WHEN I SPEAK OF FAITH here with other members, I start with the premise that ALL PATHS based on FAITH lead believers to a POWER who makes US one. I make the assumption that “believers” have a need for plugging into and relying on a SOURCE which has greater power and knowledge than can be contained within themselves. However, I also assume that some people do not believe in the existence of a GREAT SPIRIT, Creator, God, gods or goddesses of any kind as a power higher than themselves.
I have indeed observed that some people have no need for a HIGHER POWER. I have observed that in these situations, they rely on their own power and utilize that power to explain matters of scientific inquiry, exploration and the formation of the guidance they have developed for daily living and understanding of the world around them. Hence a different logic, semantics and jurisprudence emerges from an entirely different focus and set of assumptions. I assume that this TOO is a system which is VALID for some on this planet. Of course, that would take me back to my basic belief in the fact that I do not make and do not have the right to remake another human being into something I want them to be so that I can feel more comfortable with our sameness.
THAT HAVING BEEN SAID, for those here who claim the experience of having some sort of relationship with a power higher than themselves, I respectfully request their right to SAY SO here at the ULCM and to continue to claim that PEOPLE OF FAITH here believe in a higher power and should continue to be FREE to do so and say so. Those persons of faith here that see the experience of FAITH as a common bond in the human family should likewise continue to be free to state their belief that ALL PATHS ARE VALID in their own right and/or lead to ONE GREAT POWER. To claim that those who state such a belief are guilty of an error would be to attack the very foundation of our religious freedom and our understanding of TRUTH. We would thereby have to dismantle our entire belief and behavioral and linguistic systems in deference to another who feels uncomfortable with the way we describe the Universe.
If I can accept and bond with someone as a friend who has also bonded with gods, goddesses and other entities or sources as their personal higher power BECAUSE I see ALL PATHS as leading to ONE GREAT SPIRIT then that would be the basis for my being here. Language describes something which ALREADY exists in concrete or abstract form. Words usually come into existence in human interaction to describe an object and/or behavior that ALREADY exists. That language, whether English, Spanish, German, etc. allows us common ground with which to relate to others who are different in some way than ourselves.
Our lives are full of linguistic and behavioral examples of the need to acknowledge one another as VALID in every language and culture around us. If this were not so we would not, as human beings, form so many organizations to do business with one another. Naturally, the Universal Life Church Monastery is one of the finest examples of such an organization and if I may say so, one of the most effective due to its ongoing ability to protect freedom of speech, seek justice for all and to insist that all its members abide by one simple rule of conduct: BRING HARM TO NO ONE and bring harm to no one’s beliefs, culture and religious practices. ALL OF LIFE IS VALID AND/OR ALL OF LIFE IS SACRED.
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Nanhi M. Morrow-Farrell, DD, PhD, etc.