"Perhaps my single greatest disappointment in most of the world's religions is that they have succeeded, against all odds, in making most people afraid of God."
Richard Rohr, From Wild Man To Wise Man, p.1
I don't know if anyone would consider Unitarian Universalism a world religion. It is not Christian, nor Jewish, nor Buddhist, nor Hindu, nor Muslim. What the hell is Unitarian Universalism? It is an amalgamation of the world's religions and a purveyor of the perennial wisdom.
I can't think of anything that Unitarian Universalism has done to make people afraid of God, can you? If anything, it has countered this tendency and given people hope that in the end everyone goes to heaven.
Father Rohr points out that people try to manipulate God by engaging in religious practices, living moral lives, doing good works, etc. and God will not be manipulated. God is pretty wild and has a life of God's own leaving the aware person to surrender, to acknowledge his/her vulnerability, to open up to receiving God's grace. Rohr points out that this seems to be easier for women than for men and thus a special need for a male spirituality.
Rohr writes in his essay, The Wild Man, "God does not love us because God has to. God loves us because God wants to. God does not love us because we are good. God loves us because God is good. Why can't we surrender to that? Because it initially feels like a loss of power and importance!" p.3
Being aware of God's love for us requires a recognition and acknowledgement that we are not in control of the universe, that our navel is not the center of the world, that God does not love us because we are good and deserve it and have earned it, but because God is good and loves all of God's creation. Isn't that a Universalist message if there ever was one?
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