU churches. It seems like a good fit in my opinion.

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by Trey of Diamonds

Nope, this is a different guy. I'm surprised we don't see more Universal Sufis coming to UU churches. It seems like a good fit in my opinion.

My guess is because we have little to offer them. They already have a community. They already have a theology that is more thought out than ours. Just because they agree with our universalism doesn't mean they have to join us.

[Trey of Diamonds]

Originally Posted by lilithu

My guess is because we have little to offer them. They already have a community. They already have a theology that is more thought out than ours. Just because they agree with our universalism doesn't mean they have to join us.

No, but like us they suffer from low numbers and places to congregate. I wouldn't think they would join UU churches as members but I could certianly see them sharing space.

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by Trey of Diamonds

No, but like us they suffer from low numbers and places to congregate. I wouldn't think they would join UU churches as members but I could certianly see them sharing space.

Well of course they would be welcome.

[jamaesi]

Originally Posted by keithnurse

That's very interesting. Does your local congregation ever use the Qur'an in sunday worship services?

Well, in the one I went to in Columbus sometimes, not near as often as say the Bible or Asian scriptures.

It was always heartwarming to have someone come up to me and greet me with "assalamu alaykum" though.

Originally Posted by Trey of Diamonds

We have a Muslim in our congregation as well but I think he's a Sufi. We also had the local Turkish Mosque in to speak one Sunday and it was a great service.

I'm Sufi but still Sunni (Hanafi). You have to be some flavour of "traditional" (Sunni/Shia and whatever school in that you follow) Islam to be Sufi.

[Trey of Diamonds]

Originally Posted by jamaesi

I'm Sufi but still Sunni (Hanafi). You have to be some flavour of "traditional" (Sunni/Shia and whatever school in that you follow) Islam to be Sufi.

Cool, I didn't know that. Thanks!

[Doodlebug02]

Christianity, Islam, Secular/Non-religious, Buddhism, Native American Spirituality (Primal Indigenous), Judaism, and NeoPaganism. I am always seeking out more spiritual paths to draw from though.

[Trey of Diamonds]

Originally Posted by Holly

I am always seeking out more spiritual paths to draw from though.

Yeah, me too!

[J Bryson]

Christianity: The Sermon on the Mount is without parallel, and I do like the idea of a God who loves the world that much. Whether or not I actually believe in God varies. I can do without the cultural prejudices of some of the apostles, though, and Revelation stopped interesting me once I quit using psychedelics.

Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Athiest: All that we have to work with in day to day life is the evidence of our own senses, and our own reasoning abilities. You may be working without a net without dogma to fall back on, but that makes it that much more satisfying when you get to the other side of the tightrope.

Buddhism: The Eightfold Path provides some wonderful guidelines for life. Also (and ironically) I've never felt as connected to the universe as a whole as when I've practiced Buddhist detachment.

Spiritism: While I have no proof to offer, the idea that there is something beyond the life that we live, that we continue in some form, is enormously comforting to me.

Judaism: My girlfriend was ultra-Orthodox as of a couple of years ago. She ran far from that community, but still finds value in many of the traditional teachings. She's shared some of this with me, and it's given me much to ponder.

Baha'i: It was through studying the concept of multiple messengers of varying faiths that I was sent back on the path to UU. Of course, I've stretched the concept a bit farther than they do, and disagree with much of the dogma, but I'm still grateful.

Neo-Paganism: In between the Wiccan Rede, the expression of nature consciousness through environmental work and activism, the high proportion of role-playing and comic books geeks involved, and the awesome parties, I can't think of anything bad to say about this crowd. Also, they taught me the value of rituals in one's life, which was another push to start attending church.