Postmodernism opines that the only truth is that there is no truth.

As a philosopher and cognitive scientist I know that there is no known objective truth, and that humans can only view the world from their personal perspectives. Though not practically workable in the real world, the postmodernist philosophy of knowledge is technically true.

Cycleback, David. Against Illiberalism: A critique of illiberal trends in liberal institutions, with a focus on Unitarian Universalism (p. 37). Center for Artifact Studies. Kindle Edition. 

Is there no truth? 

The postmodern view is that truth is a social construction and asserts that this truth is the only truth. However, there is a post postmodern view that observes that beyond social constructionism there is a truth and reality doesn’t care anything about your beliefs.

A utilitarian might say that truth is what works. Truth is what has consequences. Gravity has consequences if you fall off the cliff in spite of a desire and belief that one can fly.

Evolutionary spirituality teaches that organisms have potential and truth is the actualization of the potential. What form that actualization takes is a manifestation of the potential and while the actualization may look different, it does not change or negate the potential.

In the religious sphere there is the idea of the perennial philosophy which all religions have in common. The facilitation of the development of spiritual potential is the function of religion. This facilitation often fails for a variety of reasons and major one being the post modern idea that there is no truth..

Achieving peace and joy requires the management of anger and fear.

The relationship of anger to attack is obvious, but the relationship of anger to fear is not always so apparent. Anger always involves projection of separation, which must ultimately be accepted as one’s own responsibility, rather than being blamed on others. Anger cannot occur unless you believe that you have been attacked, that your attack is justified in return, and that you are in no way responsible for it. Given these three wholly irrational premises, the equally irrational conclusion that a brother is worthy of attack rather than of love must follow. What can be expected from insane premises except an insane conclusion? The way to undo an insane conclusion is to consider the sanity of the premises on which it rests. You cannot be attacked, attack has no justification, and you are responsible for what you believe. T-6.in.1:1-7

A Course in Miracles . Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

The emotion underlying anger is fear. Whenever you are angry or perceive another as being angry you can ask, “What am I or they afraid of?” Dealing with the fear is much more constructive than dealing with the anger.

Jesus of Nazareth as he is being crucified on the cross says, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Where is the anger, the resentment, the hate, the grievance? He has risen above it and recognizes that the powers that be are afraid of his teaching and so wish to expunge it by killing him.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. There is no anger in this principle. The principle is based on a fear of separation and division and a loss of solidarity around our purpose of encouraging the spiritual growth of one another.

Today it is suggested that we be aware of our anger and our underlying fears. What is it that we are afraid of? If we can discern what we are afraid of we have a better chance of managing it so that we can achieve and experience of peace and joy.

Searching for the Kingdom Of God

Decision cannot be difficult. This is obvious, if you realize that you must already have decided not to be wholly joyous if that is how you feel. Therefore, the first step in the undoing is to recognize that you actively decided wrongly, but can as actively decide otherwise. Be very firm with yourself in this, and keep yourself fully aware that the undoing process, which does not come from you, is nevertheless within you because God placed it there. Your part is merely to return your thinking to the point at which the error was made, and give it over to the Atonement in peace. T-5.VII.6:1-5

A Course in Miracles . Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

This is a challenging passage for most people. We are born into a society which socializes and conditions us to think in terms of the world of the ego. It dawns on us at some point that there is a better way to live our lives because we are not happy following the teachings of the ego. The dawning initiates the search for truth and meaning which goes much more satisfyingly and fulfillingly if we ask the Holy Spirit to help us. Part of this process is to become aware of where our thinking went wrong and then to turn it over to what the Course calls the Atonement which is the healing of the separation and in AA they call “Higher Power.”

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning and to accept one another and encourage each other’s spiritual growth.

Today it is suggested that we turn over our attachments to the things of the world of the ego and ask the Holy Spirit to help us in our search for the Kingdom of God

If an organization doesn’t stand for something, its members will fall for anything.

Some racial minorities have said they are drawn to UU’s beliefs but have difficulty fitting in with the dominant culture. One congregant wrote, “I don’t think segregation is intentional. It’s a matter of music, demographics, age, culture, worship style, etc.”

Cycleback, David. Against Illiberalism: A critique of illiberal trends in liberal institutions, with a focus on Unitarian Universalism (p. 16). Center for Artifact Studies. Kindle Edition. 

UU worship services for the most part are boring and appeal to WASPs. Even the gospel songs are sung at a plodding pace. There are exceptions and some of the larger UU churches such as All Souls in Tulsa Oklahoma offer different types of worship formats.

With people who have migrated to UU from other denominations or none there often are multiple preferences and not everyone can be pleased. In one congregation there was an ongoing conflict over whether applause was appropriate during the services. The minister was caught in the middle and there was a power struggle among the members of the worship committee which seeped into the congregation. 

It is interesting how these minor disagreements can poison a congregation leading to schism and estrangement. Without a strong minister willing to take a stand the wrangling continues with negative consequences.

There is little to no guidance from the UUA on such matters and so there is little uniformity or coherence in UU worship which is detrimental to a more universal identification with the denomination.

The decentralized governance structure of UU in which every congregation is self governing, liturgical coherence and denominational identification is compromised. If an organization doesn’t stand for something, then its members will fall for anything.

If we choose wrong we can always choose again.

Whenever you are not wholly joyous, it is because you have reacted with a lack of love to one of God’s creations. Perceiving this as “sin” you become defensive because you expect attack. The decision to react in this way is yours, and can therefore be undone. It cannot be undone by repentance in the usual sense, because this implies guilt. If you allow yourself to feel guilty, you will reinforce the error rather than allow it to be undone for you.T-5.VII.5:1-5

A Course in Miracles . Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

When we fail to exercise unconditional love and instead love conditionally we often act with a lack of love for which there is a feeling of guilt leading to revenge. For this guilt it is best not to repent because it often makes things worse. The best thing to do is to make another choice which is to love unconditionally which is an extension of God’s love for God’s creations.

In Unitarian Universalism we join together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. It is in this affirmation and promotion of inherent worth and dignity that we experience great joy. If we don’t experience this joy something has gone wrong.

Today it is suggested that we be mindful of the choices we make in our interactions with other people and things. The question to be considered is “What would love have me do?”

Unitarian Universalism in a downward spiral.

UU is small, eccentric, and shrinking. Its pluralism, including the inclusion of atheists and agnostics, lack of central theology, and increasingly left politics make it the perfect church for a small minority of people, but too fringe and politically narrow for most Americans.

Cycleback, David. Against Illiberalism: A critique of illiberal trends in liberal institutions, with a focus on Unitarian Universalism (p. 14). Center for Artifact Studies. Kindle Edition. 

Unitarian Universalism is a religion without a mission. It has turned to social justice as its major preoccupation without grounding in any coherent theology. 

The function of the church in our contemporary society is to enhance the level of spiritual intelligence in its members and the community in which they live.

Unitarian Universalism which could be a conduit for the perennial philosophy has been hijacked by social justice issues of special interest groups and thereby failed in its mission. As these special interest groups have taken over the leadership of the Unitarian Universalist Association it has engaged in policies that are even more detrimental to its function and therefore the denomination has continued to lose members and become even more marginalized in Western Civilization. 

Continuing on its downward spiral Unitarian Universalism will eventually disappear. It remains to be seen what will take its place.

Against Illiberalism: A critique of illiberal trends in liberal institutions, with a focus on Unitarian Universalism by David Cycleback

 This book examines recent illiberal trends in traditionally liberal American institutions. It focuses on Unitarian Universalism, a historically liberal church whose national leadership has adopted an extreme, authoritarian version of anti-racism as a "theological mandate," causing strife and division.

From Amazon website

This book describes many important ideas which will be posted on this blog over the coming weeks. UUAWOL readers are encouraged to add your comments.