This assertion's simply false: Any repeated statement in religious life has a tendency to become tests....
Geneva Illinois's UU Society's been reciting this covenant every Sunday virtually w/o change since 1843 and it's never been a test or even a pointer towards beliefs. Our beliefs have varied considerably over the century and a half plus; including fundamentally on abolition and World War Two (our founding minister an abolitionist while the congregation wasn't, and our minister during WW2 a Pacifist while I suspect the congregation by-and-large wasn't).
Being desirous of promoting practical goodness in the world, and of aiding each other in our moral and religious improvement, we have associated ourselves together – not as agreeing in opinion, not as having attained universal truth in belief or perfection in character, but as seekers after truth and goodness.
We don't hold one another accountable in belief but only aid each other in improvement.
We seek truth and goodness (goodness once described as God in the original covenant) but whether our seeking bears results or not, or uniform results, has never been the case. Some find truth and goodness, others never do, and each follows their own path.
The reality of our practice in Geneva disproves the statement, and I suspect there are other UU contras out there too.
2 comments:
That is a lovely affirmation.
It's endured Amy. And seen many changes in Geneva, Illinois. Still works for us.
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